Concert Review: Wolfmother, Toronto, Ontario

nospam@example.com (Michael Hurcomb) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:05:03 -0600

Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos and review by Michael Hurcomb - Staff Photographer

Wolfmother with The Heartless Bastards and The Newno2
Kool Haus
November 11th, 2009

Gotta get this out of the way. Andrew Stockdale (the singer) from Wolfmother looks like Carrot Top. There I said it. And while I'm at it Dhani Harrison from thenewno2 looks a lot like his dad George....Harrison....from the Beatles.

I'd like to 1st review the show lighting from a photographer's point of view. It was bad - too much red and green. But that's my only gripe. Thenewno2 are a great sounding band with some great lineage. You can hear the similarities between Dhani and his father but it's not in a bad way like Julian Lennon - sorry Julian but "Valotte" sucked. Thenewno2 was the band I was most looking forward to tonight and their 6 song set left me wanting more. Gotta get this Cd.

The Heartless Bastards came out screaming and didn't stop. There set was a mix of fantastic vocals and guitar from Erika Wennerstrom and a solid pulse from the rest of the band. The crowd really came alive when they hit the stage after being more subdued for thenewno2.

Wolfmother are back with their 2nd album "Cosmic Egg" and a new band. Founding members Chris Ross (Bassist and keyboards) and drummer Myles Heskett left the band due to "irreconcilable personal and musical differences" leaving Stockdale to bring in 3 new members and a new energy. The addition of a 2nd guitar really helped during "Woman" when Stockdale knocked his mic stand over, tried to recover it and dropped his guitar. Minutes later everything was OK but the band never dropped a beat. The crowd loved them but I really couldn't get into it. I like the music but the show was almost "paint by numbers". Jump here, riff here, pounding drums. Just stuff we've seen and hear before but nothing groundbreaking. Cool band but not sensational.

Concert Review: Slayer & Megadeth Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:30:00 -0500

by Bryan 'Venomdoc' Fry - Staff Writer

The crowd at the Megadeth/Slayer double-bill was mostly male unshaven tattooed sorts, so I fit right in. The few women around were wearing the latest-and-greatest fashions from Biker's Moll Weekly. Apparently black was this season's black.

The opening act (Double Dragon) did a workmanship job of warming the crowd up. Leading them on several drum-driven chants of MEGADETH! and SLAYER!!

Then came Megadeth, or as they are more rightly known, Dave Mustaine and three other guys. While Dave has a vocal capacity that spans the full range from A to B, he uses it with precision and devastating efficiency. Just like the Pied Piper, he led the crowd into a passionate pit. Peace may sell, but they crowd wasn't buying that. They were however eagerly lapping up all that he put out to tender. By the time Megadeth finished their scorcher of a set, the front of stage was a holy war indeed.

Slayer came on and the concert unfortunately descended into a true season in the abyss. The first song had sparing vocals but was the hardest wall of metal I have ever had the privelage to be assaulted by. Wrapping the crowd up in it's muscular arms just as one of guitart Kerry King's beloved pythons coils around a prey item. The drummer was hitting the frenetic pace that can only be fueled by enough red bull to give an elephant's heart a stop. After the first song, Tom Araya motioned for the crowd to be quiet and then informed everyone that his voice was shot and that there wasn't going to be much singing. The band then launched into a series of instrumentals. Not Spinal-Tapian free-form jazz, but rather something much heavier. However, in the absence of vocals, the pace could not be sustained and the band flagged.

The rapport with the crowd was also lost when there were complete blackouts between songs lasting a minute or longer as roadies wandered around with flashlights, perhaps looking for Tom's voice. Kerry may be able to sing as well as play guitar, but unlike walking and chewing gum, he can't do them at the same time. So the band brought on random people from backstage to sing. They did it in good spirit and while the crowd were positive about the attempt, none of them had the power of Tom in full-flight, when he has the voice of two mortals. The filler-attempt reminded me too-much of the movie Rock Star. I half expected one of the walk-ons to launch into a spirirted rendition of 'Stand up and shout' including the sustained vocal note. Slayer finished their set abruptly and without the obligatory encore.

One hopes Tom's voice hits its former glory and that this is not a harbinger of the tour to come. The show is worth going to for Megadeth alone though. Perhaps it should be re-billed as MegaDave!

Concert Review: Them Crooked Vultures At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:34:22 -0500

by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer

Headlining one of this years ACL main stages, and firing this years opening volley to start the fest, a new band, Them Crooked Vultures opened the festival with a sold out pre-fest gig at Stubb's BarBQ last night.

Begun as a special project in 2005 by super-musician Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, the band played a handful of disparate gigs in the United States and Europe back in August, but the Stubb's stop is officially the very first stop on their very first American tour.

It is a wise man that attends one of Dave Grohls' side project bands live gigs with no pre-conceived notions. Much like his experimental Probot project, nothing about the sound of this band bears any relationship to either Foo Fighters or Nirvana. In fact it probably derives more of it's sound from 60's classic "heavy" bands such as Deep Purple and Iron Butterfly than anything produced in the last 20 years.

With the legendary John Paul Jones of Led Zepplelin on the bass and the keyboard, the bands direction was probably inevitable, and yet there was a twinge of frenetic "Jack White" experimentalism which when layered with that deep late 60's blues rock, creates a melange different from anything else you'll hear today. With the off key vocals of Queens of The Stone Age's Josh Homme highlighting and accentuating the esoteric nature of the music, these songs wouldn't sound out of place in 1968 London. I think they need to ask Blue Cheer to open for them. THAT would be a great double bill.

But this is a chimera, a once in a lifetime chance to see these musicians play together, something that after this tour is never likely to happen again. With the tour selling out in record time few people will get the opportunity. Luckily for all of us, they taped a set for the Austin City Limits TV show on PBS Thursday. Look for it to be aired sometime in early 2010.
Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Review: Psychedelic Furs At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0500

by Jeff Barringer - Staff Writer

It didn't feel quite like a Raul's reunion in the audience at the Psychedelic Furs show at Stubb's last night, more like a VH1 80's retrospective as brothers Richard Butler and Tim Butler brought the seminal 70's punk cum new wave band to Austin.

The Fur's have a long history influencing the Austin alternative music scene, in fact going all the way back to their show at Raul's in 1980, Austin's legendary well-spring punk club down on the U.T. campus. Many Austin bands sprang from that gig, and as one of the first foreign punk acts to play an Austin club, the Fur's's helped to establish Austin's punk/alternative music scene on an international level.

This iteration of the Fur's has changed somewhat, with the Butler's being the only remaining original members, but with Rich Good on guitar, Mars Williams on saxophone, Amanda Kramer on keys, and Paul Garisto drums providing able accompaniment the songs sounded album perfect. And what songs there were too, a litany of FM radio favorites of the 80's and 90's. If I had only one complaint about thesong mix it would be that aside from "Sister Europe" they didn't play anything else off their first album. Those songs were so much darker than their later work, less radio friendly, and more experimental for the time. Certainly tame by todays standards, in the FM world of the 70's & 80's where The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac ruled the airwaves, those songs were groundbreaking.

But I digress. Looking at the set list I don't see anything I didn't enjoy hearing, and I would be hard pressed to pick songs to cut to find room for others. Great show, great set, I could watch the Psychedelic Furs again and again.

Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Photo Spread: Nashville Pussy At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:31:00 -0500

Nashville Pussy made a great opening act for Motörhead in Austin at Stubb's BarBQ on September 20, 2009.
Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Review: Blondie and Pat Benatar, Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jaime Butler) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:35:00 -0500

Pat Benatar at the Austin Music Hall - more photos...
photo by jaime butler - staff photographer

by jaime butler - club kingsnake staff

The first I thing I noticed walking into the Music Hall was the ridiculous line leading to will call. The second thing I noticed was the lack of security. Usually that would excite me but in this case it resulted in the venue having no barricade thus no pit for us photogs. Hurray!, my favorite shooting environment. Thankfully what security guards there were and a few fanatics helped me push to the front of the stage.

To be honest I didn’t really care whether or not I saw Pat Benatar's set and I had already missed the Donnas but once I was in front of her I was enthralled. She’s nothing short of an amazing vocalist and her calm cool attitude on stage made me want to befriend her. Pat was by far the star of the evening, the never ending roars and waning crowd by the end of her set made it obvious. I was most excited to see Blondie and naively assumed the others were as well but once I realized every song in Benatars set was once a top 40 hit it all started to make sense. This chic is HUGE. Bigger than huge and her presence is as strong as ever.

During “Love is a Battlefield” I was lucky enough to witness a middle aged woman, dressed as if she had fallen asleep in 1984 and abruptly awoke ready to go see one of the most famous pop stars of the decade, get roughly escorted out of the building. Once she realized how long she had been passed out she must’ve been filled rage directed at the fans of “this century”. The core audience didn’t seem to notice. They kept right on dancing and reciting every lyric to songs such as “Hell is for children”, “We Belong” and the most popular “Heartbreaker”.

Blondie at the Austin Music Hall - more photos...
photo by jaime butler - staff photographer

Despite the happy go lucky crowd the rage didn’t stop there. There were some 10-15 fights that broke out that evening. All women might I add. Why were they so angry? Not sure but I bet it had something to do with alcohol and coca cola perhaps? If security wasn’t so lacking the house may have been half empty by the time the headliner went on. Speaking of, right when I made my way to the front of the stage for Blondies “Tide is High” I hear a young woman scream “F you Bitch!” and immediately I got lucky again and got to watch her be carried out by one of the two stage security guards. I still don’t know who she was talking to.

Besides all the ladies spilling their mixed drinks down both my legs I had a really good time. What folks that remained from the Pat Benatar set were true Blondie fans. They went crazy for tunes like “Call Me” and “One Way or Another” with Harry handing the microphone over to the audience for the majority of the songs. There were a few songs the crowd and myself didn’t seem to recognize and I’m hoping it’s safe to assume they are going to be on an upcoming album.

But I’ve always been half ass when it comes to doing my homework. Mostly at this show I was just a fan thrilled to be experiencing a band I was too young to at their prime. And that’s not to say their flame is dying. These guys and girl are every bit as good as I can imagine them being and they are still just plain cool. Harry still has the power to draw you in and make you go “Wow! She’s something”, even if you have no idea what that something is. Debbie wasn’t alone in the glory, she was accompanied by originals Chris Stein and Clem Burke along with Paul Carbonara and Alex Leigh and some Shandon Sahm looking guy on keys. I had to look it up but I believe that was Matt Katz-Bohen. Forgive me if I’m wrong. As much as this show rocked nothing could touch the amazing encore with Chelsea Bono on the bongos. Talk about a hoot. No I’m kidding. But that would be cool huh?

I’m sorry for those of you that weren’t there. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss this show or any Blondie show in the future. My advice? Wear boxing gloves and a raincoat and leave the earplugs at home.

Blondie at the Austin Music Hall - more photos... photo by jaime butler - staff photographer

Concert Review: The Neville Brothers/ Dr. John at Austin Music Hall, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:25:00 -0500

Dr. John at the Austin Music Hall - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by harrison davis - club kingsnake staff

Despite an underwhelming crowd presence at the Austin Music Hall, both Dr. John and the Neville Brothers turned in fantastic performances at the Austin stop of the Mardi Gras Mambo tour.

Dr. John was first up and his blend of Cajun, rock, and blues had the crowd moving right away. Dr. John himself only moved from behind his piano a few times during the set, but he stayed solid all night, especially when he picked up a guitar for a song. His band, The Lower 911, was probably the most impressive from Dr. John’s set. They were able to lay down a huge groove with every song and every solo they took was very impressive. It was clear that the highlight of the show for many was the most well known song “Right Place Wrong Time”.

The Neville Brothers set was dominated by the performances of two people, saxophonist Charles Neville and guitarist Makuni Fukuda. Both players blew the crowd away with solos, especially Fukuda. From his first solo early on in the set, I loved the surf funk sound he got out of his guitar. Charles Neville took longer to get into the show, as did all the Nevilles, but his solos on the slower songs were fantastic and left the crowd speechless. Aaron Neville did little more than just sing the songs and often left the stage during the extended musical breaks. All the energy of the show came from Art Neville who really got into some of the classics, which really got the crowd into as well and turned the first few rows into a dance floor. It stayed that way the rest of the night.

Neville Brothers at the Austin Music Hall - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Concert Review: Vans Warped Tour at AT&T Center, San Antonio Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:35:00 -0500

Chris Barker of Anti-Flag at Warped Festival - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

The San Antonio stop on the 2009 Warped Tour was, above all, excruciatingly hot. The 100+ degree temperatures and cloud free skies were not helped at all by the fact that the whole thing was being held in a huge parking lot which effectively became a giant reflector oven. Just dragging all the gear from the car and wandering around looking for our passes was an ordeal. After getting badged up and finding an area to use as shelter in between bands, I headed out to see the first band on the main stage, The Ataris.

I had heard of the band, but wasn’t sure if I had ever actually heard them. They turned out to be one of my favorite bands of the day. They had a great energy on stage, which could not have been easy given the ridiculous heat. The most important thing is that their songs were usually pretty catchy, especially their unexpected but strangely fitting cover of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer”.

It took only one half hour set for me to start feeling the heat, so for much of the day I watched the main stage bands and then hid from the sun during set changes. The next band up was Anti-Flag, one of the few bands I was familiar with. I’ve never thought of them as anything more than a generic punk band but they were surprisingly good. They showed a great amount of energy and were actually pretty good musically, which is not something you see often with punk bands. Bassist Chris Barker tried desperately to get the crowd to ignore the heat and actually managed to for a lot of the set, getting several large circle pits happening.

Roger Manganelli of Less Than Jake at Warped Festival - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

The next band on was Less Than Jake, a ska band who I had been a casual fan of for a while. They showed up and just played their show, they tried to put energy in the set but the day had clearly taken its toll. The music wasn’t bad it didn’t feel like the band wanted to be there, which is unfortunate because they much more talented than many of the bands that did.

In between some bands I took time to walk around the grounds and look at the different booths and things. Every band on the tour has a booth to sell merch at on the grounds and many bands hang out at their booth. The unfortunate thing about it is that bands have their booths put up even if they weren’t in town for that stop of the tour. It hurt me to walk by the Flogging Molly booth knowing they weren’t playing. There were other booths around for sponsors and vendors too, none of which I checked out. Walking around unfortunately meant seeing some of the side sage bands that I had no interest in. Every band sounded the same. Heavy guitars, double bass, and a combination of whining and screaming vocals. It was all terrible.

Frank Carter of Gallows at Warped Festival - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

The one band that wasn’t on the main stage that I did really enjoy was Gallows. I had been blown away by them at SXSW and was really looking forward to seeing them again. Just as he had done before led singer Frank Carter wasted no time in getting out into the crowd and getting things going. I never saw the circle pit slow down at any point. The best thing I heard all day wasn’t any music, but a piece of banter from Carter, who was greeted with a mixed reaction when he said that most of the Warped Tour bands were “terrible”. I was certainly one of the applauding ones. The action was nonstop the entire set and it was running at full speed. The band left the stage and realized that they still had time left to play another song or two, which they made full use of. They were hands down the best band of the day.

After taking an extended break from the music, I figured I should get back outside even if there was nothing interesting happening. I decided that the lesser of all evils would be Thrice, who happened to be fantastic. I had them pinned as just another scream band cashing in on the current fads, but they turned out to be the most musically talented group on the tour. Lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi was fantastic. His playing was the only thing I ever got around to listening to really. His guitars had a very unique sound. He created an almost shoegaze sound, which sounded great against the heavy rhythm guitar. I have completely changed my mind about Thrice and look forward to getting into their studio output.

The last band of the day was punk legends Bad Religion. They were who they have always been, a good straightforward punk band. They played through much of their older work which everyone appreciated. They showed some energy, but in the end were just another band who was tired of the tour, albeit with a much better back catalogue than all the others. I tried to get interested since I enjoy a couple of their records but in the end both me and the band were too hot and tired to make it work. It wasn’t a bad show; it’s just that playing at the end of a festival where the real headliners have already played, it’s hard to keep the crowd interested.

Bad Religion at Warped Festival - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

News: Offspring Tour Appropriately Named

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:35:57 -0500

You would think that a band that hasn't had a hit single since the Clinton administration would welcome press coverage, but such is not the case on The Offspring's current "The S*** Is F***ed Up Tour" (their asterisks, not ours). I can confirm that not only are they denying most media requests, they denied ours as well as several other media outlets, but they are hand selecting any photos taken by the media before they allow their use, as per the pre-show release that media must agree too.

Perhaps it's a good thing as their show has been moved from the 4,400 seat Austin Music Hall to Stubb's Barbq in Austin, a venue that holds considerably less than half the Music Hall AND as of an hour before show time tickets are still available. And thats WITH Alkaline Trio as an opener! Maybe they are just trying to limit the "damage". I mean who wants to see pics of a band playing to an almost empty venue? If they were still booked into the Music Hall it would be an embarrassment.

As much as we like The Offspring , (I have been following them since their debut release in 89 and own all their releases except the current one, and have seen them perform 4 times), it's sad to see them fall so far, especially when just about every other road show in Austin seems to be selling out their Austin venues. It's disappointing as well when the other bands of the same era, Rancid, and Pennywise to name two, never seem to have problems granting media access when they tour the same venues.

We can only surmise The Offspring don't feel they need the coverage, though I suspect their ticket sales numbers might disagree. At least at Stubb's the show won't seem nearly as empty. If you go have fun, but don't look for us there.

Concert Review: Toadies/The Willowz at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:53:00 -0500

The Willowz at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

As much as I like the Toadies, I was excited about their show at Stubb’s more because of the openers, The Willowz. I walked into Stubb’s as The Willowz were beginning their set up. The crowd seemed a lot more casual than most shows that I go to. That’s probably because Toadies are playing here all the time these days. The Willowz came on to some enthusiasm, but not much. The band however, was full of energy and they played just like any good garage rock band should, fast and messy. I loved it. While some of the more impatient members of the crowd started a Toadies chant, I didn’t want Willowz to leave the stage. I definitely want to see them again and I will definitely go and pick up a record or two of theirs.

I’ve never really been a huge Toadies fan. I’ve heard the first album like everyone else but never thought it was as great as some people claim it to be. Toadies came out and opened with one the hits, “I Come from the Water”, which, as expected turned into a huge sing along. The band continued to mix in the hits with cuts from their recent album, but those tracks went by without too much of a reaction from the crowd. The biggest reaction surprisingly wasn’t “Possum Kingdom” but my personal favorite Toadies song, “Tyler”, which was by far the high point of the show. It was over pretty quick, but it was a great show. I did put in Rubberneck for the first time in a long time after the show, so I guess they did their job.

The Toadies at Stubb's - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Concert Review: Black Label Society/Sevendust/Dope/Cycle of Pain at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:26:00 -0500

Dope at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

I had no idea that Black Label Society had the kind of hardcore followers that they do. I walked into Stubb’s to a sea of denim jackets with huge BLS patches enjoying the end of Cycle of Pain’s set.

I only caught the last song or so of Cycle of Pain, but what I saw was awesome. The band’s groove metal sounded great and the audience liked it even more than I did. The keyboard player was unexpected as I had never heard the band before and just went on the assumption that a band called Cycle of Pain wasn’t likely to have keyboard. I really enjoyed the one full song that I heard and I’ll probably look into hearing their debut album.

Dope is a band that I had heard of but never really heard. I have a few friends are huge fans, but I never really got into them, mostly because I never really gave them a chance. Dope’s set was full of energy. I was immediately impressed by the drumming of Angel Bartolotta and spent most of the set watching him. Frontman Edsel Dope also brought a lot of energy to the stage, especially during a cover of N.W.A’s “F**k the Police” which came out of nowhere. I wasn’t really pushed to seeing them headline or listening to studio material, but it was a pretty good show.

Sevendust at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

It seemed to me like Sevendust had a difficult time getting the crowd, mostly because the crowd wanted Black Label immediately. Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon did everything he could to get the crowd going and while it worked temporarily, nothing really stuck. The band was good but not great. They were good at what they did, but I don’t have a particularly strong interest in them.

Just after Sevendust left the stage, a huge Black Label Society banner dropped over the stage and the crowd erupted. Unfortunately for them, there was still a wait until they graced the stage. The sound guy kept them occupied by playing many Pantera songs which almost always ended in a huge sing-along. When the curtain finally lifted, the band wasted no time in starting the show. At the beginning of the show, I found it difficult to concentrate on anything but lead singer/guitarist Zakk Wylde’s massive amp set up, which took up nearly the entire stage. The band fed off of the incredibly high energy of the crowd song after song. The show eventually slowed down for an emotional performance of “In This River”, a tribute to the late Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrel. Then the band took a break and let Zakk play a long and impressive stand-alone solo. The band sounded great the entire set. It was my first time seeing BLS, although I had seen Zakk play with Ozzy before, and I will definitely be seeing them again.

Black Label Society at Stubb's - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Concert Review: Cycle Of Pain At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:58:00 -0500

by Jeff Barringer - club kingsnake staff

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

Click here to check out more Cycle Of Pain pics at Stubb's.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Review: Pennywise/Pepper/The Expendables at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:27:00 -0500

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

Concert Review: Cannibal Corpse at The Rave

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:53:35 -0500

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!

Concert Review: Kings of Leon at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

nospam@example.com (Michael Hurcomb) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:46:00 -0500

Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos and review by Michael Hurcomb - Staff Photographer

Kings Of Leon
Air Canada Centre
April 21st, 2009

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.

Concert Review: My Bloody Valentine at Austin Music Hall, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:29:00 -0500

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

Concert Review: Chris Cornell At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:05:00 -0500

When I was first introduced to Soundgardens music, the subpop Screaming Life EP in 1987, I wasn't very impressed and dismissed them at first as trying to be Zep clones. I kept listening though and as they matured, their releases got better, and they started to find their way. It wasn't until 1991's Badmotorfinger that the wheels all clicked at once, they found their sound, and they really hit their stride. In fact that is still one of my favorite discs of all time, one of the few that I always seem to find room for.

I never got the chance to see Soundgarden live, our schedules never quite seemed to mesh. I had heard good and bad things about their live performance from friends and the track record of frontmen who go solo has been less than spectacular so I was ambivalent about what kind of show I might see. I loved Cornell with Soundgarden, hated him in Audioslave, and hadn't really heard enough of his solo releases to draw a conclusion.

