This year’s decision to attend the Wacken Open Air festival came about under some excellent circumstances. My wife and I set our wedding date for August 1st, 2010 about a year ago, but it wasn’t until earlier this Spring that we realized that Wacken was kicking off just four days after our wedding day in northern Germany! Thus, an entire 3-week honeymoon trip of Europe was planned… all beginning with three days at WACKEN! Sound too good to be true? In retrospect, it really was. And I’m not just talking about the music here. The wonderful and hospitable village community, metal vendors, camping, food, beer, and countless conversations with friendly and open-minded extreme music enthusiasts of all ages from around the world really made this one of the greatest experiences of my life.

We were picked up by a bus company on the evening of Wednesday, August 4th in Berlin. Joining us were five Russians who had also flown into Berlin, all in their early-to-mid 20’s. The driver and his girlfriend were German, so some interesting conversation took place over the next few hours mainly dealing with language barriers and metal. When we arrived in Wacken around midnight, the head of the bus company (a scrawny German metalhead who was completely piss drunk) gave us our tickets and then gave us a lot of shit for recently getting married. He kept asking “ARE YOU SURE??? ARE YOU SURE???” and laughed hysterically, all the while still holding on to our tickets. He did this about five times (!). Although the guy was kind of funny, he was acting like a bit of a douche in my opinion, or maybe I was just ready for a beer after four hours in the van. Just as I was about to call him out on being a wanker and to give us our damn tickets already, he finally gave us our tickets.

AND SO WE HAD ARRIVED!

There is no way to accurately describe how large this festival is: 80,000 camping just outside the festival barriers, and add to that a few acres of stage/audience area, others areas for merchandise vendors, supermarkets, food courts and beer gardens inside the festival, and then picture the entire outlying village community also taking part in the festival with local residents happily working very well-priced food kiosks, portable bars, beer gardens (cranking metal), and craft tables stretching about 1-2 miles into the center of the village. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Day #1, Thursday 08/05/2010.

Breakfast and coffee went down well, and it was time for the grand introduction.

Only a few major bands in the evening today: Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, and then Iron Maiden headlining. I bought a couple of shirts as we browsed the hundreds of merch tents earlier in the day. As we went to grab some food and beer around lunch time, two Norwegian kids who were completely shit-faced decided to approach Kate and tell her how pretty she was (and how ugly I was). The whole thing was pretty damn hilarious… one of them even told us he was on his third bottle of Jack. The fact that anything more than two bottles is enough to put a kid like this in the hospital told me he was full of shit, but I went along with it anyway. Hey… it’s a festival!

I refused to take any photos of Motley Crue because frankly, they suck, and big surprise, their performance sucked too. Here’s a nice view of the dual stages AFTER they were finished playing (everyone seemed relieved that Vince Neil and his “Crue” of untalented pricks finally left the stage).

Didn’t see much of Alice Cooper, but his performance appeared to be quite good, with several bloody stage props in full use.

Iron Maiden played the exact same set as they did in Chicago a few weeks earlier (all new material) but the sound was far better and the audience didn’t appear to have the same cockroach up their ass like in Chicago. We didn’t watch the entire set, but it sure as hell sounded pretty damn tight to me… after all, it’s Iron Maiden.

And that was about it for Day #1. We drank some beer, chatted with a couple of highly intelligent German kids and a few blokes from London who were camping next to us, and then went to bed.

Day #2, Friday 08/06/2010

RISE AND SHINE!

Lots of music today! Excitement was starting to brew in my belly after the delicious eggs and coffee we had in the town. Amorphis was playing very early and we had to check them out. I’ve always been a fan of this interesting band from Finland, who have grown steady more melodic in recent years while still retaining a progressive/psychedelic vibe that is all their own. The set spanned from the classic “Tales of the Thousand Lakes” all the way through their new material. Great set.

We had an hour or two to kill next, so we decided to enter a section of the festival known as “Wacken Village”. This is basically Wacken’s answer to Reniassance Fair, with people dressed up in pilgrim and medieval attire and a few magicians doing bizarre stuff using metalhead volunteers as bait. It all seemed pretty harmless, until we noticed this poor bastard.

Possibly one of the best performances of the festival was next: VOIVOD. I saw them back in March in Chicago with Kreator and Nachtmystium (a bit of a drunken night for me) and it was a true honor to catch them again at Wacken with a few more brain cells intact this time around. The tones were immaculate, intensity was top notch. Snake was in full form and the audience was crazy. I will also say their new guitarist Dan Mongrain (Martyr, ex-Gorguts) is absolutely phenomenal and once again more than nailed Piggy’s complex and amazing riffage (RIP Piggy). Voivod killed it.

We caught a little bit of Kamelot, a power metal band with some decent pyro going on (criminal side note: a slothy, pseudo-hippie looking asshole tried to pick-pocket me during this performance, to which I screamed some awful obscenities to both him and his girlfriend in response. They backed off very quickly, and fortunately nothing got physical).

One of the funnier moments of the day was when the singer from Kamelot tried to get some audience participation going on during a Halford-esque breakdown… but suddenly this appeared, completely distracting the audience from singing along with him. Nice try anyway dude.

We then walked around some more and even caught a glimpse of (drum roll please)… A HEAVY METAL MARCHING BAND!

Next up was Tarja Turunen, former vocalist of Finland’s fantasy metal/melodrama-laced celebrity outfit Nightwish. My wife is a huge Nightwish fan, so we decided to check out Tarja’s set. We found it funny that Wacken placed Tarja’s performance at the exact same time as Arch Enemy’s, which we didn’t think was a coincidence at all. Although I was unfamiliar with Tarja’s material, her voice was absolutely stunning and the backing band was tight as hell, especially the drummer who was incredible.

SLAYER. The crowd went completely insane right off the bat. Fans flooded the entrances so rapidly that very loud announcements came on in German saying they had reached full capacity in front of the main stage. We tried to get in the entrance to the main stage anyway but were pushed back out by security. We managed to enter through a side entrance and walked through the back of the crowd toward a smaller stage, where Ihsahn was about to begin playing. Slayer sounded great, but it was difficult to get close to the stage or get a clear view of anything for that matter. Sounded good though!

