Baroness: If You Know You Know - Columbus, OH 11/17/23 -

Baroness – November 17, 2023

King of Clubs – Columbus, OH

w/ Spotlights

There is a popular saying these days that goes: if you know, you know. I can not think of a better way to explain that expression than with the band, Baroness. If you are familiar with the band from Savannah, Georgia, you know just how great they are. If you are not familiar with them, the good news is that there has never been a better time than now to get on board and to be in the know. Baroness just released their sixth studio album, Stone, and are sounding better than ever. That applies to on the record and on the stage as well.

I was one of those who had no idea of the genius that is Baroness until a rainy summer night in Detroit, MI in 2019. I had made the 4-hour drive up north from Cincinnati, OH to meet up with my best friend Dave to see Alice Cooper at the infamous Pine Knob Music Center. But just a couple of hours prior to the outdoor show, the Detroit skies unleashed with heavy rain and storms. Lucky for me, Dave had a very good backup up his sleeve. He explained that a band called Baroness was playing the Majestic Theatre, and he thought I might dig them. I have to say that Dave and I are at opposite ends of the music spectrum. While equally passionate about our music, I am more Pantera while Dave is more Radiohead. But every once in a while, our circles cross and we agree on a band. And when we do, it is magic. And that is what happened that night in Detroit, MI.

I don’t even think the band was 5 songs into their set when I went to the merch stand and bought the latest Baroness record at the time, Gold & Grey. And then after the show I went back and picked up the album, Purple, released in 2015. That is all it took. Just a few songs into their live set, I knew just how special Baroness are. There is really no one else quite like them.

Fast forward 4 years later to November 17, 2023. I found out that Baroness was playing a cool club in Columbus, OH called King of Clubs. I hopped in the car and made the 2-hour trip up north while Dave made the nearly 4-hour drive from Detroit, MI and we experienced Baroness all over again. The only thing that had changed was the band was even better than all of those years ago…if that is possible. The 4 members of the band seemed to share one collective brain. While each member’s skill on their particular instrument was clear, I was amazed at how they all complimented each other without hesitation or apparent effort. A perfect example of this is when the band’s guitar duo John Baizley and Gina Gleason would come together to harmonize together mid-song. They didn’t need to look at each other, they just knew what the other was playing and they came together to create magic.

I would like to think that during that night in Columbus, OH in the crowd of hundreds of in-the-know Baroness fans, there was someone experiencing the power of the band for the very first time. Maybe after the show they went to the merch stand and picked up a copy of Stone, and maybe some other albums as well. And then they went and told all of their friends the next day about this great band that sounded like a mix of Corrosion of Conformity and Rush. And the next time Baroness comes to town, or a few hours away, they take someone who is not in the know and changes their life by experiencing Baroness for the very first time. If you are reading this and you are unfamiliar with Baroness, you know what you have to do. Start here and thank me later.