Gaza @ Aladdin Jr's, Pomona. 12/10/12.

Gaza's music is challenging. Some might call it abrasive, ugly, or sheer noise...I call it tragic. Imagine the Frankenstein Monster immolating himself after throwing that poor girl into the pond. Gaza's blend of hardcore/grind/sludge and even shoegaze, sound like the woeful screams of the Universal monster.

Back in 2010, I saw Gaza nearly steal the show not once, but twice, when they opened for my beloved Converge. I've been hooked ever since. From my spot perched above the stage (on some sketchy wood pallets), I watched Gaza knock the Pomona audience into a stupor. New songs off their glorious 2012 album, No Absolutes In Human Suffering were absolutely crushing live. New jams such as "This We Celebrate" and "The Truth Weighs Nothing" mixed with older tracks "Calf" and "Canine Disposal Unit," it was enough to make want to jump off my perch and raise hell on the floor. Of course I couldn't do that, I had a birds-eye view of Gaza's drummer Casey Hansen shredding his kit all night.

I watched young fans in the crowd, who had previously moshed their hearts out during opening act Code Orange Kids, stand mouth aghast during the heavy mindfuck sludge parts of Gaza's music. Jon Parkins, Gaza's vocalist/frontman/tallest dude in the building, spent most of his time offstage. He was on the floor, interacting with the crowd often times screaming without a microphone and still manged to be heard.

Gaza aren't rock stars. I don't think the word "ego" is in any of the band member's vocabularies. I went to both Southern California stops on their 2010 tour with Converge. After their set on night one, I asked Jon if they could play my favorite Gaza song "Hospital Fat Bags" during their set in night two. They did. Instant lifetime respect points earned.

Gaza make ugly, tragic, fucked up music that reflects the ugly, tragic fucked up world we live in. They say the first step toward recovery is admitting you have a problem. Gaza has doing most the lifting for the human race in that department since 2004. Keep up the good work fellas.

*BONUS VIDEO*
My favorite Gaza song. DAT ENDING: