On a cloudy evening in downtown Reading, the “Tour With No Name” featuring the return of Doyle (of the iconic horror punks The Misfits fame), OTEP, and returning tour-mates Red Devil Vortex, stopped by Reverb. This was the second date of the tour which kicked off the day prior in Vineland, NJ and will wrap-up mid-May in Greenville, SC.
As I entered the venue, local opener Silence Is Survival was already on stage midway through their set. Honestly, I didn’t remember much from their showcase other than that they ended their set with a “decent” cover of Escape the Fate’s song “Gorgeous Nightmare.”
Red Devil Vortex
As I scanned the crowd, I couldn’t help but notice a bunch of people sporting light up devil horns from the RDV’s merch table. A+ on merchandising! The band is still riding high off of their debut ‘self-titled’ studio release. From the very first song, it was obvious these guys are
pros. They were incredibly tight and clean. They played to the crowd effectively and people in attendance ate it up. Red Devil Vortex garnered new fans that night.
OTEP
It’s been years, if not decades, since I had last seen OTEP live. The last time I saw them, Crocodile Rock Café (RIP) in Allentown was still standing. From what I recalled, the majority of the performance was washed in red and they did not disappoint. OTEP came out swinging, seething in attitude, and riled up the audience while bathed in crimson. The majority of their set was material off of their debut ‘Sevas Tra’ with a touch of stuff from ‘Generation Doom’ (“Equal Rights, Equal Lefts”) and ‘Hydra’ (“Apex Predator”) which was surprising considering ‘The God Slayer’ only came out this past September.
Doyle
“This next song… is a love song.” As the night drew to a close, those who stuck around for Doyle were treated to a set of old favorites. He has kept busy with Misfits reunion shows but still has plenty to say with his own band. The band unleashed an even amount of material between ‘Abominator’ and ‘…II: As We Die’. Frontman Alex “Wolfman” Story was a madman who used the entire stage as his playground. Between climbing the speakers to the barricades, no obstacle was off limits. Doyle “Wolfgang von Frankenstein” attacked his signature guitar, the infamous Abominator, like it was a misbehaving child that required corporal punishment. Not to be left out, bassist Brandon Strate was in the pocket and drummer Luke Wright held his own and kept rhythm as the backbone of the monster squad all evening.
This run felt more of a victory lap more than anything. OTEP released ‘The God Slayer’ back in September. After its release, Otep Shamaya has been quoted to say that this album will be OTEP’s last, “In symbolic terms, nine is the last single digit. So [The God Slayer] is the last; it represents the last. I don’t know if I’ll make another record.” Red Devil Vortex only put out their ‘Self-Titled’ release last August and are clearly having the time of their lives touring on it. And for Doyle… well, do we really need an excuse to sing “Cemetarysexx” out loud in a room full of strangers? NEVER!!
neostar // media 