As an Arkansan Oklahoma is my most beloved neighbor. Great venues, a lot of great people and like Arkansas, a ton of phenomenal local bands too. A trip to The Whittier to see Howling Giant, Insomniac and Dustlord was not something I had to give a second thought to.
The two hour drive to The Whittier was enjoyable, the weather was wonderful. I got to spend the last hour of it with the windows rolled down blasting some Dozer, accentuating my lustrous halo of frizz.
Parking at The Whittier was easy as usual, and free, which is a huge plus. Nearby is a gorgeous mural of the American Burying Beetle which is worth stopping to observe. The atmosphere inside is welcoming and pleasant despite it being sort of dungeon like. First thing that catches the eye is the famous SCUM lights. If you take a picture of it at a certain angle it looks like it says “CUM” much to my intellectual delight. The whole bar is wallpapered with flyers, stickers and fun little knick knacks. In the back corner is a cozy room with a super sick entrance made to look like you’re walking into a devil’s mouth. The bar has a tasty assortment of normal and local craft beers plus bottles of Shiner are only $5! The graffiti in the bathrooms is all pretty enthralling as well. The sink water is good but you dont have to drink that because they have free water stations scattered about… I figured this out eventually. Through the back door is a nice smoking area that shares a parking lot with a Mexican food truck. Im told the food is really good as well as surprisingly affordable.
The festivities of the night began with Oklahoma Party Doom trio Dustlord, who very kindly had earplugs available at their merch booth. Dustlord rules, everybody knows that but im mentioning it anyway. These guys can really shred and make every set feel like a big party. Theyre also knowledgeable on Longmont Potion Castle lore.
Next, as a friend of mine in attendance put it, was a journey through the desert with Atlanta’s Insomniac. They sound like a mix between Lesbian (the band) and the latter half of Them Crooked Vultures, both of which I am immensely fond of. They only have one album so far and I have listened to it at least 15 times since early February, its incredible. During their set pieces of the ceiling were sprinkling the top of my head and dropping into my water cup, which I thought was great. I got to take a little piece of the Whittier home with me.
To close out the night we all got the joy of witnessing a set from Nashville’s Howling Giant. I like to refer to their style as “happy pretty stoner metal” along with Torche, Bask, Orbiter and ABRAMS. Im sure there are better ways to describe it but I only know like 6 adjectives. Was stoked to finally get to see them, and they definitely deliver in a live setting too. It was a great time all around and im thankful to The Whittier for hosting such a fine evening and look forward to my next trip over there.
MID SOUTH 