Gideon
3.16.24 Nashville, TN
Eastside Bowl
Morgan C. Insomnia Photographer
Donovan B. Insomnia Journalist
Show Review
This particular writer has been to many concerts. Different artists representing different genres of all tiers of popularity and success. What I witnessed the other night was a highlight for the memory reel. I have never seen these guys live but, man oh man, I am sure glad I did and offer my condolences to those of you who wasn’t able to make an appearance.
The venue always gives the first impression. Now, all venues have their charms or the lack of, as the case may be. This venue, Eastside Bowl, throws anyone unsuspecting for a loop. The alley is very clean and pretty large. It supports a full diner, a large enough arcade for everyone, enough bowling lanes for an army, and unsurprisingly, a bar. Only, the bar covered a large area and plenty of fire water to quinch even the thirstiest of lips. There is a line of tables, each sporting a psychedelic picture of a legendary artist, accompanied by a private, personal light that changes colors to give the impression of movement of the artists on the table.
Down a little corridor, past the fire watch stamping hands, the concert area is pretty spacious and accommodating. There is plenty of room to buy merch and offers a balcony, perfect for the shorter attendees. The interior supports a mixture of a dive bar and a modern club in a pertect blend.
One of the many opening acts, Left to Suffer, demanded to cut loose which the crowd obliged. Maybe a bit too much as someone decided to ruin it for a couple of people but he was properly detained and the band never skipped a beat but always made sure the crowd laid before them were safe lin as much as a mosh pit can be). That's when the surfing began. Like the intro stated, l've been to many concerts but this was the first time l've ever seen crowd surting. They played some new songs as well as some older hits that their fans love.
You can tell that the people were more than enjoying themselves as, in between acts, the crowd starting singing in unison with the interim music pumping out of the overhead speakers. Truly a sight straight out of Almost Famous. Then the headliners came out.
The Alabama natives, Gideon, took the stage with intensity. The lead singer, Daniel, sporting attire fit for the location of the last show on tour, wearing flannel and a cowboy hat. To someone who didn’t know better they would have thought they were in a honky tonk. Then with his hat high in the air, Daniel took the microphone and demanded your absolute, undivided attention. He pointed to the crowd and commanded everyone to move and then they kicked out the jams.
Bite Down set the tone for the evening with a guttural scream. With heavy distortion in the air making waves, Gideon was not pulling any punches. This was the last concert of the tour and they were damned determined to go out with a bang! One good turn deserves another and another barn burner of a track follows up with Locked out of Heaven and then drum killer itself, Push It Back, which at times had an almost industrial sound. The crowd ate it up like candy and at any given moment there was any number from 5-8, people surfing heads.
Gideon rocked their asses off, the crowd’s asses off, and your grandmother’s ass off, with a whopping FOURTEEN playlist followed by a two song encore. No matter if you like Gideon or not, whether you listen to them in your rotation or not, they deserve your ear’s respect or else. If you ever get to see them, highly recommended as it might be a while before you forget the experience.
