A Treeful of Starling fell short of any expectations I had for Mr.Workman's greatly anticipated 5th full length release, so I wasn't sure what to expect of the show to promote the album. Having never been to Massey Hall I wasn't exactly sure what all the fuss was about, but hoped it would be a good time either way. In his typical fashion Hawksley came on moments after 8, the scheduled time for the show to start, sans openers. He kicked off the show with himself on a stool and acoustic guitar accompanied by Mr. Lonely, his faithful piano player beside him, and they went straight into "A Moth is Not a Butterfly" which in my opinion is probably the worst song ever written and created by the Hawk. Not off to a very good start, he went into a couple others off of the latest album, which all translated well into live performance, even if they aren't his best work. Then came the stories.
Hawksley shows are always amusing because he not only is a phenomenal multi-talented performer, he talks and talks and sips his wine (usually out of a plastic cup) and the facetious stories get longer and more interesting. So after a few songs he would interject with another tale about saving allowances to buy a television to tape onto his bicycle and watch Dr. Who throughout the summers or about how he 'gave up being cool' for Lent. His charismatic character shines through in these animated tales as he chuckles to himself as he tells them, with the audience in tears of laughter. But never one to disappoint, Mr. Workman delivered with the songs as well, which was what made me completely understand the honour around playing Massey Hall. I was blown away with the acoustics, his voice carrying throughout the entire hall perfectly whether it be a whisper or long, beautifully executed long note he carried on and on.
Keeping the show mostly low key and intimate, the entire set was himself and Mr. Lonely on piano, playing older classics like "Paper Shoes" and "Jealous of your Cigarette," as well as "Don't Be Crushed," which he played alone on the piano. Playing a handful of his last two albums as well, the set list was well chosen, but what really made the show was his charm. After gracefully thanking the audience and letting us know several times how proud they were to be playing at Massey Hall and how appreciative they were of the fans, they finished the set with his bassist Derek coming out to accompany them on "Ice Age". Adding some extra beats courtesy of Lonely, the song had a real chill, slow groove feel to it that finished up the show nicely. But the roar of the audience wouldn't die down, so they came back out for several encores.
Hawksley came back out and perched right on the edge of the stage with a banjo and nothing else saying that he felt like he was so far back all night, it was like we came to Toronto to see the show that was happening in Mississauga. With his banjo and powerful voice, he launched into "We Will Still Need a Song" that the audience sang along with, and it really began to feel almost like a circle of friends singing to each other around a fire. I'm getting ridiculously sappy here, but Hawksley has a way of taking a couple thousand people and bringing them together with their common love of his talent, and making the entire room feel like some sort of reunion of long lost friends. Throughout the show, Hawksley would stand to deliver his jagged and hard guitar playing throughout harder songs that eventually lead to a broken string, that didn't slow him down one bit. In slower more sensual tracks such as "Tarantulove" he let himself go, almost as though he had slipped into a daydream, stroking the guitar and moaning and breathing into the microphone for minutes on end.
His music recreates itself every time he's on the stage, and you can see his emotions surrounding each song pouring out through his fingers as he plays. With plenty of anecdotes surrounding each song and how it came to be, and about growing up in Toronto, and the surrounding area, the show went on for hours. As he delivered each song, he sang his heart out with his eyes closed shut, every so often taking a peek at Lonely and they would exchange an ecstatic smile. It's surreal to watch them play together; seeing them feed of each other's energy so much, and even after all the years of playing together it's obvious they still are blown away by the other's talent. At one point Workman stopped playing and just watched Lonely as the spotlight illuminated him pounding away at the keys, switching back and forth between instruments. He spent the evening surrounded in a cocoon of a keyboard, piano and mixer all of which he played with tremendous skill. Overall the show was breathtaking, beating out any performance I'd seen from Mr. Workman in the past, his animation and allure as he played and spoke to the adoring crowd leaving me giddy for hours afterwards.
What a weird day. If it happened to somone else and they related this tale to me, I would view them as either a liar or a crank, but here goes, believe it or not.
This week the IHS reptile symposium was happening in San Antonio. I was at the event on Friday intending to zip back to Austin that night to review the Sonic Youth show at Stubb's, but fate, coincidence, or maybe the positioning of the stars and planets had decreed this was not to be. Little did I know that shortly I would be racing through Texas in a car with a rock star on a mission to get him to the show on time.
I was talking with a friend, Kamuran Tepedelen of Bushmaster Reptiles, at the symposium and as we were chatting he received a call from Kerry King of Slayer, scheduled to play in San Antonio that night. Turns out Kerry was in a bind. He had flown home to watch his carpet pythons hatch and was planning on flying in to re-join the tour. Due to forces beyond his control he was unable to make his flight into San Antonio, and the nearest place he could fly in on time was Austin, but his plane wasn't going to land until 4:30 pm and he had to be at the venue by 7 pm. Considering this was all occuring during the Friday rush hour and we had two major cities to traverse, it was destined to be a close thing. Since I was more familiar with the area, I was asked along to act as a human GPS. Having met Kerry more than once in the course of reptile work, I heartily agreed knowing that to do so would destroy any chance I had to do the Sonic Youth review.
