Just for the record: booze, hot dogs, and acid reflux don’t mix.
The show last night was fine otherwise. The opener was Deviant UK, a 2-man operation with a danceable sound and a singer with quirky presence. Next was Texas band Mentallo & the Fixer, which owes a lot of their style to early Skinny Puppy and Laibach; not bad, but by the time their set started, I was trying to hold my stomach down. Almost left during their set, but held on and finally stabilized.
The Project Pitchfork set was solid and loud. Their decision to use a live acoustic drummer was an excellent choice; the man was on-time and dominated the drums, much in the way that classic jazz drummers define the proper use of the “trap set”. His presence behind the otherwise 3-man band lent to a powerful sound. The lead singer, Peter Spilles, powered through the set despite his headcold. They had a good stage presence and interacted with the audience, acknowledging that we were there. Spilles, during a song at the end of their set, jumped down to the floor and joined us to sing the final refrains.
Altogether, worth the price of admission. Glad I stayed around for the full show.