Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Venue: Walter Studios (https://walterstudios.com/ )
Date: Friday September 27th, 2025
Tour: Red & Blue Tour
If you have never been to Walter Studios, it is a small venue in downtown Phoenix on 7th Ave just south of the I10. It has 2 sides; one side is a bar/restaurant/art gallery the other side is a concert/entertainment venue. I have been there a few times and it is a very nice small venue. I believe the concert side can hold about 500 people. Check them out and see if they have any shows that you would like to see. Personally, I see a couple that I plan on attending this year.
Tonight was the first time I got to see a metal concert there. One of my favorite metal bands, Baroness was playing. This is the second time I got to see Baroness and I got to say they were even better this time. Baroness is an American heavy metal band from Savannah, Georgia that has been active since 2003. It currently consists of lead singer and guitarist John Baizle, fellow guitarist Gina Gleason, bass player Nick Jost and drummer Sebastian Thomson. Gina and Nick also provide backing vocals.
This tour is a celebration of two of Baroness’s albums, Red Album & Blue Album. They started with the songs from the Red Album. They started out very mellow and slow with “Rays of Pinion” and then picked it up on “The Birthing”. It was amazing to watch both Gina and John play. Gina is definitely the more energetic and dynamic. Just watching her dance her fingers across the guitar frets is worth seeing the concert for. John did not hold back either, his vocals were spot on and his guitar work as spectacular. Together they make a fantastic dual guitar team. Nick and Sebastian provide the glue that holds the music together. They create the heart pounding rhythm and dynamic baseline to moves the audience. But really it is the guitar work of the two guitarists that push the music over the top. Just watching them I get exhausted. What I really like about Baroness is that they create some amazing songs with very good lyrics. I never feel like they are shouting at me, but instead just pushing the music out there for us to enjoy. If you can’t tell, I am a huge Baroness fan and plan on going to see them again. In my opinion they are worth seeing multiple times, just to hear them and watch them perform. A lot of groups are boring, but not Baroness. Please check them out and go see them when they come to a town near you. You will not be disappointed.
The show started with the American Doom Metal band, Weedeater from Wilmington, North Carolina. They formed in 1998. They are a 3-piece band with lead singer and bass player Dave “Dixie” Collins, guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd and drummer Ramzi Ateyeh. Their most current album Goliathan, was released in 2015 which is now 10 years old. I did think it was strange that almost all of the songs tonight from prior albums, God Luck and Good Speed and Jason… The Dragon.
I am not really a Doom Metal fan. I enjoys some of the songs, but I find a lot of them sound the same to me, my personal opinion. I did enjoy a couple of Weedeater’s songs, “God Luck and Good Speed”, “Time Served” and their final song “Weed Monkey”.
I would like to comment of the idiots that shove their way to the front of the stage. And also, the ones that try to start a mosh pit by just slamming into anyone in the audience. We were all having a great time until some idiot (nice way of putting it) decided he wanted to be in the front and he came slamming up like a bull pushing everyone out of his way. Personally, I see no need for this. People that do this are just assholes. A lot of time people will move aside and let you move in. I also have no issue with people making a mosh pit. Where I have issues are with those idiots that believe they have the right to slam into anyone or hit them, especially if they are not part of the pit. This is what happened tonight. The same asshole that crashed his way to the front, then decided to start a mosh by slamming into me and the lady next to me. She was lucky enough to just be moved over. But I took the main hit and was knocked back. As I was falling to the floor, a number of people helped by trying to hold me up. Unfortunately, I still landed on my butt and back. Please, if you are going to create a mosh pit, do it with like-minded people. Please don’t hurt the people that are there to just see and listen to the band.
The following are the social media links for both bands. You can see if they are coming to a venue near you by looking on their website. I can highly recommend seeing Baroness. They are great and I can’t wait to see them again. Weedeater is more of a personal taste. Check out their music on any of the streaming services to see if you like their style.
Baroness Social Media sites:
Website: https://yourbaroness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YourBaroness/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourbaroness/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/baronessmusic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yourbaroness
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Weedeater Social Media sites:
Website: http://weedmetal.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weedmetal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weedeaterband
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw7LFHVtxf3ERhFGEqSWsMQ
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Barness Setlist:
Red Album:
Rays on Pinion
The Birthing
Isak
Wailing Wintry Wind
Cockroach En Fleur
Wanderlust
Aleph
Teeth of a Cogwheel
O’Appalachia
Grad
Blue Album:
Bullhead’s Psalm
The Sweetest Curse
Jake Leg
Steel That Sleeps the Eye
Swollen and Halo
Ogeechee Hymnal
A Horse Called Golgotha
O’er Hell and Hide
War, Wisdom and Rhyme
Blackpowder Orchard
The Gnashing
Bullhead’s Lament
Weedeater Setlist: (Album/Cover)
Bull (Sixteen Tons)
Hammerhandle (Jason… The Dragon)
Mancoon (Jason… The Dragon)
Turkey Warlock (Jason… The Dragon)
God Luck and Good Speed (God Luck and Good Speed)
Wizard Fight (God Luck and Good Speed)
For Evan’s Sake (God Luck and Good Speed)
$20 Peanut (God Luck and Good Speed)
Dirt Merchant
Jason… The Dragon (Jason… The Dragon)
Monkey Junction (… And Justice for Y’all)
Time Served (Sixteen Tons)
Gimme Back My Bullets (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Weed Monkey (God Luck and Good Speed)