We hopped in the car and raced to the airport, easily arriving 30 minutes early. It was 30 minutes after the plane had landed before we had Kerry and his luggage packed away in the car and we sped off off only to immediately encounter Austin's world famous traffic congestion. It took us a full 45 minutes to get from the airport, and back onto IH-35 pointed the right direction, maybe 3 miles total. The clock was ticking much faster than any of us cared to note. Once on the interstate the traffic began to thin and we raced south. Kerry popped in a pre-release copy of the new Slayer CD to provide us traveling music as we weaved and bobbed among the 18 wheelers. Along the way Kerry and I had a nice chat about his snakes, his music, the tour and the new album. I got a chance to mention that we had just launched the music site and that I was supposed to review the Sonic Youth show but probably wouldn't be able to make it. Kerry, seeing my dilema, offered to get me a photo pass to his show instead so I would still be able to review something.
How could I refuse an offer like that.
Well obviously I didn't.
We made it to the venue with 10 minutes to spare, and shortly afterward I had one of the coveted Slayer photo passes taped to my bag, and I was in the coliseum. This was my first show in San Antonio since my 20s, my first since launching my music journalism career, and I was definitely "odd man out" in the camera pit, the regulars all wondering how this "rookie" rated a photo pass. After relating my tale of travel I could tell that they thought I was probably full of shit, but they suffered me well even though I didn't know the venue's etiqutte or rules and committed more than one major faux pax.
By the time we arrived Mastdon had been completeing the last song of their set leaving only Lamb of God, and then Slayer. We really did just barely make it.
I used Lamb of God to zero in my new Nikon D200 during their first three songs before being booted from the camera pit til Slayer. I am not that familiar with Lamb of God's music but it was apparent that the crowd was, and the band was really in sync with them. They roared through their set, which lasted about 45 minutes. I wandered off midway through to get a coke at the concession stand, but their music seemed to follow me in the form of a very large obviously-inebriated man in the next line over who insisted on screaming along in a vocal accompanyment with the band on stage, to the ambivalence of the others in line.
Lamb of God did deliver a hot set, and really got the huge mosh pit warmed up, but it was obvious that the crowed was ready to see Slayer. After a short break, we photographers were ushered back into the pit. Using a heads up from Kerry I planted myself in the right hand side of the pit between Kerry and Tom Araya and stuck like glue.
The stage darkened, then with a flash and a crash Slayer launched into their set, steaming through "South of Heaven." I started blasting away with the camera at everything I could, not paying much attention to the music, as I grabbed as many pics as possible. Much too quickly the tap on the shoulder came and we photographers were then escorted out of the pit and literally out the front door of the venue, as per the venues standard policy. I tried to get Kerry's attention to flash him a thank you for the pass as we were escorted out, but the security guard knocked my arm down before I could do so. Once I had returned my camera to the car I was able to return ticket in hand to watch the rest of this blazing show.
Slayer was on for what seemed like forever but was in fact only about 90 minutes, returning to do two encores. They played a total of 14 songs, and I know I heard "Chemical," and a cut from the new disc called "Cult." I am trying to get a copy of the set list and will post an addendum should it happen. A great show, Slayer rocked the Freeman and its audience, literally to its foundations, all the windows in the place were buzzing and shaking. It was somewhat strange for me to see Kerry, a guy I know pretty much as just another snake guy, literally in the role of rock star doing his job and entertaining a couple thousand people. Slayer is off to Dallas next and I am going to take a few days off, at least until I can hear again.
I managed to produce about 50 usable Slayer photos, with a couple real gems of Kerry and Tom. It is all the work of the camera and the location, as I am still extremely unfamiliar with my D200. Still it was a great feeling to know that I had corrected at least some of the issues that flummoxed my ability to get some quality Les Claypool shots from the other night and had some really nice photos as a result.
Kerry if you read this, thanks for the photo pass, great show, and I look forward to our podcast interview. And if you do - have that Lizard Man guy get in touch with me, we need him in our tattoo photo gallery, though you're certainly no slouch yourself in that arena;)
How can so much funk exist in one skinny white boy?
Fresh from playing two sets at Bonaroo, one with his own band and the other with Oysterhead, Les Claypool, frontman for the rock band Primus, brought his mask collection, his bass collection, Gabby La La, her theremin and sitar, and the rest of his hipster band, which included Skerik, Mike Dillon, and Paulo Baldi, for a smoking thump-fest at Austin's La Zona Rosa. Not only were fans Austin there, but a motley collection of camp followers from as far away as Australia who have been following the tour to watch his legendary work with the bass. He did not disappoint.
