A three-hour drive brought me to New Haven for the first time in almost exactly a year. I had gone down for a GWAR show back then as well. I remember being excited about having Iron Reagan on the bill. This was only my second time going to the venue and it was strange to be back in the last place that we had seen Dave (Brockie) before he passed away just three months later I didn’t remember it being so packed, especially not with so many bro’s and wannabe thugs. It was a weird crowd and there were a lot of fights throughout the evening.

Openers American Sharks took the stage first. I had no idea who they were before the show but I was pleasantly surprised. Stoner metal from Texas, I dug it. If you like groups like The Sword or Red Fang, you’ll likely enjoy them as well. I was only able to catch about the last third or so of their set due to medical emergencies involving police and pizza. Hopefully they’ll come back around with a date somewhere in MA next time.

Corrosion of Conformity were in the middle of the action and opened their set with ‘Seven Days’ before transitioning into ‘Brand New Sleep’ off of their last album; IX (Candlelight Records). I had expected more of a plug of newer material to promote their latest release but I was wrong. We got a decent mix of things including ‘Vote with a Bullet’, ‘Psychic Vampire’, and personal favorite of mine in ‘Deliverance’. CoC always puts on a great show and they had every head moving in the building.

Third time seeing GWAR since Dave’s passing, second stop on the current tour, and, somehow, it never gets old. Just like last time, the set opened with ‘Fly Now’ accompanied by Oderus Urungus on a screen. I understand that they are paying tribute to the fallen but it still makes me uncomfortable. Kill all of the babies, politicians, and celebrities that you want but this just hits too close to home. I still can’t get over how great it is to have Michael Bishop back in the swing of things. Whether you like Blothar or not, the man is a top notch performer and I love his digs at Beefcake the Mighty (Jamison Land). All in all, the Scumdogs gave us a nineteen song set including staples like ‘The Private Pain of Sawborg Destructo’ and ‘Hate Love Songs’. A tribute was paid to their fallen brothers in the form of a moment of violence in which every was encourage to let out a war cry. My voice cracked from one too many Jager Bombs, but damn, did it feel good. The last few songs of the performance consisted of the band’s renditions of ‘West End Girls’ by Pet Shop Boys and ‘People Who Died’ by The Jim Carroll Band, the combination of which went on to win this year’s A.V. Undercover competition.

I held myself together far better than the last two times I saw the band. I blame it on them not having played ‘Gor-Gor’ this time around, but it’s okay, I didn’t mind. Like most, I managed to save my tears for ‘The Road Behind’, which makes slightly more sense than getting emotional over a song about a zombie T-Rex. I can’t say what will happen in the future, but, we’ve got one tour behind us and things are starting to look up.

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WORDS BY ALEIDA LA LLAVE