Concert Review: Thrash Weekend – The Pompadour

Whew…What a weekend. Today we’re checking out a few local thrashers and looking forward to tomorrow’s show with Third Rail from Berkeley.

Friday night, Wicked Innocence opened the show to a larger crowd than we had anticipated. This trio managed to put out the sounds for about 35 minutes or so. Not bad for a three-piece, mostly straight at you thrash, but enough talent showed through the mosh (mush) to give some promise. Keep after it boys. One headbang.

Fatal Cause took the stage next. This band is a five-piece arrangement, which couldn’t manage to hide the fact that they are fundamentally a good band despite the sludge which spewed forth from the PA. These boys attacked the music, throwing pieces out to the crowd. Little by little, their efforts paid off as the crowd warmed up. By the end of the set, plenty of moshin’ was goin’ on. Does our hearts good to see things like that. All in all, these boys are rather good, sometimes even sounding like a faster, more muddled Sanctuary. They held the stage well and worked the crowd even better. Two headbangs and a can of Bud.

Abstrak finished up this ear-splitting evening of slam. We don’t know what else to say about this band except they are good. Very professional in their delivery and stage presence. The crowd has heard of these boys due to its response. The singer worked the crowd well, giving the band just enough time to catch their breath before diving into the next number. No wonder they were drenched by the third song. They even made a political statement with a song about the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Normally, this sort of thing doesn’t wash too well with me, but this one went over fairly well.

Overall, we give this band two and a half headbangs…and a sixer. Saturday night…back again. Here we sit again, back to view Victims Willing and Third Rail. Hate X9 played, but we missed them due to another engagement. Victims Willing was already into their show by the time we got there. The music was indeed loud. However, the melodies appeared extremely basic. What the band lacked in creativity and originality they gained back in power and energy. Each song lasted only 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, so it wasn’t too long of a wait. Rather short offerings, but the crowd did seem to enjoy it. Lots of moshin’ going on here tonight. One and one half headbangs, no brew.

Third Rail finished up the evening. They are from Berkeley, California, and they are only out for a few stops. It seems the bassist has final exams in three days. They had three stops before this one and had one more gig in Colorado before heading back to Cal again. Some road trip, huh?

Well, the band took the stage and controlled it rather well, even though the crowd just stood and watched the band. It was as if they didn’t know what to make of them. We still haven’t decided what to make of this band. They seemed to be serious about what they were saying. However, we were unable to discern any substantial message. The band performed admirably, especially the bassist and guitarist. The singer, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. Where did they find this guy anyway? He stood up there and swayed back and forth like some cobra incarnate. Too bad he couldn’t exercise any vocal range. One last question…is the singer really from Winnemucca, or does it just rhyme (very poorly) with mutha fucka? Two headbangs and a quart of Old Milwaukee. That’s all for this month, laters. 

Read more SLUG Archives:
September Feature Band: Strangers
Concert Review: Revolting Cocks