Right, I may as well give the lowdown on the show - currently suffering greatly from exhaustion in the aftermath, my back, neck, legs and throat are compeltely ruined. Thankfully, the internet now works!
Risen Prophecy and Desolator were bloody terrific opening acts, both being infinitely tighter than the last time I saw them. Joebacca's Thrashist Regime (sponsored by Endor Pops) were the surprise of the day, being less 'pretty fuckin' neato' and more 'holy balls what the shit is this' badass, making their already excellent songs sound even excellent-er. Blood Sweat & Beers put on a good, energetic show too despite running over their set time by 25 minutes which caused a bit of confusion for a while.
Hour break, then Vindicator. I'll let someone else (read: Joe) fill you in there to avoid my sounding like an egotistical douche. Shrapnel, as always, were full of beans and spot on (again, far tighter than the last time I saw them - my buddy Rob from Kemakil stepped in for bass duties) and then motherfucking Seregon hit the stage. Then they proceeded to tear everyone a new asshole in the face, once again proving that they're one of the best bands in the countrey, if not the world. Rezet - the single most requested band there - were bloody enjoyable too, though as it was getting late I think the crowd was a little too exhausted to really go for it which the band were a bit unhappy with. Finally, Virus ended the show in fucking style by not only playing vicious renditions of old classics, but throwing in a bunch of excellent new songs too. Having been a fan for many, many, MANY years, it was great to finally see them live. Between them, I think it's safe to say that Virus, Seregon and Thrashist regime completely stole the show, though the rest of the bands held their own extremely well. Top fucking stuff!
Plenty of song dedications, drunkeness, silliness and homosexuality was had. Admittedly, we only made 400 on the door though this was only due to my lack of internet and subsequently, lack of promotion on my part over the past two weeks. So we couldn't afford to pay every band (Thrashist got 20, Shrapnel are getting 30 next month and Desolator sadly left with naught) but this aside, it was a fucking terrific show. It's always great to catch up with old friends, I for one hadn't seen any of the guys in Seregon for two years , Joe since BOA last year and I hadn't seen Coke from Virus in about 4 years or so. Despite the stress, the financial/promotional issues and the continuous lineup changes it was a colossal success. Everyone had fun, that's what matters to me.
The one question I got more than anything was simply "Are you doing this again next year?" In all honesty, I don't know. I'd like to, and since I'd now have almost a year to sort the show out instead of just four months, it'd certainly be much easier next time around. However, the only way we managed to afford all of this was due almost ntirely to my bandmate Chris who pretty much helped finance the entire show, and since he has a daughter on the way shortly, he's not going to be able to contribute next year. I'm unemployed, live in the forth largest city in the country with two universities and we're amidst a recession. So next year's show would entirely depend on ym financial situation and nothing else - we'll see. However, I'd actually like to do the exact same thing again without limiting it strictly to thrash... a Snooty Fox dayfest of thrash, black, doom and death metal would be utterly fantastic I think. I'm already in talks with some bands over the possibility of that, sinc eit'd be easier to pull a crowd, but we'll just have to see what happens.
That said, whether I go through with FTA 2013 or not, I already have bands willing to play. Only time will tell. But alas, thanks to everyone who played, attended, worked on the door, behind the bar or with the camera crew. It was bloody fantastic!
Live stream archive (Vindicator, Shrapnel, Seregon & Rezet):
http://www.livestream.com/snootyfoxlive/video?clipId=pla_69d30fc9-1e50-461e-af9f-e3f5dba104b3