It was definitely an older crowd that showed up for his sold out set, and they too were a Soundgarden crowd, looking to once again wrap themselves in that Seattle grunge metal blanket. I heard no calls for songs like "Cochise" or "Like A Stone", they were all shouting for "Black Hole Sun" and "Rusty Cage".

Click here to check out the rest of the pics.
photos by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

What the crowd got was a healthy, respectable mix of all of the above (click here to see the set list) with Zeppelin's Immigrant Song as one of the treats during the encore. Cornell was incredibly clean in his vocals, and he was very interactive roaming the stage, climbing the amps, while his band soldiered on behind him, slogging through his hits one after another. I don't think either Soundgarden or Audioslave fans left unsated.

My Two Days at SXSW 2009 - Day 2

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:43:38 -0500

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

Despite getting only 4 hours of sleep the night before, I set out to start Day 2 of SXSW 2009 earlier than the day before in hopes of scoring a parking spot. After securing a spot and passing the absolutely ridiculous line outside of Emo’s for a full day of generic hardcore scene bands, I walked to the show I had been waiting for weeks for at Radio Room. The line was fairly long for and before the doors opened, but I was expecting that. I quickly found that pretty much everyone was there for the same reason I was, to see legendary local singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston.

The first band I saw was electro-pop duo New Villager. The songs weren’t bad but the band was a little sloppy. That was understandable though since they proclaimed proudly that it was only their second live show. I think they may be good in the future, but work needs to be done on their live set.

The next band was a last minute replacement for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and because of that The Wheel gave a very detached performance. Having just finished a set on the inside stage moments before they were told to play another show, you could see that they were just reliving the last ten minutes and were not having fun at all. However, I did really enjoy a couple of their songs enough to make me want to listen to some recorded material.

Bishop Allen was the nest band to perform. They were actually one of my favorite bands of the day. They had a great indie rock sound and a great energy on stage. My friend who attended the show with me said they were the best band he had seen all week. I disagree but I could easily see where he was coming from.

Finally the time had come. Any bit of exhaustion I was feeling was immediately replaced with sheer excitement. One of favorite songwriters of all time was about to take the stage. The crowd was first warmed up by the group was to be Daniel’s backing band for a few of his songs, The Hymns. They played some really great garage rock, but that stop me from fast-forwarding through their two song set. After the longest five minute set I’ve ever heard was over, Daniel Johnston finally took the stage. He clearly still has problems, which are well documented in the excellent film The Devil and Daniel Johnston, but since everyone knew this going in, it was never a problem.

There were essentially three parts to the performance. Daniel backed by the Hymns, Daniel on stage alone with a guitar, and Daniel singing while his guitar tech played for him. The Hymns were clearly excited to be backing such a legend which I really appreciated, but I wanted to see Daniel alone. After a few songs the Hymns left Daniel all alone on stage. The music wasn’t at its strongest at this point but it was a powerful image to see a man trembling with a guitar in his hands singing in an extremely unpolished voice some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written. When Daniel’s tech came out to back Daniel, it became one of the finest performances I’ve ever witnessed. Daniel Johnston standing ten feet away from me while singing “Life In Vain” will be something I don’t think I will ever forget for the rest of my life. Neither will any other member of the audience who silently sang along to his lyrics so as to not cover up a single noise coming from the stage.

After that incredible experience, I decided that I was finished with Radio Room for the day and I headed towards Red 7 in hopes that the place wasn’t already full of the many diehard Hold Steady fans that I had heard about. I walked in just as LA’s Fool’s Gold was finishing their sound check. I'd never heard of them before and didn’t even know that they were playing but I was really impressed by their combination of latin, funk, and pop music. The 8-piece band used a variety of instrument to create a very rich sound that many in the crowd found to be quite danceable. I picked up one of the 6’ singles the band handed out from the stage and upon listening, I found their studio work to be just as good as their live work, albeit slightly less energetic. It was really fun stuff.

While Fool’s Gold played to a relatively empty room, I had wondered where everyone in the huge line outside had gone. I figured it out the second I walked out the outdoor stage. The place was jam packed. The Hold Steady was setting up their gear when I walked out, which was good timing because less than 5 minutes later the doors to the outdoor were closed. I had been heard a lot about the Hold Steady recently, especially their live performance, and wanted to see what the big deal was. I had heard a couple of tracks off their recent album Stay Positive and enjoyed them but still didn’t get all the hype. The moment they walked on stage, I understood. The band came out with an incredible energy that I was not expecting at all. Even better was the crowd’s energy. The hold Steady does have some serious fans that were out in full force at Red 7, most of which sang along to every song. Despite the fact that this was one of a handful of shows the band was playing during the week, they didn’t hold back at all. The band was solid and having a great time through the whole set but things went to another level when they played 2008’s “Sequestered in Memphis” which had not just the fans singing along, but everyone in the building, which inevitably led to the song being stuck in my head for the rest of the week.

Even though I was really enjoying it, I decided to leave the Hold Steady early so I could catch the noise rock duo No Age on the inside stage. No Age played a very quick and very loud set. There was an extreme amount of energy coming the drummer who was fun to watch as he hit the drums as hard as possibly could during long segments of feedback from the guitarists. The songs were indistinguishable from one another and it was over in about 20 minutes but I still had a really good time.

After a quick break to let the day show crowds clear out a little bit, I walked to the Central Presbyterian Church to see a few baroque pop bands and to enjoy sitting in an air conditioned room. After waiting in a long line full of Grizzly Bear fans, I was able to catch the second half of the set from San Francisco’s Girls. My first impressions from the show wasn’t even caused by the band, I immediately noticed how great the church was for a concert like this. Every note echoed beautifully with the high ceilings and washed over the crowd. Girls was a trio that played really textured music that sounded great in the church setting. While the music sounded fantastic, the band itself was content just standing and playing their instruments which became boring after a little while. I would listen to some of their recorded material, but with their name they’re just too hard to google.

The next band was difficult to pronounce, but great to listen to, Rural Alberta Advantage. An indie folk trio led by singer-songwriter Paul Banwatt who sang songs that were, as you might expect, about living and growing up in Alberta, Canada the band was average on their own, but sounded great when behind the great songs. I loved the way the soft melodies came out and bounced around the room. I thought that the band was great, but the rest of the crowd thought even better, giving the band a standing ovation at the end of the set.

Finally the baroque pop troop from Brooklyn called Grizzly Bear took the stage. Once again, the venue provided the perfect set for such a band. The vocal harmonies sounded fantastic floating around the room. The band itself was extremely tight and the crowd treated the show as a kind of hushed spectacle with complete silence during the songs, and very enthusiastic applause at the end of them. I thought that the show was quite beautiful, but I needed something a little more harsh so I left about halfway through Grizzly Bear, I do want to see them again, but not on a night where there are plenty of other shows for me to be at.

I left the church and walked back to Emo’s once again. I was surprised to see no line whatsoever and entered quick enough to see yet another indie band, Wild Light. Wild Light had a very energetic set but they music was very forgettable and unremarkable in a day so full of bands. They had a sound reminiscent of other indie bands with a bit of a punk influence, like a sped up Tokyo Police Club. It was decent, but nothing great.

New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands was the next band. They had a similar effect as Wild Light in that while I enjoyed it at the time; I now find them quite forgettable. I did like the music which sounded like a more straightforward Bloc Party. I’ve been told that they’re fantastic on record so I may give that a try, but I found them a little generic, although that could easily have been exhaustion and the fact that they were the 11th band I had seen that day.

Boston’s Passion Pit was next. They came in extremely hyped and were the first to play to a full house at Emo’s. Passion Pit is a dance pop band that featured three keyboard players, a bass player, and a drummer. I didn’t really see what the big deal was with the band, but everyone else in the crowd went completely nuts for them. I didn’t really enjoy the music at all, which to me sounded like something you hear on the radio every ten minutes, the only difference being that this was a band and not some solo artist. When the singer started going I felt like I was listening to Geddy Lee being produced by T-Pain. It was really unsatisfying for me, but once again, it could have been exhaustion. I was so exhausted at that point that I left without seeing Peter, Bjorn, and John, a decision that I regretted later on, although my body would have punished me severely had I stayed.

My Two Days at SXSW 2009 - Day 1

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:37:46 -0500

Blind Pilot at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

I had always heard how exhausting SXSW is and all of my past experiences being limited to the day shows, I always just assumed that those people were just whining. They were not. It is rough, but it’s also an incredible experience.

My day started with Portland based indie folk band Blind Pilot. I caught them completely by accident and they really impressed me. They were a primarily acoustic band with one keyboard. I really enjoyed the use of a vibraphone to create atmosphere. The keyboard played also brought out his trumpet several times, and every time he did it really reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel.

We Were Promised Jetpacks at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

The next band I saw was We Were Promised Jetpacks from Glasgow, Scotland. They were a fantastic indie band that I think was the best I saw in the day. Their catchy hooks and high energy had the crowd going just about immediately. I’m hoping I catch them again later this week.

After those two bands in the Emo’s tent, I walked over to the outdoor stage to see one of my favorite local bands, The Strange Boys. I walked in about midway through their set and found that they had really tightened up as a band. Their punk blues sound was clearly impressing out-of-towners who had never heard of The Strange Boys. It was my third time seeing them, and I still want more.

Deer Tick at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

After Strange Boys, I went right back to the tent that I started at to catch the second half of the Providence, Rhode Island band Deer Tick. I had heard a considerable amount of hype for the band before the festival so I was really looking forward to seeing them. I felt that they were a little sloppy live, but I suspect that they’re fantastic on record. They had an interesting sound that combined several genres of music including rock, folk, country, and blues. I hope to see them again after they’ve had some time to tighten up a bit.

The last band I saw during the day shows was New York’s Easy Star All-Stars. They are dub bands who specialize in covering rock songs. It was amusing to hear Pink Floyd and Radiohead as dub songs, and I wish there had been more, but this set focused on covering The Beatles. The reggae Lovely Rita was cool, but the complete lack of original material was disappointing. They are a very talented band; they just need to branch out a little.

Gallows at SXSW 2009 - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

After taking a short break, I was ready to start the night shows. The first band was London punk band, Gallows. It was absolutely the best show of the day, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up being the best show I see all week. The singer barely made it through the first chord before he jumped off-stage and sang and jumped right in the middle of the crowd. He desperately tried to get a pit going but it never really worked out. He expressed his disappointment in the crowd several times, making fun of ‘industry’ people for not being able to let loose. His disappointment in the crowd was certainly not returned to the band. The crowd may not have moshed, but they loved every second of the show.

The next band was HR Band. They are the solo project Paul Hudson, best known as the front man for legendary punk band Bad Brains. The crowd got into him very quickly just based off of who he was. He gave a very mellow, reggae based. HR didn’t move around much, but he sounded great. The crowd didn’t move around much either, until HR closed with the Bad Brains classic “Pay to Cum”. The moment the song started, the crowd erupted into a massive pit. It was pretty awesome to see, and even better to be a part of.

We then went from one punk legend to another. The Circle Jerks had the crowd from the very beginning as they stormed through their many hardcore punk classics. The pit that Gallows had tried to get was in full force for The Circle Jerks. The band tore through an incredibly high energy with such force that you would never be able to guess that they’ve been doing it for years. The set list included several hardcore punk classics like “Wild in the Streets” and “Behind the Door”. The crowds energy was at its highest point of the night through the whole set. It was fantastic.

The Circle Jerks marked the end of the punk part of the night. The next band was LA’s Juliette and the New Romantiques. Fronted by actress/musician Juliette Lewis, they were easily the band that I was least excited for that night. The band was nothing special but I didn’t hate it. I felt that it was generic, forgettable rock. From what I heard in the crowd, most were just as disinterested as me.

Then the night’s headliners took the stage, seminal ‘80’s post-punk band Echo & The Bunnymen. The band was extremely well received from the second they took the stage opening with the classic 1980 track “Going up”. The band continued to drift through their vast catalogue in an extremely tight fashion. The band sounded fantastic through the whole set, the highlight of which was “Killing Moon”, one of my favorite ‘80’s songs. By the time the band went back on stage for their encore, I was completely exhausted so I left a song or two short of the finish of the set, hoping to grab a couple hours of sleep before another full day of music the next day.

Echo And The Bunnymen at SXSW 2009 - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Concert Review: Slipknot/Coheed & Cambria/Trivium at Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:36:00 -0600

Slipknot at Freeman Coliseum - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

I wasn’t expecting much going into the Slipknot show at Freeman Coliseum. I wasn’t impressed the first time that I had seen Trivium, and was not what would be called a fan of either of the other bands playing, so all had something to prove.

The first band on was Orlando’s Trivium. The problem that I have with Trivium is that they are constantly trying to fit into one particular mold, whether it’s the generic metalcore found on 2005’s Ascendency or the Metallica sound-alike band they became on 2006’s The Crusade. That’s not to say however, that they don’t have a few good songs in there. The band tried to get the crowd into their show, but it really didn’t work. The crowd was there for Slipknot. Their general apathy towards the openers could be seen in the emptiness of the arena compared the massive lines at the merch booths. Trivium tried, and I think there show has improved considerably, but it wasn’t quite enough.

Next was the Nyack, New York prog band Coheed & Cambria. I was only vaguely familiar with the band, but had not heard very many good things. The band opened with their most well known song, “Welcome Home” and continued to flow from one song into the next after that. The music was clearly extremely difficult to play, as most prog is, but the band let that get in the way of their performance. While the band did sound good, they pretty much just stood and played for the entirety of the set. I think that it would have been a better show had it been in a more intimate venue.

When the lights finally went down for Slipknot to take the stage, the crowd went crazy despite the fact that the stage was hidden behind a red curtain. As the curtain slowly rose to the instrumental loop track 742617000027 from the debut album, the band was already in their places and ready to go. For the first half of the show, the band completely had me with their stage show. Much of the actual show quality of it was created by the two percussionists, who don’t seem to actually play very much percussion and exist more as hype guys. Both Chris Fehn and Shawn Crahan spent time walking around in the pit, causing much havoc wherever they went. Even more impressive was that Crahan’s setup was built on an elevator. He would rise about 20 feet above the crowd and then spiral down. While that was awesome the first time, it lost its appeal pretty quickly as did all the other gimmicks they threw out in the first few songs and repeated for the rest of the show. The show went better than I had expected and I found somewhat of a new appreciation for Slipknot, but I doubt that I would go see them again.

Slipknot at Freeman Coliseum - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Concert Review: Flogging Molly/The Aggrolites/The Mighty Stef at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:38:00 -0600

Flogging Molly at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Tx - more photos...
photo by jaime butler - staff photographer

by Harrison Davis - club kingsnake staff

I was surprised that I had gotten into Flogging Molly’s show at Stubb’s for a few reasons. First, it had been sold out for weeks and on top of that I got confirmation of my ticket just two hours before showtime.

Partially due to the late notice, I walked in about halfway through the set of openers The Mighty Stef. The Dublin, Ireland natives played a set of good, solid rock that was clearly a product of their home country, sounding a little like a slightly heavier version of The Frames. I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw and wish that I was able to see more.

Next was the Los Angeles based ska band, The Aggrolites. They tried desperately to get the crowd moving to what they called their ‘dirty reggae’. While nobody broke out into full on dancing, the entire crowd was bobbing their head to music. They even managed to work up a giant sing-along to their great closing cut “Don’t Let Me Down”.

On the other hand, Flogging Molly had absolutely no problems in getting the crowd moving. Straight from the opening number, the entire crowd was bouncing and singing along with the L.A. based Celtic folk-punk band. I had heard a lot about Flogging Molly’s live show and didn’t think that it had a chance to live up to the hype, but it did in every way imaginable. They played with incredible energy and got the same back from the audience. The set focused on both 2008’s Float and 2002’s Drunken Lullabies, but touched heavily on their 2000 debut, Swagger.

It was a great set that included many fan favorites. The highlight of which was an incredible performance of “What’s Left of the Flag”. They also definitely weren’t slouching in songs like “Drunken Lullabies” where they had full mosh pits going, a strange thing to see while listening to a banjo on stage. Lead singer Dave King had the whole crowd following everywhere he went. Even the acoustic section in the middle of the set went over quite well. I will absolutely see Flogging Molly again given the chance, and I’m pretty sure that chance will come in about a year with next year’s Countdown to St. Patrick’s Day tour.

Flogging Molly at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Tx - more photos... photo by jaime butler - staff photographer

Concert Review: Tesla at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:16:00 -0600

Tesla at La Zona Rosa - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Jeff Barringer - club kingsnake staff

Last time 80s metal band Tesla came through town their tour was focused on playing covers of hard rock classics made famous by other people. This time their tour was about playing their own songs. Either way, the band still has the chops to pull it off live, the crowd at La Zona Rosa was there to rock, and Tesla didn't let them down.

With a song list of 16 songs including cuts from last years release Forever More frontman Jeff Keith led Frank Hannon, Dave Rude and the rest of the band through a pounding rock and roll set that seemed to satisfy their core audience.

Tesla Set List - Austin Texas 02/06/09
- Forever More
- I Wanna Live
- Modern Day Cowboy
- Song And Emotion
- Breaking Free
- Hang Tough
- Heaven's Trail
- So What!
- One Day At A Time
- Fallin Apart
- Love Song
- Try So Hard
- What You Give
- Signs
- Lil Suzie

- Into The Now
- Comin Atcha Live

Tesla
02/06/09
La Zona Rosa

Concert Review: Hi-Ro Music Festival Featuring De La Soul, Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx

nospam@example.com (Staff Reports) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:34:00 -0600

De La Soul at the Hi-Ro Music Festival - more photos...
photo by Jaime Butler - staff photographer

What if you threw a music festival and no one but the bands and crew showed up?.

Incredibly this has now happened not once but twice in Central Texas just in the last 6 months. First there was the inauspiciously named World Music Festival outside of San Marcos, that drew 100+ bands from around the world, but not much else. This 3 day event collapsed before reaching the second of it's 3 days, victim of no headliners, no publicity, and in the end no audience. The repercussions of that show will reverberate through the halls of the Hays county courthouse for months to come.

Then there was the 1 day Hi-Ro Music Festival held at the Austin Music Hall that drew more bartenders and security staff than fans.

Headlined by the group De La Soul, you would have thought that a festival with 15 or so acts of varying genres would have drawn better. It was a sad site when the headliners finally made it to the stage to find an audience of only 75 people by the bands own on-stage estimation. I don't know if it was a marketing issue, an issue of too many genres on one stage, the high ticket cost or just the economic blahs but it seemed that nothing was going to pull the show out of the red.

The one huge up-side was that the opening acts, many of them good local bands, finally got the opportunity to play a big time well lit stage. There must have been 10 to 15 photographers in the pit at any one time taking advantage of the situation. A lot of band photos were taken that day and the bands played the cameras like the house was full. Club kingsnake staff photographers Jeff Barringer and Jaime Butler were both at the show and came back with some great pics.

Most of the bands played like they were working a full house and for the few concertgoers that attended, mostly performers, friends, and family members, the show was great, feeling more like a dress rehearsal than the actual show.

This festival, like the WMF, was an anomalous blip and not a sign of the times for the forthcoming concert season. Other gigs around town are drawing at normal to close to normal rates. I guess the real tests in the end will be SXSW and then ACL Fest.

The Fanatics
01/24/08
Jaime Butler

Pimpin Pen
01/24/08
Jaime Butler

Big Red Rooster
01/24/08
Jaime Butler

Dirty Wormz
01/24/08
Jeff Barringer

Zeale
01/24/08
Jaime Butler

Dremnt The End
01/24/08
Jeff Barringer

Concert Review: John Legend at the Bass Concert Hall, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:55:00 -0600

John Legend at the Bass Concert Hall - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

Jeff Barringer - club kingsnake staff

I am going to need a whole new wardrobe to shoot gigs at the Bass Concert Hall it seems, as I was way under-dressed for it's re-opening night show featuring John Legend and Estelle. The crowd was dressed to the nines and I felt very out of place in a pair of jeans and Motorhead t-shirt, dragging my weather beaten camera bag around the nicely, newly renovated hall.

It must be hard to live up to a moniker like "Legend" but John Legend easily proved he was up to task of living up to his "Legend". Entering through the crowd, stage right, he stepped out of the audience on stage to give a solid performance to the packed house. With a fine acoustic mix his show seemed flawless as he worked the crowd and rolled through his catalog of songs like a master showman. Even the duet with Estelle came off perfectly.

Unfortunately Estelles own opening set was flawed by an audio mix that seemed excessively boomy for the hall. Luckily this was the only issue as her actual performance, as well as that of her backup singers and performers was excellent and certainly up to par for the night.

All in all this was an excellent show for the re-opening night of Bass and I hope to get to shoot more gigs at this tasty venue. I wonder where I put my black tie...

John Legend
01/23/09
Bass Concert Hall

Estelle
01/23/09
Bass Concert Hall

Concert Review: Disturbed at the Rave Milwaukee, Wi.

nospam@example.com (Brian Rampacek) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:35:14 -0600

David Draiman of Disturbed at the Rave In Milwaukee - more photos...
photo by Brian Rampacek - staff photographer

by Brian Rampacek
club kingsnake staff

Are you down with the sickness? Apparently Milwaukee is! Thousands braved the coldest weather in the last 10 years last night to go and see Disturbed kick off their tour in support of their fourth album, “Indestructible”.

I haven't seen Disturbed since "The Sickness" tour, and ten years later they are still one of the best bands to see live. They put on an awesome set, consisting both new, old and even a cover of Phil Collins "Land Of Confusion".

The band seemed to feed of the energy of the crowd. It's great to sit back and watch a venue filled to capacity go ape-shit over every song they played. Singing along word for word, crowd surfing, bouncing and even moshing.

Opening for Disturbed is Destrophy, a hard rock band out of Iowa, and Skindred, which seemed to be a mix of reggae and metal. Both openers put on a great set. Some dates will have Sevendust as an opener. Be sure to check local listings to see who is opening.

Catch Disturbed on tour now.

Concert Review: Old 97's at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:38:25 -0600

Rhett Miller of the Old 97's at La Zona Rosa - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by harrison davis - club kingsnake staff

The Old 97’s show came at extremely late notice for me, so late that by the time I was confirmed to go, the openers were already on stage. Luckily, I had nothing to do and was able to make it down quick enough to catch Old 97’s full set.

