boy/ The Acacia Strain/ Daath/ Psyopus/ See You Next Tuesday
January 20th @ Soma
show review by Rachel Ford
I arrived at Soma in a rush to gather up my crew and run inside hoping we hadn’t missed too much. It had actually been a stroke of luck that we even managed by the tickets that night, as it turned out to be a sold-out show. The bands seemed to be pulling in a lot of the younger crowd, since looking around I noticed that I might be one of the few without a curfew that night. Daath was just finishing their set-up when we made it to the side stage. Unfortunately that meant we had missed the openers, See you Next Tuesday. You could see that they had done their job though, as the crowd was already drenched in sweat.
Daath is a relatively new Metal band, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. They’ve yet to even release a debut. Still, it seems that despite the lack of an album they have a very good following, judging by the reaction of the crowd as they started their set. All the diehards rushed to the front to scream along, while the Hardcore Kids in attendance seemed to have a hard time dancing to Daath’s unique style, which involves keyboards and synth. Vocals, Sean Farber, got a little too caught up in it all when he tried to make a smooth toss of the mic, landing it on the stage floor with a loud “thud”. No one really seemed to catch it or care for that matter.
I was really anticipating seeing the next band, Psyopus! Definitely unlike most bands out there, they are noted for their extremely technical version of Grindcore. A must see band, as it is sometimes hard to believe exactly what you’re hearing with them. As they entered the stage, they announced “Psyopus needs a place to stay tonight…that’s how we roll!” Psyopus is a down to earth band, usually relying on fans to help them book shows or find them a place to crash while touring.
The crowd began to move in violent shakes and spasms trying to keep up with the insane and ever changing beats. Truly amazing musicians, they played a flawless set. Guitarist, Christopher Arp, even stopped playing at one point during “Insects” to tweak his amp, and jumped right back in without missing a beat. BEAUTIFUL.
After all the excitement of Psyopus, we decided to head to the merch area and grab some energy drinks. On our way back to the stage a man with a stack of DVD’s in one hand approached me. It turned out to be Kevin Talley, drummer for Daath and numerous other bands such as, The Red Chord, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Dying Fetus just to name a few. We got a chance to talk with him for awhile about Daath, and it seems he’s definitely going to be sticking with them and is really excited about their upcoming album. He also offered us some pretty good deals on the DVD’s, which all turned out to be live recordings of the different bands he’s played with. Ten bucks for two DVD’s, can’t beat that.
When we made it back to the stage, The Acacia Strain was already playing. Personally I could’ve done without them on the bill. The sound for their set was lacking. They droned on with repetitive riffs over double bass between almost every song, while the Bro bassist flashed his grill at the audience. A lot of people seemed to drift off during their interludes. The highlight of their set was when they stopped to call out some young guys who were trying to start fights, and had them dragged out of the room.
Fights at shows are nothing new, but by this time they had gotten ridiculous. Every few minutes Security was pulling some bloody nosed kids out as they were still clawing for each other. They were getting bold and even trying to start fights with the Soma Security. Anyone who has been to Soma knows how incredibly massive these security guards are.
Finally it came time for headliners, Job For A Cowboy to hit the stage. The room was packed with people practically falling out the door. It was obvious everyone had been waiting for this. In side stage tradition, the sound began to become muffled, but that didn’t stop Job and the audience from doing their best to bring the place down. In an epic moment during the fan favorite, “Entombment Of a Machine” the crowd threw up their hands and let out a collective “Ahhhhhhhhh!” for the traditional scream. Despite the sound problems and fights, they managed to end the night with a bang. RF