Large companies want your money. This simple axiom has led these entities to newer and more creative ways of taking it from us. Product placement and sponsorship are simply just parts of contemporary life.
Conglomerates that fix their advertising gaze on youth culture walk a fine line between being positively influential and pandering. Converse is one of those companies that spends a lot of its time invested in alternative music—specifically their Rubber Tracks concert series. Say what you want about the shoe company, but if they keep doing things like putting on free High On Fire shows, I’m more than ok with a constant stream of advertising in my life. After that show, it was all I could do not to go online and order a pair of All Star high tops just to say thanks.
Converse brought heavy metal outfit High on Fire to the Sinclair and I have to say, I was impressed. Not only did they provide one kickass concert, but they did it free of charge. The Sinclair turned out to be a great spot to throw a metal concert: the meek VIP’s hung out up on the mezzanine, so all the real warriors had the floor to themselves. The sound system took every ounce of feedback that the bands dished out, and made it sound crisp and clean.
New York’s Blackest opened, and laid the groundwork for one badass evening. Even though it was the band’s first outing in Boston, they powered through their set with enough gusto to wake up the gathering crowd. Their sound contained a smorgasbord of influences, whether it was screamo, doom or good ol’ fashioned black metal. They were really tight for such a young band; it would be hard not to recognize their talent. They should definitely be on more people’s radars, because they rock hard.
I’m only now starting to get into High On Fire, having heard of them through listening to Sleep, but after seeing them live, I can declare myself a fan. They have a great heavy metal sound and Matt Pike is a naturally gifted frontman. Each song was announced with a scream and each solo was shredded to the extreme.
Pike was just the beer-bellied, tattooed, handlebar-mustached messiah that the crowd could rally behind—and they ate up every single moment. However, that’s not to say that the other two members were unworthy of praise. The whole trio were on fire (get it?!) and they relentlessly pummeled through their show. Called forth by the Converse Rubber Track gods, High On Fire were there to rock people’s faces off.
The band pulled out their doomiest number a few songs into their set, and holy shit it was a powerhouse. Pike’s had a decade of doom under his belt, serving as the guitarist for legendary band Sleep. High On Fire have been playing together ever since Sleep called a hiatus, with the other two members forming the experimental metal band Om.
High On Fire are more of a heavy metal kind of band, but they actually managed to sound better when they slowed it down. Reminds me of how amazing Sleep really was and how excited I am for their new material to drop. Just as the pit was starting to tire, the band kicked it up a full notch. Pike bellowed out “Who wants a fucking WAR?!” Strobe lights flashed and the place went apeshit. The last few songs exploded, and then it was all over.
Apart from an absurdly tiny dude throwing punches in the pit (there’s always that one guy, amiright?) the whole night was stellar. The music was excellent and the venue proved to be the perfect accommodation. Hell, on top of it all it was free! If Converse keeps this up, I’m going to end up throwing all my money at them. Fuck Reebok.