#11 & #12

#11

Madball
Reign Supreme
Call to Preserve
Patriot
xDie Alonex

@ The Soapbox 03/12/09

Another gig I was a little hesitant to go to, due to not wanting to deal with a majority of the crowd and once again, I was low on cash. Not broke, but just lacking sufficient money to spend on anything but the ticket and maybe a few beers. Oh well. I got there at about 6:15 or so, and immediately saw that this crowd wouldn't look like most hardcore crowds around here have looked like. Lots of bigger guys, most PCM and skins, but it wasn't a problem.

Die Alone went on first, and I found out it was their first gig. I don't think they were bad, but there wasn't really anything that stood out to me. Some guy got on stage during I believe either their second or third song and helped contribute vocals to a Nourish the Flame cover.

Patriot went on next and man did they play for a loooooong time. They were really good though. Nice to have some good ol' street punk on a bill like this. Eddie, their guitarist and singer, is a great guy. Heck he even tattooed my mom.

I didn't like Call to Preserve. Just too much mosh. I had some hope when I saw that their guitarist was rocking a Tragedy shirt. Alas, that turned out to be the only thing about their set I didn't hate. I also noticed they were selling a shirt that said "JASON VOORHEES IS STRAIGHT-EDGE." I think that's open to debate, seeing as how in the most recent film, he apparently kills anybody who dares venture towards a weed batch near Crystal Lake. I'm not for debating right now though.

Reign Supreme did a damn good job. I haven't seen them for about a year or so, and even then it was in the back of a crowded dive bar in Baltimore, so you couldn't get a great view. Not this time. I don't think I left the front, and I was screaming every word I knew as loud as I could. They did a good mix of material, 3 from the EP, 2 from the demo, and about 3-4 new ones. Jay gave a pretty amusing/demoralizing speech about how the people who told you in your younger years lied to you about having potential to be the next president. I didn't like that their guitarist had a Winds of Plague shirt on though. Blechhhh.

Msot of the younger moshers moved towards the back for Madball, probably out of fear. I can't say I blame them. I moved to the sides of the room occasionally if I started to feel uncomfortable. That aside, Madball were awesome. Opening with "Set it Off" couldn't have been a better decision. The floor was pretty ridiculous for them. I can't give an exact setlist, but they did a prettty good mix of old and new. I remember hearing For My Enemies, Demonstrating my Style, and Down by Law. Unfortunately, towards the end of the set is when we started seeing our first fights of the evening. I'm not sure exactly who got beat up and I'm not sure over what either, but regardless it brought down the vibe of the room. Madball stopped playing a couple of times because of it, and Freddy had to tell folks to chill out. It eventually all got settled, and they finished up. Wish I had gotten the chance to talk to Freddy or Hoya afterwards, but they kind of vanished. Maybe next time.

After the show, out of the kindness/stupidity of my heart, I gave a ride to some lady at the Hardee's drivethrough, since she said her car was nearby and it would take a minute. Once in, she told me her car was actually on I-40, and she also asked that I give her $10 extra for AAA or some bullshit. I told her no, and she then even asked if I wanted any sexual favors (I told her I was abstinent, which I'm not. This chick looked kinda like Janice from the Muppets, so noooo thanks). Some small talk happened here and there, which resulted in me just driving her across the street to Travel Inn and basically just ditching her there. Then I went to Waffle House afterwards and just ended up bullshitting with the dudes from Patriot for a while.

#12

Faith Collapsing (performing "Master of Puppets")
God of Lambs (as Lamb of God)
Champion of the Sun (as Iron Maiden)
Temple Destroyer (as Slayer)

@ Lucky's Pub 03/13/09

My first "tribute/cover" show was one of the most fun times I've had at Luckys in ages. First off, for a metal gig, people actually showed up. For the first time ever at Luckys, I actually couldn't move towards the front due to the amount of people blocking my way. Irritating, but still kind of cool. The amount of people I recognized, by face, by name or by both, was staggering. How come touring bands don't get a crowd like this?

Temple Destroyer was on first, playing as Slayer. They opened with Seasons in the Abyss and the crowd went pretty ballistic. Kids were stagediving, moshing, and circle pitting, all within the first two minutes. I couldn't help but smile. They went into Ghosts of War next, followed by Disciple, then the last three tracks from Reign in Blood (Epidemic, Postmortem, and Raining Blood). I couldn't hear the vocals all that well, but then again I didn't have a great view as it was. I also gave up trying to get pictures, due to not being able to navigate around people and someone spilling some of their beer on my camera. I'm sure its fine, but it still ticked me off. The set was pretty cool though.

Champion of the Sun went on next. I didn't even realize they took their name from "Dayman" until recently. Oh how I am slow. They went on as Iron Maiden. Heck of a band to cover. I hoped they had the vocal chords to pull that off, and they did a pretty commendable job. They played: Number of the Beast, Wrathchild, The Trooper, Dio's "Holy Diver," The Wicker Man, and Run to the Hills. It was awesome. I was standing near my buddy Daniel the whole time and we were just screaming our lungs out the whole time. I felt like shit after their set was over, but oh it was worth it. I might have to actually agree with my friends who said they stole the show.

To my surprise, Faith Collapsing were on next, whereas I thought they were going to close the show. After all, Mark from Luckys put THEIR name and their tribute front and center on the flyer for the show.



I suppose Mark didn't want to feel tired his set and still have to run sound, which is understandable. As you can see above, Faith Collapsing were doing Master of Puppets in its entirety. That was my main reason for coming, seeing as how MOP was one of the first real metal albums I ever got into, and it still stands as my favorite Metallica record. For the most part, they nailed every song. The vocal timing was somewhat off for the first two or three songs, but that was fixed pretty quickly. The tuning was also different, but again, its forgivable. I do have to say, I couldn't help but crack a smile when I saw some "holier than thou" hardcore kids sing to some classic Metallica (specifically the title track). I wished more kids had tried to start another circle pit, but I think most were beat from the Slayer set. It was heck of sight to see something like this, even though I know Metallica still plays their old stuff live.

About a good half of the crowd left afterwards, probably due to fatique or lack of interest in seeing a cover band do Lamb of God. I stood around, since I knew this was Mark from Luckys and the kids from Death Machine Weapons, who I always liked. Mark did a pretty damn good job as a frontman, and the kids seemed to be having fun (one of their guitarists also helped out with FC's set the same night). Robby Gill and I also seemed to have the same idea for this set: Mosh for Mark! So some kids got their chance to dance to Lamb of God, which is something that is nearly impossible to do these days. They played the first 5 songs from Ashes of the Wake, and closed with Vigil. Pretty good job guys.

Overall, I had a hell of a fun time at this gig. It always makes me happy to see Luckys packed, even though it means navigating and grabbing a good parking space is a pain.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure about the gigs I planned to attend this week. I'm trying to make Suffocation/Decrepit Birth on Monday, and the Carrier/The Bonus Army on Thursday, but due to lack of money at the moment, its looking highly unlikely for both.