Before the show, at The Ottobar

Never been here before, but it’s a spot on the circuit so certainly The Ottobar is a familiar name. I expect that by the time the sun goes down later it’ll be a good deal warmer in here, and fair enough.

My first time in the space, my first time at Grim Reefer Fest. A little anxious as will happen. I ran into Mersch from Sun Voyager on my way in, did dad talk, which is probably what I’m good for these days. The first-face familiarity was a welcome reminder I’m here to enjoy myself. It was to some degree perilous leaving the house, and my car slipped on a wet Rt. 202 in the Flemington Circle and nearly ran into the driver’s side of a Toyota SUV — far be it from me to impugn the handling or traction of the Chevy Malibu, a car that’s as comfortable as a couch and gets the same gas milage, but you know — but beyond that, pretty smooth getting here for the three and a half hours of road time. I was in this town a week ago, if not the room.

But the fest is soon to start, and I worked really hard not to get here at like 10AM or otherwise stupid early, such is always an impulse to b fight. Hard to argue with 10 bands, though looking at that schedule above, I’m willing to bet that by the time Bongzilla go on, I’ll be rethinking various life choices, but screw it, it’s been a while since I got out and I need a day of having riff-forward audio dropped on my head. Desperately. These things remind us who were are, and, if we’re lucky, why. Ate half a gummy. Might disappear into a hole of myself for a while later, I don’t know. We’ll see what the afternoon brings.

So let’s see:

Blightbeast

Their first show, and they were likely the most aggressive band of the day, if not the heaviest, whatever that means at this point. They went to it hard, some bass trouble at the start, and tore the early crowd the proverbial new one. Solos were shredded, riffs were bludgeoned, screams were screamed, and a merry air of shenanigans pervaded, even with (because of?) the chicken bone necklace and bulletbelt on vocalist Phil Doccolo, who doubles as part of the team behind Grimoire Records. Blightbeast also share personnel with Haze Mage (playing later; it’s their party as I understand it) and Random Battles, among others. Everybody seemed to know them, but they were a heavy metal meatgrinder sound-wise, blackthrashing here and slinging sludge periodically throughout. I’m not sure they’d be my thing on record, but I don’t regret seeing their first show in the slightest, and if the record follows suit from the set, I retract my earlier supposition.

—

Holy Fingers

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, and from maybe as far afield as across town, Holy Fingers heavy folk-psyched their way into my heart. My admittedly limited experience of their studio work in this incarnation, 2018’s Holy Fingers II (discussed here), was irrelevant to the liquid progressions coming from the stage. With a guitar on either side, bassist/vocalist Tracey Buchanan held down both the brooding low rhythm of “Hunted” and from about there on, everything else today is gravy. That’s a band that needs to do a record. Like, today. Release that set. Anything, just take my fucking money. I don’t generally think of a band’s music itself as inspiring, but Holy Fingers made me want to write. In a field. On another planet. Three-sun day. Space birdsong and shit. Their setlist, which yes, I got, had six songs. I don’t know if they played all six but I lost time in there somewhere maybe. Mesmerized. Hell’s bells.

—

Faith in Jane

A resounding argument in favor of live music are Faith in Jane. Band is hot shit. So what, you say? They were hot shit seven years ago, you say? That’s true, and they’ve grown into themselves a little bit since then — they had a single out in March, if you’re up for studio documentation — but they’re still young and they’re more confident on stage. Guitarist/vocalist Dan Mize, bassist Brendan Winston and drummer Alex Llewellyn — I can’t help but feel like if it was 1991 or maybe even 1971 would’ve been scooped up by some major label by now and turned into household names. True, they would not be the first heavy band from Maryland to miss out on the commercial potential of another era, but Faith in Jane are on their way to being on-stage masters — again, a road they’ve been walking for a while now — and they’ve got like 15 records or some such and none of them suck. They picked up on the pastoralia and guitar nuance of Holy Fingers and found the only grunge-blues bar in existence to present them in. And I know Mize is a beast, he is, a genuine talent and a pleasure to watch play since he still puts his soul in it when he’s good enough to probably get away with not, but Winston and Llewellyn too, each one of them locked into being part of the trio. Classic.

