Wednesday, October 31. 2007
I loved the FedEx man. I really did. I loved the FedEx man because he brought my preview copy of A7X's latest. I've listened to the self titled release a bunch of times and now I've begun to hate the FedEx man. Huh? Well, you see as far as mainstream commercially viable hard rock/metal albums go this one is the shizzle. As far as A7X albums go it leaves quite a bit to be desired.
Don't get me wrong. I am a fan. City of Evil was my go-to disc for long drives, short walks and just hanging around. I so wanted its successor to be at least as good as "Evil".
The album starts strong with the kidney punch that is "Critical Acclaim". With its soaring intro, chunky riffing, and sinister whispers one instantly sees why it was released several months ago as a teaser. "Critical Acclaim" is also blatantly political and flexes A7X's right-wing muscles.
After that there is no sign of the complex arrangements and dynamic shifts seen on previous releases. There are songs that tween chicks will dig. When my wife starts bopping to "Lost" I know the album isn't what I'd hoped it would be.
The people who began chanting "Sellout, Sellout!" when City Of Evil was released will undoubtedly begin their chant again. There's nothing incredibly new here. With every album A7X has moved toward the mainstream. That's a balancing act which I don't envy them. I guess they could have stayed underground with M. Shadows screaming his lungs out and selling a few thousand albums here and there, or they can take their incredible talent and pen some hits.
I struggle with how to end this review. I remember all too well my sense of loss upon hearing Metallica's Black Album. Gone were the 9 minute long epics with 16 different time signatures and nary a chorus to be found. Metallica had gone mainstream, and in the opinion of millions had never sounded better.
I, on the other hand, wept.
A7X - A7X marks a significant departure from a solid body of work. And I'm sure in the opinion of millions they too have never sounded better.
No Conviction
Invitro
Otep
Static X
The Rave
 One of the coolest things about this job is watching the progression of bands. The first time we met No Conviction, it was at the Side Bar of The Rave for a smaller local show. This time around, they invited us to see them on the big stage. Opening for several larger acts, No Conviction had some big shoes to fill. Locally based, they needed to reach out to people who may have never heard of them. Also they were under pressure from shooting a video of the evening.
They filled the big boots well. This time they sounded much better. For some reason they lucked on the mix lotto. There was a more thrash feel rather than the totally insane hard core of last show giving them an almost softer sound. With a limited set (a mere 6 songs) they tore through their 20 minute set at full steam ahead. Playing highlights for me were the songs "Sin is In" and "No Control." They closed with perennial favorite, the Superjoint cover, "Fuck Your Enemy."
 Invitro was up next and for some reason I had a problem concentrating on their first song. These boys are creative, I'll give them that! What can I say about a band that comes on stage with lab coats and aluminum foil helmets with laser beams coming from their heads? They did put on a decent show, once I was able to focus more on the music and the head pieces came off. A combination of light industrial with a pop/punk feel and a fast set. There were some great guitar riffs that were extremely catchy. Overall what I would term a "bouncy" set.
 Otep was up next and with this being the set I was looking forward to, I was somewhat disappointed. There were no vocals for the first two songs, and when they finally were able to be heard, they were not that great. Since the show was at The Rave, I'll blame it on the mix. Otep Shamaya is one of the few kick ass women vocalists out there, and I was really disappointed that her vocals didn't come across as great live as they do on CD. But she was pretty damn hot on stage. More than just a pretty face, she gave her views on politics and life, which at times excited the crowd and other times brought them down. I do give her credit for her beliefs and even more credit for sharing them openly. Although personally, when watching a concert, my mind isn't in the mood for politics. I just want to have a good time and not have to think. But did I mention she still looked damn good?
Finally was Static X. This is a band I swore I didn't like and wasn't familiar with. Apparently I was wrong on both accounts. I was shocked at the number of songs I knew, but even more I was shocked at how much I not only liked the show, but their music. Opening with their new song "Cannibal," they tore through their almost 2 hour set. I won't even attempt to give them a genre beyond their self described "Evil Disco." This band had amazing energy and sounded almost flawless. For those in the Milwaukee area, you know what this means for The Rave. I was incredibly impressed with their energy level. For a band that ain't really spring chickens anymore to tear through that many songs and stay on stage for as long as they did really is truly impressive. Crowd faves were "Push It" and "I'm with Stupid" although they also played "Destroy," "Dirthouse," and "The Enemy." And I still want to know what Wayne puts in his hair.
