Live: Otep in Indianapolis

In late 2012, Otep announced her forthcoming album- Hydra would be her last and that she would be retiring. However, in 2014, she called it off and was said to be working on new music. When she made her official return last year, Otep came back with a vengeance and a fury that we hadn’t seen from her in some time.

The record she had to present to us- Generation Doom had shades of early Otep and made longtime fans very happy. Not long after, she hit the road and she’s been out ever since. This year, she’s on a headline trek with a few different support acts for The Resistance World Tour, which recently hit Indy’s Emerson Theater with Brand of Julez.

The day of the show, Otep found herself in some controversial headlines with original tour opener- The Convalescence- who were removed from the tour. The band made some accusations against Otep, who fired back. It honestly just looked like a band who were upset about being removed from the tour since no bands had really made such claims in the past.

Opening the show was Indianapolis’ own A Taste of War, who had a good draw alone. The crowd seemed very familiar with the material and the band upped the ante from the very start. They had the energy, stage presence and crowd control to really make a difference and they have the potential to go far.

After A Taste of War finished, Brand of Julez took over for a huge change of pace. While ATOW was more hardcore or metalcore, Brand was more traditional rock with a southern twist. Their stage presence was dominant and their vocals and musicianship was impressive. While they were a bit of a surprise change for an Otep opener, they came close to stealing the show.

After the set change, Otep’s band hit the stage for an instrumental cover of “Raining Blood,” before leaving the stage to get ready for the rest of the show, and after a near 30 minute wait after the scheduled set time, Otep finally took the stage.

Even though she was late, it was well worth it. Even though the set was short, it was powerful- as is every Otep show. She doesn’t just put on a concert, it’s a full-on artistic experience. She played a great mix of older material combined with songs from Generation Zero and the crowd was rabid as ever. With Otep playing off of the crowd and them from her, it was a truly energetic experience that you can’t get anywhere else.

-Reggie Edwards

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