Author Archives: Farrah Skeiky

I’ve always felt that every year needs a thoroughly sweaty, raucous show to signify the start of summer—and this, the FIDLAR Spring Break 2015 tour, was it.

Never mind that a repulsive number of showgoers had parent carpools waiting to pick them up afterwards; I watched these kids get their phones knocked out of their hands while Snapchatting and never pausing for a second, still screaming along.

That, of course, was more of the FILDAR crowd. But that isn’t to say that Metz fans weren’t crazy, too. The Toronto trio ripped through songs that were equal parts sludge and shred, tightening up older songs just enough that they fit seamlessly with new material from their latest release II.

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At concerts with stacked lineups such as this one, especially one in which the personalities on stage are erratically different, it’s easy enough to pick out each band’s fans in the crowd. Sometimes it’s their attire, sometimes it’s how (un)apologetic they are when they curb stomp someone who didn’t willingly find themselves in the pit. This night may not have been an exception, but at some point, the lines blurred.

Nearly every person in the room found that there was something they liked about a band they hadn’t come to see. Anyone unfamiliar with Night Birds quickly learned that the Jersey/ Brooklyn boys don’t skimp on the deranged, spastic fun that litters their set; that though their performance is surprisingly well thought out, they never take themselves too seriously. Those only seeing Torche for the first time forgot about antics and showmanship and instead found themselves transfixed on technical ability–at times, maybe too much so, but the lasting energy from the other acts helped carry them through.

And Municipal Waste fans? They more than accurately conveyed that, in the band’s own words, “Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up!” Which they did, and somehow managed to fuse together all the aforementioned traits of the opening bands while doing so.

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