D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles)
November 10th, 2017
Brick by Brick
San Diego, California
A couple weeks back I was sitting at the bar watching Thursday Night Football when I hear a dude to my left order a Genesee Cream Ale. “Did you just order a Genny in Southern California?!” Turns out my soon to be new friend was brewed from the same place as me and the infamous Genny beer. It probably helps we were at a Buffalo Bills bar, but all the same, we had a common ground.
We got to talking about music and he invited me out in the coming week to see a thrash band. I pegged him for one of those guys who only likes the first three or four Metallica albums and I wasn’t wrong. I’ve been to plenty of rowdy metal shows in my day, but this was a different scene.
I walked into the dirty, sweaty, packed venue alone. I could feel the stares coming at me with my backwards hat and Master of Puppets tee. I thought these guys liked the first three albums? My buddy hadn’t shown up yet so I puffed up my chest and dove into the sea of testosterone.
The crowd was not what I had anticipated. I was envisioning a bunch of fifty year old skinheads, instead it was a diverse ocean of genders, race, and ages. Impressed with the amount of hardcore chicks moshing and throwing down with the rest of them, some even in heels might I add! There was an angry vibe, but controlled. Much like my family of metal heads, it seemed everyone looked after one another. Picking people off the ground and making sure everyone was good even when the pit opened up the whole floor.
My friend showed up and D.R.I. took the stage shortly after. Formed in Houston, Texas in 1982 the thrash metal/hardcore punk/thrashcore band still rosters the original singer and guitarist. The singer actually sits and sells merch during the opening acts, packs everything up and brings the bag onstage, then heads offstage after the set to set up the merch table again. That’s dedication.
The drummer comes on stage, busts out some duct tape and hangs a raggedy banner displaying "D.R.I.". My buddy turns to me and says "This isn't going to be your Metallica show with lasers and pyro".
They opened the set and rip into some of the fastest music I've ever heard live. It was almost like listening to a song on fast forward but instead of Alvin and the Chipmunks vocals they were deep barking growls. “Thrashard” off Thrash Zone was probably my favorite song of the night. The pit was insane, fully carrying out the lyrics from the song. “IN THE PIT, IN THE PIT”
They shredded for over an hour and a half and incredibly only breaking for a minute for a quick swig. They played thirty-five songs. THIRTY-FIVE! Granted, most of them are thirty seconds long, but still that's hardcore.
I have a lot of respect for such a long running band with killer musicians, but thrash just wasn’t really my cup of tea. Besides maybe a couple songs during my cardio sessions at the gym, you probably won't find D.R.I. on any of my playlists. All and all, my stiff neck today is proof of a good time.
Nice read.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying these.