GWAR – MWTX Party

The one and only GWAR was the final band at MWTX. On a tear as of late, the web has been buzzing with fans excitement to see the band at a free show. As the stagehands prepared GWAR’s set and instruments, the crowd swelled to an enormous size. In only the fashion that costumed, alien monsters such as themselves could, Oderus Urungus, Beefcake the Mighty, Flattus Maximus, Jizmak da Gusha and Balsac the Jaws of Death came out looking as if they actually were larger than life. Beefcake wearing his massive spiked helmet, Oderus with shoulder prongs three-feet above his head, GWAR instantly blasted the pummeling metal they’re known for. “Let Us Slay,” “Where is Zog?” and and the title track from their new album Lust in Space gave the band an opportunity to slay countless innocents, spewing the fake blood they’re famous for at fans at firehose levels of pressure. The cold wind on the air would occasinally rip through and even push liquid right back at the costumed performers. As the set progressed GWAR took time to murder a zombie Michael Jackson and even Barack Obama while they played some of their vintage material (“Saddam a Go-Go,” “Maggots”). When the band wasn’t mutilating a terrible effigy, the brutal smackdown of tracks like “Bring Back the Bomb” kept up the crowd’s energy. As a special treat, GWAR even returned one of their old enemies to the stage, the ten-foot plus giant robot Cardinal Syn. Oderus and recent character addition Sawblade Destructo made short work of the robot, ripping off its arms and pulling a pile of dead rubber babies from its core. Oderus Urungus offered several nuggets of wisdom stating Cardinal Syn “symbolizes every bad about everything ever” and compared it to the “bloated, corpulent whore that we call the music industry.” He also made several jokes about music not being good unless it somehow covered Lady Gaga. This could’ve been the spectacle of the festival. An open, free party with a headliner like GWAR with a rampant and deserved fanbase should’ve been one to remember. Unfortunately, the cold wind kept this from reaching its full potential. Still, there’s nothing quite like GWAR. Finishing with their classic “Sick of You” to an emphatic response, it just proves that twenty five years into their career, they’re just getting warmed up.