Words by Fatema Sitabkhan
Having never been to a metal concert before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this one.
But HOLY LORDY am I glad to have lost my metal concert virginity to a kickass band like Drowning Pool!
Drowning Pool was a band whose name didn’t mean much to me till I was graciously invited to The Gov with two tickets to their concert. Bonus points for dating a man who listened to Drowning Pool in his teenage years – I got to go down memory lane with him in the days leading up to the concert and was starting to fall in love and understand the ‘metal’ concept behind the band’s music.
Walking into the Gov, I saw what I mostly expected – a lot of metal heads drinking some good brews and jamming to the good tunes by the supporting bands. It may have not looked like a massive turnout, but when Drowning Pool came on, all the magic in their music seemed to envelope across every corner of the room.
Sure, the day after the concert has been a bit rough, in terms of my vocal cords taking a serious hit and the general lack of sleep. Every bone in my body ached, but it’s all been worth it!
I especially loved watching the band members engage with the audience so effortlessly – it made me and the other concertgoers feel valued and we could tell that the band members were truly grateful and appreciative of our support towards their music and their work.
As is expected from a metal band, there was lots of swearing, lots of spitting, and lots of merry chatter among the band members – just like a proper metal concert ought to be, right?
The music that Drowning Pool has created for us all is so much more than just the “loud noise” that the oldies seem to refer to! There’s a lot of depth and meaning in the lyrics of their songs, and once you sing along with the band members and get your head banging to some sweet, epic tunes, you start to realize that metal songs have a lot of emotion in them!
And that’s what I truly enjoyed about Drowning Pool’s live concert – even though I was a total newbie who awkwardly head-banged to some new but awesome metal music, I ended up on stage with my two of my favourite people in the world, touched CJ’s hand, got to dance alongside Stevie, saw Mike pull some of the most epic solo-drumming I have ever witnessed, and shared eye contact with Jasen (what? It was momentous!), so all in all – a fantastic night all-round!
People close to as well as far back from the stage were religiously singing along to the lyrics of their songs, one hit after the next, and the atmosphere had a thrilling and energetic vibe to it!
Never, at one point, did the bodies not hit the floor – it was a magical night and I cannot wait to watch Drowning Pool live again – hopefully they’ve had an amazing Aus/NZ tour thus far and will return to us in the not-too- distant future!
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