Welcome to another edition of the Local Show Recap feature! This time I’m covering the Backwoods Payback show on 3/10/2019 at Live Wire Lounge.

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I got to the venue a little before the scheduled show start of 8 PM, but after talking to Eddie Gobbo (who has a record coming out you need to hear) it seemed like there was a bit of a delay due to some unforeseen circumstances – more on that later. After grabbing a Boddington’s and some pre-show conversations, I headed to the front.



The pre-show setup.

Mexican Werewolf



After a short delay, the show started with Mexican Werewolf. This was my first time seeing them, but they’ve been around since 2012 with multiple releases to their name – most recently, a cover of the Venom classic Witching Hour.

As you can probably infer from the Venom cover, Mexican Werewolf plays a kind of raw, speed-influenced thrash metal that they themselves simply classify as “rock n’ roll”, which, y’know, isn’t a bad place to start. Arranged in the classic power trio formation, guitarist Rick handles vocal duties, with Nick on bass and “The Rauschenstein Monster” on drums (I could probably go look up his real name, but that’s way cooler, so we’re keeping it).



Mexican Werewolf

Leaning into the microphone with eyes closed in furious concentration, Rick delivers Celtic-Frost-meets-Cirith-Ungol high-pitched vocals while simultaneously laying out pummeling riffs on his semi-hollow guitar – quite a rare sight in this genre, I think, but pretty sweet-looking and delivering great tone to boot. Stepping away from the mic after delivering each punishing line, he would lean slightly back in that classic 1980’s riffing posture – we’ll never understand why it looks cooler than standing straight up, but damned if it doesn’t.



Contrasting the vigorous 6-stringer, we have “Nick Righteous” (again, maybe not his real last name) on bass, stage left. Standing rather motionless during the set, he provides a bit of stoicism against the dynamics on stage right.



Making up the crucial third point of the triangle is the Rauschenstein Monster, seated behind the throne of a classic Tama kit with some extremely deep toms. Toms, I might add, that sounded fuckin’ sick and need way more usage in fills – the last couple of songs in the set did remedy this, but you can never have too many tom fills. Unless you’re Neil Peart, perhaps. RM, as I’ll abbreviate it, plays a furious, ripping style of metal drumming that’s a bit less common these days – it was definitely a treat to hear that classic style executed well, with quick, technical fills accentuating the relentless drumbeats.



As RM pounded his ride cymbal, it got dangerously close to making contact with the floor tom, which gave me a minor case of anxiety. Like forbidden lovers, these two must never touch, lest shit get scratched to hell. With everything on the kit angled towards him, I got the impression that RM’s drums were leaping towards him, making every hit louder and more impactful than the rest. It’s possible my favorite part of bands like this is the drums – the rhythms and approach might not be super complicated, but the energy behind it is electrifying.

As the set drew to a close, Rick mentioned that Mexican Werewolf ought to have a record coming out this year – it would have come out last year but they were “lazy and shit”. Buddy, I know that feel.

Mine Collapse



As Mine Collapse finished preparing their gear, I noticed a member frantically scribbling on a pad of paper – seems that their set was either decided on last-minute or maybe, like me, they always forget to bring the nice, neat setlists they printed out.



Mine Collapse, featuring two Arbogast members, plays a noisy sludgy brand of metal that’s a little hard to categorize. Is “post-sludge” a genre yet? That might work. Regardless, you can expect an aggressive set with some impressively varied sounds and textures coming from a three-piece.



Mine Collapse

Mine Collapse’s guitarist, Ed, played the “sonic pillar” role here, staying mostly in one spot and focusing on the task at hand – creating some sweet-sounding noise. Sabbathian riffs led into drones and string-smashing high-frequency freakouts.



Aaron, bassist and vocalist, was the man in motion – often changing his direction on stage and repositioning himself, he’d make his way back up to the mic to either deliver a gloomy spoken word segment or evocative howls – whichever the music demanded.



The drummer, Mike, is ex-Arbogast like Aaron, and I definitely remember seeing him play – he’s got this endearingly demented joy while playing.



Mike’s intense, arm-swinging playstyle is fun to watch, and he’s especially adept at generating some truly hnngh-worthy fills. There’s a moment in a really good drum fill where, as the pitch changes at just the right moment and the notes hit at just the right times, a part of your brain goes “Yes. That’s the stuff. Hnngh.” There were a lot of moments like that in Mine Collapse’s set.



Their performance ended abruptly, with a quick note that ‘hey, that was our last song’. Possibly the piece of paper, to which their setlist clung tenously, slipped away – or it just wasn’t a concern. Really, if you play good music, people will forgive not knowing when the last song is.



Boatman’s Toll



Boatman’s Toll is a band I’ve seen multiple times – in fact the only band I’d seen before on this bill – and one my band played with at Silvie’s, a couple years ago.



Boatman’s Toll

I’m still not exactly sure how to classify them, but their Facebook page lists them as Sludge/Death Metal, which ain’t a bad way to say it. With five members on stage, Boatman’s Toll always has a commanding stage presence – at venues like Live Wire, it’s like facing an oncoming army.

Hostile army or not, they definitely bring a solid wall of noise to things – mostly operating at high speed with the highly technical and breakneck drumming of Phil Messina (thanks for rocking the Sacred Monster shirt, dude!) behind them, frontman Barry clenches the mic like it’s keeping him tethered to the ground while guitarists Dave and Matt lay down a wall of riffs, underscored by Scott’s bass work on the bottom end.



Clever tempo variations at key points in their songs help establish a dynamic in the set, making things that much more effective when the speed and brutality are brought back into the mix. This is a band that has a lot going on, sonically – hearing them here at Live Wire, where there’s a solid audio system in place and things are mic’d, was excellent.



Hey, I drew that shirt!

Backwoods Payback



Many, many words ago I mentioned there were some “unforeseen delays” that caused a bit of a delay to the show. To elaborate on that, Backwoods Payback had hit a van breakdown earlier in Indiana, leaving them nearly stranded. Fortunately, they were able to get it repaired and still make it to the show, if maybe a little behind schedule.



I had listened to some of their most recent album earlier, so I kind of knew what was going on with their sound, but I have to admit – I was not prepared.



Impossibly loud, impossibly heavy.



Those were the words I really took away from Backwoods Payback. How can three people, playing on the same stage I just saw three other bands on, seem so much louder, and hit so much harder? How can these caveman-like, thundering drums, resonate through my skull? And why does the kick drum feel like it’s hammering the stage down into the floor?



The answer, I suppose, is rock n’ roll.



Backwoods Payback brought an immediate sense of rock to things – bassist Jessica screamed out choruses, lack of mic be damned; Mike, on guitar and actually in posssession of a microphone, pointed and gestured at the crowd, reveling in every word he sang.



Primal percussionist, Erik, laid down tom fills so heavy my teeth hurt when I closed my mouth. He didn’t even need a ride cymbal – an impossibly high hi-hat and a myriad of cymbals served his needs, coupled with an enormous four-piece kit. When he finally brought his double kick into bear, I didn’t so much as hear that rhythm as experience it through my bones.



Backwoods Payback is a must-see band. Laying down heavy, dark stoner riffs with an immensely catchy vibe, they obviously love what they’re doing and so will you – soon enough.



Backwoods Payback is currently on tour – for any non-Chicago readers, make sure to check their Bandcamp and other socials to see if they’re hitting a place near you.



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Thanks for reading! I walked away from the show with a bunch of new shirts and slightly better photos than last time, which I’m pleased about – still plenty of room for improvement though. I also had a great time overall and caught up with some folks – all in all, not bad for a Sunday night.