—

Sun Voyager

Looked up and didn’t recognize Sun Voyager until I looked stage right and saw bassist Stefan Mersch. They’re using a drummer who played or plays in fellow King Pizza Records denizens The Daddies, filling in for Kyle Beach, who had a good excuse. Between that and still-new-to-me guitarist/vocalist Christian Lopez, they were two-thirds a new lineup since I last saw them, which is also since they released their self-titled LP (review here) on Ripple Music. Fill-in drummer and new-ish guitar player, plus the change in dynamic bringing Mersch to a more prominent role vocally, while Lopez’s voice is blown out through effects, it feels almost unfair to point out how much fun the set was since the band’s got so much flux going on and who knows what it’ll be next time. What’s going to happen with Sun Voyager? Forefront of a generation of East Coast heavy psych? Inheritors to Naam? Barely-upstate curio? I feel like it may take the next five years to find out. In the meantime, they’re doing the work, doing everything they need to be doing, including not forcing it, putting out killer records and burning even more barns on stages of rooms like The Ottobar moments ago, and no, I’m not going to fix that metaphor because fuck it biker space rock. Early headliners for me.

—

False Gods

They were a big change in vibe coming off Sun Voyager, Faith in Jane, Holy Fingers, but False Gods claimed the stage for their own and smashed it accordingly. The New York outfit are hardcore-rooted, sludge-adjacent, and aggressive enough in presentation to give Blightbeast a challenge in that regard. They bring the styles together though, so it’s not just a hardcore part then a doom riff then the big mosh break, but something of the band’s own made from those parts and impulses. They seemed happy to be here, and their 2022 album, Neurotopia, was no less dense. There are a few different presences within the four-piece, but that came together around some pretty mammoth groove and by the time they were done, they had well established dominance over the room, and by extension, the greater Chesapeake region. Vocalist fell to his knees — which, first of all, man, I don’t know which side of 40 you’re in but having had surgery in November and still wearing a brace here, take it easy on those knees — twice, which was a bold move but earned by the subsequent screams. That shit can make you lightheaded and I’m not even being a smartass. Safety first.

—

Wizard Rifle

Well, Nanotear has been right all along about Wizard Rifle. I had the feeling. The rest of us, you, me, we’ve been missing out. Or maybe not you since you’re cooler than I am. Me. I’ve been missing out. Fortunate, then, that the duo are on tour with Bongzilla, who are fellow clients of Nanotear Booking, the aforementioned agency who’ve been so thoroughly correct. Wizard Rifle, whose press shots I know better than their songs, took West Coast quirk riffing to its logical prog extension, and it was impressive energetically as much as technically. I wouldn’t say they laid waste, since they’re not really that kind of band, but in terms of style they’re firecracker heavy rock, bursts and booms set up in contrast to skyward sprints, but they’re dug in too and surprisingly immersive as they seem also to be testing each other and themselves onstage and with the material. I guess it’s time to go back and get with the records — there’s merch upstairs but I don’t want to leave my spot up front — because having seen that in-person, I’m interested to learn how it translates. Nothing says, “this was a very cool and fun rock and roll show” like assigning yourself homework.

—

Haze Mage

Well that was a win. Haze Mage didn’t take it easy on themselves, picking their own slot after Wizard Rifle, but they have a deceptive amount going on for a band who are also such a party. They’re metal one minute, weed-worship the next, classic doom, bit of char on the tremolo — it was a blast. Songs brought in some slide guitar, some tambourine, all in the name of differentiating the songs, and they had only the second standalone frontman of the day, and perhaps Matthew Casella was more subdued than he might’ve otherwise been owing to whatever apparatus that was on his leg — I’m telling you, you gotta watch out — it looked significant, but he still delivered in terms of performance, as all five of them did in their own way, guitarists Nick Jewett and Kevin Considine kind of on Planet Guitar together on stage left while bassist Scott Brenner took advantage of the extra space to boogie on his own side, John De Campos behind on drums, occasionally adding vocals. They were a trip, to be sure, and while I dug their March 2020 (oof) split with Tombtoker (review here), the really good news is most of what they played was new, so they should hopefully have some kind of release or another in the works soon.

