As I entered the venue, I was wondering how many people would be at this show- I don't think they had much promotion. Not to mention that last night they had a show up in Fredneck... so I think most people would would have gone to see them already would not be back.
There were about 30 people there at the high point of the show (which was pretty consistent thru the night). Death Ray Vision had some shirts ($15), a Hoodie, CD ($10), EPs ($5), and maybe something else. I know Acaro had CDs, Sworn Enemy probably had shirts, but I didn't really look. Brian Fair was getting drinks at the bar and I got a pic w/him at some point. The sound at this show was way louder than last week's Anathema show, probably because there were less people to absorb the sound. It was kind of uncomfortable, you almost needed to wear earplugs at the bar! Empire was giving out $2 off door admissions w/ food purchase again, so I got one of those again. But will NOT be getting a hamburger there again.
Acaro was on first, I think they were on when I got there. They sounded like a poor man's Killswitch Engage- kind of generic metalcore. I thought they were good, there were some songs that I was able to bob my head to. The guitar parts were nice, I def appreciated those. Again, nothing stood out to me about them, not that they were not entertaining. Near the end of their set, they brought people up on stage, I'm not sure why- maybe to get the crowd more excited?
Sworn Enemy, a hardcore band, was on next. Somehow their striped down, sparser sound seemed to bring more energy than Acaro had (or maybe it was the alcohol). The crowd was a but more into these guys, and I know I saw a couple guys karate in the pit... ugh. They had songs that...sounded like hardcore songs...The most distinctive song was "We Hate," which I swear has a Slayer riff, and I liked the lyrics "We hate your music." and "YOUR MUSIC....SUCKS!" They had something about them that worked way better live than I would have thought, kind of like the Hatebreed-effect. So I ended up liking their set quite a bit. Not enough to get a CD, tho. During one of Sworn Enemy's songs, the singer from Acaro did a Spinaroonie to a pose, that was fantastic!
Death Ray Vision came on without much fanfare and got right into it. They had a no frills set, just played the songs and thanked the crowd. About ten songs in, Brian mentioned that the next half of the show would be dedicated to the other half of the crowd....a song for each! Unfortunately, I had only heard their VERY short LP (only 29 minutes), and none of their EPs. And it is apparently hard for me to pick apart thrashy hardcore songs like they do from each other. So my setlist is a bit in shambles. I probably should have observed from further back, so as to perhaps hear more lyrics, but I was enjoying the energy from where I was very close to the stage. I think if you are a hardcore or a hardcore Brian Fair fan, you might have really enjoyed the show. I had a good time, but I don't think their songs are that good. They played a song they announced as a cover, but I couldn't tell what it was. They played almost an hour, to a kind of abrupt stop. I was surprised that they didn't do any more, but Brian said that they had played every song that they had written. So I guess that's pretty cool- you don't get to hear EVERY song a band's made in one show very often. But a 45 minute set is pretty damn short. Why not throw in a Shadows Fall cover?
So overall it was a decent show, despite not really knowing ANY of the songs played. So sorry for the pretty horrible notes of the setlists below. I think that it's rather odd for me to enjoy the show without being familiar with the majority of the songs, but heavy music and friends are stress relievers. Not a great show, but still enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd recommend you to go out of your way to see this if it comes near you, tho.
next show: DC Heavy Metal 4th Anniversary w/ Vektor?
photos:
Acaro
Sworn Enemy
Me VS Brian Fair
Death Ray Vision
Setlists:
Acaro
- ?
- ?
- ?
- ? New song
- Becoming the Process ?(they said they had a video for this)
- ?
Sworn Enemy (?-9:21)
- ?
- ?
- ? new one
- ?
- ?
- We Hate
- ?
Death Ray Vision (9:37- 10:23)
- ?
- Get Lost Or Get Dead (I think....we rise again?)
- riseup ?
- ?
- ?
- (slow at the end)
- whisky + cocaine?
- Break Every Chain (?short song)
- ?
- 10th song
- ?
- ?
- (slowish)
- ?
- Cover
- ?
- ?
they allegedly played all songs
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