As I stood in line outside the men's room at Aftershock on Saturday, I witnessed a group of strangers bonding over their military service. Enlisted men with close-cropped hair swapped literal and figurative war stories with shaggy veterans. The encounter made me proud to be a metal fan.
I paid $20 to bang my head and push and shove the other members of the capacity audience of 450. Emmure headlined a six-band bill that also featured Volumes, Thy Art Is Murder, Gideon, Sworn In and On The Shoulders Of Giants.
Thy Art is Murder, a gnarly Australian band, gave my favorite performance. Violent songs like "Reign of Darkness" and "The Purest Strain of Hate" almost incited a jubilant riot. There are worse ways to die than getting trampled in a mosh pit in Merriam, Kansas.
Tuscaloosa's Gideon was almost as riveting. Hearing the sweaty dudes in the mosh pit shout along to every hardcore outburst without breaking stride impressed me.
Volumes, the Los Angeles-based band I had been most excited about seeing, was enormously disappointing. I was surprised to find that the two vocalists were bros. I can live with that, but their total frat move antics and the band's thin sound were unacceptable.
When you're sandwiched between Thy Art Is Murder and Emmure, that weak sh*t just doesn't cut it. After all, "The Key To Keeping the Show Fresh Is… I'm Dead".
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My notes on Regina Carter's performance Sunday at Helzberg Hall are at Plastic Sax.
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Approach's 2013 album Make-Out With Violence is temporarily available as a free download.
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Mac Lethal meets Ellen.
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Gwar's Dave Brockie has died.
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Only Madlib's imaginative production makes Piñata, the bafflingly acclaimed album by Freddie Gibbs, bearable. Not a fan. RIYL: Shoutouts to TechN9ne, Jay Rock, Earl Sweatshirt cameos.
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"We Made It", a new track by Jay Z and Jay Electronica, is tone-deaf.
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My Hank Williams collection was complete- until now. The Garden Spot Programs, 1950 will be released in May.
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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.
(Original expert photography by There Stands the Glass.)
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