Les Claypool has gathered what must be the caucasian equivilent of Parliment/Funkadelic, as if assembled by John Waters, to play his 90+ minute set. Songs were primarily from from his solo projects with a few Primus nuggets thrown in for good measure. Touring in support of his new solo Of Whales and Woe, lots of material from this disc was evident including the title track. Crowd favorites and mine certainly included the funked up "Off White Guilt," "Vernon the Company Man," as well as "Phantom Patriot." He also covered such gems as "Holy Mackerel" and "One Step Beyond" from the band Madness.
This concert was a blast, Les changing into his masks mid-set, appearing in such things as an Elvis mask and at one point what appeared to be a gorrilla mask, but I was too far back to see. Les has a very darkly humorous vein to him, and it was great to watch him sarcastically lambast a fan who made the mistake of flipping him off. Gabby La La, herself an interesting presence onstage, alternated wailing away on the sitar and the theremin, which oddly complements Les' music. I think I could watch Les and his various bands play every night and be entertained.
Opening for Les was a band that literally defies any genre classification I can come up with. I am stumped. Rasputina consists of three musicians playing two cellos and a set of drums, all in Victorian period costume. It was amazing to hear them fill the room with sound, playing a number of their own songs as well as part of Sir Mixalot's "Baby Got Back" and a smoking rendition of Heart's "Barracuda." I have heard many bands cover those songs, but never with cello, and they absolutely rocked. I would really like to see them pursue the Sir Mixalot song further than the tempting little morsel they delivered here. I look forward to seeing them headline their own show so I can see their full set.
I love seeing shows at La Zona Rosa. With its small indoor stage (air conditioned, a must), open air porch and awesomely stocked jukebox, it's a great little venue. Thanks go out to the Direct Events staff and Les Claypool for hooking us up with the photo credentials.
Beck
Hometown: Los Angeles, California http://www.beck.com
Tuesday, June 20, 2006 The Backyard (Austin, Texas)
Also:Jamie Lidell
With a logistics trail that must rival the 3rd Armored Division, the artist known as Beck brought his happy band of minstrels to Austin to sing, dance, and perform a puppet show. No joke. Puppets.
The trek out to The Backyard from where I live is one of those "pack a sandwich for the drive" trips, so long in fact I completely missed the warm up band. I don't know if that was a good thing or bad thing, as at least one concert goer said, and I quote, "They sucked." I couldn't offer an opinion not having seen the show, and can only offer that this particular fan probably would have thought everybody sucked until Beck came on.
If the drive out was long, the walk from the parking lot seemed just as long. Apparently disagreements over parking required The Backyard to park us in an even backer 'backyard" and had us wandering over the river and through the woods on a 20 minute walk to the front gate. I wondered, aloud, whether I should have taken the GPS coordinates of my truck to make it easier to find when I was stumbling through the woods when it was dark later. I hope they get their parking issues resolved soon, I think I got chiggers.
Camera security was at an all time high, with a stout shakedown at the entrance. I don't know what Beck's policy was, this was the venue's. Luckily I had called ahead to inquire about the camera policy or I would have been one of the many that had to stumble all the way back to the car to put theirs away. The policy worked though. I daresay I saw maybe three flashes total from the audience all night. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough off the line to secure a camera badge for this event, so sadly I have no photos for us.
Beck's band trundled onstage, behind them a huge video screen, and were soon followed by an extremely mop-topped Beck wearing a fedora. The band launched into "Black Tambourine" and the crowd just ate it up. From my vantage point at the side of the stage, I could see what appeared to be the band's image projected on the video screen. Closer inspection revealed that it wasn't the band but marionettes dressed in the exact same clothes, and moving to the exact same rythyms. Moving further out I could see that nestled in the back next to the drum kit was a ministage and there were actually 3 or 4 puppeteers working the marionettes live. They did this the whole show. I must have seen well over a thousand concerts and this is the first time I have ever seen anyone use puppets onstage. Maybe its just my latent pupaphobia coming home to roost but I seemed to fixate on the damnable things through the whole show.
I have always liked the way Beck juxtaposes bits and pieces to make a whole in his funky almost whitebread hip-hop kind of way. Beck bounced all over with the show, covering something from just about everything he released. Lots and lots of stuff from Guerro and Odelay, including "Loser," "Devils Haircut," "New Pollution," and some stuff off of Sea Change. Many of them sounded like they were straight off the disc, others were arranged quite differently. I think my favorite song for the night was "Rental Car." On Guerro it has a summerish almost beach boy feel, live it had a growl and bite that they don't really capture on disc. I also enjoyed the the Ray Manzarek-like keyboard vibes on some of the songs. I don't think I heard much I didn't like.