We got inside a tent that housed the Headbangers Stage, where ex-Emperor frontman Ihsahn was playing. His backing band consisted of all six members of the Norwegian progressive outfit Leprous, who were also amazing in their own right. This was truly a highlight of Wacken: Ihsahn supported by a full backing band with two additional guitarists and three vocalists. All the guitar harmonies and vocal layers absolutely soared with greatness. I am now convinced, both on recordings and in a live setting, that Ihsahn’s solo material completely knocks anything Emperor has ever done out of the sky in just about every musical aspect imaginable.

We were dead tired after Ihsahn since it was after 1am, so off we went back to the tent to rest up for the final day… but not before checking out Anvil for a few minutes. Lips was in the middle of an interesting rant about how he’s not a metalhead, but actually a hippie, and then the band jumped right into “Weed Assassins”. We figured that was a pretty good cue to go to bed.

Day #3, Saturday 08/07/2010.

Not quite as crazy of a band schedule on the final day, although there were a few highlights: Unleashed, Cannibal Corpse, and the mighty IMMORTAL closing out the festival. I started drinking beer around 11am (hey, it was the final day) and spent the first few hours after breakfast walking around the town stopping at various beer gardens in order to try every different kind of German pilsner that I could get my hands on before the rock started. In retrospect, it was a fun but the daytime drunkenness also made me forget to put sunscreen on, which resulted in both physical sunburn pain and emotional torment from fellow festival goers later in the day.

We arrived to the stage area just as Unleashed was setting up on the Black Stage, and as you can see there is no sign of anyone leaving Wacken just yet.

Unleashed kicked my ass. Here is a band whose roots go back to Nihilist, some of the earliest and nastiest 80’s Swedish death metal imaginable – and whose demos became highly influential to scores of extreme players following them. While Unleashed has always been simple and to the point, twenty years of this kind of intensity definitely shined in a great performance. The crowd loved it too.

We had a bit of time to kill, so we went to the Wacken info center and charged our cell phones for a while. We had a very long conversation with an Israeli guy who was very friendly so we started buying him beers, and then a Wacken staff lady came up and put sugar crystals on my tongue (???) to help my sunburn. Huh? We bid our farewell to the Israeli dude and headed back out to the stage area and at this point several Germans and additional Wacken staff gave me a lot more shit for my sunburn as we walked toward the stages. Sorry everyone… I DIDN’T REALIZE IT WAS FUCKING ILLEGAL TO GET SUNBURNED IN GERMANY.

So go ahead and laugh… everyone else did (FYI – I enhanced this photo for self-deprecating purposes). I guess it is pretty damn hilarious looking at it now.

Anyway, Cannibal Corpse was in the middle of a very crazy set. I’ve never been the biggest fan of this death metal machine of a band, but they sounded tight. I also enjoyed the singer’s extremely dry sense of humor in between songs… genius in fact.

As Cannibal was rocking, this was also an entertaining sight and literally came out of nowhere. What do they call this? Tube surfing? (sorry, lame joke)

We then ran into these two idiots walking around behind the crowd as Cannibal finished their set. Performance art, perhaps? Nah… more like wankery.

We had finally made it to the final act of the night… IMMORTAL. By this time my wife was also pretty lit up from the beers (I think she deserved it after dealing with my intoxicated ass all day up until that point)… and so IMMORAL began.

IMMORTAL was one of the most intense sets of the weekend, if not the best of the entire festival. I missed the infamous show with Manowar several years ago that all my friends caught in Aurora (IL) so the anticipation for this was huge. Little did I know that three individuals could create such a monstrous sound, surpassing Slayer and probably every other act on the main stage during the course of the festival.

Then suddenly these guys decided to have a little too much fun… RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. Not sure how IMMORTAL would feel seeing what these fans were up to during their performance. Talk about disrespect!

And so the music was over! Actually, Soulfly was playing dead last, but sorry Max… we had to get to bed. A midnight snack before sleep sounded good.

We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, ditched the tent, grabbed a bagel and coffee, and made it on the bus by 9am.

In summary, this was easily the best festival I have ever attended in my entire life… period. If you like extreme music and great people, do yourself a favor and check out Wacken Open Air sometime before you die. I’m not sure what else to say – check the line-up, be sure to buy your tickets early, and have FUN. We were in Europe for another 2 1/2 weeks after Wacken, and this was a great place to start.

Finally, here’s a quick video that my wife shot of our neighbors in the campground sometime during the last day of the festival, which pretty much sums up the entire experience.

WACKEN!!!!

Mark’s Review:

Even though most of their programming revolves around reality competitions for the next Hawaiian Tropic Girl or Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, I surprisingly never watch the channel HDNet. So, it’s anyone’s guess on how I stumbled upon this concert while flipping through channels, but I guess when you see Rob on a Harley, you stop and take note. I had high hopes, because the last time I caught a concert on this channel, it was Megadeth’s Blood in the Water, which was unreal in sight and sound. The Priest concert was about an hour long and features the 4 original members and Scott Travis cranking out British Steel in it’s entirety, along with a few other choice hits. The show was taped in Florida during last summer’s tour to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the album, which is astounding when you think about it. Now, I’m of the belief that British Steel is not the best Priest album, but I was eager to hear live renditions of some of the deep cuts. Overall, the show looks and sounds fantastic, and if you’re willing to put up with the shortcomings that time and age have bestowed on a heavy metal icon, then it’s a very satisfying Priest experience.

The concert is filmed in full HD glory, and although the thought of seeing K.K. Downing in 1080p is frightening, the presentation does an outstanding job at capturing the intense light show as well as the interesting costume choices made by the band. The camera work and editing of the show is also great. We catch every Scott Travis drum fill, Glenn Tipton pick slide, and Ian Hill… well, just standing in the back being Ian Hill. But the element that stands out is the sound, especially from the guitars. That over-driven, synth-like distortion generated from the twin guitars comes through so bold and loud, every song is made heavier and better from it. The sound is so metal, and so Priest, and they use it to their advantage to thicken up typical borefests like United and Living After Midnight. It’s amazing to me how Downing and Tipton don’t get more respect in the guitar and metal community. Maybe it’s because there are two of them, or that Rob is really the figurehead of the band, but their playing is effortless and flawless during the concert. The fact that they’ve been able to adapt and mold their signature sound to remain heavy while retaining the vibe of the early days should also be saluted. Some may say Rob’s return to the band gave them a new spark, but I firmly believe that without Scott Travis the band does not have the same power or longevity. He’s the ultimate metal drummer and the perfect backing pulse for the rest of the band.

