By Andrew Bansal
March 5th 2014, The Slidebar, Fullerton CA: It had been quite a long while since Seattle, Washington-based traditional heavy metal band Christian Mistress played a gig in Southern California, but the wait for them and their cult fan base was finally over as they visited the Slidebar in Fullerton for a free show last night, along with Los Angeles-based support acts Gypsyhawk and Night Demon. For fans of old-school hard rock/heavy metal in the area, the lineup was nothing short of mouthwatering and promised to deliver a memorable show.
I had previously never been to the Slidebar, and since the incident at Malone’s during NAMM week, I’ve been cautious towards approaching Orange County venues, in fear of being denied entry for no apparent reason. But to my surprise, as soon as I walked into the Slidebar at around 7:45 PM, the outer bar/dining area hit me with a strangely positive vibe and I had a feeling I was going to like this venue. All my fears vanished rapidly and my mind instead got occupied with the prospect of seeing this incredible lineup of bands.
Much in a similar vein as venues like the Loaded Bar in Hollywood, this place has a separate room for the live music, a cozy yet spacious little enclosure with a decent stage, a sizable general-admission standing area and couches along the walls. Ventura’s NWOBHM heroes Night Demon began proceedings at 9:30 with a scorching 30-minute set, showcasing everything they stand for musically with a 7-song selection from their self-titled debut EP and the imminent full-length album ‘Run For Your Life’. The trio of Jarvis Leatherby on bass and vocals, Brent Woodward on guitar and Diezel Bottoms on drums keep attaining higher peaks in their performance level every time they hit the stage, and last night was no exception as they won over every single attendee here. All seven songs in this set sounded fantastic but ‘Curse Of The Damned’, an ode to H.P. Lovecraft, is in my opinion the best song they’ve written so far and it truly stands out in the live setting as well. Whenever it releases, their debut full-length will definitely catapult them to the next level as a band and they’ll soon transcend the local scene to conquer pastures worldwide. If you’re a NWOBHM fan and haven’t checked out Night Demon yet, you’re doing yourself a severe disservice.
Visit Night Demon on the web:
NightDemon.net
facebook.com/NightDemonBand
twitter.com/NightDemonBand
instagram.com/NightDemonMetal
Set List:
01. Run For Your Life
02. Ritual
03. Satan
04. Livin’ Dangerous
05. The Chalice
06. Curse Of The Damned
07. Night Demon
Very few bands in LA can succeed at fulfilling the daunting task of following up to Night Demon, but if anyone could do it, it had to be Pasadena boogie rockers Gypsyhawk. These dudes have been off the relentless road for the past few months and have enjoyed playing the occasional local gigs during this period. In typical fashion, they began with their eponymous song, swiftly moved onto ‘Hedgeking’ and then brought forth a good chunk of new material by playing unreleased songs ‘The Answers We Need’ and ‘Three Castles’, along with a song called ‘Maker’ which even I hadn’t heard before. These tunes undoubtedly proved that Gypsyhawk aren’t a band that repeats themselves even though their signature musical elements are still very much present. After a successful debut of a cover of Bachman Turner Overdrive’s ‘Let It Ride’ at the Viper Room not so long ago, they decided to revisit it for this set. Except for myself and the Gypsyhawk merch guy, no one in this room had seen the band do this one, and based on their reactions, people seemed to be impressed and pleasantly surprised with the band’s choice and execution of the song. Gypsyhawk brought yet another excellent set to a close with the pot-smoking anthem ‘Commander Of The High Forest’, and emphatically lived up to their ever-growing reputation as one of the most enjoyable live bands going around at present.
Visit Gypsyhawk on the web:
facebook.com/GypsyhawkUSA
twitter.com/GypsyhawkUSA
instagram.com/GypsyhawkUSA
Set List:
01. Gypsyhawk
02. Hedgeking
03. The Answers We Need
04. Three Castles
05. Maker
06. Let It Ride (Bachman Turner Overdrive cover)
07. Commander Of The High Forest
And lastly at around 11:15, Christian Mistress took the stage and not only created an immensely strong impression on first-time listeners in the crowd, but for the people who had seen the band in Pomona and LA three years ago, it was a delightful reminder of the reason they became Christian Mistress fans in the first place, as the sheer power of the band’s pristine traditional heavy metal was on full display here during this 10-song set. By the time this set started, all attendees were already in high spirits due to the combination of alcohol consumption and the fantastic live music they had witnessed so far, and Christian Mistress only took them higher.
They began with a new, previously unheard song ‘Stronger Than Blood’ and then dived into the ‘Possession’ album which occupied the majority of the set with as many as six of its songs. The debut album ‘Agony & Opium’ was only represented once in the set with ‘Desert Rose’ which was slightly disappointing for fans as they would have certainly wanted a couple more songs from it, but it was understandable that the band wanted to present more of the newer material, which wasn’t inferior by any means and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration in saying that Christian Mistress haven’t written a bad song yet. The unreleased tunes brought out a doomy side of their musicianship which wasn’t as much evident in the albums they’ve released. Performance-wise, they nailed it with all the instruments while Christine Davis’ vocal delivery was crisp and on-point. ‘Black To Gold’ was my favorite song of the set, and it felt beyond great to get to see this amazing band again after such a long time.
In a world where female-fronted bands are often derided for exploiting the female element to sell their music without focusing on the actual music itself, Christian Mistress is one band that have the potential to go on and change people’s perception about the subject, as they incorporate the female vocal element in a musical style that truly befits it.
Visit Christian Mistress on the web:
ChristianMistress.com
facebook.com/ChristianMistress
Set List:
01. Stronger Than Blood (new)
02. Over & Over
03. Pentagram And Crucifix
04. Desert Rose
05. Possession
06. Instrumental (new)
07. Haunted Hunted
08. Black To Gold
09. Doom Song (new)
10. All Abandon
Remaining Christian Mistress Tour Dates:
3/06 – East 7th St Punx LA – Los Angeles CA
3/07 – The Elbo Room – San Francisco CA
3/08 – Church Of The Buzzard – Oakland CA
3/09 – Tonic Lounge – Portland OR
3/11 – SXSW – Austin TX
3/12 – SXSW – Austin TX
3/14 – Black Lodge – Seattle WA
3/15 – Astoria Pub – Vancouver BC, Canada
3/16 – The Brotherhood – Olympia WA
The turnout was good considering it was a weeknight, and the sound quality in the room was excellent. Aside from having to hear people doing hip hop karaoke upon stepping out into the adjoining area at the end of the show, this night had absolutely no negatives. I’d love to attend more shows here and recommend you to do so as well. The city of Fullerton has faced a lot of flak in recent months because of the incident with the Fullerton P.D. and there are people who’ve self-imposed a ‘ban’ on going to the city, but I’d like to go on record and say that the Slidebar or the bands playing here shouldn’t have to suffer from it as they are in no way associated with what happened.
Overall, even though it’s still early in the year, this might end up as one of the best shows of 2014, because these bands portrayed what metal should truly stand for. Riffs, harmonies, clean vocals, beer and lots of headbanging.
Visit the Slidebar on the web:
SlidebarFullerton.com
facebook.com/theSlidebarCafe
twitter.com/theSlidebar