After much thought, I have decided to drop the Weekend Showcase post and start review shows on Saturday. I was running out of shit to talk about and was completely disinterested in what I was writing about. So here we go, hope this works out better.

So for those who frequently visit this website, you probably know I am a huge fan of the band dredg. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out they were not only play one San Francisco show, but two shows in the city. I was also overhearing rumors of special guests and new songs to be played these nights as well.

Now this is a double review, so I am going to attempt to give you rundown on both the Great American Music Hall show and Bimbo’s 365 Club show.

So lets start with Judgement Day, the string metal band. They have toured with dredg several times already and I was able to catch them on their last tour in New York and Connecticut. It’s always a joy to see them live because the audience always loves them. I like to look around once in while in the middle of one of their songs and watch people’s jaw’s drop and mouth, “This is fucking amazing!” Yes it is. This time around their performance was way more intense and sounded spectacular. It’s a band that sounds like non-other and have a unique stage presence that makes them one of my favorite acts to see live. I’m serious about that last statement. Between the heavy metal slaughter that is Out of the Abyss to the acoustic version of Air Raid, Judgement Day made both nights very special.

Oh Torche, where to begin? If you’re unfamilar with Torche, they’re a more watered down version of The Melvins. A more accessible sludge metal band for those of you that have short attention spans. The band didn’t bring anything new to the table and were unlucky to follow the amazing Judgement Day. However, the band was pretty entertaining to watch. The drummer was wailing away and showed extreme intensity for nearly every song, the bassist was jumping and running around on stage, and the guitarist/singer was…well, making funny faces at the crowd. Which may have prompted an audience member to chuck a cup of beer at him, causing the singer to toss his guitar at the assailant and stomp off stage. That was at the Great American Music Hall, the Bimbo show was a whole-lot calmer than the previous night. I wonder why…

I have seen dredg at least 10 times in my lifetime and I must say that these shows were probably the best I’ve ever seen them. They sounded fantastic and the new songs didn’t sound plastic or poorly rehearsed. Opening with Stamp Of Origin: Pessimistic, a short track off their upcoming album, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, the song blended nicely into crowd favorites, Ode to the Sun and Same Ol’ Road. The band then went into the instrumental Brushstroke – New Heart Shadow followed by Of The Room, a song that never gets old no matter how many times I hear it live.

So with the crowd sufficiently hyped up on familiar songs, the band went into the newer songs. For both shows, Ben Flanagan of The Trophy Fire and Benjamin Henderson from Good Hustle came up to help the band play opening track to the new album, Pariah. There’s a specific part of the song that involves several singers all at once and that’s where the guests joined in to make the song sound enormous.

Another highlight was Judgement Day adding strings to this the songs Jamais Vu (which instantly became a stronger song), Long Days And Vague Clues (a brutal instrumental that sounds like a synth metal solo), Lightswitch (a weird combo of Murder by Death whisky-rock and dredg-like atmospherics), and Triangle (a fan favorite). The addition of Judgement Day made dredg’s performance seem more genuine and emotional. I for one would prefer the guys of JD to become permanent members of the band and contribute to every tour, I know I’m not the only one. After playing three more new tunes (Ireland, RUOK, and Information) and a few more off Catch Without Arms (Bug Eyes, Sang Real), the band wrapped it up with the epic and cinematic Down To The Cellar with Stamp Of Origin: Horizon. For those who have not heard the new record, this is not only a great song to end the album but also their live shows. At the end of a dredg show you don’t feel cheated or unsatisfied in the slightest bit. You don’t even feel you need an encore (which they never do).

This show proved to me that dredg are still in their prime and have really found their niche in the music world. To miss one of their shows, especially one with Judgement Day, would be a mistake that you wouldn’t want to make.

dredg -The Canyon Behind Her (Live)

dredg – What Have I Done?

Judgement Day – Flight

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