Recently, I gave my 5 tips for local musicians. Today, I’m going to see some seasoned heavy hitters in the local scene – The Dawn Chose Orion, accompanied by Burning Through Darkness and Truly Fine Citizens. And I’m going to use the above tips to judge the fuck out of them.
1. Make a Mistake!
I think I heard ONE mistake all night, and that’s because Truly Fine Citizen’s lead singer made a face. That was the only way I knew it happened. If there were any other mistakes, we were none the wiser.
And if someone was the wiser, they didn’t fucking care because the bands didn’t fucking care and the bands set the mood.
2. Be Bossy!
One thing metal bands excel at is being bossy. Every band wants to see someone end up in the hospital.
I don’t. I’ve been there recently, it’s not fun. But all the bands tonight made their wants fucking known. Get your asses to the fucking front! Get fucking violent! Move! There were no “please do this” moments. And because of that, people weren’t afraid to get violent.
Well, most people weren’t. I was terrified, but regardless, I appreciated the energy.
3. Lead By Example!
The Dawn Chose Orion are experts at this. They’ve been on the scene since I’ve been in high school. They started their set with a Godzilla vs. Kong skit – it was fucking awesome. Then proceeded to make me regret breaking my arm.
Not that I liked breaking it, but these fuckers don’t stop moving. Ever. And I have one usable hand. How am I supposed to do my job? With a lot of failure, that’s how.
But because they lead by example, the audience followed suit and created an energy that made us all forget it was snowing outside.
Then there’s “the pose”. It’s how you know the band is serious. It’s how you know the band is heavy. And it’s how I know to avoid center stage in the audience for fear of an arm to the face.
Here’s “the pose”, as demonstrated by Burning Through Darkness.
If you ever see The Pose, you know you’re in for a heavy time, and that’s a scientifically proven fact. Guess how Burning Through Darkness’s set was? Go on, take a guess.
Heavy as fuck from the back to the front.
4. You’re Better Than You Think!
These bands have been around the block and know they’re good. I don’t need to kiss ass.
5. Let Your Babies Go!
When you get to a certain point, this becomes the fun part. From skits to scrims that light up, The Dawn Chose Orion added cinematics to their babies. Burning Through Darkness added hardcore aggression and guest vocalists to their babies. Truly Fine Citizens, aggression as well.
It’s fun seeing how experience manifests in local music. Last show, I wouldn’t have expected the bands to give the mic to the audience. Tonight? They gave it to a kid who did a mean fucking growl. All because that was the vibe the bands gave to the crowd – that it was ok for a 7 year old to growl into the mic.
And thank you to Burning Through Darkness for not sucking. I bought a shirt before the show cause the red tee looked cool. I didn’t regret it after seeing them play. Success!
It might be too late to buy a shirt for Christmas. Or maybe not! Only you can find out.
