Alien Weaponry was real fun, kicking off the Kerry King show at the Commodore on Monday night. They did a ton of that "tongue stuff" that Māori do -- especially the drummer and bassist. Metal and haka go together real well, though I wonder if there were people in the audience who were a bit puzzled by these gestures? (Does everyone know to recognize Māori facial tattoos, as well? Surely there were some people who'd come for Kerry King who didn't even know they'd be seeing Māori metal?). Plus most of their lyrics were in Māori (though they did do one English song, "Holding My Breath").
Enthusiast that I am, there are times when the idea of a band is so appealing that I lose my objectivity about their music, but I'm pretty sure that I'd like Alien Weaponry's music regardless of how cool their concept was. I have two of their albums -- might even deign to get their new one, coming out this spring -- and felt compelled to buy a t-shirt the other night, as well, because there was a somewhat funny connection to it: for years, I've had this "thing" kicking around my apartment, the nature of which I have been unsure of, an oddly designed hooklike item, apparently made from bone, with stylized grooves carved in. I would stumble across it usually when poking through my random possessions, looking for something else, finding it in a drawer and wondering what the heck it was, where I got it, and why I was keeping it -- I presume it is still tucked in a drawer somewhere, though I couldn't find it if I was asked to. Turns out it must have been a souvenir of my trip to New Zealand, some 22 years ago, which I either bought there or was given by the woman I was visiting, then totally forgot the origins of: it's a Māori fishhook, and subject of one of the band's t-shirt designs!
Incidentally, I am wearing this t-shirt as I type. I guess these hooks, too, would count as alien weaponry, at least from a fish's point of view (I gather that the band named themselves after the weapons in District 9, but it is a long time since I saw that):
Anyhow, I really like the idea of the young representatives of a warrior culture amping up the tribal elements in their music and writing about colonialism and their people's history and such (and keeping the haka alive). It's an interesting use to put metal to, but then, I'm generally drawn to overtly tribal, pagan, and atavistic elements in metal, whether we're talking Soulfly -- I got to talk to Max Cavalera about tribalism in metal once -- or Viking metal or pagan folk metal (I'm partial to Russian band Arkona, in particular). The metal tribe is not really "my" tribe, as we will see below (and I sure ain't Māori -- I'm just another consumer, a representative of settler culture), but even as an outsider, I love that these guys can connect with, write about, and share their (very compelling) cultural heritage.
Plus it beats the alternative, the ubiquitously nerdy, compensatorily D&Dish "dressup" aspects of metal, though to be honest, those have some appeal for me too (cf. Unleash the Archers, Scythia: nerds are good). Put it this way, if you're going to LARP, better to LARP as your own ancestors than something out of Tolkien, y'know?
And I bet Max would dig the hell out of this band.
One thing that puzzled me, though, I must confess: There were moments during Alien Weaponry's set where I was hearing music that did not seem to be coming from the instruments onstage, like they were augmenting their live sound with backing tracks. Might be wrong about that (I'd had an edible so I couldn't entirely trust my perceptions), but I'd be watching the bassist and guitarist and trying to connect what they seemed to be playing with what I was hearing, and sometimes I could not -- there seemed like maybe things were being added to the mix. Is that a cheat? Regardless, they were still my favourite band the other night, and bonus that the drummer was right up front -- a clever arrangement, probably just the result of there being three drum kits layered one behind the other, but perfectly suiting their trio format.
I have a harder time connecting with Municipal Waste, to be honest. I'm not sure what it is, because they're clearly a great band. I was theorizing about what was missing, for me, as I watched from afar, as the singer directed the audience into two separate circle pits, which he called "titties," then, once the action reached a frenetic peak, instructed them to "smash those titties together!" I like tight, fast, crossover, especially if there's a hooky groove to what they do, which is something Municipal Waste have in great abundance; I like well-played instruments (also check); I like a certain humorously sleazy, slightly vulgar quality to a band's presentation (see above re: "titties"); and especially and specifically, I loved the singer's everyman self-presentation (especially once he took his jacket off, he was the least-rockstar-looking-motherfucker you'll ever see on the Commodore stage: if you ran into him on the street you'd take him for, well, just another dude on the street, which is a neat trick for someone with so much power as a performer to pull off. He was a bit Keith-Morris-like, maybe, in his mien, except Morris would stand out in line at Starbucks, y'know?). Maybe, I reasoned, the problem was that it's just that their choruses aren't anthemic enough for me? (...then as I was thinking this thought, they launched into a song with a supremely anthemic chorus, so, uh, that ain't it either). Best I got, I guess, is that I have no idea what they sing about; maybe if I listened to their music with a lyric sheet, I'd fall in love with it? They're clearly a great band, and I agreed with Bob afterwards that in terms of live presentation and sheer performative energy, they were the peak of the night, but I just didn't connect (he, in turn, didn't entirely connect with Alien Weaponry or Kerry King, though he liked the same songs I liked in the latter's set, interestingly enough). Maybe I just don't want to have to find room for their records on my very limited shelf-space? Because then I might have to buy some DRI and... who knows where it would end?