I had heard that the band was great live; I have enjoyed a few of their records, so I came in with an expectation, not huge expectations but enough for me to comfortably say that the show wouldn’t suck.

I have never realized how many hardcore fans that this band has. The moment the seminal alt-country band came on stage the entire front section of the room erupted and their enthusiasm never faltered. They spent much of the show pogoing and sometimes going as far as moshing. Even the crowd not crammed up to the front sang along with nearly every tune they played.

The band itself was very tight. They didn’t exude very much stage presence, but they did sound great. I was immediately drawn to the playing of lead guitarist Ken Bethea. His playing was very upbeat and jangly and went nice with Philip Peeples straight backbeat drumming.

It took this show to make me notice just how good of a songwriter Rhett Miller is. He played two solo songs during the encore that I felt were among the best songs played that night.

I’m not going crazy wanting to see the Old 97’s again soon, but they were very good the first time around.

Concert Review: Suicidal Tendencies, House of Blues - Chicago

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:35:13 -0600

by cindy steinle
club kingsnake staff

Suicidal Tendencies
Hometown: Venice Beach, CA
http://www.suicidaltendencies.com
December 10th, 2008
House Of Blues
Chicago, Il.
Also: Madball, Whole Wheat Bread

Last night I went to church. After a 4 hour drive to House of Blues Chicago, I had a sermon. A sermon in life if you will, with the greatest preacher to ever walk the planet. The preacher was none other than the great Cyco Miko Muir. And I didn't have to miss my wedding to do it.

Its been around 16 years since I last saw Suicidal. I believe I was 17 at the time, but time passes and years fade. It was the old Suicidal, Miko was laid up with a broken leg and both ST and Danzig were opening for Metallica. I was insane for those first 30 minutes. Of course then I slept through the majority of Metallica. Go figure. I have spent the last two weeks counting down days. I have checked both the ST website and HOB website to make sure there was no cancellation daily.

I had been planning my trip to Chicago carefully, watching the weather, hoping I wasn't going to have to plan 7 hours for the trip. Massive snow and freezing rain started the week, but just cold came today. Yes I was damned near possessed with this show. This was as close as a religious experience as I am going to have. Suicidal for me is one of those bands that speak to me. Their lyrics have evolved my life, helped me during the rough patches, brought me up when I am down, calmed me when I am angry. There is nothing ST can not do for me. Well other than make me a millionaire so I can do nothing but reviews for Club Kingsnake, but hey, Miko has lots of years to figure that out.

Unfortunately due to an emergency, Brian couldn't make it out to see the show and do photos. We did try to get the pass transferred, but I am guessing we didn't get ahold of the PR people in time. My biggest regret is all I will have is the memories. I got there later than planned so I missed openers Madball and Whole Wheat Bread (for those catching later dates, these openers are only on the bill until tomorrow and then you get Death By Stereo and Whole Wheat Bread for the last few dates). I actually arrived just as Whole Wheat Bread was finishing and by the time I got through the security and into the bathroom (4 hours in a truck is more than my bladder can handle) I had time to go Christmas shopping for myself. I got a couple of longsleeves and then I noticed the sign for the NEW CD.

WHAT WHAT WHAT?!?!?! OHHHH Must have, haven't seen it in stores or online. Apparently this is a special CD for those who come to the shows! ROCK ON! I snaked up the CD and managed to actually find a seat towards the back. The CD is called "Year of the Cyco" and is a compilation of sorts with new music from ST, Infectious Grooves, Cyco Mike and a bonus No Mercy song. I did listen to some of it on the way home and was very happy with it. ST sounds like they are going back a bit more to their initial roots.

Short of the mix needing a lot of work (vocals were next to impossible to hear at times) the show was amazing. I can't complain about the set list a whole lot other than to say is was simply too short. Honestly, I was mildly bummed not to hear "Join the Army".

New drummer Eric Moore had an exciting evening, breaking his stool during one of the songs (I forgot to write it down, but I am pretty sure it was "Send Me Your Money") but put on an fun drum solo. Initially I was concerned with the bass. I really have to say, it didn't sound right. By the second song I realized what was different was Bassist Steve Brunner was putting his feel into each and every song. While initially this threw me for a loop, I realized how very cool it is that an established band (these guy have been around almost 30 years in some form or another) allowed someone to put their own personal touch. The bass part of "Send Me Your Money" was amazing and I realized, while I do miss Robert, Steve does a helluva job filling the shoes of the worlds most amazing bassist. There was a more funky feel to the classics rather than the straight punk or thrash that they originally started with.

Mike Clark is still there and rounding out the band is Dean Pleasants on lead guitar. Muir is truly a frontman. I missed his rants between and during songs, I only wish the vocals were better where I was (and so did the folks around me from the screams I was hearing). Mike has always added almost motivational talks mixed in with the music. Either prowling the stage or ranting, all eyes are on Muir. He is amazing and he captures each and every person. It was really great to see him moving as well as he was, I had concerns that this would be a subdued performance, with his multiple back surgeries, but nothing holds him back.

Much like always, ST marches to its own drummer, touring before releasing the full CD. I can only hope that the tour comes back again after the release. It was well worth the 16 year wait I have had. I joined the Army over 20 years ago and I remain Suicidal For Life.

Set List
You Cant Bring Me Down
We Are Family
War Inside My Head
Subliminal
Send Me Your Money
Drum Solo
Living or Along for the Ride - New Song
Cyco Vision
Lovely
Possessed
I Saw Your Mommy
How Will I Laugh Tomorrow
Encore
I Shot Regan
Fascist Pig
Pledge Your Allegiance

Concert Review: GWAR at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:25:42 -0600

Beefcake the Mighty of GWAR at La Zona Rosa - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by harrison davis
club kingsnake staff

GWAR
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
http://www.gwar.net
December 5th, 2008
La Zona Rosa
Austin, TX
Also: Toxic Holocaust, Kingdom Of Sorrow

GWAR has become an institution in thrash metal purely due to their ridiculous live shows and I had heard so many things about GWAR shows that I had to see it for myself. I am in no way a fan of GWAR’s music, but their show was one of the most awesomely ridiculous things that I have ever seen.

I showed up late to the show and not only missed the openers, but the first few songs from GWAR. I walked into the room just as a wrestling ring was being set up on stage. I knew that someone was about to die. I quickly discovered that the ring was there for there for the Intergalactic Wrestling Tour which, of course, was set-up for GWAR to award the rightful owner of the Frank Sinatra Belt of World Domination. The first match consisted of a green monster named Bonesnapper and presidential candidate John McCain.

As McCain was mutilated and dismembered on stage, sending blood flying throughout the whole room, I couldn’t help but completely forget the fact that the band was still playing. The band was entirely forgettable, but the show was anything but. I don’t remember a thing that GWAR produced musically at any point that night, but in this situation that just might be a good thing. I was busy having too much fun. Every note they played floated right past me as I thought about how cool guitarist Balsac the Jaws of Death looked with his massive head or bassist Beefcake the Mighty’s awesome gladiator outfit.

The audience represented a diverse GWAR following. Judging from the look on many faces, they were there for the same reason I was, because everyone has to see GWAR at least once.

The show remained consistently awesome until the very end. The sole complaint I had was with the Intergalactic Wrestling tour storyline. It started off with the killings of John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton (it’s the Electile Dysfunction Tour) but when it came time to actually fight for the Frank Sinatra Belt of World Domination, GWAR’s manager Sleazy P. Martini brought out two monsters that I had never seen before. It was a letdown after the previous bouts. In the end we walked out happy, covered in blood, and wondering what exactly just happened.

Concert Review: Murder My Sweet At Stubb's BarBQ

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:49:00 -0600

Murder My Sweet at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos...
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

by James West, Contributing Writer

Murder, My Sweet
Hometown: Austin, TX
http://www.myspace.com/murdermysweet
Stubb’s Bar-B-Q (inside)
November 29, 2008
Also: Ultraviolet Index, Mocktigers

The indoor stage at Stubb’s Barbeque got another going over this weekend with three bands and a full house of different effects and sounds. It was an all night affair with the music lasting well into the morning. The Headliner was “Murder, My Sweet,” but there was a long and raucous road to travel before they got to the stage.

The first band of the night was a surprise in retrospect; a five-piece with both electric piano and organ, drums, rhythm and bass guitar. When I asked them what the name of the band was three of the members had to consult each other to make sure they got it right—The Ultraviolet Index—apparently it was their first time all on stage together. Aside from some slight hesitation in some of their pieces, the rich notes from the piano carried well over the vibrations from the organ. I felt the keystrokes float all the way through to people tapping their feet and listening to the lyrics. Most of the songs were devoted to apparent heartbreak. The honest and un-shrouded pain the words conveyed was appreciated by more than one lonely soul in the crowd. They reminded me of a Beatles inspired troupe of urbanites looking for a place to sing it all out. Theirs was a welcome sound though, followed by something much, much harder.

Mocktigers at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos...
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

Mocktigers were next, the lead singer pummeling the worn-wooden stage with every part of his body by the time the set was finished. The music was dark and fast with the drummer obviously working out some aggression issues in the back. Mocktigers stole the show though with mesmerizing guitar playing in and out of the lyrical assault on stage. The sound was loud, the singer a black-magician feeding the crowd his poison and us loving the bitter and maddening taste that rang between our ears. The ritual unfolding before us had the singer pounding the floor with his fists to praying on his knees with the mic between his clasped hands. “Battlecry!” is the name of their debut album, I suggest you get it and listen to it as soon as possible.

With the crowd shaken to bits yet thirsting for more, Murder, My Sweet took the stage and gave everyone a dose of what they came for: a wailing heavy rock sound akin to Soundgarden and dripping with synthetic effects in the background. The lighting stepped up as a major player for the late-night crowd with changing patterns drawing us in and mimicking our poor throbbing livers. The lead guitarist was truly unrivaled here with excellent sessions over whatever else was happening. One song blurred into the next and created a kind of cohesive mood that kept us with it and moving into the night—a night to be remembered.

Concert Review: In Flames/Gojira/36 Crazyfists at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:21:18 -0600

Peter Iwers of In Flames at La Zona Rosa - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by harrison davis
club kingsnake staff

In Flames
Hometown: Gothenburg, Sweden
http://inflames.com
November 29th, 2008
La Zona Rosa
Austin, TX
Also: Gojira, 36 Crazyfists

The In Flames tour came to Austin like a metal United Nations. No bands from the continental United States makes for a great night of metal. We’ve struggled with the whole metal thing ever since Pantera ended, but the Europeans still know what they’re doing, and they showed us.

The first band on actually was American, but from Alaska so I’m not sure it counts. 36 Crazyfists was a decent, but not incredible band. Their metalcore style was good for what it was, but in the end it wasn’t anything that I haven’t heard before. That said, 36 Crazyfists put on a killer show, really getting the crowd into it. When they first started their set singer Brock Lindow tried to get the crowd into it, but ended up with limited results. Things really got going when Lindow got the 4-way Wall of Death going. The Wall of Death is of course when a mosh pit is split down the middle and then, upon the singers command, they charge at each other. I’ve been in a few Wall of Deaths but this was by far the best. From that point on, the band completely had me.

Mick Whitney of 36 Crazyfists at La Zona Rosa - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

France’s Gojira was the only band that I had seen before and they have really improved sinceI first saw them back in February ’07. A big part of the improvement came from the setlist. Back then they were still supporting the From Mars to Sirius record, this time they were supporting one of my favorite metal albums of the year, The Way of All Flesh. With their expanded catalogue, the band ripped through a killer set. The show was undoubtedly less calm than 36 Crazyfists but the music was fantastic here. Even though the band generally stood still for the entire show, I found myself really getting into the music.

The band kicked off with the killer opener from Way of All Flesh, Oroborus. Right from the start I was extremely impressed by drummer Mario Duplantier. The set only got better as it went on as the band continued to showcase its excellent blend of death and progressive metal. The crowd agreed with many calling for an encore as the band left the stage. The numbers calling out for one more song showed that Gojira had nearly as many fans present as In Flames did. Pretty impressive for a band that’s only been around for a few years.

In Flames is one of those metal bands that doesn’t get the credit it deserves from the general rock community simply because they are a metal band. They formed in 1990 and have been the leading name in melodic death metal ever since. In Flames is one of the most influential death metal bands in the short history of the genre.

Highlights of the nearly 2 hour set were fan favorites Take This Life and Satellites and Astronauts but the set covered both old and new material. It was a fantastic show. The only complaint I have is that it did run a little long. Many in the crowd began leaving well before the show had ended. The extended set was understandable due to co-headliner All That Remains cancellation but it was still a bit much. I was never bored enough to leave, but I did lose some interest around the 90 minute mark. Fortunately, the band picked it right back up again for the last few numbers and really brought it home for me. Few people look as cool headbanging as In Flames vocalist Anders Fridén does with his insanely long dreadlocks. The Swedish death metal legends had no need for an encore as they got everything they cover in their main set, but had they decided to play a few more, the crowd absolutely would have been down.

Joe Duplantier of Gojira at La Zona Rosa - more photos... photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Review: Avenged Sevenfold at The Rave

nospam@example.com (Brian Rampacek) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:54:00 -0600

Avenged Sevenfold at The Rave - more photos...
photo by brian rampacek - Staff Photographer

by brian rampacek
club kingsnake staff

Avenged Sevenfold
Hometown: Huntington Beach, Ca.
http://www.avengedsevenfold.com
November 12, 2008
The Rave
Milwaukee, Wi.

Before this set I was unfamiliar with almost all of A7X's music, but judging from the flood of fans pouring into The Rave I was in for a good show. The last time I was at a sold out show was back on The Unholy Alliance tour with Slayer and Lamb of God.

The venue was packed to capacity and ready to burst at the seams. I took my spot at the side of the stage and as I waited for the curtain to drop and the show to start, a thunderous chant of A7X accompanied with feet stomping the hardwood floor filled the ballroom. The show started and I took my shots for the first 3 songs and got to sit back and watch the show.

A7X had a tight set, I really dug the dual guitar solos and excellent harmonies created between Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengence. The bass and drums were kickin and spot on. Singer M.Shadows sounded great when you could hear him over the crowd, I can't remember the last show I was at where the crowd new every song and sang along word for word almost drowning out the band at certain points.

The set lasted over an hour with songs including "Bat Country", "Beast And The Harlot", "Almost Easy", "Scream", and "Afterlife". The band put on a great show and seemed to feed off the energy of the crowd. I have to admit I wasn't a fan before tonight, but I am now.

Catch Avenged Sevenfold where you can you wont be disappointed.

AX7 Upcoming Tour Dates

Concert Review: White Denim/Dead Confederate/Apollo Sunshine at the Mohawk, Austin Tx.

nospam@example.com (Harrison Davis) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:10:00 -0600

Dead Confederate at SXSW 2008 - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by harrison davis
club kingsnake staff

White Denim
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
www.whitedenimmusic.com/
November 8th, 2008
The Mohawk
Austin, TX
Also: Dead Confederate, Apollo Sunshine ,

White Denim may have been the headliner, but the show belonged to Dead Confederate. The Athens, GA natives destroyed any and all expectations with their epic, sweeping, shoegazer sound. As good as White Denim was, they just couldn't handle following the immense beauty of Dead Confederate.\

The evening stated with an energetic set from Apollo Sunshine. They came out sporting an interesting sound that blended psychedelic and funk. The nice bass grooves got the crowd moving early in the show, and when the bass was dropped for a keyboard, the bongo player kept up the fun atmosphere. For me, the highlight of the set was the extended closer which featured everything from a four man drum solo to some very Jack White esque guitar work.

As soon as Apollo Sunshine was off the stage it became clear that not everyone was there for White Denim as Dead Confederate's name was shouted repeatedly by audience members. Their enthusiasm was very understandable. Dead Confederate wasn't much of a show visually, but sonically, it was one of the finest performances that I have ever heard. They stood on stage very still for much of the show, with a smoke machine going in the background. The combination of the smoke machine and the stage lighting made the place look exactly like the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' music video, and the comparisons to Nirvana don't stop there.

Dead Confederate stand right at the crossroads of shoegaze and grunge. The sound of the rhythm guitar player's echoing slide guitar work cut through the heavily distorted lead guitar beautifully. As emotional as the music was, the vocals came through with the hollow sensibilities that I often associate with grunge singers. The soft and subdued vocals created a remarkable contrast with slow moving epic slide guitar work. I had heard some of Dead Confederate's work previously but I was in too much of a daze to recognize any of it. I was left with the feeling that the only way to fully experience this band would be to close my eyes and the sounds devour me. It was one of the most majestic experiences of my life.

At this point everything completely changed gears. We went from the elegant sounds of Dead Confederate to White Denim's harsh garage rock. As they took the stage, one thing became immediately clear, these are thorough, talented musicians.

The drum kit itself was remarkably small, yet surprisingly loud, and the drummer knew what to do with it. The guitar work was nice, effect-driven, blues rock that would have driven the band had the bassist not been so good. For me, he was the star of the show. He missed more than a few notes on some of his obviously tough bass lines, but when he hit, he really hit. Musically, the trio locked in very tight and it was clear why this band's stock has been rising so rapidly recently. It's worth noting that the guitar player has one of the best singing voices that I have heard in a while. It had the roughness necessary in garage rock but with that roughness came a pretty impressive range.

I really enjoyed the show, maybe even more than I should have since it was the first time I had actually caught them after many attempts dating back to SXSW. It was worth the wait.

Concert Review: TV on the Radio at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Greg Klein) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:01:00 -0600

TV on the Radio
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
www.tvontheradio.com
October 30, 2008
Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
Austin, TX
Also: The Dirtbombs

Find a band playing better music than TV on the Radio right now. I dare you!

Okay, I may be a bit biased, but the soulful, electronic rock group from Brooklyn who just released their third full-length album seem to be hitting their creative stride. They’re a hard band to pigeonhole, as their sound runs a wide spectrum of blues and soul to noisy rock and electronic dance. Add to the fact their reputation for energetic live shows and you have an excited writer and a packed house at Stubb’s outdoor venue in Austin, TX, on the night before Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve Eve?).

But before TV on the Radio appeared, the crowd was treated to the soul/garage rock hybrid of The Dirtbombs. I was looking forward to hearing them, and they didn’t disappoint. They were an excellent warm-up, with gritty tracks like “Underdog,” “Ever Lovin’ Man,” and “I Hear the Sirens.” They’re worth seeing on their own, but as an opener, they left the crowd clamoring for what was to come.

TVotR came on stage to an excited crowd and opened with the soulful “Young Liars” before upping the tempo with “The Wrong Way” and “Golden Age,” the first single from their new album, Dear Science. Lead singer Tunde Adepimbe was dancing all over the stage, flopping his arms and slithering from one end to the other. It was hard not to feel his enthusiasm, the good vibes flying off him like the sweat dripping down his brow.

I was lucky enough to have made my way to the front, jumping and singing along to tracks like “Halfway Home” and “Wolf Like Me,” their rocked-out, danceable tune from 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain.

Throughout the show, they brought out a guy dressed as a gingerbread man to help sing one of the songs, and a woman joined them on stage for several others, providing backup vocals. But for the most part, the quintet was on stage by their lonesome, daring the crowd not to move their feet with the catchy “Dancing Choose” or the sultrier “DLZ” and “Love Dog.” They play fast and slow with equal passion, and it’s a treat to see both.

For the encore, they started with two tracks from Return to Cookie Mountain, including a cool spectacle for “Let the Devil In.” After bringing out several kids, everyone donned some kind of percussion instrument (lots of tambourines) to bang out the song. They finished with fan-favorite “Staring at the Sun,” leading in with Kyp’s falsetto cooing. I had retreated to the rear of the venue for an easier getaway during the encore, and was disappointed when I was the only person flailing and singing during the final set. I got a few odd looks from people, but their loss if they didn’t feel the same vibe I did.

This was one of the most fun shows I’ve been to in recent memory, largely due to the talent and creativity of the group. In an industry overrun by banal, fly-by-night Top 40 pap, TV on the Radio prove you can reach out to the masses without having to sacrifice any bit of integrity. See this band. NOW!

Concert Review: Beck and MGMT at The Sound Academy

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:21:00 -0500

Beck at the Sound Academy

Beck at the Sound Academy

Beck at the Sound Academy
(more photos...)

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

October 5, 2008.
The Sound Academy. Toronto, Ontario.

MGMT.......... Huh? Where's the photos? Well, as we arrived at the Sound Academy shortly before our photo call for MGMT the lovely Live Nation rep told us she had some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that no-one gets to shoot the MGMT show, the good news is that we still get to shoot Beck. I'd actually been planning on boycotting the Beck shoot due to the "We own your photos in perpetuity throughout the universe" release foisted on us by his publicist. So, I caved and signed the damn release and shot Beck. With gas prices the way they are I wasn't gonna go home with an empty camera.

MGMT's set was fantastic. Psychedelic/electro-pop/country/rock with a dreamy frontman. I really dug their set much more than the part set I saw at the recent Virgin Festival.

This is where I'd put some usually put some MGMT photos. That aint gonna happen. Lets hope they fit back into those britches they seem to have gotten too big for and lets some photogs in again.

The headliner was Beck. With a spartan stage only adorned with their instruments and amps, and lights like you'd see on an old time movie set Beck and his band came on stage and launched into Loser. Another photog and later I discussed how truly cool it was to be in the pit shooting Beck while he played Loser.

Of course, once we photographers had shot our three songs the real lightshow began. A large screen at the back of the stage was covered in what looked like about a million LEDs and was displaying this crazy abstract video throughout the set.

From beginning to end the set was tight and kept it's momentum. At no point did I find myself staring at my shoes or counting the cracks in the wall. I arrived as a casual fan and left with a new found interest in Beck and his music.

Concert Review: Journey at the Molson Amphitheatre

nospam@example.com (Michael Hurcomb) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:02:00 -0500

by Michael Hurcomb - club.kingsnake contributor
The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario
Friday September 5th, 2008

I've always liked Journey. I'll admit it. In fact I think everyone likes Journey. Those damned catchy, sappy songs with great guitar solos. They've certainly received more press in the last few years thanks to the use of "Don't Stop Believin" in the Sopranos series finale and the hiring of the You Tube sensation Arnel Pineda from the Philippines . Before the show I checked out the footage of Arnel singing with his old cover band The Zoo. Arnel can sing exactly like Steve Perry but you'd be surprised to hear how well he can impersonate other singers. He nails Bon Jovi, Boston, STP, Queen and lots of others.

