After Igorrr broke down Irving Plaza the night prior, I did it up big time to fall out summer 2023 – and what better way to close it with than a lineup of Crowbar and Primitive Man at the Saint Vitus Bar? Although it was a sold-out show, with a 10:00 gig curfew looming due to a venue changeover for the revered dark eighties synth-pop night, Primitive Man and Crowbar wasted no time to destroy everything in their path.
When I arrived in Greenpoint, I immediately procured a table at the superb Acapulco Restaurant & Deli next door to the bar. The tortilla chips with the spicy homemade guacamole and the steak tortas provided a filling banquet. After indulging in some tasty goodness, I headed inside Vitus for the show.
Although I don’t have much to mention about Bodybox, the third billed support act, I will gladly say to check them out if you’re into absurdly brutal death metal.
The night for me began with a darkly set from Primitive Man. From the moment that Primitive Man had a singular fog cannon envelop the Saint Vitus Bar in a dense vapor, this Colorado-bred doom metal trio delivered a skull-smashing six-song set of slow-burning doom metal. The fog began to thicken as Primitive Man played on. Despite their set length, the trio sent a harrowing, loud message a handful of other bands know how to do. Primitive Man set the bar high for Crowbar to up the ante.
As everyone’s vision began to sharpen while still under a state of lucidness, I double-checked my eyesight and got ready to witness the Motörhead of doom known as Crowbar. I was excited about this as I had not seen Crowbar since I last saw them open up for Municipal Waste at Brooklyn’s Warsaw in 2021. Crowbar delivered a thirteen-song set of thick, skull-crushingly heavy Nola-made doom they are best known for.
When Crowbar started their set with Conquering, they got the pit going non-stop, never slowing down, grabbed everyone by the jugular, and got everyone instantly hooked for nearly an hour. For sure, Brooklyn brought the thunder. From that point, their set list consisted of songs from earlier material and new songs like It’s Always Worth the Gain and included many sledding cuts such as Negative Pollution, I Feel the Burning Sun, All I Had (I Gave), and more.
Kirk Windstein’s brooding, melancholic vocals were able to boom through a now mitigating mist to push Saint Vitus over the edge. There was hardly a moment you heard Kirk not chug or sing. While their set was fantastic, nothing could compare to Crowbar’s overall presence and consistent performance. Sure, you do have Kirk Windstein, an icon in his own right, but I think Crowbar’s sweeping lineup of Tommy Buckley (drums), Matt Brunson (guitar), and Shane Wesley (bass) are even heavier live than in the studio. Like always, Kirk and company showed great energy and some charming stage banter from Windstein himself. It was great to see Kirk wearing a Carnivore shirt. If you’re from Brooklyn and know metal like I do, you know what’s up with the significance of that shirt.
Barrelling against the changeover, Crowbar ended their set with Planets Collide and Like Broken Glass. After the show, I left with a black-toothed grin on my face. With an overarching great two nights of enjoying two different styles of metal, Igorrr and Crowbar provided a fun test of endurance. I headed back to the land of Williamsburg but would return to Saint Vitus a week later to see Unearth and Revocation bring Greenpoint to dust.
