Week of Anvil

     When I saw Anvil live I hadn't seen Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Now I have seen it, and I can safely say that it might be one of the most important rock documentaries ever made. It's ironically like the other Rob Reiner's, (Not the Drummer of Anvil) movie Spinal Tap, except instead of funny it's just incredibly sad. Seriously if you haven't seen it, it's worth the watch, and it's on Netflix. Aside from that, it gave me a ton of perspective on the amazing live show I witnessed, because it's shows what they had to get through just to play in a small little bar in Iowa.

     Before I talk about the show it self I want to talk about the importance of the band Anvil. They may just seem like a normal bar band now, but they actually invented an entire genre of music. Even if your not a metal head you should know the name Metallica, or Megadeth, or Anthrax, or maybe even Slayer. For  all of you who don't know metal at all, these are the biggest thrash metal bands on the planet. One thing they all have in common is that they were all inspired by Anvil. Even though they were thought to be the founders of Thrash Metal. Since they were all inspired by Anvil during the beginnings of their careers, doesn't that make Anvil the founders of Trash Metal. Whoa man, we just got deep there. 

     On May 6th I went to see Anvil at The House of Bricks in Des Moines. If you have never been to the House of Bricks before, it's pretty much a dive bar that sometimes has live music. Although it's one of those cool dive bars that all the locals love. It also happens to book some pretty awesome bands sometimes. The last time I had been to the House of Bricks before this show was way back in high school to see an Indie band called Lovedrug, (awesome band by the way). So I kept getting washed over with waves of nostalgia with an indie rock flavor to it. This show was about to knock that shit out and fast.

Here is Metal on Metal by Anvil.

     Due to some complications from the venue there was only one opener, a local opener. That was over quickly, and it was neither great or terrible. After that Anvil came out a little after 7, or rather they just kind of appeared. Starting the show from the audience itself. The singer Lips was playing guitar solos from the audience while a 7 year old kid head-banged along side. After that he took to the stage and launched into March of the Crabs. The crowd was small but mighty, and were made up of only the true music fans of Des Moines. All of whom were all head banging and having a blast. In between songs Lips Mced the night with some of the greatest rock and roll stories I have ever heard, like the Johnny Carson of metal.

     The show it self lasted about two hours and 16 songs. I was truly blown away. It was like seeing Metallica in the 80's. A true arena metal show witnessed from the crowd of a tiny Des Moines bar. In truth after seeing the movie, I don't think Anvil would have it any other way. They love what they do, you can see it on their faces when they play, but they don't care about fame and fortune. All they want to do is travel the world playing music one bar at a time. They had the energy of a band in their 20's and the crowd ate it all up and fired it right back. They played songs off of most of their albums and even played Forged in Fire as a request during the encore. The real star of the show was the musicianship. They are hands down some of the best musicians in the world. They truly put most bands to shame. At one point during the show Lips even played the guitar with a dildo as pictured above, that really happened. Rob Reiner's drum solo blew my mind, so check it out below. 

Rob Reiner Drum Solo

     Here is the setlist:

1. March of the Crabs.

2. 666

3. School Love.

4. Badass Rock 'n' Roll.

5. Winged Assassins.

6. On Fire.

7. This is Thirteen.

8. Mothra.

9. Thumb Hang.

10. Swing Thing.

11. Hope in Hell. 

12. Eat Your Words.

13. Metal on Metal

Encore

14. Forged in Fire.

15. Running.

     This is not a band that just metal-heads would be able to appreciate, I think that anyone can appreciate Anvil. They are the real deal, a band that plays their hearts out every night for small local crowds. They don't do it for the money, they don't do it for the fame, they just love to play music. If you ever get the chance to see Anvil Live don't miss out on one of the best live bands of all time.

Here is Mothra live.