The Anvil drops on Utah

Seeing Canadian heavy metal rockers Anvil take the stage Monday night with "surprise guests" Scott Ian of Anthrax and Slash was the perfect way to end a day that began with seeing the group in their darkest hour. The documentary "Anvil! The True Story of Anvil" has already gotten lots of attention here and here. I won't add to the film's synopsis except to say that seeing singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow attempting to rock out in some of Eastern Europe's most foreboding rock joints for no pay, then returning home to raise his child with a hopeful smile on his face was as anguishing as any invented Sundance-drama-type misfortunes I've yet seen.

If you ever watched "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" and wondered what those guys would be like minus the scads of money they had to blow on life coaches, you get an answer with Anvil.

Reminiscent of a previous Sundance doc, "American Movie," Anvil's story is something we're preconditioned to snicker at. Who could resist rolling their eyes at some aging, balding, semi-anonymous metal dude trying desperately to achieve his dreams of rock demi-godhood? But no longer. Seeing "Anvil" should give anyone who ever perused a county fair performance lineup and mused "They're still performing?" reason to find newfound respect for the dedication involved.

OK, maybe a little snickering is all right.

But seeing Kudlow, drummer Robb Reiner, and the rest of Anvil on stage at Sundance (in their first-ever Utah appearance) was seeing that dream finally begin to become a reality.

"Can you believe they made a movie about me?" Kudlow mused on stage. His persona slipping from the seemingly dangerous singer of songs such as "Sex, Sex, Sex" into his real-world voice of a kinda goofy middle-aged dad.

"Somebody pinch me," he said, looking over at Ian and Slash, just before the band launched into a cover of "Cat Scratch Fever."

The cover to get into the Star Bar was an exorbitant $40, but I didn't feel bad shelling it out. Here's hoping the band finally got paid tonight.

-- Patrick Day

(Photo: "Lips" Kudlow rocks out with Slash during "Cat Scratch Fever")

Comments

[Metal Deah Head]

Wow....saw this band alot in the 80s and really liked them. Glad to ehar they are still around. And I am not surprised that they can attract attention for their perserverance after all these years. One thing I always liked about them was the fact that they played with smiles on their faces and not the obligatory metal scowl. I did have the chance to meet Lipps once when friends of mine were opening for them at a local club. He was really cool and very grateful that I told him how much I enjoyed watching them open for Aerosmith a few months earlier. Its nice to see nice guys dont always finish!