By Avinash Mittur
[Live photos by Raymond Ahner]
July 19th 2013, Slim’s, San Francisco CA: More often than not, I take pride in the Bay Area’s wealth of great music and the friendly community that comes with it. One of the shining stars of the bay is Orchid, who have been rapidly expanding their following not just at home, but all over the world. After releasing their fantastic new album, The Mouths of Madness, just a couple months ago, the band stormed across Europe. Orchid finally made their way back to the coast though, and played a rousing homecoming show last Friday night at one of the best venues in the city, Slim’s. This show was an easy example of what makes the Bay Area amazing. A few hundred friends and fans packed Slim’s on this Friday night and banged their heads to some of the best heavy rock music around.
As is the standard at Slim’s, the bill for this night was a short one. First up were local favorites Hell Fire. I had recently seen the guys play an utterly triumphant headlining set here in San Francisco just a few weeks ago and braced myself for the inevitable shortcomings of an opening set. Luckily, the guys were given a solid 40 minutes to do their thing and were offered more than solid sound as well. Instrumentally the band was as tight as ever on their own songs. Guitarists Jon Mendle and Tony Campos continue to dazzle with their leads on ‘Islands of Hell’ and ‘Metal Masses’ was an apt choice to tear the heads off the small, but slowly growing crowd. Like the last time I saw them, Hell Fire capped off their set with a gutsy cover, Judas Priest’s ‘Victim of Changes’. Things got to a bad start when Campos and Mendle flubbed the iconic intro and were forced to restart the song, but the rest of the track was nothing but gravy. Vocalist Alex Orozco was the star here, hitting every single vocal tic Rob Halford displayed on the studio version of the song. While Hell Fire are one of my favorite acts operating out of the bay right now, I’ll also be the first to say that they were the odd act out on this bill. Their fiery NWOBHM-infused thrash stood in very stark contrast to the hazy rock heard from the other acts. A solid set, but perhaps the wrong bill for this cool band.
Hell Fire Set List:
1. Sirens of the Hunter
2. Islands of Hell
3. Lightning Axes
4. Night Terror
5. Metal Masses
6. Victim of Changes (Judas Priest cover)
The middle act on the three band show was The St. James Society from Austin, Texas. I have honestly no clue what this band was doing all the way out on this end of the country. Heck, even a pair of the bandmembers seemed to have opted to stay in Texas, with the act featuring subs in their place. The songs featured ample fuzz from the British-accented guitar player, while Brandon Burkart’s beautiful Rickenbacker tone anchored the long, drawn out tracks. At first the audience was rather cold towards the band, but a respectable amount of applause made the rounds by the end of the set, which also featured the more riff-driven songs. Now I’m not going to lie, I was pretty bored throughout this band’s set. That being said, they were probably no worse a fit for the show than Hell Fire, and it seemed that a decent chunk of the crowd appreciated the set by its end.
After a pleasantly short wait, the screen rose and Orchid treated the now packed Slim’s to an outstanding ninety minute tour de force of heavy rock and roll. A North American show from Orchid is a rare occasion in and of itself, but the guys treated the hometown crowd to an extra special reading of ‘Heretic’, with a foot-operated Moog synthesizer subbing in for the Hammond organ on the studio version. Unfortunately, bassist Keith Nickel was plagued by issues with his amp; his basslines were sadly replaced with a huge hum. The title track to their new record, The Mouths of Madness, soon made an appearance, the result of which were huge cheers from the crowd. Nickel’s amp was in working order by the time guitarist Mark Thomas Baker unleashed his soon to be classic solo, and the rest of the set was nothing short of phenomenal. I want to single out individual members of Orchid for uniquely astounding performances, but I just can’t. Every single one of these guys brought their A-game to this show and to not give equally glowing praise to them all would be criminal. Theo Mindell’s hypnotic vocals, Nickel’s agile bass, Baker’s unrelentingly heavy tone and the hardest hit snare drum I’ve ever heard, courtesy of Carter Kennedy, came together in way that was greater than the mere sum of their parts.
The oldest track on hand, ‘Eastern Woman’, was given a far heavier reading live with Baker’s marching chug gaining new definition and presence. A great many tracks from the band’s debut record Capricorn made an appearance, and every single one of them were given superior renditions onstage. The towering ‘He Who Walks Alone’ closed the main set out, but it wasn’t long before the band returned to finish the job. Side note: we participated in one of the more unique encore chants I’ve heard, “Or-chid! [clap, clap] Or-chid! [clap, clap]” Two newer tracks did make an appearance for the encore, the short and snappy ‘Wizard of War’ and doom behemoth “Saviours of the Blind”. The latter track was the perfect showcase for every member of Orchid; Mindell’s headbanging was nonstop when the song really got going, while Nickel got to show off a cool break just before Carter and Baker absolutely took over during the instrumental bridge. ‘Saviours’ was the ultimate showstopper, leaving me utterly speechless.
Orchid Set List:
1. Heretic
2. Mouths of Madness
3. Eyes Behind the Wall
4. Silent One
5. Eastern Woman
6. Black Funeral
7. Capricorn
8. Down Into the Earth
9. Cosmonaut of Three
10. Nomad
11. He Who Walks Alone
Encore:
12. Wizard of War
13. Saviours of the Blind
Hearing The Mouths of Madness just a couple months ago was something truly satisfying, yet exciting as well. Here was an album that was not only great, but also had the potential to make a talented Bay Area rock band into something much bigger than that. Somehow, I feel like this show will mark the last time that Orchid was “our little band from home.” Bigger and better things await these guys, and the crowd at Slim’s should feel lucky to have caught them in such an intimate setting. Orchid’s set alone was worth three times what fans paid at the door, while the ever friendly staff at Slim’s and consistently top-notch sound only helped make the show better than most I’ve seen this year. A great show by any standard, and a once in a lifetime snapshot of our little band from home right before they inevitably become something more than that.
Related: In Conversation With Orchid