Presented by Live Nation
October 31,Macewan Hall, Calgary AB
GWAR
Helmet
The Dwarves
Blood Vulture
I have lost count of how many times I have seen GWAR now, though this would be the second time I’ve seen the band post-Dave Brockie. Last year, the band played a show at The Back Alley and my analysis of the band was fairly critical. I still feel that the aura of GWAR feels different, though the band is still fun. This tour, with the return of their Gor-Gor character, cemented what I suspected that the band has cranked up the nostalgia, which makes shows more or less celebrations of GWAR rather than pushing some sort of new GWAR era or direction (though some new characters show up).
Even the choice of openers reflects the nostalgia factor. It isn’t Frozen Soul or 200 Stab Wounds, no. Opening these dates are The Dwarves and Helmet – two bands who are more or less GWAR’s peers. And then there was Blood Vulture, who will probably be remembered only for having a Bret Hart-style T-shirt for sale.
Helmet being direct support felt like a deserving break for the band. They are so influential, yet are still a bit unsung. This slot gave them time to perform a near-headline set of songs every night which was sure to work well in converting new fans who forgot to wear their helmets in studying rock history. The same could be said for The Dwarves, who wore ICP makeup on this night in Calgary.
As this show was on Halloween, the costumes people wore inevitably turned into bloody versions of those costumes by the end of the night. The set list did tickle my fancy this time, with “Bring Back the Bomb,” “Saddam a-Go-Go,” “Metal Metal Land” and even a rare appearance of “Pussy Planet.” The whole Gor-Gor shtick was more or less the same and the horny dinosaur did look impressive on stage, though it got me thinking – GWAR does this for this show. What’s next? Will they bring back a wrestling ring? Sleazy P. Martini? They have a warehouse full of shit. Guess we will see next year.
– Ryan Dyer
