Archive for the Concerts Category
Saturday, January 23, 2010 No Comments
Holy shit, is Columbus, Ohio, my hometown getting back on the metal map? I fucking hope so. But this is big news, so I feel I should share it with everyone.
Mark your calendars, March 13, for the Second Annual Scion Rock Festival. Just check out the lineup, you’re not going to be disappointed.
CANNIBAL CORPSE
SHRINEBUILDER
VOIVOD
D.R.I.
BRUTAL TRUTH
HATE ETERNAL
YOB
PELICAN
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
ABSU
LUDICRA
ACCRASSICAUIDA
TRAP THEM
MAGRUDERGRIND
LANDMINE MARATHON
THOU
SAVIOURS
LITURGY
STRUCK BY LIGHTING
BLACK TUSK
DEADSEA
LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH
LULLABYE ARKESTRA
From what I’ve been reading, this is going on in several small venues through out Columbus.
Check out Metal Insider for the Complete Detail. And hopefully we can all get some beers together.
Monday, December 28, 2009 3 Comments
American Carnage Tour
’nuff said.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 1 Comment
The Basement. Trap Them, Toxic Holocaust, Skeleton Witch, and The Black Dahlia Murder. I’d be stating the obvious if I told you our evening was awesome, so let’s get into the nitty gritty. (more…)
Monday, August 31, 2009 No Comments
I will never quite understand why I do the things I do… perhaps I have a need to make things difficult…or just like things to be extra special. I decided I needed to break up the monotony of life in Northern Virginia (which everyone needs to do from time to time, regardless of where they live) and I had a couple hundred extra bucks so I spent it on a roundtrip ticket to my favourite vacation spot in the whole wide world… Las Vegas.
All in all, as much as I love my Vegas friends (one of whose couches I slept on while I was there) this was probably the worst vacation I have ever had. Bad timing coupled with stress, anxiety and lack of funds (which was plaguing ALL of us) forced me to gamble with strangers all day (who then became friends) and even though I managed to keep my blackjack money alive for hours and hours of play, I ended up losing it all… my budget, not my shirt. (I’m a responsible gambler…whatever that means.)
I did, however, drink for free for 3 days which can’t be beat… and I attended the Down show at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay on the last day of my vacation.
Down is out with the Melvins and Weedeater. Weedeater was UNBELIEVABLE. I adored every single song (“God luck and good speed”) the energy, the synergy – all fantastic. I will most certainly catch them on their next tour, regardless of which bands they may be out with on the road. I had never seen the Melvins before either, and they were rocking their two-drummer ensemble (which apparently means they’re not exACTly the Melvins that way) and I wanted to get up on stage and take over for one of them. (I played drums for 9 years and quit when I was living in dorms in college – no room for a set there.) But quite seriously, I may look into getting back into drumming soon…
One thing I’ve neglected to mention thus far is that even though I had four tickets to the show, none of my compatriots had shown up yet (due to all the reasons listed above…and some extra time at work for another one.) So, standing alone at the House of Blues, I was noticed for doing so and one kindly gentleman from the Air Force (Nellis is a rather large air force base near Las Vegas) invited me to come hang out with him and his friends so that I was no longer alone…which at first I thought was sweet. But then I realized how drunk this dude, Josh, was and I had to rename him Rapist Air Force Douchebag. I had to spend the entire set of Weedeater avoiding his hands and finally got away from him on the floor of the venue halfway into the Melvins set when one of my friends finally arrived… phew. Finally I settled in to watch the show.
Down started their set with “Ghosts Along The Mississippi” and within 2 minutes, R.A.F.D. was apprehended by two security guards for slamming into the people in the front row (moshing by himself.) But the two guards couldn’t get him under control, and he ended up being thrown out with force by five security guards. Scary.
I managed to secure a spot in the front row on stage left, literally five feet away from Kurt and often Phil (which if you know me = heaven.) Phil is back to rocking the Cowbows From Hell hair again (yes, I’m a girl, and yes I was drooling. I’ll stop that now.) So even though Down’s set seemed short because we have been spoiled with tours like an “Evening with Down” or whatever the fuck it was when they played for over two hours and included “Jail” in their setlist… the whole show was great. Phil did a lot of interacting with the audience, Pepper’s playing was right on point and you know Jimmy Bower always brings it… I’m not sure where Rex was, they had a bassist from Canada who filled in quite nicely… It’s funny that I fly all the way across the U.S. to see a show that I could see within an hour’s drive from my house… but I didn’t want to wait until September 8th to see them. And now, I don’t think I will even be making it to the Baltimore show due to complications back in NoVa – however I think YOU should go. You should ALL go. And don’t miss Weedeater.
