In the Company of Serpents, Jones & the Bones & Sweet Fruits @ The Cobra

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In the Company of Serpents, Jones & the Bones & Sweet Fruits @ The Cobra

Date: July 17th,  2026 Moon: Waxing Crescent Virgo 

Rock Oracle YouTube: Rock Oracle

Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar YouTube

Introspection From Melinoe: 

Welcome Ghouls, Demons, and Fellow Wyrd Ones!!! Last Friday Night, Gospel_ov_Hate took a leap of faith on another one of his wife’s concert ventures. As a Chatty Cathy, I tend to find friends everywhere I go. It doesn’t help that I dress eccentric-ly obscene. Donning, and styling, his eeriest of band-tees. It is no surprise that I find fellow Metal-Heads who are curious about which band name is ambiguously etched onto my OOTD. That is how I met Jones! Another Fair Dog Park connection. Another friendly alignment of being at the Right Place at the Right time. Perhaps it is the Goddess Hekate, the Mother of Hounds, Blessing all of us Dark Souls with a Torch of Light from the Love that Glistens from our Puppy friends. Either way? I am truly grateful for every entity that wanders over the crossroads and into my sight. It is the very reason I have this tale to tell. Mine, and my Beloved’s First Night at the Cobra Nashville. 

I absolutely adored the Cobra. It reminded me of a single-level version of my hometown’s dive-bar concert hall. When I was Seventeen, and my biological mother was finally convinced I was mature enough to attend concerts? I began going to The Top Deck in Farmington, NM. (Which appears to be newly renovated! I haven’t been there since 2017. They did a great job updating the place!) When I lived in Detroit, I would say the Sanctuary would be of the same caliber. Walking into the Cobra felt like the Nashville version of such a place. And I say that with all the love in my heart. I am all for a grandiose amphitheater, and large crowd performances. They definitely have their place in this world. However, those concerts have outrageous ticket prices, enigmatic sound, and you spend more time in line for a drink or bathroom break than you do enjoying the show. As well, there tends to be a miserable drive home exiting the lot, and a crick in your neck from staring up at the screens projecting the concert. Personally? I would rather stand in a crowd under 100 people, in a room with DIY soundproofing, and feel the vibrations killing the hair cells from my ears. The intimacy of a small venue is underrated, and a lost art in our modern society. I have some of my best memories at the smaller, local venues- and some of my worst at the large crowd events. Smaller venues give the nostalgic bliss of good ole garage band performances we all romanticized in our rebellious development of our teen years. Nothing beats the initiatory power of a bijou production. Especially when scoping out new bands for the first time. How else do you expect artists to be discovered? Tik-Tok? YUCK! 

So! When Jones reached out and invited Chad and I personally to attend his show? I was geeked to feel alive again. There is absolutely no greater high than showing up for a fellow Dreamer, fighting for their right to party. We made it to the Cobra nice and early thanks to Jones telling everyone the show started at 7pm. Who knew doors had to open first?! Not any of us. Although it did allow for us to snag a front and center parking spot. I was able to chit chat with members of the bands and capture all the content my IPhone could handle. (One Day I will figure out the settings on my camera. Until then? My Myspace Era Photography will carry on in good faith.) As well, I was granted the opportunity to dive into some Astrology. My Pal Jonesy is a CAPRICORN!!! Fucking LOVE that for the music (and Comic) community. Apparently musicians aren’t just tortured souls who cry into their guitar all day. They are multifaceted beings that have other hobbies and artistic expressions. Our “Dope Ass Birds” also hosts mic nights at Zanie’s! It was a true pleasure to have that extra time to become acquainted with the bleeding hearts of Nashville, and express myself with Rock Oracle and all the lovely patrons of this night’s gig. 

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Jones & the Bones opened up the show with a mixture of all Genres kind of performance. There was a Fun groove to the flow of their set with great energy. If I am going to see Live music, I don’t want a boring stage presence fixated on perfectionism. It is always refreshing when you can tell the band is nothing more than Fun dudes having fun with their friends at their core. They obviously have a love for music and playing live music regardless of the outcome. To be honest, those are the musicians you want to see make it. The musicians who would do it for free. Who would rock out for a handful of friends who “inconvenienced” themselves to support the local community. That is what it’s all about after all. Not the fame, fortune or status. But the love of creating sound with your comrades regardless of who is listening. 

