Wow.....that is the best way to describe tonights show. If this tour rolls into your town....DO NOT MISS IT. Hands down...this is what heavy metal is. For those who are not familiar with Enforcer and Cauldron....they are bands who play traditional metal mixed with NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). Leaving tonights show made me realize why I love metal so much. It was great to see bands truely be happy on stage playing with zero ego.
The show was at Cafe Lura in Chicago. It is a smaller bar on the North Side of the city. It wasnt a heavily advertised show and even the 2 bands on the bill are not really well known yet. Still....I almost feel like I cheated them for the price of this show. The turnout was actually decent for this type of show on a thursday night in the city. There was about 60 to 70. The place is very very small so the room was comfortably filled without it being to hot or smashed. Got to finally meet KingsGene from the forum there too. All who are going to ProgPower...look for him....I will say he is one of the coolest cats to hang out with at a show. Good times.
High Spirits was first. They are a local band who are actually just a studio band but were asked to play the show. The band features Chris Black from Pharoh / Superchrist. They play NWOBHM and with pure energy. Had a Tygers of Pan Tang / Thin Lizzy ( good call Scott ) with a more raw feel. This was thier first and I think only show they are planning. They have 2 CD demos and a brand new LP out....vinyl only. Worth hunting down. If they continue to record and even play shows....they are going to be a name one of these days. They played a nice 6 to 7 song set. Everyone got into them. Not one person was not yelling for more when they finished.
Cauldron played next. This is the band I was there to see. These Canadians know how to bring it. This band features ex-Goat Horns members. They continue with this band with a full on traditional metal assault. They have lots of simularities to Wolf in thier sound. They were having a blast on stage and the crowd was into them 100%. It was funny....people were yelling all these songs out to them....the singer was like...we are playing all that and even more...we can play all our songs. It is funny to hear that...lots of bands only play what they rehearse before the tour. The whole itme during there set you could feel thier energy going through the crowd. It has been a long time since I have felt that type of energy from a live band. Everyone was having a blast. Having one full length and one EP, they pretty much played the best stuff off of those. Thier set was WAYYYY to short though. I think like 7 or 8 songs. They had very good jabs at the crowd. People were yelling funny stuff to them and they would shoot back funny comments. It was nice to see a band not going through the motions and say the same thing everytime to each city. At the end...people were yelling for more....then someone started an Angel Witch chant. The band was laughing...the singer said...lets here it for Angel Witch. I would have loved to hear them play the cover...but they unplugged and left the stage.
Enforcer was next. Enforcer is a Sweedish band playing NWOBHM with a touch of speed metal tossed in. They proudly show off the NWOBHM look. That or they are going to the band with the gayest image. Lots of tights, boots, bandana's, and leather jackets with no shirts under it. The stage was super small and looked overly crowded with 5 guys on stage. The second they started it was nothing short of a non stop barage of metal. This is a band who has fun with what they do. Non stop energy and crowd interaction. Not a dead spot on thier set. During the instrumental the singer walked off to the bar and when the next song started the vocals kicked in and everyone looked around and there he was sitting in the crowd singing. Even the guitarist was in the crowd soloing and stuff. They played one new song and the rest from thier debut disc. While not as fine tuned as Cauldron...they were fun to watch and had the crowd eating out of thier hands. Near the end thier second guitarist had tech issues and had to go fix his guitar. The band decided only to play one more song without him....which kind of stunk...it isnt like they are a prog band where that would have made a difference. They did one more song and called it a night. They played like 8 or 9 songs. It was nice to have fast short sets and leaving you wanting more instead of looking at your watch wondering how much longer.
It was cool...after the show Enforcer stayed up on the stage and was taking photos with whoever wanted to. They were all posing and stuff and having a blast and invited anyone to stay after and drink at the bar and hang out. I was bummed that they didnt get thier merch sent to them yet...I heard they had issues with the label getting them their stuff in time. leaving the show I thought about how much fun this show was and this is the reason why I love metal. I havent had fun like this at a show in a long time. Just a great night of pure metal with no frills. It is great to see bands having fun on stage and not acting like it is a favor for us to be there for them. The whole night the crowd and bands fed off each other to make it an amazing night.
