The Beginning of The (Week)End.....Day 3

I had intended on writing about the show, last night, but as soon as we got back...I hit a bowl twice and feel asleep (mostly cause I was kinda drunk from the pitcher of beer I drank by myself.)

We walk into Oade's to find Ozenza hard at work on the pool table (make no mistake about this band: they will take your money!). A few people and Beast In The Field showed up roughly about 35-40 minutes before bands started playing. Ozenza went first. Good thing I'm not in a band and would have to follow that. For the past 4+ years, Ozenza has been writing some of the best down-tempo/"stoner"-rock in Michigan. Josh, their drummer, played as if he was channling Gonzo, himself. It was 6 or 7 songs later and they left some people asking the question 'Should I really play after that?'. As of late, Beast In The Field has been using much smaller set-ups for shows. Even so, Jordan still manages to make teeth chatter and lower intestines grumble with discomfort. Jamie's lumberjack-like approach to the drums is far and away one of the best drummers I have had the chance to see and hang out with. Beast's music really does sound like a glacier floating down a river or an avalanche of lava. The best thing one could do, while watching Beast In The Field destroy...? Stand there and take it like a human being.

The night ended with a hot, 40-minute set from Lansing's only REAL doom band, The Plague Years. Off and on, they will play with a bassist. This paticular show was just Derek and Steve. Aside from an extra body not being on stage, one would hardly notice with all of the low-end that is put out. The Plague Years' general attitude is simple: all of "this" will be over soon. Their music is what the apocolypse will sound like, a la vintage amps (ie. orange and green). While the song structures and chord progressions are in fact simple, it is the underlying idea behind their music that is so captavating to yours truly: the end is near and you only have one chance to be who and what you are behind closed doors. Seize this chance before it passes you by like traffic on the freeway.