The NMMI Metalfest. How was it? I guess it depends on whether you want the facts or the leftover impression. The facts include constant chilly wind across the desert praireland (in the middle of nowhere—no offense Roswell):
and the continued aural assault from the stage (which was the whole point, I know, but after a while all the screaming really does sound the same), and a seriously lagging schedule (5:30 slot = 7:30 stage time). The overall impression, however, is one of a hard-fought good time.
We took off from the LBH at eleven something, eastbound. The guys rented a cargo van, and Jerm (a/v guy) took his car. There were eight of us total. The ride was nice; I passed out listening to Soul of a New Machine as I painfully recovered from the Simfonik show the night before. We situated ourselves in the parking lot that was part of the backstage to the amphitheatre they played in. It was a nice little place, the kind that honestly one would no longer see except in a smaller town, though they should be everywhere:
The guy that ran it seemed reasonable, promising 3 kegs of beer after the show. The cargo van became the LBH temporarily (since it’s not really about the house in the first place), and we took turns hanging out there as respite from the battering winds. Steve is the ultimate boy scout, and we really lacked nothing.
We set up the merch table early on, and hunkered down for an afternoon of people watching. Kids at these all-ages shows are crazy. Okay, that’s a bullshit adjective. The vibe is actually really chill, it’s nice to sit on the outside of their little universe and watch on as they do their darnest to ignore us, the “old people.” Anyway, there was a girl leading a guy and a girl that were handcuffed together around by a leash, another little pint sized hellion that took joy in moshing into the other girls at random times, a local radio DJ that got obliterated at close range with three paintball guns directly in the crotch area (seriously). After the show there were reports from several members of Left Brain that another girl had grabbed their crotches and/or pinched their butts during their set. And as the night wore on, more kids showed up, though the turn out, even as we were rolling out some time after nine, was a far cry from earlier numbers quoted. Talking to last year’s organizer, he said that there had been about 200 kids at the first one. However, all the kids that were there were moving once Left Brain got on stage:
It was good to see so many bands out, and my favorites included Collateral Hate (minus the tight pants and painfully applied make-up). It was interesting to see Left Brain perform after so many “harder” acts, and the reward was in that the kids were really ready to hear some singing, melodies, and options in sound. The boys were really distinctive in comparison to the other acts, and they worked that contrast well. I spied some new stage moves too:
I got to film the new song at the end of the set, and by then there were some crazy pits turning.
Sadly, I failed to recharge my battery before I left, so I restricted my picture-taking to pretty much the show (yeah, like everyone is really sad about that). But here are some pics and stuff. It was a fun road trip.