I cannot say enough....when this tour hits your area. Support this show. If you cant...spread the word. It is great to see the true spirit of metal still alive and well.
The show was at Cafe Lura in Chicago. It is a smaller bar on the North Side of the city. It wasnt a heavily advertised show and even the 2 bands on the bill are not really well known yet. Still....I almost feel like I cheated them for the price of this show. The turnout was actually decent for this type of show on a thursday night in the city. There was about 60 to 70. The place is very very small so the room was comfortably filled without it being to hot or smashed. Got to finally meet KingsGene from the forum there too. All who are going to ProgPower...look for him....I will say he is one of the coolest cats to hang out with at a show. Good times.
High Spirits was first. They are a local band who are actually just a studio band but were asked to play the show. The band features Chris Black from Pharoh / Superchrist. They play NWOBHM and with pure energy. Had a Tygers of Pan Tang / Thin Lizzy ( good call Scott ) with a more raw feel. This was thier first and I think only show they are planning. They have 2 CD demos and a brand new LP out....vinyl only. Worth hunting down. If they continue to record and even play shows....they are going to be a name one of these days. They played a nice 6 to 7 song set. Everyone got into them. Not one person was not yelling for more when they finished.
Cauldron played next. This is the band I was there to see. These Canadians know how to bring it. This band features ex-Goat Horns members. They continue with this band with a full on traditional metal assault. They have lots of simularities to Wolf in thier sound. They were having a blast on stage and the crowd was into them 100%. It was funny....people were yelling all these songs out to them....the singer was like...we are playing all that and even more...we can play all our songs. It is funny to hear that...lots of bands only play what they rehearse before the tour. The whole itme during there set you could feel thier energy going through the crowd. It has been a long time since I have felt that type of energy from a live band. Everyone was having a blast. Having one full length and one EP, they pretty much played the best stuff off of those. Thier set was WAYYYY to short though. I think like 7 or 8 songs. They had very good jabs at the crowd. People were yelling funny stuff to them and they would shoot back funny comments. It was nice to see a band not going through the motions and say the same thing everytime to each city. At the end...people were yelling for more....then someone started an Angel Witch chant. The band was laughing...the singer said...lets here it for Angel Witch. I would have loved to hear them play the cover...but they unplugged and left the stage.
Enforcer was next. Enforcer is a Sweedish band playing NWOBHM with a touch of speed metal tossed in. They proudly show off the NWOBHM look. That or they are going to the band with the gayest image. Lots of tights, boots, bandana's, and leather jackets with no shirts under it. The stage was super small and looked overly crowded with 5 guys on stage. The second they started it was nothing short of a non stop barage of metal. This is a band who has fun with what they do. Non stop energy and crowd interaction. Not a dead spot on thier set. During the instrumental the singer walked off to the bar and when the next song started the vocals kicked in and everyone looked around and there he was sitting in the crowd singing. Even the guitarist was in the crowd soloing and stuff. They played one new song and the rest from thier debut disc. While not as fine tuned as Cauldron...they were fun to watch and had the crowd eating out of thier hands. Near the end thier second guitarist had tech issues and had to go fix his guitar. The band decided only to play one more song without him....which kind of stunk...it isnt like they are a prog band where that would have made a difference. They did one more song and called it a night. They played like 8 or 9 songs. It was nice to have fast short sets and leaving you wanting more instead of looking at your watch wondering how much longer.
It was cool...after the show Enforcer stayed up on the stage and was taking photos with whoever wanted to. They were all posing and stuff and having a blast and invited anyone to stay after and drink at the bar and hang out. I was bummed that they didnt get thier merch sent to them yet...I heard they had issues with the label getting them their stuff in time. leaving the show I thought about how much fun this show was and this is the reason why I love metal. I havent had fun like this at a show in a long time. Just a great night of pure metal with no frills. It is great to see bands having fun on stage and not acting like it is a favor for us to be there for them. The whole night the crowd and bands fed off each other to make it an amazing night.
I cannot say enough....when this tour hits your area. Support this show. If you cant...spread the word. It is great to see the true spirit of metal still alive and well.