—

Borracho

Could not possibly tell you the last time I saw Borracho, and I tried looking back. It’s been a while since I’ve or another doom fest but definitely it was before the pandemic, so I’ll say it’s been at least half a decade. Long enough, to be sure. The D.C. trio — guitarist/vocalist Steve Fisher, bassist/vocalist Tim Martin, drummer Mario Trubiano, as they’ve been since they first pared down from a four-piece to a trio like 11 years ago now. They posted two new tracks yesterday in kind of a space rocking feel, but they’ve got a new record coming out to follow-up 2021’s Pound of Flesh (review here), and it’s a Borracho record which means it’s the kind of heavy you can rely on. One consequence of my not watching them in however many years, I haven’t gotten to appreciate Fisher’s guitar face. He’s got the best one. It’s as though he’s telling the crowd, “oh gee, these riffs are really heavy I don’t know if I can roll ’em this time,” but then of course he does, with help from Martin and Trubiano. However long it had been, it had been too long. I’ll have more on their new record as we get there — at least I hope; would be some shit if I stopped covering the band after 12 years or some shit — but this was a blast as a herald for that.

—

Ilsa

Rumor had it Ilsa were quite, quite loud. Can confirm. Three guitars playing through full stacks, then bass, then shouts and screams, and drums back there giving the marching orders. I don’t know if Ilsa are the most aggressive band of the day or not — they’re more sad and pissed off at themselves about it, it would seem — but they’re both loudest and nastiest thus far, and their crust beneath their dark hardcore sludge metal will be a fitting transition to Bongzilla. They had the first mosh I’ve seen all day, though I’ll grant I haven’t turned around an awful lot to see either way. They were devastatingly heavy, in any case, and that’s clearly what they were going for. I’ve sort of casually followed their trajectory in the way one gets Relapse press releases, but can’t recall ever seeing them live before. And having seen them now, safe to say that’s something I would remember. Now homework? Could be, but that kind of volume push is hard to capture on a full-length and frankly, I’m tired as crap after standing in the same spot for the last eight hours and I finished my water bottle and can’t leave the front because I’ll lose my spot and so there you go. Ilsa punished that, I guess. Reasonable, somehow, and brutal in kind.

—

Bongzilla

I remember very clearly the last time I saw Bongzilla. Slushy April day in 2016 (review here), and they were on a bill with Kings Destroy, Black Cobra and Lo-Pan, presented by this very site. Good fun. So it’s been a while. In the interim, the Wisconsin band — who, yes, will absolutely trade merch for THC in any number of incarnations, many of while Muleboy listed from the stage — “anybody else do a dab today? you’re freebasing marijuana.” — have released one album in 2021’s Weedsconsin (review here), and their new one, Dab City, is due June 2. It sounds like fucking Bongzilla. And on stage? They sounded like fucking Bongzilla. Dirt-coated, weed-worshipping, slow, heavy nod. They are largely above reproach in concept or execution; were it not for the fact that they helped create stoner sludge, they might be out of the critical sphere entirely. It doesn’t matter. The day came down to the core message — get high, be loud — and certainly I’m not about to fight them on it. Bongzilla are statesmen of this. Ambassadors from planet Delta 9. Even if I had a complaint about seeing them again as they get ready to release a new album — and mind you, I don’t — no way in hell would I say so. Bongzilla need to make one of those bumper stickers in the ‘Virginia is for lovers’ design except it says ‘Bongzilla are for stoners.’ Yes, I just thought of that right now. Goodnight everybody!

—

Thanks to Scott Brenner and whoever was playing Genghis Tron and then Ween’s “Baby Bitch” between the bands. Thanks to the Holy Fingers crew for saying hi. Thanks to Chris and Lew for the crash spot. Thanks to The Patient Mrs., through whom all things are possible.

More pics follow the jump. Thanks for reading.

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Good one, Grim Reefer Fest. The 2023 edition of the Baltimorean all-dayer is the biggest lineup yet, showing some geographic reach in bringing Bongzilla and Wizard Rifle to proceedings — the former being in Wisconsin and the latter Oregon; one suspects they’ll be announcing a tour together any minute now, and if they do, they make a complementary pair — and rounding out with a sonically diverse cast of locals and regional acts, from natives Haze Mage and Holy Fingers to Borracho and Ilsa from D.C., Sun Voyager heading down from New York, and so on.

I’m gonna go ahead and put this one in my calendar. Seems like a pretty cool way to spend a Saturday. Drive down in the morning, see the show, find a spot to crash, leave Sunday AM after coffee and be home in time for lunch? That’s doable, right? I’ll talk to The Patient Mrs. before I start bugging the fest about it, but yeah, this looks like a good time and I’ve wanted to get down to one of these for a couple years now. In a universe of infinite possibilities, maybe 2023 is my year.

