Cannibal Corpse Takes Over Valparaiso, IN

On most Halloween nights after trick or treating is over, people are plopped down on their couches eating their kid’s candy. Not me. I was getting my face melted by the all mighty Cannibal Corpse at Big Shots in Valparaiso. What a wet sweaty night this was. The place was absolutely packed with every walk of life. There were obviously the classic metal heads in attendance. There were also random ghouls and goblins mixed with people just ready to check out a good show. The crowd really got rolling when Cattle Decapitation took the stage. The gaps in the crowd were quickly non-existent as soon as their first song started. I do have to say that the crowd was excellent. Anyone that fell down was quickly picked back up. There were random high fives and signs of brotherhood in that pit. The crowd was lubed up and moist for Cannibal Corpse to take the stage. The sound check took forever. The crowd began to get restless. Before you knew it, the band walked down the spiral staircase behind the drum riser. Valpo knew it was time to party. Cannibal Corpse had the stage presence and charisma of a band that has put in many hard years on the road. The breaks in the music were clean and the sound was pristine. Corpsegrinder is definitely a great front man. As I was watching this set from the front row, my mind was wandering watching the band. It is so hard to believe that a band that has been around as long as it has been can still completely own a crowd and stay relevant. The thing that I really liked was there was no bull shit in between songs. There were no pleas from the band to ‘buy their merch’ or ‘to check out their Facebook page’. It was straight brutality that didn’t stop until the band gave absolutely everything they had. Big Shots has the potential to quickly become a major metal hot spot in Northwest Indiana. It is a small intimate club that is a smooth operation. Big shout out to Region Shows for putting this together. The security staff was highly attentive to the crowd and acted quickly when they needed to. The bar staff was nice and made you feel happy that you weren’t in Chicago paying $19.50 for a fucking bottle of water. -Brandon Alonzo