Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
May 13th 2014, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Doom overlords Saint Vitus formed in Los Angeles in 1979, and 35 years later, they’re still going strong, very much at the forefront of the sub-culture they themselves gave birth to. To celebrate their 35th anniversary, they embarked on a North American tour with support act Sons Of Huns and are presenting their third album ‘Born Too Late’ in its entirety along with an assortment of a few other items from their revered musical catalog. Starting out in Albuquerque NM last Thursday and trailblazing through shows along the West Coast which included an appearance at the Psycho De Mayo festival in Orange County, Saint Vitus made it to the Echoplex in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, for what promised to be a doomtastic evening.
Doors opened at 8 PM, and the atmosphere at the venue was extremely laid back for this show, which was due to the general hipster vibe that comes with the geographical and musical territory, plus the fact that many in attendance were stoned out of their flipping minds. People slowly trickled in and prepared themselves for the show, which began a few minutes past the scheduled start time of 9 PM.
Portland, Oregon’s power trio Sons Of Huns took the stage for a 40-minute set and treated the audience with some sweet and simple proto-metal jams, getting a more than decent response at the end of their set and turning out to be a solidly ideal opener. Saint Vitus normally tend to tour with good support bands that their fans would be able to appreciate, and Sons Of Huns were no exception to that. Having never been to Portland, I’m still very much curious and fascinated as to what lies in the air and water there that gives rise to such a plethora of talented rock and metal bands. Sons Of Huns have existed for about five years now, and put out their newest album ‘Banishment Ritual’ via Easy Rider Records, and if this set is anything to go by, Los Angeles will be seeing a lot more of them in the near future.
Check out a gallery of 11 Sons Of Huns photos from the show below, of view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Sons Of Huns links:
SonsOfHuns.com
facebook.com/SonsOfHunsPDX
twitter.com/SonsOfHuns
instagram.com/SonsOfHuns
At 10:15, the lights went out and the members of Saint Vitus quietly walked onto the stage and wasted no time in starting their set. They played for a total duration of 75 minutes, the first half being a mix of material from classic albums like V, Hallow’s Victim and Mournful Cries, along with three tunes from the latest album ‘Lillie: F-65’ which in my opinion boasts of music just about as enjoyable as anything Vitus have ever done, as was proven by the righteousness with which frontman Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich and his band mates performed these three songs, namely ‘Blessed Night’, ‘Let Them Fall’ and ‘The Waste Of Time’. This slab of latest material was an apt precursor and appetizer for the main course, the ‘Born Too Late’ album in its entirety.
Interestingly, the band played the album in reverse order, beginning with ‘The War Starter’ and going through it to end the show with the title track. Naturally, this part of the show brought out a higher excitement level from this crowd, as the beers were flowing and joints were being passed around. Wino himself played his part in this process by distributing a couple of joints and beers amongst people in or near the front row. The atmosphere inside the Echoplex was rapidly filled with the cannabis fragrance. Vocally, Wino sounded absolutely on-point, and equally importantly, he brought forth his entire range of facial expressions and body language to deliver each song in the most perfect manner possible. Guitarist Dave Chandler was at the peak of his powers as well, and so were bassist Mark Adams and drummer Henry Vasquez.
All four members looked in great spirits and seemed more than happy to be here to perform for their LA fans. Saint Vitus are by all means still an underground band, but based on this performance, it’s clear that they take it positively and aren’t one to whine and complain about their life as a touring band, as they’re still enjoying what they do and are doing it mighty well. It was great that they got to play the bigger room and stage at the Echoplex as opposed to the Echo upstairs. It was a better fit to their stature, but at the same time it definitely had the vibe of a house party which was perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the show as a whole.
I’m never one to judge people based on their musical tastes, but if a person calls himself or herself a fan of doom metal and isn’t familar with or a fan of Saint Vitus, I’d completely fail to comprehend that, for Saint Vitus are the true pillars of doom, even after all these years still showing what the genre is all about, in terms of the music, the attitude and the atmosphere it creates.
Related: [Interview] In Conversation With Saint Vitus Singer Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich
Check out a gallery of 32 Saint Vitus photos from the show below, of view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Saint Vitus links:
SaintVitusBand.com
facebook.com/SaintVitusOfficial
twitter.com/SaintVitusBand
Set List:
01. Living Backwards
02. I Bleed Black
03. War Is Our Destiny
04. Blessed Night
05. Let Them Fall
06. The Troll
07. The Waste of Time
08. The War Starter
09. The Lost Feeling
10. H.A.A.G.
11. Dying Inside
12. Clear Windowpane
13. Born Too Late
Remaining tour dates:
5/14 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
5/15 Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s
5/16 San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
5/17 Portland, OR @ Branx
5/18 Seattle, WA @ Highline
5/20 Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
5/21 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
5/23 Austin, TX @ Red 7 Outside
5/24 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
5/25 Dallas, TX @ Three Links
The Echo/Echoplex links:
TheEcho.com
facebook.com/EchoLA
twitter.com/TheEchoLA
instagram.com/TheEchoLA