On a typical Saturday afternoon in Chicago in the summertime, there’s no shortage of leisurely options for one to spend their time. You could head to the beach, check out a neighborhood street festival, hit up Wrigley Field, or maybe even just take in a matinee. In the case of this writer, the latter option sounded like a particularly great choice, mainly because the show on tap at Reggies Rock Club Saturday afternoon (August 23rd) promised to be no ordinary “matinee”. Indeed, considering NOLA sludge legends Crowbar and Eyehategod would be hitting the stage for the first of two same-day sold-out gigs, it seemed a very metal matinee was the clear choice for yours truly.
Which of course proved to be an excellent decision, although it admittedly felt a little weird to be checking out such punishing and uncompromising music in the cavernous recesses of Reggies on an otherwise beautiful sunny afternoon. Eyehategod’s singer Mike Williams seemed to share that sentiment as the band took to the stage shortly before 4:00, stating “it’s too early to be playing…for a band like us”.
He had a point, but whatever the case, there’s always been something undeniable about the band’s distinctively abrasive brand of sludge, probably because it reflects the dark underbelly of their native city of New Orleans. For all its festive quaintness, a good chunk of the city and the region at large lives in abject poverty, and Eyehategod’s music has always reflected that harsh reality, and all the depravity and desperation living in those conditions can spawn. Whether it’s substance abuse, petty theft, incest, violence, you name it, the band has never been afraid to shine a glaring, unflinching light on the most unsavory aspects of human behavior.
Coupled with the oppressive religious culture of the region and all the hypocrisy that can go along with that, it’s easy to see why Eyehategod’s music is filled with so much palpable disgust and nihilism. The band effectively channels those feelings through a feedback-drenched stew of sludgy riffs, pummeling drums, and, of course, Mike Williams’s agonizing screams, all of which translates to a viscerally intense experience, particularly in a live setting. And that experience was in full effect once the band kicked off their set with the blistering “Agitation! Propaganda!”, which immediately compelled the crowd (which felt a little lackadaisical up to that point) to open up a gaping pit that stayed quite active for the majority of Eyehategod’s rightfully hostile set. Highlights included an intoxicating melding of “Blank” and “Shop Lift”, a ferocious performance of “Medicine Noose”, and a viciously groovy delivery of “New Orleans is the New Vietnam”. All in all, it was a characteristically killer performance from the band, proving the intensity of the band’s music never fails to resonate, regardless of the hour at hand.
If heavy metal has been described as the blues on steroids, then what does heavy metal on steroids sound like? Those of us in attendance at Reggies Saturday afternoon received an emphatic answer to that question in the form of the headliner: Crowbar. Along with kindred spirits Eyehategod, Crowbar are also certified NOLA sludge legends in their own right, but their method of attack takes on a decidedly slower, more concentratedly pulverizing approach on the whole.Indeed, while both bands project themes of existential disillusionment, pain, and suffering, Crowbar effectively harnesses that collective anguish and emphasizes strength, effectively unleashing crushingly heavy, often downright doomy riffs that could probably move the needle on the Richter scale if someone happened to be paying attention.
And while there weren’t any seismologists in attendance Saturday afternoon, suffice to say the sold-out crowd on hand couldn’t help but pay attention to the onslaught of ridiculously groovy bottom-heavy riffage emanating from the stage courtesy of the almighty Crowbar. Of course, “paying attention” might be an understatement, especially for the dozens of patrons actively engaged in the moshpit melee that was in full effect for the vast majority of Crowbar’s pulverizing performance. But perhaps what was most impressive was the fact that lead singer/axeman Kirk Windstein dished out his waves of delightfully downtuned riffage and throaty vocals from the relative comfort of his chair on stage (due to some recent back problems).
Suffice to say, it didn’t take one iota of power or force out of Crowbar’s performance on the whole, as whether sitting, standing (or probably even lying down), the sheer volume and weight of the band’s music is undeniable, regardless of posture. Performances of classic pulverizers like “High-Rate Extinction”, “Like Broken Class”, and “All I Had (I Gave)” (which closed out their set) rang resoundingly true in that respect, and the band’s relatively newer material like the swinging “Chemical Godz” and the relentlessly brutal “Bleeding from Every Hole” only served to accentuate all the seismic slaying on hand.
Overall, Crowbar’s performance effectively put the proverbial exclamation mark on what was a certifiably awesome afternoon of sensational sludge from two legends of the NOLA scene. Cheers to metal matinees!
