(Our friend Ben Manzella returns to NCS with his reflections about and photos of the performances by John Haughm, Dawnbringer, and Agalloch in San Francisco CA on February 17th of this year.)
I’m not sure of the origin of the saying, “When it rains, it pours.” However, it seemed rather fitting for the night I thankfully made it in to see Agalloch in San Francisco. I had decided to take a brief trip up from Los Angeles for an art event at a gallery called Studio Fallout that was the same day as Agalloch’s concert and wanted to finally see them live after thinking I’d never have a chance when they broke up a few years ago.
Adding to the rarity/uniqueness of the event, Dawnbringer was announced as the opener in their first Bay Area show in close to a decade, and John Haughm of Agalloch started the evening by playing solo material, which is also a rare treat.
As I waited in line and the rain mixed with wind pelted us all, I heard conversations revealing the various distances people in the crowd had traveled for the concert. I briefly chatted with someone who I believe said they came from North Carolina; a person I briefly talked with between sets mentioned Colorado; and a person standing next to me in line, from a few hours north of San Francisco. Since no other shows are scheduled at the moment, it was clear that the excited audience was beyond ready to enjoy a great night of music together.
I try to explain this whenever I can to people who don’t listen to metal, but their attention isn’t always easy to grasp: The camaraderie you encounter at some metal concerts is special; I can’t quite word it correctly, but you could sense a sort of glee about the night, while the music is so often described with words like “grim” or “harsh.”
After some confusion at the door, I entered the familiar and grand ballroom of the Regency where I’d previously seen bands like At the Gates and Machine Head. I forget the exact time, but the atmosphere quickly shifted as John Haughm started his solo performance.
Leaning in the direction of sound art and atmospheric music, stark black and white images were shown throughout the set as John stood with his guitar, reminding me a bit of Carl McCoy from the band Fields of the Nephilim. The music seemed to overwhelm me emotionally in the best way. I was near tears from the atmosphere and enjoying the overall rapture of feeling caused by his compositions. I’d highly recommend listening to 1865 // 1895: Cast.Iron.Blood and also being on the lookout for his solo work in the future.
As you might notice, a photo or two of mine are from behind John. I was guided by the stage manager that night to a balcony of sorts on the side of the stage for a unique view to make some photos. I use the word “make” rather than the common term of “taking” photos because I like to look at it as more of a collaborative process of documenting the concert, but I won’t waste your time with my philosophies.
If you’re a fan of music fit for a dystopian book or film and overall grandiose film scores, I think you are likely to enjoy John Haughm’s solo music.
While my familiarity with Dawnbringer was limited, I was grateful to have an opportunity to see them live since, as I mentioned, it doesn’t seem they play often or at least not much on the West Coast. Dawnbringer seems to have roots deep in the early tradition of heavy metal and brings to mind originators like Rob Halford and Dio. Guitars and drums combine for a sense of forward momentum as you hear songs that sound like they could soundtrack a fantasy movie or an afternoon playing Dungeons and Dragons while the bass rumbles along like the pattern of someone running toward battle. The band was not only glad to be playing, but even ended their set by saying they also shared in the collective excitement about seeing Agalloch’s headlining set that night.
Dawnbringer‘s set featured a mix of songs from what I believe is their most well-known release through Profound Lore, a record entitled Nucleus, as well as some from their latest EP called XX. They also played a few parts of Into the Lair of the Sun God, a concept record released in 2012. If you consider yourself a fan of traditional heavy metal and haven’t spent time with Dawnbringer before, I think you’d do well to fix that.
Even now as I recall the show, I feel a bit choked up and emotional. I think I’m still realizing some of the emotions seeing Agalloch for the first time seemed to bring up in me. Without meaning to start on a tangent, I was introduced to Agalloch through an older neighbor whom I haven’t spoken with in many years. It felt like a sort of closure to finally hear songs in person that I remembered discovering 15 to 20 years ago in the small town I grew up in.
As the scent of incense was breathed in, Agalloch was treated to a thunderous response from the audience as they started the song “Limbs” from their 2006 record Ashes Against the Grain. Showcasing at least one song from each of their full-length LPs, I can’t imagine anyone honestly leaving the Regency saying they were in any way disappointed.
At one point early on, I had been trying to make a photo of John and I heard a crash behind me. As I turned around expecting to see a security guard, I realized guitarist Don Anderson had run and dropped himself to the stage floor as he vigorously strummed his guitar part. I went from being concerned to thrilled at being able to make such a close-up photo in a huge ballroom like the Regency.
It was clear that as meaningful as the night was for the fans in the audience, it also was a special experience for the members of Agalloch, as John recalled for the crowd their first time playing San Francisco in 2003 and other banter throughout the night that made a large room feel more intimate than I’d have thought possible.
I won’t bother trying to predict whether Agalloch will play live again, but it does sound like they have a release planned for a previously filmed concert that took place in San Francisco, and fans were encouraged to look out for that in the future. The debate of black metal versus progressive metal or atmospheric metal is tired and hopefully dead. All I know is that I walked out of the Regency around midnight grateful to have heard songs I never expected to hear live.
5 Responses to “SHOW REVIEW: AGALLOCH AND DAWNBRINGER IN SAN FRANCISCO, FEB. 17, 2024”
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Will have to look for a Dawnbringer set. Hopefully they played something from Night of the Hammer. That is their best album IMO.
From what I saw on setlist.fm and what I could remember, they didn’t play anything from Night of the Hammer. I’d gladly see them again, especially after seeing them with Agalloch. Thanks for taking the time to read my review.
Thanks for the review. It brings back some of the intense emotions I felt when I saw Agalloch live at Prophecy Fest last year.
And I believe I perfectly understand what you mean about feeling connected to absolute strangers on a metal conert.
Thanks for reading, Maartje. As I mentioned in the review, I couldn’t have predicted getting the chance to see Agalloch after all this time and I’m grateful to share my review. Cheers!
I, too, flew up from Los Angeles – just to see the show! Flew into SFO, rented a car, and stayed at a motel just a few blocks from the theater.
It was great to see them again, after thinking that 2013 would be the last time I ever could.
The real treat, though, was John Haum’s solo performance! But for the life of me I can’t remember the name of the song.