Show In Review: Metal Mosh & Melee take over FCC

PRE-SHOW SHENANIGANS

It was a late night at In Flames,  we passed out around 230 am and didn’t start the day until about 11 running errands, sacrificing veggies to the circle piggies (my personal all Guinea Pig Slayer Tribute band) before making some bomb ass french toast.

I wrapped up my In Flames Review from my couch before packing up Dirt Halo‘s guitar gear and 2 members plus one beardly bard and rolling out. We spent some time setting up their merch table and loading in gear before heading over to Evil Pie for a couple slices of de-fucking-licious pizza. I can’t believe after living here for 7 years I had yet partake in said pizza until now. After getting my carb fix and feeding my food baby Hector, I moseyed on over to the venue to line up at doors. On the way there we ran into the homie Tank who was doing the footage for the event. He is also a local artist that makes these bad ass carved fronds some of which I have hanging in my own living room.

THE VENUE

This event was brought to you by Howard Longus of the Las Vegas Death Dealers  our local Medieval Combat Team. The idea to combine live music with combat is one that is the first of its kind to be brought to Las Vegas outside of your standard Ren-Fair where the music is on a stage much further away from the action.

Fremont Country Club is the larger half of the building that also contains Backstage Bar & Billiards. The chandelier was moved and between the cow print pillars there was now a wooden ring lit with florescent bulbs to house the fights. The front of the stage was blocked off with barricades as a staging area for the fighters to prepare for their next battle. While the U shape around the wooden ring was outlined with barricades for spectators to lean on and still maintain a safe distance from the swinging pole arms and flying metal clad bodies.

In the corner near the entrance were the merch booths where merch guys and gals sacrificed their ability to spectate the festivities in full to man the sale of band swag such as t-shirts , hoodies and fashion accessories for those feeling fancy.  The placement was not one I was particularly fond of as you were far away from the crowd the fights and the music but sacrifices must be made for the greater good. FOR THE MERCH AND ONWARD MEN!

THE SHOW

Polearms, Plate Armor and Sweaty Men

Armor clad fighters filled the area directly in front of the stage. Waiting for their matches in 60+ lbs of plated Armor and padding almost identical to the protective garb that was used in the olden days by knights to reach their position of Valor in Battle.

Whether it was one on one or three on three the clash metal during their melee was a site to behold. And with live music, how could you go wrong. It was like watching a Medieval themed movie during the king’s tournament but with the sound track for added intensity being created live.  If you don’t believe me, look no further than this tantalizing video footage from this very event.

Now this event would not have hit off on the right note with out the bands. Who am I to forget them in this land of mosh and melee.

Words as Weapons

Words as Weapons started off the show as the combative metal on metal festivities began. In between songs the two vocalists Stace and Bobby could be heard egging on the fighters to give eachother ye ole dick twist. Bobby would take the stage once more playing double duty on back up vocal and guitar for WAW and then Lead Guitar and Vocals for Dirt Halo . There were a few back feed issues initially with the mic where i winced and said oof but they shortly fixed.

The rumor is that Words as Weapons have been spending time in the studio working on new and even harder material that will outshine anything they have done before. I look forward to hearing this final product that is rumored to be in the works and provide my unfiltered and ever honest review.

Set List:

1. Put me back in the ring (un)mEDicated
2. No way out
3. Keep away (cover)
4. End this love
5. Stand down

Dirt Halo

Dirt Halo’s set went swimmingly with some practically flawless sound. They played a

heavier set tonight to match with the mosh aspect of the festivities. And I always dig when they do this. It shows their versatility as a unit to be able to adapt to their show environment for the best crowd experience at each show. There were lots of puns about Axe-ing questions on this lovely knight. Tehehehe. My inner Ren-Fair Nerd giggled. They had a fan come all the way out from  Arizona to see them and another local fave of theirs later on in the bill.

While the Dirty boys played on stage, my helper and I made a killing on merch for them. It was an absolute massacre. So big thank you to everyone that swung by the merch table and grabbed a CD and/or T-Shirt. Especially to those who bent to my pressure for being good sports and supporting their local bands.

Set List :

1. Life Line
2. Drown
3. Breaking Point
4. Push Over
5. Rebel
6. Invincible
7. Come to Life

Alura

Former members of  We Gave It Hell changed up their name to Alura to stand out and escape the stigma of just being another heavy metal band. opening the opportunity to

expand their sound to a broader range.

They took the stage with bright and colorful clothing. There were fancy shoes and suspenders involved for extra flair to go with their collared shirts. At first glance if you didn’t know what they were capable of you would have thought we were about to watch an indie rock band perform. But as soon as Taylor Adsit opens his mouth and puts it to the microphone your ears will lose their shit. They hit heavy and they hit hard in the chest making them perfect for this combination of

metal music with hand to hand combat. They matched the pace of the fighters thrashing on their instruments much like pole-arms were thrashing at the armor and the air. Feeding off the energy of the room a a whole and giving it back full force throughout their performance.

On November 23rd they also played a show with Them Evils and Mojave Sun next door at Backstage Bar & Billiards.

Set List:

1. Self-Resistance
2. Counterfeit
3. Disciple
4. Stuck
5. (Unreleased song)
6. LVE

Hidden Scars

They wore prosthetic make up to go for a B Horror Movie theme of some sort for their time on stage. It was not the highlight of the night for me. Starting off with a Synth solo. I liked what Hidden Scars started off as, however, the new twists added to their music are not  my cup of tea. The vocals ranged a  little too much in just the sheer number of styles being used. I get variety but there is a point where it becomes excessive and leaves the crowd wondering what their genre is. its cool not to want to be put in a box but when you don’t have an actual signature sound and are all over the place it is hard to get a consistent following.

The Nocturnal Affair

All the fighting had ended and the area in front of the stage was opened up for the

band to close out the show. There were pole arms leaned up against poles that I definitely did not resist the urge to touch because I was nerding out a little. The Nocturnal Affair , still being short a permanent drummer, took the stage with local Bravo Delta drummer Brian Scott who definitely killed it.

There were a few parts of the set where there were some sound issues but shit happens. All and all the crowd was engaged and they did a great job. They have taking a step back from touring to focus on recording their new album and should have a Single out for us to enjoy in early 2020.

Set list:

1.  Exoskeletal
2.  Into the Darkness
3.  Forgotten, gone.
4. Ghosts on the Horizon
5. I don’t wanna be me (Type O Negative cover)
6. Unwound
7. Down
8. Just Run

THE HEAD BANG-OVER

After the festivities had ended we packed up Dirt Halo’s remaining unsold merch and gear and made our way over to Wal-Mart off Tropicana and Pecos to grab some post show nourishment needs. While we were waiting in the truck for the Dirty boys to grab things inside the store, we witnessed a lady get hit by an SUV…she seemed fine and walked away but the dude still had her purse in his vehicle and parked to chase after her. We intervened and got security involved however the situation could have easily escalated to much worse. I am glad the young lady is okay but I don’t think I have ever ran that fast or yelled that loud in a parking lot at that hour (while still having no voice to boot).

Despite the dramatic aftermath of that evening, this event was one that satisfied my need to see action and danger while also fulfilling my live music fix. I am definitely looking forward to the next one.