Facedown Records mainstays A Plea For Purging recently made a stop in Christian hardcore hub (thank you RadioU) Columbus, OH for an intense show in the Skully’s Music Diner club. Victory Records‘ Corpus Christi of Cincinnati provided direct support for the show.
Due to a family commitment I didn’t catch the opening acts, arriving around 6 PM just in time to catch Corpus Christi beginning their set. The crowd was a bit on the sparse side (maybe due to the holiday weekend and early showtime) but the band give the show all they had. Corpus Christi has changed their lineup several times, but they look as strong as ever. A rare female bass player rounded out this metalcore quintet who provided her share of background screams. I’m not too familiar with their music but seeing them live makes me want to be. The sound mixing was superb and their passion was oh, so obvious. They had no qualms about putting out there where their true inspiration lies, which is “not the government, but Jesus Christ.”
Shortly after 6:45, Nashville’s A Plea For Purging took the stage. They played all their standbys, including “Heart of a Child”, “Shiver”, “And Weep”, and several others. They ended their set with the now classic “Malevolence.” The stage banter from Andy was simply hilarious – though this should be no surprise, considering the over-the-top nature of their music videos. I talked to him a bit before their set and he was a ton of fun. And, speaking of onstage banter I thought I’d pass on these public service announcements – 1) if you go into a random bar to use the restroom, buy something and leave a tip (Andy’s advice, per his story of the “most expensive dump he’s ever taken”) and 2) Buy A Plea For Purging merch, so they can support themselves after Andy just spent his life savings on a Harley motorcycle (pissing off his girlfriend). All joking aside, the band was AWESOME. Many bass drops, breakdowns, and superb musicianship had the medium-sized crowd getting really into it (they had grown since Corpus Christi’s set). Catch these guys live if you can.