I was glad to see Beck reference Austin, and its world famous bat colony, several times in the show, and at least once in song. He does really seem to enjoy the Austin crowd.
I have never understood Beck's "dancing" guy. I found him intriguing during Beck's SNL appearance, annoying for 90 minutes, and his whole fake banjo routine near the end detracts from the performance and needs to go. Maybe I missed the reference or the context.
I think that the only problem I had was an energy related one. It seemed to me that in such a big open air venue much of the band's energy (not their sound) dissipated the further you got from the stage. While most of the audience probably missed this, I bet that had the same show been held in an enclosed, smaller venue it would have been a much better show. I guess the same could be said for most outdoor shows. Perhaps if the big screen had been showing the actual band instead of a bunch of puppets it would have alleviated some of this.
This show clocked in at 90 minutes and I can recommend it to anyone that does not fear puppets.
Zappa Plays Zappa http://zappa.com/zpz/
June 16th, 2006
Hummingbird Centre
Toronto, Ontario
It sounds simple enough. Dweezil Zappa re-discoverers his father's music, immerses himself in it, and puts together a bad-ass band to go on the road and play it. Add to that appearances by certain Zappa alumni and you have a recipe for a very cool night.
What happens when a big ol' wrench gets thrown in the works? Ummmmmmm.... maybe your lead singer has to rush home because of a family emergency. Not just any lead singer.... Napoleon Murphy Brock!
This is where it gets interesting. Dweezil et al come up with a set that can be done without Brock. A set comprised not just of some songs from the original set list, but several other songs that had yet to see the light of day on this tour. I can't recount the setlist song for song, but I can tell you that it was chaotic, irreverent and beautiful. "Stinkfoot" was brought out on stage for the first time, and "Inca Roads" was a treat. There were also several songs that I know when I hear them but couldn't tell you the name of.
Dweezil has put together a band that is frighteningly good. The standouts for me were Scheila Gonzalez who seemed to play everything and sing at the same time, and the bassist Pete Griffin. Pete exuded fun and youthful exuberance, and commanded the stage without taking the spotlight from anyone else. I agree with Dweezil's choice to put together a young band, it brought a vitality to the show that wouldn't have been there with a band made up solely of Zappa alumni.
Oh, but what Zappa alumni Dweezil did bring on the road! Terry Bozzio is one hell of a drummer and did fantastic versions of "Punky's Whips" and "I'm So Cute." He also brought some much needed comedy to the show when he initiated some witty banter with Dweezil.
But, the man that truly owned the stage (even if it was for just a short time) was Steve Vai . I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have been as eager to attend this show if Steve Vai hadn't been included. "Peaches on Regalia" and "Montana" have seldom sounded so good. Steve owned the Hummingbird Centre, but knew when to lay back and let others shine. Though when it came to trading licks with Dweezil he chewed him up and spit him out time and time again.
Below are some short clips of "Montana" featuring Steve Vai on Vocals:
Of all the surviving musical landmarks in Austin that were missed by the wrecking ball in the 70s and 80s, Threadgills' venues are unquestionably the most famous, being best known as the starting point for Janis Joplin's career in the 60s. Threadgills is still giving that same support to local and up and coming bands(and still serving up a mean chicken fried steak which is great 'cause I can use a break from all the Bar-B-Q).
Down on West Riverside Drive, within the shadow of the office building that is the the grave of Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters where I conned my way backstage as an impetuous high schooler to see the REAL XTC in 1981 and got to interview Andy Partridge, Threadgill's outdoor venue with its tables and chairs and park-like environment was a great place to see the XTC tribute band Dukes of Simpleton, especially after the early rain showers had knocked 10 degrees off the temperature.
I don't normally subject myself to "tribute" bands, as I would much rather see the actual band, or in most cases have seen the actual band, but as it's unlikely we will see the members of XTC tour anytime soon, it was great to hear their music live again. I was fortunate as a young pup to have the chance to see and hear XTC live in 1981 on their first U.S. tour supporting the Drums and Wires album (an album is a black shiny plastic thing that is the analog equivalent of today's CD, sometimes referred to as "vinyl"), and at least one other time later in their career. For those not familiar with XTC, they were for their time one of the most artistic, interesting and inventive bands to rise from England's punk scene in the late 70s/early 80s, and their intricately crafted songs have long made them favorites among musicians. Despite seeing much early success, and building a substantial core audience, issues with their record label left band members literally parking cars for a living at one point.
