Saturday in Seattle -- metal up your ass: EyeHateGod, Black Breath & Prong at Bumbershoot

EyeHateGod... on fire. (Angela Steel photo)

By Cat

Usually, Andy and I avoid Bumbershoot in Seattle like the plague... the crowds, the long lines for EVERYTHING, the posers, etc.

The last time we attended B Shoot (or BS, which really explains it better) was in 2007 for a Seaweed reunion gig. We avoided most of the crowds that time by hanging out across the street at our favorite punk dive the Funhouse, ran in for Seaweed, then left (we had not seen them in years, so we felt it was worth the Bumbershoot torture to get to see them, and they, of course, did not disappoint).

The BS we went to prior to that was for the Pixies in 2004.  That show was extremely annoying as they played in the large stadium. You had to wait a long time in line to get in, and there wasn't any beer in there.  Every poser who never saw the Pixies in small venues like we used to, and/or never knew who the Pixies were before Nirvana touted them, were in there. Good thing we weren't allowed to bring in any firearms --ha ha. 

So, BS 2012 was coming up and I took a peek at the lineup for the hell of it... and lo and behold, on Saturday (Sept. 1), several great bands were playing in the same area all in a row with some kick-ass comedy nearby.  When you see bands like Black Breath and EyeHateGod playing at this BS festival, we couldn't help but be intrigued.  I had visions of these bands playing outside with flying hair and many amps and people covering their children's ears and running away screaming-- some heads were gonna roll.  Right at the time we were looking at the festival ad, we got a text from our friends Jeb, Angela and Bowie, stating they were going, too, so it was a sign and we got those tickets. 

But, of course, BS would not allow this music to be for the outside masses, and we were directed to the Exhibition Hall, which was down a flight of stairs, way underground. Frankly, that was perfect for us vampires, anyway -- we prefer the pits of hell.  We ended up staying down there for 6 hours, avoiding the sun, crowds and lines-- they had a beer garden down there, too, so what more could you ask for?  It never got too crowded down there and in between bands it was wide open.
 
The Spittin' Cobras were the first ones on-- a Motley Crue-esque band, circa '88 on the Sunset Strip, so we weren't too into that (clearly too much cowbell).

Black Breath's Eric Wallace. (Andy photo)

Black Breath was next. Due to the signs that stated "absolutely no crowd surfing or moshing" warning you before you came in, it was not your normal Black Breath gig with everyone slamming around.  But this did not stop my head from banging into oblivion and not being able to move the next morning.

Prong's Tommy Victor. (Andy photo)

Next up was Prong. While Prong did "Snap your fingers/Snap your neck" during a lot of their set, some of the newer songs may be more like treating your neck to a gentle massage with essential oils. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Then EyeHateGod came on and blew out what was left of my eardrums with their dirty, sludgy metal/punk concoction -- a perfect end to our fun times in the metal cabal.

EHG's Mike Williams and Gary Mader, top. Jimmy Bower, below. (Andy photos)

Then we emerged from our underground lair to walk across the patio to the building next door to check out the comedy stylings of Brian Posehn----whom Angela saw earlier descending into the hall to enjoy some of the metal himself. 
 
All in all, a great day and night...Horns up, BS!