Concert Review: Sounds of the Underground, Myth, Minneapolis/St.Paul

I was going to write this last night when I got back from the show, but I was not very sober and proceeded to pass out on my floor playing with my dog. So today I'm hungover, can't hear shit, and may or may not remember everything I wanted to mention. Oh well.

So this is a metal/hardcore "festival" of sorts and in my opinion better than ozzfest, which is more about popular hard rock bands that can draw a crowd. That and Ozzy Osbourne, who is past his prime. i just can't get over the fact that the prince of darkness runs around stage shooting the crowd with a super soaker...Thope and I (also charles) witnessed this first hand. Anyway...

I was quite excited to see this show because I missed last summer's due to the whole being in Europe thing. As always, there was an "interesting" mix of people. Old school metalheads with their mullets, misguided youth, freaks, dude bros, emo kids, tough guys, and normal people (which is the category I hope I fall into). When you mix people of this type, bad things can happen, but I didn't see anything major go down. However, that was partly because I stayed by the bar, which had a slightly elevated view of the stage right behind the sound technicians and floor area. Got into Myth around 1:25pm and shows probably got going around 2pm. Ended around 10:45pm or something like that. Long day of drinking.

2Cents
These guys started everything off...with a drum solo! Not as sexy as guitar solos I guess, but a good drummer can do a lot for a band. I'm no expert, but I was impressed. The drummer is also the singer and he kept me laughing with his various statements/observations between songs. He ripped into Good Charlotte and Fallout Boy, while praising Pantera, Minor Threat, and a few others from their youth. I was with them 100%. He also informed the crowd about a their being out of drugs and their willingness to take (or buy if it was good stuff) weed, lsd, and I think coke. They want to keep it "metal" and therefore refused any ecstasy. Beggars can't be choosers, guys. They covered the King of the Hill theme song and Slayer's Raining Blood...both were great in their own way. Overall, their brand of metal isn't really what I'm into nowadays, but I still enjoyed them.

Goatwhore
The next band to take the stage was this black metal band from New Orleans. I like some black metal, but overall find the genre humorous at times. They just try too hard to have a certain look and feel...I blame it on the Scandanavians, who totally love this stuff. Goatwhore may be the best US band in the genre, but that list isn't huge...admittedly, I don't know of many. The band got a good reception as more people were finally getting in (total b.s. that some people were waiting in line through the first few bands...i got there early, so had no problems). I however thought their set got kinda old...there were a few songs in there that I enjoyed, but was ready for the next band before they were finished. Here's a video from their newest album.

HeavyHeavyLowLow
This band is one of two reasons I bought my ticket. One of my favorite bands. It's really hard to describe their sound, so I won't try. Listen to some of their tracks to get an idea. Most of the douchebags at the show were booing them and yelling shit, which seriously pissed me off. They had some amp(?) and guitar problems, so there was a little bit of a break...this really got the haters going. The singer just stood there acting like he was masterbating and telling the crowd to fuck off cause he could do that for 15 more minutes and still get all their money...I was cracking up. I'm pretty sure this band has been getting booed a bunch on this tour because of all the dumbasses who don't get their shit. I mean, I didn't really like Goatwhore but I didn't sit there booing and yelling at them to get off the stage. The best was some teenage fat fuck in sandals and nike socks yelling that it was past their bedtime. If I was the violent type, he'd be the type of person that I'd want to mess up. Robbie, the singer, didn't really interact with the crowd much except to tell them to shut up and asking under his breath "where the weed at?"...he appeared to be really f'd up. Danny, one of the guitarists, was wearing some ridiculous running shorts and dancing around barefoot...he's got some moves. Actually talked to him at the merch booth for a bit, he was a nice guy and seemed happy that I was there to see their band. I however was pretty drunk at this point and wasn't really able to carry on much of a conversation. Great set. Wish it was longer...seemed like they cut it short. Here's some shitty video of them live.


The Acacia Strain
I'd only heard one song from this band before the show. I was blown away by their energy. This was the point where things seemed to really get moving...people were really into them. The singer was very engaging and funny. He had the crowd going back in time giving the "thumbs-up" as opposed to the devil horns...which are kinda dumb in my opinion. I liked their music a lot, so I decided to pick up their two full lengths at the merch table. The singer was chilling out there at this point...I didn't talk to him personally, but witnessed him talking to a couple kids next to me. He seemed very sincere and interested in what they were saying, actually initiating the conversation. Didn't seem to have the ego that some do in this business. Cool guy who deserves my money. Here's the video for "angry mob justice" from their newest album.


The Devil Wears Prada
I had heard a lot about this band, but never really checked them out. I guess I just wrote them off as another Christian, metalcore band...which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've just heard it all before. Well, they were better than I envisioned. I really liked their set, although the clean singing can get annoying (a little whiny). Not that I don't like clean singing...but it works better for some bands than others. This band reminds me of older Underoath (another Christian metalcore band who suck now but used to be amazing). Some people have problems with these Christian bands, but all that matters to me is the music. Most of them aren't very preachy, so that's good enough for me. Great set. And I bought their first full length...another band that deserves my cash. Here's a video for "Dogs can grow beards all over".