From the PR wire:

Grim Reefer Fest returns to the Legendary Ottobar on Saturday April 29th with our biggest and best lineup to date! Join us for the annual celebration of the high holidays, good vibes, and all your favorite variations of heavy music!

Bongzilla
Ilsa
Borracho
Haze Mage
Wizard Rifle
False Gods
Sun Voyager
Faith in Jane
Holy Fingers
Blightbeast

And as always we will have a food truck parked right outside the venue throughout the duration of the event to take care of all of your munchie needs!

Tickets are $35 in adv and $50 at the door.

Tickets can be purchased here starting 1/13/23 at 10am
https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/6831820
Doors at 2pm – Music starts at 3pm and runs all day and night

Poster by GhostBat.

We will not be live streaming this time around but we do hope to have all of the sets recorded and eventually uploaded to our YouTube Channel (where you can currently see all of our GRF 2022 performers).

https://www.facebook.com/GrimReeferFest
https://www.instagram.com/grimreeferfest/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BL9lkMWbIC2qaqWZ4LH8g
https://www.grimreeferfest.com/

Haze Mage, Live at Grim Reefer Fest 2022

It’s a big ‘un. And if you’re like me, there are a couple names that stick out from the poster below, particularly Earthride and The Skull. Both are tribute sets, of course. The Skull frontman Eric Wagner passed away in 2021 after complications from a covid-19 infection and the loss of Earthride‘s Dave Sherman just a couple months ago continues to be keenly felt in and beyond the confines of the scene he called home. Karl Agell (ex-C.O.C.) will step in for The Skull, while Scott Angelacos of Hollow Leg is set to front a rotating cast of players for Earthride. You would be hard-pressed to find a more fitting occasion for honoring one’s own, except perhaps this gig in a couple weeks.

Plenty of familiar, returning acts as well as newcomers. Hippie Death Cult and will travel from the Pacific Northwest, Switchblade Jesus and Doomstress make an appearance (not the first for either) from Texas, and Red Mesa come straight out of the capital-‘desert’ Desert. Meanwhile, Faith in Jane, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Mangog, Mythosphere, Thonian Horde, Spiral Grave and plenty of others represent the Maryland home team, High Leaf and Thunderbird Divine trip down from Philly, Curse the Son (CT) and Guhts (NY) come from farther north, Hollow Leg make the trip out from Florida, and Lo-Pan, Doctor Smoke and Brimstone Coven head over from the Midwest. That’s just off the top of my head. I’m not sure there’s ever been a MDDF pulling so many bands from different parts of the country, though of course international bands have featured in the past as well.

There are always some shakeup between the first announcement and the final lineup, but so far so good here. Any way it works out, Maryland Doom Fest has nothing to prove at this point. Guaranteed banger.

Here’s the poster (oy) and the lineup, the latter in alphabetical order:

 

Maryland Doom Fest 2023

June 22-25 – Frederick, MD

We are proud to present to you The Maryland DooM Fest 2023 lineup roster and 2023 promotional art!!!!

We showcase over 50 kickass bands bringing you heavy riffs over these #4daysofdoom!!

The centerpiece art was created by Joshua Adam Hart (Earthride, Unorthodox, Revelation, Chowder, Stout, to name a few).

Josh is a career tattoo artist and is currently scheduling appointments at Triple Crown Towson Tattoo. Schedule to get ink from him at info@triplecrowntowson.com

The incredible flyer layout, coloring, and design is by our very talented Bill Kole (make sure to check out his band Ol’ Time Moonshine)!!

Above the Treachery, Akris, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Bonded by Darkness, Borracho, Brimstone Coven, Cobra Whip, Conclave, Crowhunter, Curse the Son, DeathCAVE, Doctor Smoke, Doomstress, Double Planet, Dust Prophet, Earthride, Faith in Jane, False Gods, Flummox, Fox 45, Future Projektor, Gallowglas, Grim Reefer, Guhts, Helgamite, High Leaf, Hippie Death Cult, Hog, Hollow Leg, Hot Ram, Las Cruces, Leather Lung, Lo-Pan, Mangog, Mythosphere, Orodruin, Red Mesa, Severed Satellites, Shadow Witch, Smoke the Light, Spiral Grave, Switchblade Jesus, The Skull, Thonian Horde, Thousand Vision Mist, Thunderbird Divine, Unity Reggae, VRSA, Weed Coughin, Wizzerd

https://www.facebook.com/MdDoomFest/
www.marylanddoomfest.com

Lo-Pan, “Ascension Day” live at Maryland Doom Fest 2019

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Gregory March of False Gods

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play guitar and write songs for False Gods. I don’t really know how it happened, to be honest. Myself and Mike, our singer, were in another band called “skeletondealer” but I was playing drums at that time still. That band dissolved and there was a guitar still at our old rehearsal space so I wrote some songs and the rest, as they say, is history.

