Crowbar and Eyehategod bring a night of New Orleans sludge metal to the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas for a sold-out crowd.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that due to high ticket sales, this show was being moved to the Fremont Country Club, which excited the fans. Despite the name, the country club is not a place of golf courses and sweater sets. It is a room with a capacity of just over 800 people that showcases some of the best metal and rock shows in Las Vegas. It is a warm night, but the fans are lined up early for the 7:00 PM doors for this co-headlining tour. These two bands have a long history of touring together, both being from New Orleans. That is one of the great things about the New Orleans metal scene: the bands all support each other, and so do the fans. The room is packed with people wearing shirts from other bands from this city, like Down and Goatwhore.
The first band of the night is Eyehategod. This sludge metal band has been doing this since 1988. Mike Williams and Jimmy Bower have a connection on stage that just feels right. Aaron Hill and Gary Mader round out this four-piece. Their almost 20-song set chronicles their entire discography, including the songs “Take as Needed for Pain,” “Lack of Almost Everything,” “New Orleans is the New Vietnam,” and “Agitation! Propaganda!” The room is hot and packed; you can barely move through the crowd, but this isn’t stopping the fans. They are moshing and singing along. The set is full of songs that feature the distinctive sludge metal sound for which this band is a pioneer. The crowd can’t get enough, but when the set ends, they head to the bar and the door for a much-needed break.
There is a quick changeover on the stage, and Crowbar begins their set. This band also has its roots beginning in 1988. Founding members Kirk Windstein and Matt Brunson are completely in tune with each other, having done this for so long, but bassist Pat Bruders has an amazing connection with Windstein that shows. Drummer Tommy Buckley hits the drums with an intensity that is not often seen.With twelve studio albums to pull from, it is no surprise that the set is packed full. They open with “…And Suffer as One,” and continue on with other favorites, including “The Lasting Dose,” “Repulsive in Its Splendid Beauty,” “The Cemetery Angels,” and “All I Had (I Gave).” The heat is rising in the room and the crowd doesn’t care. It seems as if there are even more people than the capacity, and there is not really room for moshing, but that is not stopping this crowd. They are here for a night of metal, and they are going to take full advantage of it. These two bands are ones that the fans never miss when they come to town, and they are lucky enough that Crowbar seems to always come through on their tours. It is easy to see why with a turn out like this. No one leaves before the final note is played.
All in all, it was a very successful night filled with New Orleans sludge metal from two of the pioneers, not only of this genre but also two of the first to bring the New Orleans metal scene to the world. The love for the bands from that city is felt here tonight, and with the turnout, it almost seems like a hometown show. Fans bought a ton of merchandise and left exhausted in a good way.
