GWAR Brings Another Bloodbath to Denver: Photos

GWAR transformed Summit Music Hall into a blood-sprayed alien arena on November 5, and Denver fans couldn’t have been happier about it.

Helmet, the Dwarves and Blood Vulture opened the night with no-frills, heavy sets that worked like a primer coat, allowing for more controlled crowd surfing before the full meltdown arrived.

Then GWAR came out and immediately turned the venue into a splash zone. GWAR has been using concerts as horror theater that blends metal, satire, and absurdist gore for more than four decades — long before it was cool (or even socially acceptable). Even with lineup changes and the passage of time, the spirit of the band remains fully alive.

It can be easy to forget that under all the latex, foam armor, and flying fluids, GWAR is still a very tight band with heavy riffs and confident pacing. The spectacle and satire aren’t lost by the music; they amplify each other. Noticeably absent from this show’s traditional parade of blood-spewing victims, however, were political villains; instead, the band opted to resurrect its beloved Gor Gor dinosaur character.

The crowd at Summit Music Hall was packed in like sardines, as fans angled to get closer and closer to the spew. GWAR fans don’t shy away from the campy carnage; they lean all the way into it, even going so far as to participate as victims on stage as part of a VIP package. Everyone lined the rail in white shirts, hoping to make their own special merch to take home. By the end of the night, everyone looked like they had survived some kind of comic-book battlefield, with red and blue dye dripping all the way to the sidewalk outside.

See photos from the show below: