EXODUS ATTACK!!!

A NIGHT OF LEGENDS @ THE UC THEATRE 12/6/24

NPZ #2 — DECEMBER 2024 — PAGE 7-8

Even with a busted knee, I was going to see Exodus no matter what. I just had a feeling that this would not be a night to miss. So I hopped on the Bart to Berkeley, with a camera in hand, and knee brace strapped tight. It’s always funny walking towards a metal show, cause I exit the station and start to spot them in the crowd, my vested, long-haired comrades. All of us making our gradual migration towards the epicenter, the UC Theatre.

Immediately, I started to see familiar faces. Ran into guys I know from Sac area’s PARABELLUM (pg. 17) outside the venue. Inside, I saw members of East Bay’s SNALLYGASTER (pg. 17), and chatted with guys from Vacaville’s INVADER in the merch line. I also ran into a friend I made at MORTAL shows, Kat, who had also won the ticket giveaway from Hard Times! It felt like so many metalheads from Norcal had flocked to this show, and for good reason, IT’S FUCKING EXODUS!

But not just local scene people were there, but plenty of OGs. I saw multiple people I had seen perform at the Cornerstone tribute show November 2nd (reported in last issue). I may not have names to match to faces, but I could tell there was a lot of reunion going on between old friends in the scene. Most exciting for me was seeing and introducing myself to scene photographers Harald O. (pg. 5) and getting a photo of his vest (pg. 11), as well as seeing his co-author Brian Lew. Point is, it was a mix of familiar faces, older and young, and more diverse than I’d see like somewhere out in Sac. Hell yeah.

Incredibly tragic that I was completely out of pit commission, and generally had to avoid the floor. But I had fun hobbling around the venue to take pictures, until eventually some poor staff member would kick me out and I’d go to the other side of the theater. I was also not supposed to take flash photos, but I would just hide in the crowd so they couldn’t see where it was coming from (lowkey, wasn’t worth it though since most of my photos came out poorly, but we live and we learn)

Ok, now on to the actual show. CANDY opened first, followed by DEAD HEAT. I should’ve written this closer to the actual night of the show, but now I don’t have that much to comment on the performances. I was most hyped for HAVOK, since “Hang ‘Em High” is probably one of my favorite metal songs of late. And it was awesome live!

But of course, we were all waiting for EXODUS. The energy through the whole show was fucking fun, and I’m sad I couldn’t get in the middle of it all. I was only familiar with a few songs they played, but I knew a good handful. They also played covers of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” and Metallica’s “Motorbreath”, which was sick. I was hoping they’d play Bonded by Blood for the encore, and others in the crowd seemed to want it too based on the yells, but I guess they don’t play it live? If someone knows more about Exodus lore, please enlighten me. I was just holding out for the iconic “MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW!”

Nevertheless, it was absolutely awesome and I’ll definitely be delving more into Exodus when I have the time.

But the night unfortunately didn’t end on the highest of notes. I noticed that through the night, a lot of people were being quite rude to the staff, especially one femme student, and it quite sucked hearing people call them a bitch when they’re the ones dealing with a bunch of rowdy, drunk, older men. The coat check line was really long, and as the clock ticked towards midnight, I began to worry I wouldn’t be able to make it back to my place. I also lost a spike and quite possibly my NO LIFE ‘TIL LEATHER pin as my jacket had fallen on the ground, which I’m really bummed about. Bright side, got a free poster!

One of my naiveties is idealizing “old school” lifestyle, and so I decided maybe I could try and hitchhike back to SF with someone. Surely, in a crowd of metalheads, that “friendliness” and vague nomadic rebellious spirit would still be embraced. And maybe if I had asked more people, I would’ve found someone, but most people declined. I get it, I’m a stranger, you’re a stranger, but we’re at least bonded by the show, right?

I approached these two guys, which I realize in hindsight was dumb because they were so obviously drunk and not driving anywhere. I asked like, “Are y’all going back to SF? Can I catch a ride?” And one of them leans in with this smile, and goes “Oh yeeah sure, come with us” When I asked again if they were going to SF or Daly City, the guy was like clearly just playing on, and was like “Come with us, it’ll be fun.” I was like “wait this guy is so drunk”, then my gut was like “oh that’s predatory and weird as fuck!” So I just told the guy and his friend, “have a good night” and walked away cause no fucking way was I gonna leave with this dude.

I gave up after that, and just took the Bart and Uber from the station to my place. So that kind of soured the mood, and was a bit of a harsh wake-up call that, despite all my desires to embody the archetypes of the “invincible male youth” (pg. 6), I am not immune to getting caught in a risky situation with strangers.

But barring that, Exodus was a great experience, and I’ll definitely try and catch them again next time they’re in town. EXODUS ATTACK!!!!

Photos:
(pg. 7): (LEFT) Kat (@deathmetalmom), and friends Jonny ([@bvrieda1ive]), & Giovanni (@giomxjia88) on film; (RIGHT) CANDY playing with DEAD HEAT'S banner (BELOW 2) HAVOK
(pg. 8): CROWD SURFER MANIA!!! LEFT to RIGHT: Jonny; Kat; Jonny (?)