On April 1st of 2024, New Orleans-based sludge metal band Crowbar performed with opening acts Decoy and Morbid Visionz at Chelsea’s Live in Baton Rouge. Crowbar is recognized for the development of the subgenre of sludge metal with the help of their contemporaries Eyehategod and Acid Bath, both of whom are also significant bands in the New Orleans metal scene. As such, they are no stranger to Baton Rouge, and more than enough metal enthusiasts were lining up to see them perform at Chelsea’s Live. Despite being a relatively new concert venue, Chelsea’s Live has become a hot spot for both smaller acts and headliners, especially those in the metal scene of the South Shore.
Both Decoy and Morbid Visionz performed admirably in getting the audience excited for the main act ahead. While Baton Rouge’s very own Decoy performed harsh metalcore and hardcore originals, Morbid Visionz better resembled the genre that Crowbar’s audience is familiar with and provided some original death metal tunes. Despite the slight differences in sound, both bands audibly took influence from Crowbar and made sure the audience was well aware of how significant they were to their formations. Once Crowbar announced their presence properly, they gave the audience an earth-shattering performance.
Despite the slow-tempo riffing that sludge metal is known for, concert-goers are more than willing to start moshing once the classic songs start playing. Among the songs played were “High Rate Extinction”, “All I Had”, “Fixation”, “Lasting Dose”, “Chemical Godz”, “Planets Collide”, “Bleeding From Every Hole” and “Like Broken Glass”. Much of the same energy in Crowbar’s live show was similar to Eyehategod’s performance at the same venue in early 2023. A sludge metal band much like Crowbar, Eyehategod’s outing at Chelsea’s The all-consuming, thick distortion from the lead guitars and bass combined with the guttural, bellowing vocals of frontman Kirk Windstein made for a cacophonous, thrilling descent into madness culminating in the unhinged mosh pit in the center of the crowd.
Windstein, having started his musical career in the hardcore punk scene, is certainly no stranger to showing audiences his infectious energy and menacing vocal prowess. Lead guitarist Kevin Noonan, drummer Tommy Buckley and bassist Shane Wesley performed admirably as well, creating a gargantuan wall of noise and sonic insanity mixed with nihilistic overtones that the genre is widely renowned for. The members of the band remained humorous in their asides to the audience yet cordial to the audience members throughout the show.
Despite the chaos, concert etiquette remained intact and plenty of members assisted those who had either been knocked down or who had lost items in the ensuing collision of bodies. Much of the crowd did not have any phones out or video recording equipment for most of the show, even those who were sequestered in the back away from the moshing. The audience became so enraptured in the performance of the band and the charm and humor of Windstein that they could not help but boisterously cheer for an encore performance. Crowbar’s performance alone lasted about an hour and a half, with the large setlist they performed having certainly tired out many audience members once they had left the stage. Regardless, no one had left the venue disappointed at the performance they had just witnessed.
Towards the end of the setlist, even one such as myself who typically doesn’t engage in mosh pits couldn’t help but cave and get right towards the edge of the chaos. The neck aches the morning after from vicious headbanging wasn’t enough to make me regret the fun that I had during the concert. Once again, Chelsea’s demonstrates itself as one of Baton Rouge’s hottest venues for big and small sludge metal acts. The turnout for the event reflects a passionate group of fans within the South Louisiana metal scene, and Crowbar undeniably continues to deliver to the scene they have helped to cultivate with performances just as exciting as those of Eyehategod and Acid Bath as well as the newer acts they’ve inspired.
