How the hell do you do a proper review for a Gwar show? You already know what to expect when you walk in those doors and you already know you're going to have the time of your life. Can you appropriately put that into context? Well, truthfully you can't. If you missed Gwar, you're just going to have to live with it, because you missed out.
With that said, I will try to hit on some key points. I got to the show a bit late and unfortunately missed Ghoul and Legacy of Disorder. I heard they killed though, especially Ghoul. Standing outside with my friends who smoke cigarettes, all I seemed to hear was "Ghoul was amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing man!". I'll take their word for it (since that time, I've indeed looked up Ghoul and they do indeed rule).
Kylesa is one of the most underrated bands in metal today. Their devastating combination of sludgy riffs, psych rock and pure down-tuned doom is quite the listening experience. This unique take on metal is refreshing, partially becomes it's not reductionist. Kylesa do their own thing and are not part of any particular scene. They borrow and they make it their own; the sign of true artists.
Tom Petty said the waiting is the hardest part and he was right. It felt like an eternity before Gwar hit the stage...of course Gwar doesn't have your typical stage set-up. The amps are the easy part. Getting the set built under time deadlines has to put major pressure on those road crews. I was outside during all this though so it was ok.
When the group finally emerged, all you saw were ear-to-ear smiles. It's hard not to love Gwar. Their blend of shock rock and metal is both twisted and perverse, yet almost childish. It's what you would want to see if you were a 15 year old who loved to party but still hadn't outgrown the phase in your life where you're obsessed with monsters and decapitations. This time around the set included the disembowelment of Snooki, decapitiation of some kind of dinosaur, endless jokes about lame rock groups (see Marilyn Manson, Hell Yeah) and antagonizing the audience to throw things. If you were in the pit, there's a good chance you were drenched in red syrup by the end of the show, and if you were up front you probably have a sore neck from all the crowd surfers landing on you. The sound was as great as the show and Gwar hit on numbers old and new. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that they didn't play "Penguin Attack"....or maybe they did? I had to answer a phone call during the set so I missed a couple songs. Anyone know if they did play it?
Gwar does it again. Town Ballroom does it again. Another excellent night for a show.
