The Almighty GWAR -  February 26, 2005
Quad Cities Live; Davenport, IA

Opener: Alabama Thunderpussy

SETLIST:
Does this really matter?

There are not many bands about which I could say I would never chose to listen to their music but would love to see them live.  Such is Gwar.  In terms of sheer  spectacle at a live concert, I doubt anything will ever top this show (not even the Flaming Lips). Basically, Gwar played through a bunch of metal songs that were so-so - some even better than I had expected, and killed things.  Gwar is a band that claims to be a bunch of aliens from outer space - they dress up in gigantic costumes and spray fake body fluids all over the audience at every show.  They are not for the faint of heart, but have been doing this shtick long enough now that they are something of legend in rock and roll. Check out more on Gwar at www.gwar.net.

As for the antics at the actual show, Gwar's set consisted of

1) bring on to stage a prosthetic celebrity or political figure (we saw George Bush, Osama bin Laden, Governor Schwarzenegger, Paris Hilton, Lacey Peterson, and a few others I forget right now)
2) confront said prosthetic with alien rage and hate
3) play a song while the Gwar executioner (a little guy dressed in a loincloth and knight's helmet) proceeds to kill/molest/eat/etc. said prosthetic.  This process involves dismembering the prosthetic so that the tubes attached to it can shoot blood/etc. into the crowd.
4) repeat.

There were minor variations to this, as when they would sometimes debate about letting something go and then decide "no, let's just kill it like we do everything else!" or when the band would announce that they were taking a break to spray the crowds with canons of "festering pus" or "syphilitic urine".

Of course, all the fluid was little more than some sort of kool-aid, but it managed to stain most people in the place and made for some interesting looking members of the audience.  The whole venue (which was absolutely packed to the gills- probably illegally) was covered in trashbag material so as to protect the permanent structures from fluid damage.  I can't say that I got drenched, but I did manage to get some fake blood on my shirt.

An experience that was easily worth the $12.

Oh, and the opening band was good but the guy was scary-angry.  Picture Gwar with all the hate, none of the theatrics, and no humor. Gwar is tongue-in-cheek.  This guy was fist-in-face. The singer for the opening band seems like he might have been willing to do some of the things Gwar did for fake for REAL.  The opening band DID play better music, though.