It says much for XTC's musicianship that to duplicate their sound so well, the Dukes of Simpleton needed twice as many people to cover their work. Still, it was a wonderfully light and frothy show that lasted a little over an hour, if you extract out their set break. Although the lead vocalist, Kirk Kellam, doesn't have quite the same sound as Colin Moulding or Andy Partridge, he was in tune and sounded clean and it worked well. The rest of the band's sound was indistinguishable from the original, and songs such as "Dear God" and "Peter Pumpkinhead" sounded wonderful live, and they brought in brass for "My Bird." Only their third show, and a still a little rough around the edges, Dukes of Simpleton are well on their way to having a fine tight band, and they will only improve with more experience playing together live.
This tribute band is packed chock full of local Austin music veterans, musicians who for years have focused on their own work. That they would take the time to cover one of their own favorite bands and do it so well says alot both for the work of XTC and for the Dukes. The audience sure seemed to be peppered with a lot of faces from the "old school Austin punk" days as well, many I hadn't seen in years. To see photographs from this show please click here
Props go out to Dennis Bruhn and Shelly Vlcek and Threadgills for hooking me up with a press pass on very short notice for this event. I don't know if Eddie Wilson is still the owner of Threadgills but if so, long time no hear. I am glad you're still picking good bands for your venues. You still owe me that chicken fried steak. ;)
New Model Army
Thursday 25th May 2006
The Concorde II Club
Brighton - England
Ok, so I've been a New Model Army fan for some 20 years now. Going to see them is nothing new having toured with them almost every year. (Both here and across Europe.) I pretty much know what to expect. Although I do sometimes talk about giving it up and only going to hometown gigs I somehow always get roped in.
As the tour approaches I get increasingly frequent phone calls from others following around the country, checking that I'm gonna be at heir hometown gig, do I need a crash, can they stay at mine, do I fancy sharing petrol costs to the Shetlands, that kind of thing. Then before I know it I'm doing the whole tour.
This tour has followed a much similar recipie to all of the others. Arrive in a town sometime in the afternoon. Get some food and find the pub where everyone is meeting. It’s not always the closest pub. Often the town hosts have a favourite pub they use and it becomes a mission to find the crew. Sometimes we arrange to hook up with the band, (who are by now friends of ours) and we watch a match, like we did in Norwich for the Leeds/Watford game. This is usually a good opportunity to buy the guys drinks as a thank you for guest list places.
Anyway, Thursdays gig in Brighton Concorde 2 started like many others. We arrived in Brighton with Big Bill and managed to park on the sea front. After a quick bite to eat we soon found the crew in the Heist pub and started the customary consumption of alcohol. Come 8.30 we reckoned the support band had finished and we headed for the venue. Tommy Tee is behind the merch stall as we jump the queue and get out of the rain. Guest list places ROCK!
A few hellos to the stragglers and the people whose face you know from years of gigging but have yet to build a relationship with. The front of the venue near the stage starts to fill up with the eager locals and a few of the big faces from the following. Me and a few of the others stay near the Merch stall with Tommy Tee, waiting for the kids to tire themselves out and for one of the old songs to be played. Only then will we make an appearance en mass at the front.
The longer I follow this band, the less songs I know. I haven't played the new albums as much as I still do the old ones. I'm not the same guy I was 20 years ago and the new songs are much different nowadays. The old tracks bring back memories and are linked to some very strong emotions, to some special people and to a time ion my youth when things were very different. The old songs take me back to those times.
I know the set list starts with a few new tracks. I personally use this time to watch the band on stage as there is no chance to do this when in the pit later. (I remember years ago when Jez, the lead singer shaved off his long hair. It was halfway through the set till we noticed!) Stood at the back with Speedy, Dawn, Danny and Bernie I try to neck my beer before they play "Here Comes the War!" which is our cue. The tension rises in increments as we pace around, catching each others eye and smiling. "Want some of this?" I ask Speedy, offering my beer, which he takes and skulls in a mouthful.
Then the drums started, the heavy dull beat which for the band is the intro and gives Jez some time to swap guitars. The boys at the back take off our shirts revealing trademark tattoos. Suddenly there seem to be a dozen faces heading towards the front from different places in the venue. Nod stern hellos at some of the part time faces and arrive in the heaving, sweaty pit to catch the eye of the boys. It's going to go.
Anyone who has been to a New Model Army gig knows it is rough. Not as bad as it used to be, I mean, we are all getting a bit old now and can't go to work with Black eyes and fat lips. I remember Dr Joan (who is a GP) ended up with a black eye after every tour for about 6 years running. Poor lass. Speedy is a stock broker, Dawn is a financial advisor and I ran healthclubs, so not the alternative lifestyles which would tolerate such battle wounds. I'm glad it is less extreme now as there are less real fights at the front, and I always hated that.
It would usually be some local with a reputation as a "Hardcore NMA fan" who would want to stamp his authority on the gig. The music is pumped full of adrenalin and bravado and the kid would want to show everyone who was boss. Unfortunately the following are usually a good 30 strong (more in the old days) and so picking a fight with one of us is just stupid. Usually it would be Bill or I who would put a stop to it, hopefully before Jed noticed. That usually got messy.
