On their very first tour this new, old, band formed by J.D. Deservio of Black Label Society are working hard to get their live set perfected. Having spent some time with their new CD I can tell you that some songs work well live, others not so much, but with a set list that is pretty much limited to songs from their first release and maybe not getting the best mix you go with what you got.
That said undoubtedly the song "Dead Man Walking" was both mine and the crowds favorite with a monster bass crunchiness that sounds like it's straight from the disc. This song should be getting massive airplay on the harder FM and Satellite stations and should be the song that makes their disc chart.
Frontman Gregg LoCascio belted out vocals that were more than a little reminiscent in rang and pitch of Chris Cornell, and JD's bass lines were straight from the Ozzy/Sabbath playbook. Both worked the audience hard while guitarist Joe Taylor stood like a statue, strangely Iommi-esque, intensely focused on his riffs as they tangled their way in and out of the rhythm. The band works well together both in terms of their sound and their stage show and was a good (almost perfect) match to open for Black Label.
This is most definitely a band I will be putting on my "see again" checklist. It will be interesting to see them gel and put out a few more releases, they could turn into something much bigger than just an opening act.
Cycle Of Pain Austin Set List
5
down witcha pain
14 devils
reign down
dead man walkin
do my work high
pungle
Pennywise at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff
Pennywise and Pepper are two bands that I had no idea were big enough to playing the outside at Stubb’s. I had heard of both but didn’t have a real knowledge of either outside of Pennywise’s 1991 debut so I had no expectations at all going in.
I walked in about midway through the Expendables set. They really sounded good; it kind of felt like one of Iron Maiden’s guitarists had joined Green Day and thrown in some ska for good measure. The band had the crowd so into it that I thought for a second that it was one of the headliners. It was very impressive to see that much command out of an opening act.
Pepper at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
The crowd was very hyped for the whole show but they got most excited for Pepper. It was clearly Pepper who had pulled most of the crowd because the place was filled with girls that looked fresh from the sorority house and guys that knew they were going to be there. Apparently Pepper knew this as well.
The now California based Hawaiian ska band came out 0 for 3 on shirts, which the girls seemed to be very appreciative of, so much of so that some of the decided to lose their shirts as well, which the guys clearly appreciated. The music was nothing really special, but they completely owned the crowd, often taking requests because as they said several times, they don’t make a setlist. The show didn’t make me want to go out and buy all their records, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing them again sometime.
Pennywise is a great live act. They brought more energy to the stage that any of the other bands and did it sounding the best as well. While some the crowd had left after Pepper, the people that stayed were glad they did. The pit erupted almost immediately and the band fed off of the crowd’s high energy. I really enjoyed the music as well, better than I ever did on their records. The highlights off the set were probably “Land of the Free?” and their most well known song, “Bro Hymn” which had the whole crowd singing along with the chorus. The show was great but didn’t have the same power on record. I would see them again, but I doubt I’ll be listening to them any other time.
Pennywise at Stubb's - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
Cannibal Corpse at The Rave - more photos... photo by brian rampacek - staff photographer
It's the first real day of spring. I even put on shorts. I am dreading the fact that I will have to wear jeans all night. New tattoo, The Rave is kinda dirty, people spill stuff. Infection is a bad thing. At least when it is on my body. I'm also excessively tired, having rolled in from a meeting the night before at around 2 am and had to be to work at 8, let's just say I was wiped. But I was far to excited for a nap. So instead I lounged, worked on stuff for HR669, and stared at the clock. Time passes slowly sometimes.
We arrived at The Rave just before the rain started to fall and that was mighty fine by me. Temps were dropping because of the spring showers, and even though The Rave's lot was packed, we got our favorite parking spot as usual. (For those who attend shows at The Rave, for $10.00 you can park a block away on 23rd street just east of Wisconsin at the Irish Community Center and its fenced and secure.)
Cannibal travels simply. We have covered them a few times and they are a no frills band. No sticky photo passes. So after we get my ticket, its off to call the tour manager. This has happened for every Cannibal show. It's not their fault. They prefer to keep things simple, and like tour managers from the past, Jeremy was a super nice guy and got us handled with security and got us wrist bands. Too bad this was a time where Brian only brought one camera.