The Number Twelve Looks Like You
This is the other reason I bought my ticket. Another one of my favorite bands. Much like HHLL, their sound is hard to describe. So many influences...they're all over the place. You really need to listen to an entire album to appreciate their sound. The crowd seemed really indifferent about what was going on upstage while they played. I was expecting the type of reception that HHLL got. Lots of energy and the two lead singers played off each other really well. The dude next to me asked what band has a woman lead singer right before they started playing...i was like, um, that's a dude. He did have a womanly shirt on, I guess...and long hair. I bought a scary t-shirt of theirs and old people were staring at me when I went to Old Country Buffet this afternoon. Here's the video for "like a cat".


Amon Amarth
This is a metal band from Sweden. They're all about vikings. The crowd loved them, but they're not really my style. The singer and his accent were entertaining. I especially loved when he was like "come on, chicago was loud...but this is the home of the VIKINGS!". That got the crowd cheering louder...then I think they played their song "The Pursuit of Vikings". Eh.

Darkest Hour
I actually went out to the merch booths after Amon Amarth. Ended up missing most of this set. Saw 1.5 songs. They were fine, but my batteries were getting low. I like this band and have some albums, but don't listen to them as much anymore. Here's a video for "Convalescence".


Job For a Cowboy
There's a lot of hype for this band, but I can't figure out why. Maybe I haven't listened to enough, but they don't interest me much. I got bored during their set, partly because I had yet to receive my 2nd wind. Kinda zoned out. Whatevs.

Chimaira
This is a band that I have tried to like. Had an older album, and I just never really got into it. I've seen them interviewed and candidly on camera, and they just seem like good people. I like good people, so I won't write them off. When they came out, Beefcake (from GWAR) came out with them. Insane! Apparently the bass player had to leave the tour b/c of a death in the family, so they had various band members on tour helping out with the bass duties. Beefcake, Andy Williams (Every Time I Die), Paul Romanko (Shadows Fall), and some dude who was a roadie for Shadows Fall helped out. This band woke me out of my slumber. I really enjoyed their set and my opinion of their music has definitely changed for the better. Crowd loved them too. They've got some songs that are really great when you're angry. "Pure Hatred" and "Power Trip" come to mind. Here's a video for a new track "Resurrection".


Every Time I Die
Great band. They're not really "metal"...more of a post-hardcore rock band. Whatever that means...i hate labels like that. I saw them like four years ago with about 100 people. Loved them then, love them now. The singer is hilarious, and he seems quite intelligent. I think he used to teach high school english. His lyrics are actually really interesting, especially on the older albums. I've seen some interviews and they seems like a bunch of cool people. They called a guy from the crowd on stage to chug a beer during a song that contained an apparent "beer drinking riff"; they had a beer for him and everything. He put it down in like 5-10 seconds. Their guitarist Big Andy is frickin huge...they're from Buffalo and I think he should try out for tight end with the Bills. I actually prefer this bands older material to the newer, but they both have their merits. Here's "The New Black".


Shadows Fall
This band is blowing up, and rightly so. They're a great thrash metal band. I've kinda grown out of them, but they're still good at what they do. Brian Fair is a great singer and his dreadlocks are fucking ridiculous...they literally reach the floor. And he loves swinging them around. I've heard their guitarist referred to as Jonny rock n' roll and that's a cool nick name. His name is jonathan donais (and he's a super talented guitarist)...my band director in high school was mr. donais. I didn't like him very much; straight up douche. I hope they're not related. Great high energy set. Crowd loved it.


GWAR
I used to listen to GWAR back in the days of cassette tapes. I don't really listen to them at all anymore, but I enjoy what they do. The live show is like no other. One kinda forgets they're actually playing songs during their show because of all the ridiculous props and shit going on up on stage. They've got the 5 band members dressed up in their ridiculous gear, "slaves" running around handling the props, and all kinds of fluids being shot onto the crowd. The lead singer's costume is the best, complete with giant cock and 2 sets of testicles. Oh, and the penis shoots yellow liquid. Awesome. The props included the Virginia Tech shooter (they chopped off his head and shot him), a paralyzed SOTU/GWAR fan (they dismembered and skinned him), some musician (according to wikipedia, it's supposed to be Sid Vicious representing drug addicted, decadent rock stars; they fed him crack, pulled off his forearms), Jewcifer (Satan, whom they battle until the final prop shows up...), and Gor Gor (a T-Rex who kills Jewcifer only to be slayed by Oderus Urungus). Throughout this entire show the slaves were also shooting red and green liquid from these cannon like things. Very entertaining. Here's an old video of theirs for "saddam a go go".


Here's another treat for you all, because this post doesn't have nearly enough video...


Ok, I'm done.