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Polluteme / Polluted Ezine / Music Reviews / Backwoods Metal Fest
Backwoods Metal Fest written by: Jacob Robison The Backwoods Metalfest took place one more time at the Trigg County Recreation Complex in Cadiz, Kentucky on May 18. Four bands representing three states converged on the complex to kick a little country ass. Faucetmouth from Jonesboro, Arkansas, Abraid from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Lappdog from Jackson, Tennessee and Kon'shens from Eddyville, Kentucky combined to form a strong line-up for the fifth Backwoods Metalfest held in Cadiz. Unfortunately the crowd wasn't as big as the last couple shows were due to the neighboring towns holding simultaneous Relays for Life, but that didn't stop the eighty or so people from enjoying some damn good music from some damn good bands.  Faucetmouth got the show off the ground at around nine o'clock (about an hour after it was scheduled to start; the PA system was being a pain in the neck. Besides that, they drove six hours to get to Cadiz and I was going to be damned if they played to twenty people). The four-man band from Jonesboro, Arkansas - comprised of vocalist Ryan Huckabee, guitarist Ryan Due, bassist Shaggy and drummer Bishop - energized the crowd, who numbered in the fifties, with their sound. Hints of Glassjaw and Deftones, among others, can be heard in the majority of their material. Due is an excellent guitarist with a tremendous amount of energy. His performance set the tone for their set. Bishop and Shaggy work really good together in laying the foundation down for their music, and Huckabee has a really good range that matches the music perfectly. This was the first time that I've been able to hear them (considering they live a couple states away), and what I heard really impressed me. They got the crowd into the music, and they looked very comfortable onstage. Overall they left me with a really good impression and a desire to hear them again.  Up next was the five-man band Abraid from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who began their set at around ten o'clock or so (editor's note: Abraid has got to be the fastest band around in setting up and breaking down their equipment. It took them like seven minutes to get ready to play, and the only reason why they didn't start right away was due to some problems with Pickrell's wireless microphone). Vocalist Tom Burns, guitarists Mason Dixon and Steve Ritchey, bassist Mark Anthony and drummer Preston Pickrell blew the crowd around with their dynamic and energetic sound and stage show. They instantly won the crowd over with their remake of Bad Company's "Feel Like Making Love", and it was all over after that. Burns is a talented front man, and Pickrell's ability to scream back-up vocals from behind his drum kit is phenomenal. Dixon and Ritchey have really good chemistry on guitars, and Anthony at bass laid a really good groove down for the rest of the band to feed upon. I'm getting better at learning the names to their songs, but I still don't know all of them; "Feel Like Making Love" was definitely a highlight. Abraid did an outstanding job at keeping the pace of the show up, and the crowd responded by staying involved in the music throughout their set. After their set was over I saw around ten or twelve people walking around the convention building holding Abraid shirts…that has to be a good sign. Abraid was bad ass.  Lappdog from Jackson, Tennessee took the stage next to a crowd of around eighty or so. The four-man band - vocalist/guitarist Cris Brown, guitarist Brian Kirk, bassist Jereme Hubble and drummer Kevin Scott - were making their second Metalfest appearance in as many months. It was obvious from the get go that the majority of the people definitely remembered them from the last time. They began their set at around eleven o'clock or so. The foursome mowed through their set like madmen and they held the crowd in the palm of their hand the whole time they were onstage. Brown and Kirk work really good together on guitars, and I think everybody knows what kind of vocalist Cris is. Hubble and Scott have got to be one of the most underrated rhythm sections around. If it weren't for the talents of the two musicians it just wouldn't be Lappdog. The only mistake during their set came when Cris broke a string; other than that it was clear sailing. "When Doves Cry" and "Flybye" were two of their highlights. During "Flybye" Cris stopped singing during the chorus and heard the people in the crowd singing along, something that doesn't normally happen in a town two and a half hours away from your hometown. Lappdog played a helluva set and made a lot more fans in the process.  Kon'shens took to the stage at around midnight. Due to the late start of the show a good fifty percent of the audience had to go home; the remainder of the crowd was treated to a set by one of Kentucky's finest bands. Vocalists Monty Mcleod and Loren Riley, guitarist Shane "Stash" Smith, bassist Hilary Mcleod and drummer John Granstaff played a forty-five minute set chock-full of musical goodies. Their sound can be described as a mix between System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine…definitely different from the ordinary. Mcleod seemed in an almost frantic mood as he paced around and ranted on the music's message throughout their set, while Riley pitched in comments every now and then. Hilary Mcleod and Granstaff laid down a solid foundation with primitive tribal beats and the fretless wonder. But Smith definitely set the tone for the set with his guitar playing. His strings were almost smoking by the time they were done with their set. Again, the only thing bad I can say about the performance is I think Stash needs to get comfortable onstage. Other than that, Kon'shens played a helluva set to around thirty or forty people. The fifth Backwoods Metalfest was outstanding. Faucetmouth, Abraid, Lappdog, Kon'shens…does it get any better? While the attendance was down, the crowd was still up and involved in the music throughout the night. All of the bands who performed left everything up on the stage and walked away from the experience with a respect for the crowd. All of the bands told me that they would definitely come back whenever we put on another show, a testament to the intensity of the night. I can't begin to imagine how it's going to be in a year or so. |
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