Psychostick brings Christmas to Fort Wayne- Metal Style

by Reggie Edwards Photos by Reggie Edwards Ever since the end of Psychostick’s last Holiday Hate Tour, fans have been screaming for another Christmas tour they can mosh and pit to, courtesy of the most metal humorcore band in the game today…..now they have their wish in the Santa’s an Asshole Tour. I  had a chance to catch the Fort Wayne, Indiana date and this one definitely didn’t disappoint and lived up to everything Psychostick is all about- being metal, being funny and being metal. First off, let me say this- The Yellow Bird in Fort Wayne, where this concert was held, may be the coolest venue I\’ve seen so far. The Yellow Bird is an old bank that has been transformed into a concert venue. Talk about cool points! Opening up for Psychostick were two localIndianabands- Mr. Hipster (Bloomington,Ind.) and Horns (Ft. Wayne,Ind.) Right off the bad I was less than impressed by Mr. Hipster. Just from the way they were dressed I could tell they were trying to be funny, then when they began playing and interacting with the crowd it became evident they were trying too hard to be funny. Musically, they weren’t bad, playing a mixture of punk, rock, blues rock and even a country rock tune, but their banter between each other and with the crowd was just poor humor in my mind. Plus they played for almost an hour and it seemed a lot of fans lost interest but the night was far from over and Horns had a chance to bring the crowd back up. For the most part, they did a great job of getting the crowd ready for Psychostick. I wasn’t too impressed with their opening song, a thrash metal “comedy” song talking about wanting some milk…it just didn’t hit the mark. Their sound was great and they were extremely talented, I’ll give them that. Their two guitarists are outstanding. They had that old school thrash metal sound that seems to have disappeared with the exception of a few bands. Here’s the problem, though- their stage presence wasn’t great. Though their sound was incredible, they seemed to have a few immaturities on stage. Besides them having to take time to tune their instruments on stage, one guitarist continually played in the crowd- jumping off stage, running around the venue while playing, which I’ve always found to be unimpressive. If the crowd truly likes you, there’s no need to run around the pit and audience while playing, they will enjoy the set. It just seems high-school-cover-bandish to do such a thing. I’ve seen one other band do it…I think there’s a reason for that. However, not enough can be said about their instrumental work- amazing. After Horns finished up, it was time for the most metal humorcore band in the game to take the stage. My friends, it was time for Psychostick. Wearing Christmas lights (bassist Matty J wore lights on his moose antlers, guitarist Joshua Key wrapped them around his guitar strap) and wreaths decorating the amps and a giant inflatable Santa on stage with the word “asshole” written across its face, we were all in for the most metal and hardcore Christmas show ever. Right off the bat they destroyed the stage starting off with “Welcome to the Show” from their latest album, Space Vampires vs. Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D, a song that always gets a laugh pit going. They didn’t just melt faces with their classics and normal setlist, they threw in the majority of songs from their 2007 Flesh Eating Roller Skate Holiday Joy Ride EP, which they gave away as a free download for most of November on their website. Playing songs like “Jolly Old Sadist (from which the tour’s title was taken),” “Red Snow,” in which bassist Matty J dawned a Rudolph nose, “Jingle Bell Metal” and “Happy Fuckin’ New Year,” the crowd got into the holiday spirit in many different ways, including a SLOW MOTION MOSH PIT. Psychostick pulled out a few random bits that I couldn’t help but laugh at including a giant inflatable taco for “Do You Want a Taco?” Perhaps the most complex song of the night was “Hate Times Eight” from Space Vampires vs. Zombie Dinosaurs in 3D. When the time came for the second half of the mid-song breakdown, they asked the crowd if they were ready. Frontman Rawrb asked drummer Alex Dontre if he thought the crowd was ready. When Dontre said he didn’t think they were, the band “pretend jammed” (this is when they pretend to play their instruments and jam out to silence). In the middle of the song, they broke into “I Hate Doing Laundry” from We Couldn’t Think of a Title, in which Rawrb asked each member of the band what they hated. Key said he hated people who hate Eggnog, Matty J flipped off Key and said he hated Eggnog, Dontre said what he hated by plugging one of opening band Horns’ songs. Finally, Key interrupted everything by saying he hated when bands start a song, break off into two other songs and “don’t finish the song they started in the first place!,” after which they agreed to finish “Hate Times Eight.” Again, the most metal humorcore band there is. Perhaps the most unexpected part of their set was Rawb trying to introduce their classic hit, “Beer,” and the rest of the band “interrupting” him by breaking into the classic 1938 Hoagie Carmichael song, “Heart and Soul,” and they finished the entire song, after which Matty J mentioned thatCarmichaelsname was Hoagie. “He’s a sandwhich!,” yelled Matty J, “This is our jam!” Needless to say, the night was never free of a laugh and a pit. Even though it was the smallest crowd I’ve ever seen at a show (there couldn’t have been more than 90 people there) Psychostick still put on one hell of a show and rocked the house, proving that, as I said earlier, they are in fact the most metal humorcore band on the face of the earth.   Before the show, I had a chance to sit down with Psychostick drummer Alex Dontre and guitar ninja Josh Key for what might just be the most entertaining interview ever. Listen to the entire interview below: CLICK HERE for Psychostick Interview: Psychostick Josh and Alex