Weedeater w/ Telekinetic Yeti, Restless Spirit, & Possum Rot Live at Grantski Records!
On March 19th, Grantski Records announced that stoner metal legends Weedeater w/ Telekinetic Yeti & Restless Spirit would grace their stage on the final slot for their current tour. I knew this show would sell out or get close to it. Having these three metal bands play downtown in Augusta, GA is a huge deal for the metalheads in the area. Grantski Records has been booking some killer metal acts of all kinds since they built the stage in their record store. And since then, metal bands have kept coming to tear up downtown Augusta. This Saturday evening was no different with this wicked lineup that melted some minds with each blistering performance. Many thanks to Evan at Grantski Records for keeping his commitment to revitalizing the scene in downtown Augusta, GA.
Kicking off the evening was one of my favorite Georgia metal bands, Possum Rot. Possum Rot is a stoner metal band from Augusta, Georgia that formed back in 2017. The band consists of Matt Poppell (vocals/guitar), Tyler Milford (vocals/bass), and Evan Grantski (drums). They have released four (4) singles to date: “Do It Again”, “Pestilence”, “Smoke”, and “Prisoner of The Dirt”. Imagine if Black Sabbath and Red Fang had a doom/sludge metal love child, then that could describe the power that Possum Rot exhumes while on stage. This would be my second time seeing Possum Rot after finally getting the chance when they opened for Bongzilla last year at Grantski Records. I still feel guilty for not catching Possum Rot perform all these years, but you must start sometimes I suppose.
Check out their socials and consider giving Possum Rot some support on Instagram and Facebook. Follow this link to Possum Rot’s Official Bandcamp page today and give them some support!
Restless Spirit is a stoner/doom metal band from Long Island, N.Y. that has been active since 2018 and signed to Magnetic Eye Records. Restless Spirit consists of Marc Morello (bass, Paul Aloisio (guitar/vocals), and Jon Gusman (drums). They have released three (3) LPs, four (4) EPs, and one (1) single. Restless Spirit took the stage and proceeded to rip through a set of some of their most powerful songs for the crowd at Grantski Records. This was my first time catching Restless Spirit and I was excited to see them perform in such a small, intimate venue. The energy they proceeded to give the crowd while performing on stage is electric and I recommend you take the time to check them performing live or on any music streaming platform.
Check out Restless Spirit’s setlist from their Grantski Records performance:
· “Judgement and Exile”
· “Marrow”
· “Miserable Existence/Unrest”
· “Cascade Immolator”
· “Lord of the New Depression”
· “From the Dust Returned”
· “All Furies”
Head over to Restless Spirit’s Official Bandcamp page today and check out some rad tunes!
Telekinetic Yeti is a stoner/doom metal band from Dubuque, Iowa, making heads bang since 2015. Telekinetic Yeti consists of Alex Baumann (guitar/vocals) and Rockwell Heim (drums). They are signed to Sump Pump Records and have released two (2) LPs with Primordial (2022) being the latest release. Like Restless Spirit, this would be my first time watching Telekinetic Yeti, and this performance did not let me down. I know a few people in attendance who have never seen them perform like me and left that night as fans of Telekinetic Yeti. For a duo, Telekinetic Yeti can pack a mighty punch and get very loud. In a few weeks, Telekinetic Yeti will make another appearance in my column when they open for John Garcia (Kyuss/Slo Burn/Hermano/Unida/John Garcia and the Band of Gold) at The Masquerade in Atlanta later in May.
You can see Telekinetic Yeti’s setlist from this evening’s show below:
· “Ghost Train”
· “Abominable”
· “Stoned and Feathered”
· “Ancient Nug”
· “Toke Wizard”
· “Stoned Ape Theory”
· “Himalayan Hymn”
Show them love and check out Telekinetic Yeti’s Bandcamp page to stream some of their music.
Wilmington, N.C. natives Weedeater, a stoner/sludge metal band, was founded in 1998. Weedeater consists of founding members Dave “Dixie” Collins (bass/vocals), Dave “Shep” Shepherd (bass), and Ramzi Ateyeh (drums) who joined the band in 2019. Weedeater has released five (5) LPs and has been signed to the French record label Season of Mist since November 2013. “Dixie” Dave Collins has been a part of some seminal bands in the stoner/sludge metal genre such as Buzzov*en, Bongzilla, Sourvein, Barstul, and Hail! Hornet in addition to being a founding member of Weedeater.
And now for the grand finale featuring the mighty Weedeater! What started with one of my favorite Weedeater songs, “Hammer Handle”, became one of the most ruthless Weedeater sets that I have seen. We were even treated to “God Luck and Good Speed” and back-to-back “Wizard Fight” which are also two songs from their discography that are always great to see live. We even had a special guest appearance from Black Tusk’s drummer James May on the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover “Gimme Back My Bullets” near the end of the night. I saw many smiles from people in the crowd as Weedeater performed a set of songs from their brutal discography.
Check out Weedeater’s setlist from this evening in Augusta, GA:
· “Hammer Handle”
· “Mancoon”
· “Turkey Warlock”
· “God Luck and Good Speed”
· “Wizard Fight”
· “For Evan’s Sake”
· “$20 Peanut”
· “Dirt Merchant”
· “Jason… The Dragon”
· “Monkey Junction”
· “Time Served”
· “Gimme Back My Bullets” (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover w/ Black Tusk’s James May)
· “Weed Monkey”
Weedeater is headed back on tour in the coming days with Rebelmatic and Cancerslug plus some dates supporting the legendary GWAR:
May 13 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506+
May 14 Savannah, GA El Rocko Lounge+
May 15 Knoxville, TN Brickyard+
May 16 Gainesville, GA Blackstrap Music Hall+
May 17 Little Rock, AR Mutants of the Monster Fest
May 19 Vancouver, BC Modified Ghost
May 21 Seattle, WA El Corazon^
May 22 Portland, OR Bossanova Ballroom^
May 24 Felton, CA Felton Music Hall^
May 25 Sacramento, CA Café Colonial^
May 26 Berkeley, CA Cornerstone^
May 28 Palmdale, CA Transplants^
May 30 Los Angeles, CA Regent Theatre^
May 31 Las Vegas, NV Swan Dive^
June 1 Phoenix, AZ Pub Rock^
June 2 Albuquerque, NM Inside Out^
June 3 Denver, CO HQ^
June 5 Chicago, IL Livewire^
June 7 Hartford, CT The Webster#
June 8 Reading, PA Reverb#
June 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club#
June 11 Columbia, SC The Senate#
June 12 Lexington, KY Manchester Music Hall#
June 13 Boone, NC Lily’s@
June 14 Birmingham, AL Iron City#
June 15 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall#
June 16 Destin, FL Club LA#
June 17 Tampa, FL The Ritz#
+ Cancerslug
^ Rebelmatic
# Supporting GWAR
@ Weedeater only
I.C.Y.M.I. Follow this link to check out a previous review for Weedeater (circa 2019) via Concerthopper and/or when they played the Snowblind Festival at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA. Also, you can follow this link to check out Weedeater’s Official Bandcamp page today!
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