I noticed something different about the Knights of Columbus hall in Cadillac when I rolled into the sleepy town of less than 10,000. I had come here to see a metal show- in a way my first metal show. I had been to larger venues and seen bands like Cannibal Corpse, The Architects, Motorhead and Static-X, but those shows weren’t anything like this. Maybe is was the American Flag that hung proudly from the side wall behind the merchandise booths or possibly the row or parents seated in the front row who had apparently came to see their children play- what ever it was it didn’t remind me of anything I had experienced. This wasn’t Suicide Silence or DevilDriver, this was Avenmore and So Be It. Frankly I didn’t know what to expect.
Although I was about an hour late (there was construction and I took an ill-advised detour from the prescribed detour) I hadn’t missed any of the show- to my luck technically difficulties allowed for my tardiness to go unpunished. I walked up to the makeshift ticket booth and paid my seven dollars to see the 8 bands that where scheduled to play. After I handed my money to a friendly guy with a beard who seemed to be in charge I told him my intentions to write a review for the show. Seeing a chance for publicity and taking advantage of it like any wise promoter should he introduced himself to me as “Gary” and with out so much as batting an eye continued to say “but people here know me as Gary the Freak”. He told me that the name came from his days as a semi-professional wrestler but it fit in the metal world so he decided to keep it. We got to talking and I eventually asked how he made the transition from wrestling to promoting underground metal shows. He explained that a friend of his named Mike got him into it.
“Mike who” I asked, as if walking into his matronymic trap
“Mike Chainsaw” he said.
Not five minutes of immersion into this strange new world and I had already met a “Gary the Freak” and a “Mike Chainsaw”- it was obvious to me now; in this word epithets ruled with an iron fist. I asked him why people called him that and Gary just laughed, as if it was foolish to ask why anyone would be named after an impediment of brutality and destruction.
While Gary (the freak) could have talked for hours about the merits of semi-professional wrestling and the similarities that exist between it and promoting concerts- and believe me, after spending a few minutes with him you will understand there are more than you think- the opening band, a young local act named Fatality, began to play and I found myself shuffling over towards the forty or fifty people huddled in front of the “stage” which was really no more than a space on the floor designated for the band to play.
I have a hard time speaking badly about Fatality because there heart was in the right place. I feel almost hypocritical talking about a “heart being in the right place” in reference to a death metal band, but if you saw them you’d shed all skepticism and agree. Their lead singer, Mike Schaffer, gave a speech at the beginning of their show about rocking hard with no relent and you could really tell that he wanted to give everyone a good time- but something was missing- it was lacking in auditory cohesion. I ran into him after the show and he told me that he thought it went well- better than last week when their mics cut out and the drums became dislodged from their desired place as to say that they moved from being in front of the drummer where he can strike them at will to a place several feet in front of the drummer where the striking cannot be done irrelevant of will. I agreed with him, it certainly was better than that.
After Fatality finished I went back to Gary (THE FREAK!) to see how things where going. I learned that 77 tickets already been sold- (at 7 dollars a pop that 539 dollars)- not bad especially considering that people where still coming in as their favorite bands came up to play, and that hopefully by the time Defussus, the band whose CD, “The Great Destroyers”, played they would have over 1000 dollars in revenue. I walked back to the stage area ready to spend the rest of my night rocking out to the remaining bands, moshing with the select few who desired to get a little rowdy and head banging with those who didn’t. All in all it was a great time.
But before I finish I do want to point out two bands that I thoroughly enjoyed. I want to state prematurely that I will not mention the headliner Defessus as a band that I was particularly fancied with- but not because I didn’t like them, because frankly I love their song “The Great Destroyers” which seemed reminiscent of early Lamb of God before they got hot on instrumentals- but because I had to leave before they got on stage. Unfortunately it was already close to midnight the two-hour drive home didn’t sit well the fact that I had to start my new job at 8 am the next day. That being said, I’d still like to mention the dynamic duo that really electrified me.
Both hailing from Traverse City, Timmy’s in The Well and The Kevorkian Circuit impressed me not only with their music, but also with their stage presence. TTW, a band that Gary (THE FREAK!!!) swears is his favorite live act in Michigan, played first out of the two, and up until then the crows was a bit lackadaisical. There was some action amongst the attendees, but nothing noteworthy outside of a guy named Caleb getting yelled at by someone’s mom for running into her and being an all around menace to society during an out-of-control rollick he explained to me was merely “dancing”, but when they got on stage a fire was ignited inside of myself, and almost everyone else in the crowd. Their lead singer is a polite and unimposing guy named Tony who has a furry black beard and I have to say, even at the risk of being equally impolite and imposing, reminded me of an ewok. But alas, if he is an ewok, he is one who can jam like no other inhabitant of the forest moon of Endor. Almost immediately after they started to play they standing members of the band began to throw themselves into the crowd in paralytic bouts of metallic ecstasy. I couldn’t help but smile as I saw the guitarist forge through a bone crushing riff then swing his guitar around his shoulder like a child finally partaking in the biblical feat and taking his swing around the top o the swing set only to grab it again upon it’s decline and continue onward.
But as good as TTW was, The Kevorkian Circuit gave them a run for their money. When I first heard them I was outside with Tony talking about the show- he said to me “man, I really like these guys”- when I asked if he’d rather listen to the show and redo the interview later he said “naw, that probably means a lot of other people do to”. He laughed and I realized he was making a reference to the probably mayhem that was going inside and his wishes to stay in one piece. So far that night I had already been kicked, punched, and even pinched once, but as I heard the growling chords of the guitar roll through the hallways (Tony explained to me that they played in G Sharp) I had a certain sado-masochistic urge to be back inside. So after a brief discussion about how out part-time jobs in the teen-fashion retail market where quite contradictory to the lifestyle we were currently engaged in, I did. Inside I felt raw power emitting from the speakers, and given the flurry of fists and feet that inhabited the area in front of the stage, I wouldn’t be afraid to wager that everyone else did too.
When I left the Knights of Columbus Hall in Cadillac I was just another tired guy doused in sweat and ready to drive off onto the misty moonlit roads. But I was also another guy who, because of bands like Fatality, and The Kevorkian Circuit and Timmy’s in the Well and Defessus, had just jammed harder than he had in a while. In Northern Michigan it’s hard to find things to do- we don’t have the big cities or stadiums- but we’ve got something else. I can’t tell you what it is- but I can tell you I noticed it from the moment I pulled into that sleepy town. It’s not something you can describe, or really even want to; instead it’s the kind of thing you have to see first hand. I don’t think that Gary the Freak has any intention of jacking up prices to make them less affordable, so come on- go to a show. I promise you won’t get hurt. Nothing fatal at least.
