Ugly Music For Ugly People

I’ve been on a bit of a concert bender for awhile now but majority of the shows just haven’t felt right. I’ve been lost in a world of indie pop bands that my friends don’t really enjoy so I’ve been on my own at majority of the show. That’s fine. I love going to shows alone and experiencing new things but I have to be honest, I miss my “family”.

Not only was I surrounded by my family last night, I got to see some great bands completely tear it up on stage. It was rejuvenating in a way. I have been feeling a bit burnt out lately and to say I’m stressed and tired would be a huge understatement. I feel like death to be perfectly honest. But last night fixed everything.

See, that’s the great thing about these shows. I showed up alone but within minutes I was talking to people about the Behemoth show on Saturday and hearing what I missed out on when I chose Behemoth over the local show going on that night. Some of those indie pop shows that I go to I truly feel alone and out of place. It’s not that I don’t enjoy myself and don’t meet people that I end up hanging out with all night, it’s more that it just doesn’t feel like a family.

The show was full of great metal bands. There were locals, nationals, unknown, and legendary bands on the bill. Those are my favorite kinds of shows, the shows where there are all levels of bands on the bill. I really do love seeing friends of mine getting a chance to open up for huge bands in the scene. I know that the huge crowds don’t come in until the touring acts are about to play and that they venue may seem a bit empty during the local bands’ sets, but it’s still impressive to be able to say that you opened for a band like Dying Fetus. That being said, I obviously love being able to see these legendary bands in such a welcoming environment. Everyone is friends at these shows and everyone knows everyone. If not, you end up meeting more people than you will ever be able to remember.

One of my favorite local bands, Upon His Flesh, opened up the show. I have talked about these guys before and always talk about their drummer Matt. Matt is a force to be reckoned with and he killed it last night. Unfortunately, he has announced that he is leaving the Twin Cities to pursue some touring opportunities. I am more than happy for him as he is a friend of mine and more than deserving of this opportunity but he is the type of drummer that can not be easily replaced. He promised that he will be back and Upon His Flesh is currently doing work in a studio for an upcoming release but it’s still super sad to see Matt go, even if he’s coming back. Time will only tell what will happen to this band. I hate to say this, but Matt is irreplaceable. I’m interested to see if the band tries to find someone else or just waits until he comes back (that is, if he ever comes back).

The Acacia Strain was definitely the highlight of the night for me. I have seen them multiple times and they seem to get better and better each time. These guys have the energy you would want from a live metal band and the chops to back up that energy. The crowd went off and, for the first time last time, people started crowd surfing and stage diving. People pushed their way to the front as Vincent, their singer, dipped the microphone into the crowd to let people sing the words.

Vincent called his music “ugly music for ugly people.” Now, that may seem horrible and degrading, but there’s no better way to describe it. The music sounds like a cluster of sounds. Sometimes I don’t even know if you can call it “music”. The people that listen to this music are typically the misfits and the weird kids. So yeah, maybe “ugly music for ugly people” seems harsh but when you think about it, he is 100% on point with that statement.

One of the legendary bands to be on this line-up was Jungle Rot. These guys have been around since the early 1990’s but I had honestly never heard of them before. Their drummer on this tour just happened to be a friend of mine so I was more than interested to see what they were like. Parker Yowell, the drummer/friend, was absolutely amazing and, although he is much younger than the three other members, he held his own. It made my heart so happy to see such a deserving guy being able to play with such a great band.

Dying Fetus was the headliner of the night and for good reason. They are heavy, they are perfect, they are everything. These guys have also been around since the early 1990’s and I’ve had the honor of seeing them live multiple times. They are the epitome of a great death metal band what with their blast beats, complicated riffs, and growling vocals. Even with all of their line-up changes in the past year, these guys played great and you would have never known that there had been any changes in the line-up. They played like they had been playing together for decades and it was perfect.

I’m exhausted today. My foot is throbbing (kids, never wear Toms shoes to a metal show and stand near the pit). Even though I look and feel like hell, last night made my heart and soul happy.

I’ve been to so many shows lately but last night was the best… not because of the music… but because of the family. If I could have you take one thing away from reading this blog it would be this:

Metal music may seem scary. The kids that listen to it may look terrifying. The actual music may give you a raging headache. The fact of the matter is, the metal community is the best community on the planet. For some kids, it’s more of a family than their own blood. That is why last night was a (next to) perfect night.

Line Up:

Venue: The Cabooze

Sausage Fest Meter- 17 out of 10

Average Age of the Crowd- 21

Crowd Surfers- 5