Machinist! Throws down at Ashley Street Station

On Friday a couple of weeks ago I was filling up my gas tank to head out to band practice as I do every week and my phone pinged in my pocket. When I pulled it out to see the random facebook message from a friend I found a flyer for a show happening that next Sunday at a local venue called “Ashley Street Station” in Valdosta, Georgia and it had the Machinist! logo really large at the top. I had never seen Machinist! live, but I was fan of their music having discovered them almost a full year prior while digging around the area for local venues for my band Largess to play at. Also on the flyer was Drosera and Cursed Birth, two bands I had not heard of previously so I was stoked to check them out and get a real feel for the local scene as I have not seen any metal or punk shows in the area in the five years that i’ve lived in the area.

Sunday I showed up to my band space around 6 and watched a cover band that also uses the space finish their rehearsal session while everyone “pre-gamed” and made sure they had cash for the cover before heading out to the venue. It was only about a twenty minute drive from the small town we all met in and we paid to get in around 8pm, which was about as easy as it gets for a venue. Here’s some cash, a couple of us needed our hands X’d out, since they were under 21, the usual. It wasn’t too busy or packed so we were able to find a table against the wall close to the stage, although I wish I would have paid more attention to the chalk all over the walls where many people have left messages over the years because I was wearing all black, and leaning on it. I went to use the bathroom and found most of the bands equipment in the next room and I could tell who the bands were because they were standing near the stage scanning the room.

Drosera, a metallic hardcore band from Gainesville Florida opened the show up at around 8:30 with their vocalist jumping down off the stage to perform inside of the crowd for most of the set, and instantly had the crowd moving and push moshing around the room. Then there was a short change over and time for me to take a smoke break before the next band went on.

Cursed Birth, a numetal-core band also from Gainesville Florida started their set and the crowd energy immediately went back to 10, with everyone push moshing and head banging along. It was during their set that I decided to get closer to the stage to take a few photos and mistakenly had my right ear right next to the monitor. Yeah, don’t do that. Didn’t stop ringing for a week, but I didn’t care because it was all good times and good vibes in the building. Also during their set I had a young kid get straight flatlined into the wall next to me, but I just bent down and helped him up and he went right back into the pit like a trooper. After they finished their set the crowd asked them to play just one more song, but they declined because nobody wants to be the band who messes up the time slots. So we head back out to the car for another smoke break and a drink, because for some unknown reason at the time, they were not serving drinks that night. Don’t worry, we did in fact have a DD.

We came back in to find another band on stage and some quick sound checks going on with one minor technical issue which the venue corrected almost quick enough that most people didn’t notice. Seemed like a mic cable wasn’t working, and was quickly changed out. Then the music started and the vocalist of Machinist! became an absolute animal and if the energy in the room was at a 10 with the last two bands it just got turned up to 11.

So, I feel like Machinist! needs a quick back story before we continue with the show. Machinist! was a band formed in Valdosta Georgia around 2011. Having started in the living room of another local band of the time Second Death, and playing their first gigs at the now closed Bleu Pub in downtown Valdosta covering “Brohymn” by Pennywise. They are OGs of the local scene and have played many venues that have popped up and are now gone, including having played many times at Ashley Street Station but haven’t played in Valdosta in the last two years. This was sort of a come back show in the local scene for them.

Alright back at the show, Machinist! was working up a sweat and really throwing down for us and was a great live introduction for me seeing them for the first time. You could feel that they were enjoying this show, just as much as room pushing each other around was. At one point the vocalist pointed out that his daughter was in the crowd and dedicated a song to her, before pushing their bassist off of the stage into the crowd who carried him around for a moment before taking him back to the stage. As they closed out the set and headed for the merch tables to talk with people it was almost impossible to get out of the door because everyone filed in to meet the band and snag a t shirt. It was great to see the support those guys were getting at the door.

I reached out to Machinist! to ask what their future plans are and they responded:

“As far as band plans we are currently writing for the next release. Hopefully late this year early next year that’ll drop. Just depends on how long it takes to get it on the level. As far as touring we’ve slowed down some over the past few years due to grown up shit but we will absolutely be running across the world somewhere this year for sure. Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us! We are so fortunate to still get to do this and be a part of this community. None of us are free until all of us are free. See you on the road. “