Date: January 9, 2010
Venue: Ten-Eleven, San Antonio TX
Bands: D.R.H., Exmortus, Vektor, Birth A.D.
PRE-SHOW
Again, our first show of the new year was in San Antonio. What made it even more special was that it was with our buddies in Exmortus, so we were (or at least I was) taking extra care to be nice and warmed up ahead of time to be sure that we not make ourselves look like fools in front of them. Another band we were looking forward to seeing was Birth A.D., who were headlining this evening. We had previously played with them in July ’09, and really dug their hardcore-isms and friendly attitudes.
Someone we were not looking forward to encountering but we knew would be there was Old Man Winter.
Sure enough, it was COLD. “Doi Dart, it’s January, it’s gonna get more than a bit chilly. Plus didn’t you already bitch about low temperatures in your last Armstrong show blog? Man up sissyboy!” Well I’m sorry but cold weather and I do not make agreeable companions. I even came prepared, sporting my awesome Cosby sweater, and was still shivering.
Speaking of Cosby sweaters, I was not the only one garbed in such potentially-embarrassing attire! As soon as we parked across from the Ten Eleven we ran into Exmortus, and Balmore was wearing this snow-scene sweater, complete with a snowman. According to the man himself, this was such an aesthetically displeasing garment that his wife would not even let him wear it back home! I wish I had brought the camera I got for Christmas with me so I could get a picture of us in our awesomely bad threads.
The other guys in Hexlust were, as usual, all for hobnobbing and elbow-rubbing, but I’m no flibbity-ibbity-gibbit! (cool points to whoever can tell me what cartoon movie I got that from) I had a kit to set up and have ready to go onstage, which would happen after the first performance, given by Dead Rotting Hood.
D.R.H.
I didn’t actually see this band, as having the room necessary to set up my drums involves being outside, but those who ventured inside described them as looking pretty damn out of it. I think they were from Corpus Christi or some such, so I imagine they were pretty pooped after that drive. I did manage to sneak a peek inside and get an eyeful of the drummer’s setup, which was pretty dang sweet. He had two bass drums, plenty of cymbals, and scores of toms, which he used to perform long rolls in just about every song. The music itself was mid-tempo stuff with what seemed to be a constant guitar lead going on. I guess I’m being generous when I say “lead,” it was more commonly described as “noodling.” Overall, not my favorite music, and apparently not a very selling performance. Hopefully they have their shit more together back in Corpus.
HEXLUST
We seem to have an unspoken vow to make 2010 the year with the least amount of fuck-awful shows thus far. After two years of playing shows together, we have our stage presence figured out, our tunes practiced to death and personalized to beat hell, our pre-show warmup regimen more or less down pat, and the secure knowledge that we need to drink water between songs and pace ourselves throughout the set. Here’s a-hopin we spend the rest of the year making good on these hard-earned lessons.
As for this show: another proud feather in our hat and a great way to kick off the new year. There was a mosh pit going on during “Toxic High,” which, considering “Toxic” is the second song we play, was quite a compliment! Tony got a nice, huge Tom G. Warrior roar from the crowd in announcing “Hellhammer.” I started feeling the burn and running out of breath during “Baphomet Dawn,” and realized I had neglected to drink any water up to that point. I finished the song and took nearly half a bottle down in preparation for the final two. We plowed through “Tombs,” and I pulled a long (feeling) solo out of my ass for the stinger, basically just ripping up and down my toms in a mostly improvisational manner.
For the closing cover, Tony decided to ask the audience if they wanted “Open Casket” or “Sodomy and Lust;” The majority of the applause was for the latter. While I’m always more than happy to play that song, especially in a live setting, we had not done such a thing for a few shows now. We had practiced the number even less, so while apparently we did a good job, it felt kinda sloppy to me.
As soon as the amps were flicked off, I was hurrying to get my drums outside and broken down. The adrenaline flowing through my system enabled me to feel warm, and I knew I didn’t have long before it died down and I was left shivering again. I got my stuff packed away just in time to start feeling the chill, and changed into a fresh shirt and my Cosby sweater.
VEKTOR
Unfortunately, I missed most of their set. JT and I were both suffering from a serious case of the munchies and set off for the Valero station not far from the club. By the time we got back the set was almost over, but I was in time to hear this really sweet clean electric guitar part of one of their songs. The band instantly had my respect! The rest of the song(s) enforced my admiration, they are a really tight band with an awesome drummer and a great set of lungs on the singer.
After their performance, we wound up talking to a few of the members (yes, I actually joined in on a conversation!) about life and college and whatnot. Turns out, as soon as classes let out for winter break these dudes were on the road, and the day after they get back is when they start classes again for the spring semester. I highly admire them for this as I couldn’t do it. Being a heavy procrastinator, I wouldn’t be registered for my classes ahead of time, and even if I did, I’d be walking into class that first day thinking “Wasn’t I just here?”
EXMORTUS
The highlight of the evening for me, and the only set (besides ours) for which I stayed all the way through. Not only that, but I was up front the whole time. I was positioned just in front of Daniel (bass player), meaning I was up against the stage-right monitor and just out of the mosh pit’s reach. This gave me a close view of Exmortus playing their songs, as well as an insight to how much Daniel contributes to their music. This dude doesn’t just hold down the root notes, he uses all four of his strings and does just as many scale runs as the guitarists do, although in very “tasteful” ways.
What made this show even more enjoyable for me was the fact that I had recently begun to really listen to their album, allowing me to recognize and appreciate more of the songs they played. I forget the exact order, but I know they did “In Hatred’s Flame,” “Onward to Battle,” “War Gods,” “Axes of War,” a new song about a pharaoh’s tomb or something, “Fimbulwinter” and closed with (personal fave) “Triumph By Fire!” No headlining status meant no Slayer-rific encore.
About that new song, I really enjoyed it. It was longer than most of their other tunes, it had a crap-ton of trade-off guitar solos, and Konan sang lead! I knew he was responsible for the backup vocals but didn’t even know the dude had it in him to take the lead for a whole song. Thanks to my positioning relative to the P.A. speakers I couldn’t hear him very well, but Tony and Tarzan said that his voice was a little deeper than Balmore’s. Very interesting.
BIRTH A.D.
Did not get to see them! It was getting late, we were still without a reliable place to stay in San Antonio, and it was time to hit the road.
POST-SHOW
By the time we got to J.T.’s place in Cove, it was 3 a.m. and still very cold. I cursed my instrument of choice the entire time I spent loading my drums, stands, and cymbals from JT’s vehicle into Tony’s truck bed. On the way to Killeen, I called my roommate to have him open the garage door for us. We slapped the truck in there and hit the hay.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Not long after the end of this tour, Exmortus parted ways with Balmore. Of all the bands whose split-ups or firings I have seen coming a mile away (or, in some instances, have really hoped for) Exmortus’ split with their front man really kinda came outta left field for me. I’m sure the band will find another awesome singer (or guitarist, since Konan has proven himself a worthy vocalist) but I’m gonna miss seeing that dude at shows. He was nice to us, always taking time to thank us for playing a show with them. He was the one who, back in March of ’09, leaned out of the van and screamed “HEXLUST!” at us, just as I doubted they’d remember who we were. Of course, he and I will always have our Cosby sweater connection. Good luck to Balmore with whatever he’s gonna do now, and to the rest of Exmortus in keepin’ on keepin’ on.