Which brings us to Rob, who is showing that singing in his range is a very hard thing to do night after night when you’re almost 60 years old. I’ve seen Rob on the past few Priest tours, and although he’s using more effects to stretch his signature wails and screams, he still delivers. I’m sure they needed to tone down some of the effects for post-production on this concert, but he seems to play it very safe, avoiding all higher notes in fear of having a voice crack immortalized on film. Usually this isn’t a bad thing, but during You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise, and Hell Patrol, the songs feel a little incomplete because they miss these dynamic vocal moments. The Ripper is pretty bad without these high notes, and when compared to the legendary performance on Unleashed in the East (quite possibly the best “Rob note” ever) it’s laughable. Also, while the other members have stayed in relatively good shape, Rob seems to have packed on at least 50lbs. He wears layers of denim and leather to cover his now-massive gut, and he stumbles around the stage in a way that he might think is menacing, but in reality is unintentionally humorous. I understand that icons get old and things happen, but Rob’s leaving himself open for criticism since he started referring to himself as “The Metal God“.

The concert is airing all week, and HDNet has a cool website that allows you to search for this show and add it to your Google Calendar. It’s definitely worth a viewing for the camera and sound quality alone. Just make sure you understand you’re getting 2010 Rob, not the one from the Breaking the Law video.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “Oh, hi Rob… sooooo, um… having trouble hitting those high notes eh? hmmm… yeah… that’s tough… kinda sucks doesn’t it?… oh well. ttyl.
- KD”

Ed’s Review:

When Mark first posted a note on Facebook regarding this show back in the fall, I have to admit I nearly shat myself while simultaneously letting out a massive spew of deranged and uncontrollable laughter into the calm air in front of me. Was this really true? Could all of these amazing musicians really be teaming up for one of the most rocking prog tours ever to grace the highways of our broken and depressed nation? Indeed… and after confirming with various other online metal sources that this tour was really happening, I made the decision that only a really sexy case of the swine flu (or some other poxy microbacterial agent) was the only possible thing that could derail me from witnessing this amazing night of rock in Chicago, and fortunately I was fit as a fiddle come showtime.

We warmed up early at Rock Bottom microbrewery (which is now becoming a ritual before most HOB shows, since it’s only two blocks away)… I started off with a martini and then moved on to a few glasses of their delicious 10% abv Russian Imperial Stout. We cleared out around 5pm to catch Scale the Summit, but in typical House of Blues fashion (and the Metro does this also) Scale the Summit were forced to begin playing right as the doors opened, and the line of kids was still all the way around the damn block. We were at the end of the line, so by the time we got in the door Scale the Summit only had about three songs left in their short half hour set. Fortunately we were able to catch “Dunes” which sounded amazing, as did “The Great Plains” – a fantastic song in which the glorious dueling guitars of Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier cut through the club in perfect synchronicity. STS is a great band, and they sounded great this evening.

I don’t know if anything could have prepared me for what was coming up next.

Devin Townsend has not performed live in almost three years, and the busiest man in metal is currently smack in the middle of recording and releasing not one but FOUR new studio albums (the latest being #2, Addicted featuring the extremely talented Anneke Van Giersbergen on vocals, formerly of Dutch metal-turned-gazer arena outfit The Gathering), so one could only wonder what this live performance was about to consist of. Sure enough, Devin stormed on stage and blasted into his set armed with a clean, stripped down 4-piece rock band and sounded more intense than I’ve ever heard in the past. Perhaps his new found sobriety has actually strengthened his focus and notoriously powerful stage presence (Metallica could learn a thing or two from Devin these days) or perhaps his mind-blowing vocal range and excellent songs are just that great to begin with, but this was one of the most striking performances I’ve seen from anyone in years, let alone Devin himself. “Supercrush!” sounded great, as did “Kingdom“… his vocals soaring over the huge guitar tones and spot-on drumming that brought about a whirlwind of crushing epic space metal clarity, almost as if a parallel universe were temporarily created inside the club. I found myself simply busting into random spurts of laughter and amazement throughout this set, which hasn’t really happened since seeing Slayer or Helmet back when I was a wee lad in diapers. Thank you Devin for the best live performance of the evening, and one that will most likely be placed in my favorites for a long, long time to come.

Cynic took the stage and sounded good, although vocalist/guitarist Paul Masvidal appeared a bit tired and the songs seemed to be performed at a slightly slower tempo than on the recordings, which was interesting but didn’t exactly serve the songs very well. The set consisted almost entirely of Traced In Air material, and it was very nice to hear “King of Those Who Know” which they did not play during their last visit on tour with Meshuggah a year ago. They also performed a brand new song which sounded great and had some very spaced-out, delayed-guitar licks with lots of interesting melodic vocals from Masvidal as well. Overall Cynic played a tight set, but I thought last year’s performance opening for Meshuggah was far more dynamic.

Between The Buried and Me finally came on last, and considering about 85% of the all ages crowd showed up to see this band, we decided to head for the bar in the very back of HOB and watch a few songs from there in order to avoid the amped up and hormonal adolescent crowd. Of course, this overly-talented band sounded and performed at the top of their game, busting out plenty of material from their newest opus The Great Misdirect and sending almost the entire HOB floor into a huge moshing frenzy. However, my mind was already charred from the opening acts… and I still couldn’t help but think about how much Devin Townsend simply blew everyone else off the stage.

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “With this much PROG in the air, there’s a decent chance I could resurrect Melissa by night’s end!”

Mark’s Review:

People will tell you that becoming a new parent is one of the best things ever.  They say it will make you a better person and strengthen the bonds you’ve made with your spouse.  For the most part this is true, but what they don’t tell you is that for the first year, you’re trapped in the house, worrying about money and craving sleep.  You also try to be there more for your significant other, because now more than ever, you’re a team and you need that emotional support.  But, I’m still learning on how to do this “Dad” thing, so when I learned of this tour, I gleefully left my wife and our 3-month old daughter for a late night of beer drinking and progressive metal at the House of Blues.

