REVIEW: Luv Ya Mutha Earth Day Bash at W.O. Wrights

Saturday April 20th, five bands pre-celebrated Earth Day.  Starting in 1970, the holiday was designed to create awareness for the environment and conservational efforts, bringing 20 million Americans together. The clean air, clean water and endangered species acts followed. Born from the first Earth Day, the Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize environmental movements. Over 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year on April 22nd, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

W.O. Wrights started the green machine early, hosting the event meticulously organized by Dayton’s Killed By Art and featuring Abrade the Regal, NDEX (Near Death Experience), Snag, and Menace 2 Sobriety.  Event sponsors included Buckeye Music Magazine and Norml Miami Valley, women supporting the legalization, controlling, regulating and taxing of marijuana.

Abrade the Regal started out as a two man acoustic cover act and now incorporates a full band and a nice blend of rock, thrash and stoner metal taking ingredients from Down, Nirvana and Alice in Chains sprinkled with some Bush and Shaman’s Harvest. Led by the bald and badass Ben Bogard, they played a set diverse with style changes that shifted as soon as you figured out, okay they sound like this, playing nine tunes including Facebook tracks Nothing to Say and Fight for You and Chevelle’s The Red.  They sing, they scream, they growl playing down n dirty whisky bottle blues and groove with mosh pit, sing along, lighters in the air potential often in the same songs.

Piqua’s N.D.E.X. brought in the crowd with the loud pummeling Confessions of… singer Adam Baumann whose almost fatal motorcycle experience inspired the band’s name. He goes off on sh- talkers, and resembling Chuck Liddell doesn’t hurt his metal cred either. They pulled out the riot brigade guitars as all Control is Lost and it’s every man for himself.  An Eye for an Eye is taken by force with the unrelenting, merciless decibel Hammer.

Event organizers Killed by Art take the stage with the lovely Kim Weiss replacing testosterone with some heavy feminine attitude. Opening with All I Ever Wanted, a twisted tale of inner torment and unresolved pain played with Fight style riffage. They get down and dirty delivering the Roots of their beginnings and sound. We take intrepid surf through deep, dark waters on an unknown journey on Hang Ten.  Their sixth number contains 11 numbers actually, playing with ones and zeros with hands on the Clutch.

After a 15 year hiatus, the members of Snag return to the stage beating the crap out of the audience with a fun, frolicking, circus of sound and chaos. Being a band of a very Different Caliber, they brought the old-school to 2013. Bringing Crazy Ivan along, they Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck with some Prong power, going on a long and loud Binge till everyone’s nice and Damaged. Sharing a history dating back to the mid 80’s Snag are veterans of the local scene. Started by Guitarist Todd O’Neal and Nathan Goff, O’Neal met vocalist Bob Betz and they began as Dark Theory with original drummer Jeremy White and George Cobau on bass. A heavier direction brought in bassist Warren Finley, playing under the moniker The Band Formally Known as Dark Theory until they christened themselves Snag in the mid- nineties. First album Worst Case Scenario was released in 1997, and two years later they disbanded as O’Neal left for an out of state job. Due to a hurricane his employer sent him to Cincinnati where they reformed with Glenn Sprott on bass and Darrin McKibben on drums. Second record Last Ditch Effort was released in 2001, and another hiatus followed.  Now the band gets together occasionally for high profile gigs and events.

Menace 2 Sobriety brought the house-party downtown with an energetic bleeding of hardcore, rap and hip-hop incorporating the old school metal guitars of Beastie Boys and Suicidal Tendencies with the vocal delivery of Eminem. They start rapping about going after the Farmers Daughter and just Gotta Blaze jamming with some Primus groove smoking mother earths finest aka Mary Jane. It’s all about the Blunts, Bitches and Booze. They play some Sublime homage and Pop the Trunk looking for trouble with YelaWolf. They love educational films and they’re proud of their vast knowledge of them.

Same time, next Earth year.