1) Just as fish and chips tastes better by the sea, there's something about packing yourself into a tiny former church that just tees you up for a good dose of metal. Pittsburgh's Altar Bar was rammed, as is right and proper for when Carcass and Testament come to town, and everyone was within thirty yards of the stage. And for those stuck behind the staircase or thirsty, there were TV screens up showing the action behind the bar. Venues matter; the Altar Bar is one I want to go back to.
2) Being the local openers for the big boys can be a mixed blessing; sometimes people just don't want to know. Most of the crowd had turned up by the time No Reason To Live opened proceedings though and they were rewarded, probably as they'd expected to be. As I'd never heard of them before, I hadn't expected much, but despite the snare drum drowning out the rest of the band, I still enjoyed their take on death metal enough that I paid them the ultimate compliment; looking them up on bandcamp the next day. And they were still good.
3) The first time I saw Carcass, I was left somewhat disappointed as the music got lost in a great morass of sound. Not this time. This time it was near as clean as surgical steel (no I'm not sorry for that one) and as a result they were staggeringly good, as you'd expect from one of the giants of extreme metal.
4) The first time anyone saw Carcass in Pittsburgh, by the way, was in 1990. I was four. They were performing with Death. Old age has never seemed so appealing, even as my legs started to pack up on me. Considering how damned good they were, the response from the crowd was slightly muted and in retrospect, I wonder if that had something to do with a back catalogue formed nigh-exclusively of albums twenty years old or more. Even 'Heartwork' didn't get a huge reaction. With the ever increasing quantity of great metal, nobody's ever going to know all the classics, but it would be a shame if Carcass' memory faded.
5) The switch over between Carcass and Testament took an interminable time and at times I thought people were chanting "Get on stage". They weren't, they were chanting Testament, they were the guys everyone was here to see, but the longer the wait went on the less I cared about seeing Testament. I am getting old, no two ways about it, but I also have a legitimate point here to go with my whining. There's a rhythm to a good show; don't fuck with it. And maybe it's my bias speaking but when Testament came out on stage (first time I've ever heard people call out the drummer's name and no one else's; the perks of being Gene Hoglan), the crowd did seem a little flat. There wasn't even a pit to begin with. For a moment, I wondered if I was about to witness a total flub, particularly as we were back to the snare drumming drowning everything.
6) I did not witness a total flub. The sound quality improved (although it was still all low end and snare, with guitar solos more or less wasted effort) and the crowd really got into it. The guy next to me posted up a photo to his Facebook with a one word caption: Awesomeness. I have to admit though that I did not share that opinion. I enjoyed watching Testament, sure, but it wasn't all it could have been by any stretch and it certainly wasn't as good as Carcass. Judging from the crowd, pretty much no one else saw it that way, but I am the sole arbiter of objective good taste around here.
Which does leave me wondering why. Maybe it was just Testament are American and Carcass are British (the woman behind me would not shut up about how she couldn't understand Jeff Walker). Maybe it's the fact Testament have been more active recently. Both of those could have bearings but if I had to point to a difference, I would bring up the word showmanship. Carcass went on stage and played their instruments. Barely a moment passed where Steve DiGiorgio wasn't urging the crowd to shout, or Alex Skolnick wasn't front and centre grinning like a monkey while he played another inaudible solo. Testament played the crowd and as a result, the crowd loved them. And that's what gigs are about, right? Sometimes, the music is not just about the music.
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