Lights Out America: 3TEETH, Ho99o9, Street Sects, Razorwire Halo 04/21/18

3TEETH, Ho99o9, Street Sects, Razorwire Halo
Lights Out America
April 21st, 2018
The Riot Room
Kansas City, Missouri

Not even a three hour drive would prevent us from catching 3Teeth’s Lights Out America tour. It was no surprise that the tour bypassed Omaha, given that the band’s following was greater in the Kansas City area.
KC natives Razorwire Halo opened tonight’s show. The band, performing in support of their Retaliate ep, took the stage sharply at 7pm. The quintet smashed through an electronic laced set highlighting their heaviest tracks. If you’ve never seen Razorwire Halo live, their stage show encompasses not just their music, but visuals as well. The band performs behind a sheer curtain on which various videos are projected, ranging from billowing smoke to electric Matrix style static, to what looks like blood cells traveling the circulatory system. It’s a brilliant idea and truly enhanced their music.
While they have gained national exposure over the past few years, their stage presence gives the impression that this quartet has been touring for decades. They are a band to pay attention too.
Austin, Texas duo Street Sects followed. With the venue drowning in a thick, choking smoke, and blinded by flashing strobe lights, Street Sects’ set was full of their extremely abrasive style. Industrial rhythms, ear piercing screams, and hammering synthesizers dominated their time on stage. Truly the stuff of nightmares, vocalist Leo Ashline took to the crowd at one point, wielding a chainsaw to enhance the experience.
I wasn’t sure what to expect for Ho99o9’s set, and to be honest, I was a bit hesitant. Aside from the collaboration tracks with 3teeth, I wasn’t familiar with their music. I really wanted their live set to speak for them, and be the first time I heard their music. If their set proved anything, it’s that Ho99o9 are absolutely meant to be seen live. I’ve never seen such an intense crowd reaction before. For almost 45 minutes these 3 dudes trashed a packed room. The crowd was bouncing, slam dancing, and started a good-sized circle pit.
Even though the majority in attendance were there to see 3teeth, Ho99o9 were welcomed with opened arms and fist pumps. Ho99o9 have found the perfect combination of dark, experimental hip-hop and aggression of hardcore punk music. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this impressed by a band’s live set. Their message tonight wasn’t just about loud music, aggression and crawling their DJ table. There was a feeling of unity and family amongst the crowd, even during the circle pits.
Having already seen 3 amazing bands, my expectations were already high for 3teeth’s performance. Tonight would be my 2nd time seeing the band, and there was no doubt in my mind that we were in for one helluva show. Before the house light went out, the crowd packed into show room and pushed up against the stage’s monitors. We were ready, yet I doubt we were prepared for what was about to come.
An extended guitar and drum intro was crafted for Divine Weapon, the set’s opener, as the stage was bathed in blood red lights. Divine Weapon transitioned perfectly into X-Day as strobe lights burst to life. Without missing a beat, the crowd continued to bounce as Final Product shifted into Shutdown.
The crowd sang every word to Dust, and Slavegod as a circle pit opened and continued throughout Chasm. Vocalist Alexis Mincolla paced the stage like he was preparing to summon the Apocalypse.
The band added a new track, Interlude C#, to this tour. Xavier Swafford carefully plucked his keyboard like a madman conducting an autopsy. Melodic and heavy, even without any lyrics, the new song blended seamlessly in Insubstantia. The crowd then swayed as they screamed the lyrics to Atrophy, and Dissolve.
Even though 3teeth are what I would consider an industrial metal band, there is a definite organic feel to their live shows. The dark arts crafted in their studio were meant to be played in front of a crowd, as became apparent during Pit of Fire. After nearly an hour on the stage, the crowd had found their groove and easily kept pace with the Los Angeles based quartet. Taking a quick break to do shots that had found their way on stage, Mincolla reminded us that the Light Out America Tour would be 26 shows in 29 days. Given the ultra energy of their live shows, it’s miraculous the band were able to maintain their momentum while touring for a solid month.
As Mincolla dropped to his knees swaying and chanting during Tabula Umbra, the crowd was able to catch their breathe before being pummeled by Master of Decay.
Because of the industrial alliance that 3teeth had forged with Ho99o9, resulting in two collaborative tracks, fans were introduced to a style of music that many would not normally give a chance too. Ho99o9 joined 3teeth on stage during the encore for their final song of the evening; Lights Out. Not only did it give us one last chance to rock out, we got the rare opportunity to see these two amazing bands working together on stage.
Tonight’s show was definitely one for the books, and I truly pity anyone who hasn’t seen 3teeth or Ho99o9 live in concert.

3teeth setlist:
Divine Weapon

X-Day

Final Product

Shutdown

Dust

Slavegod

Chasm

Interlude C#

Insubstantia

Atrophy

Dissolve

Pit of Fire

Tabula Umbra

Master of Decay
Encore:
Lights Out (with Ho99o9)