Municipal Waste also had fun stage design and some great t-shirts, though all the shirts seemed a bit on the pricy side (it feels like it was just yesterday at the IDLES show -- a mere year ago -- that I was griping about the $50 "new norm" for t-shirts, but all shirts were $65 for the Kerry King show, whether you were a headliner or opener. But there's almost a tribalism there, too, to wanting to support "your people," even if it means digging deep into your wallet).
It was, all round, an expensive night out -- the ticket, with all fees and such, had been around $80, the t-shirt $65, plus I bought a beer, a Corona "Extra" (which I'm not supposed to be having, as a tongue cancer survivor, but sometimes you just want a beer. What was it that Lemmy said about not wanting to live forever?). That one beer cost me a shocking $13 with tip. A single beer! The chicken burger was only $16 and change, and I enjoyed that a lot more (the Commodore food stand is in the old merch area, and well worth a visit if you don't get to eat before a gig; with music having started promptly at 7:30 -- an early weeknight show, which I'm always grateful for -- it can be challenging to get from work to the venue and fit a meal in. I'm very glad they keep the food prices down!).
But here's the thing: Kerry King is a living legend, and his new album is great, so a $200 night out was worth it, even if the music ultimately proved, well, "too metal" for an old punk like me. I'm beginning to figure out that I like King's newer, catchier, more mid-tempo songs (the ones with hooky grooves) best -- "Trophies of the Tyrant" and "Residue," say, and that I like them better than even the song "Toxic," which stood out for me initially because of its topical lyrics, but which I'm realizing isn't quite as tuneful as those others, both of which were high points in King's set (for me, anyhow): bouncy, danceable, and catchy (which are not adjectives you would apply to most of the Slayer catalogue). Truth is, I think I'm about to be heretical here: I like King's new stuff, and especially those three songs, more than I like Slayer. Slayer have a single-minded intensity of focus, a "thing that they do" that they do very very well but that, as with Municipal Waste, doesn't fully connect with me -- it's too straight-ahead, too driving, too pummeling, too linear. And like I say, the whole anti-theist thing just doesn't move me that much -- maybe when I was 14, but whatever need King is gratifying in his audience or his own psyche by digging deep into that aspect of himself, summoning up hatred for God and for Christian hypocrisy and so forth, it is not a need that burns strongly in me. I gave up Christian-baiting in university: there's no margin in it (tho' I guess I might feel differently if I were an Amurrican).
So while I did get into those catchy, mid-tempo numbers, there was a point where the night just got "too Slayer" for me, the way the other day the Castillo gig got "too skinhead" for some of the people I was with; turns out there were multiple dips into the Slayer catalogue, including "Repentless," "Disciple," "Raining Blood" and "Black Magic," all of which the band -- including Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, who brings a bit of a Dio-like vibe to the proceedings -- delivered with savage intensity and commitment; there were also two early Iron Maiden songs, "Purgatory" and "Killers," on the set, in tribute to the late Paul Di'Anno, which was a very nice gesture indeed, for people who live and breathe early Maiden (I started with that band with The Number of the Beast and though I followed their next couple of albums before I switched over to hardcore, I don't know that early stuff as well: amazing that I consider my point of view worth writing down at all, innit?).
Guess I am SIMPLY NOT METAL ENOUGH for this stuff, folks. By the end of the night, I was just stealing a seat at a "reserved" spot, exhausted, waiting for Bob to materialize so I could go home. But I could see in the distance that kids were still crowd surfing and hear the cheers for Slayer faves, and I felt happy for the fans, and a little jealous, because I bet some people felt like they were getting the show of their lifetime. I tick none of the following boxes, but if you're the kind of Slayer fan who has their shirts, knows most of their lyrics, bought Repentless, and listens to Reign in Blood more than once every few years -- which is about what I average; I mildly prefer Seasons in the Abyss, even -- you really don't want to miss Kerry King on this tour!
Now about that interview, Mr. King...
