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I’m still (and always will be) a huge fan of Florida Death Metal. However, Against Me is still a great band, and really proved to me their ability to stay grounded.

Watching the crowed at the show was probably as much fun as the show itself. It was all the die-hard fans jumping all over each other. I can’t explain the stink of body odor in that garage, but trust me, it was rough.

More importantly, I can’t describe how surreal it was to see a bunch of white kids, probably living with their parents in a suburb somewhere, all hanging out at a place that provides no security, in the middle of one of the supposedly more violent places in the state of Florida.

Great times

As promised , last night I went to see the Nile show at the Haven. I would write about this on my music startup, Florida Death Metal , but my buddy Bender has been screwing around about getting my mockups done, so I’m holding off on putting any more content there for while. So, I’ve got my shepards pie and another Guinness, and I’m ready to tell you tales of Metal-Lore.

I’ve been to shows at the Haven before. So I know how there are usually a lot of opening bands before the main acts come on. Since I was going Hans Solo this time, I got there a little late and missed a few of them.

I got there right as Warbringer was finishing their last song. I’m bummed out I didnt’ get to see them. I saw them (at the Haven) a couple months ago when they opened for Exodus. Warbringer is a cool band, that’s reminscient of 80′s thrash and early death metal. Nobody is really pushing the thrash-type death metal these days, so it’s awesome to see a band (of very young kids) doing it. It’s also pretty cool to see those guys pay homage to Florida Death Metal (not my site, but the actual genre of music) for inspiration.

The next band up was Unexpect . I don’t know exactly how to describe them, other than very odd. There’s 7 members of the band. One drummer, one violinist, one keyboardist, two guitarists, a bass player (with a 9 string bass), and a female singer with black hair down to her knees. Oh, and they were French-Canadian. Funny = Sound check by saying ‘Eh’ a hundred times. I wasn’t into them. They’re doing the whole “sick-metal” thing. I’m more of a meat and potatoes kinda guy, thanks.

I don’t remember the name of the band after that I don’t recall. I do remember that they seemed a lot like old Cannibal Corpse , except they had a keyboard player. What the hell is up with keyboard players? Keyboard players are for Symphonic Black Metal and Jazz. No place in death metal, got it?

The Faceless was up after that. They’re more of a hardcore, or deathcore, band than a death metal. I don’t have any issue with that sort of thing, but I have a real issue with the scene that shows up to those shows. Most of the kids that show up at these shows are more scenesters than metalheads. I’ve a feeling that once Metal goes back underground (yes, it’s in a bit of a renessaince right now) those are the kids that’ll be gone. So, I didn’t hang around for the show. I called my mom instead. I figured that’d be more fun.

And for the headerliner…..

(drum roll please)

Nile was the last, and best, to take the stage.

They had an issue with one of the computers used for sound effects. That got me into a conversation with their geek Punchy (actual name withheld here). It turns out that the computer used for sound effects is a Windows Me computer with software never rewritten for another OS. That’s a damn shame, and I publicly challenge Karl to let me know what the software does, so I can find him a Mac equivalent.

It was cool though, since I got to meet Punchy. He’s a tech guy whose done quite a few things for Nile. We got to talking about software, and he might have a startup for me to work on. I’m flattered by the offer, but we’ll see if it pans out. I hope so.

So anyways, Nile played. Woo Hoo! They went through their whole set, but much of the crowd left after The Faceless left. Figures. What did I say about scenester kids with no handle on what Death Metal is all about. Nile are arguably one of the best death metal bands ever. All of the members are amazing. Karl, Dallas, George, and the new kid on bass could easily school anyone you know on how to play anything. It was incredible to see these guys play live, what seems impossible when hearing it on disc.

So all in all, the show was awesome. I picked up some merch, a couple beers, and watched a killer show. Hell yeah!

We got to the show around 9:00pm at the House of Blues in Orlando. We figured we’d catch the last bit of the last opener, then we’d see Mastodon. We were wrong.

It turns out, Mastodon let one of the openers, ‘Against Me!’ to open for them. So when we showed up, Mastodon was about half way through their set. We couldn’t believe it. We were only gonna see 20 minutes of who we paid to see!

Well, it turns out that ‘Against Me!’ is a really good band. They’re a punk band, which usually isn’t my thing. They’re also politically left of center, which really isn’t my thing. But they’re really good. It’s hard to not like these guys. Their stage presence is undeniable.

It was apparent that most people at the show came to see them. I’d never heard of the band before. Yet, the vast majority of people there were screaming every lyric of every song. The crowd up front chanted it’s fist to every chord, never missing a beat. It was truly something to behold.

I just picked up their live album today. It’s worth your money.