WIDOW
120 Tavern and Music Hall, Marietta, GA
May 26, 2012
What better way to ring in the summer with a night of heavy metal fun in
Georgia? Jen and I certainly couldn’t think of one, so we hopped in the
car on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and hauled ass for the northern
suburbs of Atlanta to attend the latest Pathfinder Promotions event. Our
first welcome surprise upon reaching the venue in late afternoon was to marvel
at the transformation of what used to be known as The Local at Sidelines
Grill. Over the last few months, the place has received an astonishing
facelift, both inside and out. We’re talking fresh paint inside and out,
new amenities (including a bitching multi-level backstage area with showers,
plush carpet, beer-stocked fridge, and fancy sofas), new carpet, a
relocated/improved layout in the music hall section, outstanding new sound and
light equipment, and so on. I always liked The Local before, but in its
new incarnation as The 120 Tavern and Music Hall, this place rocks. It’s
incredible what a little imagination and an infusion of cash can do to spruce
up a venue. Only downside: The menu has been curtailed somewhat,
the drink specials appear to have gone the way of the dodo, and it’s not quite
as friendly to promoters or artists in terms of pricing/discounts. But
all of these improvements have to be paid for somehow, I guess, so it’s a
worthwhile tradeoff.
Tonight’s audience was small, but mighty. It was really encouraging to see
that most attendees hung around for all three bands, not just their buddies’
local opener band. And members of established Atlanta area bands who were
not on the bill (Halcyon Way, Brazen Angel) came out to show their support,
which is great to see. In a perfect world, the numbers would have been
higher, but many people have other plans over Memorial Day weekend and this is
certainly a niche event, so it’s understandable. Besides, those who did
attend were all-in for a great night of metal and it was probably
sufficient for everyone to cover their costs (well, okay, probably not Widow’s
bar tab, but that would have needed its own federal stimulus package, I think),
so no harm done.
First on the bill were local kids Dimension Door. It was their
first gig, and they need lots of work, both musically and visually. But
ya gotta start somewhere. Next up were Atlanta true metal veterans The
Shield, now sporting a much more over-the-top glam-inspired image (to the
point of parody, shades of Steel Panther) than I’ve seen from them.
Fortunately, the music remains straight-up fast, chest-beating true/power
metal. I’ve never really been convinced by The Shield before, and their
costumes had me more than a bit skeptical tonight. But they were great,
really they were. They played tighter than I’ve ever heard them
before. Their stage presence (and stage attitude) were leaps and bounds
better. And their material is very satisfying, including such fare as
“Planet Metal” (name-checking bands like Widow and Seven Kingdoms), “Dragons on
Motorcycles,” and that song about punching the sun. To mix things up, The
Shield threw in a well-received Helloween cover of “I Want Out,” which was fun
albeit a bit off lyrically. All in all, this was a great way to spend 30
minutes. Well done, The Shield, zebra-striped spandex, hot pink bandanas and all.
