Gwar singer, Oderus Urungus
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GWAR
October 2nd, 2008
Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale
Photos & Article by Liana Minassian
If you missed GWAR, Earth’s only openly extra-terrestrial band, when they grabbed Ft. Lauderdale by the balls, along with Toxic Holocaust and Kingdom of Sorrow on their Electile Dysfunction Tour, you might want to get your head examined.
Opener Toxic Holocaust, a thrash/black metal band out of Portland, took the stage with a vengeance. Flashing strobes lit singer Joel Grind, making his outrageous blond mane look ferocious as a lion’s while he banged his head in time. Their heavy punk backbeat-driven songs incited many a circle pit, which Grind encouraged by exclaiming, "I want to see this fu**ing place move!" Raging metal fans were happy to oblige and Grind returned the favor by dedicating the song "666" to all the "satanic assholes" in the audience.
Live shows from the band have become legendary because of their wild costumes and outlandish performances.
Balsac the Jaws of Death Guitar
A mixture of members from wellknown bands Down, Hatebreed, and Black Label Society made up the second opening band, Kingdom of Sorrow. Their fame from other bands played a part in the audience’s receptiveness – seeing as their first album only dropped this past February. In particular, guitarist Kirk Windstein, of Down, had his own fan club as the crowd practically worshipped his every move.
However, Windstein made it a point to emphasize his fellow band members were his best friends, choosing to refocus the attention on the band as whole. Luckily this translated into a focused, energetic set that pumped up their fans so much they lost their minds in the chaos, as singer Jayme Jasta demanded.
Fortunately the audience was given time to recover before GWAR hit the stage. Because this was an all-ages show, the crowd ranged from teenagers to middle-aged folks, ranging from GWAR virgins to seasoned aficionados. Everyone seemed to know what to expect though, as live shows from the band have become legendary because of their wild costumes and outlandish performances. If you’ve never had the privilege of seeing GWAR in person, think of a cross between Conan the Barbarian, The Lord of the Rings and Army of Darkness, and even then you still wouldn’t entirely grasp the awesome originality of their stage show.
Gwar guitarist, Flattus Maximus
After a countdown "until death," the band members came out and a mock presidential campaign video of Sleazy P. Martini, GWAR’s manager, was shown. Soon after, in honor of the present political climate, effigies of politicians, introduced by videos, were dismembered along with other public figures like Marilyn Manson. In the case of Clinton and Obama, the mock Obama stated "It’s time for change, all over your face." Getting things all over people’s faces was just another part of the show, as bodies were ripped open and heads squirted blood and other mock fluids all over the audience. Part of the draw of a GWAR show has always been the gore, and leaving covered in blood just takes the cake in terms of metal fantasies. What could be more metal than a band from outer space set on the domination of the universe?
Guitarist, Beefcake the Mighty
When singer Oderus Urungus informed the crowd, "We are on a mission to destroy the entire planet Earth," it was clear from the audience’s reaction that they would gladly accept GWAR as their masters and carry out the biddings of their comedic thrash metal Gods.
Despite all the antics, GWAR is still a band, and their set was visually and aurally aggressive and confrontational, provoking crowd surfers to emerge from the bowels of the pit. While they clearly rocked Ft. Lauderdale’s socks off, who can focus on the music when you’ve got blood in your eye?
Let us know what you think at outloud@outloud.com..