GWAR – at The House of Blues – Hollywood, CA – November 12, 2011 and at The Glasshouse – Pomona, CA – November 13, 2011

In 1862 John C Ceremony wrote in Life among the Apaches "The demise of a warrior provokes an excessive demonstration of woe and general sense of serious loss". This is something sadly familiar to many fans of punk, metal, and Gwar, who learned of guitarist Cory Smoot's untimely death a few short weeks ago.The band made the tough choice to continue on the current North American tour, as a memorial to Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus) and as a chance for fans to mourn together and say good bye.

The tour resumed it's first dates after the memorial service in Los Angeles, at the House of Blues, and in Pomona at the Glass House this Saturday and Sunday, where large crowds turned out, many clad in home-made "RIP Cory" t-shirts.

The video screen at the House of Blues was co-opted from it's usual mindless cycle of adverts to show a short memorial video, featuring live clips of Flattus. Fans roared from the floor, perhaps like the Klingons warning the dead that a metal warrior was coming, and there was a robust mosh pit to the footage, as people shouted Cory's name, and danced to give honor to his memory. The Glass House doesn't have a video screen on stage, so the video memorial was skipped on Sunday, but both sets started with singer Oderus Urungus announcing that Flattus Maximus had left for space, leaving them (and us) behind, and addressing the character of Death, who welcomed Gwar to his fortress, pointing out that he (Death) is a dick.

The sets that followed were dedicated to Flattus, with Oderus leading the crowd in a chant of his name at the House of Blues, and repeatedly dedicating the set to his memory in Pomona. The set it's self consisted of both old and new material, including "Where is Zog" and "Let us Slay" from the 2009 release, "Lust in Space", and older fan favorites like "Carnival of Chaos" and "Ham on the Bone". The encore concluded with "Sick of You", with Oderus saying Sunday, that they would never be sick of Flattus.

The death of band mate and brother Flattus didn't do much to quench Gwar's usual blood lust, however, and Snooki was presented as a housewarming gift from Bonesnapper, and rapidly disemboweled and beheaded, in fine Gwar tradition. The Biledriver also made an appearance, and the World Maggot II dealt with some struggling ladies before meeting it's own demise, showering the crowd in blood and gore.


The tour continues on through the end of this month. Further dates and information on how to donate to the Cory Smoot Memorial Fund can be found on Gwar's official website here: http://www.gwar.net/


 

-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 
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