Thank you Coal Chamber

Saturday's Defenders Of The Faith tour (3 Inches Of Blood, DevilDriver, Arch Enemy, Opeth)marked a momentous occasion in my gigging career. Not only did I get to revel in the brutality of Arch Enemy for the second time in less than 6 months but I got to see, in the flesh, the man who penned such modern day classics as "Loco", "Big Truck" and "Sway". Ladles and Genitalmen, Mr. Dez Fafara (alright, he presented an award at the 2007 Golden Gods so I've "seen" him before but you get my point. I hope. No? Are you stupid?)
Dez is potentially one of the hardest men in metal, with his relentless martial art training and frankly odd chin tattoos. This is reflected in DevilDriver, the brutal band that clinched the deal for me when I was deciding whether to buy DOTF tickets. However, it is key for us to remember that this man originally fronted the oddest metal band for many moons in the shape of Coal Chamber. My long-standing bezzie mate BigJM and I used to listen to "Big Truck" as teenage SoCal punk-lovin' scumbags and wonder what the underlying theme was. What does it all mean? Is it an elegant critique on capitalist oppression? Is it a damning riposte on the commercialism of the music industry? Is it really a song about a lorry? The decision is yours.
We got to the gig late so missed 3 Inches Of Blood - disappointing but not critical. I did miss the first couple of DevilDriver tunes which was a pisser but my beautiful wife let me sweat my way down to the front whilst she got the beers in. No, really. She is that perfect.
Dez's vocals ripped me a new arse/ear hole and John Boecklin's double pedal was frankly awesome. A fucking epic live bad; go and see them or I will kill you all.
Arch Enemy did the business yet again. Daniel Erlandson's drum solo was a personal highlight of mine (seeing the theme? The kit's in my mum and dad's loft, alright?).
I am still in non-sexual awe of Angela Gossow and have been since they played alongside Machine Head, DragonForce and Trivium at the Black Crusade (I missed Shadows Fall that time - must organise my travel better). How something so small can make a noise so imposing is beyond me. I did enjoy the teenage scene kid standing behind me attempting to growl along, before experiencing a perfectly timed coughing fit, although this may have been caused by him choking on a perfectly straightened fringe. Hopefully his blue WKD eased the pain.
We left before Opeth. "Oh my God, why?!" I hear you cry. Because, lazys and Germoline, I felt like it. For MADman is unpredictable like that, so keep reading this thing and see what I do....mwah ha ha ha.