I get excited for all of the shows I go to but something about Friday night’s show had me super excited. Not only was going to be able to see some of the best local metal bands, but I was also going to see Attila– one of those bands that, although I’ll admit is a bit of a guilty pleasure, I will never get sick of seeing live. Friday’s show was promoted by @leopresents
Love Them Or Hate Them – Attila Destroys Cabooze
King of Tyrus was the first band to take the stage on the stacked line-up for Friday night. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite performance from this band. I love their overall sound because it brings something different to the local metal scene. A little nu-metal with super distinct vocals that, whether they are for you or not, truly stick out as interesting and intriguing. Unfortunately, I felt like their opening set on Friday night was just lacking a sense of spark that I’ve seen them perform with before. Maybe it was an off night for them, maybe I just wasn’t in the mood. Regardless, they sounded solid but their live show just lacked that sense of heart that I look for. That being said, I’m not writing this band off yet and will definitely be seeing them again!
Perth’s first show was just last month and I was blown away. I was so excited to see if that was just a case of me being so excited to see a new band instead of the usual cast of characters on stage. Thankfully, it was not a fluke. The second Perth took the stage on Friday night, I was reminded why they had stuck in my head so vividly. Full of power, aggression, and passion, this band absolutely destroyed the stage and took the audience with them. Just like the first time I saw this band, I was completely blown away by how tight these guys are. Their sound is just undeniably polished to perfection which really gives you a chance to catch the pure musicianship that each member has. After Perth left the stage, I was chatting with a good friend of mine and we both agreed– Perth is going to be the next band to pop out of the local scene and really make and I, for one, can’t wait for that!
Although the scene is huge when you look at it with a wide lens, I feel like I keep seeing the same bands on the same bills so, although I was excited to see Common Choir, it felt just a bit redundant as they had played on that fateful October night of Perth’s debut show. That being said, I still found myself falling a bit more in love with Common Choir as they played through their quick opening set. One of the few “party metal” bands in the scene, these guys are always a solid live band and always have endless amounts of energy. One of the many things that Common Choir does so right is their interaction with the audience. Even if you aren’t at the show to see them, you will leave their set feeling a connection with this band just based on their stage presence and that’s a rare thing to find with a local band.
The first of the two touring acts, Jynx, took the stage next and I honestly have no clue what happened. It seemed like as soon as they got on the stage, they were finishing up their set and tearing down but not before taking a piece of my heart with them. This New York-based nu-metal-influenced band had me absolutely floored with their energy and sound. Much like Perth and Common Choir, everything about Jynx’s set was flawless and their energy had the entire audience wrapped up in their performance. I loved the sense of frustration and aggression that came through their music and loved the way this band presented it with such high energy. As I mentioned, their set seemed ridiculously short and left me without much else to say about them but I will say that they are absolutely on my radar and I can’t wait for them to roll through town again.
Closing out the Friday night show was the one and only Attila. They are the band that everyone loves to hate but nobody can really say anything bad about their live show. Personally, I’ll admit to loving these guys. Their music is harsh, brash, and raunchy at times but there’s just something about this band that I can not get enough of. Sadly, they got their set started off on the wrong foot for me. They took their sweet, happy time getting on stage. My friend and I had said that if they don’t take the stage by ten, we were leaving. Although I was bummed that there was a chance I wasn’t going to see Attila, I had too much to do to just wait around a quiet venue for thirty minutes just waiting for the band to pull it together and take the stage. Thankfully, at 9:50, the band finally came out and I was oh so very relieved.
Although Attila’s set was short at just over a dozen songs, every one of them packed a punch and the relentless energy and aggression of this band radiated throughout The Cabooze. With nine studio albums out, I can’t imagine what the process was like for narrowing it down to just over a dozen tracks but somehow Attila was able to pick tracks that were surely going to get the audience moving and would leave nobody unsatisfied. Vocalist Chris Fronzak (aka Fronz aka Fronzilla) has such an undeniable way of commanding a stage and audience that it’s truly staggering and, like the band or not, something that should be envied by other acts. I’m aware that there is some controversy surrounding Fronz and Attila in general but that doesn’t change the fact that Attila is a damn good live band with a solid show and undeniable stage presence. Love them or hate them, Attila is one of those bands that you just have to see live and I am so glad to have had the chance on Friday night!