concert review: gwar on election night.
november, 5th 2024 • the paradise rock club • boston, massachusetts
full gallery can be found here
Tuesday, November 5th was a very tension filled day for almost all Americans, not matter their beliefs. It was election day. Instead of sitting at home and live watching the results and therefore sending me into a deep rabbit hole I did not want to fall down, I went to the best place to go to on Election Day: A Gwar concert.
Forming in 1984, Gwar is a metal band from Richmond, VA that consists of members Mike Derks (Balsac the Jaws of Death), Brad Roberts (Jizmak Da Gusha), Matt Maguire (Sawborg Destructo), Bob Gorman (Bonesnapper), Michael Bishop (Blöthar the Berserker), Casey Orr (Beefcake the Mighty), and Tommy Meehan (Grodius Maximus). Gwar is mainly known for their unique antics and gimmicks on stage. The group wears these extravagant alien suits on the stage, which adds a whole entire element of impressiveness. To be able to play a metal show in those suits every night is almost hard to imagine; I can’t even begin to think about how hot it gets in one of those (I did feel the a/c running stronger than I usually do at this venue). Not to mention, some of the member’s wear massive platform boots while performing. If I even attempted to walk in boots like that I would instantly break an ankle. I guess you really do become an expert after doing this for 30 years.
Gwar’s theatrical performances and visual concepts tend to revolve around science fiction mythology with scatological humor as well as social and political satire. One of the big things that got them acclaim (and controversy) is their use of fake blood, urine, and semen that drowns the audience throughout their show. They have released 15 studio albums, two live albums and many other singles and other recordings. Their first album Hell-O was released in 1988 and their most recent release was The New Dark Ages in 2022. Gwar is not unknown to controversy in the slightest, but some of the big ones that stick out is an incident at Soundwave music festival where a members beheaded an effigy of then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott. They also sliced the breasts off of an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.
Why was Gwar the best place to be on Election Day? Let me tell you! One of their extremely entertaining gimmicks involves caricature suits of many different presidents (and political figures). They get taken on stage and are often killed by members of the band, different colored liquids spewing from the suit and soaking members of the audience. No president, whatever side of the coin they stood/stand on, is safe. The show started with suits of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump arguing on stage which then evolved into the band joining them and one thing led to another and both of the candidates for the 2024 election were killed on stage on Election Day.
Other presidents featured on stage that night were Abraham Lincoln (who partook in a sword fight) as well as the rotting corpse of Ronald Reagan (with Nancy Reagan strapped to his back being carried around the stage). These suits were also beheaded in front of the audience. Seeing just the sheer amount go liquids that were shot out of these suits and how much it covered people really had me thinking about the security guards. I really hope that if someone was put on the Gwar show that if they didn’t know who they were that they were at least warned about all of the liquids. These guys were definitely in the splash zone. But, hey. At least it looks like they were enjoying it.
Throughout the show the band bickered amongst themselves about how they weren’t supposed to kill both presidential candidates, but now that they did the band themselves were going to have other run the US, something none of them actually wanted to do. The show was a very fun way to escape the horrors of the world; great music, humor, entertaining visuals, and a sense of community. During the night I actually discovered that people will sell plain white t-shirts in the line and come in lighter clothing so they can stain it from all of the liquids; the usual red for fake blood as well as a deep, dark green.
I have listened to Gwar before and I was told what their shows were like and what to expect, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the level of entertainment and weirdness I was about to experience. I’m glad I didn’t look up past videos of them on stage and went into this show relatively blind. Definitely a fun escape and distraction, and I’m glad I went with my gut over deciding if I wanted to go see them. I made the right decision.
