Christbait Rising: Godflesh @ The Fonda, 4/22/14

This show was supposed to happen right before Halloween last year, with NAILS opening, but it was postponed. I was really bummed out, because Godflesh + NAILS + Halloween week seemed like a pretty good formula.

So, here we were in April, and I ventured to do a rare double-header, attending a screening of Super Duper Alice Cooper before making my way to the Fonda, since I no longer felt the need to see any of the openers. Unfortunately, this set me up to not enjoy the show as much as I could have. Pro tip: do not watch a movie about one of the most dynamic stage performers and go see a show after. I probably would have enjoyed this show more had there been a live drummer…

That said, Godflesh sounded amazing; it was great to finally see the band that influenced a lot of the music I grew up listening to. It was an intense show with intense sound to match; the Fonda served as a perfect/imperfect backdrop for the show- a decadent theater with a rich sound hosting the cold, menacing tones of one of industrial metal’s finest. The place was packed, and as I stood on one of the side tiers and the setlist unfolded, I enjoyed watching the crowd lose their minds, different people during different songs. That’s the thing about these older bands; it’s not just about that hit single; crevices of the records have infiltrated listeners in unique and different ways.