Describe your first musical memory.

I honestly don’t know. There was always music in the house when I was a kid. My mother would do local theater while we were growing up so it’s probably something related to that. Having her learning songs for whatever show she was involved in.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

My best musical memory was writing and recording our last record entitled “Neurotopia” which should drop this summer on Seeing Red Records. I’m very proud of this one. We upped the ante on this record, bigly.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

During the lockdown.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

To the poorhouse.

How do you define success?

Having the freedom to do as you please, whenever.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The Sisters of Mercy in NYC about 10-15 years ago, although I still love them dearly.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A living.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Communication of ideas and feelings. Connecting with an audience.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

A nap.

https://instagram.com/falsegods
http://www.facebook.com/falsegods1
https://falsegods1.bandcamp.com/

https://instagram.com/seeing_red_records
https://www.facebook.com/seeingredrecords/
https://seeingredrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.seeingredrecords.com/

False Gods, Neurotopia (2022)

I shudder to think of the poor bastard who, when this weekend is over, will have to mop up all the melted eardrums from the floor of the Cafe 611. With the expansion this year to four days — because again, the pre-fest yesterday was essentially a full night of the festival; 2020 pre-party on Wednesday? — Maryland Doom Fest enters a whole new echelon of being physically overwhelming. By the time Mothership went on last night, I was feeling it. Hard. Mostly in my back. And granted, they ran late and had some technical trouble getting set up, but I have the feeling that even had they been on time, I still would’ve been dragging my keester like the anchor it is.

But if that’s the case, it’s only true because the day was so goddamn good. Apart from not being allowed into Guido’s to see Benthic Realm because I didn’t have ID — my driver’s license got lost, I have no idea where or when or how, just looked in my wallet a couple weeks back and it was gone and the new one hasn’t arrived yet — and I guess the male pattern baldness, gray hair, wrinkles under my eyes and stiff, loping movements weren’t enough to confirm my age. “Sorry sir, you’re right. I’m actually three 16-year-olds in disguise as one old dude.” I respect the diligence, and the dude was just doing his job, so after a “seriously?” that was 100 percent genuinely asking if he was being serious, I wasn’t gonna make a stink, but that was a surprise.

It was a bummer though. Krista from the band I think had on an Obelisk t-shirt yesterday, and Dan‘s a really good guy all the time and being as I won’t be in Massachusetts anymore, let alone Worcester where they’re from, it would’ve been cool to see them. Nobody’s evening is made or broken by my showing up, but I wish I had caught their set. That’s all. It’s been a while since I got carded. Doubly so because I don’t drink.

That was the only snafu though, and otherwise, it was a have-my-cake-while-eating-my-cake-and-your-cake-golly-cake-is-good kind of evening as MDDF19 launched in earnest. It was a 6PM start, but the bill was stacked, so let me not waste time with tales of my own foibles.

Maryland Doom Fest 2019 night one:

False Gods

Oh they were mad. An angry start to the day to be sure. I give New York-based ultra-aggro five-piece crushers False Gods credit for coming up with the most excellent tagline, “If it’s too slow, you’re too young,” which is great, but for the most part, they actually moved at a pretty solid clip, taking aspects of post-hardcore and post-metallic intensity and putting them through a ringer of sludge riffs and tones, growls and screams cutting through. They’ve got a new two-song EP out called The Serpent and the Ladder, featuring, yes, “The Serpent” and “The Ladder,” and as frontman Mike Stack paced back and forth at the front of the Cafe 611 stage, his screams sometimes backed by growls from drummer Paulie Stack (let’s assume they’re related), the bass of Johnny Geirak offered density to underpin the more atmospheric elements of Greg March and Nick Luisi‘s guitars. A mid-set spaceout was welcome, but otherwise the chestbeating felt sincere and the impact of their sound was like a shock to the system. There would be no easing into the day, clearly. Welcome back to Maryland Doom Fest 2019. Now be pummeled.