The big test would be hearing him live, especially after Journey canceled the prior night because Arnel had a cold. Well, he was perfect. Journey put on a fantastic show with lots of energy and great interplay, as did their openers Cheap Trick and Heart. It's refreshing to hear great live singers in this era of "Auto Tune". The crowd loved every minute of it - especially the large Filipino crowd! Hopefully Journey can keep Arnel longer than their past few singers. They start another leg of their tour in November so check them out if they're headed your way.

Photo Spread: Cheap Trick at the Molson Amphitheatre

nospam@example.com (Michael Hurcomb) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:47:00 -0500

by Michael Hurcomb - club.kingsnake contributor

The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario
Friday September 5th, 2008

Concert Review: Foo Fighters at Austin City Limits, KLRU Studio, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:32:00 -0500

Foo Fighters
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
http://www.foofighters.com
Monday, September 29th, 2008
KLRU Studio(Austin, Texas)

'Cause I've got a golden ticket
I've got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day
- Grandpa Joe and Charlie - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

I must admit that when I greedily ripped open the envelope and saw the hint of gold the lyrics above immediately popped into my head. How aprÃ¨s peau that the tickets were a rich golden hue. Though they were free they were the toughest ACL Fest tickets to get because EVERYBODY that could called in favors, pulled strings, or resorted to blackmail to get into this one. I am not talking about the Foo Fighters ripping it up in front of 80,000 sweaty festival goers in the park on Sunday night, this article is about their Austin City Limits television show performance the night afterwards down at the KLRU studios on the U.T. campus.

With seating limited to only 350 people, those lucky few with the golden tickets began lining up hours before the appointed 7:00 pm gate. Across the plaza another line formed for the "seats available" backup line, each hoping and praying that an offcourse UT shuttle bus would wipe out the golden ticket holders so they could gain entry.

Once the doors opened, ticket holders were ushered into the foyer and then up the elevator 10 at a time. With a quiet "wshhhh" the doors opened to an oasis, chilled to the right temperature and filled with KLRU volunteers handing out free beer and programs. Moving into the darkened studio one immediately sees the familiar Austin City Limits background of the city's skyline, and tonight there would be no chairs on the floor. Though bleachers surrounded the floor and afforded excellent sightlines no matter where you were, there would be no sitting there either once the Foo Fighters took the stage.

I grabbed an open space on the second level of the bleachers and found myself next to Frank Hendrix, owner of Emo's at 6th and Red River. Looking across the bleachers I caught sight of Gary Miller of the Austin Chronicle and soon Raoul Hernandez, the Chronicle's music editor appeared in the stream of people coming in. I saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, many of them local music industry types. Once all the ticket holders made it in and the last call came, a select lucky few from the "seats available" line were allowed in, but not very many.

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters at ACL Fest 2008

Soon the stage darkened and the shows longtime producer, Terry Lickona, stepped onstage to welcome us, remind us not to take pictures, and then he welcomed the band as they took the stage behind him. A heavily bearded Dave Grohl stepped to the mic, talked about the honor of being invited to play, seeing all the photos of the great artists that had played before him, and then found an opening to rib Lickona about his afro in the 70's.

The band lit into the first song, "Times Like These", immediately triggering cheers from the audience and we were off.. The sound was unbelievably clean, crisp, and tight, the lights in the studio rivaling any major tour or venue I have ever seen. The only things missing were the smoke and the fire, and the bands performance provided plenty of that. Every song they played just popped, and they played a lot, 17 songs by my count, exluding the bizarre yet fantastic guitar break into the "Hocus Pocus" riff by the early 70's band Focus, stopping just short of the yodeling (I was a little disappointed he didn't give the yodeling thing a shot).

Dave was all over the stage, in the audience, at one point coming all the way out and standing in the bleachers, playing his guitar less than 10 feet away from me. He joked with the band members, talked to people in the audience, even gave a guitar pick to someone in front that asked, much to the bemusement of his roadie who immediately ran out and replaced it on his mic stand.

After covering most of their hits, a few new songs, some fan favorites, and the old standard "Young Man's Blues" the set seemed to end much too quickly. What seemed like 30 minutes was in fact 1:45 minutes.
Heading out the door I made sure I saved my stub as I was sure this was in fact my lucky ticket.

The Foo Fighters Austin City Limits show performance is scheduled to air on January 17th 2009 on your local PBS station. Other performers that stopped by KLRU to record a session while they were in town for ACL Fest include Gnarls Barkley(1/24/09), Manu Chao (1/31/09), Erykah Badu (11/22/08), and The Swell Season
(2/14/09). Thanks go out to Austin City Limits for inviting us out for the taping. Maybe they'll do it again sometime. And thanks to Gary at The Chronicle and Mark over at the Gibson showroom for helping figure out the name of the Focus song.

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters at ACL Fest 2008

Austin City Limits Taping Set List

Times Like These
Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)
Learn To Fly
Young Man's Blues
Long Road To Ruin
Let it Die
Stacked Actors
Skin And Bones
Marigold
My Hero
Cold Day In The Sun
But, Honestly
Everlong
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
Aurora
The Pretender

Lucky Foo Fighters ticket holders lined up to enter the KLRU studio

Concert Review: Butthole Surfers at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:17:33 -0500

Paul Leary and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Butthole Surfers
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
http://www.buttholesurfers.com
Butthole Surfers Concert Photos
Saturday, September 27th, 2008
Stubb's BarBQ(Austin, Texas)
Also: Fuckemos, The Kills

The infamous Gibby Haynes and the Butthole Surfers returned to the Austin stage after a long absence and despite predictions no one died during the performance, though polls heavily favored Gibby.

Long known for their live antics like packing a shotgun onstage or playing with matches and lighter fluid in a club with limited fire exits, Saturdays performance at Stubb's was rather calm by comparison, though the crowd surfers almost overwhelmed the barrier more than once, despite the triple security in the pit. It could be that time has finally tempered the band, it could be the miles, but it certainly hasn't tempered their ability to attract controversy, and Gibby and crew aren't ready to retire out to Sun City and start voting Republican just yet.

Although the Surfers and I had crossed path's many, many times in the early 80's during Austin's heyday as the state's punk rock mecca, I only actually saw them perform once back in "The Day". That show was probably in 81 or 82 down at the old Club Foot on 4th Street, next to the bus station. Club Foot was a split evel club in the warehouse district whose interior walls were covered in sheet metal, and though the acoustics did nothing to enhance the performance, neither did a lot of the bands they booked.

Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

At that show an early version of the Surfers opened for Austin's Big Boys, and my memory of the performance was that they were looking for a sound and were as yet a long way off. Still, the band had a certain stage presence, and that presence could be summed up in one word - revolting.

The band had discovered early that the performance is the performance, rather than the music. You didn't have to be good musically to attract an audience, you just had to have a performance that they wanted to watch. And in Austin in the late 70's and early 80's the best way to do that as a punk band was to be shocking, to push the envelopes of taste and propriety, and challenge the social and politcal morays of the establishment. The Hun's did it by kissing a police officer at Rauls, getting arrested, and almost starting a riot, which made Austin an early "scene". Gibby Haynes did it at that show by wearing a bright red T-Shirt that depicted a gay cowboy sporting a massive erection while stumbling about the stage abusing himself with a loaded staple gun. Their is something about a bleeding man with an erection shirt screaming profanity at you through a P.A. that sticks in your mind. I certainly remembered them, and when I later heard of GG Allin, I thought GG stole their act.

Though I missed the rest of their performances in the 80's and 90's, the band actually managed to learn how to play their instruments and wrap their stage show in some interesting and culturally relevant songs, and they turned out to be actually quite good musically. In 1981, not so much. Still I followed the band, bought all their records, followed them in the press, and watched as their legend grew.

Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

The Surfers lived up to their legend status Saturday night at their sold out performance. Old punks from "back in the day", young punks and metalheads there to see and surf, even the press were out in droves to catch the show, and I don't think anyone walked away disappointed. Covering songs from throughout their catalog, the pit area was a war zone as the masses continually battled with security and threatened to flow over the barrier. Gibby was up to his usual antics, appearing initially in a T- Shirt with "Fuck The Man" crudely painted on it, he soon peeled it off to reveal another shirt equally rendered with "Van Palin Sux/Hockey Cunt" which raised a roar from the crowd. Still not satisfied with his sartorial accoutrements he stripped off that shirt a few minutes later revealing a shirt blotted with just the word "Urine". The Surfers set lasted exactly 1 hour and 34 minutes, beating the midnight curfew by a slender 1 minute.

The band sounded great and I look forward to seeing them tour and record again.

Opening the show were the Fuckemos, an Austin institution for over 20 years, playing the Stubb's stage for the very first time. To describe their sound and their songs, imagine a 3 minute dry belch set to metal and punk guitar work. These guys might have pioneered the whole cookie monster vocal thing, but they never seemed to break big because of the limits imposed by the bands name.

The Kills were the second band on the bill and I was impressed by their music and their stage presence. Kind of like a more melodic and harmonic White Stripes, this duo wasn't quite weird enough for the scene that night but I really enjoyed their set and their sound. With a sound thats stripped down to bare bones, they had a raw energy that made it tough to turn away. Oh, and if anyone finds The Kill's tour bus, let them know. They appear to have mis-placed it en route back to Los Angeles.

Thanks to everyone at Stubb's, C3, ACL, and The Butthole Surfers for inviting us out.

Concert Review: Dark Star Orchestra at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Greg Klein) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:28:00 -0500

Kevin Rosen of Dark Star Orchestra - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

Dark Star Orchestra
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
http://www.darkstarorchestra.com
Dark Star Orchestra Concert Photos
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
Stubb's BarBQ(Austin, Texas)

Deadheads and flower children both young and old filed into Waller Creek Saturday night to catch a glimpse of the past. The outdoor venue behind Stubbâ€™s, an Austin, TX, favorite, played host to Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead tribute band.

But DSO is unlike other tribute bands simply aping their more-famous brethren. Every night the members of Dark Star step on stage, they recreate a concert from the long career of the Dead. Depending on what show they pick, theyâ€™ll even arrange the sound to mimic that era. Take that, cover bands!

Rob Eaton of Dark Star Orchestra - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

But Dark Star changed things Saturday and treated Austin to a double set of songs of their choosing. The music was all Dead, but the setlist was their own doing. So with the sweet smell of sensimilla wafting through the air, the six members took to the stage. Opening with â€œFeel like a Stranger,â€? DSO filled the venue with folky, funky, jam goodness.

The set continued with fun tracks like â€œDire Wolfâ€? and â€œCatfish John.â€? The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the show, dancing, smiling, and singing along to the oh-so-familiar tracks. After over an hour, they closed with an great version of â€œAttics of my Life,â€? which was the longest song of the first set.

They then took a short break before jumping into the second set. Where the first was poppier with shorter songs, these were more drawn out. Opening with â€œTouch of Grey,â€? DSO took no time corralling the crowd and bringing all attention back to them by starting on a high note. Yes, the pun was intended.

Rob Koritz of Dark Star Orchestra - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

The first song flowed into â€œFoolish Heart,â€? which kept the audience grooving. I was asked by the man next to me to move up a few steps he had more room to dance. I looked and that dancing consisted of him spinning in circles. For minutes on end. I moved further away in case his dinner came up and joined a group dancing barefoot in the dirt.

The show continued until midnight, and the crowd never stopped feeling Dark Star Orchestraâ€™s groove. The love and devotion toward the Dead will last for many, many years to come, especially with bands like Dark Star Orchestra to continue their legacy in such a unique way. This was a fun show.

Concert Review: Virgin Music Festival - Toronto - Day 2

nospam@example.com (Andrea Gilders) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:55:00 -0500

The Crowd

Spiral Beach

Yoav

Moby

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by andrea gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Virginfest Toronto Day two
September 7, 2008. The Toronto Islands

And then came the rain.

Day one had been been gorgeous by late summer standards, the rain rolled in around midnight and well, it just kept coming.
By the time the gates had opened the fields were flooded and the Virgin "media darlings" were looking, well just a little more tense than they were yesterday. Day One's gorgeous period ferry for the media had been traded for the smaller slower but infinitely more weather proof version. The PR response appears to be when in doubt, feed the media and assure us all (and the concert goers) that they had it on pretty good authority that the rain really was going to end this afternoon. There were trays of sub sandwiches being proffered at every turn, and the the tent was fully outfitted in with nibblies, coffee, loads of water and rain ponchos upon our arrival at 1:30.

Spiral Beach , the band who declared they were from 'just over there' with a quick point back across the lake to Toronto, took to the stage right on time and with an enthusiastic intensity that surprised me.

Gone were the boom mounted cameras for the big screens, instead, the rain had driven us all through a few adaptations

A line of orange cones lined the front edge of the stage, proclaiming not only the name of the band but also the line not to be crossed for fear of hydroplaning onto the photographers. Camera men stood carefully at stages right and left pulling images for the big screens

Spiral Beach, a foursome, had an interesting front line. From Stage right, keyboardist and singer Maddy Wilde (sporting an adorable mid 80s Madonna esque ensemble) and showing a vocal style that was sexy and and fun. She was flanked by the more than a little bit bouncy Dorian Wolf on bass and more than capable Airick Woodhead on a unique guitar. (an old Danelectro covered in ratty red hockey tape). They were completed by drummer Daniel Woodhead

They bounced through the first four bars and another reviewer and I were both ready to buy the CD right there.
I'm struggling to describe it. It was rock, It was fun and even in the rain, it was damn good. Give it a listen and pay for it. They're young and I hope they're going places...

Following Spiral Beach was Toronto's own Danko Jones. A three piece hard rock group clad head to toe in black. Attitudes, growling vocals and a black Gibson Explorer later and the crowd started off into it.
Perhaps I have a weakness for low strung bass, hooky guitars and growling lyrics but the first song drew me in more than I expected. As the sun tried to peek out, the on stage attitude fought back. No on can say they were a happy band. "God damn it its not a rock show unless it rains" was the call I out I believe.
I spent much of their act alternating between loving them and not caring less. There were moments of genuis. I mean the kind of primal joy I haven't felt with a CDN hard rock act since the Kingston's 'other' best band the Headstones, but sadly that energy didn't envelop me like it should have.

Following Danko there was the mad run to the Molson Canadian area for the short Stereophonics acoustic set (see my other post on this) where the hearts of the Molson Canadian press people was obviously softened by the mud and they gave away lots of access.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Virgin Music Festival - Toronto - Day 2"

Concert Review: Virgin Festival - Toronto, Ontario - Day 1

nospam@example.com (Andrea Gilders) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:54:00 -0500

Sir Richard Branson

Mark Robertson

Lest GoTo War with the Mustangs Marching Band

The Midway State

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by andrea gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Virginfest Toronto Day one
September 6, 2008. The Toronto Islands

The press gathered in the belly of the Westin Harbourcastle for the 11 a.m. Virginmobile media briefing with little enthusiasm. There were of course some snacks which kept us in the room and waiting to hear the rules and regulations from our Virgin mobile hosts. Really we were just going through the motions and wanted to get on the ferry and get the exciting day underway.
All was going very well in a sleepy kind of way until a voice rang out from the back of the room "Is this the way to the concert?" And there he was, larger and blonder than you'd think in real life, Sir Richard Branson himself.
In town for a charity benefit, the Toronto film festival and his own musical festival, the room woke up in a hurry as he stepped up and graced us with a few words.
It was a fabulous moment as we all sat there a little dumbstruck and not one member of the press managed to generate even one question for the media magnate.

After he took his leave, we quickly headed across the lake to Toronto's Centre and Olympic Islands, our home away from home for the next two days for Toronto's third annual Virgin festival.
As we moved rapidly across the festival grounds were were treated to a quick preview of the stage locations and a peek in the Bacardi B live music tent. Inside the Bacardi tent we caught a glimpse of local Techno act Lets go to War rehearsing with the Mustang Marching Band (From a local university who maybe didn't want to endorse an appearance sponsored by an alcohol company?).
It was absolutely invigorating to see the energy in a rehearsal and as we turned back toward the main stage the gates were opened and the concert goers literally ran past us on to the open field
Virginfest day one was on....

Of course then it was off to review our 'digs'. The Virgin media area was fabulous last year and this year was even better. A very very large tent with refreshments, free wifi, lots of seating and room to shmooze. Off to one side, a exclusive media only viewing area, actually a few feet closer than the raised VIP area.
The gorgeous white faux fur chairs were there from last year along with some really cute red chenille heart pillows emblazoned with the Virgin logo.

Within moments the first act had taken to the main stage, Mark Roberston.
I must admit I was more impressed with the fancy inflatable chairs marked "stolen from Virgin fest 2008" than I was with Mr. Robertson's falsetto.
To echo the sentiments of our photographer "Gee, that was a good song when John Mayer did it".

Moving on to the the TD Canada Trust stage we saw the Midway state from Collingwod (just north of Toronto). where I held out against a couple strange impressions until I let the music speak.
First, I was struck by the strange choices made in the handout review pressed into my hand by one of the teenagers wearing a shirt proclaiming the bands name.
It struck me as odd that a band's handout would feature a picture of only one member. And, when listing three flattering review quotes, they would choose to list the best comment from the highest profile reviewer (Toronto star) last. Marketing 101 folks, GRAB their attention then move on...Then, as I watched the last moments of the sound check I had my second negative 'first' impression. The drummer wore what I can simply describe as a 'badly conceived' fashion idea on his head. You know you've seen it its the headband. Ok, lets get it clear, head bands work on two maybe three people, Lights (Valerie - http://www.myspace.com/lightsnoise ) and Olivia Newton John can pull them off. Unless you're gorgeous and FEMALE and about 20, they're a really bad idea. That's pretty much it. Lets everyone else just agree to stop wearing them ok?
So I sighed and dug in, I must admit the hand out featured a quote from the Toronto Star suggesting that their music could stand up against U2's New Years Day or Coldplay. I was intrigued...
I'm glad I stayed.
I was treated to a really interesting performance. Their music is well put together pop with some interesting things going on. First the singer (the guy on the handout who also does the song writing) is a pretty darn good piano player and has one of the nicest smiles I've seen in a good long time. Actually the overall estethic of the band was far more pleasing than the headband mis step caused me to fear. There was some serious orthodonture in their childhoods I think. The Guitarist and bass player were very capable and as the crowd clearly enjoyed themselves there were flashes of really youthful exuberance and joy at just being on the stage for us. Never undersell enthusiasm. They were tight, they were glad to be there and it showed. The music was sweet and young without beng cloying and had a reasonable musical complexity and wall of sound feel that I genuinely wasn't expecting. Really I was pleased. Deeply surprising was their almost BEE GEE's type feel on the vocal stylings of the choruses but it wasn't a bad thing, just yet another surprise from the Midway State.

As they left the stage and I grabbed a seat in the damp grass waiting for Shudder to Think to take the stage I could hear Airborne Toxic Event wafting over from the mainstage. They sounded great but I simply couldn't be in two places at once and since the main stage was running on time so I stayed where I was.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Virgin Festival - Toronto, Ontario - Day 1"

V-Fest Toronto: The Stereophonics acoustic set.

nospam@example.com (Andrea Gilders) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:43:00 -0500

Stereophonics!

Acoustic set!

They let us in!!!

After the buzz buzz buzz about the Stereophonics starting at the surprise Sir Richard Branson appearance at the press briefing I was excited to see them.
Honestly ,while I've heard the name, I couldn't name a song by the Welsh rockers who were the inaugural artists for V2 records back in 1996.
But the acoustic set at the Molson Canadian Tent had been preapproved media only.

Must have been the rain softening the heart of the folks at Molson as they quietly revised their policiy and let a bunch of us in

And what a show it was Only four songs and it was basically the full on sex dream of the true fan. I managed to squeeze to the front just behind a group of rabid British fans. They roared with joy at the slightest whiff of them coming on stage and then fully enjoyed every moment of the band's appearance. It was amazing to see a band this big, for the very,very first time in an ultra intimate acoustic setting.

We were able to watch them come in and then relax after the first two songs, ("Local boy in the photograph" and "Pick a part that's new") explaining that they were desperately hungover after going out for Indian last night with Paul Weller and Oasis who were set to headline the V fest line up ahead of them tonight.

Throughout the third song" Maybe tomorrow", the band began to let go and were clearly enjoying themselves. It was a daylight performance and they were now actually looking the fans in they eye and smiling.

During the last song ("Dakota") when they reached "Drinking back, drinking for two
Drinking with you. When drinking was new" the guitarist and drummer (playing a tambourine) turned to one another with a long meaningful look and laughed outright. Clearly there were echoes of the previous night in those words

It totally wet my appetite for the show later and earned them a fan. Amazing, tight playing in a really wonderful atmosphere.

And frankly given the oh so smooth gravel of Kelly Jones voice, I wonder what the hell took me so long to give them a listen

Concert Review: The Toadies at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:08:00 -0500

Vaden Todd Lewis of The Toadies - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

The Toadies
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
http://www.thetoadies.com
Toadies Concert Photos
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Stubb's BarBQ(Austin, Texas)
Also: The Lions

The Toadies are definitely back and hitting on all 8 cylinders if their series of sold out shows at Austin's Stubb's BarBQ is any indicator. Touring to promote their first studio release since 2001's Stars Above/Hell Below, their new disc No Deliverance picks up pretty much where The Toadies left off 7 years ago sound wise.

Fans began packing the venue as soon as doors opened and it was pretty full by the time I got there. Badging up at the box office I headed in and stopped by the 101x booth to say hello to Trevin, one of their DJ's. After chatting about Austin music politics (there are no politics in Austin music!) I headed off and worked my way to the pit. Jay and Gary would be shooting one of the other shows, but there were still 6 of us scheduled to shoot so the pit could become tight.

Continue reading "Concert Review: The Toadies at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas"

Concert Review: Wild Weekend Power Pop Festival at The Mohawk, Austin, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:12:00 -0500

The Ugly Beats - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer
Paul Collin's Beat - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Wild Weekend Power Pop Festival
http://www.myspace.com/wildweekendaustin

Friday, August 29th, 2008
Saturday, August 30th, 2008
The Mohawk(Austin, Texas)
Beerland(Austin, Texas)

It was a small but dedicated crowd that packed the plaza that is the outdoor stage of the Mohawk to see the first Wild Weekend Power Pop Festival. Starting out with day shows over at Beerland and moving to the Mohawk for the headliners, old and new punk-poppers gathered to see new bands like Austin's Ugly Beats, old bands like Paul Collin's Beat, and bands doing reunion gigs like The Pointed Sticks and 20/20.

