ergo, naught: much ado about nothing

My wife dragged me to a club in Atlanta last night to see Manowar (with Holyhell and Rhapsody opening). I had actually never been to a “real concert” (discounting the amateur (but kick-ass) efforts of smaller bands consisting of friends or the relatives of friends), amazingly enough given my life experiences, so this was Ye Olde Cherrie Poppe.

Little club called The Masquerade. We arrived early and got “front row” for the show. Hell yeah.

Holyhell, apparently an unsigned band (metal, female singer). Never heard of them, but would not be surprised to hear much more from them later. The singer could probably improve the steadiness of her lower octaves but otherwise she and they were awesome. The “Phantom of the Opera” bit with Eric Adams (Manowar) was extremely cool. The bass player had trippy, hypnotic eyes. Worth seeing/hearing.

Rhapsody, some famous Italian metal band I guess. I knew of them but was not a fan. They were great, however, and the crowd (including moi) was insane by the end of the set. Comfortable with themselves and knew how to work the audience. Definitely worth seeing/hearing.

Manowar! Kings of Metal! Etc. Supposedly we were being filmed for their “Hell on Earth V” DVD; if you see a fat bastard with a wrist brace three feet from Eric Adams screaming “Hail! Hail! Hail and Kill!", well, that’s me. Of course they’re worth seeing/hearing, even if you are too asinine to understand their “point". They have an intensity and an in-your-face quality that I’m guessing most other bands lack. Amazing to finally see these guys; I’ve been a big fan since 85 or 86 and never expected to see them live.

I was expecting their age to show but they kicked everybody’s ass. Actually, I think we kicked all the bands’ asses and inspired them to kick ours back. I don’t think any of them expected such an awesome reception but this crowd was fucking nuts.

Random jot: tall blonde guy, nearly an identical twin to a friend (Adam) I used to have, who was going to sing in a band for me before I went off on a three year bout of stupidity. This guy was so completely like him (even in mannerisms) that I was expecting him to recognize me and punch me in the face. Didn’t happen.

Random jot: Six hours in the heat at a concert, a good three hours of that spent banging heads and screaming, without anything at all to drink, sucks just about as much as you’d expect. No way I was going to give up a spot three feet from Manowar though.

Random jot: Joey DeMaio was playing around with some extreme feedback and actually, at one point, managed to reproduce the polyphonic ringing I have (tinnitus!) in my right ear, so for once I actually heard the noise because it ACTUALLY EXISTED.

So all in all it was not the miserable why-bother that I expected (though Atlanta itself sucked every bit as much as anticipated), but rather a hell of a good time. I’m paying for it today (things I did not know were part of my body are in pain) but it was worth it.

Hurray for the wife-unit for making it possible. I never would have gone otherwise.