I didn’t know what to expect at last night’s show but I was more than pleasantly surprised with what I got.
The show started with local group Busey. The trio took the stage with instruments in hand and no pants on (no, that’s not a typo, they literally had no pants on). Their music was a bit thrashy and a bit sludgy like the other bands of the night. It was upbeat and had a very garage-rock feel to it but it was so much cleaner than other garage-rock bands I’ve seen. Their set, although short, was full of energy and fun. It was one of those sets where I almost forgot to get a picture of the band because I was so into the music that was coming off the stage.
The other local, Nightosaur, had the same effect on me. I was so shocked to hear such great music from a local band that I had never heard before, that I almost forgot that I was watching an opener for a show instead of a headliner. As they took the stage, I realized that, although they had pants on, now the band was without shirts and I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. The band stated that, because Busey had decided to go without pants, they would have to mix it up a little bit and keep the theme going so no shirts it was.
Nightosaur had a much more mature sound to them. I don’t mean mature as in no fun, but more just the influences of the band were obviously much older and more grungy that that of Busey. It was nice that the line-up was so diverse but yet all in the same genre. Each band that played brought a bit of a different sound to the night and it kept the concert fresh and kept me interested in what was going on. After a quick set from these guys, it was time for the headlining act, Goblin Cock.
I don’t know what I was expecting from a band named Goblin Cock but what it ended being was nowhere near what I had imagined in my head. I imagined something brutal and heavy. Something full of pageantry and seriousness. I definitely got the pageantry I was expecting but that’s the only thing I got right.
As they were setting up, the members of the band were dressed in matching yellow shirts, the same yellow baseball hats on their heads, and tour laminates hanging from their necks. This is definitely not what I expected a band named Goblin Cock to look like but hey, I was into it. The members took their time setting up the stage, getting the multiple strobe lights in the perfect spot and running the fog machine just enough to add a spooky little feeling to the room. Here were the theatrics that I was expecting and I felt myself getting excited for what was about to come.
The band members left the stage but quickly returned dressed in all black robes complete with black hoods. Now this is what I was thinking when envisioning a band named Goblin Cock. They got in their stances and I braced myself for what was sure to be something heavy and out of this world.
Out of this world, it was. Heavy, it was not. The music didn’t match the sinister look of this band at all and I absolutely loved that. Here these guys were, dressed in all black robes and masks, surrounded by too much fog and bright strobe lights, singing songs about Sesame Street’s Snufalufagus… talk about mind games. Their music was not as heavy as I thought it would be. It almost had an old school metal feel to it with some good old fashioned guitar solos and understandable lyrics… again, not what I was expecting at all but it was great.
The music blurred stoner-sludge metal with a bit of thrash and black metal. Each song seemed to have a different feel to it but they all just seemed fun. It seemed like the guys in the band were having fun and it was obvious that the head banging crowd was having fun as well. It was so refreshing to see a band on stage not taking themselves too seriously, but still showing off their talent. I’m not trying to make these guys sounds like a joke band at all (although they are signed to the same label as Lil’ Bub the cat). The members of this band are super talented (the singer is actually Rob Crow from Pinback) and, although some of their songs are about funny lyrics, there’s no denying that these guys are not just here to mess around.
The reason I went to the show last night was because of the name Goblin Cock. I was intrigued and had to see what they were all about. What I saw and heard was nowhere near what I had in my mind but it ended up being quite awesome.
Line Up:
Venue: 7th Street Entry
Sausage Fest Meter- 9 out of 10
Average Age of the Crowd- 35
Crowd Surfers- 0
Stage Divers-0
Broken Bones- None
Drunkards Taken Out By Security- None
Celebrity Sightings-None
Overall Score- 6 out of 10
Show on Deck- Every Time I Die/ Beartooth/ MORE!
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