By Jason Williams
October 17th 2013, The Observatory, Santa Ana CA: Last Thursday night’s show at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California was to be a very special one. It wasn’t just GWAR taking the stage, it was going to be my very first GWAR show. I’d heard so many wonderful things about their live shows, but actually purposely never saw any videos online. I wanted my imagination to take it to the highest level. No long introduction is needed for the almighty GWAR. Nearly 20 years of pure mayhem, crossover metal/punk, extravagant horror themed costumes and incredible hardcore fans. This was to be a highlight in my concert attending, and I couldn’t wait.
A Band of Orcs were set to go on at around 8 PM or so. Unfortunately, no updates were made to the schedule as I arrived to the venue at 8:10-ish and they were already off the stage. Hearing lots of murmurs and comments from the fans in the crowd, I heard lots of positive feedback. Apparently the band was using a similiar approach to GWAR: costumes and lots of theatricial props onstage. The music was described as “Brutal Orc Metal”. Won’t know how that actually sounds until the next chance I get to see them, but based off the positive talk I heard from many in attendance, I’ll definitely give them a chance. I wish the Observatory posted the correct time or at least change set times in the future to avoid us missing bands playing on the bill.
Iron Reagan were next on stage. By this time, the venue was already packed and fired up. Having no idea how they sounded, I was eager to hear how they would be received on this GWAR tour. Setting the tone for the evening, the band came out with a lot of energy, playing old school thrash metal with punk intensity. The mosh pit was definitely in motion, constantly thrashing around. About all of the songs played were under 3 minutes. I really enjoyed the confidence and vibe of Iron Reagan. They took command of the stage and it showed in the crowd. This band features members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour, and vocalist Tony Foresta cracked jokes, got the crowd going and was energetic throughout the set. Although much of the other standing sections of the venue had people just mildly head banging, cheers were made after each song. Around the end of the set, they played a Slayer cover in honor of Jeff Hanneman. A small twist of that cover: One of Jeff’s punk songs “Can’t Stand You” was played and the crowd definitely responded. Solid live and especially if you’re a fan of Municipal Waste, Anthrax and Slayer, Iron Reagan performed very well.
Next on the bill, and the band I wasn’t sure of the most on how they would be received, Tennessee’s own Whitechapel hit the stage. Gaining much popularity over the past few years, it’s no surprise they played right before GWAR. I’ve seen them a few times on other bills, and no different than tonight, I can say that I’m really not a fan. Whitechapel’s style of deathcore really does nothing for me. With that being said, the crowd absolutely loved them. There were plenty of Whitechapel fans with metalcore band shirts all around, and the pit was in motion. To give credit where credit is due, vocalist Phil Bozeman is impressive live. His growls and gurgels are well done and definitely have some power. My biggest gripe with the band though is their use of 3 guitarists. No core style of metal should ever have three guitar players. Iron Maiden has and needs 3 guitars for all of their intricacies and details within their music. The crowd loved Whitechapel however, and for anyone who enjoys that style of metal, Whitechapel is certainly a good time.
10:35 PM, and the Observatory PA system played “War Pigs”. By this time, moshpits, crowd surfing and sing alongs to the song were already under way. Perhaps it was the venue itself, but it waited until “War Pigs” was completely done, which I enjoyed. The lights went down and the venue roared in excitement, chanting “GWAR!!!” loud and proud. GWAR finally had the stage for their taking. As soon as the music left the speakers and into the audience, chaos ensued. Many fans were jumping from balconies directly into the pit, which was a violent frenzy already. Cheers, headbanging, whirlwinds of energy were all in motion. Oderus Urungus belted out lyrics in raging speeds, decorated in his glorious sword armor suit. The other band members all came out, with one of their ‘slaves’ Bonesnapper, who, as Oderus stated later to us, “Snaps bones.” As with all of GWAR’s performances, if you attend a GWAR show, your clothes will be covered in anything and everything they want to throw at you. Almost all of their props onstage had fake blood and blue alien liquid splashing at the audience. Not only did the crowd indulge, they were chasing it. Seeing such a visual display come to life was truly something else. We love the lyrics that come in metal. Fantasy, stories, horror and gore, in much of them. GWAR actually bring them to life in a Horror Play/Movie Opera format. Various characters, such as a futuristic villain only with a head, “Mr. Perfect” and “The Queen of England” were part of the story after various songs, eventually sucumbing to death by GWAR themselves. I also appreciated GWAR acknowledging the audience on various occassions, letting it known that while their live act is theirs and special, it wasn’t taken so seriously to not recognize the audience.
One aspect of GWAR that I rarely hear mentioned, and as I witnesed, was their underrated musicianship. Their costumes and live act never took away from their instrument playing. Guitar gallops, solid lead guitar, catch riffs and rhythms were all displayed, ranging from Heavy Metal, Speed Metal and Punk. That was unexpected for me and had me headbanging in great delight.
Oderus dedicated “I Hate Love Songs” to their fallen brother Cory Smoot (a.k.a. Flattus Maximus), which had the crowd cheering and raising the horns for him. One of my favorite moments of the show was Oderus announcing that this would always be known as The Galaxy to them (the former name of the Observatory), which, as long as myself and thousands of others know, was always home. This sent chills down my spine and had the entire sold out venue clapping and cheering away.
After “Ham of the Bone”, GWAR left the stage, but no one in the room ever stood still. Chants of “GWAR!” erupted the Observatory, prompting GWAR to come back to perform a special cover, from 1980s R&B sensation Billy Ocean. This also brought out a special shredding machine, in which “Billy Ocean” and other ‘victims’ were brought out by GWAR and thrown to their demise. The cover was fun and surprisingly many in the audience knew the words. When the song finally finished, GWAR simply stood on stage, motionless and with that Oderus proclaimed, “We’re not done with you yet!” New lead guitarist Pustulus Maximus played the intro to The Who’s very own “Baba O’Reily”, which produced the largest ovation and mosh of the night. The lyrics were screamed from the entire venue, recognizing how important that song was to a ripe and important generation of music. The audience gave one last push and mosh pits broke out throughout the place, with fans still jumping from parts of balconies to be crowd surfed into the pit. Oderus thanked us graciously with fans doing the very same.
It was an incredible experience to behold. 90 minutes of GWAR takes the wind out of you in the most pleasant way. You get a solid crossover metal/punk concert with an energetic and original live spectacle, something many, many bands wish they could boast of. My first GWAR show will always be something to remember. If and when GWAR invade your city, you better be prepared to fight, and have the time of your life.
Set List:
1. Maddness at the Core of Time
2. The Salamanizer
3. Hail Genocide
4. I Hate Love Songs
5. Torture
6. Bloodbath
7. Preschool Prostitute
8. Let Us Slay
9. They Swallowed the Sun
10. Jack the World
11. Sick Of You
12. Metal Metal Land
13. Bring Back the Bomb
14. Ham of the Bone
Encore:
15. Get Out of My Dreams Get Into My Car (Billy Ocean cover)
16. Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Remaining Tour Dates:
10/19: Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
10/20: San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
10/22: Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
10/24: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10/25: Ft. Worth, TX @ LaGrave Field
10/26: Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/28: Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
10/29: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
10/30: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/31: Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
11/1: Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
11/2: Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
11/4: Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
11/5: Ybor City, FL @ The Ritz Ybor
11/7: Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
11/8: Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s
11/9: Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
11/10: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
11/12: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
11/13: Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
11/14: Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
11/15: Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
11/16: Reading, PA @ Reverb
11/17: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club