How were the Sword?
What was the total number of trucker hats, dark rimmed glasses, and skinny jeans?
Haha...it was not as bad as I thought...the surprising thing was a number of "bros" who were getting into the band and singing along to the well known songs.
Overall it was a great show. Each band was great. Here's my review:
First...Killer Moons - very retro doom-y 3 piece band. They lit incense which was kind of cool. They had a girl bass player who was not good but good enough to lay down some grooves. Sounded like The Sword but a little more groovy. Decent singer and good guitar player. They had a free CD with 1 demo.
Second...Mount Carmel - another retro band but much more blues based. A power trio that reminded me of Cactus, Cream, Johnny Winter, etc. Solid performance and a very solid drummer who reminded me of Ian Paice of Deep Purple. Bought the CD.
Third...The Sword - The last time I saw them was right when the first album released and they had a song on the first Guitar Hero (when the game was fun). They were picking up steam at this point. I think they were opening for Trivium but I was at the show to see Protest the Hero (weird line up). They were great but they didn't move much and were not engaging at all. This time around it was different. They were much more expressive and energetic. Better all around. Their latest album is my favorite but they did not play much from it unfortunately. They did encore with Lament of the Auroch which was awesome. I hadn't listened to them in a while but suddenly I remembered all the riffs and was air guitaring though almost the whole set.
Fourth...Truckfighters - Right as The Sword finished up Truckfighers were starting up next door at the music joint. This was the main reason I went. I got in for free with my ticket to The Sword so that was nice. They are from Sweden and for some reason a ton of great retro/stoner/groove rock bands come from there. I was not at all familiar with this band but I'd heard great things. Another 3 piece. They put on the most energetic performance I've ever seen. The guitar player was jumping almost the whole time (like punk rock guitar player jumps). Vocals were pretty weak but it was all about the riffs, grooves, and fuzz. Very similar to Queens of the Stone Age. Bought all 3 of their albums. Vocals are much better on the records.
Here's a short video I took of Truckfighters...