As "War" kicks in the pit goes mad. The lightweights usually end up on their arse or make fast exits. There's usually a suprisingly handy local lass giving her all, trying to stay with it. So the boys go easy and make sure she stays upright and doesn't get nailed by one of the try-hards. This gig it was a really pretty skinhead girl from Holland who I have seen before. I'm just nodding my hello when I feel a "Whack!" in my jaw.
There in the middle of the pit is this dread youth with a Thunder and Consolation knot tattooed on his back. I see him head towards Bill with his elbows at head height and hope that Bill gives him some leeway. He does, the kid splits his lip with a very inconsiderately placed elbow. This is not good. As the song continues the kid gets a couple of hefty shoves that send him across the dance-floor and sprawling on his back or face. This usually ensures they get the message and they tone it down a bit, but this boy is a bit stupid. Bill catches my eye, so does Baby Bill. Dawn shakes here head 'cos she's seen this before. The boy comes back at Bill with venom and malice. He only gets halfway there as I catch his ponytail and pull him towards me. Dawn steps over and starts whispering in the pretender's ear and Bill, Speedy, Justin, Danny and some guy we call Freddy Boswell stand around looking like they want to eat his kidney. I've still got a handful of dreads and he's going nowhere, despite some effort.
The song finishes and we all stand around, waiting for the youth to throw a punch. He doesn't and retreats to the sidelines where his friends are standing at a safe distance. The next couple of songs are ballards so we don't see him for a while. We get chance to catch our breath and some of the lads have a fag. I'm watching the boy and his buddies, checking their facial expressions, watching them point. Bill wipes the blood from his still bleeding lip and raises his eyebrows. The intro to “The Hunt� comes on. If it's gonna go, it's gonna go now. "Not to ‘The Hunt’," I think, "That's a mistake."
The boy steps in, followed by two of his mates. We stand there and look at him, coiled and ready. Why does this have to happen? Why don't people just play nicely? He walks over to Bill and offers his hand. Then he turns to me and says "Sorry mate." in a thick Dublin accent "We just came all the way from Dublin for this one gig. We just get a bit excited you know."
"No worries mate, but I like my teeth where they are."
"Sorry mate, we're cool yeah?"
"Yeah, what's your name?"
"George."
"I'm Tony and that's Bill."
"Let's have some fun, yeah?"
"Yeah"
And the rest of the gig goes off without incident. It's rough, almost as bad as the old days. George and Co hold their own in the pit with the faces, giving as good as they get. Yeah, he caught me with a couple of stray shots, but he did the right thing and apologised. We pick up the fallen and smile at the girls on the outskirts. This is how it should be; a big outpouring of adrenalin, testosterone and bravado but without the need for any stupidness. This is why I love this band.
Aideen comes into the pit with a few bottles of water as the band churn out a couple of slow tracks, giving us time to recover. I pass one to George and we chat about a mutual friend in Dublin. “I wouldn't have cracked you if I knew you were a mate of Martin's!" he joked. As “125mph� starts up we know rest time is over and it's down to business again.
After the gig we stand around comparing war wounds and stories. The bouncers try to kick us out, but we have after-show passes, and get a couple for George and his crew. Tommy moans about having to find our t-shirts from behind the merch stall as usual so Silke passes him a Becks. He shuts up and counts the stock. Not a bad night by the looks of it; rolls of cash held in his hand as he does the load out. We all watch out for him, remembering our swag friend Darryl who was shot and mugged in South Africa. Not that we could do much, but it is on the front of everyone's minds, although it remains unspoken.
As the last of the crowd peel away the band come out and chat with some of the faces. I pass Micheal a bottle of Baileys which Dawn and I bought him as a thank you for our guest list places. Baileys, very rock and roll Micheal, very rock and roll. Mark from the Levellers appears, with Brighton being his hometown gig. He invites us to a friends bar for a lock in. Tommy Tee stipulates a 2am road time. We all laugh, knowing it's never gonna happen.
"You gonna come George?" I ask.
"Is that cool?"
"Yeah, sure, follow us."
"Are you the lad who bust Bill’s lip?" asks Dean, the keyboard player.
"Errrr."
"He only weighs as much as your leg Bill, you're turning into a girl in your old age," he laughs at Bill.
"Fuck off!" says Bill, all 19 stones of him. "Don't take the piss, I beat anorexia."
At the bar it is three o'clock before we leave. Warren pulls the tour bus us outside the front window and flashes his full beams at us inside, while Tommy Tee tries to round up the band. "I'm not leaving says Nelson. You're fired then!" says Tommy. "Get on the bus, there's beer on there."