You’ve heard me rave about Scale the Summit before, but seeing them play live was absolutely awesome.  They only played five songs, and we missed the first two because we were standing in line waiting to get inside the House of Blues (succumbing to their completely asinine policy of starting the show exactly when the doors are opened).  Luckily, we pushed our way past some girls and teenagers and were planted center-stage when they fired up one of my faves from Carving Desert Canyons: Dunes.  The song is huge, with harmony guitar tapping weaving it’s way through the final minutes, and the band nailed ever nuance effortlessly.  Flanked by scrolling LED amplifier-marquees, their performance of City in the Sky made me realize how much I sucked playing an instrument at their age… and how much I still suck now.  I liked them so much, I bought one of their t-shirts after the show, which is something I haven’t done in at least 10 years.

The man of the night was Devin Townsend.  I’ve seen him lead Strapping Young Lad a few times, but I’ve been anticipating seeing him play his solo material for years.  Once this show was announced, I made sure my calendar was cleared, because there was no way I was missing it.  The last time I saw Devin at the first Sounds of the Underground tour, he was “under the influence” and apathetic as he signed my ticket stub at a meet-and-greet.  Now, he’s freshly bald, clean and sober, and seemingly more focused and driven than ever.  Showing how powerful modern music technology can be in the hands of someone with a real dangerous knowledge of it, he used a MacBook Pro to trigger the chorus effects and keyboard accents and made his band of four members sound like ten.  His voice soared and slayed during Kingdom, and his rendition of Supercrush! made me forget the Anneke Van Giersbergen vocals featured on the album version.  The set ended with Ziltoid’s By Your Command, which completely crushed the audience full of Devin geeks and new converts who stood wanting more from the Canadian metal genius.  A note to Devin: I could’ve dealt with at least 2 more hours, 30 minutes was way too short.

Cynic was solid, but after witnessing the grandness of DTB, they seemed like a letdown.  Although still amazing, the band seemed to be on cruise control and lacked the same intensity they displayed last February when they opened for Meshuggah.  Sticking mostly to Traced in Air material wasn’t a bad thing, because King of Those Who Know was the highlight of their set, but I kept holding out for a rendition of Uroboric Forms that unfortunately never came.  They also debuted a new song Wheels Within Wheels which displayed a heavy Porcupine Tree influence, while remaining distinctly Cynic.  One thing is true, I’d like to subscribe to Paul Masvidal’s newsletter on leading a balanced life, because that guy really seems to get it.  I’ve seen them twice in about a year at House of Blues, and am beginning to feel that they deserve a headlining show at a venue like the Park West that caters to their fans and their sound.

After all this, Between the Buried and Me was an afterthought.  I like these guys, but I really can’t get into their “cramming as many complex and irrational musical themes together into one song” style of songwriting.  I want to get into them, but it’s hard when they keep interrupting awesome metal riffs with polka interludes.  We stayed for a couple of songs, then left to see the end of the Vikings-Saints NFC title game.  We had perfect timing, we saw Favre throw the interception, the final field goal in overtime, and an over-served, 50-year old man fall down the stairs.  The truly amazing thing is that my bill for parking ($33 for 7 hours) and one, 24oz Miller Lite at the House of Blues ($10+ $1 tip) was more than the cost of the ticket ($20 with fees) and my Scale the Summit t-shirt ($15)!  There I go… worrying about money like a true old man.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “I was going to make it to this show, but was too busy cutting some tracks for the new Usurper!”

Justin’s Review:

Man, what a night for metal in Chicago. I found myself double-dipping this evening, as this also happened to be the same week that Until the Light Takes Us (review to come) was playing in our fair city, so I knew it’d be a tight squeeze trying to make the concert on time. Sure enough, I walked in right as The Binary Code was moving their gear offstage. Bummer… cause after picking up their album a few weeks ago, I was actually looking forward to seeing how they pulled off their spazzy/melodic hybrid live. Word has it that they were pretty rockin’, so I guess I’ll be checking them out next time they head through.

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that I’ve become somewhat of a Revocation fanboy, so I was pretty stoked on finally getting the chance to check them out in person. Just as I expected, they slayed. Taking the stage as a four-piece (!), Revocation blasted through a set of new and old alike, showing us Chicagoans that Boston has more to offer than just Converge and clam chowder. The folks at the Empty Bottle took their sweet-ass-time pulling the sound together, but by the time Dave Davidson ripped the solo for Pestilence Reigns, the sonic assault was full-on.

One unfortunate side effect of such sheer awesomeness, is what I like to refer to as the “Bro-Pit.” Your typical Bro-Pit features roughly 5-10 dudes (usually above 250lbs) who love moshing and hate respecting other people’s space. The basic ritual involves a series of bull-rushes, followed by a smattering of drunken hugs. While at times, mildly entertaining to watch, this evening’s Bro-Pit became problematic for anyone within a 20′ radius of the stage. Now I realize that metal + beer = sheer testosterone, but come on guys… if I wanted to know what it felt like to have someone fat and hairy constantly slamming into me, I’d have stayed home and dry-humped a mirror. Regardless of minor annoyances, Revocation definitely brought their A-Game, and I’d highly recommend checking them out when they head through your area next. Believe the hype!

Last up this evening was Hypno5e, who I really knew nothing about, other than that they take a long-ass time setting up their shit. When they finally did hit the stage, the crowd (myself included) was waning. Two songs into Hypno5e’s Soulfly-meets-Isis impression and I was ready to head out. Sorry guys… time to hit Control+Alt+Delete on that Pro Tools rig of yours.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “Metal as Art indeed… as Revocation are the Michelangelo of the Thrash Renaissance!”

Ed’s Review:

I happened to be checking the Empty Bottle website a few weeks ago and became instantly excited to see that Boston’s Revocation were planning on stopping by our city to play one of EB’s infamous free Mondays! Of course, I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of shape I would be in coming off a two-day annual party thrown by friends and local rockers American Draft known as The Fried Chicken Social (from which I regrettably suffered from some scary spots of memory loss and other mild drunken idiocy… my apologies to those who bore witness to this). But fortunately by Monday I was in top shape and even got a half hour in on the treadmill prior to the show (go me!). This Metalsucks.net sponsored tour also featured another up and coming metal band from New Jersey called The Binary Code, who I was equally excited to see after purchasing their incredible debut album “Suspension of Disbelief“.

