Member Photos

[Ravenshire]

OTEP:


Best part of the night. This woman has such huge stage presence, that despite her rather diminutive frame, she seemed to fill the stage far more than Doyle, A high energy performance from the screamo/rapper (yes, rap/metal fusion can be awesome where rap just plain sucks) who pulls no punches with her politically charged lyrics. Listening to an album, or attending a show of hers, will leave you with no doubt about her anti-fascist, pro-LGBTQ+ stances! One of the best performances it's been my pleasure to attend in quite some time.

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Apologies for the fuzzy shots. The red and magenta lighting absolutely played hell with my camera!

[Ravenshire]

Three days later, third show: Halocene, Icon for Hire, and Citizen Soldier.

Halocene is a band that tried for years to get signed to a label and get some promotion. None of them wanted anything to do with the band, so they took their act to YouTube and are now starting to hit it big. They started out on YouTube as a cover band, but are now doing original material. I had never heard of them before buying (yet again the middle band) Icon for Hire tickets. Their set was a joy to watch. Mostly original songs, but a healthy dose of covers as well. A lot of fun!

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[Ravenshire]

The headlining act, another band I'd never heard of until I looked at the bill, Citizen Soldier:



I was surprised to learn that the lead singer, as well as being talented, is a mental health therapist. Eight years ago he was in hospital dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts, now he's bringing messages of hope and healing through his music and his practice. Between the stories behind the songs, told between songs, and the lyrics themselves, I found myself moved to tears several times throughout the show. Great band, great man, and a great mission!

He also has the good taste to do a collaboration with Halocene: "Wish I Could Cry"


And the even better taste to collaborate with Icon for Hire: "Victim or Survivor"

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[Ravenshire]

And now, to the reason I was at all these shows...

Back in Jan of 2023, I was on a business trip to the VA Medical Center in White City, OR. For some reason, my interest in reading came to a hard stop (temporary thing), to the point that I couldn't even finish the then current book. I can only describe it as Reader's Block. Anyhow, I was searching through Tidal for women fronted hard rock/heavy metal bands, and stumbled upon this track by Icon for Hire:



I was hooked! I deep dove their catalog, listening to everything they've put out. When I heard they were coming to Denver, I bought tix immediately. Edge of Paradise and OTEP were bands I found along the way from checking out the "band like this" links on Tidal.

Ariel and Shawn are the band:


They do it all in the studio. The drummer on tour is their touring drummer. Their show is incredibly high energy, making even OTEP look a bit laid back by comparison. It'll probably be a while before I see a better show than the one they put on!

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All in all, I gotta say, last week was one of the best weeks I've had since I was a kid.

[Foxaèr]

This is what my room currently looks like.

[Foxaèr]

Changed the loveseat around so I don't have to crane and hurt my neck looking at the telly.

[no one]

The game is afoot.