I’m not entirely sure if West End is still affiliated with Nomads but having attended many shows at the first two Nomads locations what I arrived at was not what I expected. Located just off Dickson street , parking was fairly easy, there is a small lot out front and a small lot out back along with two smoking areas which I thought was neat. On the inside there is plenty of places for 30 or 40 years olds like me to lean, and the vibes were chill and non pretentious. Best of all, they had cans of Guinness for $5! Can’t remember the last time I had a venue beer for under 7. The bathrooms were clean and just beginning to develope a layer of graffiti, I hope they don’t paint over it.
The show began with Chrono Wizard, Arcade sludge consisting of various members of many defunct local favorites. Cody is one of my favorite vocalists locally and abroad, dude really hollers his ass off and I sometimes wonder, how is that sustainable?? Great band with the sickest of merch. Their drummer left a bowl of plantains from the hippie store behind and told me I could have them which I was eternally grateful for since my Braums had worn off hours before. Technical party freaks Power Tool Ninja were next, no one around sounds quite like these guys. I’ve heard people say they sound like Between the Buried and Me but I don’t know who that is. My own personal comparison, I’d say they sound kinda like Psycroptic. Their frontman reminds me of Barney Greenway from Napalm Death, but instead of being swarmed by bees he has eaten them. I’m particularly fond of their failing automaton of a bassist with the 100 mph fingers. Exceptionally talented bunch of musicians and great fun to observe.
Closing out the night was a band I’d never heard of but was told by multiple folks they were legendary prior to becoming inactive 6 or 7 years ago. Something Over Four really blew me away, magnificent and jovial post rock reminiscent of God is an Astronaut and a bit of Pelican. They didn’t stand around all boring like a lot of those type of bands tend to do, and the last two songs were bowel crushingly heavy, it was a great set!
I almost didn’t go to this show because music wasn’t going to start until 10pm which is nightmare island, but then they changed it to 9 last minute…and then it started at 945 (Ha!!) I had a lot of fun hanging out, talking to people and doing a terrible job running Power Tool Ninjas merch, it was an awesome show and im really glad I went. Everyone sounded great and I loved the venue, the owner seemed like a cool dude and the bands all got to pick their own color for stage lights. Overall fun experience. looking forward to going back.
MID SOUTH 