Monday, July 31. 2006
 Peaches
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://www.peachesrocks.com/
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Emo's (Austin, Texas)
Also: Deadboy and the Elephantmen, The Ugly Beats
Peaches Tour Schedule
Peaches Concert Photo Gallery
For someone who has spent an inordinate amount of time of late reviewing testosterone-driven metal shows, the estrogen level at this show was thick and obvious, almost a visible fog settling above the audience as they awaited the arrival of the much buzzworthy artist Peaches to burst forth onstage. It didn't help that the temperatures in the sold out crowd were still in the 100s when she hit the floor a little after 11, nor were the presence of many " bearded ladies" in the audience any boost to the testosterone level. This was most obviously girls night out and I was packin' the wrong equipment. Nothing more frightening (and disorienting) to your average card-carrying hetero male than an audience full of socially (and sexually) empowered women.
 Luckily, at least I was packin' the right photographic equipment. I had a new f/1.4 lense I was dying to try out and Emos is a great little venue to dial stuff like that in, though not necessarily during a sold out show like this one. By the time Peaches made it out it had become a fight to maintain any location near the stage, with fans literally crawling on the floor in hopes of "popping up" closer in. Still I was able to remain close enough to the stage for 2 of my 3 photo songs before being forced back by the throngs.
Many fans were surprised to find out that the Peaches show had sold out, unfortunately most of those same surprised fans expected to be able to pick up tickets at the door. They were of course disappointed, but have only themselves to blame as no one could expect to get in show night at a small club with an artist who has this much "buzz."
 Boy, did they miss out too. Peaches put on a 90 minute set that just blazed and those who made it in just ate up the experience. Peaches' music has been described as "Electroclash" which wikipedia defines as "a style of fashion, music, and attitude that fuses new wave, punk, and electronic dance music with somewhat campy and absurdist post-industrial detachment in addition to vampy and/or camp sexuality." That description is spot-on from what I experienced. Peaches blends dance, hip/hop, and punk with a purposely shocking amount of sexual content (to the un-initiated) and a smattering of politics (her latest disc is titled "Impeach My Bush") guaranteed to turn conservative moral majority members a whiter shade of pale.
Me, I'm a bit tougher to shock. I mean saying the word "fuck" onstage hasn't caused outrage in this town since Phil Tolstead of The Huns got arrested onstage at Rauls in 1978 for supposedly uttering it, earning Austin its first chops as being the Texas punk mecca. In fact the truth is much better than the legend and could itself be a Peaches story, and my god it's 2006 and even Willy is singing about gay cowboys. It's just tough to be truly shocking anymore.
Peaches stripping out of the gold lame down to a bikini with the assistance of a roadie or two during "Two Guys (For Every Girl)" was an interesting touch but I wouldn't want to crowd surf that way. This was a fun show that crossed many genres and genders and anyone who can handle the overt and graphic sexuality of the music and the musician will enjoy themselves.
 Stepping up to second bill and filling the shoes of the missing in action openers, the Eagles of Death Metal, Deadboy and the Elephantmen from Houma, Louisiana filled in well. After appearing at SXSW and being the first music act on Henry Rollins IFC show that has now featured such artists as Slayer, The New York Dolls and Thom Yorke of Radiohead, they are poised to be something big. A good portion of the crowd had come just for them and they have a substantial street buzz of their own.
I got a chance to chat with Dax Riggs between sets and he said he really enjoyed doing Henry's show and appreciated his support, and that they really liked doing shows in Austin. Based in Louisiana, Dax formed Deadboy after his metal band Acid Bath split up in 1997. His music with Deadboy is best described as kind of a southern flavored White Stripes with a spicy cajun edge. He has an original sound that is stripped lean raw and expressive. I look forward to reviewing his disc and will definitely put them on my list for the next tour.
Rounding out the nite were show openers The Ugly Beats, a local Austin band. Go-go boots, tambourines. They had a poppy, punky 60s feel and were well suited to the other acts musically, complementing their sounds, rather than clashing.
