Live Review and Photos by Mark Schaff
Back in the nineteen eighties, Gwar was one of those bands, that as a metalhead, you couldn’t get enough of them. They rocked, they dressed up and their live shows were out of this world. Raw and raunchy, and they still are. Even after seeing them numerous times over the years, you never know what to prepare yourself for in this show. Formed in 1984, the current Gwar lineup consists of The Berserker Blothar (vocals), Balsac The Jaws Of Death (guitar), Beefcake The Mighty (bass), Jizmak Da Gusha (drums), and Pustulus Maximus (guitar). Others that share the stage during beheadings and other unnatural acts are Bonesnapper (bodyguard) and Sawborg Destructo (nemesis). Currently out on tour to support the new release The New Dark Ages, and their Black Death Rager World Tour, I couldn’t wait to see what the interplanetary warriors had in store for fans on this one as they made their way to Niagara Falls. They’ve enlisted Crobot and Nekrogoblikon for the tour and they are great support bands for this tour. Now let’s see how bloody it can get.
Crobot
Crobot took the stage first and man, they did not disappoint. Having not seen them yet, I was looking forward to catching them live. Crobot was spot on as singer Brandon Yeagley took the stage and gave an energetic performance starting with ‘Electrified’. Guitarist Chris Bishop laid down hot riffs and did guitar tricks while crossing the stage with Bassist Tim Peugh. Behind the kit drummer, Dan Ryan put out the thundering drums. Supporting their new album “Feel This” released in June, they got the crowd fired up right from the start. ‘Dizzy’, ‘Holy Ghost’ and ‘Gasoline’ paved the way to their newest single ‘Golden’. They ended the set with ‘Low Life’ and if you didn’t know who Crobot was before the show, there’s no doubt you know who they are now. This was one high-energy/ kick ass set! No doubt the crowd was happy, and I can’t wait to see them again.
Setlist
Electrified
Dizzy
Holy Ghost
Gasoline
Golden
Low Life
Crobot – Dirty. Groove. Rock. From Pottsville, PA (crobotband.com)
Nekrogoblikon
Another band I hadn’t seen live until this show is Nekrogoblikon. They brought their melodic death metal to the stage in Niagara Falls in support of the newest album “The Fundamental Slimes And Humours” released back in April. The band members are Nicky “Scorpion” Calonne (vocals), Alex “Goldberg” Alereza (lead Guitar), Aaron “Raptor” Minich (keyboards), Aaron “Zoot” VAnZutphen (bass), Eric W. Brown (drums) and Joe “diamond” Nelson (rhythm guitar). They hit the stage with ‘Golden Future’ with the great green one, John Goblikon, dressed in his white shirt and khakis, flipping off the crowd, dancing arcross the stage and banging his head at all times, getting the crowd to join him is what he does best. ‘Dressed as Goblins’ and ‘Darkness’ Followed with blazing riffs filling all our ears. Calonne’s growls were dominant with ‘The Magic Spider’ and ‘This is It’. The band sounded great as they finished off the night with one of their biggest song ‘Powercore’. These guys had the crowd into it, and you should check them out if you have the chance to do so.
Setlist
Golden Future
Dressed As goblins
Darkness
The Magic Spider
This Is It
Powercore
Gwar
Gwar took to the stage with the opening song of ‘The Cutter’, and in the only fashion, they know how to, beheading someone and spraying the crowd with blood. And the galactic quest was on, Gwar then rocked Niagara Falls with ‘The Issue Of The Tissue’ and ‘Bring Back The Bomb’. They sounded fantastic, and after every few songs we would have a small interlude into the story they tell during their shows (which usually led to another victim of some sort). ‘New Dark Age’, ‘Mother Fucking Liar’, and ‘Rise Again’ followed as Gwar let the riffs and blood fly across Rapids Theater. The costumes Gwar wear make them look 10 feet tall when you see them live, and larger than life.
Putin makes an appearance during ‘Bring Back The Bombs’ before Gwar rips off his hands and skins his chest to soak the faithful crowd once again. President Biden comes on stage, followed by Donald Trump. Gwar finds stolen documents in Trump’s ass and beheads the president which results in another spray down of the audience with fake blood. All night the riffs from Balsac The Jaws Of Death and Pustulus Maximus are heavy as hell, the drums of Jizmak The Gusha are thunderous on the crowd. ‘Womb With A View’ comes with an onstage “abortion” which again covers the fans with spraying blood. ‘Venom Of Platypus’ riles up the crowd before ‘Beserker Mode’ takes them to another level. They come to ‘Sick Of You’, a fan favorite before a final ramping of energy to higher levels with ‘Fuck This Place’ accompanied by a final spray of fake blood and semen on the fans. Leaving them soaked, as any Gwar show should.
The show was great, as expected, I’ve seen a few in the past. Crowd surfing was the theme for the night as numerous fans made their way to the front via the top of the crowd. Gwar never lets the fans down when it comes to staging shows. Some people may be offended by the things Gwar does on stage, but those in the crowd were most definitely being entertained, and of course, soaked with blood before leaving the venue covered in a mess. As always, Gwar is a must-see show if they’re anywhere near you. Make sure you go and check them out.
Setlist
The Cutter
The Issue Of Tissue (Spacecake)
Bring Back The Bomb
New Dark Age
Mother Fucking Liar
Rise Again
Bored To Death
Saddam O Gp-Go
Ratcatcher
Womb With A View
Black And Huge
Venom Of Platypus
Berserker Mode
U Ain’t Shit
None But The Brave
Sick Of You
Fuck This Place
The Official Cyber-fortress of Your Lords and Masters GWAR
About Author
