2 [LIVE REVIEW] Mastodon / Baroness / Between the Buried and Me / Valient Thorr @ The Knitting Factory (Spokane, WA)

Words, Photos, Videos by Nik Christofferson

The goal since March has been to hit up a show somewhere beside Seattle once a month, and damned if I haven't made that a reality thus far without really thinking about it. #1 was Red Fang in Portland, #2 was Pierced Arrows at the Capitol Theater in Olympia, and now #3 with Mastodon, Baroness, Between the Buried and Me, and Valient Thorr in Spokane, WA. The venue was The Knitting Factory, and even though the place is part of a corporate chain of venues it was super impressive. Huge stage, video screens, pro lighting, spacious main floor, large bar with excellent site lines, and a large upper balcony area. The Knitting Factory had to be designed by someone who has seen a lot of shows in underwhelming venues, because it was great place to see a big metal show.

Mastodon are currently in the depths of a secondary market swing across the US, and are still in the midst of their "Crack the Skye in its entirety” phase. Thus I got to experience it for the 3rd time, and needless to say it was still amazing! The band followed up the 2009 masterpiece with a slew of hits from previous records as they have been doing now for almost two years running. The kicker this time, was the inclusion of "Blood and Thunder" in the setlist, as it was left off the two previous visits to Seattle (Neumos, Wamu Theater). Mastodon plays their stuff so effortlessly and at such a high level it almost makes you sick between uncontrollable full body headbanging fits. These guys are consummate pros; looking, sounding, and playing like they were destroying Madison Square Garden instead of owning a stage in the armpit that is Eastern Washington.

As far as I'm concerned, Between the Buried and Me have lost credibility since the release of Alaska. That record as well as the preceding two were great, but I never did take to Colors nor have I given The Great Misdirect much of a listen either. Live the material droned a bit, and caused the Mastodon hungry crowd to turn half way through their set. The inclusion of "Sequel to the Prequel" and finale "Mordecai" saved the set for me personally, but that didn’t save them from the pitchfork wielding mass who didn’t take kindly to BTBAM's sometimes lengthy over-the-top prog metal and were extremely vocal about it.

This trip was all about Baroness. Period. I drove 600 miles in two days to see and hear Baroness own the "Blue Record" live. I'm very happy to report they one-upped all my expectations. From the opening acoustic interlude of "Bullhead's Psalm" into "The Sweetest Curse" and on down the line it was epic as fuck. It was also the John Baizley and Peter Adams show, as the duo put on a guitar clinic, while frequently hamming it up for some excellent photo-ops. When "A Horse Called Golgotha" came after another beautiful acoustic build-up, I pretty much lost my shit. I barreled into the pit, knocking at least three rednecks to the floor in one fellow swoop (I helped them up of course). I have since placed "The Blue Record" up on this divine album pedestal, where it will remain until someone decides to dethrone it. From start to finish Baroness has made a magnum opus, and the live show only enhanced that sentiment. Bonnaroo or bust. Baroness I'm coming for you again in June.

Stoner party boys Valient Thorr opened the evening at 6:30pm. In other words most metal heads hadn't woken up yet from the previous evening’s debauchery and so the venue was pretty empty. Spokane must have a curfew or something, because that was an early start by anyone’s standards. I caught the last couple songs, and while I’ve never been a fan of Valient Thorr for some reason I own two of their records on vinyl? When and how I acquired them, I have no idea? They are fun, nothing spectacular, though shirtless, and beer bellied frontman Valient Himself is a riot on stage. He alone makes the band a worthwhile live experience at least once, and they also recorded their most recent album with Jack Endino. So I guess there’s that as well.

The trip was a success, and I won't mention the part about somehow ending up in a gay bar playing Addams Family pinball in a real bad part of town. This is music blog after all, so I won’t bore you with the rest of the trip details. Here is a bunch of footage from the show enjoy it at your leisure.