The true bonus to this show was the fact that we were allowed to photograph for the ENTIRE set. We learned exactly how many pics it takes to fill a 4 gig memory card. It was an amazing show, and we would like to thank No Conviction for the invitation!
Tuesday, October 30. 2007
 Bad Brains
Hometown: New York City, NY / Washington D.C.
http://www.badbrains.com/index.html
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
House of Blues (Anaheim, CA)
Opening acts: Whole Wheat Bread, Ignite
I looked forward to this show more than I can remember any other in the recent past. And why wouldn’t I? It’s the freakin’ Bad Brains! For those not familiar, the Bad Brains are long considered one of the founding bands of hardcore punk. Originally hailing from Washington D.C. and finally settling in New York City, this eccentric reggae punk outfit went on to influence many of top bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Beastie Boys (Adam Yauch produced the Brains’ current release).
The opening band was a very interesting three piece band from Florida named Whole Wheat Bread. I was given heads up from a friend up in San Francisco to make sure I saw them play. My buddy Mike could only describe them as “ghetto punk.� I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. WWB hit the stage and entertainingly moved thru a variety of music types, from a very Blink 182-esque type song straight into a hardcore rap back over to a country type rock song and so on. It sounds all over the place, but they pulled it off very well. They were a very fitting band to open for a pioneer hardcore punk band that somehow knew a fusion of reggae and punk would work.
Following Whole Wheat Bread was a local Orange County band called Ignite. Ignite was added to the bill at the last minute as they literally flew in from a European tour earlier in the day. Ignite is a super masculine driving hardcore band with a sound much like a few other similar type bands from the area a la 90s straight-edge hardcore band No For An Answer. There was a good amount of support in the house and the set was enjoyable.
 The Brains were up next and the bottom floor of the House of Blues was packed. This tour is in support of recently released CD, Build a Nation. HR, Dr. Know, Darryl and Earl came out and just killed it starting the set with a classic called “House of Suffering� from the I Against I record. I was bouncing around towards the front of the stage and realized I was suddenly been shot back ten years. The crowd reminded me of some of the old Fender’s Ballroom punk shows. Bodies were flying. The pit was harsh. And I had slight whiplash at the end of the night from the myriad of boots to the head from all the crowd swimmers. Ahh, the old days! The Brains went on to play a great set of songs from Build a Nation to I Against I to Rock for Light. The only negative thing I can say is that HR sang from one spot on the stage. I was looking forward to seeing one of the most energetic front men in the history of punk. I’ve seen old clips of HR doing back flips from six foot high speaker set ups. I can only guess age (HR is 51) has finally taken its toll, but who am I to judge a legend. Highlights of the set were, “Sailin On,� “Banned in D.C.,� “Pat to Cum,� and “Re-Ignition.�
Monday, October 29. 2007
Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff
Boys Like Girls
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
http://www.boyslikegirls.com
The Boys Like Girls Concert Photos
Sunday October 14th, 2007
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
Also: All Time Low, The Audition, We The Kings
It was a mean crowd that packed, and I mean packed, La Zona Rosa for emo hearthrobs Boys Like Girls in Austin on Sunday. One of the security guards took a knee to the groin from a crowd surfer in the pit and I found myself dodging shoes thrown by the audience. At one point I cowered in the corner of the pit like a little girl after my three songs, not wanting to force my way through the mob comprised almost entirely of -- little girls! Maybe young women might be a more appropriate term, but only barely, as the mean age of the concert goers seemed to be about 14.
Look, I'm no slouch; I've done many foolhardy things in my life, barehanding venomous snakes, chasing large gators through swamps, playing flashlight tag with mountain lions in the desert at night in shorts and flip-flops, flying Delta Airlines, and even working third shift at a convenience store. I've even been hit by a hurricane and a tornado! None of them invoked a fear response like that overheated pack of high school girls.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Boys Like Girls at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas"
Sunday, October 21. 2007
Kid Rock, whose pugilistic exploits at this years VMA's drew both hoots of derision from his ex and an offer to further his boxing career professionally, appears to be willing to fight for his right to waffles.
MSNBC is reporting that the scruffy light middle weight (middle light weight?) was arrested after a 5:00 a.m. brawl at a Waffle House restaurant following his show in Atlanta. Apparently the kid, and his entourage, got into it with another customer, after the customer recognized a woman traveling with the entourage had words, and then got into an altercation with Rock. Rock was arrested a short time later on a misdemeanor charge of simple battery, and he and his entourage spent the day in the county jail. Released at 5:00 pm, they were just in time to catch the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity special at the nearby IHOP.