Once again thanks go out to the Emo's crew and to Peaches and her tour manager for hooking me up with a photo pass.
I will try to catch one more show before I head out to the National Reptile Breeders Expo in August to hand out club kingsnake T-Shirts, if not my next review will probably be the "As the World Burns" tour featuring X and The Rollins Band at Stubbs on August 30. I am still trying to get a photo pass for that show, so cross your fingers.
Technorati Tags:
Peaches, Austin, Deadboy and the Elephantmen, Emo's
Friday, July 28. 2006
 It is now Friday July 28 and it is time to play WTF Friday, the game where you tell us the first 10 songs that come up on your music player when you hit the Random or Shuffle button. At stake is a classic kingsnake.com T-shirt and the last chance to win the monthly grand prize, a black 30Gb video iPod.
Here is my list...
1. MC5 - Just Don't Know
2. Devo - Head Like A Hole
3. Earshot - Get Away
4. Killing Joke - Love Like Blood
5. Toadies - Santacide
6. Suicidal Tendancies - War Inside My Head
7. Rolling Stones - Sympathy fo the Devil
8. Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy
9. Sevendust - Denial
10. Moby - Thats When I Reach For My Revolver
Once again, we give away a kingsnake.com T-shirt to each of our weekly winners and the monthly winner gets a spankin new 30Gb video iPod! For the complete set of rules see http://club.kingsnake.com/index.php?/pages/wtfcontest.html
You MUST post your list TODAY, Friday, for it to qualify for the contest so POST AWAY.
Wednesday, July 26. 2006
I haven't had the time to listen carefully to these new indie releases, and while I can usually form my opinions based on the shallowest of criteria quickest listen when it comes to dance music, most indie/alt recordings deserve more attention. And yet, there are still only 24 hours in a day.
 I'm not sure about Hallelujah Sirens. Their new CD is Dirty on Purpose, a Mogwai-ish sophomore effort released late last month. They tend to grab me because I'm a sucker for that chiming guitar thing, but the music is maybe a bit drowsy. It's all about the interweaving vocals and the guitar special effects and although it's more focused than their first album, the title of that previous release sums up how I feel about this one: Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow. Which isn't a bad thing. Just, you know, drowsy.
 I'm not a Belle & Sebastian fan, but I can't resist B&S proteges Camera Osbscura, whose third CD, Let's Get Out of this Country, was released in June. Chimey guitars (yeah, I'm fucking predictable, bite me), pretty vocals, and an air of enchanting poppiness infuse the recording. They also dabble in a kind of country-ish thing on a few cuts, most notably the standout track "Dory Previn." I don't really think this is as sweet as it seems at first, but then again, it might be.
 I'm sort of morally opposed to concept albums, although in my younger years, I wore through three copies of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis when they were still Peter Gabriel's bitches. But usually when I hear a band is doing a concept album I want to just hide my eyes and cover my ears. And mabye The Early November felt the same way, because I've heard they almost broke up several times while writing and recording their massive three-disc concept CD The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path. This story of a boy's troubled relationship with his father, and his subsequent troubled relationship with his own child is getting great reviews and I guess I'm just cranky and irritable because it's not working for me. They do, though, put the "rock" in "indie ROCK," definitely not a pop moment in sight. Keep my bias in mind and maybe give it a try.
In addition to the 1000 free shirts we are giving away at the National Reptile Breeders Expo in Daytona, Florida, we will also be giving away 1000 free shirts at the North American Reptile Breeders Conference in Anaheim, Callifornia in September and another 1000 shirts at the same event in Chicago, Illinois in October. We are also planning on giving away another 1000 shirts at Snake Day in the Netherlands again IF we can find a Dutch T-shirt vendor. So, all told thats 4,000 T-shirts on two continents!
Finally, we are looking at doing some in-store and in-club T-shirt promotions, giving away 100 T-shirts at a whack at some select locations in North America and Europe. If you are a reptile-oriented pet store or alternative/metal/indie music club and would like information on how you can participate in this promotion, contact me.
