The Hammer and Blades tour came through MN on Friday with Project 86 headlining and The Showdown, August Burns Red, Schema, and Truth Has Died opening.
I followed the proper channels for getting on the guest list through Decoy, but apparently somewhere, someone dropped the ball. Again. What’s worse is there really isn’t a recourse for me. I could talk to my Decoy contact, but there’s not really anything he can do. And I’m sure he talked to the right person. Usually the fallout comes with the record label.
Now I wouldn’t imagine anyone from Tooth and Nail or any other record label that has stiffed me in the past (*ahem, cough* Atlantic *ahem*) is reading this, but if you are, take note. It is embarrassing, and not fun, to go to a show, tell them you’re on the guest list and then to have them search over it multiple times and not find your name. Please spare me the trouble of asking to get off work early so I can cover said show.
Aside from the little mishap at the door, the rest of the night was relatively good. I was surprised to learn that there were 2 more opening bands than I expected. Unfortunately, neither were something to get excited about. Rick really liked Schema and picked up their CD after the show.
I had been waiting to see The Showdown for over a year now, and unforunately I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, their material from A Chorus of Obliteration was stellar and I loved it. Their new stuff, however, was crap. There was not one screamed vocal or one double bass run. In fact, they pretty much went southern rock with a little heavier edge. I just about cried every time they played a new song. Well, that’s not quite true. I was really just waiting for the heavy parts to kick in, but they never did. So it looks like there’s one less band I have to care about in the future. I honestly can’t blame them for changing their sound. What they want to do with music is their choice, but I’ll miss their old style.
One band I knew would not disappoint was August Burns Red. I’d heard two things about these guys. Their live show is great and they’re really young. i don’t know if it was the fact that this Christian club we were in didn’t allow moshing, but things could’ve been taken up another notch or two. Still though, August Burns Red was the highlight of my night. I only wish I would’ve had some extra cash to buy a t-shirt.
I’m not a Project 86 fan really. I’ll listen to them, but I don’t get excitied about them. Rick, on the other hand, used to be into them a lot. I don’t think he is as much now though. Regardless, I couldn’t help thinking back to about 5 years ago. Rick and I were standing at the Quest across the street from where Project 86 was opening for P.O.D. It’s funny how much has changed, yet how many things are still the same.
Instead of dealing with the underage crowd, Rick and I opted to go up to the balcony for the end of the show. Project 86 played about 50 min with their encore which was longer than I expected. I was really surprised that they were the only band to go on the Christian preaching track. Their lead singer really seemed to like Minneapolis though. Many times he iterated that they love to play here and they wish every night could be like it is in Minnesota. Then again, they probably say that every night.
The entire night seemed to have kind of a weird vibe. Maybe it was my rush to get out of work, the door mishap, or the fact we were in a Christian club. Personally, I am a little weirded out by religious people. They tend to be very accepting without much caution. Personally, I tend to be skeptical of people until I get to know them. The other side of it is, those people tend to be really nice and accepting of you in hopes of recruiting another member of their religion. It’s sort of the same feeling you get when a bum on the street walks up to you and starts a conversation with you to establish a repore, and then asks for money.
And I can’t forget to mention the MC. Where to begin… Imagine some combination of Emeril Lagasse and a cokehead on the tail end of a 3 day bender. Annoying and obnoxious are two words that only begin to describe this guy’s stage act. And you know by how over the top it was, it has to be an act (that or everyone this guy knows must want to kill him). He’d come out between bands and announce the next band, talk about some upcoming show, and then throw out a bunch of promo CD’s which no doubt contained a bunch of Christian music. As he threw out the CD’s, he screamed “Bam!” OK, I give up, there are not enough words to describe this guy. He was annoying and that is that.
As you can probably tell, this isn’t a standard show review. Being that Tooth and Nail snubbed me, I decided not to write a review. I of course had my camera along and did take some pictures, but most of them didn’t turn out very well. I’ll post a photo update soon.