I was able to fade the heat for one night and join in the fun, stopping by to catch the Friday night gigs at The Mohawk making it in time to catch The Ugly Beats from beginning to end. A great Austin band, the go-go boots, twangy Beatle-esque sound, and fading summer light gave the venue the aura of a late 60's beach party. It was dark by the time Nikki Corvette and her band hit the stage, continuing the go-go boots and 60's theme.

I stole upstairs to the patio to try to find Paul Collins and I ended up finding him nursing a beer and a nasty case of laryngitis. Nodding to my questions I tried to toss him yes and no softballs, but it was frustrating for both of us so in the end I wished him a good set, and headed back downstairs to catch the set by The Pointed Sticks.

Reforming after 30 years, these guys drew a big crowd from both their hometown in Vancouver B.C. as well as from around the states. It seemed everyone in the audience knew their music except for me, but I don't think anyone noticed. The crowd was so into the set, many of them ended up onstage for the bands last song.

I stuck around to catch Paul's set as well, but all the traveling and the laryngitis made his voice froggy to the point that it was painful for me to listen too. After the 6th song or so I decided it was time to go and as I headed off up the street I could hear him blasting his way through his catalog.

The Pointed Sticks At The Mohawk - more photos - photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Review: Tom Petty at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:21:00 -0500

Tom Petty at the Verizon Wireless - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Tom Petty and The Hearbreakers
Hometown: Gainesville, Florida
http://www.tompetty.com
Tom Petty Concert Photos
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater(Selma, Texas)
Also: Steve Winwood

An interesting thing happened at the Seether concert the other night. Between sets they were playing songs over the P.A. and the played a 20 year old Tom Petty song. Everyone in the audience, the pit, the working crew, virtually everyone started singing along. It was amazing as most of the audience hadn't even been born when the song was recorded and yet everyone knew the words.

I started following Tom Petty when I caught his "interview" in the movie F.M. and went out to buy his first L.P. I missed him when he played at The Paramount that same year and never had a further opportunity but bought most of the LP's he released through the 80's and 90's. Now 30 odd years later I finally caught up with Tom and his band The Heartbreakers at the Verizon Wireless in Selma, and watching his show live was like watching the greatest hits of everything that came between. I found it impossible not to sing along with many of the songs, as did most of the audience. The highlight for me was "Listen To Her Heart" from that first album, which was always my favorite song.

Now if I can just get him to tour with Big Mountain Fudgecake.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Tom Petty at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx."

Concert Review: Judas Priest at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:42:00 -0500

Rob Halford and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Judas Priest
Hometown: Birmingham, United Kingdom
http://www.judaspriest.com
Judas Priest Concert Photos
Sunday, August 24th, 2008
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater(Selma, Texas)
Also: Heaven and Hell, MotÃ¶rhead , Testament

"Don't worry honey. It will only take a couple minutes"...

Those words would come to haunt me.

I knew I was cutting it close but I had no choice. My flight was scheduled to land in Austin at 5:09pm, MotÃ¶rhead was scheduled to hit the stage at the Verizon in Selma at 6:30 straight up. I had, by schedule, 81 minutes to make it to the venue where I was to be whisked to the stage via golf cart just in time to see Lemmy step on stage. It would be close but it could be done.

If everything went drop dead perfect.

In preparation for the race I had ditched my checked bag with a friend so I was traveling light. I had swapped seats on the flight to get closer to the front, in front of all the cranky kids on their way back from Orlando. I even stowed my carryon bag over the first row so I could grab it and run. But our flight was late, 20 minutes to take off, landing 6 minutes off schedule on the tarmac in Austin, and then we had to wait for another jet to taxi out before we pulled up to the gate. Bolting out the door with my bag, I practically sprinted through the airport, and just caught my shuttle to the off-site parking lot before it pulled out.

I was close. I could still make it.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Judas Priest at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx."

Photo Spread: Iggy & The Stooges at Massey Hall

nospam@example.com (Michael Hurcomb) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:35:34 -0500

by Michael Hurcomb - club.kingsnake contributor

Massey Hall. Toronto, Ontario
Wednesday August 6th, 2008

My first concert at Massey Hall and what stuck me immediately is how amazing a venue it is. The performers are very close to the crowd and each level wraps around the stage which gives everyone a great view. After speeding from a wedding rehearsal in Oshawa I arrived at photo call to find out that it was long lenses only. We were only allowed to shoot from the left wall and nowhere near the front of the stage. I still managed to capture some decent shots with the telephoto zoom that I had in my bag from the wedding rehearsal. Iggy looks amazing for 61 and I don't think he stood still for a moment. Great band and a great show!


Photos by Michael Hurcomb - contributing photographer

Concert Review: The Metal Masters at The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:49:00 -0500

Judas Priest at the Molson Amphitheatre (more photos...)

Judas Priest at the Molson Amphitheatre (more photos...)

Judas Priest at The Molson Amphitheatre (more photos...)

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario.
August 13, 2008

Testament took the stage to a fairly empty Amphitheatre at the sooooo un-metal hour of 5:30. Their short set had some old favourites, but it was the new material from the latest The Formation of Damnation that really impressed me. "More Than Meets The Eye" and "The Formation of Damnation" are really good songs. Also impressive was lead guitarist Alex Skolnick. Skolnick, who performs with a Jazz Trio on the side shreds effortlessly. As I walked to my seat after my time in the photo pit I overheard several people remark on his playing. The whole band looked as though they were having a blast on stage while still staying metal and flipping the horns at the appropriate times. Lead vocalist Chuck Billy remarked that the Toronto crowd was the best yet. Whether it was standard stage banter or true we'll never know, but those in attendance were definitely into the show.

"We are Motorhead and we play Rock 'n Roll". The incomparable, inimatable, unstoppable Lemmy Kilmister's catch-phrase begin's Motorhead's assault on Toronto metal fans. Judging by the vast array of Motorhead shirts seen on bodies streaming into the Amphitheatre most of the early birds didn't need to be told who was destroying their eardrums. And when I say destroy, I mean it. Their set was among the most sonically devastating I have had the pleasure of hearing. With Mikkey Dee's kick drums reverberating through my chest cavity and threatening to stop my heart, and Lemmy's deliciously distorted Rickenbacker bass the trio (with Phil Campbell on Guitar) tore through a 30 minutes set which featured "Killed By Death", "Overkill" and of course "Ace of Spades". After the set I was compelled to head to the Motorhead merch booth and buy myself a "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" T-Shirt. They had lived up to that seemingly impossible boast.

Continue reading "Concert Review: The Metal Masters at The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario, Canada."

Concert review: Seether at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:52:23 -0500

Shawn Morgan of Seether - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Seether
Hometown: Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
http://www.seether.com
Seether Concert Photos
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Stubb's BarBQ(Austin, Texas)
Also: Safety Suit, Red

Shaun Morgan's guitar fretboard has "Kill Me Now" written on it in aluminum colored ink.

Every once in a while the lights would reflect off it and catch my eye.

It was a quirk of irony that the very next day I was to shoot the Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott tribute at Ozzfest. One artist very much alive, gunned down onstage, the other so angst filled he seemingly invites the same fate.

I have been a fan of Seether's post-grunge sound ever since I caught them on The Tonight show during their first U.S. tour. I went out the next day and bought their first major label release, Disclaimer, and was astounded. The heavy raspy sound of "Gasoline" and the other tracks were thick with hooks and left me buzzing. I must have left it in my disc player for a full month. I bought every disc released since then.

Shawn Morgan of Seether - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Along the way I have followed Seether's career with more than a passing interest as it has risen and fallen. First there was the incredible success of the single "Broken" with Amy Lee of Evanescence that rocketed them to prominence. For a brief time Shaun Morgan and the band seem to be on top of the world. Then Shaun Morgan's life seemed to unwind.

There was the incredibly public breakup with Amy Lee. It didn't help that it spawned her songs "Call Me When Your Sober" and "Lithium" taking Morgan to task publicly. In 2006 guitarist Pat Callahan left after 4 years with the band, and soon after Shaun entered rehab for cocaine and alcohol addiction. In between Shaun had problems with his label over naming the albums and profanity in his lyrics. He also had other problems with his health, at one point doubling over onstage. Finally last fall, with a new album ready for release, Shaun's brother jumped out of a Radisson window in South Dakota while on tour with the band as a roadie.

It's unfathomable to me how he is able to continue performing. A lesser man(me) would have withdrawn from public life rather than battle the demons in front of an audience. In some way I suppose it's providing some kind of cathartic release. At least I hope it is. It must be sheer torture to have to perform "Broken" night after night. I can't imagine the incredible weight that rests on Shaun Morgan's soul but I can hear it in his music. And I could see it on his guitar, every once in a while, when the flash of ink caught my eye.

Seether at Stubb's BarBQ - more photos - photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Concert Preview: Judas Priest and The Metal Masters Tour at the Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Ontario.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:42:00 -0500

Rob Halford and I at NXNE 2007

My first REAL concert experience was Judas Priest live at the CNE Grandstand in Toronto during the summer of 1986. I was dumbstruck at the scale of the spectacle I witnessed that night, and few concerts since then have even come close to matching my memory of "Priest". In the years since, my love of their music has never waivered but I somehow haven't managed to see them in all their live glory. One large consolation was that I did cover the Rob Halford interview at 2007's NXNE. An experience that reignited the fire driving me to see Judas Priest again.

This terrible oversight will change on August 13th when the Metal Masters Tour steamrolls Toronto. Yeah there's Priest headlining, and you've also got Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath fronted by Ronnie James Dio), add to that Motorhead, and (comparatively young upstarts) Testament and I start to get all stupid. This will be Metal 101 taught by Rob Halford, Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio and, Lemmy Kilmister. I'll be there at the very least as a fan with some really good seats. Fingers crossed that I might also be asked to shoot the show.

August 24th will also see our Jeff Barringer in Selma (San Antonio), Texas when the Metal Masters bring their tour come boot camp to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Remaining Tour Dates Below:

12th Centre Bell, Montreal, QUE
13th Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON
15th Mohegan Sun, Hartford, Connecticut
16th Post Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh, PA
18th DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit, MI
19th First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago, IL
21st Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City, OK
22nd Superpages.com Amphitheatre, Dallas, TX
23rd Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX
24th Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio, TX
26th El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, TX
27th Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque, NM
28th Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ
30th Glen Helen Pavilion, San Bernardino, CA
31st Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA

Concert Review: The Hold Steady at The Parish, Austin, TX

nospam@example.com (Greg Klein) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:14:00 -0500

The Hold Steady
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
www.theholdsteady.com
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Parish (Austin, TX)
Opener: The Loved Ones

â€œâ€¦and we are all . . . The Hold Steady!â€?

Thatâ€™s how it ends. And good Lord, what a show. But letâ€™s rewind the clock a few hours and figure out how we got there.

A sold out crowd invaded the intimate confines of The Parish in Austin, TX, ready for a night of The Hold Steadyâ€™s fun, rowdy brand of rock. Morale in the city had been low with Austin approaching a record number of 100-degree days, but spirits immediately rose in the air-conditioned room. The cold beers helped a bit, too.

The show began with a set by pop punk group The Loved Ones. While they didnâ€™t have the sing-a-long notoriety of the headliners, they provided an entertaining warm up. My favorite moment wasnâ€™t exactly a song, per se, but rather their segue into the first song. â€œPaper Planesâ€? by M.I.A. was playing on the overhead speakers, and the band began to drum to the gunshots in the chorus. The music then faded and they seamlessly moved into their first song. Cool stuff. Another great moment was Franz and Tad from The Hold Steady joining the band on stage for the last song, â€œLouisiana.â€? But really, the crowd was just biding their time until The Hold Steady.

And just like that, there they were, belting right into â€œConstructive Summer,â€? which blended into â€œHot Soft Lightâ€? and â€œChips Ahoy.â€? There was little between-song banter from the group, as they wasted no time picking nuggets from their four-album catalogue, including many from the recently released Stay Positive. I marveled at the crowdâ€™s ability to jump and sing along to even the new tracks. But then, these songs make you sing along, with Craig Finn providing the raucous lead, half-yelling and half-singing into the microphone.

The Hold Steady are in their element in a live setting. Theyâ€™re clearly having fun on stage, and they didnâ€™t hold back Wednesday night. Songs like these make it hard for certain writers to refrain from ripping his notepad in half and jumping around like a half-drunk fanboy.

The night continued with songs like â€œChicago Seemed Tired Last Night,â€? â€œBanging Camp,â€? and a touching rendition of â€œLord, Iâ€™m Discouraged,â€? providing one of the few breathers throughout the night.

The set ended on a high note with the back-to-back songs of â€œStay Positiveâ€? and â€œSlapped Actress.â€? But the crowd, the bloodthirsty jackals they were, wanted more. Lucky for them, Craig and company clearly didnâ€™t want to go home yet, either. Beaming, the lead singer yelled to the crowd, â€œThere is so much joy in what we do up here. Weâ€™re The Hold Steady, and we fucking love you!â€?

The band treated Austin to two encores, including an oh-so-perfect duo of â€œPositive Jamâ€? and â€œKiller Partiesâ€? to close out the second encore. As the final song wound down, Craig raised his arms and sang to the crowd, â€œIf she says we partied, then Iâ€™m pretty sure we partied. I remember we departed from our bodies. And we woke up in Austin, Texas, and we are all . . . The Hold Steady!â€?

And so weâ€™ve come full circle. I couldnâ€™t have enjoyed this show any more. The band, the crowd, the energy of the roomâ€¦this went beyond a simple rock show: this was a communal experience. We are all The Hold Steady.

Photo Spread: Metallica And More Rock Ozzfest

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:11:00 -0500

James Hetfield of Metallica at Ozzfest - more photos	Ozzfest 2008 landed in Pizza Hut Park just north of Dallas on Saturday and the venues nickname of "the oven" proved true as the near sold out crowd baked in the heat to check out bands like Witchcraft, Drowning Pool, and Rigor Mortis along with major headliners like Metallica, Serj Tankian, and of course Ozzy Osbourne. Though Ozzy's set wasn't the headliner slot, he proved to be a tough act to follow with a blistering Zakk Wylde 30 minute guitar solo and closing with a fireworks display high above the arena. That's not to say that Metallica were slouches with the pyro during their set. Other highlights of the day have to include the Dimebag tributes that drew special guest perfomers like Kerry King of Slayer, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Jerry Cantrell and Mike Inez of Alice In Chains, Max Cavallera of Sepultura, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and King Diamond, along with many others. Jonathan Davis of Korn tried to class up the show a bit by dressing himself and his band in suits, and Serj Tankian followed that by equipping his band with top hats for their set. Both of those sets seemed to leave the audience a bit confused and disoriented, but Ozzy's set quickly brought everyone back to a more traditional metal theme. Thanks to Ozzy & Sharon, Metallica, Kerry King and all the bands at Ozzfest, as well as the crew at MSOPR and AEG for inviting us out. It may have been a hot show but it was a HOT show and I am definitely looking forward to Ozzfest 2009 wherever it ends up.
Ozzy Osbourne at Ozzfest 8/9/08 - more photos	Jonathan Davis at Ozzfest 8/9/06 - more photos	Serj Tankian at Ozzfest 8/9/06 - more photos

Kingdom Of Sorrow
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Rigor Mortis
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Within Chaos
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Witchcraft
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Hellyeah
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Soilent Green
8/9/06 Ozzfest 2008

Photo Spread: Slipknot, Disturbed, More at the Mayhem Festival

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:20:00 -0500

The rain and cloud cover from Hurricane Dolly long since swallowed by the Texas heat, metalheads from all over Central Texas converged on the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Selma Texas to check out the Mayhem Festival. Headlined by the masked metal men of the great plains, Slipknot brought along a dozen or so other bands representing a variety of harder edged music including Disturbed, Dragonforce, and Mastodon. I got invited down to the show and spent the day broiling in the sun while checking out some neat acts like Walls of Jericho, Black Tide, and Austin's own Powderburn. I got to spend some time talking with Ivan of Five Finger Death Punch, as well as talking with Airbourne's frontman Joel O'Keefe. Let me tell you Airbourne's performance can be best summed up with one word - spooky. I saw AC/DC with Bon Scott in 1979 and I can tell you that Joel O'Keefe is Bon Scott re-incarnated. The resemblance, the performance, is absolutely uncanny and sent chills down my spine despite the 110 degree heat. If you ever wanted to see AC/DC when they were young, this is what they were like, sans Angus's knee pants. Thanks to the guys in Slipknot and all the bands at the Mayhem Festival, as well as the crew at Live Nation for inviting us out. Our next show at the Verizon in Selma, on August 24th, should be a rocker, with Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, Testament and the legendary MotÃ¶rhead. Tickets are still available, be sure to wear your leather for this one.		Corey Taylor of Slipknot tries out the new mask at the Mayhem Festival 7/26/08 - more photos
Disturbed at Mayhem Festival 7/26/08 - more photos	Dragonforce at Mayhem Festival 7/26/08 - more photos	Mastadon at Mayhem Festival 7/26/08 - more photos

Five Finger Death Punch 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Suicide Silence 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Walls Of Jericho 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	36 Crazyfists 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Airbourne 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	The Red Chord 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Powderburn 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Black Tide 07/26/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Concert Review: The Rockland Eagles at The Continental Club, Austin, Tx

nospam@example.com (Greg Klein) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:57:51 -0500

The Rockland Eagles at The Continental Club - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

Rockland Eagles
Hometown: Austin, Tx.
http://www.rocklandeagles.com
Rockland Eagles Concert Photos
Thursday, July 24rd, 2008
The Continental Club(Austin, Texas)

So yeah, itâ€™s Thursday. Meh. While the weekendâ€™s almost upon us, thereâ€™s still that one workday left before we can enjoy all the idleness and debauchery we can handle. But for those who couldnâ€™t wait until Friday to let loose, the Continental Club in Austin, TX, provided the perfect remedy: cold beer and loud rock â€˜nâ€™ roll.

One of Austinâ€™s oldest music venues played host Thursday to a bevy of rocked-out bands, including Grand Champeen, One Mississippi, and the Rockland Eagles, who I came excited to see.

The Rockland Eagles at The Continental Club - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

Loud, brash, no-holds-barred rock, the Rockland Eagles sound like the love child of the Cult, Against Me, and the Hold Steady. Theyâ€™re here to rock and nothing more. The result was an entertaining set thoroughly enjoyed by a varied crowd also feeling the near-weekend humdrums. I spied a couple old enough to be the bandâ€™s grandparents who wore a smile through much of the set, and I could have sworn R.E.M.â€™s Michael Stipe was there reveling in a night of loud guitars, crashing cymbals, and screaming vocals. But I could be wrong.

Regardless, the Rockland Eagles did not disappoint. Featuring tracks from their two albums, the five-man group came out guns blazing. Three guitarists (one of them wearing a fashionable white Elvis jumpsuit), a bassist, and a drummer spent the night striking poses, shedding clothing, and never let up violating the eardrums of everyone in the crowd. If thatâ€™s not rock â€˜nâ€™ roll, I donâ€™t want to know what is.

Songs like â€œS.O.B. Tattooâ€? and â€œKick Ass Boyâ€? started the night off in a frenetic pace. This continued into â€œSteve Austin,â€? their tribute to the Six-Million-Dollar Man, which featured long guitar solos and the lead singer helping out on drums. â€œHigh on a Hog,â€? â€œPeg Leg Booty Lip,â€? and â€œEasy Riderâ€? were more tracks that rounded out a set far too short for the amount of rock this band could produce. I left that night an instant fan, and I know I wasnâ€™t alone in that feeling.

Photo Spread: The Hymns, Alkaline Trio, American Steel, The Fashion

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:00:47 -0500

The Hymns at Momos 7/17/08- more photos	I got an invite last week from The Hymns to come check out their gig at Momo's. One of the last sets of the tour and barely making it in an ailing van, they still managed to pull off a great set, plowing through about a dozen cuts off their first 2 albums. I have my fingers crossed that they made it back to New York. Last night I got invited down to shoot the sold out Alkaline Trio show down at La Zona Rosa. Much as I like Alkaline Trio I was surprised by openers The Fashion from Denmark. They have a very energetic stage show, frontman Jakob Printzlau virtually pouncing on the mic stand in between spastic tremors like he's got the D.T.'s. They sound like The Cure on Prozac. Tomorrow I will be heading down to the Verizon Wireless in Selma to shoot the MÃ¶tley CrÃ¼e show and in August I have been invited to shoot the Seether show at Stubb's and then Ozzfest up in Dallas. I have a few more shoots planned but no sense tempting the gods so stay tuned.
The Fashion at La Zona Rosa 7/21/08 - more photos	American Steel at La Zona Rosa 7/21/08 - more photos	Alkaline Trio at La Zona Rosa 7/21/08 - more photos

Concert Review: Todd Rundgren at Antone's, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Greg Klein) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:33:00 -0500

Todd Rundgren at Antone's - more photos
photo by Jaime Butler - Staff Photographer

Todd Rundgren
Hometown: Kauai, Hawaii
http://www.tr-i.com
Todd Rundgren Concert Photos
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
Antone's(Austin, Texas)

â€œIâ€™m delirious with the heat,â€? exclaimed singer/songwriter/rocker Todd Rundgren, playing before a packed house Saturday night at Austinâ€™s famous blues venue, Antoneâ€™s. A crowd way beyond fire capacity packed the place, the line wrapped around the building even as the show began. This was not a show for the claustrophobic. You would know your neighbor by nightâ€™s end, as personal space was a luxury only for the bartenders and musicians on stage.

No matter how packed or how hot Antoneâ€™s seemed to get, the crowd didnâ€™t notice, but rather fixated their attention on Mr. Rundgren and his four supporting musicians rocking the night away. Opening with the raucous â€œLove in Action,â€? Todd wasted no time jumping into his set and energetically moving around the stage.

