Oooops, sorry. I'm here I swear. I was really really sick from my migraine the last few days. The show was fucking PACKED like friggin sardines!!! Soooooo hot in there. They had over capacity and that pissed me off, especially since it was the day before the anniversary of the Great White fire. Stupid asses, anything for money. ANYWAY, Vile and Exhumed did quite well, especially since they are from the Bay Area. James from Skinless is on vocals for Vile at the moment and their old singer Juan came onstage and did a song. During Exhumed, James came out and sang with Matt. Leon (ex-Impaled) is actually playing bass on this tour. It was VERY odd for me to see him on bass and on the side of the stage instead of in front. I think the crowd was a bit more into Exhumed than Vile though. Vile has been off the market here for so long with no members that I think people have to re-know them again.
On to Hypocrisy... FUCK they own. They always have. I think the more they tour here, the more people here will like them. They got a better response than they did in November, but like I was saying to them, here in the bay area you either have to be very technical or very very fast and brutal. If you're in between, the crowd will look at you and try to figure you out. Each time they come here, they get a better response and I think the crowds are starting to get into them more. I told them that in two tours from now, they will be getting all the insanely excited people screaming at them at shows. That's just how it is here. Don't get me wrong, the crowd wasn't bad, but here, Cannibal Corpse fans don't generally like the Hypocrisy type of vibe. They usually only want brutal death. It was nice to see the pit going every once in a while though. The setlist was about the same as the other gigs and I REALLY liked the new songs, especially the opener, Born Dead Buried Alive. There's just something about that riff that makes me play that song over and over.
Horgh fits the band perfectly. Not that I ever doubted that! You could hear that he added a couple things here and there, but it wasn't out of place or to an excess like a lot of people were assuming at first. The whole band really sounded tight and I didn't hear any mistakes from where I was. For those people that were in the front, sorry if I was in your way sometimes. I tried to stay outta the way, but shit happens and it wasn't always possible for me. That pole on the left side of the stage (stage right) was my best friend that night! The guys said they thought the tour was going pretty damned well and they were happy with it for the most part. I tried to give them a bit more encouragement for the bay area scene, I hoped that worked. I did manage to get a bunch of photos, a lot that turned out pretty cool. I will try to scan them today/tomorrow and post them on a temporary site until Fredrik posts them on Swedish Metal if you guys want.
I hate the fact that I looked forward to this gig for so long and I end up with an absolutely KILLER migraine, and I couldn't headbang with the music. Or very very little. It was insanely tough for me to last through the set. CC came on and after about two songs, I swore I was going to puke in the photo pit because of the flashing stage lights. And CC were about ten times too loud. Even a few other people I know said so. I only watched about six songs of them and had to go downstairs and lay on the couch. I did watch soundcheck and whatnot and hung out until the left (don't ask me how I managed that) and I think they got to Portland in one piece. If the crowds stay pretty consistant with the guys, I think they'll be happy enough to come back.