Once again these shirts are FREE - we DO NOT SELL THEM! They can only be aquired by participating in our on-site contests and at special promotional events. Oh, you might find one on Ebay or in our classifieds, but who's to say it's not some cheap counterfeit. Come out and get one of our 100 percent AUTHENTIC cheap T-shirts for FREE!
Tuesday, July 25. 2006
 Ozz Fest (Second Stage)
http://www.ozzfest.com/
Saturday July 22, 2006
(Apple Valley, Wi)
Ozz Fest Tour Schedule
Tattoos and body piercing, chronic candy, painted breasts (no free photos people), choppers, free cigarettes and condoms, $6 water. This is Ozz Fest.
Make sure when attending to leave enough time (and money) to play in the Village of the Damned. Lots of fun stuff to do. Tattoos for the true hard core folks and body painting for the kiddies (or the exhibitionists). I totally loved the free condoms. Safe sex is a good thing and Trojan was there supporting the cause. One thing to take a little extra time (and leave a few bucks behind) to check out the Dimebag tribute. For those who haven't figured it out yet, I am still a huge Dime Mark. " A Guitar Art Tribute to Dimebag Darrell Abbott" was AMAZING. Paul Booth designed the sickest guitar I have ever seen. Truly amazing. Charlie Benante's was totally Dime and James Hetfield's was cheesy, but very cool.
My brain is still waking up. It is 8:30 AM and well it doesn't work well that early. I must say as well at the start that this show ran on a strict schedule and boy did they manage to not only stick to it, but gain speed as it went.
Second Stage, the proving grounds. The place where bands play for free to earn a chance to be the next big thing. The judges are harsher than Simon Cowell on a bad hair day. The judges will actually propel these bands to fame, or force them to be lost in the mix. One peice of advice from this judge, talk to the audience. No matter how cool it is to growl your intros, song titles, names, etc, it is much easier for someone to remember the spoken rather than the growled word.
BTW, while you see some pictures here, check the photo gallery for the full set.
We missed "seeing" The Red Chord and Strapping Young Lad. Both bands sounded pretty spiff from where we were, however due to the early hour and a slight delay with the arrival of our tix we didn't make it in at the start. The smaller acts played for approximately 20 minutes. While I didn't catch all the song titles, I have a few, most of which you can hear samples on their websites. Many of these bands were new to me, so this was a great place to sample and choose. 
Finally got in to see what was happening in the middle of Between The Buried And Me. Heard two of their songs. There was some nice switching between the melodic and the guttural growls in the vocals. No song titles folks. That's what happens when you come late to the party.
 Before I get into the next band, I just want to say that girls just fucking RULE! This next band proves it. Most of the bands were new to me and this was one of them. However I fully intend on catching up with this band. The band's name is Walls of Jericho and the girl's name is Candace Kucsulain and she rocks! In line for the first of my many $6 waters, I heard the band intro and then I heard the voice. I turned around and there was a little pixie of a girl RIPPING out of the gutter hard core demon voices. For years we heard us girls couldn't be hard core. We couldn't really LIKE the music. We just liked the guys (I always said it was an added benefit). She proves we are the music. 
"Through the Eyes of a Dreamer" rocked. They closed with "A Little Piece of Me". Both songs are off their 2004 release All Hail the Dead. They have a new album out August 22 called With Devils Among Us, so expect a review.
 The band that almost wasn't there, Full Blown Chaos, had a recent accident with their RV. It was totaled along with their trailer but with folks on the tour offering space to the band they have the chance to continue. Live Ray Mazzola, the singer, seemed to do the cookie monster growling, however he sounds much cleaner on recordings. Could be the road, the stress and all that shit. The double bass with this band is heavier than all hell. The song "Solemn Promise" is a touching tribute to Ray's mother and her struggles with cancer for the past ten years. Very heartfelt and dedicated to all those who have had struggles that try to bring them down. They closed with "Wake the Demons." Their new album titled Within The Grasp of Titans was just released on July 11. Check out some of their teasers on their My Space page. "Solemn Promise" is one of the teasers.
