It had been a while since I’d seen a line as long as the one at The Beacham on Tuesday, July 26. The San Jose, California-based trio Sleep flew here to play a one-off benefit show, with all of the proceeds going directly to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and their affected families. What seemed like most of The City Beautiful showed up to support the cause. The line was around the block, literally, on the northwest corner of Orange Ave at Washington.

For those uninitiated, Sleep is basically the second largest band (only to founders Black Sabbath) in the history of their sound. That sound is frequently given labels like “doom,” “stoner rock,” “sludge metal,” and various combinations of those words. Like many musical nametags, it’s hard to define but you know when you hear it. It is a generally slower, brutally crushing wall of sound that frequently has a very dominate groove or drone to it. It’s heavy. So heavy. And yet simultaneously entrancing.

Yes, Black Sabbath pretty much created the sound, but Sleep and a handful of other bands have carried it to younger generations. In terms of longevity, Sleep debuted in 1990 — so it’s not like they’re new to the game. They caught considerable critical acclaim in the ’90s but unfortunately disbanded in 1998 due to their label not being willing to release their cult-inducing, one hour and three-minute single-track album, Dopesmoker.[I cannot overestimate the impact this album/song has had on not only the band’s following, but on the genre as a whole. It’s a given in circles familiar, that Dopesmoker is basically the musical equivalent of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It’s a true musical odyssey with a consistent theme that ebbs and flows; it takes you on an all-encompassing experience. The song was ironically released after they disbanded.]

Thankfully, Sleep reunited in 2009 and after enlisting Jason Roeder, the drummer from Neurosis (the original drummer became a monk), they began playing occasional shows and festivals. This was one of those performances.

Those of us anticipating the show knew they were going to play two sets with a break between, during which a live auction was going to be held for additional fundraising (all ticket sales, everything, went directly to the charity). In the back of our mind, all of us were wondering what they would play. Would they play Dopesmoker, or even a shortened version of it?  What other songs would we hear?

The first set, which was wonderfully loud and sonically devastating, was filled with fan favorites like “Dragonaut.” The song is a great glimpse into the sound of the band as well as their ability to make a six-minute song feel like it passes quickly by.

Sleep was totally melting all of the faces with their walls of Orange and Marshall amps and cabs. But the crowd was slowly being granted entrance due to extra security measures — rightfully so given the nature of the event — so much of the room really didn’t get settled in until a couple of songs before they finished. Which was only 36 minutes into the show. They announced their break and most of us immediately looked at our phones noticing how little time had passed. We had just started basking in the relentless doom and all of a sudden, it was over until set two? We were like spoiled children, angry that we couldn’t have the whole box of cookies in one sitting. But as soon as we could even begin to snarl about it, we all thought the same thing:

After about 45 minutes the very successful live auction wrapped up and the band came back on stage. It was like waiting on Willy Wonka to announce who won the last Golden Ticket.

YES! IT WAS HAPPENING! THEY WERE PLAYING DOPESMOKER!!!!

My guitarist Eric was there with me and we were both pretty much just rocking out like no one was around, even though it was packed. But to be fair so was pretty much everybody else. I had the fortune of meeting a couple of brothers, who I’ll call J and T, who are from Jacksonville. They drove down just for the show. T is actually a drummer in a doom band from Jax. Both brothers are school teachers during the day and support their musical passion in their off-time. They are the nicest dudes you could hope to meet. And like us, they had a constant smile plastered on their faces as we were being subjected to the kidney-punching volume levels and heavenly sludgy tones of Al Cisneros’ bass and Matt Pike’s guitars. Roeder’s drumming was bestial and totally on point. We were all getting what we wanted: Dopesmoker. And so loud, so devastating, it was being seared into our consciousnesses.

Sleep played the entire opus. They threw in a couple of variations to certain parts to keep it interesting, but for the most part stuck to the script. As a musician — and one who plays technical, intricate prog-rock — even I can’t imagine the challenge of playing an individual song that lasts over an hour. It would be physically, mentally, and emotionally depleting. But they did it and did it in spades. All of a sudden, no one was upset about the brevity of the first set. We got it. It probably took everything they had to play both sets. We gladly assimilated the offering and reciprocated with a thunderous show of support and appreciation. An audience couldn’t be more enraptured than we were in that instant.

When the song and show finally ended, we were fulfilled. Serene. Basking in the afterglow.  It was all we could have asked for.

If you are adventurous enough to make it through over an hour of song in a single serving, try it out:

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