August 15th 2013
The Vat
Red Deer, AB
Part The First.
In a strange turn of events I somehow managed to show up early to a gig, odd I know. By doing so; however, I was able to chat a bit with some of the cats playing, and the dudes who were putting the gig on (
of thorn & vine promotions) and actually grab a seat near the soundboard, possibly my favourite place to sit in most venues, and really get a feel for the Vat as a room. Now, I'm no stranger to this pub, in the past six months I've actually reviewed two shows in this venue, this time however is a little different, as I was actually invited to do so. The Vat is a strange place, one full of interesting little stories and odds and ends, like years ago it was actually part of a brewery, and in the early 90s one of the lone shake shops in Red Deer was actually located just around the corner from it, the skate shop is now gone, but the Vat is still here.
Tonights crowd looks good. Seriously good.
Full disclaimer; I love metal, not all metal, but METAL, yet oddly i'm not fond of metal shows.. so really this could go either way, but from what I can tell early in the evening these cats were all raised on Pantera III, I take that as a good sign.
Side note; Of Thorn and Vine Promotions noted that one of the Red Deer scenes regulars was recently diagnosed with cancer, so they setup a little donation box by the door, and are also tossing some cash from the sale of merch towards the fund, all money raised to be given towards any medical, Rx, or other costs & expenses the cat may currently be enduring.
LEAVE THE LIVING
The new stage lights bathe the band in a deep blood red glow, a paper mache man sits between the double kick drums, staring blankly at us all, his mouth open, silently screaming, with his hand ever affixed to his ears. Frontman, Justin Shadows, oozes charisma & energy bounding about the stage, capturing the attention of the crowd. The crowd that has worked its way out from somewhere, and growing with every song played.
Their second song "Undone" comes right out of Metallica's "and justice for all" playbook. Starting slow, and epic guitar battle, drums thundering behind that could loosen bowel movements, thud-stick bass that is more then happy to take us for a walk down a dark alley, and likely leave us there after appropriating our valuables, by the time the verse hits I've come to realize that these boys also have Slayer in their blood. The front row of windmill headbangers more then happy to keep up to pace with the intense energy coming off the stage.
After wrapping up the second tune, doing a plug for the other bands on the bill (West of Hell, The Order of Chaos), and mentioning tossing a bit of coin into the bucket for their buddy facing down the big C, we're back into the fight.
Often times with a two guitarist band, it is obvious who is the lead, and who is the rhythm. Not here, not tonight. Both of these cats quickly remind me that i'm a bit of a hack, though I've never spent weekends locked away in my room playing arpeggios, doing finger practices, and learning old blues licks, after this, I'm thinking its time I reconsider. It's panned out, they're level EPIC, I'm sitting somewhere just past level 1.. Now, this isn't Malmsteen, it's not Steve Vai, it's not solo's for the sake of guitar solo's a la Van Halen, These guitars know their place in a song, they make it all work. They transition it beyond a riff.
Our low end heros hold it all together, with what sounds to be something right out of Robert Trujillo's mind. The thud-stick lines bread somewhere between Suicidal Tendencies and his current work with Metallica. The drums, dear god the DRUMS, I haven't been let down, if this cat is ever without a band I'm gonna need his number. Sure there are more cymbals then I would ever know what to do with, a simple snare drum, a couple high toms, the usual floor tom, and TWO kick/bass drums, This cat is bringing the thunder.
That creepy paper mache old man ever more the fitting as one can imagine him screaming "get off my lawn" with this beast right behind him.
Near the end of the set we're treated to a DEATH (From Detroit) cover. Having just missed seeing them at the Pawn Shop in Edmonton a few months back, I was eager to hear how this would pan out. Now if I didn't know the tune, I'd be hunting down the original, Leave The Living nailed it, made me aware of what I missed out on, but also made it their own with a take on the vocals that, although different from what one may expect, worked so well.
I'll be making sure to check these dudes out again.
- Jim Nowhere
Hang tight for Pt. 2 hitting the web in a couple days.
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facebook pages:
THE VAT -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/14147269650/
LEAVE THE LIVING -
https://www.facebook.com/leavetheliving
OF THORN AND VINE -
https://www.facebook.com/OTAVPromotions