Todd wasnâ€™t afraid to pick tracks throughout his long, established five-decade career, including â€œOpen My Eyes,â€? a rocked-out track from his work with Nazz in the 60s, followed by â€œBlack Mariah,â€? which showcased a long guitar solo from Todd.

But alas, the solo proved too much for his aqua green axe, which busted a string and forced Todd to break out a new guitar he had just bought in Austin that day. â€œLetâ€™s see how this dog hunts,â€? Todd stated before covering Red Riderâ€™s â€œLunatic Fringe,â€? which the band performed excellently. The bassist, Rachel Haden, was also sporting a new bass that looked almost as big as her, but she wielded it all night with no problem.

Those who showed up hoping to hear some of Toddâ€™s more popular standards from the 70s and 80s didnâ€™t get that wish wholly fulfilled, as the show focused more on guitar-heavy rock and newer material from his forthcoming album Arena. While itâ€™s due out in September, â€œ[it] will be on the internet in a couple of weeks,â€? joked Todd. The latter half of the show consisted of this newer material, but the crowd eagerly bought into it and enjoyed every note escaping from the speakers.

Thatâ€™s not to say Todd and Co. didnâ€™t kick things old school at all. The room went crazy when the opening piano to â€œI Saw the Lightâ€? began playing, but Todd quickly waved it away. â€œThatâ€™ll never fucking do,â€? he exclaimed. The band then kicked it up a few notches and returned with a slightly heavier version of the song.

Antics and playful behavior like this helped keep the crowd energized and entertained by a man who just celebrated his 60th birthday last month. He even encouraged sedition, telling the crowd that Austin should secede to form its own state. He then asked for citizenship, which the crowd seemed more than happy to give.

In all, it was a night of great music, a great showman, and a great big crowd of fans young and old. Todd Rundgren showed no signs of slowing down Saturday night, and letâ€™s hope he doesnâ€™t any time soon.

Summerfest - Day 2

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:58:42 -0500

Rolling out of bed today it is our anniversary, and Brian and I plan to do it in true rock star style. I shoot a call into Jesse James Dupree's assistant to set up the interview have breakfast and head off to the tattoo shop to join my hubby. After our mutual inkings, we head back home to load up and trek back down to the lake front a mere 15 minutes from our home.

I'm not sure who had the brilliant idea to close streets and only allow traffic into the grounds from one direction, but personally I would like to slap them upside the head. The drive took over an hour for less than 5 miles. Traffic was horrible and being someone who actually knows the city well, I managed to get lost because of so many closed streets. We had planned to arrive an hour before Black Stone Cherry's set, but got there as they were preparing to load on the stage.

I hooked up with Jesse's road manager and met with Jesse briefly. He didn't realize it was a video interview, and while he didn't mind the fact, he did want to wash the road off. Taking a round a bout way to Milwaukee on the back of his Harley, a shower was in order. So we kicked back and relaxed to the Black Stone Cherry set.

I was really shocked with these kids. I wasn't expecting what I heard, I was expecting a more pop sound. There was almost a bluesy undertones to their music and the guitars just had an amazingly warm sound that filled up the air. For some reason sitting at the lake, with a warm breeze blowing and listening to "Rollin On" was probably one of the most relaxing moments I have had in a while. Mixing in blues, southern rock and classic rock sounds, these kids (and I do mean kids, the oldest is 23) have some impressive talent and a well rounded sound. They closed with an amazing cover of "Voodoo Child", which they managed to change up just enough to make their own while still keeping the original in your mind. I cant wait to see how this band grows over the years!

I ran out to hit the real bathroom (I still can not use the back stage porta potty, just cant do it) and pick up some food. AHHH Mader's. A quick dinner and time for the sit down with Jesse. Unfortunately I did have to tear him away from the JJO girls for a few minuets and we found a quick room to sit down a chat. That interview will be posted shortly. I kept it fairly short as he was hitting the stage in a half an hour.

For those who have never taken the time to see a Jackyl show, you are missing some good old fashion fun. Jesse is a true frontman who is there to entertain, be it the front row or the guys on stage behind him. Outrageous and outlandish, when he is fronting Jackyl he is the "Redneck Punk". Their show is tried and true and while little changes (except for the stories) the band puts on a phenomenal show. A few change ups, including a short "NIB" cover, they play their hits. The crowd overpowered Jesse's vocals on "Secret of the Bottle". And yes both the Johnson Red and the Stihl were there backstage. Yes Jesse did drop his drawers. As they cleared the photo pit I issued a look to my husband that meant only one thing. Get me my photo of Jesse and the Chainsaw and he did not disappoint. Closing with the ever classic "Lumberjack", the entire crowd went insane. My only disappointments (well kinda) were the fact that the mic was not loaded (his mic stand is a shotgun, and at previous outdoor shows I have seen him shoot it) and that they did not play "Rev it up and Go Go" from the new album being released by Jesse James and Dixie Inc. I really wasn't expecting to hear it, but a girl can dream. I have to say that this show was as good as the first, second and third Jackyl shows I have seen. The band still has amazing energy and still entertains the crowd.

As we meander our way through the heavily imbibed attendees at the close of the night, we make it to our car at 11:45. We turn on our car at 11:50 after letting the heat out. We turn it off again at midnight. And we sit. Once again, the closed roads are our nemesis. We finally pull out of the parking lot at 12:45 am and arrive home at 1:30. Summerfest 2008 is over for us. While attendance was down this year (I would assume high gas prices kept a lot of our neighbors to the south away) it was still a respectable 831,024 for the 10 days. See everyone next year down there!

Photo Spread: Van's Warped Tour at Selma, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:15:53 -0500

Every Time I Die 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	These are all bands I shot at the Van's Warped Tour in Selma, Texas. Checking out the Warped Tour is kind of like speed dating bands, and with 8 stages going it's hard not to find a band you want to have a relationship with. In eight hours I averaged a little better than a different band every 30 minutes. A lot of bands I had seen before, a lot of bands I hadn't but I still had a lot of fun. Thanks to MSOPR, Live Nation and the Van's Warped Tour for inviting me out.

Against Me! 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	The Briggs 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Paramore 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Protest The Hero 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Street Dogs 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Entice 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Gina Cutillo 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Relient K 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Norma Jean 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Say Anything 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Reel Big Fish 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Panima 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

The Academy Is 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	The Bronx 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Jack's Mannequin 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater	Greeley Estates 07/05/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Concert Review: Warped Tour at The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Texas (Part 1)

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:25:00 -0500

Street Dogs on the Highway 1 Stage - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

I don't travel well anymore.

Bonaroo, or Coachella, for me, constitutes a nightmarish scenario like a Seinfeld episode gone dark and demented. Camping for 3 days in the middle of nowhere, my fate controlled and decided by pimply faced kids in EVENT STAFF t-shirts, at the mercy of the elements sun, wind, and rain, and the ever present lines of people queuing up for basic amenities like drinking water, showers, and bathrooms, the whole idea gives me a case of the willies.

When I was younger pup, in my teens and twenties, the idea would have appealed to me to no end, and in fact back then I traveled quite a bit, often camping out in my car. By the time I was in my mid thirties I was firmly of the opinion that basic amenities such as air conditioning, clean sheets, and soft pillows were a minimum for travel and since then my criteria have only tightened.

Had it not been for the fact that Protest The Hero and Paramore were playing Warped I seriously doubt that I would have made the 5 hour trek down to San Antonio and back, but it had been 3 weeks since I covered a show, no better prospects were forthcoming and I was looking for any excuse I could to get out of the house. Besides it was a one day show, only a day trip, and even I am not too old and whiney for that. Luckily Mike over at Earshot Media has a few bands on the tour (he ALWAYS seems to have a few bands on the tour) and after a few emails I was hooked up.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Warped Tour at The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Texas (Part 1)"

Summerfest Day 1 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:15:00 -0500

Summerfest is OVER! We survived the weekend, along with countless others.

Billed as the worlds largest music festival, Summerfest always has some variety of music for everyone. The biggest drawback with Summerfest to me is ALWAYS the crowds. Its a little early for any final numbers, but 2007 attendance was 892,005. Even with the horrible storms that have washed through the Midwest lately, I think over all attendance was still up there.

Celebrating it's 41st anniversary, Summerfest is the pride and joy of the Milwaukee Lakefront. Sure it isn't SXSW, but it is amazing none the less. Food is as much a focus as the music. 40 plus restaurants litter the grounds. You can have everything from Alligator on a stick to Wendy's Hamburgers. My favorite place is always the Ethnic Gardens. I must have the Sauerbraten from Mader's. Two family owned roasted corn vendors are there, and if you eat at Robby's Roasted Corn, hip-hop star Speech from Arrested Development might very well be the person serving you. Even recently deceased comedian George Carlin added Milwaukee and Summerfest to to his resume, after getting arrested for those 7 dirty words he liked to say at the 1972 event. If I started to list the bands and musicians who have played both on the pay stage and free stages, I would be never finish. Needless to say, Summerfest caters to as many folks as humanly possible in 10 days.

Hubby and I are actually celebrating our anniversary this weekend 13 years together and 5 years married. What is more romantic than a bit of metal and rock n roll to ring in the anniversary. This is probably still the coolest advantages of this site.

We got their early and checked out the 9mm Solution set. Popular local band that I have written about many times in the past, it was their debut show for their new bassist, Chad Novell, who also puts time in with bands Strangeland and Orphonic Orchestra. Overall the sound of the band was much heavier this time around. The band was impressively tight for having only had Chad as a member for a few weeks. Standing in the wings watching I did almost think the singer Hobbes would be arrested. In his stage ensemble, he wears a toy 9 mm gun. Halfway through the first song, several of Milwaukee's Finest showed up on the back stage wings. Having been to enough 9 MM shows, I was simply hoping Hobbes noticed this as well from the stage and kept his jacket on. All went well however and no arrests happened.

Unfortunately, we were unable to secure photo clearance for Black Tide, but I spose that's ok. They never showed up. I didn't catch the name of the band that covered for them, however I think if the crowd changed their name to Black Tide Sucks. You have to give the fill in credit, having already preformed on another stage, they made a trek to play before an angry crowd that got stood up and gave it their all. I do deeply regret that I missed their name being announced. With out the photo pass for Black Tide, Brian and I took this as a great chance to grab some dinner.

When we arrived, we still didn't have any clearance for Five Finger Death Punch. Thankfully I managed to hook up with the road manager and get the OK needed for Brian to shoot. Had I remembered that Jeff had previously shuttled the band around in Austin I wouldn't have needed to panic, but it was all golden. I have to say, the guys in FFDP seemed to really enjoy Summerfest. 2 years working in the backstage area and numerous years just hanging (when I was younger I would actually attend all 10 days, good band or not) I have never seen a band so taken with the grounds. All the members were regularly wandering the park itself, and from what I saw, they gave 2 thumbs up to the roasted corn. Singer Ivan probably described it best, calling it our own personal Mardi Gras. Their set was amazing, but seemed terribly short for some reason. It really wasn't, but they just rolled through things at a steady pace, it didn't give you a chance to realize time was passing. Ivan has a great singing voice as well as the chunky growling. Best heard on "The Bleeding" its almost as if two people are singing, and I must add this song sounded amazing live. Another highlight of the set was "The Way of the Fist"which is probably my favorite song simply because of the lyrics in the chorus. Awesome songwriting there.

Day one is down, the walk to the truck takes a mere 15 minutes. Our drive home is also a lot easier then one would expect for the Fourth of July. Time to go home, rest and do it all over again.

Concert Review: John Mayer and Colbie Caillat in Toronto

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:28:00 -0500

John Mayer Performs at the Molson Amphitheatre
Photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario
July 7, 2008

The traffic en-route to the Molson Amphitheatre was terrible. It took me 40 minutes to travel 3 kilometres through downtown Toronto. It was only through the grace of the Live Nation rep that I was able to sneak into Colbie's set after the first song. Aside from the house guy I was the only photog shooting Colbie and for Mayer we added a photographer from the Toronto Sun. The photo pit was narrow and didn't stretch in all the way from either side of the stage. You picked your side and hoped you'd called it right. Clint's pearl of wisdom for the day: When shooting a guitar player (like John Mayer) in a situation like this I prefer to shoot from stage right. A right handed guitar player will generally face that way and you won't have the neck and headstock blocking their face. End Clint's pearl of wisdom (for what it's worth). Whatever side you pick you generally get screwed out of interesting angles and diverse shots. C'est la vie, I'm still shooting John Mayer and can take him off my "Bands to shoot before I die" list!

With the show sold out in the extreme and the scalpers ticket brokers asking in the multiple hundreds of dollars for tickets I didn't end up with a review seat. So, I did my "three songs, no flash" from the best seat in the house and was escorted from the building. Made for an early night anyway...... except for the 90 minute drive home and the several hours spent looking at photos. I really need to train myself to wait until morning to look at my photos. Yeah, right. That'll never happen.

I can't tell you what songs Colbie opened with, but I did jot down that John began his set with "Vultures" and "Waiting on the World to Change" from Continuum and closed out my time in the pit with "Clarity" off of Heavier Things. For gear heads, he had a Dumble "Steel String Stinger" in his backline along with his Two Rock John Mayer head. $20,000+ of amps and delicious tone....... drool. This cat really flies under the radar of the guitar hero world. Yeah, he's a pop star. But man can he play, and watch out when he starts channeling Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you haven't heard his live blues album as "The John Mayer Trio" you need to look it up.

Click thumbnails to view full size images

Bonnaroo: Reflections

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:45:00 -0500

I crawl from my tent at 8:30 am the monday following Bonnaroo to a ghost town of sorts. Within the field of discarded shade canopies, chairs, blankets and coolers, the few remaining campers are solemn and withdrawn. There is water in the shower trailers today. Yesterday I washed by cupping my hands under the meager trickle from the nozzle and carefully dousing my body with the precious fluid. Those who arrived after me wouldn't even be that lucky.

The previous night I had sat at the camp site with my travel mate Carrie and reminisced about my Bonnaroo experience while the festival's final act, renown jam-band Wide Spread Panic, drifted over to us from the distant "What Stage".

Click thumbnails to view full size images

A suit of Crown Royal Bags

This cat had a watermelon on his head for days

Dancing to Ozomatli

Bonnaroo began for me with a email from photographer Carrie Musgrave a scant three weeks before the festival. Did I want to go, would I drive? I said yes, and spent the next 20 days buying camping gear and wondering what I was getting myself in for.

What I got myself in for was one of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had. Bonnaroo the festival began in 2002 as a small hippie jam band festival featuring the likes of Wide Spread Panic, The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh, Les Claypool, and Gov't Mule. It has grown tremendously in the ensuing 6 years but the ethos has remained the same. A peaceful, accepting tent city of 80,000 erected overnight on 700 acres in rural Tennessee with a diverse group of musicians providing the soundtrack for the whole thing.

As early as the first day it became apparent that the most important commodities at Bonnaroo were water, shade, and sleep. Water was easy to come by, but you could make a friend instantly if you could offer cold water. Shade was in shorter supply for the general 'Rooer. "This Tent", "That Tent", "The Other Tent" offered shaded viewing areas in front of the stages and there were a few trees scattered throughout the site. All of this shade was greedily consumed by the hot and dusty concert goers. The third commodity, sleep, was irrevocably tied to the shade. With My Morning Jacket and Kanye West performing until sunrise a tent is no a place to sleep after the music is over and the Tennessee sun begins beating down. As early as the first day men and women were sprawled out on the floor of the XBox 360 tent, in the Fuse TV barn, and under the trees in the hope of capturing what was violently ripped from them at sunrise.

Click thumbnails to view full size images

The pat down at the Bonnaroo Arch

Sleep wherever you can

The lineup on Thursday afternoon
photo by Carrie Musgrave

Sleep where/when you can was no more evident than when at 5:00 AM Sunday morning Carrie spotted a girl, who most likely imbibed in a little too much of one substance or another, sleeping on the ground next to the Garnier Fructis table by the shower trailers. After checking her vitals Carrie left her to her slumber. As I made an early morning trip to the port-a-lets I was pleased to see that someone else had covered her in the Day-Glo green Garnier table cloth. Carrie had remarked that maybe she really wanted to be at the front of the line for a shower in the morning?

At no time during the festival did I witness any violence or even anger. What I saw was security (labeled "Safety" on their shirts), allowing the concert goers to do what they wanted so long as it was not endangering themselves or those around them.

People slept, danced, sang, ate and drank where, when, how they wanted. For 4 days a beautiful utopia sprang up in rural Tennessee.

My neighbours to the East are up now too. As I began to disassemble my camp I put some on some water to boil. It's the camp stove coffee I plan to make and share which has helped us to bond over the weekend. The neighbour on the other side wonders if I have any jumper cables. These were the last supply to be packed and among the most important. The coffee klatch would also require a boost before their drive home to Virginia. A girl strolls by and asks if we'd like to update our voter information and if we might be able to give her a ride to New York. Another nearby camper asks if I have any water. I'm glad to share what we have left. About this time I receive a text message from home that my 2 year-old has peed on the toilet for the first time. This is the strange afterglow of Bonnaroo.

Edit: I found this photo on my camera this morning (June 20, 2008). It was taken as we sat in our camp listening to the aformentioned Wide Spread Panic set and my last photo of Bonnaroo.

The view from our camp toward the Which Stage on the last night of Bonnaroo

All photos by clint gilders - staff photographer except where noted

Concert Review: Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:44:00 -0500

Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo

Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo

photos by moondog - contributing photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tennesee
June 14, 2008

I can say that previously a concert has never moved me close to tears. June 14 was the night that changed. Pearl Jam embraced the spirit of Bonnaroo and performed an extended two and a half hour plus set that ebbed and flowed through some of the greatest music of this generation.

As the lights shone over the assembled throng for the first time frontman Eddie Vedder remarked that he no idea of the scale of this event until this moment. Then "Black" flowed over the crowd and the show rose to a new level for me.

Later, Eddie introduced Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary". This was a song they originally recorded for Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams and among my favourite songs of all time.

Next Eddie performed "No More" after talking about his friend Tomas Young (subject of the recent documentary Body of War) and his recent decline in health related to a pulmonary embolism and subsequent infection. I photographed Tomas in Texas earlier this year and my heart and prayers go out to him, his family, Eddie and anyone close to him during this terrible time.

The Audience during Pearl Jam at Bonnaroo

photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

My emotions finally got the best of me during "Release" which Eddie Vedder dedicated to his friend Luke whom had recently lost his father. PJ's debut Ten and especially this song bring back memories of a fantastic yet disastrous time in my life.

The marathon set closed with "Alive" (also from Ten) and a cover of Jimi Hendrix's cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower".

Later that night, and throughout the festival I heard of similar reactions from other festival goers. They may have been moved by a different song, or felt a different emotion, but the common thread was that Pearl Jam came to Bonnaroo and joined with a multitude of like minded individuals and created something beautiful and powerful.

Concert Review: Rancid at La Zona Rosa, Austin, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:53:00 -0500

Lars Frederiksen of Rancid - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

Rancid
Hometown: Albany, California
http://www.rancidrancid.com
Rancid Concert Photos
Friday, June 13th, 2008
La Zona Rosa(Austin, Texas)
Also: Ill Spent Youth, Lower Class Brats

"Hey - Can you get me in - PLEASE?"

I looked up and some blond in a little econo-box pulled up at the stop sign had caught sight of my PRESS badge as I made my way through the heat to La Zona Rosa.

"No darling - I don't have the legs for it". I pointed down to the scarred up pale pegs providing my propulsion as she chuckled and drove off up the street, stopping to banter, barter and haggle with the scalpers in the next block.

It was another sold out show, another day of oppressive heat, and another band from my past in another Direct Events venue. As I headed through the entry gate and had my ticket scanned Jeff and the guys running the door security offered me a sandwich from a tray they had scammed from the Jimmy John's sandwich guys. I had run out the door without dinner so I greedily accepted and wolfed down one of the bready morsels.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Rancid at La Zona Rosa, Austin, Tx."

Concert Review: Kanye West at Bonnaroo

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:55:24 -0500

Kanye's busted screen
photo by clint gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tennesee
Early June 15, 2008

At the last minute Kanye's 8:15 (June 14) Which Stage set was moved to a late-night 2:45 AM (June 15) on the larger What Stage.

What a mistake that was. Kanye didn't bother to start his set until 4:25 AM. Toward the end of the interminable wait flotsam and jetsum began raining on the stage to the chants of "Bullshit!, Bullshit!". One carefully aimed projectile (a water bottle I suspect) made considerable contact with a video screen hanging toward the front of the cheesy plywood set and caused some damage (blue and red pixels).

Here's the only shot that is deserving of being included in this review after this fiasco. Oh, don't even get me started on Kanye's terrible acting and pitchy singing.

Concert Review: The Cure at the Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:08:00 -0500

Robert Smith of The Cure - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

The Cure
Hometown: Crawley, Sussex
http://www.thecure.com
The Cure Concert Photos
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
Austin Music Hall(Austin, Texas)

The heat was overwhelming and the sweat rolled off my brow as Gary Miller and I reached the door of the Austin Music Hall. Any hope of a cool refreshing breeze was quickly quashed when the doors opened and we were hit by an outbound rush of air that felt like a 15 million watt blow dryer. If it was anyone but The Cure I probably would have turned around right there and sought out cooler climes, but since I have followed the band since Boy's Don't Cry I knew if I bailed I would have to turn in my official Robert Smith eyeliner kit, my prozac, and have to stop wearing black in public, so like a trooper I pushed on.

Queuing up with the other photographers in the hall, the time came and as a group we tried to push our way through the mass of hot, sweaty Cure fans, packed elbow to elbow in an effort to get close to the stage. Relying on Gary's huge frame to act as a ram we finally emerged at the pit. Ditching my bag in the corner and gearing up, the photographers all sat about swapping lies. I was surrounded by a bunch of Canon-heads, and the chatter eventually de-volved into a Canon v. Nikon argument for which I was woefully un-supported. I was glad when the time came to enter the pit.
Continue reading "Concert Review: The Cure at the Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx."

Photos: B.B. King at Bonnaroo

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0500

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

Manchester, Tennessee
June 14, 2008

B.B. King was honored today at Bonnarroo. The 82 year-old Blues Icon was awarded the key to Manchester, Tennessee (the town surrounding Bonnaroo) before performing to a welcoming crowd.

