Gaza -- Lawrence, KS -- January 8th, 2011

[mankvill]

Gaza set included:

He Is Never Coming Back
Cristle
Cult
Canine Disposal Unit

They were really good. I'll do a full review tomorrow. Pretty nice start to 2011 concerts.

Gaza: 9/10
Mansions: 5/10
Walking Oceans: 8/10

[mastodon421]

Nice, Gaza is such an amazing band, especially live. Really funny dudes too, their singer went for like 5 minutes at NEMHF about how bad Chelsea Grin was and how they hate hardcore dancers.

[mankvill]

Originally Posted by mastodon421

Nice, Gaza is such an amazing band, especially live. Really funny dudes too, their singer went for like 5 minutes at NEMHF about how bad Chelsea Grin was and how they hate hardcore dancers.

He was really cool. He spent most of the in-between song moments without the mic and just talking to the crowd, telling them to stay positive, to run from cops, all this stuff. It was really cool.

[larvtard]

Originally Posted by mankvill

He was really cool. He spent most of the in-between song moments without the mic and just talking to the crowd, telling them to stay positive, to run from cops, all this stuff. It was really cool.

I think he made fun of Mormons at our show. You know, being as he's from Utah and all...

[mankvill]

So my first concert of 2011 may not have been all around as fantastic as 2010's (Nile w/ Immolation, Krisiun) but Gaza was fantastic all the same. And if I can't see Immortal in the middle of a snowstorm, Gaza will do just fine as a replacement.

Gaza is not your average grind band. They have grind, crust, hardcore, sludge, and punk influences in their music, but it all came through wonderfully in one of the loudest performances I've seen at the Jackpot. In between songs, the vocalist would talk to the crowd without the mic, so it gave a really at-home, down-to-earth vibe to the show. The band was all over the place and interacting with the crowd on songs like "He Is Never Coming Back" which the crowd sang most of. During the last song, the vocalist moshed with the crowd and for the final explosion of sound, the guitarist and the bassist joined. It was epic, in the small venue type of way. Great stuff, Gaza has the potential to be a legendary live band.

Opening the show was KC's Walking Oceans, an instrumental post-rock band. The good thing about them was that although they were instrumental, the music was great. They definitely put the "rock" in post-rock and the basslines were groovy as hell. Infectious. I hope they open more shows.

Before Gaza was Mansions. Mostly instrumental post-metal/sludge. It didn't really click with me last time, and this time was only a little better. It just seemed like they played the same song over and over again. Not terrible, but not too great either.

[treghet]

I've read a lot about Gaza but never checked them out. After reading your review I decided to look into them. Man, I was missing out. Next time I go on a shopping spree I will definitely buy one of their albums.