I almost did not get to see this one. I was scheduled for an evidentiary hearing on a kidnapping case late in the afternoon yesterday. I resisted the urge to buy the tickets right away with the concern that maybe, I would not be able to see it. That would have been pretty disappointing. I have really taken to Bell Witch over the last year, starting with their impressive Mirror Reaper album and leading to me picking up each of their previous releases as well. So I was pretty excited to see them. But I had that hearing potentially in the way.
After my hearing went quickly, I rushed out of court and to my office to buy my ticket (my wife did not attend this one with me), and I was off to Omaha. The venue was the Lookout Lounge, an entertaining place to look at all of the flyers from shows years in the past. It is kind of hard to imagine Machine Head playing in such a small venue for instance.
Omaha natives Processions was up first and the singer announced that this would be the band's final show. Upon looking at their Facebook page, it appears the members just want to start a new project and stop doing Processions. The band played some pretty decent death/doom and I have to say I was pretty impressed with their slow-paced, rumbling sound. It is a shame that the band is stopping a real release.
Bell Witch was next and I made an effort to get closer to the stage. Bell Witch is an interesting band, consisting of just two members: a drummer and a bassist. No guitars, no keyboards. Yet the result is some absolutely devastating funeral doom metal. I was kind of surprised that the band ended up playing the only track from their latest album, though a somewhat abbreviated version of it. I did not expect the band to play one hour-long song for their show, but they absolutely killed it live. It is difficult to make such a long, slow song interesting in a live setting, but the ebbs and flows of the melodies worked and it built up to a crushing climax.
YOB was next, and I have never really gotten into them. This was my first extended exposure to the band and they were decent enough. Their songs were a little long, which seems like an odd complaint from someone who was just praising Bell Witch for one hour-long song, but I knew what to expect with them. YOB was definitely heavy and interesting enough, I just do not know if I will be checking them out further.
I am glad I managed to make it to the concert. Bell Witch alone was well worth it. This is one of the more unique concert experiences I have had to date, but it was a great time.
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