Click thumbnails to view full size images


Photos by Clint Gilders -staff photograher

Concert Review: Metallica at Bonnaroo.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:05:00 -0500

Metallica at Bonnaroo

Metallica at Bonnaroo

Metallica at Bonnaroo

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

Bonnaroo. Manchester, Tennesse.
June 13, 2008

The last time I saw Metallica live was in 1990. It was the day I met my wife. Since then Metallica (in it's current iteration) had faded from my life. The Bob Rockification of the band and the resulting move to a more mainstream sound just doesn't do it for me.

BUT.... when I was offered a trip to Bonnaroo the fact that Metallica was headlining Friday night was pretty much the reason I said yes. This is a choice of headliner from far in left field. Bonnaroo is/was a hippie jam-band fest. But what a way to expose a whole new demographic to metal, or they could fail miserably.

After shooting Steel Train and Umphrey's Mcgee at the Sonic Stage and watching a bit of Willie Nelson I headed to the camp for a snack and a little rest. 8 o'clock rolled around and I started the long walk to The What Stage in a light but determined rain. The What Stage is the big stage at Bonnaroo and the crowd assembled for Chris Rock's performance was impressive. From my initial vantage point Chris was but a speck on the stage. Slowly but surely I move with the flow of the crowd and made my way toward the stage. My ascent was aided by the exodus of Bonnarooers exiting after Rock's set finished.

Metallica at Bonnaroo

Metallica at Bonnaroo

Metallica at Bonnaroo

By The time Metallica launched into "Creeping Death" fifteen minutes late I was edging pretty close to the stage, and it was worth it. The set was light on post Black Album material. Metallica seems to have figured out what the fans have always known. Everything after 1991's Metallica: Metallica (popularly known as "The Black Album") was really pretty week. There, I said it. Get over it.

The opener "Creeping Death" is my favourite Metallica song to see performed live. Fans in the know chant "Die! Die! Die" in unison and to hear this is an experience not to be missed. From that into what could be argued as their first crossover hit "For Whom The Bell Tolls". The set was a delicious sample of Metallica's greatest recordings.

It was amazing to witness James ask for a show of hands from those who'd never seen Metallica before. Estimates put it at 80%+ of those in attendance raising their hands.

What elevated this beyond a tired greatest hits review was the energy and interaction of the band. James, Kirk, and Robert roamed the stage like caged animals. Each member ventured to it's cavernous reaches and engaged the crowd. The interaction between the members was also refreshing. This is a Metallica that I haven't seen in a long time. From Kirk and James trading licks at the front of the stage, Robert's vomit inducing spins and James kneeling in front of his amp coaxing forth beautiful feedback they look like they are having fun every minute of the show.

I don't know if this show was wasted a large percentage of 'rooers but I loved every minute of it.

Setlist:

Creeping Death
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Ride The Lightning
Harvester of Sorrow
The unforgiven
And Justic For All
No Remorse
The Memory Remains
Fade To Black
Master Of Puppets
Whiplash
Nothing Else Matters
Sad but True
One
Enter Sandman
-----
Encore:
Last Caress
So What!
Seek and Destroy

Concert Review: Bonnaroo Day 2 - Adele and That Guy From SouthBy

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:47:00 -0500

That guy from Southby at Bonnaroo
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

That guy at Southby
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Adele at Bonnaroo
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Manchester, Tennessee.
June 13, 2008

I got about 5 hours of sleep lastnight. My internal clock has me waking up at 6 or 7 whether I like it or not. I did try real hard to get back to sleep but then some joker a few spots over decided to share some Vanilla Ice with us. So at 8:30 it's a about a million degrees and I roll out of my tent. Coffee? Coffee? Did you know they have coffee in tea bag form? I didn't until just before coming here. What a godsend. A couple of gallons of joe, a cold shower and the world is a better place.

After the 11:30 press briefing I decide to chill at the camp site for a while and made the acquaintance of our neighbors (Hillary and Dana from Virginia) who generously offered me the use of their shade tent. If you've been to Bonnaroo you know that, most days, shade is something you could charge for though few would. A little shade, some conversation and the Drive By Truckers drifting in from the Which Stage.

Hillary happens to work for Dark Star Orchestra's management. I only mention this because it was Dark Star Orchestra's late night set which we also listened to from our campsite.

The chance of getting near "This Tent" to catch Tegan and Sara seemed slim so I wandered over to "The Other Tent" to see Adele. On my way I spotted someone who looked familiar but I couldn't place him. Then I saw his "I love Bob Saget" T-shirt and asked "Hey man were you at SouthBy wearing a Kriss Kross shirt?" I'm always amazed when at events this size I run into people I know. Ok, back to Adele. Adele is the latest UK Soul/R&B export in the vein of Amy Winehouse and Duffy. She's not as dangerous as Winehouse but not as plastic as Duffy. A nice in between. Adele herself described her music as "Slow and Dramatic" because she's ".. a drama queen.." and that there's not much "..room to dance to them...". I don't know she had me and much of the audience swaying, and even dancing a little bit. "Day Dreamer" and "First Love" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Make you Feel My Love" were the standouts for me.

As I left "The Other Tent" after Adele's set the skies began to look ominous and I made a mad dash for the media trailer to get my poncho and write this.

More later....

Photos: Vampire Weekend at Bonnaroo, oh and Burlesque-aroo

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:27:00 -0500

Here are a few photos from Vampire Weekend's performance at Bonnaroo 2008.

Vampire Weekend at Bonnaroo
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Here are some Burlesque dancers I saw at the Sonic Stage

photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Concert Review:Bonnaroo Day 1 - Backroads and BB King

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:00:00 -0500

photo by Carrie Musgrave

The anti-abortion field
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

The line-up
photo by Carrie Musgrave because I was driving

Our home away from home
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
Manchester, Tennessee.
June 12, 2008

Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. June 10, 5:00 AM EST. I leave my house. 7:30 PM CST we're in Nashville, Tennessee. We consists of Carrie Musgrave and myself. Carrie offered me the opportunity to piggyback on her media pass so I of course jumped at the chance. Short notice be damned.

In Nashville we took a walk on Broadway and had a beer at BB King's Blues Club. Really, we were just too tired to do much. Had a good night's sleep though, and took our time getting to Bonnaroo. The guest campers (which we are among) are given a super secret backroads route to our check-in point and we had a blast driving through the bible belt. Even the smallest of towns seemed to have 5 or more churches. We circled back when we spotted a mock graveyard condemning abortion. Thump, thump, thumpers.....

The lineup on Asbury road was incredible. How thankful am I that we weren't going that way?

I'm shooting bands now. What Made Milwaukee Famous, Superdrag, Back Door Slam, Grand Ole Party, Nicole Atkins and MGMT among them.

More soon.....

What Made Milwaukee Famous
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

MGMT
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Grand Ole Party
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Nicole Atkins
photo by clint Gilders - staff photographer

Concert Review: X - La Zona Rosa, Austin, Tx.

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:55:34 -0500

John Doe of X at La Zona Rosa - more photos
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

X
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
http://www.xtheband.com
X Concert Photos
Monday, June 2nd, 2008
La Zona Rosa(Austin, Texas)
Also: Detroit Cobras

Question: How many times can X play Austin in a single year?
Answer: As many times as they want ;)

Austin has always had a thing for Los Angeles based X, and so it's not surprising that this is like their forth performance here in 2008 and it's only June. I caught a few minutes of one of their 3(?) SXSW sets over at Stubb's earlier in April, but was glad to get a chance to see them again to do a full set at La Zona Rosa in the nice air conditioning.

Continue reading "Concert Review: X - La Zona Rosa, Austin, Tx."

Concert Review: Panic At The Disco (The Honda Civic Tour) at the Sound Academy

nospam@example.com (Andrea Gilders) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:49:00 -0500

Panic At The Disco at The Sound Academy

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by andrea gilders - clubkingsnake contributor

The Sound Academy. Toronto, Ontario.
May 14, 2008

Panic at the Disco's recent show at the Sound Academy had a strange vibe. For me it was like a collision of strange trends in a fabulous venue, trends that seemed to have little to do with the music. The first trend would be the eco-friendly hoopla surrounding everything to do with the promotion of the show. All promotions, obviously targeted at the 16-25 crowd, emphasized the ecologically responsible tour and its socially responsible sponsors. It was a bit odd. I'd been through a similar eco experience at last years Virgin Fest and I still find it somewhat creepy. Big businesses (in this case Honda) pushing their most eco-friendly products on a group of inexperienced concert goers. From the door prize which included a feel good
Carbon offset and an autographed guitar to the 'free souvenir program' which featured bios of the bands and an explanation of precisely what 'financing' actually was for when one was considering their first Honda Hybrid purchase everywhere one looked it seemed like one long commercial. Of course I wonder, how many of those 'free programs' actually made it into
recycling programs and how many just were left to landfill?

The second creepy trend was the development of a giant screen running commercials and a couple of select music videos between bands. What was shown was shocikingly repetitive (same Honda commercial at least four times,
same video at least thrice) but what was even more disturbing was that about 1500 people just stood there and watched it. Maybe they'd have stood there anyhow, but the screen gave me a strange Orwellian vibe.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Panic At The Disco (The Honda Civic Tour) at the Sound Academy"

Concert Review: Return To Forever at The Paramount; Dirty Wormz at Antone's

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:32:12 -0500

Stanley Clarke of Return To Forever - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

I did a double header last Friday in downtown Austin, getting approved to shoot the first song of progressive jazz legend Return To Forever's reunion tour over at The Paramount Theatre, then covering Austin's notorious rap-rock, hip-hop act The Dirty Wormz at Austin's equally legendary Antone's.

The cool air conditioning smacked me in the face when I arrived at Austin's Paramount Theatre, drying the sweat that had beaded on my forehead quickly. I hooked up with Gary Miller shooting for the Chronicle, and in turn we ran into Raoul Hernandez, music editor at the Chronicle, as we waited for the show to start in the foyer. The Paramount is Austin's classic old theatre, with side balconies and all, and a gorgeous place to shoot. Usually it runs classic movies and world premiers by Austin's burgeoning film community, but every once in a while they stage a few concerts as well, but always top shelf talent. It was so unlike the other venues I have worked, I felt like I was desecrating a church as I tried to move about without obstructing the audience's view.
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Concert Review: Sheryl Crow at the Molson Ampitheatre

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:29:00 -0500

Cheryl Crow at the Molson Ampitheatre

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

Cheryl Crow at the Molson Ampitheatre

Cheryl Crow at the Molson Ampitheatre

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

The Molson Ampitheatre. Toronto, Ontario.
May 26, 2008

It's a couple of days on and I'm still buzzing from this show. There was no way, even after the hour and a half drive home on the night-of, to just go to bed. I needed to look at my photos and relive this show.

I was cold and rain was threatening as I sat outside the media gate listening to what little of KT Tunstall's opening set filtered out to us photographers. Yeah, I had a couple of review tickets and my +1 was inside already but my big bag 'o camera gear meant no entry until after I shot Sheryl.

A little after 8 we're escorted to our position in front of the stage, and soon there she is in all her glory. Solo acoustic for the first song with a black curtain shrouding the rest of the stage. "God Bless This Mess" the lead track from her most recent Detours opened the show.

Then the curtain dropped and joined by her band Crow dove into over an hour and a half of her recent work, back catalog, and genuinely appreciative, and forthright between song banter. The set moved through "A Change Will Do you Good", "Leaving Las Vegas", "Can't Cry Anymore", and the new "Now That You're Gone". It was during "Favorite Mistake" that the audience began to rise to it's feet. Before Sheryl's (so hers that you don't even think of it as a cover) rendition of Cat Steven's "The First Cut Is The Deepest" she quipped that she had a nasty cold. I couldn't tell.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Sheryl Crow at the Molson Ampitheatre"

Concert Review: Blue Rodeo at Showplace Performance Centre

nospam@example.com (Andrea Gilders) — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:18:00 -0500

Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo (more photos...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by andrea gilders - clubkingsnake contributor

May 6th, 2008
Showplace Performance Centre. Peterborough, Ontario

Seeing Blue Rodeo was, for me, the culmination of nearly 20 years of anticipation.
Honestly, the performance lived up to my expectations and to my delight even exceeded them.

Showplace is a fabulous venue, big enough to have great clear loud sound without overwhelming the audience but also, with only 17 rows of floor seating, giving everyone a sense of being an intimate distance from the stage.

Beginning the night with a very stripped down stage set Blue Rodeo opened with a fabulous acoustic versions of â€œFive days in Mayâ€? (from their absolutely classic CD Five days in July), I was overwhelmed almost immediately by the fabulous timbres of the voices of the two singers, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor. For anyone unfamiliar with Blue Rodeo, well simply I say look them up and give them a listen. A really long listen (they have recorded 11 albums) I simply donâ€™t have the space here to do justice to explaining careers as long and solid as theirs.

The stage set was simply a black curtain, a single snare drum, two acoustic guitars, pedal steel, bass, keyboard and off to the far right, a lamppost.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Blue Rodeo at Showplace Performance Centre"

Concert Review: Pepper at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:23:00 -0500

Kaleo Wassman of Pepper - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Pepper
Hometown: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
http://www.pepperlive.com
Pepper Concert Photos
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
Stubb's Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)
Also: Red Eye Empire , Iration, Supervillains

It looks like Austin might see a bit more of Pepper in the future, according to Yesod Williams, drummer for the dub/punk trio Pepper. Yesod's grandmother has re-located to right here in the river city, and to prove his point he brought her up onstage after the third song of their set to say hello, among other things, to the audience.

I was introduced last year, long distance, to Yesod and the band Pepper by my buddy Skillet, front man for the band Wanted Dead. I hooked up with them for their sold out gig at Antone's, and much as I like Antone's I was dieing to get the band under the lights at Stubb's. Antone's is a tough shoot when it's sold out and I wasn't happy with the pictures I took. Stubb's has a big stage, nice light kit and a big photo pit to work out of. I knew that no matter how much running and jumping they did, nor how crowded it was, I would be able to take a few good shots. Pepper has a very energetic stage act, are usually a fun band to see live and as a bonus they always attract the babest of babes. It must be those tan muscular surfer bodies.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Pepper at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas"

Concert Review: Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

nospam@example.com (Nokturnel Tom) — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:27:00 -0500

Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's
photo by Jeff Barringer - Staff Photographer

by Nokturnel Tom
club kingsnake staff

Dimmu Borgir
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
http://www.dimmu-borgir.com/
Dimmu Borgir Concert Photos
Monday, April 21st, 2007
Stubb's Bar-B-Q (Austin, Texas)
Also: Keep of Kalessin, Behemoth

Ah, it seems like yesterday that these three bands were "new." Here I am standing in a sea of hundreds of people on a Monday night. Now understand, Austin is not bad for national acts as far as metal is concerned, but it's not often the famous Stubbs BBQ hosts a night of black metal.

This tour would have been considered underground ten years ago; now it has come full circle. These bands are veterans and this is considered mainstream by most. It's safe to say these are bands that may have lost their original fans and gained ten times as many new ones.

This is not my idea of "true black metal," nope, not at all -- though I will give respect to Dimmu for keeping the theme evil. Dimmu has always been pretty much the same, although the sound of the records gets better with every release and they have really perfected their style of metal.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas"

Concert Review: Rush, Frank Erwin Center, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:08:00 -0500

Rush at The Frank Erwin Center - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Rush
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario.
http://www.rush.com
Rush Concert Photos
Wednesday April 23rd, 2008
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)

When I was in 8th grade I bought 7 albums, my first major music purchase. It set me back about $50 which back then was about 5 tanks of gas in the family station wagon. For a long time they were my only records. I remember most of them, Kiss Rock And Roll Over, Pink Floyd's Animals, The Eagle's Hotel California, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same were a few of them, but my favorite of the bunch was Rush's 2112. Of all the albums it took me on a wild journey. Neal Peart's drums on "Passage to Bangkok" blew me away, and the whole masterful 2112 opus combined hard rock and progressive rock in a way never done before.

Shortly after I saw Rush play down in San Antonio on their Farewell to Kings tour and it was almost a religious experience. I had all 5 of Rush's first albums before I even heard them on the radio here in Austin. I even owned them all on 8-Track tape. Clint, our Toronto based writer always gives me crap over my Rush fixation but back in the day, in the 70's before even AOR stations were playing Rush, they had a huge fan base in Texas, emanating out from San Antonio. KISS-FM, San Antonio's hard rock FM station, and more specifically Joe Anthony, had a pipeline to great metal and rock talent and was responsible for introducing bands like Rush, Moxy, Legs Diamond, April Wine, Judas Priest, Budgie, and AC/DC, to Texas. Without Joe's influence on the scene down in San Antonio, I doubt that metal would have thrived as a genre like it did, and I don't think that Rush would have grown as big as they did without the audience they established here in the 70's.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Rush, Frank Erwin Center, Austin Texas"

Concert Review: Gigantour 2008, Toronto, Ontario.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:20:00 -0500

Megadeth at The Arrow Hall (more photos...)

Megadeth at The Arrow Hall (more photos...)

Megadeth at The Arrow Hall (more photos...)

photos by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff
The Arrow Hall. Toronto, Ontario.
April 30, 2008

Jeff recently posted his Ten Bands I Have To Shoot Before I Die, and while mine is maybe a little more ever changing and ever growing I knew with the announcement of a Gigantour stop in Toronto I would be able to tick two bands off my list.

Fighting an ass-kicking cold that had been speading through my home, family, friends, and city I fortified my self with the potentially lethal combination of Contact-C and Amp energy drink and headed to the airplane hangar come concert venue known as the Arrow Hall to get my metal on.

First to take the stage were California's High on Fire. This power trio plays pretty straight forward metal that harkens back to Motorhead and Venom. They were a good warmup act, but didn't light me on fire.

Job For a Cowboy were a band I have wanted to see for a while. Yeah, they have one of the coolest band names in rock, but there's also something about their brand of Death Metal that raises it above the rest of the genre. Seeing them live simply confirmed my initial impressions. The musicianship is exceptional, and their stage presence is fantastic. I will go on record as not being a fan of Death Metal in general. Job For A Cowboy has won me over (to the dark side?) though and I'll be exploring this genre more deeply in the future. Maybe I'll find a few more gems like JFAC.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Gigantour 2008, Toronto, Ontario."

Concert Review: Ministry at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:06:00 -0500

Al Jourgensen of Ministry - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Ministry
Hometown: Chicago, Il.
http://www.ministrymusic.org
Ministry Concert Photos
Tuesday April 15th, 2008
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
Also: Meshuggah

I had a sense of dread when I showed up at La Zona Rosa for this gig. Don't know what or why. Maybe it was because they'd turned me down to shoot their last tour, maybe it was the predictions of other photographers that had shot them before, or maybe it was the evil smile of the red-headed roadie vixen as she looked at the ominous chain link fencing behind the opening band, and smirked at us photographers.

It could have also been the fact that their was an electricity in the air caused by something other than the adrenaline, or meth, running through their audience. Securities short hairs were up because the opening band was a no show and the venue was afraid that the late start might cause a riot. Actually the crowd was pretty oblivious to the no show, and I am sure the bartenders did their best to keep the crowd occupied. I don't think anyone even noticed.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Ministry at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas"

Concert Review: Saves The Day at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Mon, 05 May 2008 08:53:00 -0500

Chris Conley of Saves The Day - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Saves The Day
Hometown: Princeton, N.J.
http://www.savestheday.com
Saves The Day Concert Photos
Thursday April 10th, 2008
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
Also: Armor For Sleep, Set Your Goals, Metro Station, Lydia

I started my night at La Zona Rosa, but had to miss the middle band on the bill to scoot over and cover The Mars Volta around the corner. I almost didn't come back. The fact that I had to pry myself from the Volta's set is more a factor of how blown away I was, and not reflection on the quality of the bands at LZR.

In almost a repeat of the previous night La Zona Rosa had packed the venue with a multi-band touring bill, booked as the Bamboozle Road Show, with a slew of neat bands to check out.

Opening the set was the band Lydia out of Gilbert, Arizona, which has a richly layered sound. A dark, rainy day gray kind of music, not so cheerful or pop driven. Big sweeping epics of angst. These were probably my favorites of the night and it will be interesting to see how they mature out over time. Their debut album is out on the label HourZero and is called This December; It's One More and I'm Free. I think it's worth checking out based on their MySpace cuts and their live set.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Saves The Day at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas"

Concert Review: Protest The Hero and Chiodos at the Sound Academy

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:25:00 -0500

Lights at the Sound Academy (more photos...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

April 25, 2008
The Sound Academy (formerly The Docks). Toronto, Ontario

There was a weird vibe surrounding The Sound Academy when I arrived for the co-headliner Protest The Hero/Chiodos show. I wasn't in a bad mood so I don't think it was transference on my part. Au contrair, I've been excited about this tour, dubbed "Beer The Musical", since I heard about it well over a month ago. Also when I mentioned my felling to a few others they pretty much agreed and were glad it wasn't just them. After some serious consideration (lord knows I must have spent 10 minutes thinking about it) I think it may just be growing pains. What was once The Docks is now the Sound Academy, and seems poised to become the go-to venue in Toronto for not-quit-big-enough-to-play-arenas bands.

From First To Last at the Sound Academy (more photos...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

The opening act of the night was a recent signing to Underground Operations (UO) going by the name of Lights. UO founder London Spicoluk never ceases to amaze me with his diverse, seemingly out of character signings. Lights plays electro pop with little bit of an edge to it and describes herself as "..a small girl who dwells in Toronto and makes music. Most of what you hear comes out of my bedroom". This description paints a somewhat different picture to the confident, relaxed, powerful woman I met at The Sound Academy. Sure she was a little surprised by the size and fervor of the crowd and even quipped that this was the first time a circle pit had eruptd at one of her shows, but she handled it all in stride.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Protest The Hero and Chiodos at the Sound Academy"

Concert Review: Three Days Grace at the Asphodel - Norwood Community Centre

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:26:00 -0500

Three Days Grace at the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre (more...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

April 19, 2008
Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre

There's local boys done good, and then there's Three Days Grace. With two members hailing from Norwood, Ontario, and one from just down the road in Peterborough one of hard rock's most successful bands played a benefit concert to help complete the construction of the very facility in which they performing.

As I parked a good ten or fifteen minute hike down the road from the arena I began to get an idea of the scale of the event about to take place in the tiny town. This was a village of 1300 that had sold out a 2000 seat arena! An hour before the doors were to open the line snaked around the parking lot and steadily grew and spread onto the adjacent fair grounds as I strolled around snapping photos.

