Show Review: Summer Slaughter Tour 2009

Much to my delight, my brother bought me a ticket to this year’s Summer Slaughter tour. I was able to assemble “the old show crew” and have a reunion of sorts, considering the last show we had attended was a Devourment, Misery Index, Digested Flesh & Dehumanized show in 2006. Yes, the old man left the home and actually went to a show. I figured that there would be some of my peers at a show headlined by Suffocation and I would not feel awkward amongst the hoards of youth there to see their favorite keyboard bands. Let me preface my diatribe with a list of the bands that were supposed to be playing at this show:

Suffocation
Necrophagist
Dying Fetus
Origin
Ensiferum
Darkest Hour
Winds of Plague
Born of Osiris
Beneath the Massacre
After the Burial
Decrepit Birth
Blackguard

Instead, I saw:

Necrophagist
Ensiferum
Darkest Hour
Winds of Plague
Born of Osiris

Now, this was a show that was supposed to happen on two nights but the bill was not supposed to be split. Most of the bands I saw had played the night before, as I had attended on the second night. I figured that there would be some deletions and substitutions for some of the “lesser bands” (i.e. I had read Necrotic Disgorgement played the show in Ohio and that Ensiferum was only playing the second half of the tour as a substitution for another band). But it seemed ridiculous to me that the two shows were so drastically different and the show I attended was not worth the $30 ticket price.

Obviously, I was at the show to check out the death metal side of things and I had never had the opportunity to check out Necrophagist or Origin live before. However, my hopes were dashed when band after band of deathcore-keyboard bands played and rumors circulated about the bands that were not playing. I tried not to listen and hoped that watching Derek Boyer from Suffocation occasionally come on the stage, chug Jack Daniels, and headbang would lead to Suffocation eventually playing, and in a moment of complete insanity, even thinking that they would play the entire Breeding the Spawn album from start to finish.

Necrophagist, thankfully, saved the night with an unbelievably brutal set of music which I am sure showed some of the death core young’ins what technical death metal actually is. The drumming was phenomenal and I was happy to hear the oft-requested song “Intestinal Incubation” and the groovy monster known as “Seven”.

I could not really get into any of the other bands. Some of them had their bright spots. For some of the bands, the music was okay with some nice “start-stop-start” parts that reminded me of Ion Dissonance. For some bands the positive was that the keyboard was completely indecipherable. My friends and I joked that the keyboard was for the close friend of the band who really wanted to be in the band and in a fit said, “I’ll give everyone a reach-around if you let me play keyboard.” For one band, the positive was the song title “One More Magic Potion” which enabled me to laugh through the entire set. The eye-black didn’t help and one might have thought they were going to field fly balls the next morning. More merriment was had when examining a drummer who seemed to look like Woody Allen.

So, what’s my beef? No Suffocation, Dying Fetus, or Origin. I was bitter that Suffocation could not play both nights considering that it was the last night of the tour and it was in their home city. I admit that the last Dying Fetus album I enjoyed was the Grotesque Impalement e.p. but I know they would have played some solid gold oldies. And I heard it is something to see Origin’s live show. I guess I missed that rush of adrenaline one gets when a great band that you know well goes on. Necrophagist provided that but only for their set of music.

The ticket price was also beat. For $30, the night before truly got the deal and all of us at the second show felt ripped-off and like we were fed left-overs. Although Necrophagist is a great band, I have to question them as a legitimate headlining act considering they have only one full album and a collection of then-new and demo tracks (Onset of Putrefaction). However, I think that they wanted to play the show and were the best band that was left and for that I give them credit. We can also factor in that they have been around for a quite a while. Either way, I believe the bitterness emanates from the fact that it was a weak show, a far cry from the thousands of posters and MySpace JPEGs that announced this “over the top” tour. It can really be looked at as a case of false advertisement and worthy of a complaint to the Office of Consumer Affairs. If I had the time, it might be worth it. I did not see a disclaimer about the possibility of bands not playing and the scope of “alternates and substitutions” had been pushed way too far. It would equivalent to heading to a steak house, ordering a 24 ounce porterhouse, and getting creamed spinach and a potato. All of the online flyers and the tour’s MySpace page has all the bands for all the dates. But what should I have expected with companies like Affliction and Decibel Magazine sponsoring the tour? I guess not much more and it will be a while before this old guy ventures out again.

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