Cannibal Corpse at The Rave - more photos... photo by brian rampacek - staff photographer
I am a huge Cannibal fan from way back. I honestly can't tell you the true number of times I have seen the band perform. I tried to actually count and got a bit foggy around 15. Its part because I see them in twos. This summer we should be seeing them as well. I really TECHNICALLY should find them so very wrong. I am the type of girl who can not only take a punch, but give it back. Honestly a band that historically closes with a song "Striped, Raped and Strangled" should give some offense to me, but I think we metal heads really know to take a joke. Or maybe I just have an amazing sense of humor.
Cranking out with their opener of "The Time To Kill is Now" to a totally packed house. I'm sure there was room to fit a few in, but it was a far better turn out than the last solo show in the basement we saw. Having a new perspective to the show, sitting at the side of the stage, writing my notes on the stage I made an AMAZING discovery. Corpsegrinder's neck is larger than the average man. He has a red wood for a neck. I was TOTALLY fascinated by this for the entire show. He has muscles upon muscles on his neck. It is insane. Of course he does spin his head at approximately 400 miles an hour, but I had never seen or noticed this in any other musician. Another thing that was very visible from the side of the stage was the fact that when the lights went down, George was blowing his nose. I know most people think anyone can sing Death Metal, but unfortunately that is not true. Well I suppose anyone can sound like Cookie Monster having a seizure, but a classic and true death metal band is intelligible in their growling presence. It is more than growls and screams. While I suspect he was sick, honestly it never once interfered with his performance. I also learned that if you vibrate a set list fast enough the black ink falls off temporarily as the set list on the monitor would go solid white. Once again something that totally amused and fascinated me.
Cannibal Corpse at The Rave - more photos... photo by brian rampacek - staff photographer
But I will skip back to the concert again. Cannibal hit the spectrum of their albums with song going all the way back to the first album Eaten Back to Life. They have always been really good about remembering to play the old stuff while incorporating the new stuff. "Priest of Sores" was of their new album, Evisceration Plague which was released earlier this year. As always "Fucked by a Knife" was dedicated to all the women in the crowd. And oddly enough I notice the younger generation of female attendees seem more into the music than the boyfriends they came with. I love to see that! Closing with the old one, two punch of "Hammer Smashed Face" and "Striped, Raped and Strangled" this was a show any old school death metal fiend would love. The entire band had a really relaxed feel to them. Regularly interacting with people against the barrier between songs, they are comfortable in their skin and remember to love the fans. My only real complaint was that once again I was denied hearing "Meat Hook Sodomy" a true classic Cannibal song.
OK ready for the TRUE plus of both of us standing behind the photo barrier? Easy access exit from Stage Left. We were able to walk right out the loading doors and avoid the crush of the audience. Since I had already hit the merch booth and bought my smashing new purse (ok it is technically a messenger bag, but I shall call it my Cannibal Corpse purse) we were able to leave quickly and run to our truck in the rain. I had planned on going home and straight to bed, but Cannibal has always gotten me hyper. Oh well, I will just be wiped out at the real job and suffer.
I would like to once again thank their tour manager, Jeremy, for helping us get set up for the evening. He made the point to check that we made it back stage to the photo area and made sure we were set for the evening all while getting the stage and band ready. You rock Jeremy!
My first thought was "Really? The Kings of Leon can fill the ACC?" Well, they came damned close. Only this past November they filled the 2,500 capacity Kool Haus in Toronto and five months later they're headlining the Air Canada Centre (19,000 capacity). What happened in those five months? "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody" happened--songs built for arenas full of singing & screaming fans. Mind you they haven't been an overnight success. The Kings Of Leon have built a huge and loyal following since their 2003 debut but the success of "Only By The Night" (Released on September 23rd, 2008 and on the Billboard charts for 29 weeks- currently sitting at #31) has pushed them past the tipping point. The unique part of this show was seeing that they might not be ready for the next level of stadium stardom.
This was the first headlining band that I've ever seen with such a minimal stage setup: no walkways, ramps or props. Their guitars - only one each (except for Caleb who plays electric and acoustic) - were tuned by the musician using them and placed in guitar stands beside them when they weren't using them. Dressed in the same clothes they'd go out to the mall in, they've either decided to forgo the rock star chic that you'd see the Killers preening in, or they don't know that those clothes are needed for a stadium level band. They're not playing signature guitars, using signature drum sticks, striking "Bon Jovi" poses at predetermined points in a song or going off on a political rant to work the crowd into a frenzy. All of these things that they didn't do were so refreshing. The Followill boys simply play great music without an agenda.