The Binary Code took the stage a little after 9:30 and kicked things off nicely with an energetic set of progressive thrash/death metal. For being a relatively new band, these guys definitely know what the hell they are doing. Excellent guitar interplay kind of reminded me of Meshuggah (tech-wise) and Necrophagist (velocity-wise), with a decent and not too overbearing vocalist adding to the heavy and often quite complex vibe going on. The mellow breakdowns are very reminiscent of Cynic for sure, but well written and executed. I can definitely see these guys coming into their own style in the future and blowing plenty of minds along the way…

I really didn’t know what to expect from Revocation, since we’ve all heard some extremely polished records coming out of the thrash revival lately, and sometimes it’s a bit difficult to tell if this type of aggro-thrash can be replicated decently in a live setting or not. Well? This band was AMAZING, mainly due to the very charismatic and hugely entertaining antics of vocalist/guitarist David Davidson. Not only is this guy a complete shredder both in rhythm guitar precision and lead playing, he does it in such an effortless manner that even heavyweights like Gary Holt of Exodus would be more than impressed. The album kick off track “Pestilence Reigns” sounded great, as did the killer “Dismantle The Dictator” which may have given me a bit of temporary but tolerable whiplash. “Anthem of the Betrayed“, probably my favorite track off the new record, sounded even better live… causing an eruption of ridiculous dancing across the floor of the club (I actually got hit square in the chest at one point by the singer of The Binary Code… it’s alright brother, you are forgiven). Most importantly? This band genuinely seemed to be having a good time on stage – which is exactly what thrash metal is all about, right?

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “While the rest of city was watching CSI, I got my brain scrambled by REVOCATION!”

Take a Look:

Ed’s Review:

I have to admit I was beyond psyched when I heard Baroness was coming to Chicago on Black Wednesday, mainly because (1) it’s the beginning of a four day weekend, (2) Reggie’s is a great rock club, and (3) this band has created, in my opinion, the best hard rock album of 2009. These three reasons combined with a slew of friends that were attending (I think I ran into ten or fifteen people I knew at this show) made for quite a spirited and festive kick off to the Yuletide season indeed.

I arrived early with a friend and managed to catch the entire sets from openers U.S. Christmas and Earthless. We had a bit of a rough time enjoying U.S. Christmas, mainly because the guitarist/vocalist (who bore a striking resemblance to Jesus) had an interesting vocal ailment going on. In fact, we couldn’t really tell if he had a throat problem or if this was his actual voice, which is never a good question to be asking when watching a band play live. Earthless pretty much rocked it, and although their set sounded like one long 45-minute song, I heard everything from Blue Cheer to Ozric Tentacles to Swervedriver within this band’s frenzied style – a very satisfying, pulsing, and ultimately aggressive psychedelic rock experience.

Baroness finally took the stage and tore into a heavy-weighted set that oozed with confidence, almost to the point that at times it sounded simultaneously heavy and mellow, the way you would picture a secret tribal ritual full of bonfire guitar acrobatics and miles of dancing intoxicated beardos. They ripped through most of “Blue Record” with the obvious standout tracks “Jake Leg” and “The Gnashing” being highlights for sure. The chemistry between guitarists John Dyer Baizley and Pete Adams has definitely grown to a telepathic level (which could have contributed to the sense of aforementioned clockwork perfection going on) combined with their dense yet matching tones – creating a wall of sound almost peaceful in it’s collective desire to be unleashed upon the sold out crowd. Gone are the ear-piercing rough & tumble antics and sheer intimidation of the band’s earlier gigs a year or two back, as they now seem to be favoring a much more controlled chaos in an effort to reach complete tonal perfection, as if they are gearing up for something much more monumental – or apocalyptic – than simply moving on to the next city or on to the next club. And whether or not Baroness is trying to signal the beginning of the end of the world in sonic terms, or simply conveying a fresh and very ass-kicking new thread of hard rock music, it’s obvious that this is a band who is at the top of their game right now.

Ed’s Rating:

King says: “A Bullheaded night of ROCK in Chicago, for sure!”

Mark’s Review:

About a year ago Baroness played in Chicago at Reggie’s Rock Room, and after they were surprisingly omitted from the Opeth show a few weeks earlier, I was very eager to see them.  Well, for some reason, financial or female, I ended up not attending and soon regretted my decision because Baroness put on an unbelievable live show.  To me, it was a missed opportunity to see probably the fasted-rising band in metal play a small club just as they break into the “next level”.  Well sometimes a little patience and perseverance pays off, because after the release of probably the best metal album of 2009, Blue Record, the band announced that it would be returning to Reggie’s on the supporting tour!  Adding to my good fortune and timing, the show date was on “Black Wednesday”, a notorious night for bar drinking that makes Thanksgiving even more awkward when you surprise your family with your brand new DUI.  The stars had aligned, and it was well worth the wait.

Unlike Ed, I skipped the two opening acts playing in the main room and treated myself to some $3 Stellas at the adjoining bar.  Unfortunately, I was also treated to a power trio playing CSNY’s Deja Vu in it’s entirety.  A ballsy endeavor for sure, but their accomplishment was cheapened by eliminating any challenges the complex vocal harmonies might pose by playing them on a 12-string guitar.  After wishing that they just get to the “doo-doo, doo-do-DOO” part (the only iconic CSNY refrain I could conjure), I grabbed a Foster’s Oilcan and headed back next door to get a spot for the show.

You know that Baroness is a band that is truly at a crossroads when in front of a packed house of fans, they lug their own gear on stage, set up, then slink off to wait for their intro music to begin.  Opening with The Sweetest Curse and then quickly jumping into Jake Leg, the band was in complete control of the crowd and the moment.  The new material was dialed-in from only a few months of fresh touring and driven by the strained vocals and frenetic guitar noodling of John Baizely and Pete Adams.  There was no stage banter in between songs, only ambient volume swells that seemed to be perfectly timed to mask “on-the-spot” guitar tuning and instrument switching.  All this noise would then build to a crescendo and come together perfectly into the intro notes of the next song of the setlist.  Isak and The Birthing were some highlights from the Red Album, but unfortunately there was no Rays on Pinion, even in the encore.  The whole night was seamless, and it really shows the unique power and versatility of this band.  At the end, Baroness thanked the crowd and the fans for making the show possible.  I would like to thank them for giving me the ultimate do-over.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “Best thing about seeing Baroness the night before Thanksgiving? Afterwards, Grandma cuts the turkey…”

Take a Look:

Well, it seems that I just can’t get enough of sold out shows lately. Yet another 3+ hours of standing butts-to-nuts with sweaty metal dudes who have absolutely no concept of the term “personal space”. Oh well, it’s Mastodon… I’ve done it before, and chances are, I’ll do it again next time around.