The local group consisted of Jones on Vocals and Guitar, Spencer on Guitar, Will on Keyboards, Evan on Bass, and (not their actual drummer) Collin on Drums. I had only talked to Jones that one time at the Dog Park, which led to a social media connection of networking. I had no idea what to expect from the group and went into their performance blind. I found Jones to have a phenomenal vocal range. He had informed me he was a vocal study college drop out. The band covered the full spectrum of music. Giving a sense of Dio-esque octaves and Meshuggahh shouting vibes intertwined with the gutturals. I am not sure if the band has decided on a sound for themselves overall. They appeared to either be in an experimenting phase of their journey, or a band that refuses to be locked down into one genre. There was great potential for the band to become a new/next gen Paradise Lost. I was impressed by all the possibilities of styling they could construct. Their Opener was quite the haunting ballad. I genuinely enjoyed their Opeth cover, noting it as  “siiick as fuckk” in my notes app. If I had any critique it would be that the stage right guitar was far too loud. Although, knowing what a Noise fan the band expressed themselves to be? That could be intentional. I appreciated the essence of humor within the show. Calling out “Let’s bring it up for god!!!” Only to be met with absolute *silence* from the crowd. As well as presenting us with an epic Metal distrack “Scum-fucker.” Jones and the Bones was definitely a wild ride to witness. A ride I would gladly jump on again, and again! 

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Next up we had Sweet Fruits. A local post-punk band presenting with a classic punk, almost Ska, aesthetic and garage band style stage presence. Their set was seemingly short and sweet. Implementing a set list with new songs that will be released at “somepoint.” One of which is titled “Diabolical.” They had a blend of sounds I was unsure how to express. My husband questioned whether or not it was Incubus they were reminding him of, and there were moments where I felt they instrumentally sounded like “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love,” by My Chemical Romance. To be transparent with the audience, their sound was not my cup of tea. Not my kind of punk. However, I know a whole generation of Y2K emo-pop punk rockers who would geek out over the band. I highly recommend checking them out if this sub-genre is more your style. I didn’t connect with the band members as much as I did Jones and the Bones or ITCOS. However, I witnessed their energy on and off stage. They are true lovers of music. Another group of dudes who are not doing it for the plot, but doing it for the passion. My favorite part of their performance was watching them have fun. I equally adored watching their front man jam the fuck out to In the Company of Serpents. Witnessing his child-like whimsy in the pit reminded me of why I go to shows in the first place. Not to be a critic, but to let loose and take a dose of the melodic magick that saved me. Their music may not be for me, nevertheless, their energy is vital for the survival of the alternative music scene! 

To conclude the line-up In the Company of Serpents of Denver, CO made their way to the stage. Before the gig, I was unsure if they were Death Metal, Black Metal or anything in between. I didn’t have the time to dive into the band before the gig. Which is always fun to see what kind of mystery prize is set to surprise you. During our early-bird special pre-show down time, I had the opportunity to speak to the front man, Grant Netzorg. He informed me that the band was more Sludge, Doom, Stoner Metal. Elation surged through me. I had yet to witness a Sludge Metal concert. Not many Sludge-Doom-Stoner metal bands have come to town when I have been around. I have spent most of my concert career focusing on Nu-Metal, Hardcore, Punk and Black Metal. However, being a fan of Mastodon, Acid Bath, and Electric Wizard, this was exciting to me. If I could go to a show practically every day? I would be elated. I often feel like Life is overwhelming with choices of Things to Do, People to See, and Music to Hear. So when opportunities present themselves to me? I find them to be a Wonderful Blessing from the Universe. Especially when ITCOS was supposed to play in Cookeville, and at the last minute had a show rescheduled to Nashville due to an IRS Scandal. 

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I had an absolute blast through the set of In the Company of Serpents. I found their production to be entertaining, atmospheric and enlightening. An absolutely solid performance that inducted me to a new depth of personal gnosis. They most certainly made a fan out of me, and added another notch to my Sludge Metal Belt. I look forward to expanding my knowledge on this band, their music, and their philosophy. I can’t wait to  share more depth with all you Rock Oracle Rockettes. As much as I can say in this article, there will be much more I can decipher as I bit into the Apple they have presented to thee. For now, I will say my most favorite experience of the entire show was watching this older gentleman in a white hat make his way from the barstool next to me to the front of the stage to rock out front and center. It is one thing for me to love a band, and get lost in the music for myself. It is something entirely more special to me, to witness that ecstasy manifest for someone else. What can I say? I love, Love. I enjoy, Joy. It is one of the best parts of my job. Not only do I get to have an exclusive dive into music that Lights up my Life. I am granted the Gift of Eyewitness to be an Observer to others who are lit up in their lives, in their own magickal way. I suppose that was the peak Initiation for me within In the Company of Serpents- the Gratitude to experience art/artists who make you feel Free, and Alive. Who grants you a space of Light amongst the Darkness. 

May we all Shed the Skin that Keeps us Small. May we all find Joy in the Company of Serpents. And may we never be too Prideful, nor too Afraid to Rock the Fuck Out. 

Live Deliciously. Love Authentically. And Always, Stay Wyrd!

-Melinoe Macaria Mourningstar