Dawn has a similarly tough task trying to round up the boys for her car. Bless here for staying sober and driving us on the whole tour! I know there is a bottle of JD back on my boat and that it will not see the morning. Sure enough, come 7am its gone and we all find a space to crash. Dawn gets the bed cos she's driving; I end up in the galley with my head next to Bill, who snores.
George and his boys left for the airport as we said goodbye at the bar. We have a place to stay in Dublin anytime, and we don't have to worry about his elbows any more.
I went to this show with a lot of preconceived notions about this band based on their press and television appearances, and was completely ready and willing to dismiss them as a bunch of immature, pretentious, young British snots. After winning both "Best New Band" and "Best British Band" at the 2006 NME, and then being touted at SXSW as leading the next British Invasion, only to see them trash the SXSW 2006 critics, and then later their amps on their SNL appearance, I was afraid I was being led down the garden path again, a la Spacehog and The Stone Roses.
Let's get something straight. The Arctic Monkeys are not bigger than Jesus, nor are they bigger than the The Beatles, and they aren't better than Oasis, at least in terms of musicianship. What they are, however, is a young, fresh, raw, talented band with a distinctive sound. Given time, they'll likely produce some really neat material. Lead vocalist Alex Turner has a voice that is unmistakeable in a way similar to, say, Stan Ridgway or Richard Butler, and it clearly helps this band distiguish themselves from the great grey cloud of other U.K. bands clawing for U.S. airplay.
I don't expect the Arctic Monkeys to produce an intricately worked masterpeice with "Dark Side of the Moon" longevity, nor do I see them producing any massive anthems of teen angst or tomes of deep political thought. With songs like "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor," I expect them to make good, fun, party music that a lot of people enjoy, and see a career similar to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
This power pop foursome has been unfortunately and unfairly saddled with the label of being the "next big thing" from the U.K. to invade North America, and the monstrous P.R. machine behind that promotion was very much in evidence at Stubbs (even though it somehow missed us when handing out camera passes). That is an enormous amount of pressure for a bunch of literal 20 year olds in their first band to expect to live up to, and it's pretty obvious that the band is uncomfortable with all the hype.
Aside from that, it was only the 100+ heat, the sold out crowd, and the long lines at the beer stands that made the audience at the show uncomfortable. All of that was forgotten when the band took the stage. Looking every bit like a high school garage band, these guys blasted through a short set of only about an hour. Simulcast on KROX 101X, the band had a very smooth mix from the sound board and did not sound much different than they do on disc. Very twangy, jerky and poppy, in a White Stripes-meets-Mersey-tone, they ripped through essentially everything on their only album and their EP, stopping occasionally to banter with a woman in the audience requesting they remove first their pants, then their shoes. All I can say is that at least she didn't request "Free Bird." I really like this band and would pay to see them perform again when they have more material. It would be a shame to see this bands rough edges sanded off by some slick producer, or to see them succumb to the hype that preceeds them.
Opening for the Arctic Monkeys was the California band We Are Scientists with about a 30 minute set. This is another good band but unfortunately I wasn't familiar at all with their music. They have a good sound and are very much a college band, with a substantial Austin audience that germinated with their 2005 SXSW performance where they were labeled as one of the "Must See Unsigned Bands."
The head liner of this show is a band of legendary proportion. The fact they made a stop on their one and only tour here in Austin was a stroke of luck. But before I get to that I will have to mention a little about the other openers and the show in general.
I missed the very fist band Split Eye, so I have nothing to say about them, but I will tell you I wish I missed the second band too. I read a few comments about this Biolich band on the net and people were saying how great they were. I guess they were replaced by these imposters cause I can not believe how god awful they were. One of the worst guitar sounds I have ever heard and an over all mish mosh of worthlessness. I could not wait for them to end, and I think the majority of people at the show felt the same. Terrible.......
Sothis took the stage in full on Black Metal attire. Spiked from head to toe. It was a shame that they had technical difficulties delaying and shortening their set. When they got their shit together they really put forth an effort to deliver the goods. Serious thrashing and full on assault with their fierce music and some great shredding incorporated into Black Metal, something you just do not see a lot of. I was pissed they only played 3 songs....but for a band I was totally unfamiliar with I have to say they were memorable and were a band I’d want to see live again. I hope these guys get a record deal soon, I think they’d make a great disc.
Abythos are locals, and I had seen them before a few years back. They have improved but the singer got on my nerves; in my opinion he is the weak point of the band. The problem with the band in general is they seem to be influenced by a few genres of metal and incorporate that into songs that just go into too many directions. I think the guys can play well, but they need someone who can help bring focus to them, to get them writing songs in a specific style that a listener can associate the band with. They have a decent sound, and some of the slower guitar parts were played with emotion showing some promise. But that singer's wannabe-ish one minute this, one minute that style makes it hard to know where they're coming from.
