I miss my bed. I miss my cats. I miss eating real food and watching trashy TV shows with my roommate.

Last night was a prime example of why I do what I do. My obsession with music and concerts is out of control. I feel like I haven’t been home in weeks because by the time I get home from a concert, I pass out only to wake up a few short hours later, go to work, and do it all again. Last night was some odd sort of justification of all that I’ve been doing.

It was a metal show with an amazing line-up. It was loud, it was fast, it was angry, it was refreshing. I know some people may think this kind of music is complete garbage. Majority of people just don’t get it. It just sounds like incoherent yelling with loud instruments behind it. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s loud and obnoxious but for some reason, I find peace in it and feel like I’m home when in the middle of it.

I have to be honest. I’m not a huge fan of any of the bands that played last night. I had seen Lorna Shore before and knew they slayed it live. I’m good friends with the guys in Buried Above Ground. Other than that, my expectations were low. I really need to stop that.

Every single band last night blew me away. The sound was on point. Each band was as heavy as the last and the energy of the bands never faltered. Because of this, the energy of the crowd was also sky high throughout the night. This made the show that much more enjoyable to watch.

I truly love watching people in a mosh pit. I love to see different styles of moshing and the new innovations are always interesting. There was a decent amount of people at the show last night but it was still super easy to see in the pit and I got to see it all. There was everything from your hardcore stompers to your good old fashioned metal moshers. Don’t know the difference between the two? Maybe it’s for the best.

Even when everything stopped after a kid got knocked out cold during The Last Ten Seconds of Life’s set, as soon as he was carried out of the pit by complete strangers, the energy came right back up as high as it was before. It didn’t scare people away, it didn’t make people want to leave. Stuff like that is bound to happen and you just do your best to take care of those who get hurt and then go right back to what you were doing.

Not only was the pit fun to watch, the musicians were fun to watch as well. Everyone on stage was full of energy and kept the crowd engaged whether you were in the pit or trying your best to avoid it. Although majority of the music was the same (and I mean that in the best way) each band seemed to have a different way of interacting with the crowd. Whether it was yelling at them to get moving, or expressing gratitude for coming out on a Monday night to see them, each band had nothing but praise for the Minnesota scene and that, right there, is why I do what I do. This scene is truly like none other in the country and I am so, so, so happy to be a part of it.

I can not stress enough how awesome it is to see my friends on stage doing what they do best. DJ and Eric from Buried Above Ground (formerly Thee Massacre) are some good friends of mine and it was so nice to see the crowd get so into their set. They brought up members of Immoralis and Portraits of War to help them with a couple of covers in their set which just promoted the idea of family. Keep your eyes on Buried Above Ground. There are huge and exciting things coming for this band and you won’t want to be left behind.

All of the touring bands were great last night and seemed to get the amount of respect that they deserved. It didn’t matter if you liked their band or not, everyone seemed to pay attention to either the stage or the pit and everyone cheered and clapped when songs were done. It didn’t matter that these bands were from out of state, they were all members of our family last night.

I barely got to sleep in my own bed last night. I’m pretty sure my cats don’t remember who I am. I’m super behind on my trashy TV shows (don’t you dare ruin America’s Next Top Model for me). I don’t know if my roommate is even alive. All that being said, at least I got to spend some quality time at “home” last night my family at a good old fashioned metal show.

Line Up:

CARNIFEX
WITHIN THE RUINS
LORNA SHORE
THE LAST TEN SECONDS OF LIFE
BURIED ABOVE GROUND
THE BIRTH OF AN EMPIRE

Venue- Amsterdam Hall

Sausage Fest Meter-  19 out of 10

Broken Bones/ Injuries- 1 kid got knocked out during The Last Ten Second of Life; 2 busted up hands

Average Age- 20

Crowd Surfers- 1 during The Last Ten Seconds of Life

Other Local Bands Spotted in the Crowd- Members of (but not limited to): By The Thousands, Immoralis, Portraits of War, Royal’z

Shout Outs- Sean Iredale-I hadn’t seen this kid in years. He used to work at Station 4 (a metal venue in Saint Paul that closed down awhile back). It happened to be his birthday yesterday. Sean, I hope you had an awesome time!