The House of Vans hosted Lamb of God on February 14th. This Valentine’s Day performance was one that showed love to the band and their fans.
The freezing cold temperatures did not stop the lines of long time listeners from wrapping around the building. The free event was disclosed to me by following Eventbrite, a mobile app for finding events. House of Vans offered fans the opportunity to RSVP for a ticket to gain entry to the event. They immediately sold out. This venue was filled to capacity early on in the night, demonstrating just how eager these fans were.
The crowd began with fans rushing the stage, and some getting their drinks for the night. The free bottled water available was used for quenching thirst and often splashing the energetic crowd. With paramedics on-site, one could immediately expect to see mosh pits and crowd surfing.
The event was prepared by experienced security and staff. These individuals have some very difficult jobs but know exactly what to look for in the crowd and how to handle it. When crowd surfers began to emerge, they noticed feet above the crowd. They collected the surfers before they got too close to the stage and returned them to the crowd. Seemingly, this didn’t phase anyone in the venue. The band continued, the crowd cheered and the staff was clearly well prepared for any events the night would bring.
The opening act for the evening began with Chicago’s natives, Harm’s Way. They began making their way into the hardcore punk and metalcore scene since 2006. They performed a blend of industrial metal during their performance. With confidence and experience, they energized the crowd.
Frontman James Pligge put on an exciting performance with members Bo Lueders, Christopher Mills, Nick Gauthier, and Casey Soyk. With only a short time on stage, the band’s stage presence was crucial in keeping the audience engaged. They did not disappoint, they performed with synchronization of sound and movement. Simultaneously jumping, headbanging and singing seemed to have no effect on Pligge’s breath control because there was never a moment of hesitation on that stage. The participation was incredible, as every call to the crowd got a response. People knew the songs on their set and sang along. The music seemed to physically control the intensity of the mosh.
The concept of the exhibit felt political and presented a different insight into the release of their new single “Checkmate”.
One composition in the exhibit was titled, “Checkmate.” This piece presents a photo taken from a protester’s perspective. It incorporates the crowd separating the composition using the rule of thirds. In focus, the lens captures a hand made sign with the American flag and in large print the word “Values?”. Further in the background, the artist uses depth of field to reveal that they are near Capitol Hill.
Conceptually, the artist is projecting a question to congress.
Asking members about the values they hold. The question mark on the sign reveals the tone of the people and their opposition. The perspective makes you read the sign first and Capitol Hill second, allowing for a very clear visual connection among the elements. The greyscale attributed to the picture seems to allude to matters that are incredibly more complex than just black and white.
This picture could have very easily been named something else, like “Values?”. It would be an easy way to identify the image and what the viewer is most likely to remember. Instead naming it Checkmate, and having no immediate reference to the picture, clearly ties its relationship to their new single.
It is also deliberately selected to be displayed at the concert. The artist considered the connection to the environment when deciding to merge music and art. Blyth could have easily separated his musical talent from his photography. Instead, he is combining his projects and achieving a successful combination of mediums. Its association with the band is purposeful and adds context for his series. Despite the picture being taken in 2018, the title reflects their 2020 single. This date does not necessarily reflect the release of the single, but rather when the photo was taken. As an artist, it is acceptable to attribute meaning before, during, or after the creation of the composition. This allows for deliberate curation and a unified exhibit. By visiting the exhibit, you could tell that their new single would have harsh political undertones.
After the venue was reemerged in fog, the main act appeared from a blackened stage that was quickly flooded with light. With the crowd chanting the band’s name, the audience greeted Lamb of God.
Lamb of God is an American metal band that incorporates groove metal and thrash metal into their sound. They formed Burn the Priest in 1994 and changed their name to Lamb of God in 1999. Since then, they have created 9 studio albums. Vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Will Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Art Cruz, opened the evening’s performance with Laid to Rest from their 2004 album Ashes of the Wake.
“Checkmate” is the song that will be featured on their upcoming album “Lamb of God 2020”. This is the first album that will feature Art Cruz as the drummer. This album can be pre-saved on Apple Music and Spotify. This was the ninth song on their setlist. They performed over ten songs surveying different albums.
Frontman and host engaged the crowd in between songs and smoothly transitioned back into a high energy performer. He recognized the dedication of the fans for making this a sold-out performance. He also made several shoutouts to the House of Vans for hosting the event with no admission fee. The performance hosted was absolutely worth the price.