Averse Sefira have been around for many years now with several releases under their bullet belts and have traveled quite extensively in support of their records. I had hoped to get a few questions answered but in all honesty I was too busy listening in on and contributing my own questions with Demilich. It is my guess they’d have said they think as I do, that the Austin scene sucks for extreme metal but they would not pass the chance to play with a band like Demilich. These guys had a good response from the crowd, and do have some hardcore fans who truly appreciate their efforts. A band like Averse Sefira cares not for quantity as far as support, but for quality, meaning people who exist for the underground, not the mainstream crap that misinforms people to what extreme metal is really all about. The show would have been much more enjoyable if the lineup was Abythos, Sothis, Averse Sefira and Demilich, but none of that mattered once Demilich hit the stage.
I assured Jeff [Barringer, who met me there with his cameras] during the openers that Demilich was going to be a spectacle to behold and holy fucking shit were they ever. This band is nothing short of legendary with only one full length record released and re-released, which was recorded over a decade ago. The addition of a third guitar player for this tour had me worried as far as a lousy mix, but the sound was absolutely devastating. The drumming was flawless, the execution of the songs was perfection, and the champion of THE most gutteral growls ever recorded delivered by Antti Boman did not disappoint at all. He sounded exactly like the record. The stage presence and performance were incredible, but the timid talk between songs was the only evidence that this is not a touring band. This was well known to all and was the only thing that could make you believe they did not play live much but it did not at all take away from the show. They were one of the best bands I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The crowd was blown away and anyone who saw this tour will be rubbing it in the faces anyone who did not get off their asses to witness this one last chance to see such a phenomenal band. Horns up to Demilich, for me I’d rate them a solid 10 out of 10 skulls, absolutely incredible!
I spent a lot of time before the show listening to the never ending questions some of us had for these guys. We were shocked to hear their biggest fan base was here in the US. These guys are from Finland and most would assume since metal is accepted more widely in other parts of the word, especially Europe....that they’d have been much more popular elsewhere, but this is not the case. Lyrically the band is weird as hell, and not very typical of death metal; I got the impression they did not even truly consider themselves to be death metal but it was apparent that is the type of bands they preferred to be associated with (does that make sense?). Lyrically it is an odd sci fi poetry, multi dimensional misery, fear of death and violent entities devouring souls....very off the wall shit. Two examples of their song titles are "When the Sun Drank the Weight of Water" and "The Sixteenth Six-Tooth Son of Fourteen Four-Regional Dimensions (Still Unnamed)."
Antti let us all hang when the question of certain letters being replaced by numbers when their lyrics are printed as far as what that means....?what is its significance? We’ll never know...dammit! The only good news as far as the disbanding of Demilich was that all the members planned to continue playing music, and Antti said he would continue signing in his unique style of the lowest of the low burping gutteral vocal style. The icing on the cake for Jeff and me was that he mentioned he had kept reptiles in the past including, of course, the ever popular corn snake. Funny how some of the most brutal bands out there are just regular guys and are so completely laid back and mellow. These guys from Finland were all very cool and even a bit quiet, but they let if rip on stage and were nothing short of impressive. By far one of the best shows I have seen in years. When asked if they thought their record would be worshiped with a kult status all these years later they said absolutely not. It was also revealed the album was recorded on a small budget (which to some was obvious but hell, some bands with great budgets for recording cranked out some total shit). Their English was fine, that is now....and I hinted that since their record was recorded many years back that I wondered if they could change anything (especially the lyrics). would they. The answer was yes, but unfortunately I could not find a way ask if they meant the lyrics without sounding insulting towards their knowledge of the English language back then ... but myself I will always wonder.... since these lyrics are just so damn weird.
Regardless, they are one hell of a band and should be very proud of their achievement in the archives of metal history. I feel extremely lucky to have witnessed this show and to have had the chance to meet the band. I encourage you to seek out this record and get an earful of something that is so unique, yet blends into the scene and sound of death metal like a nightmare you hoped would never end, but this was it. This was a closure for the band, I wish them the best and thank them for coming to the US and giving their fans one chance to see them tear it up. It is something I won’t soon forget.
Releases........
Demilich Nespithe 1993 Necropolis Records
then the European rerelease of
Nespithe on Repulse Records in 1996 which included “ The Four Instructive Tales........ of Decomposition� demo and new artwork
One of the new records which will be released on LP only limited too 397 autographed copies from Morbid Thoughts Records should be available soon titled em9t2ness of van2s1ing
The other final release form the band will be in CD format through Xtreem Music soon titled v34ish6ng 0f emptiness
I heard both pressings of these rare gems are all pre sold and considered sold out...
For more info and downloads go to http://www.anentity.com/demilich/.