 Bad Acid Trip describes themselves as "Energetic Bursts of Psychopathic Energy." They look like an old school straight edge band. Listening to them, I got the feel of definite Primus influences. A little bit funky, and whole lotta hardcore. Kinda like a carnival ride straight to hell. If you are getting the feeling that this was my new big find of the day you are very right. This is the kind of band I paid big money to find at Metal Fests back in the day.
 A high energy band on stage, the props have got to go to vocalist Dirk Rogers for the most laughs earned. A true smart ass and someone who laughs his way through life (or so it seems) he holds the honor for the BEST quote of the day. You can be straight edge, but you can still smile. I'm still not sure this is the song title, but hell, its how he introduced the song. He dedicated it to all the posers out there and it was called "Please Don't Hurt Me." They also played a new song called "Black Metal."
to be continued...
 Alice in Chains
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
http://www.aliceinchains.net/
Saturday June10, 2006
Download Festival (Donington Park, UK)
Alice in Chains Tour Schedule
Excitement was mounting! The on-stage changeover between Arch Enemy and Alice In Chains seemed to take forever. We waited with bated breath for the second time that day. The World Cup and England's first game in the tournament against Paraguay was about to kick off, at literally the same time as AIC. We hoped desperately that this wouldn't scare the band off in any way. It couldn't, we'd all waited for so long for this precious moment.
With only a 40-minute set, they knew they'd have to blow our minds, keep us distracted from the footie on the screens. I felt like a teenager again, never mind the other 70-odd thousand people there. I pushed myself as far forward to the front of stage as was humanly possible. Camera in one hand in hope of a glimpse of one of my heroes - Jerry Cantrell - and in the other my sister's hand, dragging her happily through the sweaty lager spilt crowd. Boiling hot sun on our heads and dust billowing around the field, did it matter? Nah mate, even my allergies wouldn't hold me back for this one.
And on they walked, the cheer was deafening. The first note was hit and I knew immediately it was “Man in a box.� I squinted around me quickly on my tiptoes, there were excited smiling faces all around. AIC had done it, they'd caught our attention and we weren't ever going to look away. They played their way through eight hit singles and our gaze never broke away from theirs. “We Die Young� came next and I knew everyone was thinking about Layne, RIP brother.
 I felt like I'd written the set list, this is what I wanted to hear. During “Them Bones,� I caught my mate's eyes for a moment, Marek, he looked mesmerized, he threw me back a knowing look. Yes, this is what he'd asked for too.
Jerry and Mike Inez were all over the stage like a cheap suit, and William found himself in the midst of the crowd, singing to them with his beautiful voice. I tried desperately to grab some shots of the band, difficult when there are thousands of heads in the way and metal hands in the air. I could hear Naz, my sister's voice, at least she was in tune unlike the couple behind me. “Down in a hole� I heard her chorus. This is just too good to be true, “What amazing musicians,� I kept repeating to anyone who cared to listen.
I could have cried when they finished with “Would?�. Those metallers’ voices must have carried for miles, free for all karaoke. Wonderful! My heart belongs to AIC once again. Come back to the UK soon boys, we'll miss ya.
Set list:
Man In The Box
We Die Young
Them Bones
Down In A Hole
Again
No Excuses
Rooster
Would?
 We all love things we shouldn't. Junk food, reality TV, cars that get really bad gas mileage.
So don't hate me when I tell you that "Don't Feel Like Dancing," the Scissor Sisters' homage to really terrible bad dance music of the 70s, is the most fucking gloriously badly good song ever.
Stereogum is streaming it... listen here. And don't blame me, I couldn't help it. They're a fucking force of nature.
Monday, July 24. 2006
 We have posted some new pics from Ozzfest today, that is Unearth to the left shot by Brian Rampacek.
