The first album was stronger, no? (Source)
The LA-Born Militarie Gun dropped by Botanique’s La Rotonde on the 8th of February in the showcase of their second release “God Save The Gun”, together with the Québec emo outfit Spite House. Here’s how that went!
“Ten more days to reconcile” – Spite House
Spite House was born in 2019, shortly after Max Lajoie, singer & guitarist, lost his mother to cancer. It was originally started as a project to take control of his life and not waste any more time. Quickly joined on drums by Marc Tremblay, longtime high school friend, as well as Nabil Ortega on bass, the band was set on committing to this new life.
They stepped on stage, doing some last second sound checks, and began their set with ‘Ashen Grey’. The crowd was still piling up in the iconic Brussels venue, but it didn’t matter for Spite House. They felt deeply connected between each other and seemed to give everything they got with every vocal line, chord played and snare hit. Watching them from less than a couple of meters was mesmerizing. It was raw, emotional and unstoppable. Between songs, you’d see Max squeeze a bottle of honey down his throat, trying to quickly get back some vocal power before the next song would kick in.
It’s always hard to write down after a show how you feel about the set you’ve just seen, but it wasn’t the case this time. Before seeing their name on the tour poster, Spite House wasn’t a familiar name. I always enjoy discovering opening acts the day of the show, not listening to anything they’ve released up until now. I’ve ended up surprised, or attached, almost every single time to these discoveries. Hearing ‘10 Days’ live for the first time, and discovering what the song was about, it was hard not to relate. I remember my mom announcing to me that my grandmother had about 2 weeks left, diagnosed with cancer. Back then, as a kid, it was hard to realize what that meant. But it’s now more than evident how much of an impact that left on me.
As Spite House left the stage, I couldn’t think about anything but how I’d love to see them again. This time, perhaps I will be able to better understand their songs and purpose.
Setlist: Ashen Grey – Deafening Calls – Safe Haven – Tied To The Flow – Dying Leaves – Hope – Down the Drain – Please Know – Desert – Gravity – 10 Days
“God owes me money, I’ll get it in time” – Militarie Gun
According to them, playing in the US and Europe has one major difference: US shows want you to play a tight show, 30 minutes tops, then you’re out. Europe is the complete opposite, the crowd constantly asks for more. And for Ian Shelton, their frontman, they couldn’t be happier about it. If they were allowed, they’d play for 3 hours straight, no pause. That’s why for this tour they’ve managed to shove in their setlist almost every song off of “Life Under The Gun” as well as their latest release “God Save The Gun”.
The second they stepped on stage, the crowd was ready to go. The set started with ‘B A D I D E A’, the first single off of their latest effort. Working as a bit of a punk version of Chappell Roan’s ‘HOT TO GO!’, everyone, me included, were yelling the chorus to the top of their lungs, completely pumped up and ready to tear down La Rotonde. It’s in these moments that you quickly realize how Militarie Gun have managed to build up such a following in less than 5 years.
Telling someone that a setlist is 21 songs long is usually followed up by the question “Okay, but what kind of music genre?”. For a Prog concert, that sounds like 5 hours, but for Hardcore, it’s closer to an hour. The efficient compositions, the catchy lyrics, the crowd going through all of the motions together with the band, everything felt so goddamn short. It made me understand what Ian was explaining, you’d truly be able to go for 3 hours straight of their show.
It would be tough for me to go into detail about each and every song without turning this live report into an album review. The songs sounded exactly as recorded. Through the chaos that was going on, it felt exactly like I was hoping it would. Being able to share a moment with roughly 300 strangers coming here for the exact same reason. It truly felt like I was at home two-stepping with dudes twice my age, doing the backing vocals with some others, or ending up drenched in beer because some two random piss-drunk guys decided to bring their pints in the pit.
Militarie Gun closed off the show exactly how they’ve started it. With ‘B A D I D E A’. You always see bands close off their shows with their well-known songs, but playing it first, then last, lets you feel the song in two different ways. At the start of the set, it was there to pump you up and directly get you into the action. But by the end of the set, hearing that “B A D” once again flips a switch in your brain. It feels like a sleeper agent hearing the magic word and going all out.
By 8pm, the set was finished. People were hanging out at the bar or at the merch table, both bands were shaking babies and kissing hands, chatting with the fans, it felt almost surreal. Actually, it felt human. It felt like it wasn’t some random rockstars put on a pedestal. After all, it’s still just a couple of dudes on stage. This difference between arena shows and local clubs is so massive that the first couple of times you experience it, it always becomes a core memory.
Setlist: B A D I D E A – Fill Me With Paint – Pressure Cooker – Very High – God Owes Me Money – Ain’t No Flowers – Big Disappointment – Will Logic – My Friends are Having a Hard Time – Think Less – Throw Me Away – Kick – Maybe I’ll Burn My Life Down – Return Policy – Disposable Plastic Trash – Daydream – Wake Up And Smile – Thought You Were Waving – Never Fucked Up Once – Do It Faster – B A D I D E A
See you guys soon at a new concert!