[DID NOT ATTEND: December 1, 2023] Baroness / Sheer Mag / Uniform / Zorn
I was really looking forward to this show. I had seen Baroness in Kung Fu Necktie. It was a fun show, but it was close and crowded and, while it was a great experience I wanted to see them in a bigger (but not huge) place. Union Transfer was perfect.
Then I got COVID.
I was so bummed. And with COVID being so weird these days, I wouldn’t have even tested if the tests hadn’t just come in the mail that day. But I took it and couldn’t in good conscience go to the show.
I had been torn about when to get to this show, though. It started at 6:30, which is insane. And the openingest band was called Zorn. Not John Zorn, but Zorn, a Philly based metal/punk band that I was really curious to see. I mean check out this review from Punknews.org
During Zorn’s set, singer Eric Flea approached one of three already burning torches on stage, whipped out a sword, lit the sword on fire, and began waiving it all around as the flames grew up to some eight feet. I mean, that’s all I have to say about the Philly Vender Bender from October 28, 2022. What else can I say? A flaming sword!
I’ll admit, I was worried about Zorn. The band quickly released a string of excellent EPs which coincided with a string of excellent live shows (bandmembers jumping out coffins; people dressed like plague monks; chains being whipped at the audience; really kick ass death punk) but then, things seemed to go… silent. Was one of Philly’s most promising acts snuffed out in the bud before the flame could grow?
For one thing, Zorn was in raw and ragged and crazed top form. Their songs are as fast and as furious as ever. And, their strongest asset (aside from a great core concept) is that they’ve found that perfect sweet spot between metal and punk where the songs have the epic, grandiosity of metal as well as the slam-damn-heaviness, but they also have the unpredictable swing and danger of punk rock. A lot bands try to mix metal and punk and most of them are terrible. At the show, as the epics riffs swung upwards only for the screeched vocals to tear them back down, Zorn proved that it can be done and that the sum is greater than the parts.
The band also played some newish songs. the new tracks are more complex and frantic than earlier hits. This makes the band particularly effective because, while a lot of the spooky bands sound cool for a song or two, all their songs sound like those one or two songs. at the show, Zorn had a core style, but were able to flex it into a broad array of slashing. I’ll also add that the band has some degree of self-awareness, which, much likes Bauhaus, is the extra bit of pop that makes this band soooo good.
Also, did I mention that they started the show by having pallbearers bring out the aforementioned torches and a coffin, only for the vocalist to jump out of said coffin and throw said coffin lid at the audience? Now, THAT’S WHAT I AM HERE TO SEE.
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