For 1000 fans, getting soaked with fake blood is not the bug, but the feature. On March 21st the intergalactic war aliens known as Gwar defended planet earth at Empire Live in Albany. The audience cheered, moshed and crowd surfed as it rained blood across the entire music hall. The immersive, satirical and yet campy, cult classic metal show still reins as the experience of a lifetime. 
Which is undoubtedly why Gwar is still active 42 years after conception. The Gor-Gor Strikes Back tour is a ninety minute set filled with humor, theatrics, crazy costumes, prehistoric dinosaurs, raw metal power and lots of blood. As I looked down from the balcony not a single person was unscathed, as I witnessed a hall full of white t-shirts dyed red. Which is what makes Gwar unforgettable.
As a rule, no one leaves unscathed from a Gwar concert and no one is sacred. The Scum Dogs of the Universe decapitated or dismembered effigies of political and pop-culture figures, from Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Taylor Swift, and the pope. However, this year’s set list included something a little out of pocket, a juxtaposed cover of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club.
All in all, I can honestly say I have been converted to a Gwar fan. The show has one of a kind energy to it and is extremely entertaining. The show is part performance art, part metal, part tongue in cheek, part raw and unfiltered. It was a bucket list experience that I embraced by allowing myself to get lost in the moment, joined the mosh pit and crowd surfed for the first time. 
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