You'd think that a band with some huge singles would save one for the encore, but instead "Sex on Fire" fell midway through the show, followed closely by "Milk", "Four Kicks" (which sounded amazing) and "The Bucket". The show started with "Crawl" and "Use Somebody" came just before the encore. For the encore the crowd was treated to a new bluesy song "Devil's Song", mixed in with "Closer", "Manhattan", & "Knocked Up" . The band, especially Caleb, seemed to loosen up once they dug into their older rougher material, and all of the material was performed flawlessly. Nothing about their sound is studio polish - they just sound amazing.
It'll be interesting to see where their success takes them. Caleb has described the material for their next CD to have a "bluesy feel" that I'd think long time fans would feel comfortable with but newer fans expecting more "Sex On Fire" style songs might not receive as easily. Their success has come from talented and daring songwriting and whatever comes next will surely be fantastic. WIll they start to enhance their shows with more lights, bigger stages and bigger personas like other stadium level bands? I hope not. Seeing one of the best bands of this decade playing a giant venue with a minimal setup and a non-rock star attitude was an unforgettable experience.
My Bloody Valentine at The Austin Music Hall - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff
Despite the fact that their latest release came out 18 years ago, My Bloody Valentine has managed to retain all the relevance they held back in their heyday in London, and managed to give an absolutely mind-blowing performance at the Austin Music Hall.
A big part of the legend of MBV is their sudden disappearance from music. They released Loveless, their second of two albums, in 1991, they played a few shows and then went right back into the studio for the third record. That was the end of it. The third record was never released and the band did not play together again until 2008, when they reunited for the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in New York. They’ve played a handful of show since and Austin was lucky enough to be part of a 5 city tour following their appearance at Coachella.
Needless to say, I was beyond excited to see My Bloody Valentine. It was because of this that I really couldn’t remember much about the openers. What I do recall though, is that they were very good. The first band, Lift to Experience, had a shoegaze/bluesy sound that I really enjoyed. Then singer-songwriter Kurt Heasley took the stage. He played some nice little pop songs on a 12 string guitar, but I think the only reason I could hear was because I was close to the stage. The rest of the crowd was not into it at all and Kurt was mostly ignored through his set.
My Bloody Valentine quietly took the stage armed with massive pedal boards and wall of amps. Following an extremely short hello from guitarists Belinda Butcher, who was looking very good for her age, and Kevin Shields, the band tore straight into one of the many classic Loveless tracks, “When You Sleep”. For the rest of the show the band continued to hit the back catalogue hard, generally sticking with cuts from Loveless and the prior EP’s.
My Bloody Valentine at The Austin Music Hall - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
The two guitarists stood still on stage for most of the show, or when they weren’t changing guitars between every song, but the rhythm section gave a full out performance. Drummer Colm O Ciosoig and bassist Debbie Googe were high energy in every song, Googe practically strumming her bass to produce as much noise as possible.
There were clearly 3 hits with the crowd. The obvious one’s were “Only Shallow” and “Soon” from Loveless. Both sounded different than they did on record, but were just as good. In “Only Shallow”, Ciosoig’s snare didn’t have the effect it did on the album, but the song didn’t lose anything as a whole. “Soon” sounded the same on the surface, but held a different vibe with the audience, the opening making the place feel almost like a rave until Shields guitar tore the whole thing apart.
Finally, the band played their traditional closer, “You Made Me Realize”. The reason it’s the closer is because of the notorious noise freak-out known as the ‘Holocaust’, a solid 15-minute block of the most powerful noise that could possibly be produced. I was worried before that I would be bored by the ridiculous amount of white noise, but I wasn’t. It was one of the most incredible musical experiences of my life. The sound washed over the audience in a very oddly soothing manner, like new age music, but turned up to ear splitting levels. I loved every second of the show and hope that one day MBV goes for a full reunion tour.
My Bloody Valentine at The Austin Music Hall - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
Slayer's Kerry King - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
by jeff barringer - club kingsnake staff
Slayer\'s Kerry King took a break from the studio to do a phone interview with us today, discussing among other things the upcoming disc, Mayhem Festival, Marilyn Manson, H.R. 669 and it\'s impact on his snake hobby, and doing shooters at 9am with the boys over at the Transportation Security Administration.
For a different look at one of metal\'s master guitarists click on the link below to listen to the interview.
