Live music review: Eyehategod at Little Darlin 10th Anniversary

Thanks to the power of social media, bands like Crowbar and Eyehategod are drawing bigger crowds than they have in years—and honestly, good for them. Get that bag, dudes. You earned it. Somehow, the algorithm has decided the ultra-heavy hardcore riffs of the two New Orleans kingpins are worth worshiping, and the clips are endless; people talking about how chaotic EHG is and how gnarly Crowbar riffs are. And it’s not just old head nostalgia. The kids are showing up. And they’re selling venues out. The two bands went out on the road together, and if the show Sunday, April 26 at The Little Darlin’ is any indication, those rooms are filling up fast. Radio-friendly Metallica these bands are not.

Seeing Eyehategod play The Little Darlin’s 10th anniversary party, it was impossible not to notice how many kids were in the house. Tons of kids who needed Xs on their hands came in droves and bought multiple pieces of merch, to boot. That’s not nothing. That’s a new generation finding a band that’s spent decades grinding it out in clubs that smell like stale weed and bad decisions with questionable people.

Congrats to the Little Darlin’ for making it a decade. That’s a testament to building a community and keeping high, the threshold of what the bar is: the patio is nice, the drinks are cheap, and the vibe is forever—this is a rock n roll bar where you can take a date, go binge drinking, or celebrate ten years of being psychos with a band that notoriously sings about almost dying from multiple varieties of overdose.

As for EHG, they played the hits. Everything you want: “Jackass in the Will of God,” “Sister Fucker,” and “Medicine Noose.” I’ve seen them around twenty times between my years in New Orleans and my time in Austin. It’s one of those shows where you know you’re going to get your money’s worth. They’ve got some old-man seasoning from years of slogging it out in clubs, sure—but they still give it 100%.

Mean Mistreater were also on the bill. They’re good at what they do. I cannot stand bands like Iron Maiden, and I detest ’80s metal. If I see tight leather rocker pants, I want to commit seppuku. That said, Mean Mistreater are a solid band doing that genre justice. The singer has pipes that wail, and the lead guitar player can absolutely play his ass off. That’s my review. I have nothing more to say. You know why.

The house was full, the vibes were good, and the drink lines were long—exactly what the folks running the Little Darlin’ want to see. In a city that loses the good stuff all too often to some mixed-use, luxury condo nightmare, it was reassuring to see so many faces—old and new—showing up for a place that does it right.

More than that, it was good to see a room full of kids celebrating bands like Crowbar, Acid Bath, Eyehategod: loud, ugly, and gnarly—and us old heads feeling confident that the future of the underground is gonna be A-OK.

All photos by Justin Clark

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