I went to the free Madison show and it was well worth the two hour drive. I got there at around 1:45 to make sure that I got front row. As an added bonus I had arrived early enough to see the whole band setting up. It was almost surreal, sitting in this nearly empty room, basically alone with all of the members of Dredg. Gavin was talking to some guy just about five feet away from me and my girlfriend at one point and my girlfriend joked that she was feeling "a godly presence to our right." I couldn't help but agree.
After the band set up we waited until about 2:00 and a local band called Middleworld opened up. They were extremely heavy, with almost a louder rage against the machine sound and were pretty decent. In addition to this, the band members themselves were probably the weirdest combination of guys I've ever seen in my life. I really can't explain how weird these guys were so I won't. You just had to be there I guess...
After Middleworld played, we had about a 30 minute wait until Dredg came out. The crowd has suddenly grown a bit larger now and the anticipation was mounting. Finally the band emerged from the back and the small crowd erupted. Even though I had just seen Dredg only a month earlier, I was somehow even more excited for this performance. It was nothing short of spectacular.
Setlist (might be out of order)
Ode to the Sun
Catch Without Arms
Same Ol' Road
Of the Room
The Tankbark is Hot Lava
Bug Eyes
Jamais Vu
Hungover on a Tuesday
Sang Real
The Canyon Behind Her
Yatahaze/90 Hour Sleep
Words cannot really describe how great this show was. Dredg was supposed to be there to simply play a pregame concert for the huge Wisconsin/Michigan football game. It may have overshadowed the game itself. Throughout the show, many of these football tailgaters seemed to wander into the room to hear this amazing spectacle that was taking place. People that had never even heard of Dredg before were being captivated by their music. At one point Gavin asked the crowd "How many of you are here for the football game?" The crowds response proved otherwise. They were there for Dredg...and Dredg only. It was an unbelievable experience, and one that I'll never forget. I didn't know what to expect from this "free show", but this far exceeded any doubts I previously had.
After the band set up we waited until about 2:00 and a local band called Middleworld opened up. They were extremely heavy, with almost a louder rage against the machine sound and were pretty decent. In addition to this, the band members themselves were probably the weirdest combination of guys I've ever seen in my life. I really can't explain how weird these guys were so I won't. You just had to be there I guess...
After Middleworld played, we had about a 30 minute wait until Dredg came out. The crowd has suddenly grown a bit larger now and the anticipation was mounting. Finally the band emerged from the back and the small crowd erupted. Even though I had just seen Dredg only a month earlier, I was somehow even more excited for this performance. It was nothing short of spectacular.
Setlist (might be out of order)
Ode to the Sun
Catch Without Arms
Same Ol' Road
Of the Room
The Tankbark is Hot Lava
Bug Eyes
Jamais Vu
Hungover on a Tuesday
Sang Real
The Canyon Behind Her
Yatahaze/90 Hour Sleep
Words cannot really describe how great this show was. Dredg was supposed to be there to simply play a pregame concert for the huge Wisconsin/Michigan football game. It may have overshadowed the game itself. Throughout the show, many of these football tailgaters seemed to wander into the room to hear this amazing spectacle that was taking place. People that had never even heard of Dredg before were being captivated by their music. At one point Gavin asked the crowd "How many of you are here for the football game?" The crowds response proved otherwise. They were there for Dredg...and Dredg only. It was an unbelievable experience, and one that I'll never forget. I didn't know what to expect from this "free show", but this far exceeded any doubts I previously had.
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