Widow just kick ass. I’ve seen ‘em many times, and they’ve
delivered every time. Tonight was no exception. Blasting off with
their video track (and my favorite song of 2011, bar none) “Take Hold of the
Night,” the North Carolina trio were in take-no-prisoners mode from the
start. Set staples like “American Werewolf in Raleigh” and “Nightlife”
surfaced early in the performance, after which the band resorted a bit more to
improvisation and feel in composing a setlist on the fly, often with hilarious
band dialogue between songs. At one juncture, bassist John E. Wooten
asked guitarist Chris Bennett which songs he remembered how to play. I
think he was only half-joking. This prompted Bennett to go into a riff on
how pointless it is to practice because you get to the gig and shit goes wrong
anyhow. Hard to fault that logic. “I Scream for Ice Queen” was
compared to eating broccoli for the first time. John E. was lamenting
having eaten so much shrimp alfredo before the gig. In a wise move, the
band strung together three classics from the ‘Midnight Strikes’ CD (“Angel Sin,”
“Reunion,” and “Pleasure of Exorcism”) at the end of their regular set, all of
which were sublime. Other highlights included “Judgment Day” and the
ripping “Night Child,” but really the whole damn set was fantastic. For
all their horsing around, Widow played their asses off, rocked hard, and
sounded great. They benefited from the killer sound and lighting gear
that the 120 Tavern offers, but also from the fact that club staffers know how
to use that gear properly. And the audience appreciated Widow too,
breaking out in “Wi-Doh! Wi-Doh!” chants in between songs, much to the obvious
and visible delight of the band. Widow even kicked in an unexpected
encore, in the form of a cover of W.A.S.P.’s classic “L.O.V.E. Machine” with
lead vocals courtesy of drummer Peter Lemieux (after all, he knew more of the
lyrics than the other two guys did). A totally fun ending to a totally
fun show. They'll be doing a U.S. tour for a couple of weeks this summer,
so don't miss 'em if you like old-school traditional U.S. metal with catchy
songs, loads of energy, a sense of humor, and a few drinks.
Setlist: Take Hold of the Night, Re-Animate Her, American Werewolf in Raleigh, Nightlife,
Embrace It, Beware the Night, Night Child, Judgment Day, I Scream for Ice Queen,
Angel Sin, Reunion, Pleasure of Exorcism, L.O.V.E. Machine.
After the gig ended, bands and fans alike hung out at the bar, drinking,
laughing and talking well into the night. There were grown men dropping
their shorts to reveal denim skirts, other grown men putting on jeans over
their zebra-striped spandex, and animated debates over whether particular
patrons were he’s or she’s (or perhaps he/shes). There were tiaras.
There was Crown & Coke and two-fisted Newcastle bottles and PBR cans
(why was I drinking that shit anyway? It made sense at the time.) Finally
it was time to say our goodnights and vanish into the night. At least for
now. Happy summer, y’all.
120 Tavern and Music Hall, Marietta, GA
May 26, 2012
What better way to ring in the summer with a night of heavy metal fun in
Georgia? Jen and I certainly couldn’t think of one, so we hopped in the
car on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and hauled ass for the northern
suburbs of Atlanta to attend the latest Pathfinder Promotions event. Our
first welcome surprise upon reaching the venue in late afternoon was to marvel
at the transformation of what used to be known as The Local at Sidelines
Grill. Over the last few months, the place has received an astonishing
facelift, both inside and out. We’re talking fresh paint inside and out,
new amenities (including a bitching multi-level backstage area with showers,
plush carpet, beer-stocked fridge, and fancy sofas), new carpet, a
relocated/improved layout in the music hall section, outstanding new sound and
light equipment, and so on. I always liked The Local before, but in its
new incarnation as The 120 Tavern and Music Hall, this place rocks. It’s
incredible what a little imagination and an infusion of cash can do to spruce
up a venue. Only downside: The menu has been curtailed somewhat,
the drink specials appear to have gone the way of the dodo, and it’s not quite
as friendly to promoters or artists in terms of pricing/discounts. But
all of these improvements have to be paid for somehow, I guess, so it’s a
worthwhile tradeoff.
Tonight’s audience was small, but mighty. It was really encouraging to see
that most attendees hung around for all three bands, not just their buddies’
local opener band. And members of established Atlanta area bands who were
not on the bill (Halcyon Way, Brazen Angel) came out to show their support,
which is great to see. In a perfect world, the numbers would have been
higher, but many people have other plans over Memorial Day weekend and this is
certainly a niche event, so it’s understandable. Besides, those who did
attend were all-in for a great night of metal and it was probably
sufficient for everyone to cover their costs (well, okay, probably not Widow’s
bar tab, but that would have needed its own federal stimulus package, I think),
so no harm done.
