Saturday, March 13, 2010... Columbus, Ohio... Twenty-one bands... Seven and a half hours... Four stages... Five Metal Review staffers, two forum regulars and many friends... Appromixately a zillion beers... One absolutely bad-ass good time...
'Twas a rainy, craptacular Saturday when I journeyed to the netherworld of Ohio to meet up with many of my compadres, all but one of whom I'd never had the pleasure of meeting personally. We'd come from near and far to this Midwestern hamlet to see the sights of Scion Rockfest II. After convening at a nearby hotel for pre-game drinks and introductions, we soon found ourselves on Columbus' High Street, occupying the front corner booth at Skully's and downing Bell's Two Hearted Ales in fine metallic form. The festival was spread out over four venues, covering around a half-mile of High Street. I'd come to Columbus with hopes of seeing legendary acts D.R.I., Voivod, and Brutal Truth, although I was torn between seeing the latter and trying to catch some of Shrinebuilder's set--the two bands' times regrettably overlapped. As it turned out, my plan was foiled. Skully's would be my home for the evening, as well as the home of all other Metal Revew affiliates, since after one failed attempt to check out the nearby Circus (which was at capacity early in the event), we decided not to risk being quite literally left out in the cold, waiting in line to get in to any venue. Thus, we returned to Skully's, staked out a spot by the upstairs bar to watch and wait and watch.
Black Tusk and Struck By Lightning both put on quality sets, although I found Acrassicauda to be somewhat dull. (Yes, I admire their tenacity in pursuing their career--I cannot deny that. But I'm not a huge fan of their actual tunes, I must also admit.) I run hot and cold on instrumental wunderkinds Pelican, my interest in their work waning after The Fire In Our Throats, but I enjoyed their set more than I had expected to, all told. Regardless, the gold star that night undoubtedly went to Yob, whose "3.5 song" set was absolutely massive, absolutely crushing. As excited as I was to see Shrinebuilder, after Yob's stellar attack, I felt a bit let down--I relocated to the floor, which was a bit of a mistake, although it afforded me a killer view of Al Cisneros, Dale Crover, and Scott Kelly (but sadly, not so much of Wino). But something got lost in the sound, something felt muddier, less vital, which was a shame considering the sheer talent and legacy of these four dudes. Make no mistake, Shrinebuilder was good, but Yob was better, and I certainly couldn't say otherwise even if I wanted to.
In the end, though, the show became secondary to the event, and if I can be afforded the luxury of sentimentality for a moment, I have to say that the event I mean was simply the chance to spend an evening hanging with my brothers in metal, those fellow writers and readers and rockers who made the journey to share some tunes and some drinks and some laughs. Captain, Matt, Doug, Zach, Jason and Craig--it truly was a great time, so thanks to each of y'all. We'll do it again soon.
Here are some pics, compliments of Matt Mooring, who was the only one of us who thought to actually take some:
--J.Witt
Posted
Mar 15 2010, 04:39 PM
by
JW