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From the 300-plus line going out the door to the mosh pits, stage diving and crowd surfing antics of the concertgoers, Ushuaia never knew what hit it. Saturday evening’s show, the last in the Killswitch Engage, Eighteen Visions and 36 Crazyfists tour, was more action-packed and energetic than any show the club had ever seen.
Although the doors opened at 5 p.m., Nobis, the first band on the bill, had already started playing by the time the back half of the line made it inside. Some small mosh pits broke out occasionally, but the atmosphere remained low key throughout their short but solid set.
Next to take the stage was Alaska native 36 Crazyfists. From the beginning, the crowd was like putty in vocalist Brock Lindow’s hands. Of course, mentioning that his favorite childhood hockey teams always lost to the Black Bears didn’t hurt. Scathing vocals and a spot-on performance kept the crowd entertained and moving. Adam Dutkiewitz, guitarist for Killswitch Engage, helped out by filling in for their bassist, who was visiting his father who recently had a heart attack. Despite his absence, it was, if anything, even more energetic, and by the time they left the stage, the crowd was pumped and ready for more.
Eighteen Visions was next in the lineup, and their particular brand of Orange-County hardcore was just what the show needed. From their intro music, taken from the film “Requiem for a Dream,” to their own light setup that they brought with them, they added a theatrical flair to a normally stripped-down style of performance.
“We also brought a fog machine,” vocalist James Stephen Hart said, “but evidently it’s against state law to use them here.” Lack of fog aside, the backlighting and violently bright strobe lights kept the eyes of the crowd locked on the stage.
Once Eighteen Visions finished, the crowd was ready for blood, and the only words on their lips were “Killswitch! Killswitch! Killswitch!” When the band finally did take the stage, the roar of cheers was deafening. During their very first song, KSE went all out, at one point bringing Hart onstage to sing backup, and later bringing two other band members from Eighteen Visions on each with a drumstick and a cowbell, standing on either side of the stage in a choreographed cowbell bonanza.
Somewhere during the fourth song, all hell broke loose. First, two girls passed out and the police were called. Thankfully, by the time they arrived, the girls had regained consciousness and were alright. Next, someone climbed up on stage, so one of Ushuaia’s security guards wrapped his arms around the fan’s chest and neck and started to drag him offstage, to which vocalist Howard Jones began yelling at the guard until he allowed the fan to come back. There was such a large crowd putting out enough body heat that the central air ducts became saturated with condensation and began to drip water, almost like an indoor rain.
After all of this, roughly halfway through KSE’s set, it was time for a “raffle,” as Dutkiewitz put it. They brought out a foam boogie-board that had been used by several of the band members throughout the tour, and told the audience that whoever raised their hand and answered a question correctly could have it. It was no surprise, of course, when the question was to name any song in rock history whose main instrument was cowbell. The winner was invited to come up onstage and crowd surf with the board, which he did when they continued playing.
Finally, it was time for the last song. This was greeted with boos and chants for more, and Jones responded politely with a “since you put it that way, this will be our last song.” As soon as they started playing, the crowd went nuts. It was “My Last Serenade,” their first single from the album “Alive or Just Breathing” and every concertgoer who knew the words was singing along at the top of their lungs.
After all of the insanity and all of the music, there is no doubt that this was one of the best concerts this area has seen in a long time. Ushuaia will never be the same.
Bangor Daily News