RANDOM THOUGHTS ON IN FLAMES & 36 CRAZYFISTS LIVE

As I mentioned earlier today, we saw Gojira live Sunday night, and they decimated Terminal 5 here in Manhattan. But seeing as they were sandwiched in between Alaskan metalcore masters 36 Crazyfists and Gothenburg gods In Flames, I thought I should share some not particularly well organized thoughts on those bands’ sets as well.

1. MVP of the night was 36 Crazyfists drummer Thomas Noonan, who, in between songs, puked into a bucket next to his drum kit and then pretty much went right on playing as though nothing had happened. Vince and I were talking about the incident after the gig, and we agreed: Noonan probably vomited next to his kit at least twice in his life before thinking “Gee, I should probably get a bucket to puke into so I can cut back on post-set clean-up time.” Our reasoning was thus: the first time one vomits next to his or her drums, he or she could probably write it off as an anomaly – “I was drunk, that was gross, it’ll never happen again.” I mean, logically, there was a time when Noonan had never spewed on stage, and so the need for a bucket had probably never even crossed his mind. Only after multiple hurlings might he think “A bucket would be a swell idea.” In any case, if I ever meet Noonan, this is the very first thing I want to ask him about.
2. Speaking as someone who loves loves loves fucking loves In Flames: this might have been the most disappointing set list of the year. It was totally bogged down by an abundance of material from A Sense of Purpose. Granted, listening to a bunch of songs from A Sense of Purpose is still better than listening to a bunch of songs from St. Anger or Risk, but: come on. That being said, the band was clearly enjoying themselves and brought lots of energy to the show, and the crowd, which seemed dominated by kids still waiting for the onset of puberty, ate it up. So maybe In Flames just doesn’t care about guys like me any more: Vocalist Anders Friden even taunted some dude in the front row who kept screaming for more old material by refusing to play “Pinball Map” until the “pussy” would get into the pit and “prove” to the band that said oldies were still worth playing. And earlier in the night, I’d cringed a little when Friden had announced that the band was going to play some “classic shit” and then ripped into a song from… Come Clarity. And I say that as someone who likes Come Clarity. So, y’know… that was fucking weird.

-AR