We have just passed our first milestone in the photo gallery with over 1,000 concert pictures uploaded so far. We are well on our way to our goal of 10,000 photos by May 1, 2007.
So far the photos include mostly shows reviewed somewhere on our site,or will be soon like Ozzfest, but we welcome the general public to share their photos here as well. Some great bands are on our list, and we will have even more coming up with things like the Hedgepeth Festival, Sounds of the Underground, ACL Fest, SXSW07 and others on our list to cover.
Check out this list of bands we have concert photos for so far...
 Kate Rusby
http://www.katerusby.com/
Sunday July 2, 2006
Alban Arena(St Albans, UK)
Kate Rusby Tour Schedule
“My stern gland needs greasing!� I said as Vic sat down next to us. Her eyes rolled as she realized that she would need to explain the remark to the rest of our clueless group.
“It’s his boat!� she said. “He needs some work done on his boat.�
Vic’s fella Andy used to work in a boatyard and was the ideal person to sort out my stern gland issues. I was hoping he would be at the party too but apparently he was away on tour.
“Who with?� I asked.
“Kate Rusby,� she replied, waiting for me to admit that I had never heard of her.
“Never heard of her,� I said.
“Folk music mate, not your thing,� she scolded.
“Hey, I have an eclectic musical taste I’ll have you know!� I retorted.
“Turin Brakes and a Mozart box set do not make an eclectic musical taste,� said Vic.
She had a point.
As it turned out Kate Rusby would be appearing on my doorstep at the end of that very week, at The Alban Arena in St Albans. After a couple of phone calls back and forth the deal was sealed. Not only would Andy come to my aid on the boat, but I could go to the gig with him that evening. It would be rude not to do a review at the same time.
Typing her name into Google I was feeling lucky, and it took me directly to the Kate Rusby website.
Kate was pretty without a doubt, and not at all like the cider soaked folk singer I had expected. She’d been around for a while too, having several albums and a live DVD available on the site along with a string of awards and accolades. I listened to a couple of streamed song snatches and checked out her biography. Hailing from Barnsley in the North of England, I was sure she was going to sound like something from Rita, Sue and Bob Too.
That Sunday, with my stern gland freshly greased, we set of to the venue. Kate was already there when we arrived. Sitting eating a biscuit in the dressing room, she was shorter than I had imagined.
“Are you that boat boy Andy went to see?� she asked as Andy and I walked in, rolling a strong but incredibly smooth northern English accent.
“Yeah I am; you must be Kate, thanks for the pass.� I replied.
“No problem.� she smiled and pointed at the teapot. “Grab a cuppa.�
Soon it was time for sound-check. I tagged along and sat in the wings. I dunno why, but I had no idea that Andy would actually be a performer. (All of my other mates in the industry are techs or sound engineers or lampies, and I’d assumed Andy would be the same.) As he stood there with his button accordion I began to get a feeling of where the night was headed. This was real folk music, all but the beards and real ale. I stayed to hear Andy’s squeezebox sound-check and then followed him back to help drink the rider.
As showtime approached I chatted with the band through the underground rabbit warren of corridors leading to the stage and auditorium. As I approached the stage I was collared by the tour manager. “I’ll get you a seat in the auditorium,� he said as I realized I had probably overstayed my welcome, what with just minutes to go before the show opened.
The auditorium was full for a sold out show so as the first song was almost done I pulled up a seat in the aisle next to a pillar.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Kate Rusby, St. Albans, UK"
Sunday, July 23. 2006
 Thanks to Candelight Records US Office for contributing to club.kingsnake.com! One of the first discs they sent me to review is the new Gorgoroth. What a tremendous release it is!