My advice to the kid, either stop hanging out at The Waffle House, or quit dating women that hang out at The Waffle House.
Friday, October 19. 2007
 Well, they say competition is good for consumers.
I checked out the Amazon.com mp3 store a week or two ago, and wrote about it here. I believe I said it was entirely possible Amazon could be the iTunes slayer:
(T)he tracks are recorded at 256 kpbs rather than 128 kpbs (which means much better sound quality), they are free of the restrictive Digital Rights Management software that means you can't play them on anything but an iPod or your computer, and ... Amazon had a lot of music iTunes didn't -- although the reverse, he said, is also true, given that iTunes has 6 million sings and Amazon, so far, only 2 million.
So I went to Amazon and checked it out. And I found that:
With the installation of a tiny little helper program, the download is incredibly easy and pops the songs right into iTunes for you.
The sound quality is much, much better.
The files play on anything, my iPod, my computer, can be burned onto a CD, and can be played on any other kind of MP3 player, made by Apple or not.
The songs cost either less, or the same, as iTunes -- and you don't pay extra for unrestricted tracks, likeyou do on iTunes; that's all Amazon sells.
And it was all done with one click, using my pre-existing Amazon account.
I guess iTunes thought they were looking like a threat, too, because today they sent me a little note letting me know there'd be some changes 'round the ole iTunes store:
We've lowered the price for iTunes Plus songs to 99¢ and expanded our selection to more than two million songs, including new albums from Iron & Wine, Band of Horses, Sharon Jones, José González, and more. With high-quality 256-Kbps AAC encoding and no DRM (digital rights management), the iTunes Plus catalog is the largest DRM-free catalog in the world. And that means you can play iTunes Plus music on any iPod or other digital music player and an unlimited number of computers.
Okay, Amazon.... your turn!
 Against Me! at the Guvernment, Toronto
October 1, 2007
Support: The Cancer Bats, The Dirty Tricks
I’d been listening to Against Me! since 2002 and went to see them every time they came to Toronto, but was terribly turned off of them after their 2005 release Searching for a Former Clarity, as well as their Opera House performance, which I believe was in early 2006. I swore off ever going to one of their shows again and didn’t plan on keeping an eye out for any news from the band in years to come (which at the time I didn’t think was even going to happen), but when I saw New Wave hit the shelves earlier this year, I couldn’t help but buy a copy.
Fortunately my AM! disdain was only temporary, and New Wave really grew on me after a few listens. Front man Tom Gabel still had that deep, forced sounding growl on some songs that only came about on Former Clarity but it worked a little better on this album, with a much more upbeat sound shadowing melancholy lyrics about junkies and war.
This album made a lot of older fans permanently disregard the band as “sellouts� which had been the ridiculous phrase being tossed at these guys for the last couple years. To me, AM! putting out a record like New Wave was them flipping off all those pretentious wannabe music connoisseurs, and letting them know (as they had been in interview after interview) that they don’t give a fuck what those kids think. It may seem ostentatious and slightly unintelligent to blatantly tell your fans you really don’t care what they think, but maybe it was just to show everyone they weren’t trying to fit into a niche to be the next NOFX. It’s not cool to be into a band that’s anti-establishment when they are on MTV. To a degree, this does make sense, but there’s a point where you need to look at music for what it is and not how the band is dressing and what venues their shows are at.
Continue reading "Against Me! at the Guvernment, Toronto"
Thursday, October 18. 2007
 Wrath
El Diablo
2-West
Heartbreakers Gentlemen's Club, West Allis, WI
June 23, 2007
Wrath is a good old fashioned thrash band. You might remember I reviewed them last fall. I go a long way back in life with these guys, and I still rate them as one of the premier thrash bands in the Midwest. Some of their hair is shorter. They have a few years on them, but they still sound amazing. The new vocalist (well it's been almost a year; I spose I can stop calling him new) John is really finding his spot in the band. The nerves are gone. His vocals merge the newer metal sounds with the glorious old skool thrash I grew up on and still adore to this day. Oh yeah, and another slappy bass boy. Love it. There is just something so very different in the sound between the fingers and the pick. The sound is so much more pure with the fingers. From the clean solo work on “Closed Doors� and “Nothing Yet� to the blast beat on classic song “Panic Control,� this is a band that still to this day stays true to their roots and their sound. They shot a live video of show and you can expect to see it on their myspace page. Plus ya just gotta love when the bands give us props from the stage. Thankfully, John did remember ALL the words this time to “Ace of Spades.� It is good being the queen.
