I had the chance to catch IWRESTLEDABEARONCE live in New York City recently and they put on an amazing show. Part of the appeal of their genre bending, schizophrenic musical style is that they can play to different kinds of audiences. Even though they are decidedly brutal they don’t always play shows with strictly metal bands either as was the case tonight which saw them opening for DANCE GAVIN DANCE. Not really my cup of tea even though I like a lot of non-metal music. I did enjoy the opener JUST LIKE VINYL’s aggressive take on modern rock and metal. Krysta from IWABO even joined them on stage for the last few minutes of their last song which was cool.

So after patiently sitting through a bunch of bands IWABO took the stage to a wash of multicolored strobe lights and smoke. They started their set off with “Ulrich Firelord: Breaker of Mountains” and the crowd, which I wasn’t sure was entirely “get” this band went crazy. I often wonder if the bands’ sense of humor and musical skills go over the heads of some of their audiences, but this was not the case tonight. After a minute and a half of grindcore/deathmetal mayhem, “Ulrich…” breaks down into the bands patented lounge-core stuff. Running through a jazzy r&b motif and then techno before retuning to the metal again, the song is quite impressive. Krysta is supreme talent as a screamer whose growling vocals can best most dudes I know and her singing range is off the charts. I can’t tell you the last time I was this excited to hear someone vocally in the ranks of metal. “Danger in the Manger” followed and once again insanity ensued in the pit. Co- guitarists/programmers Steven Bradley and John Ganey have their hands full covering a multitude of playing styles during each song and responsibilities for the numerous samples that play also. The two of them mesh together what they do really well, especially on the heavy parts of songs. My favorite song by the band was next: “Vlork: Mighty Weilder of Sheep” and I was stoked to hear it played. The riffs are just pure chaos and Krysta’s guttural vocals make me want to punch somebody I hate repeatedly. Especially impressive is the inventive use of a Digitech Whammy Pedal in the riffs themselves. The centerpiece of the song is once again, a dialed down to chill out mode. With a keen sense of dynamics these little escapes from the main song structures really take your mind away on a journey before bringing you back to hell again. Also deserving some more recognition are Mike “Ricky” Martin on bass and Mike Montgomery on drums. These guys make the grooving, pulsing rhythms possible and add depth to the different parts of songs with their playing. Before launching into “You Ain’t No Family” Krysta talked about the bands’ southern roots and where they were when they wrote this particular little ditty. How many bands can incorporate a barn burning hoe-down into a deathmetal song? Only one I can think of nowadays. Then they played a brand new song which I didn’t catch the name of, but was very impressed by. Crazy tempo changes, harsh chords and 80′s synth pop keyboards come together in a tornado of a cut. If this a hint of what their new album will be like, I am even more pumped up for it than I already was. As their set was winding down they ran through great versions of “The Cat’s Pajamas”, “Black Eyed Bush”, and “See You In Shell”. As they gave a shoutout to recently departed r&b and rap singer NATE DOGG, they closed their set with the hilarious and awesome “Tastes Like Keven Bacon”.

Set List:

Ulrich Firelord: Breaker of Mountains

Danger In The Manger

Alaskan Flounder Basket

Vlork: Mighty Wielder of Sheep

You Ain’t No Family

New Song

The Cat’s Pajamas

Black Eyed Bush

See You In Shell

Tastes Like Kevin Bacon

by Keith (Keefy) Chachkes