On This Day in History

On this date in history, 9/20/2009, I traveled solo to the Vogue in Broad Ripple to witness the mighty Down, along with Melvins and Weedeater! A crushingly amazing show that built in intensity with each band. I had never heard Weedeater before and I was impressed with their sound. The guy singing (although singing isn’t technically what he was doing…metalheads know what I mean!) also played bass and his bass sound was pulverizing and punishing, just the way we like it! Melvins were next and they played straight through their set with barely a pause, 2 drummers bashing away like conjoined twins who have a habit of finishing each others’ sentences. One guy would begin a drum fill and the other one would complete it, morph it into something new and bat it back. It was really crazy to watch and for a drum freak like myself, simply mesmerizing! At one point I noticed Phil Anselmo crouched down between the 2 kits and banging his head and shouting words of encouragement to the twin headed percussion behemoth. When Melvins finished their set, a whole section of the crowd got up and left. Apparently their core audience was just there for their favorite band. I can respect that, but they really missed out on a fantastic set by Down. Phil was in great voice and in a cheerful mood and it brought back memories of his prime in PanterA! The dual lead tandem of Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein was on point, delivering the thick swampy tones of doom we all craved. My only regret was that Rex Brown had left the band not too long before this show. His replacement fit right in and Down brought that Black Sabbath – Lynyrd Skynyrd evil swamp child hybrid voodoo magic!

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka The Concert Critic