I’ve been going to shows for many many years. I’ve seen a lot of bands. They all vary from amazing, what the hell was that and everything in between. There are a good amount that I’ve seen many times. This past weekend I ventured out to see Filter at the Roxy, but this evening however didn’t get started quite right.

The tour that Filter was on brought along 3 other bands that certainly didn’t make sense. I arrived late for the first band Death Valley High. But after checking them out later on, I didn’t miss anything at all. I did however see and listen to the atrocity that is Vampires Everywhere. Oh my! They definitely fall under the category of what the hell was that. This band is so wrapped up in their image and use of electronics, I’m not even sure they were actually playing their instruments. They were all dolled up in makeup and back paint. The singer had this cocky creeper grin on his face all night thus overcompensating for his lack of vocal ability. This band really didn’t get me in the mood for the evening. They even played a cover of the Hozier song “Take Me To Church,” which they proceeded to absolutely ruin. I couldn’t be happier when they were finally off the stage.

Next up was Orgy. The last time I saw them was in the late 90’s or early 2000’s. I can’t remember the exact time, but it was during their run for their first album Candyass. Back then, they were quite a good live band. This evening, however, they were just awful. Of course when you only have one original member, it’s kind of hard to carry on doing what you once were able to capture. Arriving on stage late, singer Jay Gordon and company all dressed up in some weird silly goth EDM attire, tried to get the crowd going but unless you were drunk, you really didn’t care like me. I didn’t even know any of the songs they played with the exception of maybe three. They did of course play their version of New Order’s “Blue Monday,” which made the crowd happy. Jay jumped into the crowd and let people in the audience sing parts of the song, and that was about the only highlight of their set other than it being over after that point.

So now after all that nonsense my expectations and patience were really low, there wasn’t much to bring me back up. When Filter took the stage they arrived in dramatic fashion with a white sheet in front of singer Richard Patrick displaying video images representing the first few songs of the night,  which were from their new album Crazy Eyes. Finally after that part was over and the sheet was gone, they got down to business with an older song “Can’t You Trip Like I Do,” which got the crowd engaged at that point. Throughout the rest of the night new songs were played in batches with old songs like “Jurassitol,” and “You Walk Away” scattered in to keep the crowd interested in their set. Certain new songs like “Nothing In My Hands,” “Pride Flag,” and “Welcome To The Suck (Destiny Not Luck)” were stellar live. I actually thought they should have started their set with “Welcome To The Suck.” I’ve seen Filter a few times really firing on all cylinders, but this line up just didn’t have the energy, with the exception of their guitarist/keyboardist Bobby Miller, who was doing his best to carry the energy load for everyone. Richard was energized while playing certain songs, but you could tell he was about spent halfway through their set. When they inevitably played “Take A Picture” all the ladies in the audience started to really pay attention. As I looked around the room, I could see them all singing along. It was quite funny to see. Closing out the night was of course “Hey Man, Nice Shot.”

There was just something about the night that didn’t sit right with me. Perhaps it being the last night of the tour for the bands, the opening bands being terrible, or even just the sheer exhaustion of being on the road for six weeks, this show all together didn’t really do it for me. All in all this was a night to forget. Hopefully next time, Filter can tour with bands that really fit with them, and are good.

By: Brian Lacy