Surprisingly, the band have continued to stick it out at The Metro (capacity 1,100) these past few tour cycles, rather than graduate to the larger (capacity 1,300) House of Blues (and by now, you should know that if/when Mastodon do graduate to the HoB, someone else will be ghostwriting my review).

Intronaut opened this evening’s performance with a solid set of (their unique brand of) progressive sludge. I’m a fan of these guys, and was happy to finally get a chance to watch bassist Joe Lester work his magic in person. Based on the few youtube clips of I’d seen of the band, I wasn’t really expecting much in the vocal department, but they actually turned it out. The duel-vocal approach served the songs well (as did the massive knob tweaks that happened midway through the first song… come on Metro, sound check should take care of that shit). Intronaut’s setlist was very heavy on Prehistoricisms, and though I would’ve loved to hear something off Null, their brief showing did a great job satisfying my Introneeds. One thing in particular that impressed me, was the general attitude the band conveyed while onstage. No bitching at the sound guy, no heckling the crowd… just honest sincerity. A rare thing indeed.

Kylesa was up next, and though I’d listened to Time Will Fuse Its Worth a few times, I wasn’t entirely familiar with their catalog. So, it’s safe to say, I (more specifically, my ears) was not prepared for the sonic onslaught that followed for the next 45+ minutes. Kylesa are heavy as hell. Two drummers, 3 full stacks, and guitars tuned down to “who-the-fuck-knows-how-low” (and yes… for all you horn-dogs out there… a hot chick with a guitar). Good, good stuff here. Vocals could use a bit of finesse, but it’s easy to look beyond the vocals when a song like Hollow Severer is ripping your face off. I’m definitely going to have to check out their new one soon.

As previously discussed, Mastodon have come a long way these past few years (certainly since I first saw them play a Remission-heavy set in front of about 50 people at the sorely missed Fireside Bowl), and this evening’s ridiculously ambitious set showcased what the band has been up to since. I (as it seemed most of the crowd) was unaware going in, that Mastodon was planning to perform Crack the Skye in its entirety. A pleasant surprise, as the band pulled out another 10 songs from their back catalog afterwards (though it made a long night even longer… hey… I’m old and my feet hurt). In addition, Mastodon took a page from the “Neurosis Book of Live Performance” by incorporating video and synths into their set. Both of which worked very well and made an enjoyable set even more so (I probably don’t need to mention the playing was spot-on). And guess what? They closed with Hearts Alive. Yep… it ruled. Don’t be jealous. Oh wait… maybe you should be.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “Back in my day, we didn’t need no stinkin’ video screens to entertain a crowd. Just fog machines, gothic sets, upside down crosses, skeletons, fake blood, a cape and some hairspray.”

Chris’ Review:

My previous experiences seeing Mastodon live had me looking forward to another opportunity to enjoy them at this venue, one of Chicago’s best for its size, usually considered a treat for seeing a ‘big’ band. This long night almost didn’t live up to my high expectations, but Mastodon saved it in the end. Gosh, those guys are good.

Arriving early to see Intronaut allowed us to enjoy their proficient execution of a familiar style of [progressive sludge] (thanks, Justin), but with an aggressive edge to set it apart from the mediocre masses of this genre.

Intronaut’s just-right set was followed by some technical difficulties which was then followed by Kylesa’s set. By this time the main floor of Metro was filling in but still comfortable. Kylesa’s almost straight-ahead style and two-drummer attack provided a great contrast to Mastodon, however, the effect was diminished as Kylesa’s set stretched out a bit longer than necessary.

Even more unnecessary was the interminable set change to Mastodon. As soon as Kylesa finished, the main floor packed in as the rest of this sold-out crowd arrived for the headliner. Don’t accuse me of being old and crabby for saying this, because I’ve been saying it since I was young and crabby: long set changes are a disservice to everyone (except maybe the bar). Why are we punished for actually wanting to see all the bands on the bill? I could show up a couple hours after the show starts and hear the headliner with fresh ears, but as a music lover, a chance to see an evening of well organized, thoughtfully packaged live acts is a main reason I pay the ticket price and truck my ass downtown for a show. On a weeknight, mind you. Alright, that did sound pretty old. While I’m on the old-man rant, another problem at a sold out Metro show is the time spent standing in a butts-to-nuts stress position if you want to be out from under the balconies, where the sound is usually better.

Finally, with the opening notes of Oblivion, Mastodon started their highly anticipated performance. One’s opinion of the main set would probably depend mostly on one’s opinion of Crack the Skye because that’s what they played, from beginning to end. While I like Crack the Skye overall, I think its songs do wander a little bit without hooks, which gave this live show quite a prog-rock feel; enjoyed more intellectually than viscerally. About 3/4 into the set, I had the idea that if this were Mastodon’s debut, this crowd would have lost interest much earlier. The band delivered an almost technically perfect performance as usual (to my ears a couple vocal parts of the new material weren’t quite pulled off live), but the material set the energy level of the set at a fairly subdued feel. As noted in my rant above, my personal discomfort may have had as much cause for this as the music.

After Crack the Skye was completed, Mastodon took a short break and their ‘second set’ which featured material from Blood Mountain and Leviathan (and “March of the Fire Ants“) rocked more confidently. While I may be criticizing Mastodon for taking an indulgent turn with their material, I think the epic closer, “Hearts Alive,” and the fact that I’ve looked forward to hearing it each time I’ve had the chance to see them, tells me Mastodon has earned the devotion this crowd showed.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “Nice band, but seriously, these guys suck at concept albums. King is not impressed. And why am I not on Letterman?”

