GWAR July 2006

Continuing the series of concert posts, I bring you one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. The one, the only, the theatrical, GWAR.

Thursday July 20, 2006, the gang ventured out once again to the Soul Kitchen to take in the amazing GWAR. I had never listened to any of their music, so prior to the show, I borrowed some discs so I would be well versed in their catalog. As far as heavy music goes, they are pretty good. Their lyrics are hilarious (very politically incorrect) and musically they have some very interesting things going on. After listening I was very stoked to see them live.

After the issues with tickets last time we went to a show at Soul Kitchen, we decided to buy well in advance. With our tickets in hand we headed down to the venue to begin the adventure.

Upon entering the venue it was apparent there is a subculture here in Mobile that is normally unseen. The room was filled with long hair, tattoos, black fingernails, pale skin, and lots and lots of leather and studs. I had wanted to blend in and create a mohawk out of my hair with some super-holding hair gel, but Casey nixed that pretty quickly. Thus I felt a bit underdressed compared to all of the goth kids.

In attendance we had BJD, Brian, Matt, Casey, Wisconsin Katie and her coworker (can’t remember his name, but he was a fun guy to hang out with), and the Bicycle Shop crew (Carson, Dewitt, the Dungans).

The opening band was Horse, The Band. They sounded ok, but it was hard to pay attention to their sound when they had Napoleon Dynamite rocking out shirtless on the keyboards front and center. No kidding. Don’t believe me? Check out this guy’s review of the show.

Once they finished up, we waited anxiously for GWAR to hit the stage. Their entrance to the stage was shocking to say the least. With their full costumes on, they appear absolutely huge, so you are taken aback at first. Of course what heavy metal costumed band would be complete without their very own gimp. GWAR did not disappoint. They had their very own gimp wearing a leather thong and black leather full head mask. Not something you see everyday around these parts 🙂

Musically, they didn’t sound all that great, but it was really the show that we were there for. And put on a show they did. First, it is absolutely amazing that these guys are able to play their instruments while wearing their elaborate costumes. They rock out, and rock out hard. Then throughout the show various characters (the pope, the president, and some weird looking monster) make appearances and are summarily sliced to bits with fake swords and knives. With each slice into a character, a concoction of blood erupts from the wound. And when I say erupt, I mean up to 30 foot sprays of fake blood. I stayed in the back, so I didn’t get sprayed down, but anyone remotely close to the stage came back looking like there had been some kind of terrible accident.

After they ran out of characters to assault, the gimp brought out a blood cannon that he used to soak any of the crowd that missed out on having their clothes covered with red, blue, and black liquids.

All in all the concert ran for a full hour and was well worth seeing. In sharp contrast to Sister Hazel and the boring hour of my life I will never get back, these guys put on an amazing show. They had the crowd in a frenzy the entire show. I can see why these guys have been able to keep doing this for years. It was similar to seeing Tool live. It was not so much a concert as it was an experience. Definitely go check them out if you ever get the chance (don’t wear your nice clothes though).

Now on to the pictures (unfortunately I was in so much awe of these guys, I forgot to try and take some video). They aren’t the greatest since I was a bit afraid to brave the moshpit to get some closer pics.

First, check out the preppy lady in the dress at the GWAR show. Nice to see someone that looked more out of place than me.