Voivod Visits Los Angeles On ‘Post Society’ Tour With King Parrot & Child Bite

By Lisa Burke

voivod_whisky

June 2nd 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: When attending live heavy metal shows, unpredictability can become a common occurrence, and not only is there potential to suffer injury or death in the mosh pit, or witness an atrocity of a heavy metal band, but also sometimes the headliner of the show turns out to be not-so-much your favorite band. On Thursday June 2nd 2016, at my second Whisky-A-Go-Go appearance of the week, I arrived to see Voivod with touring support acts King Parrot and Child Bite, along with local openers Erode.

Erode
Erode

I arrived in plenty of time to see Santa Monica-based trio Erode open the show, and while I’m fairly accustomed to odd genre mixes that work together surprisingly well, I must say at times I was utterly confused by this hodgepodge of various genres thrown into one song ranging from doom to death to punk. While this may not sound like an odd or harsh combo at all, and in most cases it isn’t, yet in this setting it wasn’t flowing properly. The drumming may have played a slight part in the lack of unity and conformity of it all, yet structurally it needed to be simplified to gain follow-through. Having a range of vocals from death to straight doom is great but putting them in one song in stagnant separate segments lost the audience at times. The ideas and elements are there though, and I recommend an editing phase to really select out what’s the key goal to each tune. As for the sound quality, it wasn’t any worse than usual for openers at the Whisky, and believe it or not, that’s something to be proud of.

Child Bite
Child Bite

Moving on to more oddities in the most artistic way, Detroit’s own post punk/art rock band Child Bite brought the fantasy to the stage with vocalist Shawn Knight commanding the insanity. Their sound was slightly blown out on this night, yet the talent shone through and the players worked their magic. Mid-way through the set it adjusted accordingly and the fantastical melodic backing tracks set the tone nicely. The lyrics are catchy at times and sporadically silly in a fun house kind of way. In vocals and lyrics, there is a spark of insanity yet in his commentary between songs, vocalist Shawn Knight speaks in a very matter-of-fact kind of way, quite opposite to his singing persona, and the dichotomy is encouraging. The vocal style at times also reminds me of Clutch in tone and tempo, all while maintaining its own originality. This is the kind of band that oddly did fit with the lineup, yet it was either highly favored or misunderstood by the unsuspecting crowd. I appreciate the style and found a unique success in it that is out of the normal comfort zone, and that is highly favored in this day and age.

King Parrot
King Parrot

My favorite band of the night who never ever fails to entertain on the highest level was Australian quintet King Parrot. The actual king parrot bird is a native to Australia and what’s even better is when vocalist Matt “Youngy” Young sings the way you’d imagine an angry grindy, sludgy, thrash metal, hardcore punk loving parrot would chirp after ingesting speed. If you’ve never seen a grown man stare you down and then put your entire cell phone in his mouth to almost swallow it between super speedy vocals then you’ve never seen King Parrot. Do you like taking extra showers at a metal show and playing slip n’ slide in the mosh pit because Youngy likes to pour out water bottles down his pants and onto the audience? Guess what, you are in the right place at the right time then, because these guys bring it all to an extreme level. The bass player Matthew “Slatts” Slattery has yet to own a shirt while on stage at least, and his silly and serious faces are a trip-and-a-half to watch while he busts out playing some creative bass licks.

The joke this evening was the guy in the middle of the pit who was wearing King Parrot merchandise in the form of a yellow construction workers vest that says ‘Safety First’ on the back, which obviously is a concern when the slippery wooden floor is covered in water and it’s a mosh party waiting to happen. I, among other spectators, believe future King Parrot merchandise should contain ponchos for the pussies who are afraid of getting wet after midnight. The most amazing part of this band isn’t that the singer reminds me of a modern day GG Allin, but it’s that this band originated only six years ago and are among the most talented professionals I’ve seen who have the acting skills to boot. The stage presence is through the roof, the jokes are serious business, and the jams are grind-till-you-unwind kind of fun. The vocals again are really difficult to pull off, yet are done with extreme precision. The crowd always has a blast, a splash, and a laugh, which is a tough act to follow, to say the least. I mean, with songs like ‘Shit On the Liver’ and the last words out of the singer’s mouth on this night being ‘go fuck yourselves’ how can you have a bad time? Seriously, this band has something to offer any genre of metalhead and if you haven’t seen them, catch them on tour or book a flight to Australia to demand a personal sampling, but don’t tell them I sent you.

Voivod
Voivod

Finally, it was time to see Voivod, an old-school speed metal band that turned progressive and thrashy over the years, but unfortunately with all the thrash that came years after them, the push towards the realm of a little lost-among-the-woodwork became slightly inevitable. This is a skilled band though, and if you understand that they came first, then you get it and appreciate the style. The problem is that in the modern day it becomes monotony instead of the progression it tends to attempt to accomplish, therefore losing its edge which makes for a dull time, especially after a truly exciting band of the future, King Parrot. Also, as far as silly stage names go, these guys are almost at stupid on a scale of silly to stupid with names like ‘Away’, ‘Snake’ and ‘Chewy’. All in all though, the singer has a strong voice and the structure and vibe is apparent, and all that is missing is that modern day appeal. The good news, is no one died at this show despite some quirky yet unintentional efforts, and I believe the entire show was a success against the oddities that ensued, so go fight the good fight and bring bands such as King Parrot into your life.

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Voivod + King Parrot + Child Bite remaining North American tour dates:
6/09 — Eugene OR @ WoW Hall
6/10 — Portland OR @ Dante’s
6/11 — Seattle WA @ El Corazon
6/12 — Victoria BC @ Distrikt
6/13 — Vancouver BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
6/15 — Calgary AB @ Dickens
6/16 — Edmonton AB @ Starlight Room
6/17 — Regina SK @ The Exchange
6/18 — Winnipeg MB @ Good Will Social Club
6/19 — Thunder Bay ON @ Crocks
6/21 — London ON @ Call The Office
6/25 — Montebello QC @ Amnesia Rockfest
7/23 — Mexico City, Mexico – Hell & Heaven Fest

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