This band has been around for many years now and the name Gorgoroth has been etched into the minds of many worshipers of Norwegian black metal. This record is definitely my favorite but I think some fans of their older harsher releases will not be too into it. Tough shit on them, as this is really a killer record
Rather than draw comparisons to the old recordings I will focus on the new one. The production is awesome, a good sounding record without being too over produced. Everything is audible and clear but not too digitized. I hear some death metal influence and even some traditional metal riffing thrown in the mix,. I remember years back when black metal was very specific as far as the style and sound, very un-death metal. This has changed a lot and this record has balls, as the heavier guitar sound of death metal is apparent. The song writing is excellent. The vocals are varied and really fit in with the feel of this record, I love it. The record is the type that really held my attention. Zoning out with the different feel from song to song and of course when the band goes into brutal mode it is definitive of what extreme metal should be, especially from a legendary band out of Norway.
The long list of musicians who have contributed to the history of Gorgoroth must be raising their swords in honor of this glorious attack on the senses. I think this record will attract some new fans who may not have been much into the older records, but if the next record was a slopfest of harsh destructive noise, or ambient melody or anything in between, nothing would surprise me. Black metal has mutated a lot since it’s rise to popularity. Some of it sucks and some of it is just a gift to the world of extreme music. This release seems to be in comparison to the way bands like Behemoth and Immortal chose to go in a more serious direction. What I mean by that is some bands prefer to stick with recordings released by themselves through mail order only or despise the thought of appealing to the masses. They care little for sound quality and expect to attract a small audience of “true� kult fans. They try to come off as the harshest of the harsh as if their lives revolve around the band and destruction of serious ideals of what most people would see as normal is what they want you to believe they focus on. This attitude works well for some, but what they don’t tell you is they live with their parents and spend the majority of their time looking for the most obscure bands on the planet in an attempt to be cool. Gorgoroth are apparently trying to spread their message and music with better song writing that does seem more appealing to the masses, but not in some bullshit sell out way! It is just a very easy-to-get-into record. Easy to inspire you let out your aggressions and get your neck in a brace.
Knowing the band's strong beliefs and history in the back metal uprising this must be a very important record to them. With unbelievable set backs to people unfamiliar with black metal such as suicide and imprisonment and of course not being on the same page with some of the former members this record is a triumph. Founding member Infernus has overcome a lot and hopefully has secured a lineup to deliver their message of hate and a true wake up call to ask yourself what you believe in,.....and why? Infernus has had some well known musicians contribute to Gogoroths recordings such as Frost of Satyricon, Samoth of Emperor/Zyklon, and now Dirge Rep from Enslaved for live performances. It seems the three members who will be looked at as names to be heard again in the band are Gaahl on vocals and King on bass and of course Infernus on guitars. Frost played drums on this recording and as usual he did a tremendous job.
I highly recommend this release, it is by far one of the best I have heard in a while. To run through this band's discography and get to this phenomenal record would be a journey into darkness with times being almost too much to handle mentally, yet to finally get to this record would leave you in shock, with screams of anguish and hate and a violent whirlwind of noise in your mind......this is the real deal. Horns up for Gorgoroth, this record is worthy of worship. TRUE Norwegian black metal from some of the most serious men in corpse paint. Buy it.
In the US it’s on Candelight Records, the release date was July 15.
In Europe...Regain Records.
Friday, July 21. 2006
Once again I am late. I should quit going to Thursday concerts.
Since I was so late today we will accept entires through midnight Saturday for this weeks drawing and I will spend the weekend dogsitting as pennance.
It is now Friday July 21th and it is time to play WTF Friday, the game where you tell us the first 10 songs that come up on your music player when you hit the Random or Shuffle button. At stake is a classic kingsnake.com T-shirt and a chance to win the monthly grand prize, a black 30Gb video iPod.
Congrats to our last 2 T-Shirt Winners, Dave Tracer and Catherine Maynard who should be getting them about now.
Here is my list...
1. Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
2. Godsmack - I Stand Alone
3. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
4. Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne
5. Soundgarden - Rusty Cage
6. Staind - Black Rain
7. Eels - Damn, I Wish I was Your Lover
8. The Offspring - Hey Joe
9. Frank Zappa - The Dangerous Kitchen
10. Butthole Surfers - The Colored F.B.I. Guy
Once again, we give away a kingsnake.com T-shirt to each of our weekly winners and the monthly winner gets a spankin new 30Gb video iPod! For the complete set of rules see http://club.kingsnake.com/index.php?/pages/wtfcontest.html
You MUST post your list TODAY, Friday, for it to qualify for the contest so POST AWAY
Wednesday, July 19. 2006
 This is pretty much a can't-miss disc for fans of the South African band Seether. Continuing with MTV's unplugged concept, Seether performs a special live acoustic set of some of their best songs at a small club. Lucky for us, not only did they make an audio recording, they also recorded a DVD, which is included.
I love Seether, so for me this was like a slice of hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream, hard to turn down, and when finished I was left greedily hoping for more. Even though this is an acoustic set, it still rocks. One thing that really struck me when listening to this disc is Seether's aural resemblance to Nirvana on some cuts. Seether is known to cover some Nirvana tunes live, and sometimes the resemblance on this disc can be spooky.
This is one of the cleaner mixes I have heard for a live disc. Kudos go out to the engineers that put this down. There are 12 live songs included on the disc(s). Each one is great.
- Gasoline
- Driven Under
- Diseased
- Truth
- Immortality
- Tied My Hands
| - Sympathetic
- Fine Again
- Broken
- The Gift
- Remedy
- Plastic Man
|
An extra bonus on the DVD is a one-hour interview with the band and the CD includes a special "radio edit" of "The Gift."
 Rancid
Hometown: Berkeley, California
http://www.rancidrancid.com/
Friday, July 10, 2006
Emo's (Austin, Texas)
Also: Street Dogs, Complete Control
Rancid Tour Schedule
Rancid Concert Photo Gallery
In the documentary film Punk: Attitude, Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders states that "punk" only lasted 100 days back in the 70s. If that in fact is the case, no one bothered to tell the band Rancid, currently ripping through a 100+ show cross country tour over the summer and fall, including a two-day gig at Austin's Emo's. That's a lot of days crammed into a tiny tour bus. Lotta bad food, hotels. That's pretty old school punk, if you ask me.
This show was in Emo's open air stage area, half of which is covered, but the open air didn't mean cool refreshing breeze, Austin's neverending heat wave roiling all. This was purely a punk show, by definition. There was no mosh pit. The whole audience was the pit. Loud, fast, long, this was a great old fashioned get in there grind 'em up and sweatfest.
 Rancid played for more almost two hours, covering a number of songs from their catalog (they say they are picking from 150 songs each night and each set is different), including a number of acoustic songs towards the end of the set. I kept pushing into the crowd taking a few pictures, then getting slowly pushed back, then trying to work my way up again. Luckily everyone who saw me with my camera kind of helped out, but I always seemed to end up behind the same tall guy.
 Unfortunately in all that slamming and crowd surfing I wasn't really able to keep track of the set list (I was too busy trying to duck the steel-toed boots), but Rancid seemed to play forever, stopping only to save a fan from being crushed and again later to gear up for the acoustic set. They wandered all over their music catalog, covering most of their charted songs as well as a number of crowd favorites. They did cover most of their songs from " ...And Out Come The Wolves." Tim and Lars were defintely the real energy focus coming from the stage, but Matt and Brett slogged away in the heat, not missing a beat.
This is a great band to see live if you want to go see a punk show in a small venue, but be prepared for the crowd. It's not often you get to see such a big name band playing small clubs. If you get a chance to see Rancid, this would be the tour to do it.
Unfortunately I didn't make it into the show in time to catch either opening act. Thanks to Bill at Emo's, Rancid's tour manager, and Rancid for hooking me up with the photo pass.
 I liked festivals, when I was 25. Spending a long weekend wasted was cool back then but nowadays the recovery period is far too elongated. The only time I’ll go to festivals now is if I’m working and so that’s how I ended up at T–in the Park in Scotland.