The Druids

There’s another Druids, who are from Iowa and signed to The Company and who put an album out this year and made a bit of a splash with it. That’s not this The Druids, who are from here in Maryland and not signed to The Company but did put a record out in February called Totem (review here) that’s fully diggable in its blend of space and heavy rocks, a blend put to semi-psychedelic use in a we’re-actually-stoned stoner mindset. I had been looking forward to seeing them — not the least because Gary Isom (Spirit Caravan, last night with Weed is Weed, etc.) plays drums — and felt justified in that. Isom‘s pedigree notwithstanding, they’re young. And they sounded like it, guitarist/vocalists Eli Watson and Danny Alger and bassist Jeremy Dinges bringing a fresh energy to the material that, while not stylistically revolutionary, still benefited it greatly. Dave Davidson, who has worked the sound for every Maryland Doom Fest that I’ve been to, kept reminding them between songs how much time they had left, as though if he didn’t, they might get high and wander into a jam, never to return. Not great for keeping to a schedule, but I wouldn’t mind hearing that, either.

Kingsnake

Pro-shop, and I’m not honestly sure how much else needs to be said. Philadelphia’s Kingsnake kicked off a Pennsylvania threepeat on the Cafe 611 stage, and they did so with hard-edged, Southern-tinged heavy that seemed to roll out the funk of Clutch into a more forward drive. Hooks? They got hooks. Riffs? They got those too. And they deliver. I’ll always remember them for their roots in Sugar Daddie, but that was like 14 years ago now, so it’s safe to say in that time Kingsnake have come into their own, and what they bring is down-home heavy vibes, for the distinguished working gentleperson who, whether they’re sipping IPA or living the High Life, knows exactly what they want out of the experience. They marked the beginning of schedule collision between Cafe 611 and Guido’s Speakeasy, the second venue about 150 feet right on the next block (easy walk, nice to get a bit of non-doomfart air), but I caught both the beginning and the end of their set, and they killed it to a high standard. Their got-it-togetherness was well on display, and reportedly they’ve had new songs in the works for a while to follow 2016’s Resonance, so hopefully something comes out soon.

Spiral Grave

I’ve been tracking the emergence of Spiral Grave since the band announced their existence in the earliest moments of this year, and my first opportunity to see them live wasn’t one I was about to pass up. I walked right into Guido’s no problem this time — also part of what made it such a surprise later — as Spiral Grave were still setting up, but by the time they went on, that room would be completely packed. Not that that’s saying much — the space is intimate, to put it mildly — but still. They opened with their first single, “Nothing” (premiered here) and proceeded to give the assembled a preview of things to come as they move toward their in-progress debut album. The amalgam of Iron Man and Lord — quintessential Maryland doom meets oft-experimentalist Virginian noise chaos — works. Guitarist Willy Rivera (the Lord contingent) has beefed up his riffing style to suit the grooves of bassist Louis Strachan and drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann, and the underlying metallic sharpness in his work suits the vocals of Dee Calhoun well. They’ve been in my “look forward to more” category for a while. Only more the case after seeing them play. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were back here next year after the album release. Nor would I complain.

Backwoods Payback

Sometimes life is pretty sweet, like when Backwoods Payback plays. The West Chester, PA/Richmond, VA trio were here last year heralding the arrival of their Summer 2018 LP, Future Slum (review here), and it was only more of a pleasure to see them this time around because, you know, the more the merrier. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Cummings, bassist Jessica Baker and drummer Erik Larson have a reputation that precedes them here, and I don’t know if it was people who saw them at the last Maryland Doom Fest or who heard the record or what, but they packed the room out and had people singing along. Or maybe that was just me. Either way, they made highlights out of Future Slum cuts like “Pirate Smile” and “Whatever,” “Generals” and “Lines,” which closed out with its tense build, as well as what I’d swear was some even-newer stuff but was too ass-kicked afterwards to ask. If you’ve never seen them, their style is as much grown-up punk as it is ’90s-weird-kid, but it’s delivered with heft and heart that are second to no one, and they’re the kind of band who win people over. They didn’t have to do that at Cafe 611 — the room was on their side to start with — but the converted were plenty happy to hear them preach. There are very few bands I so much enjoy watching play.