First on the bill were local kids Dimension Door. It was their
first gig, and they need lots of work, both musically and visually. But
ya gotta start somewhere. Next up were Atlanta true metal veterans The
Shield, now sporting a much more over-the-top glam-inspired image (to the
point of parody, shades of Steel Panther) than I’ve seen from them.
Fortunately, the music remains straight-up fast, chest-beating true/power
metal. I’ve never really been convinced by The Shield before, and their
costumes had me more than a bit skeptical tonight. But they were great,
really they were. They played tighter than I’ve ever heard them
before. Their stage presence (and stage attitude) were leaps and bounds
better. And their material is very satisfying, including such fare as
“Planet Metal” (name-checking bands like Widow and Seven Kingdoms), “Dragons on
Motorcycles,” and that song about punching the sun. To mix things up, The
Shield threw in a well-received Helloween cover of “I Want Out,” which was fun
albeit a bit off lyrically. All in all, this was a great way to spend 30
minutes. Well done, The Shield, zebra-striped spandex, hot pink bandanas and all.
Widow just kick ass. I’ve seen ‘em many times, and they’ve
delivered every time. Tonight was no exception. Blasting off with
their video track (and my favorite song of 2011, bar none) “Take Hold of the
Night,” the North Carolina trio were in take-no-prisoners mode from the
start. Set staples like “American Werewolf in Raleigh” and “Nightlife”
surfaced early in the performance, after which the band resorted a bit more to
improvisation and feel in composing a setlist on the fly, often with hilarious
band dialogue between songs. At one juncture, bassist John E. Wooten
asked guitarist Chris Bennett which songs he remembered how to play. I
think he was only half-joking. This prompted Bennett to go into a riff on
how pointless it is to practice because you get to the gig and shit goes wrong
anyhow. Hard to fault that logic. “I Scream for Ice Queen” was
compared to eating broccoli for the first time. John E. was lamenting
having eaten so much shrimp alfredo before the gig. In a wise move, the
band strung together three classics from the ‘Midnight Strikes’ CD (“Angel Sin,”
“Reunion,” and “Pleasure of Exorcism”) at the end of their regular set, all of
which were sublime. Other highlights included “Judgment Day” and the
ripping “Night Child,” but really the whole damn set was fantastic. For
all their horsing around, Widow played their asses off, rocked hard, and
sounded great. They benefited from the killer sound and lighting gear
that the 120 Tavern offers, but also from the fact that club staffers know how
to use that gear properly. And the audience appreciated Widow too,
breaking out in “Wi-Doh! Wi-Doh!” chants in between songs, much to the obvious
and visible delight of the band. Widow even kicked in an unexpected
encore, in the form of a cover of W.A.S.P.’s classic “L.O.V.E. Machine” with
lead vocals courtesy of drummer Peter Lemieux (after all, he knew more of the
lyrics than the other two guys did). A totally fun ending to a totally
fun show. They'll be doing a U.S. tour for a couple of weeks this summer,
so don't miss 'em if you like old-school traditional U.S. metal with catchy
songs, loads of energy, a sense of humor, and a few drinks.
Setlist: Take Hold of the Night, Re-Animate Her, American Werewolf in Raleigh, Nightlife,
Embrace It, Beware the Night, Night Child, Judgment Day, I Scream for Ice Queen,
Angel Sin, Reunion, Pleasure of Exorcism, L.O.V.E. Machine.
After the gig ended, bands and fans alike hung out at the bar, drinking,
laughing and talking well into the night. There were grown men dropping
their shorts to reveal denim skirts, other grown men putting on jeans over
their zebra-striped spandex, and animated debates over whether particular
patrons were he’s or she’s (or perhaps he/shes). There were tiaras.
There was Crown & Coke and two-fisted Newcastle bottles and PBR cans
(why was I drinking that shit anyway? It made sense at the time.) Finally
it was time to say our goodnights and vanish into the night. At least for
now. Happy summer, y’all.