Black Tee Shirt Convention!! Wretched Of The Earth, Facing Extinction, Brutalsaurus, Screaming Wind and Opossum Head
Photos and words by Joshua “Fat in the hat” Finch
Saturday night The Lorax answered a question I’ve been asking myself forever: “What if a Lazarus Pit show was on the university campus for some reason?” Alright, so maybe I’m talking out my ass just a little, but it was indeed a breath of fresh air to see some black crust and anarcho-punk outside of the Whit for a change. I love the Whit as much as someone not currently living there can, but let’s mix things up a bit, shall we?
Cheers to The Lorax for not only hosting a crust show, but a benefit for Grassroots Women’s Legal Defense Fund*.
The usual table of anarcho-reading material was available (some of which we snagged) as well as the brown bags fulla byo like any good underground show. IPA 22 in hand, I wandered in just in time to catch the tail end of Opossum Head’s set.
This 2 piece plays post-rocky, instrumental tunes that sooth their way to sudden jarring explosions. Less of the stereotypical jerk-offery that seems to go hand in hand with the instru-rock scene and more experimentation, not all predictable, not all polish. I was pleasantly surprised, and am quite curious to see what comes of this project.
Sadly, I literally only got the one usable photo, however… video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_ChU13SsuQ&feature=youtu.be
Next up was uber side project/local Black Metal supergroup, Screaming Wind, comprised of members of Facing Extinction, Saviorself, and Rye Wolves. They lulled the crowd with dark heavy slow burners until our ears squeeled and sang.
In the continuing theme of shared members and collaboration, Brutalsaurus (Saviorself/Screaming Wind) followed up with a solid set of hardcore crustiness that got the blood pumping.
Then Facing Extinction dropped it like was hot (and by “it” I mean fuckin’ JAWS) with their very own blend of grindy-crusty, face-killing metal. I’ll be rocking these bruises like badges of honor for a minute. The older I get, the less I find myself in the pit, but these guys put me right there every time.
Closing out the night were PDX D-beat soldiers, Wretched Of The Earth. I snagged their demo off bandcamp earlier that day to prepare, and though it’s totally listenable, they smashed the fuck out of it live. They are a tighter, faster, more brutal monster live, so take that demo with a grain of salt, and a 40 oz, and don’t miss an opportunity to catch these guys live, cuz they KILL.
Thanks to all the bands, the kids who came out, and the cop who gave me a nod and drive off on my open container out front. Thanks Lorax, lets do this again sometime.
Opossum Head: http://www.reverbnation.com/opossumhead
Screaming Wind: http://soundcloud.com/the-screaming-wind/the-screaming-wind-said-my
Facing Extinction: http://www.myspace.com/facingextinction
Wretched: http://wretchedoftheearth.bandcamp.com/
More pics of these bands and others: https://www.facebook.com/ExiledZine
*An organization that, to be honest, we don’t yet know if we support or not, having not done the appropriate level of reading, but it seems promising from what little we DO know, though sorta sketchy that GOOGLE doesn’t seem to know what it is…
