Oddman, Will Haven & Brain In A Cage

It's one of the unwritten rules of live shows that all opening bands suck, but apparently, no one told Brain In A Cage. They began the night's festivities with a sonic assault of angrily distorted guitars and crushing drum beats that the crowd seemed to really be getting into (as was evidenced by the fact that large mosh pits broke out during nearly every song in their set).
Instead of following the current trend of playing four chords over and over and over and thinking you're being creative because you can palm mute them, Brain In A Cage decided to try something new and let their inventive riffs reinforce the surprisingly powerful vocals of their young singer. You would never guess that someone that small could have such a huge voice. After a short set, they left the stage and Primus began playing over the PA as the next group, Will Haven, set up their gear - which, oddly enough, included two TVs set atop their amps.
The TVs played an interesting montage of images while the Sacramento band pounded through their considerably longer set. While they put on a good, very energetic live show, the crowd wasn't feeling it quite as much as Brain In A Cage. Not that it should have surprised anyone - it's almost impossible to play to a crowd outside of your hometown and get a better response than the local bands.
As far as their sound was concerned, Will Haven's guitars were usually heavy with effects and the vocals were, at some points, hard to understand. I think I heard, "Your mother snorfs cow," in there somewhere, but I could be wrong. Seriously though, they did a very good job and it was hard to not be impressed with their stage presence. When they finally finished, Tool came over the PA and the room filled up in anticipation of the night's closers, Oddman.
Here's something that you would never expect [note: sarcasm]: Oddman rocked the place. The entire floor turned into one big mosh pit and you would be hard-pressed to find someone in the room not enjoying the sonic beating their eardrums were taking as the band's signature mix of aggressive beats, heavy guitars and raw energy filled the venue. To make things even better, the band seemed to be genuinely enjoying their performance and the great reaction it was getting from the crowd.
As the night came to a close, Oddman invited the singer from Brain In A Cage to come up on stage and sing the final song with them. He did and the two vocalists played off each other flawlessly, finishing the night off on a very powerful note and leaving the enthusiastic crowd far from disappointed.
To conclude, a good time was had by all and just as The Brick Works' Web site promised, the show was definitely better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
- Dana Hocking
- Photos by Alyssa Starkey

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