Frost and Fire IV

k n o w n e v e n t o t r a d i t i o n a l
metalheads because Night Demon
famously covered it on their Live
Darkness album recorded in
Midnight’s hometown of Cleveland,
Ohio, last December. So it was only
right and proper that for this
performance of “Evil Like a Knife,”
Jarvis Leatherby joined Athenar and
his minions on stage for a rip-riding
blast through the track.
I didn’t stick around until the end of
the Midnight set, but not because I’m
lame. On the contrary, there was a
good reason for it. You see, the
after-party was to commence at
11:30 p.m. (approximately 15
minutes before Midnight’s set
concluded) across the street from
the Ventura Theater at a cozy little
dive bar called Sans Souci. When I
say “cozy,” I mean the room is
freakin’ small. The sign on the wall
fixes capacity at 48 people (if
memory serves). It’s a tiny little
postage-stamp of a place. No stage.
The band just sets up in a corner of
the room under a couple of dim red
lights. I knew the after-party would
be packed in no time, so I jetted out
of Midnight early to make certain I
was able to get inside and stake out
some prime real estate to see
BLOOD STAR.
Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah,
Blood Star had the opening slot on
Night Demon’s US tour in August. I
consider all four band members to
be friends, and I was damned if I was
going to miss them tonight. It was a
wise decision. The set they played
at Sans Souci was so much fun,
tearing through all five of their
original songs they performed on
the Night Demon tour (“Tortured
Earth” is my favorite, but stuff like
“The Fear” and “Fearless Priestess”
have grown quite dear in my heart as
well), plus their warp-speed romp
through Twisted Sister’s “Stay
Hungry.”
As a special bonus tonight, Blood
Star played a surprise cover of
Savatage’s “White Witch,” an
overlooked gem from Hall of the
M o u n t a i n K i n g w h i c h t h e y
completely nailed. (The next day,
singer Madi Smith told me she hadn’t
been feeling well and didn’t think
she’d be able to get through “White
Witch,” which is of course a highly
demanding song to sing. I never
would have guessed because she
powered through admirably and did
a hell of a job.) So yes, Blood Star
was fantastic tonight. But more
than that, there was something really
cool and really special after
watching bands play on a big stage
in a big room for two days to go into a
tiny little dive bar and rock out with a
few dozen friends and the band at
eye level. It’s where this music came
from. It’s where this music belongs.
And Blood Star rocked it. Setlist:
Stalking the Beast, Stiff Liver, Stay
Hungry, The Fear, Tortured Earth,
White Witch, Fearless Priestess.
There was still one more band to play
the after-party (Novareign, an
unknown entity to me about whom I
heard very good things later in the
weekend). I missed Novareign’s set
because I decided it was time to hit
the beach party and I needed to go
back to my hotel room to grab my
Ungol hoodie (it’s chilly on the beach
Photo: Blood Star Facebook
in the middle of the night in October)
and some beers first. The beach
party carried on well into the wee
hours of the night, and I had a great
time talking with friends old and new
and watching the waves crash into
the shore while enjoying a tasty
beverage or four. The Frost and Fire
beach party tradition is the best. It
was almost time for the sun to peek
out over the horizon when I finally
made it back to my bed at the
Clocktower Inn and crashed hard for
a couple of hours.