The Traveling Circus Returns to the Desert At Brooklyn Bowl, November 8
All Photos By Rocky Kessenger – Through the Metal Lens
Las Vegas can be unpredictable when it comes to heavy shows. Some nights the crowd burns hot, other nights the desert heat sucks the life out of the room before the first riff even hits. I’ve shot enough gigs here to have opinions all over the place but every touring photographer I’ve ever met has told me the same thing: “Wait until you shoot at the Brooklyn Bowl.”
They were right!
The Brooklyn Bowl nails that perfect middle ground; big enough for chaos, small enough to stay personal. And if you’re going to test the room, it doesn’t get much better than Avatar, Alien Weaponry, and SpiritWorld. Three bands, three different takes on heavy music, all built on performance and atmosphere.
This night hit differently. I’ve seen Avatar seven times before and tonight made it eight. My wife, Trudy, had seen them four times, and this was her fifth. Our daughter, The Man with the Backpack, has seen them five times and actually bought us VIP tickets the day the tour was announced. She couldn’t join us this time; she’s out of the country. Her and this guy over at KNAC.COM are the reason we were there. Avatar was her first show, and her first piece of merch still hangs in her closet. For us, this band isn’t just a favorite, it’s a soundtrack to our family’s life.
SpiritWorld – Death Western Salvation
Vegas’ own SpiritWorld opened the night, and no one could’ve done it better. The lights dropped, and the band stepped out dressed in charro suits, Yellow and Black and Turquoise under blood-red light. They looked like they’d just walked out of a demonic rodeo, almost a Helldorado for the damned. The guitars hit hard, and suddenly the Brooklyn Bowl felt like a desert cathedral vibrating with hellfire.
They didn’t talk much, just enough to let everyone know family was in the house, and they were there to rip the place apart. From the first hit of ““Relic of Damnation,”” they owned the stage. Frontman, Stu Folsom, stalked the front edge with preacher energy, swinging his mic cord like a lasso. The band’s Death Western sound equal parts dust, blood, and distortion filled every inch of the venue, pushing the air heavy and loud.
The floor started thin but woke up fast. By “Comancheria”, the pit had doubled. Stu moved with natural command, pacing like he was wrangling demons. Before the final song, he leaned into the mic and shouted, “We’ll be out there after come get your shit signed.” Later, when I passed the merch area to check if I could get my back patch (yeah, I’ve got a patch problem), the line was insane wrapped around the table to the bar, people grinning ear to ear. I didn’t have time to wait, but that said everything. Fuck yeah, SpiritWorld! You earned that line.
Alien Weaponry – Calm Before the War
When Alien Weaponry took the stage, the tone shifted. The lights dimmed, and a low Māori chant rolled through the Bowl, deep and haunting. It wasn’t a gimmick it was a call to arms. Then the first riff hit, and the calm was gone.
“Rū Ana Te Whenua” and “Mau Moko” came first, tight, pounding, and precise. Their sound is physical: groove and thrash laced with ancestral rhythm. Every hit from the drums felt like a heartbeat. Halfway through ““Taniwha,”” guitarist, Lewis de Jong, snapped a string mid-riff. He finished the song through, laughingly telling the crowd, “That’s twice I’ve broken that fucking string on this tour!” The crowd roared back in appreciation. Only, three shows in, I think they are playing hard!
No downtime, no hesitation; they went straight into “Te Riri o Tāwhirimātea” and “Kai Tangata”. The stomp of the drums synced with the floor, and the whole room moved as one. Alien Weaponry doesn’t rely on chatter; their silence between songs feels deliberate, heavy with intent. When they finished, it wasn’t a polite applause, it was a release.
Avatar – The Traveling Circus Unleashed
The lights dimmed again, and anticipation hung heavy. As I waited for Avatar to take the stage, I looked back through the crowd and saw Trudy, high above me on the rail, horns raised high. She caught the first photo of the night before the smoke, before the lights, before the chaos. That image alone summed it up: her looking down, me below, both waiting for the circus to begin.
Grey smoke rolled across the stage, lanterns glowing through the haze. The silhouettes appeared, the roar swelled, and then Johannes Eckerström emerged lantern in hand, grin wide, part ringleader, part prophet. The first notes of ““Captain Goat”” thundered out, pulling everyone straight into the Don’t Go Into the Forest world.
Avatar doesn’t just perform, they build worlds. Each track connects like chapters in a story. Theatrical lighting, calculated movement, and John Alfredsson’s drum kit literally splitting mid-show it’s all designed to draw you in. ““Silence in the Age of Apes”” and ““In the Airwaves”” kept the momentum surging, and “Bloody Angel” landed like it always does for me;melodic, emotional, and brutal in all the right ways.
Then came the quiet shift. A grand piano rolled to center stage. The lights turned gold as Johannes sat and played ““Howling at the Waves.”” When the last note faded, he looked up, smirked, and said, “Do you like my new jacket? It’s my piano jacket. It would be such a shame to take it off so soon.” The crowd laughed, and he slid straight into ““Tower.”” That song always hits so fucking hard, pure emotion channeled through restraint and release.
Next came “Glory to Our King”, as Jonas was rolled out seated on a massive throne chair for the guitar intro/solo; the shift in scene was like watching the next act of a stage play unfold. The set swelled into “Legend of the King”, and by the time “Let It Burn” hit (another personal favorite), the floor was a sea of movement. The pit was a 50 plus deep, lights blinding, and the band locked in.
Then came “Tonight We Must Be Warriors”. It might be taking over as my new favorite. I was up above the floor by then, camera in hand, watching it all unfold from a distance. The crowd’s chant was deafening, echoing through the rafters, but what hit hardest wasn’t the noise it was the moment.
As that chorus rang out, Trudy looked up from the rail, and for a few beats, it was just the two of us both singing woah oh oh oh, woah oh oh oh, both shouting those words back toward the stage like we’d waited years to do it. It wasn’t about the band anymore; it was about the connection, the release, the kind of shared moment that lives in your bones long after the lights fade.
When the stage finally went dark, Johannes Eckerström came back out grinning, Mic in hand, and told the crowd, “Some bands only play one song for an encore but we’re different; we do two because we’re twice as good.”
The room erupted.
They launched into “Dance Devil Dance”, then “Smells Like a Freakshow”, and closed with “Hail the Apocalypse”. Confetti, smoke, and catharsis everything a finale should be.
A Circus Worth Following
If SpiritWorld brought the sermon and Alien Weaponry brought the ritual, Avatar brought the spectacle!
All three understood what most forget; metal is theater. It’s not just sound; it’s storytelling through volume, sweat, and identity. SpiritWorld turned the stage into a post-apocalyptic chapel. Alien Weaponry made it a battleground. Avatar turned it into a traveling carnival where chaos and beauty coexist.
This wasn’t a typical Vegas night, it was connection, emotion, and family told through sound.
As the last confetti fell and the house lights rose, I looked to see Trudy still smiling from the rail. After the year she’s had, that image is burned in my mind.
I’ve shot a lot of shows in this city, some loud, some forgettable but every so often one hits you right in the chest.
Some nights you photograph a concert.
Other nights, you photograph history in motion!
This was the latter.
Stay Safe, Stay Freaky and…Always be Kind
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Rocky Kessenger – Through the Metal Lens
