COMBICHRIST with Wednesday 13, Night Club, Prison and Death Valley High at Beauty Bar LV

Once again COMBICHRIST made a summer tour run that stopped in Las Vegas, and this time they brought along WEDNESDAY 13, NIGHT CLUB, PRISON and DEATH VALLEY HIGH for a great lineup of goth, alternative anddance. Once again it was a blistering summers night with temps around 105 at show time, but the packed Beauty Bar outdoor venue was prepared for the temps to rise even higher for this show stacked with talent.

Since there were so many bands on the bill the show kicked off a little after 7pm with DEATH VALLEY HIGH taking the stage first. DVH has played Vegas many times and are always a fun band to see, their sound a mix of alternative dance styles and goth edge. DVH has been touring hard since the on their 2016 full-length release CVLT [AS FVK] on [minus HEAD Records] .

Next up was the surprise band of the year as PRISON wowed the crowd with their hard edged nu metal sound and message about suicide and mental illness. This band was brutally honest and sincere, and feature members of Dark Sermon, Adaliah, and IA1962. They were a great band for this tour and brought a real raw heavy set to the show.

NIGHT CLUB is an electronic duo formed in 2012 and is fronted by singer / dancer Emily Kavanaugh with Mark Brooks mixing the sounds. Emily is a sight on stage to see with her bright red flowing hair as she dances and sings about the stage, and this band is an interesting choice for this tour as they are actually on the softer side compared to the other 4 heavier bands. This is the second year in a row that Night Club has been on this tour, and are a light, fun band to see.

I am a huge Combichrist fan, but WEDNESDAY13 totally blew us away on this night, and they put on a show of the year. Wednesday 13 is actually the stage name of lead singer Joseph Michael Poole who is an electrifying frontman. The bands sound and lyrics are heavy on the horror theme, with fun and comic plays on lyrics, and their stage show is amazing, by far the most entertaining band I have seen this year.

Now it was time for one of my all time favs, as COMBICHRIST once again took to the stage outdoors at the Beauty Bar. Last summers' show was one of my favs, as it was heavy on older material and they played songs they have not played in years. This years set was a mix of old and newer songs, with the band kicking off the show with "All the Pain is Gone" followed by "Blunt Royal". This 2018 tour they are back to using two drummers and a keyboard player, and the band roared into the song "Electrohead" with maniac drummer Joe Letz pounding and tossing his drum kit all over the stage. Letz was wearing his creepy girl mask and long black looking t-shirt dress with boobs underneath making for the strangest site in all of music. Letz is by far my favorite drummer to photograph, and always gives an amazing performance. Combichrist is led by dynamic singer Andy LaPlegua who struts and sings while getting in the audiences face, and is forever smiling - you can tell he LOVES to perform for his fans. In the middle of the set the band went old school once again with the crowd fav "Fuck That Shit", an actually a sing-a-long 'Combichrist style' and has the band screaming back at the band the song title. Combichrist closed out the show with "What the Fuck is Wrong With You" and once again left the Beauty bar in shambles. One of the best industrial band playing today, Combichrist is a MUST see when they come to your town.