Three of the area’s best metal and rock bands joined forces for Winter Rockfest 4 showing that rock ‘n’ roll is still alive and kicking some ass in the Reno/Sparks music scene. Anchors for Airplanes, Seasons of Insanity, and Authmentis hit the stage at Mummers Bar in Sparks for the show.
All three bands drew their fans to the show, so attendance was good.
Up first was Anchors for Airplanes playing their first show in four months. AFA has been leaving their mark all over northern Nevada since 2013. Current band members are Brandon Blanco (lead vocals, guitar), Cory Walker (lead guitar), Travis Ambrose (bass), and John Wooten (drums).
I’ve covered this band many times before. The thing that’s most consistent about AFA is that they continue to get better at every show. The band got 45 minutes to rock the stage, and that they did. The set list looked something like this:
- “Heart of Sin”
- “Believe”
- “Life of a Murder”
- “Bush Cover”
- “Right Now”
- “Skyrise”
- “Shelter”
Reno rockers and three-time Forte Award winners Seasons of Insanity (SOI) hit the stage next. SOI has a long history of rocking Reno and Sparks. The band was formed in 2005 and members include Shane Whitecloud (lead vocals), Jeff Montgomery (lead guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Tarpey (guitar), Steve “Guss” Caba (bass), and Rick Brenner (drums).
Seasons of Insanity cleaned up at the 2017 Forte Awards, cashing in on three awards. They won Best Rock Band, Best Guitarist: Jeff Montgomery, and Best Bassist: Steve ‘Gus” Caba. Watching and listening to SOI proves that these guys really deserved all four of the Forte Awards they won.
During the band’s set, SOI frontman Shane Whitecloud announced to the crowd that he had popped the question on Christmas Day to Amanda McGuire, his girlfriend of four years and mother of his second son “Chord.”
SOI also got 45 minutes of stage time with the set list featuring:
- “Snake Oil”
- “Renewed Esteem”
- “Gallon of Homemade Wine”
- “Unsung Hero”
- “Wayside”
- “Hell Yeah”
- “Wasted”
- “Wanted Man”
- “As My Own”
Finishing up the night was the headliner, Authmentis. This four-piece rock band from Reno formed in early 2005 with band members Sam Spivey (lead vocals, guitar), Casey Alden (lead guitar, backing vocals), Matt Spivey (bass), and Jermey Orris (drums).
Just like the other bands, Authmentis got 45 minutes to finish the night off with a blistering set that had the crowd rocking the entire time. The set went like this:
- “DIY”
- “Echoes”
- “Flux”
- “Bone Shovel”
- “Departed”
- “Dive”
- “Dark Soul”
- “Casque”
- “Lucid”
- “Seraph”
- “Hollow”
- “Fear”
- “Dead Lights”
All-in-all this was a very good show for the area’s music scene. Mummers Bar is proving to be a great venue that’s not afraid to let the metal and rock bands do their thing and rock the masses. Other venues around town should take notice that rock ‘n’ roll will never die, metal included.
It’s shows like this — three awesome bands, a great venue, and of course plenty of rock ‘n’ roll – that demonstrate why everyone should always remember to support your local bands and venues … Go to a show!
