Live: Otep in Warrendale

If there is one thing Otep Shamaya is known for it is her voice against any and all things that piss her off. When her current tour hit Pittsburgh I was there and she was as pissed off as ever- mostly about our current President, Mr. Donald Trump. She let him have it with both barrels too, ripping him down piece by piece until there was nothing left. It wasn’t just her verbal jabs, either. You see, there is a new severed head that is making its rounds. It is a swollen, puss filled and putrefied severed head of our current President and the way she interacts with it is just too damn funny. It’s just one of the severed heads she brings on stage with her; Yes there is more than one for extra fun. Otep seemed at absolute ease as she owned the stage, but it wasn’t just her on stage. Her band was top notch in particular her guitarist Ari Mihalopoulos who’s gas mask, complete with a Mohawk gave him a certain swagger on stage. He also produced their new album titled Kult 45 and it’s their best to date. They tore up classics like “Battle Ready,” “Blood Pigs” and “Apex Predator” like there was no tomorrow and the one new song they did entitled “Shelter In Place” got a huge response from the crowd. I have to take a moment to give a shout out to their drummer Justin Kier who blanketed the night with some righteous drumming and their new bassist Andrew Barnes who provided a heavy back end to everything. By now, Otep had the crowd right where she wanted them and they ate from the palm of her hand doing anything she asked of them as they blazed through “Zero,” “My Confession,” “Menocide” and “Equal Rights, Equal Lefts.” She worked them into a complete frenzy by the time the closer of “Confrontation” was played for the ravenous fans. It was all over but the goodbyes which she said and then she stopped for a few pictures and to sign a few things before she took leave of things for good. I can safely say that this is a band that truly care about their fans and fan base. All that was left was to go home and dream about this night. -Eric Hunker