The Age of Truth

No easy feat to be sandwiched on a bill between Backwoods Payback and Year of the Cobra with Lo-Pan still to follow, but Philly’s The Age of Truth wrapped up the Keystone triad with an unequivocal mastery of West Coast-style heavy rock meeting Northeastern noise crunch and aggression. Also repeat offenders from last year (review here), they remain entrenched in their righteous 2017 debut, Threshold (review here), starting with the immediate lock-in nodder “Come Back a God” — which still reminds me of Dozer, in the best way — as frontman Kevin McNamara pointed up to the sky, or at least the ceiling, and guitarist Mike DiDonato, bassist Bill Miller and drummer Scott Fressetto behind him were in go-mode from the start. For a band who haven’t spent months on the road — they’ve done plenty of shows, but not really full-on toured, and I don’t know if they want to or not — they rose to the occasion in such a way as to make me wonder how that might tie into their next record, if the tightness of their live presentation will be mirrored in their songwriting or captured output. Whatever they might have planned in that regard, they sounded ready to move forward, and in what, again, was a difficult spot, they shone, indulging a bit of drank in the process.

Year of the Cobra

Looking at their setlist after they played, I felt way better about how few of Year of the Cobra‘s songs I recognized while they were on stage. The Seattle two-piece will release their second album later this year as their debut through Prophecy Productions — I’m not saying I’m holding a spot on my best-of-the-year list for it, but basically I am — and though they’ve toured hard to support 2016’s …In the Shadows Below (review here) and the subsequent 2017 EP, Burn Your Dead (review here), including just recently with Lord Dying, I’m embarrassed to say I’d never seen them before. That fact has been gnawing at me, so I was relieved when they went on, and all the more so when they absolutely leveled Cafe 611. They played “Cold” from the EP and “White Wizard” from the first record as well as the title-track of their first short release, 2015’s The Black Sun (review here), but everything else seemed to be new, titles like “Ash and Dust,” “The Divine” and “Into the Fray” scribbled out to represent a barrage of low-end tone, wash of crash and increasingly nuanced vocal melodicism from Amy Tung Barrysmith. With Jon Barrysmith on drums, they were a nation-of-two duo whose time on the road was obvious in their we-do-this-all-the-time vibe, and my only regret of the evening was not buying a shirt. That’s something I’ll rectify next time, and yes, there will be a next time.

Lo-Pan

Come on, Lo-Pan. You know that scene in that one episode of The Simpsons from the ’90s where Homer joins not-Lollapalooza and Sonic Youth are there and they steal Peter Frampton’s watermelon? That’s like Lo-Pan stealing all the awesome and keeping it for themselves. As they absolutely tore exclusively into cuts from their new record, Subtle (review here), it was as though they were standing next to an empty cooler going, “Come on, Mr. Frampton! You’re not gonna eat all that watermelon!” It was my first time seeing them since they added guitarist Chris Thompson, which was a couple years ago now — look, I can’t make excuses; sometimes it’s hard being a human being, let alone leaving the house — and with their lightbars on the sides of his and bassist Scott Thompson‘s cabs, singer Jeff Martin in back giving a clinic in vocal dynamics and drummer Jesse Bartz bashing away up front, they did what Lo-Pan do: they destroyed. I don’t think I’ve seen them at any point in the last decade and not come out of it unable to name a more powerful American heavy rock band. I’ll catch them again in a couple months as they tour with C.O.C. and Crowbar — they’re doing a one-off in Teaneck, NJ; fuck yes — and I’m already looking forward to that. This is a band to treasure.

Pale Divine

So here’s the thing: Pale Divine just put out a record. Not this week, but last November they released their self-titled LP (review here), and as it was their first outing in six years, it’s totally unreasonable to think they might do another one anytime soon. Pale Divine doesn’t owe anyone anything. You know how the pre-fest was all the Stoner Hands of Doom bands? Well, okay. Pale Divine played that fest seven times, including the first one 20 years ago. But on the other hand… since the album came out, guitarist/vocalist Greg Diener, bassist/backing vocalist Ron “Fezz” McGinnis and drummer Darin McCloskey added Dana Ortt — who’ll also play his last show with Beelzefuzz this weekend — on guitar and vocals, and they’re just at another level for having done so. You could hear the harmonies between Diener and Ortt on vocals throughout their set, and the interplay on guitar was no less glorious. So yeah, Pale Divine, you don’t have to put out another record right this moment. Don’t feel obligated. But if you wanted to make that happen sometime in the less-than-six-years-from-now near future, I think it would really be for the best all the way around. The wax is barely dry on Pale Divine, so it’s not even fair to ask, but I’m asking anyway. Or at least a live record as a stopgap. I’d take a 7″. A demo tape. Something. Anything.

