Just when I thought that I hadn’t been to enough shows this summer, I ended up going to three over the course of five days. This was the perfect way to get ready for vacation.

This particular post is about the band I saw Sunday and Tuesday. Yes, I did see them twice because they’re that awesome.

Daikaiju. It means “giant monster” in Japanese and let me tell you, they live up to their name. This is an Alabama-based instrumental rock band, whose members are probably insane. They wear masks and don’t speak during the entire performance.

You never know what you’re going to get going to one of their shows. The first night at Annabel’s in Akron was a bit more tame. There were shirtless men, cymbals on fire, drumming on bars, and lots of mask kisses.

Last night on the other hand, was exponentially more intense. In addition to the previously mentioned, they moved their instruments outside and played on the street. It was hard not to attract the local authorities with that kind of energy. Moshing was all the norm and one of the members crowd surfed.

Sweat and beer slung across the room as the band moved from room to room playing and encouraging the crowd to up the energy. As they wrapped up, the crowd carried the drummer and his instruments out to their van as he was still playing. How cool is that?

I have never seen a show like this one and I am happy to have experienced it. Even if their shows aren’t your thing, you can still appreciate their music. The skill to which they play is awe-inspiring. You would be doing yourself a disservice by not at least listening to them. Trust me.

Thanks for reading,