Well, well, well. Brian Cook of Russian Circles and Botch fame was apparently pulling one over on us all when he basically said back in March that Botch would not be playing live despite recently releasing their first new music in decades.
Telling Everflowing Stream at the time:
“I’ve learned not to say never to that, but the circumstances would have to be very specific and I honestly can’t imagine what those circumstances would be at this point. And, man… it would freak me the fuck out. To put on a Botch show the way we used to put on Botch shows… I’m 44 years old and I don’t know if my body could handle throwing itself around onstage all night and all that’s stuff. I bruise too easily these days.”
Last night, sounds like Botch finally found those “very specific circumstances” to justify playing live. The surprise gig was apparently in honor of the birthday of their producer, the legendary Matt Bayles.
Here’s some footage of Botch’s live return from Rich Hall, an also legendary booking agent that was at the center of the late 90’s and early 2000’s hardcore scene, booking shows at CBGB’s (R.I.P.) and beyond.
Does this mean more Botch shows are in the cards? We don’t know for certain, but we’d put some money down that it’s inevitable.
Watch footage of Botch’s surprise show, their first in 20 years:
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