Mothership

You know why I like Mothership? They play both kinds of music: rock and roll. How are you gonna be dead on your feet when Mothership are playing? The Dallas power trio manifest the best of Texas’ heavy legacy and offer it up in kinetic fashion. Already this year they’ve toured with Death Angel, done a spot on the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest out on the West Coast, and been on the road with C.O.C. (review here), and that’s after doing Europe last Fall on a by-now-legendary stint with Elephant Tree and Stoned Jesus, so yeah, Mothership are basically on fire and after a late start owing to some non-intentional feedback and other technical whathaveyou, they played like it. They’ve basically been go-go-go since before the arrival of their 2017 third full-length, High Strangeness (review here), and their “Midnight Express” shows no signs of slowing. They’ve made themselves ambassadors for ’70s heavy without ever really dipping into retroism, and more than just ape what classic bands did before them, they take those lessons and push them forward onto new ground. I honestly don’t know when they would’ve had time to write a new LP or anything like that, but they seem to have a keen sense of how to keep their momentum going — spoiler: it’s by busting their collective ass — so I have to think they’ll get there sooner or later, if they can manage to stop long enough to hit record. Hard to imagine the tour offers stopping, frankly. I’ll admit I didn’t stay for the whole set, but even with the hiccup at the outset, there was no question they owned that room.

—

I guess it was like 2AM when I got back to the AirBNB? Something like that. I crashed quickly, even before pictures were done being transferred from my memory card, and slept until eight this morning. Saw nine bands on Thursday, 10 bands on Friday. Today’s Saturday and there are 11 at the Cafe 611 alone — more if I can manage to con my way back into the good graces of Guido’s — and that’s the busiest day of the thing. I am beat but upright, and very much in need of a shower. At least I got a toothbrush yesterday. Today’s need is Advil.

Good times, y’all. Thanks for reading. More pics after the jump.

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I don’t at all think you need me to tell you to go see Conan whenever the opportunity should happen to present itself. With the brand-newly-announced secret show with Yatra and False Gods at the Saint Vitus Bar as an offshoot from their tour with Black Label Society and The Atomic Bitchwax, that’s one more chance to do so. The UK three-piece have made a couple stops at the venerable Brooklyn institution at this point — I saw them there in 2015 (review here) — but it’s a sight to behold and sound to… well, have your ears blown out by. Their volume, in that room. Safe to say you’ll be hitting the water cooler in back by the bar once or twice during the set. Or, you know, just drinking more generally.

Conan continue to support their 2018 album, Existential Void Guardian (review here), and are working toward the release of yet another new record this year, all the while coming back to the States in June around an appearance at Maryland Doom Fest 2019 where, as one would expect, they’ll be headlining. Hard to argue with the logic there, and whenever I hear something about the next Conan LP showing up, I’ll let you know. Unless it’s a secret. I can keep secrets.

Not this one though:

CONAN – Semi-Secret Show at Saint Vitus Bar

CONAN Live:
May 09 Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino #
May 10 Brooklyn NY – Saint Vitus Bar
May 12 Richmond, VA – The National #
May 13 Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live #
May 14 Toronto, ON – Opera House #
May 15 Toronto, ON – Opera House #
May 22 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theater #
May 23 Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theater #
# = w/Black Label Society
* = w/Atomic Bitchwax

June 23 Frederick, MD – Maryland Doom Fest ^
June 26 Boston, MA – Great Scott ^
June 27 Portland, ME – Geno’s ^
June 28 Montreal, QC – Turbo Haus ^
June 30 Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class ^
July 01 Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups ^
July 02 Indianapolis, IN – Black Circle ^
July 03 Chicago, IL – Reggies ^
July 04 Rock Island, IL – RIBCO
July 05 Omaha, NE – Slowdown
July 06 Rapid City, SD – Haycamp Brewery
July 07 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
^ = w/Witchkiss

Lineup:
Jon Davis – vocals, guitar (2006-present)
Chris Fielding – bass (2013-present)
Johnny King – drums (2017-present)

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/hailconan
http://label.napalmrecords.com/

Conan, Live at Saint Vitus Bar, March 4, 2018