Ezra Set for Return to 1st Avenue After Two Decades

By Karynn Brown
Image via Ezra Facebook
Dec. 14, 2017Longtime Lincoln death metal band EZRA will return to the 1st Avenue Social Hall for the first time in twenty years.

Saturday’s show starts at 9 p.m. (doors open at 8 p.m.) and will feature opening acts Deadechoes, Night Push, and Red Cities. Tickets are available for $5 advance of $10 day of show at 1st Avenue Social Hall, 2310 N. 1st St., or Music Go Round.

The last time EZRA played this venue was 1997. Since then the band has gone on to perform several shows with metal favorites including L.A. Guns, Gwar, and Pentagram. EZRA has recently performed several shows in downtown Lincoln including a pre-Halloween show with Traffic Death and a show in late November with Crowbar, Combs, Incite and Tricounty Terror.

Largely a performance-only band, EZRA has little recorded music available from their 20-year run. They specialize in loud, dark and heavy-handed rock. A longtime project for several local musicians, EZRA is composed of brothers Raws and Scott Schlesinger on drums and guitar/vocals as well as bassist Brad Mourningstar.

Raws Schlesinger has continued to do work in the Lincoln musical community as the leather-studded DJ Plack Blague.

Ezra’s strobe light-fog machine- hair-whipping- sweat-dripping- never-ending- riffs rock will be showcased alongside Deadechos, another Lincoln death metal band. Formed in 2002, Deadechoes is a three-piece band highlighting American-style thrash and death metal music. Inspired by the likes of Slipnot, Pantera and Cannibal Corpse, Deadechos has produced two albums and a demo reel in their 15-year long musical career.

Night Push, self-described on Facebook as “get down on your sleaze and prey” will join the fun Saturday night as well. This five-piece group of locals focuses in on punk metal works with heavy, repetitious rhythms and drawing ballad style vocals. Their 2015 album Pushing in the Night features two singles released on Youtube, “Night Push” and “Backseat”.

Red Cities also joins the bill for the night, bringing a punk-garage feel to the collection of death rock. Their latest album Soft Target was released on Modern Peasant records in October, with recording help from locals Fuse Recordings.Soft Target is their second full length album, alongside a self-titled work released in August of 2014, and two EPs. The four-person rock band shows heavy classic rock influences. A mix of sounds rooted in the alternative, garage, and punk movements, Red Cities brings lots of familiar energy to any show.

The 1st Avenue Social Hall Venue stands to commemorate not only 20 years of the business, but one of Ezra’s first shows in Lincoln. Their last appearance at the venue was in 1997, just as the band was starting out. The sports bar and event hall in west Lincoln has been open for live music, dances, and weddings for the last 20 years. Ezra’s 20-year anniversary show stands as a chance to commemorate Lincoln history in venue and music.

Visit the Facebook event page for more information.