El Diablo is a Chicago 5 piece band that turns samples and keyboards into a slightly hardcore sound. A little angrier than the other bands, with a slight hard core edge. OHHH guess what, another bassist who eschews the picks. LOVE IT! They have a very evil disco feel. The segues between songs are smooth, and flawless transitions make the show move at an insane pace. I really liked the angry vocals much more than the soft ones. N, their vocalist, was a trooper; with a freshly broken arm and a pocket full of vics, he hung in there for the full set. Their set was insanely short, even though they had a full set of songs. Short sweet and to the point. And their Journey cover of “Small Town Girl� made the song far cooler than the Sopranos did. “Idiot,� with its warning to men to watch for the gold-diggers, and “Evil American� were highlights.
With a slightly abbreviated set due to the entire night being slightly behind schedule because of the late arrival of the sound guy, 2-west still had a fabulous outing. Eric, the vocalist, was in prime form to lead the way with their personal salute to sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Tonight “Decay� is dedicated to Dime. They debuted the new song “Scorned.� And all was fun and games until someone left the back door to the club open. 2-West is apparently just WAY too heavy for the sleepy city of West Allis. The show had to shut down early, much to the dismay of the crowd and 2-West. But the West Allis Police cannot be swayed.
Tuesday, October 16. 2007
Chris Isaak at The Backyard - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff
Chris Isaak
Hometown: Stockton, California
http://chrisisaak.com
Chris Isaak Concert Photos
Saturday October 13th, 2007
The Backyard (Austin, Texas)
Also: Patrice Pike
It's probably impossible to write about Chris Isaak without making at least one Elvis Presley reference, but based on his show at The Backyard on Saturday he doesn't do anything to discourage them either. I mean, look at the guy. He looks like Elvis, he sounds like Elvis, and he works his audience like Elvis. An accomplished performer in his own right, it must be both a curse and a blessing.
I've liked Chris Isaak since seeing his breakout video for "Wicked Game" on MTV. That was back when MTV could make or break an artist's career and was still a real force to be reckoned with in the music world. Almost 18 years later' Chris doesn't seem to have aged a bit, and his music still sounds as fresh as when I first heard it.
A little bit rock and roll, a little bit country, Chris can whip out a high energy rock song and effortlessly follow it with that slow smoldering balladeering he is famous for. Wireless mic in hand, he had no qualms about jumping into the audience to wander about serenading various women and inviting them, loudly, with a wink and sly grin' back to the tour bus. At one point he switched places with his drummer and did a decent job on the kit while the drummer covered the vocals.
With a set comprising all his hits plus some, and totaling 20 songs at just over an hour and a half, this was a great show. My favorites were the songs form Heart Shaped World, but he and the band did lots of songs from his whole career. To check out the Austin set list click here.
Opening for Chris was Austin's own Patrice Pike. I wish I had gotten there early enough to shoot her set. Unfortunately, I was late, and only got to see half of her last song, and then only from a vantage point marginally better than peeking over the back fence. I did bump into her after her set, but not long enough to introduce myself. I look forward to a chance to see her do a full set.
Thanks to Emily and Trevin for hooking me up with another great Direct Events show!
Monday, October 15. 2007
Issa at Showplace. Peterborough, Ontario.
photo by clint gilders- staff photographer |
by clint gilders - club kingsnake staff
Issa
www.issalight.com
Thursday October 4th, 2007.
Showplace Centre For The Performing Arts (Peterborough, Ontario)
About a year ago Jane Siberry made some major changes in her life. Along with changing her name to Issa (pronounced “eee sah�) she has sold almost all her possessions and simplified her life to traveling with little more than a backpack. As of late she has been working on the recording of 33 songs funded solely by the generosity of "patrons", and selling her back catalog in digital only format using Self Determined Pricing. In a nutshell, pay what you think the music is worth to you either before or after you hear it. Also of note is that fact that, on sheeba.ca, Issa makes a handful of free tickets available for each of her shows.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Issa (Jane Siberry) at the Showplace Centre for the Performing Arts, Peterborough, Ontario"
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