There is no logical explanation as to why but The Sword was always a band that I heard about more than I actually heard. I decided to put that notion to rest when I randomly saw an advertisement for the show at the Belly Up on a Saturday. After convincing Wayne and Calvin to go with me I took a crash course in their discography and headed to Culture Brewing Company next door to meet Wayne then met Calvin inside. Once inside Wayne asked me if I knew where the best place in the whole venue to post up was then proceeded to lead me to an area that I thought was previously reserved for people of clout or with well-endowed bank accounts. He was right. This was the best place to be in the entire venue and I will keep the location to myself just in case someone actually reads this little blog. 

The opening band was called Zombi, which was just one guy pulling double duty on bass and keyboards as well as a drummer. The music was atmospheric with no shortage of synthesizer soundscapes that at times strangely reminded me of Rush. 

After a short intermission The Sword appeared and proceeded to rock the fuck out of the place for the next hour plus. The energy of their live show added a new layer to the already superbly crafted songs on the albums. All four members frequently locked in to spit something out from the stage that was undeniable. The Belly Up only holds 600 people but every person in that place worshiped the Sword. 

This experience made me wonder why a band of this caliber does not have a bigger following but then I thought back to an interview I watched earlier in the day with Stephen Carpenter from the Deftones. He essentially said the more complex the music is the smaller your audience is. The smaller audiences will kill for you but big audiences (what I like to call music for the masses) gravitate towards something simple. That was The Sword to a “T” and for that is just fine by me.