National Capital Rock: First in the fight

Saturday, January 28, 2017

First in the fight

I rounded off last week's show-going with one of my frequent trips to Targ, for a show headlined by Swedish megafuzz combo Truckfighters. They're on tour with New York doom lords Kings Destroy, who were the main draw for me. Hogtown power trio Old James opened things up, and young local outfit The Aphelion provided a proggy twist to the proceedings. Here's Old James, and some bass action with frontman Brian (who along with brother Chris was in Ottawa metal combo Aggressor)!

Guitar action with Andy!

Rhythm section action with Brian and Chris!

Brian sings!

Extra Andy!

Elderly action!

Hair-tossing action!

Faceoff action!

More Chris!

The shouty bit!

Hirsute action!

And so on!

Shirtless action!

Even more Chris!

Gripping action!

The Aphelion made quite an impression. They're a young band (most had thou-shalt-not-drink exes on their hands), with a fondness for Strapping Young Lad style sonics. Here's some pointing action from singer Evan!

Keyboard action with James!

Bass action with Christian (this was his last show with the band).

More guitar with Tyler!

Evan sings!

Distant action!

Faceoff action!

Percussive action with Nate!

More James!

Even more Tyler!

They're an active lot.

Tyler sings!

Brooklynites Kings Destroy ripped it up next with some heavy sounds that reminded me a bit of Wool and Goatsnake. Here's some gripping action with singer Steve and guitarist Carl!

On the left, bassist Aaron and guitarist Chris!

Rhythm section with Aaron and Rob!

Guitar-lifting action!

Rob hits!

More Chris and Aaron!

Even more Rob!

The shouty bit!

And so on!

More Carl!

Destructive action!

Truckfighters steamrollered the rest of the night with their desert-rock style buzz; I find their tunes a bit on the samey side, but the crowd was definitely super-hyped for their bouncy performance. Here's Ozo!