Mastodon and High On Fire
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Mastodon and High On Fire | Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review (6/29/02, Downtime, NYC):
Mastodon
Photos by SolomonHey Baby! Can I Have Some Peanut Butter With That Jam?
We, as metalheads, put up with a lot every time we venture out of house to see our favorite bands. Small, overcrowded dives with poor (but expensive) beer selections, terrible acoustics and faulty sound systems are just the beginning. On top of this we have to put up with each other. Sweaty, shirtless men who seem to have no qualms about skin to sweaty skin contact with other men, overzealous headbangers who don't realize they keep swinging their stinky mane in your face, moshers who are too timid to go up front so they decide to flail around in the back when all you want to do is protect your drink, not to mention all of the spitting. It's hard damn work to be a metalhead sometimes. And yet we soldier on. It was at this show that I realized that me and my friends were just as irritating to others as I find others to be to us. You see, Famine and Requiem were in town to join in the festivities. Since we don't always get as much time to hang out as we'd like, our reunion turned into an annoying (for others that is) festival of leaning over people to hand over beers, or just scream in each others ears how awesome Mastodon is. This caused great trepidation to this young girl who wound up next to us and was simply trying to headbang in her own unique way. See, she doesn't flail her head around the way everyone else seems to do it. Instead, she simply puts her head down then slowly brings it back up. She looks kind of like those desk top bird toys that lean over and take a drink (you know, the kind that Homer Simpson blamed for almost causing a nuclear meltdown when he was obese and working from home). Not to take anything away from her personal style, but since she did it with her eyes closed, she rarely saw us coming and was getting jostled a little bit, why she stayed, I'm not sure, but I'd like to apologize.
High On FireAnyway, I timed my arrival relatively well and got there right at the beginning of Mastodon's set. For those of you who don't know yet, Mastodon are awesome. They are simply one of the first bands that jump into my mind when I think of modern metal. They have an amazing sense of riff and composition that makes every song a separate and important event. They strike me as the first true metal jam band. Like Phish with balls (a ballfish?). And like jam bands, when they are live they are in their own element. Like a duck in piranha infested water. Like a pea in a pod. Like a pedophile in a monastery. They just fit. Their songs came through very effectively, despite the limited acoustics and technical difficulty, and it made it much easier to keep ones cool, even after paying $7 for a bottle of beer. The floor was a sea of smoke and limbs as the crowd was excited and spastic despite the plodding nature of the music. Mastodon were worth the price of admission in and of themselves and I got the feeling that I was seeing a huge act in the making.
MastodonHigh on Fire were the headliner this night, something I just didn't understand. And while not taking anything away from them or their fans, they just seemed boring after Mastodon. Their songs, while some are better than others, still all sound the same. Luckily they did play "Drawn and Quartered," which was my favorite off of the new disc, but they really just struck me as background music. Unlike how other bands demand your attention, High on Fire simply offer what they have to give. I think they would have benefited from opening the show rather than close, as they simply had too much of a spotlight on them. Kinda like when a fat chick tries on a bikini under florescent lights, it's simply too easy to see the flaws. The crowd was appreciative, if not overwhelmed, however, and I guess it's better than drinking in a bar while having to listen to track after track of REM and U2.
Death's Review (6/29/02, Downtime, NYC):
High On FireSaturday night in the summertime, New York City. Requiem and Ember were in town staying with Hel and I. The four of us plus Solomon and Redwolff went out the night before to Danzig/Prong at The World and had actually ripped it up pretty hard for what had been originally intended to be a pretty mellow night. But a little brunch and an afternoon of culture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art were all we needed to cleanse our palette for the coming evening's festivities and the weekend's main event: MASTODON.
Things really started to look huge when we found out that Famine was going to come in to the city to rage for this one as well. Pre-show beers were slammed while jamming Vader and Halford and a CD-R of some forthcoming Shadows Fall material that blew me away - wait until you people hear their version of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" (trust me, it is killer)! Before long we were into cabs and off to Downtime, not a regular club on our usual NYC metal circuit, although I'll forever associate it with that Arch Enemy/Nevermore show there a few years back.