I didn't relish the idea of joining the end of the line which probably stretched to somewhere near the downtown strip. Luck would have it that my media contact came outside to find me and escorted me into the building just before the doors opened.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Three Days Grace at the Asphodel - Norwood Community Centre"

Concert Review: The Mars Volta at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 21:55:00 -0500

Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

The Mars Volta
Hometown: El Paso, Texas.
http://www.themarsvolta.com
The Mars Volta Concert Photos
Thursday April 10th, 2008
Austin Music Hall (Austin, Texas)

Ok, sometimes I miss really really good bands completely, and it makes me wonder if I have been living under a rock. I think the problem is that I don't listen to much FM radio anymore and never activated the satellite radio in my car. Relying instead on my CD collection stored on my iPods and the never ending flow of CD's mailed in for us to review, sometimes big acts sneak up on me. That said - WOW!

The Mars Volta is like wow - man.

No one had given me much of a heads up on The Mars Volta. Though I had heard they were pretty cool, no one had ever given me much more to go on. I really didn't know what to expect. For all I knew they could have been some electronic accordion band from Europe. What they turned out to be is a bad ass rock and roll band that has the look, feel, and sound of a modernized Led Zeppelin moved south of the border.

Combining elements of progressive rock from the seventies, metal, thrash, and flavored with distinctive tex-mex spices they sound like Yes on speed, or a harder faster Incubus. Blazing guitar runs by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with frantic almost flamenco like jumps and spins by frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, its hard to imagine that they keep up the pace for their whole show, but they do. I almost didn't even notice that many of the lyrics were in Spanish.
Continue reading "Concert Review: The Mars Volta at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas"

Concert Review: Say Anything at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:48:00 -0500

Max Bemis of Say Anything - more photos...
photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Say Anything
Hometown: Los Angeles, Ca.
http://www.sayanythingmusic.com
Say Anything Concert Photos
Wednesday April 9th, 2008
La Zona Rosa (Austin, Texas)
Also: Manchester Orchestra, Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves, Weatherbox

Fronted by Max Bemis, the Los Angeles based six piece power-pop/emo rockers Say Anything brought the end of their tour through Austin with a stop at La Zona Rosa last week. With a little help from our friends over at Direct Events I was invited up to shoot and cover the show.

With an early door, and some un-cooperative dogs conspiring against me, as well as Austin's notorious traffic I arrived late, just catching the last song by Weatherbox. That was a shame too, because they sounded really interesting. Based out of San Diego they are fronted by Brian Warren, ex of Mister Valentine and are worth checking out next time they come to town. I know I will try to be there.

Continue reading "Concert Review: Say Anything at La Zona Rosa, Austin Texas"

Concert Review: Sum 41 and Die Mannequin at the Kool Haus

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:56:00 -0500

Sum 41 at the Kool Haus (more...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

The Kool Haus.
Toronto, Ontario. March 27, 2008

When I arrived at the Kool Haus I was surprised by how thin the crowd seemed. Yeah, it was early but with this being Sum 41 I expected more early birds. Only a few months before the Sums had been scheduled to play the cavernous Air Canada Centre. This was before Deryck suffered a herniated disc and they had to cancel their co-headlining tour with Finger Eleven. So I expected the packed like sardines turn out so often seen at the Kool Haus.

Die Mannequin at the Kool Haus (more...)
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

I arrived shortly before Die Mannequin were to take the stage. This a band I have wanted to see live for ages, but somehow seemed to always miss. My first taste of lead singer Care Failure was on the soundtrack of "Trailer Park Boys: The Movie" where she performed with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush among others. Who was this beautiful brunette with the frighteningly powerful voice? Care F@$kin' Failure! Die Mannequin are a trio (Care on Guitar and Vocals, Anthony Bleed on Bass, and Ghostwolf on Drums) that play heavy, dirty, sexy rock. Care obviously uses her good looks to her advantage but not to the point where she becomes a mockery. Die Mannequin are pure Rock and Roll: rolling on the stage, jumping into audience, throwing mics, trashing drum kits, mic cables wrapped around everything. D-D-D Do it or die!!!

Continue reading "Concert Review: Sum 41 and Die Mannequin at the Kool Haus"

Concert Review: CMW - The Hives at The Kool Haus. March 3, 2008.

nospam@example.com (John Hargraft) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:29:00 -0500

For me, the opening show of Canadian Music Week 2008 was a packed room at the Kool Haus featuring The Hives with support from The Donnas and The Carps

Click the thumbnail to view the full size image. All photos by John Hargraft

The Carps are a hard to place in any one genre duo from Scarborough. A mix of rock and punk with some soul/R&B and a little electro. They are Jahmal Tonge doing the lead vocals plus drums and Neil White playing the bass / computer and also some vocals. It was a short set to try to get the early crowd going but most people really just wanted to see The Hives.

After a short break The Donnas came out to a crowd that had grown and was ready for some Rock & Roll. The Ladies donâ€™t disappoint as rock is what these girls do well.

The band hails from Palo Alto, California. A four piece with Brett Anderson (formally Donna A) as lead vocals. Maya Ford (formally Donna F) on Bass. Allison Robertson (formally Donna R) with the Guitar and Torry Castellano (formally Donna C) on the Drums.

For those who donâ€™t know The Hives are a five man band from Fagersta, Sweden. The Hives came out in their classic matching suits and jumped right into a couple songs from their newest release The Black and White Album. Throwing in a few songs from the previous releases Tyrannosaurus Hives and Veni Vidi Vicious, The Hives rounded out the set list. They played for almost an hour straight with a few minutes break and another fifteen minute encore. The band worked hard on the stage never slowing down for an appreciative crowd.

So all in all The Carps piqued my interest, The Donnas were great but The Hives were fantastic. A pretty good start to what should be an action packed week of musical mayhem at CMW.

SXSW 2008: Last night was the last night. Duffy at Stubb's

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:57:59 -0500

Click the thumbnail to view the full size image. All photos by Clint Gilders

One of this years buzz bands/artists was Welsh girl Duffy. I guess if you're looking for a less likely to OD or get a tattoo on her forehead replacement for last year's super buzzed Amy Winehouse, she might fit the bill nicely. I saw her at Stubb's, she sure as hell can sing. I didn't feel my heart go pitter patter or my palms get sweaty like I did the first time I saw Winehouse.
Sorry.

SXSW 2008: David Monks of Tokyo Police Club at the Free YR Radio Stage.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:16:00 -0500

David Monks of Tokyo Police Club
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

I'm was walking on air as I headed back to the hotel. If you've been here you know that after 7 days at SXSW to feel like your'e walking on anything but broken glass is a blessing.

For reasons I'm not privy to guitarist Josh Hook couldn't make the performance at the YR Radio broadcast stage today, so David stepped up and did an impromptu acoustic set. I loved it. "Nature of the Experiment" was obviously very different but held up. After his third song the crowd response was so strong that he was asked to play another. Monks said something like "I'll play whatever you want" to which someone loudly replied "Elephant Show!". So we got our encore featuring the title track form their soon to be released debut full length.

Just a cool experience.

SXSW 2008: Basia Bulat at Antone's

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:05:00 -0500

Basia Bulat at SXSW 2008
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

There's sound checking and then there's sooooound checking until the crowd doesn't really care anymore. Oh, and with SXSW's tight scheduling every minute wasted beyond the 20 minutes after the previous band means you'll have on less minute to impress whomever you're trying to impress.

Basia Bulat and her band did their best to get their stage mix to a point where they could perform at their best. A combination of nerves, which several people standing near me noted, along with a stage crew that seemed to be having a hard time dealing with a band made up of autoharp, viola, and tenor 8 string uke.

Ten minutes into her alloted time Basia gave up and came out to do an a capella number before the packed house (SXSW 2008 Buzz band Vampire weekend was performing here at 11:00). Her voice is beautiful and powerful. Serena Ryder, whom I'd also seen for the first time at SXSW 2007, immediately comes to mind. Then the comparison ends. Basia has also has a delightful delicacy to her voice and a delicous bluegrass vibrato. She, like Serena, is also a stunningly beautiful girl.

Joined by by her band, and still soundchecking and bug fixing along the way, Basia's set was short but it hooked me and everyone else in the room. Like I did after experiencing Kimya Dawson the night before at the Body of War showcase I have vowed to search out and buy her music when I get home.

SXSW 2008: Blue Rodeo and Friends at Smokin' Music

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 02:40:11 -0500

Blue Rodeo at SXSW 2008
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by clint gilders - clubkingsnake staff

There were boundless reasons to get excited about SXSW this year, and one them had to be the appearance of Canada's country crossover troubadours. The appearance at Smokin' Music was billed as Blue Rodeo and Friends, and truth be told I would have preferred just Blue Rodeo. They were doing their good Canadian duty and giving an opportunity to some very talented musicians whom otherwise may not get to perform in front of a such a large audience at SXSW. But to bring out Oh Sussana after she just finished her set in front of the same crowd seems a bad choice. The audience that steadily thinned out during her stint as a "friend" seemed to agree. Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet did great jobs and the fellas from the Sadies thoroughly rocked the joint.

Everytime Blue Rodeo lost the friends and did what they do best with songs like "Lost Together", "Hasn't Hit Me Yet", and "Til I Am Myself Again" the crowd would swell, begin moving and begin singing.

The sound in the venue was fantastic and the performances spot on. Cuddy with his leading man good looks and dreamy voice in perfect counterpoint to the rough edges and Dylanesque vocals of Greg Keelor.

I left the hour and twenty minute set happy, but not satisfied. Like a big meal where there wasn't quite enough of the one dish I really craved. Please sir may I have some more Blue Rodeo?

Blue Rodeo at SXSW 2008
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

SXSW 2008: Wednesday..... Seems it was only a year ago the revolution started....

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:07:00 -0500

Click the thumbnail to
view the full size image.

All photos by Clint Gilders

SXSW 2007 was my introduction to The Nightwatchman. A surprise show in a back room at Stubb's jammed between sets on the main stage. I've been singing the praises of Tom Morello's solo creation ever since. After I played Christie a little bit of his music she was interested too, and we made plans to head to Esther's Follies at 8:00 on Wednesday and then over to Stubb's for R.E.M.

Cut to 7:00 pm at the hotel for a quick break and to dump the photos from my camera. I open up iCal to double check the schedule and now The Nightwatchman is listed at 11:00 pm. The SXSW Music Big book says 8:00 though. The only way to be sure is to head to the venue and check the schedule posted on the door, and sure enough Tom goes on at 11 now. I kill 3 hours by heading up 6th street and seeing a couple of forgettable bands and the back to Esther's Follies for a couple more forgettable bands.

11:00 arrives and Esther's is packed. Everyone had been sitting in their seats and acting civilized during he earlier bands but during the changeover the floor in front of the stage quickly filled. We made a dash for the front and staked out prime piece of stage front property.

Tom's set this year was fierier than last year. I suspect he's more comfortable in his Nightwatchman role than he was 12 months ago. We were asked to make the loudest noise in Austin while he tuned his guitar to avoid any uncomfortble dead air. He shouted "they turned off my shit" when his guitar unexpectedly cut only to soon realize it was his own doing and to sheepishly intone "I meant to say I turned off my shit". The set included "One Man Revolution","Union Song","Guerilla Radio", and "Flesh Shapes The Day" and the highlight for me "Battle Hymns". No, Slash didn't show up (like he did at the Parish last year), but late in the set Tom was joined by Ben Harper. It was a fantastic duet with their vocals a great counterpoint to each other.

The set ended with an extended version of "The Road I Must Travel". At one point Tom asked for the house lights to be turned on and for everyone to jump up and down and sing because he thought it would be cool to see. We of course complied and it was pretty cool. Oh yeah, I spotted Perry Farrell singing along in the wings too.

[UPDATE from Christie:] Sometimes it's about the music. Sometimes it's about the power of an idea or a cause. Sometimes it's about being in the place where something new, different, or important is happening. And sometimes it's all three of those things. And that's what The Nightwatchman show at SXSW 2008 was.

News: SXSW - Van Morrison and R.E.M. - Nuff Said...

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:34:01 -0500

I don't think that any words that I can assemble into a coherent statement can do justice to either of the headliners I saw perform tonight. I am just stunned. I will let my pictures talk for now.... more later.

Continue reading "News: SXSW - Van Morrison and R.E.M. - Nuff Said..."

SXSW 2008: Wednesday..... Canada Blast

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:17:49 -0500

After Foreign Born at The Red Eyed Fly I was on cloud nine. An official SXSW party, The Canada Blast, was my next stop. I happened to run in to the fellas from NQ Arbuckle. A Toronto band showcasing this year. They play country folk with some great guitar work by Peter Kesper. The reason I was so hot for the Canada Blast was City and Colour. Dallas Green (get it, city and colour) of hardcore/screamo giants Alexisonfire, this is his acoustic alter ego. Under the warm Texas sun Dallas easily pulled us into his melancholy world. After Dallas was Hot Springs. Slightly tipsy, curvaceous Giselle led us into her rock and roll world. Imagine Victoria Williams sitting in with Jucifer.......but in a good way.

Here's some pics.

SXSW 2008: Wednesday..... Foreign Born

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:55:10 -0500

I went to The red Eyed Fly and caught Foreign Born. I love this band. Live they are a different beast than that on record. More of an edge, more up tempo. Recorded or live I dig it. I chatted with Louis about vintage gear and their writing. He said that they tend to write slow songs but feel the audience demands something upbeat. All I know is that their set set the stage for today. They played some new stuff some old stuff and closed with the amazing Union Hall.

Here's some pics.

SXSW 2008: Monday Night Parties, and how to be a rock star on borrowed gear.

nospam@example.com (ClintG) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:19:00 -0500

Oliver Future at Stubb's, SXSW 2008 -
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

by Clint Gilders club kingsnake staff

Monday in Austin dawned cold a wet. Safe in my hotel room I wrestled with the "free" internet. In this case free means crap I guess. My shiny new MacBook plays pretty well with the WiFi but Christie's evil windows beast won't even shake hands with the the wireless or wired connection.

Late in the afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun peaked out. Now it was time to hit some parties. My first stop was the PhizzPop Design Challenge Finals. What is the PhizzPop design challenge? I'm not sure really, but I do know they gave me a free t-shirt and the gratis G&T had glowing ice cubes in them. There was only a DJ spinning. I set off in search of live music.

Stubb's is arguably the best live music venue in downtown Austin. One problem, it's outdoors. The weather gods were shining on Opera (and a bunch of other venues) though. I saw two cool bands at Stubb's. The first was Oliver Future. Now living in L.A. these Austin natives mix Electro pop with sometimes roaring, somtimes twangy guitars and Bowie-esque vocals. A Fantastic mash-up. The second Gliss. Gliss play the garage rock that I love with a nod to the Brits, some dance beats and ooze rock star. Both have bunch of shows in Austin over the next few days

The climax of my night was to be Tokyo Police Club at the Mohawk. I knew that before I even arrived in texas. I headed to the Mohawk at 10:00pm. Yeah, there were 2 hours until TPC would hit the stage but I wasn't going to risk being stuck listening from the street (ask JeffB about that).

Tokyo Police Club at The Mohawk, SXSW 2008 -
photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer

On my way through the club I stopped for a short chat with bassist/vocalist David Monks. It seems that the airline hadn't bothered to put the boy's instruments on their flight from Chicago. Luckily another band on the bill stepped up and provided guitar, bass and drums.

When TPC took the stage shortly after midnight it was so cold you could see your breath and I'd been standing in the same spot for two hours. None of that mattered the moment they launched into "Box" of their most recent Smith EP, and then "In a Cave" from the soon to be released Elephant Shell. Even on borrowed gear TPC rocked the tiny dark stag at the Mohawk.

Full setlist below:

Continue reading "SXSW 2008: Monday Night Parties, and how to be a rock star on borrowed gear."

Concert Review: Tiger Bomb, Leeds, UK

nospam@example.com (Tony Reptiles) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:18:00 -0600

TigerBomb
Hi Fi â€“ Leeds - UK
Friday 1st February 2008
http://www.myspace.com/tigerbombuk

I really should have been snug warm at home with a cup of tea and a DVD, but instead I braved the near arctic Yorkshire weather to arrive at Leeds Hi Fi to see Tiger Bomb. It had been a long time since Iâ€™d been so excited about seeing a new band. Iâ€™d caught Tiger Bomb for the first time at a venue in Bradford a few days earlier and was immediately intrigued. You just canâ€™t ignore a band with such an eclectic range of instruments. Trumpet, glockenspiel and cello all feature on their CD â€œNot on My Mountainâ€? and I was eager to hear more from these guys. I wasnâ€™t to be disappointed.

They certainly have an unusual sound, unlike anything I have heard before. To compare them to other bands for a point of reference would be misleading. They flip their style so smoothly without losing any of their own inimitable character, making me smile each time they do as Iâ€™m surprised by each clever little sweep. I donâ€™t know how they do it! It could have something to do with the fact that most of the band are music academics and have been playing together since they were in their pre-teen years. It could be that they donâ€™t try to fit into a predictable marketable niche. (I heard that Dan the Front-man refuses to write the catchy pop tune everyone knows he could.) It could be that these guys just really enjoy doing their own thing. Who knows? Who cares? Just keep it coming!

What really strikes me about this band is that everything they do just WORKS. The arrangement is tight and clever. They donâ€™t overuse the trumpet or any of the keyboard effects; they are not a gimmick. It feels like we are being teased and left wanting more each time you hear them. The bandâ€™s style isnâ€™t at all contrived but not many could pull it off as well as they do. They look good, but not as we know it. But in todayâ€™s plastic and manufactured music industry such innovation is not a marketable commodity.

Unbelievably, Tiger Bomb are not yet signed. Festival organisers donâ€™t really know what to do with them and they are not part of the boring cliques which make up the UK music scene. It appears that for a band to be marketable they need to be part of an already popular genre and innovative bands such as Tiger Bomb are reluctant to conform. Whist the mainstream music channels are chock full of predictable greyscale banality, the really interesting artists are to be found playing small venues. All I can hope is that in a few years time Iâ€™ll be boasting about having a drink and a laugh with the guys from Tiger Bomb. These guys really deserve to make it big.

Set list below the jump.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Tiger Bomb, Leeds, UK"

Concert Review: Marilyn Manson at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas

nospam@example.com (Jeff Barringer) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:13:39 -0600

Marilyn Manson at The Austin Music Hall - more photos...
photo by Jeff Barringer - staff photographer

by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff

Marilyn Manson
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
http://www.marilynmanson.com
Marky Marilyn Manson Concert Photos
Saturday March 1st, 2008
Austin Music Hall (Austin, Texas)

Sometimes there is a story within a story within a story within a story. This is one of those stories.

Industrial metal god and whipping boy for the media world wide, Marilyn Manson brought his "Rape The World" tour to the Austin Music Hall last night, before he closes the tour in Houston tonight. I went completely ready to dismiss the show but I was shocked to see how good his set was.

The first time I saw Manson perform, I believe it was his first tour, he was opening for Nine Inch Nails. I had some nose bleed arena seats at the Frank Erwin Center and from where I was I couldn't tell that he had eyes, much less what color they were. I could, however, see what appeared to be an enormous black phallus that he was waving around. Between that, my seats, and an awful sound mix, I let discretion be the better part of valor, and quickly retired to the concession lines for a Coke until Reznor and crew came onstage.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Marilyn Manson at the Austin Music Hall, Austin Texas"

club.kingsnake.com - Concert Reviews

Concert Review: Stone Temple Pilots at the Kool Haus, Toronto, Ontario

Concert Review: Wolfmother, Toronto, Ontario

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Concert Review: Psychedelic Furs At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

Photo Spread: Nashville Pussy At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Blondie and Pat Benatar, Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx.

Concert Review: The Neville Brothers/ Dr. John at Austin Music Hall, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Vans Warped Tour at AT&T Center, San Antonio Tx.

News: Offspring Tour Appropriately Named

Concert Review: Toadies/The Willowz at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Black Label Society/Sevendust/Dope/Cycle of Pain at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Cycle Of Pain At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Pennywise/Pepper/The Expendables at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Cannibal Corpse at The Rave

Concert Review: Kings of Leon at the Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

Concert Review: My Bloody Valentine at Austin Music Hall, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Chris Cornell At Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

My Two Days at SXSW 2009 - Day 2

My Two Days at SXSW 2009 - Day 1

Concert Review: Slipknot/Coheed & Cambria/Trivium at Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio Tx.

Concert Review: Flogging Molly/The Aggrolites/The Mighty Stef at Stubbs BarBQ, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Tesla at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx

Concert Review: Hi-Ro Music Festival Featuring De La Soul, Austin Music Hall, Austin, Tx

Concert Review: John Legend at the Bass Concert Hall, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Disturbed at the Rave Milwaukee, Wi.

Concert Review: Old 97's at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Suicidal Tendencies, House of Blues - Chicago

Concert Review: GWAR at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Murder My Sweet At Stubb's BarBQ

Concert Review: In Flames/Gojira/36 Crazyfists at La Zona Rosa, Austin Tx.

Concert Review: Avenged Sevenfold at The Rave

Concert Review: White Denim/Dead Confederate/Apollo Sunshine at the Mohawk, Austin Tx.

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Concert Review: Beck and MGMT at The Sound Academy

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Photo Spread: Cheap Trick at the Molson Amphitheatre

Concert Review: Foo Fighters at Austin City Limits, KLRU Studio, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Butthole Surfers at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Dark Star Orchestra at Stubb's Bar B Q, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Virgin Music Festival - Toronto - Day 2

Concert Review: Virgin Festival - Toronto, Ontario - Day 1

V-Fest Toronto: The Stereophonics acoustic set.

Concert Review: The Toadies at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

Concert Review: Wild Weekend Power Pop Festival at The Mohawk, Austin, Tx.

Concert Review: Tom Petty at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx.

Concert Review: Judas Priest at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Tx.

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Concert Review: The Metal Masters at The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Concert review: Seether at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas

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Summerfest - Day 2

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Summerfest Day 1 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Photos: B.B. King at Bonnaroo

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Photos: Vampire Weekend at Bonnaroo, oh and Burlesque-aroo

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Concert Review: Dimmu Borgir at Stubb's BarBQ, Austin, Texas