In the Company of Serpents’ Nasty Night at Bar Bar

Grant Netzorg: “My friend Erich was fronting the punk band Crash back then, and he’d invited us to play their show.

“While we were setting up, we were approached by Crash’s drummer, Critter. He had these super-bright construction lights and asked if we wanted to use them. I said something to the effect of, ‘Sure, thanks,’ without realizing it was going to simultaneously blind me and raise the temperature by about fifteen degrees.

“We got started, and next thing I know, Critter is beside me, decked out in a fifteen-pound leather biker jacket (it was easily 100 degrees Fahrenheit in there) and a gas mask, skanking around like the dude in the DRI logo. He kept bumping into us both, but it was an energetic debut. We looked good with the floor lighting, despite the near-heatstroke. My one regret was that my significant other decided to split before we played, but I can’t blame her: When she arrived, the bartender informed her that one of the daytime regulars had shit his pants on the only remaining bar stool.”

In the Company of Serpents will open for Godflesh at the Oriental Theater on Friday, December 7.

Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work.