MastodonAnyway, the Relapse cult was in full force at this show as well, and it was great to get a chance to party a bit with our friends from Philly. Mastodon came on and slayed everyone in the room--heavy, riffy, aggressive and brutal, Mastodon were frenetic and interesting live, and each pummeling riff attacked my very equilibrium as I continued to down overpriced Heineken after overpriced Heineken, and stare amazed at the masterfully orchestrated chaos that was unfolding in front of me. Mastodon simply killed all in attendance.
High On FireBefore long, High on Fire took the stage. Matt Pike (ex-Sleep) delivered the same Neurosis meets Sabbath caliber of riffing we expect from the band, and the energy of any particular song segment or riff was readily apparent. If you stopped for a moment and simply LISTENED to anything happening on the stage, it was in any singular sense very brutal, tight and effective. But the performance certainly dragged heavily in spots, and whether it was the alcohol, my attention span or simply my fatigued ears, I don't know, but my patience grew thin toward the end of High on Fire's set. Frankly, I think it was the fact that Mastodon had built up so much kinetic energy in the room of a type that was very different than High on Fire, and when everyone was ready to be taken to the next level of Mastodon's sound with a more appropriate headliner, High on Fire was left to try and forge a different groove. Makes sense from a "Cultural Variance 101" sense, but to the drunken and sweaty hordes, not so much.
After the show the festivities continued in honor of Veronica and Carl and their impending nuptials (congratulations guys!). A great time was had by all, highlighted by the fact that we actually had me, Abyss, Hel, Requiem, Solomon, Redwolff, Musashi, Ember, Ylana and Famine (not to mention members of Mastodon and at least one cast member from Saturday Night Live) all in one place at the same time. But that's looking at things from a personal perspective. Critically, I hate Downtime with its poor visibility, cramped vibe and overpriced drinks (alright, the multiple levels sometimes makes things interesting). Mastodon was great, and High on Fire was good, but the order of appearance was definitely wrong. Maybe I was too focused on socializing, but that saved me from an otherwise cramped experience where my attention span probably would have started to drift during High on Fire's set. Who knows. What I do know is that after spending the night before at The World, this really felt like slumming it. I'm glad I saw Mastodon, but overall the music just didn't make up for it.
Hel's Review (6/29/02, Downtime, NYC):
MastodonYou know, this whole night was kind of a blur for me. Not because I was wasted (how many times do I have to tell you people that I don't drink?), but because my life exemplified chaotic over-activity on that particular weekend. Not only do I find myself in the midst of a cross-country move, but Requiem, Ember, and Famine were all in from New England, and several others, including, Ylana, Musashi, and Solomon, were joining us for the metal festivities. So it had all the prefect elements for a metal party, but as I said, in retrospect much of it is all something of a blur.
The bands, however, I clearly recall. Both stood out on this fine summer evening. I like Downtime, though I have not been there often, most notably for the infamous Nevermore/Arch Enemy show that I so often find myself referring to. That night was a lot of fun too, but there were far more friends in the audience on this particular evening, adding to the fun.
High On FireMastodon was great. I've been loading Remission onto my mp3 player whenever I've had a little extra room, and there have been times when I couldn't wait for my review album to be over so I could listen to it - and I've reviewed some good albums lately. Their performance was energetic and they sounded as great. I enjoyed a break from everything while I stood and was bombarded by chaotic mayhem of a metal nature. I rarely feel as relaxed as when I'm being pummeled by good, loud, metal - aaaahhhhh.
MastodonWhile many of my cohorts seemed unimpressed by the efforts made by High on Fire, I was, on the other hand, quite impressed by what I saw. While not quite as animated as Mastodon, their more restrained demeanors fits their music well, and I feel it is unfair to make such comparisons anyway. While the score for the evening is aggregate, each performance should be weighed independently. Using this method, I believe High on Fire ruled. I had a great deal of fun following the odd off beats and rhythmic shifts. To each their own, I say. And I'd also say there were many who appeared to me in agreement with me. Or they were faking having fun very convincingly.
The night ended at the after party celebration for Carl and Veronica's impending merger (best wishes, newlyweds!), and Redwolff (who was too busy to come with us to the show) stopped in, making the night complete. Friends don't get together on a grand scale like this very often, and when it happens, it makes the events involved better for being associated with it. Such were the events this weekend, and I was happy that it all came together so neatly. It was a good night for all, and to all a good night!
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