Have A Look:

Mastodon – Live at the Metro 4/30/09

Mark’s Review:

The crowd was interesting to say the least. It was an eclectic blend of “MySpace Metal” and guys that might have left their metal past go, and were searching frantically through their wardrobes for a t-shirt that said, “Hey man..I’m still pretty non-conformist!” Many of this latter group donned “Marshall” or “Zildjian” shirts, or they tried to out-metal each other by picking the “most obscure band” t-shirt they had (hence, it’s the most Dying Fetus and Nasum shirts I’ve seen at a concert). I also saw a guy with a leather Testament jacket SIGNED by Chuck Billy and Alex Skolnick (FTW!). But despite some differences, everyone in the crowd was there to see the grindcore masters Carcass return to the stage. It has been over 10 years since they last toured, and I’ve been waiting to see them since 1994. When I heard last summer that they were reuniting for some European shows, I hoped that maybe, just maybe, they might tour the states. When they announced the “Chicago-area” date, there was no way I was going to miss it. Hell, even if I lived in Gurnee I would’ve driven down! (PWNED!) Editor’s note: Touché.

Like any suburban venue, the Pearl Room in Mokena struggles to stand out against the larger, more credible Chicago concert halls. The promoters figured that in order to get fans to come out on a Sunday afternoon, they had to construct a bill that not only featured 5 opening acts, but a “second stage” that featured a wave of atrocious local acts playing rehashed and sloppy thrash metal. That being said, the Pearl Room is a great venue for metal. It has great sound, no seats, plenty of room and hot waitresses… so basically it’s the anti-House of Blues. Plus it’s near my hometown, and if it existed when I was in high school and living with my parents (or until I was 25 and STILL living with my parents), it would have been my Mecca and Valhalla all rolled into one.

After painfully tolerating the unending wave of opening acts, Carcass finally took the stage. Fill-in drummer Daniel Erlandsson started into Inpropagation, and suddenly I wasn’t 31 years old anymore. Despite my leased SUV and iPhone, I was transformed back to that nerdy, high school metalhead that was obsessed with Heartwork and Necroticism. Jeff Walker, Bill Steer and Michael Amott delivered in every way. The solos, the voice, and riff upon riff were all there as they blasted through classics such as Carnal Forge, Pyosified, Corporal Jigsore Quandary and Embodiment. Walker was hilarious in between songs with his dry British stage-banter, and because Steer was unable to sing most of his parts, he carried the load vocally. He sounded awesome, and the extra touches of reverb and delay produced some truly unbelievable screams. To every wankers delight, the guitarists added their own flair by exaggerating the squeals and bends to many of the Heartwork tunes… it was unnecessary, but so damn cool.

Everything about the show was a dream come true, the setlist, the venue and their performance. It was truly a return to power, and for me and many others a return to my youth. So I think this review will be an easy one:

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “Seeing Carcass play or seeing carcasses play?… either way you’re golden!”

Matt’s Review:

I must admit that I was initially a little bit shocked to see a packed house at 5:30pm on a Sunday evening behind the same Denny’s restaurant that I used to chain-smoke cigarettes and drink coffee in 15 years ago – back when I was just an awkward, acne-ridden, hormonally-challenged, moppy-haired, metalhead teenaged kid who pondered little about the future… other than trying to find someone over 21 who would be willing to buy my friends and I beer and (more) cigarettes before the weekend rolled around. Ah, the memories… it’s hard to believe that Carcass originally called it quits around that same time and – long after I lost the acne, the mop, and became a responsible adult (well, somewhat anyways) who still listens to a lot of metal – are just now getting back together for a full-fledged tour with 3/4 of the classic “Necroticism” thru “Heartwork” lineup intact.

We got there early enough to check out the opening bands Psycroptic, Samael, and Black Dahlia Murder – as well as a couple of other ’second stage’ acts in the other room of the venue not even worth mentioning, let alone writing a full sentence about. Although I never really got into Samael, they did sound solid overall. I was pretty blown away by the precisely virtuosic musicianship of both Psycroptic and Black Dahlia, although I could really do without both of their frontmen, which I will explain later…

For an increasingly jaded prick like myself, the anticipation to see a reunited Carcass was much stronger than I’ve felt for any other band in quite a while. Knowing the talent of all the musicians in the band, it was a given that I was going to see a group of finely-polished crafty veterans playing (at worst) respectable versions of their back catalog while I watched in comfortable content. Instead, I was enthusiastically blasted with an energy-filled non-stop onslaught from the first notes of the opening song “Inpropagation,” all the way up until the last notes of the closing epic masterpiece “Heartwork,” each and every song in between – such as Carnal Forge, Corporal Jigsore Quandery, This Mortal Coil, Embodiment, Incarnate Solvent Abuse, and Death Certificate, to name a few – flawlessly played with minimal stops in between. Frontman/bassist Jeff Walker’s voice has not lost an ounce of it’s punch and intensity after all these years. His humorously witty banter during the rare breaks was also a very refreshing change of pace from the meat-headed and cartoonishly predictable “I wanna see some action in that fuckin’ pit” yelping from the B.D.M. and Psycroptic frontmen before, during, and after every single friggin’ song. Fill-in drummer Daniel Erlandsson (Arch Enemy) proved to be more than capable of handling the job and is definitely one of the more solid metal drummers in the business, by far. The real treat for me though – being a guitar player and all – was seeing the flawless guitar virtuoso duo of Bill Steer (who was apparently sicker than a dog that night) and Michael Amott (who is apparently a redhead these days) in the flesh. Symposium of sickness and blood-red hair aside, it was truly an honor to be in their presence and be reminded of why I got a boner the first time I heard “Heartwork” as a teenager (I did say that I was hormonally-challenged, didn’t I?).

All in all, I couldn’t have possibly asked for anything better that night, except for maybe punching ‘that guy’ 10 feet behind us who kept insisting that every album besides “Reek Of Putrefaction” ’sucks balls.’ Ah well, I guess it could have been worse – Crowbar or Mortiis could’ve been the opening acts!

Matt’s Rating:

King says: “Vegans playing metal? What’s next, an evil clown singing about torturing little girls? B-B-Brilliant!”

Mark’s Review:

I couldn’t believe the amount of total and utter douchebags that are attracted to Meshuggah! I figured that the crowd on a Sunday night would be filled with prog-metal nerds discussing time signatures, diminished-note arrangements and internet message boards. Instead, the House of Blues was packed with young ass-clowns sucking down beers and pushing to get into a pit that was non-existent (how can you mosh to something in 7/9???). Also… when did girls get into prog-metal??? Did I miss this memo? And I’m not talking about your typical plus-sized she-man with black leggings and an Andromeda t-shirt… I’m talking about regular, hot girls that look like they just got off of work at Hollister. Where were these chicks in 1994 when I was pinned between two sweaty, fat guys in jean jackets headbanging their hair in my face during Corrosion of Conformity? Well, I guess Obama promised change, and here it is. It’s obviously a different time now than it was 15 years ago, which is about the last time Cynic toured the US.

Cynic took the stage after young, tech-metallers The Faceless got things underway. The swell of anticipation covered the crowd as the droning tones and meditative notes of Nunc Fluens began to amplify. By the time Sean Reinhert pounded out the opening fills in A Space for This, you could tell that Cynic was not fucking around, they were making up for lost time. Paul Masvidal and Co. blasted their way through a setlist that perfectly blending songs from 1993’s debut Focus, and 2008’s masterpiece Traced in Air. His vocoder-vocals and headstock-less guitar were dead-on, and he wasted no time with stage banter, letting a pre-recorded “transcendental Yogi” do most of the guiding. Their sound was loud, controlled and confident, and they benefited from by far the best house mix of the night. Highlights were definitely Uroboric Forms and Veil of Maya, which exploded from the monitors and showed off Reinhert’s unbelievable chops. I’ve been listening to Traced in Air pretty much non-stop since it came out, so ending the night with Integral Birth was amazing. Unfortunately, Cynic left the stage to the taunts of the previously-mentioned douchebags, who were happy their “gay” set had come to a close. I mean, sure, Masvidal is a little effeminate, but c’mon, would you yell that at Halford??

I was there to see Cynic because, for me, they were the main course. But I like Meshuggah, and figured it would be like eating a ridiculous dessert after a steak dinner… unnecessary but very enjoyable. I loved obZen and listen to Nothing and Chaosphere pretty often, so I really was anxious to see how they would perform these impossible songs live. Opening with Pravus, Meshuggah quickly took control over the crowd, but there was something missing… VOLUME! Meshuggah does not use cabinets, they pipe everything through the monitors in order to obtain an ultra-clean sound. This is great, but coupled with the tuning on their baritone guitars, led to volume levels that were so low, I could hardly hear anything. Once they began Bleed, I think the sound guys pumped things up a bit, but the fact that I was having conversations with out yelling, was a problem. Now, I was downstairs at the House of Blues, and Justin said the sound was much better upstairs, but it was still a letdown. You see, I think Meshuggah’s power is the fact that their rapidly changing rhythms and swirling riffs seem to engulf you and become this evolving storm that traps the listener. When I listen to an album, there’s so much chaos you lose track of what is up and what is down, all while Jens Kidman is screaming at you. Without the volume to fully crush the audience, I felt a lot of that effect was lost.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “That guy from Cynic uses a vocoder?? Hmmm, I guess that’s ok…”

Justin’s Review:

Here’s the thing… with the exception of the sound there, the House of Blues fucking sucks. For a venue that is held in such high regard by the general public, H.O.B. is a shitty place to try and see a metal show. Especially one that’s sold out. The layout there is terrible, and unless you feel like being crammed into the main floor or manage to be in the front row of any other section of the venue, you’re shit-outta-luck.

It’s a rare thing to walk into a venue 15 minutes before the show even starts and have absolutely no place to move or see. Such was the case this evening. As Mark already made clear, Meshuggah seems to have some sort of magical allure that brings nü-metallers out of hibernation, ready to get their drink and mosh on. I simply don’t get it. Is it because their guitars go to 8? Is it the token bald singer?? What the fuck??? I haven’t seen that many stereotypical dipshit metalheads in one place since the last time I saw Slayer. The d-bags were out in full effect, and that certainly didn’t help my attitude or my sight-lines.

The Faceless opened the evening with an impressive array of instrumental finger-banging. Considering half these dudes were probably pooping their diapers when …And Justice for All came out, they certainly know their phrygian scales and shit like that. They lost a little muster once their singer came out, and overall, the hyper-tech-death shtick wore thin after the first 15 minutes, but overall not bad.

By the time Cynic were about to take the stage, the crowd was really starting to get out of control. I swear, you’d think we were at a Justin Timberlake concert surrounded by 14-year-old girls or something, because everyone seemed to want to push their way onto the main floor (it just so happened that we were standing in the middle of the entrance to said floor, so that didn’t help). Apparently, Paul Masvidal & Co. really ARE a prog-snob’s wet dream. In fact, by the time we made it to the upstairs balcony, I think I caught a glimpse of Mark with his hand down his pants. Of course, he might’ve just been adjusting himself, because Cynic put on a boner-inducing show. Rather than reiterate Mark’s synopsis, let me just sum it up by saying, if you have the chance to see these guys live… do so. Cynic rival Neurosis in terms of being both an extremely tight AND incredibly dynamic live band. Drummer Sean Reinhert in particular was a real treat to watch (or in my case… listen to. I’d like to point out that, even though we made it upstairs, we still couldn’t see shit. The only thing we had a better view of was one of the various tv monitors H.O.B. utilizes to run a multi-camera feed of the show).

After the unusually long changeover, Meshuggah hit the stage, tuned down and ready to destroy. Unfortunately for them, the only eardrums bursting this evening were from people getting punched in the head down below. As Mark points out, Meshuggah were left sounding a little flat… especially when compared to Cynic. That being said, there were still plenty of things to enjoy:

• Watching them pull off Bleed live… very impressive.
• Meshuggah has perfected what I deem the “full-body-bang”… sort of like head-banging, but with your waist rather than your neck (I attribute this to very very heavy guitars).
• Meshuggah’s lighting guy. This dude knows his shit. In fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if they had the lighting cues triggered from Tomas Haake’s kick pedal.
• The homage to Tool’s set design. No matter what you think of Tool’s music, it’s difficult to deny how awesome their visual aesthetic is. Meshuggah agrees.
• My cohorts in the balcony attempting to head-bang in time with New Millennium Cyanide Christ. Hilarious and disturbing… sort of like watching Elaine dance.
• Straws Pulled at Random… that song fucking RULES.

Despite an evening worth of solid sets, I’m still going to think twice before venturing out to H.O.B. any time soon (damn you Opeth & Enslaved). I spent $100+ dollars for (2) tickets, parking and (2) drinks… all to basically watch the show on tv all night. Add this to the fact that they don’t allow cameras, and charge $5 for coat check (per coat). LAME.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “Progressive Metal… good, Corporate Venue… bad!”