Before show

I feel like hard-boiled ass. I’ve spent the better part of the last three days in bed and would otherwise certainly be there now. But the thing is, I said I’d be here, and the awful truth is I don’t want to miss either tonight or tomorrow, but as I sit in the car waiting for doors to open about a block’s walk away, I’m not sure I’m gonna make it without needing to stop and rest, and I’ve no clue how I’ll get through what’s otherwise a pretty manageable five-band, done-by-10 evening. My stomach feels like it’s trying to digest coal. I can’t really eat and drinking water is a genuine fucking effort.

But I’m here. I made it, which feels like even more of an accomplishment than if it was just a regular day in my mid-40s, emphasis on mid. I didn’t even have the energy today to close out the week, taking the excuse that I’m writing tonight and tomorrow and posting tomorrow and Sunday so the week isn’t actually closed. But whatever, I wouldn’t have been able to hack it this morning anyhow. I’m not exactly hacking it now, either.

My only hope for the night is to take photos quick — ugh, the camera — and then go sit on the side or outside when it’s time to write. I need to conserve energy because I fucking have none and there’s still five bands to see. I honestly don’t know if I’m going to make it, and it’s not one of those just-anxiety, everything-will-be-fine-when-the-music-starts deals. I feel like shit, and I have for days.

Mind you, not that I think so much of myself that my presence makes a difference to the event. No one would care if I missed it. But I said I’d be here, so I’m here. It’s time to walk in.

Or not. A couple minutes on the line are good for the soul.

Inside, The Meadows is as I left it, a cool place to see a show. Not too big, which nearly everything else except the Woodshop next door is, and nothing too fancy, but good sound and well enough lit. Kind of a box, but I’ve been watching shows in boxes for decades, and don’t necessarily hold that as a negative.

The lineup for the evening would be Seismic, Afghan Haze, Glacier, Insomniac and Bongripper, and the theme is ‘Meditations,’ which is fair enough for the weighted ritualizing sure to take place. Here’s how that went:

Seismic

My first time seeing the Philly instrumentalists, and also their first New York show, but their debut album, The Abyss of Time (review here) is pretty fresh in mind after having written about it like last week. You’d almost think these things were planned in advance, which no, they’re not. They would make a crushing opener, but if you’re going to separate self from ego, a bit of crush is a good way to go. This was their release party, and they had due force behind their delivery for it, and they were loud enough that the floor was vibrating. Call that a win. Massive roll and even the open spaces retained a tension because you knew the next tone-drop was coming. In context, as much soothing as it was punishing, but to most human brains, probably entirely the latter. Somehow this is what I need, and my definition of fun is watching a band tear a hole in spacetime for a solid half-hour and then sitting and waiting around for it to happen again. Seems ridiculous when you put it like that, but the consuming heft wrought by Seismic was such that I was ready to exhaust my supply of synonyms for “heavy” at the start of the night. Screw pacing yourself, man.

Afghan Haze

So far, ‘Meditations’ seems to mean ‘you feel the bass in your chest,’ and honestly, yeah, I get that. Connecticut bashers Afghan Haze do not screw around: heavy, aggressive sludge and no, that doesn’t just mean fast, though they’re that sometimes too. It means they’re pummeling, and it was a treat to see them play to a crowd ready for what they have on offer, as one can imagine any number of scenarios in which, again, folks just wouldn’t get it. The steady roll and harsh vocals were the stuff of classic sludge, and I suppose you could say the same of the underlying hardcore spirit, but the noise made it stand out, and it was fun in that ultra-heavy kind of way. On a curated lineup, qith tailored intro videos and all, their purposes are a fit, and I guess all that slaughter is a bonus. I had to go sit for a bit while they played, but it was a pleasure to watch them destroy, and follow-up on Seismic in such a way as to keep ‘very, very heavy’ as a theme while at the same time going someplace else with it. They’re a harsh band, though, and they revel in that. There were a few moments where it seemed like they found the resonant frequency of the brick walls and the whole building rumbled. The place went off for it, as of course you would hope, and they shouted out Gavin of Gav’s Heavily Curated, who put the thing together, which was cool.

Glacier

The third band of the evening that I’d never seen before, which is a win for a five-band night, but I dig Glacier’s 2024 album, A Distant, Violent Shudder (review here), so I was about as excited as I could’ve been to watch the Boston mostly-instrumental outfit do the thing live, given the ass I was dragging. They played the whole album. Unlike Afghan Haze before them, Glacier were prone to offer moments of respite from their triply-guitarred nod, which made for a change of pace at the right time; a credit to the band as well as their placement on the bill. I still couldn’t hang and had to go outside and put my head in my arms for a while and do some breathing. Rain had come through and it was cooling off, but I could still hear Glacier where I sat, so I took my consolation as I could get it, feeling more and more like garbage with each passing minute. I drank some water but couldn’t bring myself to eat even the protein bar I’d brought with me, and at that point, I wasn’t sure I was making it to Bongripper. Nothing against them or Glacier or anybody, I just wasn’t sure if I was up to it after all. I probably should’ve stayed home. I went back in and sat on the side, let the volume wash over for a little bit. I wasn’t going to make it.

Insomniac

By the time they went on, I had accepted my fate, namely just as it says above: I wasn’t going to make it. I tried to hold on, but I got my pictures and had to go. That was it. To be honest, I was done before they went on, but they’re an important band to the night’s theme — not that The headliners aren’t — but I had nothing left. I made it a couple songs and headed back to the car for the drive home. I knew that wasn’t going to be pretty, and I knew that I would feel like crap about it — which, yeah, while I’m feeling like crap anyway, throw it on the pile — but I was glad I saw any of Insomniac at all. I would come back the next night and try again, and that was what it had to be.

—

Saturday morning

The walk back to the car sucked. Traffic sucked on the ride home. I made it back at 9PM — Bongripper would’ve been on stage and from the video I already saw they crushed in a wat that was very much the underlying point of the night — and was in bed before 9:30. I slept until 7AM when The Pecan came in the bedroom and stepped on my beard on her way to playing games on The Patient Mrs.’ iPad. Real life.

I still feel like garbage. I don’t know what the deal is. I thought it was my stomach reacting to new medication I’ve been on, but I stopped taking that already and I’m still doubled over. I don’t know. I don’t think I can get to Brooklyn again today, and though I’m heartbroken at the thought of missing Greenleaf at their first New York show, let alone everyone else playing tonight, I really can’t imagine physically making it. My goal for today is to message my doctor and see wtf I can do about any of this pain other than be miserable, complain, eat Tums, and go back to bed. I haven’t had a meal in like four days, either, but the thought of putting food in my body makes my stomach turn.

That’s where I’m at. Gonna try to eat some chicken broth today and go back to bed.

Tags: Afghan Haze, Bongripper, Brooklyn, Gav's Heavily Curated, Glacier, In the Key of Doom, In the Key of Doom 2026, Insomniac, New York City, Seismic

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026 at 8:29 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.