A mate of mine has a stall selling festival hats and t-shirts etc and needed me along to drive and look after the stall.
“Who’s playing,� he said.
“Yeah, I was gonna ask you who was playing.�
�No, Who’s playing!� he said.
“I dunno, I was asking you!� I replied.
“Forget it!� he said.
After spending 11 hours driving up there, three days setting up the stall and two days dragging pissed up Scots back onto the stall to pay for their “goods,� I was knackered. However, I was looking forward to the last act of the last day and had booked the time off. Bring on the Who!
I regrettably missed the Chillies, Arctic Monkeys and the Zutons, all of whom bust out great sets which could be heard from our pitch between the two main stages. In retrospect, I wish I had got down there. The Who however are one of those bands you have to say you have seen, it’s like “Yeah, I’ve seen Buckingham Palace, I’ve seen England play at Wembley and I’ve seen the Who.� Job done.
By the time I got there the main stage was packed. I tried to make my way a bit closer, but even the back of the crowd was packed out with certainly the biggest crowd of the whole festival. The TV footage apparently showed members of all of the other bands who had stayed back to see the Who. These guys are truly legends, especially the dead ones.
It soon became clear why I don’t like watching bands at festivals or indeed stadium rock.
I had “pissed up twat falling all over me.�
I had “cigarette burn to the back of my neck� from dick head behind me.
“Vomiting fuckwit� was fun too, as was “Oi! You’re in my way I can’t see.�
THERE’S 35,000 PEOPLE HERE AND YOU’RE 5 FOOT 2. OF COURSE YOU CAN’T SEE! PISS OFF!
However, the highlight was the bottle of warm amber liquid that landed on the lass next to me. Thankfully I only suffered minor splash-age.
Oh, yeah, sorry. The Who were playing, weren’t they. I was up for a great time, I really was. “Can’t Explain� started the set well and got people moving slightly. By the time “Won’t Get Fooled Again� was underway I was screaming at the top of my voice and caught myself doing that “fist in the air� stadium rock thing. What was I doing???!!!! Any attempts to dance were met with a disapproving look from those next to me in the crowd. They were gonna hate it when I started to spin my air guitar arm Townsend-style! Liven up for fuck sake!
After that things went downhill. Yeah, they banged out the classics – “Who Are You?�, “Pinball Wizard,� “Substitute,� and “My Generation� all got air-time and were ace live. These guys are good! Even the replacements such as Townsend’s son Simon seemed to gel seamlessly. The performances, though, were slightly diluted by how they dragged out each decent song with a 15 minute reprise. Sorry, but this just leaves me standing.
While the guy in front of me jumped up and down with his rucksack clocking me under the chin I felt it was time for me to leave. Yeah, The Who are damn good, I don’t think that they were the reason I was left frustrated. I just don’t think I’m made for this festival/stadium rock thing. Like it says in my profile, if there are 35,000 people there then it’s probably not gonna blow my skirt up. I think I would have enjoyed this gig more from the back, dancing on my own like a loon. The songs built me up but there was no vent, no chance to let loose. Gimme a small venue any day. At least you don’t get pissed up Scottish chav women squatting down next to you to take a piss. Please!
Tuesday, July 18. 2006
Joining our staff is the UK's Dawn Porter.
From Dawn:
 I discovered the joys of metal whilst in the States, and bought the love back to the UK with me in 1999. Bad Religion, Life of Agony, Downset, Madball, Type O Negative, Agnostic Front, Biohazard and Sepultura were getting big here, but I was already two steps ahead.
Nowadays my purchases are mostly metal, or more specifically misery metal as my mate calls it. If I do an iPod shuffle you'll certainly get some Staind, Alterbridge, Tantric, Cold, Incubus and Puddle of Mudd. But hey, you can still get all of the stuff from my past mixed in with that too. Life is supposed to like a box of chocolates, mine is a bit like a box of rattlesnakes! Read on!
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