GWAR

Some may prefer to celebrate the arrival of South Florida "fall" with foolishly worn token sweaters and decorative knick-knacks from Bealls. Just as reliable a sign of the changing seasons, though, is the annual Fort Lauderdale stop on GWAR's seemingly never-ending tour. The last time these monsters played in these parts was almost exactly a year ago, at the same club they'll hit on Saturday — Revolution. When even boomer parents recognize and are amused by the band, the music is almost beside the point. A few people at a GWAR show will actually sing all the lyrics, but most are just there for the over-the-top fake carnage. Why else would the band sell shirts whose designs become apparent only after mass staining?

Still, a GWAR show is nothing if not topical; last year's tour saw the decapitation and dismemberment of both John McCain and Hillary Clinton. So who will be sacrificed this year? To find out, come prepared to get messy, or stand on the club's second floor to watch. Last time, all that spewed fake blood reached far back into Revolution's mezzanine, and boy, does that food-coloring-like substance stain.

And if GWAR itself may not be the most serious of bands, their opening acts are usually the play-it-straight kind of heavy acts that fill metal-heads' seriousness quotient. This time around, warm-ups come from Glendale, Arizona,'s Job for a Cowboy, and Revere, Massachusetts,' the Red Chord. The former could wake the dead with frontman Jonny Davy's death growls, and the latter aims to bring grindcore back in the face of assault from the eyelinered pop-punk masses. Good luck, guys.