Tue 09/01/09 Atlanta, GA Center Stage
Wed 09/02/09 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues
Fri 09/04/09 North Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
Sat 09/05/09 Charlotte, NC Fillmore Charlotte
Sun 09/06/09 Knoxville, TN The Valarium
Tue 09/08/09 Baltimore, MD Sonar
Wed 09/09/09 Clifton Park, NY Northern Lights
Fri 09/11/09 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square
Sun 09/13/09 Boston, MA House Of Blues
Tue 09/15/09 Hartford, CT Webster Theater
Wed 09/16/09 Rochester, NY Main Street Armory
Thu 09/17/09 Buffalo, NY The Town Ballroom
Fri 09/18/09 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small’s Theatre
Sat 09/19/09 Mount Clemens, MI Emerald Theatre
Mon 09/21/09 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue
Tue 09/22/09 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
Thu 09/24/09 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium / Underground
Fri 09/25/09 Sauget, IL Pop’s
Sat 09/26/09 Mokena, IL Pearl Room
Mon 09/28/09 Louisville, KY Expo Five
Monday, July 20, 2009 2 Comments
Attended the Summer Slob Tour last night. Granted, I have been doing shit non-stop for a week and a half, including driving to Ohio and back, so I’m beyond tired and probably should have gotten in a nap or skipped the show altogether… But I love the Acacia Strain. I had to go.
Good to see familiar faces upon arriving (Metal Nick and Brendan, whom I’ve now known for years and both are staples at most of the shows I hit up.) Otherwise, the crowd was pretty damn varied. I had zero idea what some of those girls were doing there – and then I remember I generally look like the girl next door as opposed to the metal chick even though I am… so I decided to shut-up and accepted them into my evening.
My first glint of happiness for the day: I recognize the bartender and snagged my beloved seat at the bar at Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia. The place was pretty damn packed and I’m pretty sure it was over 100 degrees up in there. Due to the mass of people, my seat was, unfortunately, right next to a few emo d-bags all night and thought to myself at one point… I wonder if that’s Evergreen Terrace. Just based on their looks, and behavior and the fact that ET were never heavy enough to put into rotation at XMLM… and an hour later those dudes were onstage…as Evergreen Terrace. Their set can be summed up as angst-filled “I want you dead” chants – but the kids in the crowd were familiar with that song and chanted right along. And then they covered “Mad World” by Tears for Fears…or by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the Donnie Darko soundtrack … or by Adam Lambert. Regardless, it was the high point of the set for me.
Unholy actually kicked my night off, and I think, outside of the Acacia Strain, that they had the best set of the night. They’ve released a new album on Prosthetic Records and I think it might be worth checking out. Cruel Hand and then Evergreen Terrace played after them and I finally realized why, in addition to being dead-tired, I just wasn’t having the best time – I was at a punk and hardcore show. I have never been a punk fan and am just so sick of straight hardcore bands (Hatebreed already wrote that song) and sitting there through Cruel Hand’s set was a little rough for me. I do this for you people. And I love you. And being a lover, I don’t generally like to put out bad reviews on bands… the crowd was totally into them. They’re just not my cup of tea.
A random fun point of the evening – everyone is still into “The Roof Is On Fire” by Bloodhound Gang.
Finally it’s time for the Acacia Strain. They’ve got the big tour banner hanging in the back but bring two on the stage in front of the guitar stacks – one is a bloody polar bear. The other? A bloody Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man. First time I grinned all night.
Vincent takes the stage and grabs his microphone and announces that their regular guitarist, DL, has decided to step off the tour due to a pregnant girlfriend. “We’re gonna have a good time and no stupid baby is gonna stop us.”
Someone pulled out a beachball (???) as soon as the Acacia Strain started, and the show was on. They hit some of my favourites, “4×4,” “Skynet,” and they ended the set with “Carbomb.” God I love that song. And this band. Although they didn’t get to “Smoke Ya Later,” my all-time favourite AS song, due to the fact that their new guitarist only had two weeks to learn a whole set, they really rocked it out.
I think the magic of live shows is a tight performance and the synergy between the band and the crowd, and this night with the Acacia Strain was way more than a rabbit-in-a-hat trick. It’s when EVERYBODY knows the words to all the songs… when 200 kids are screaming “I am the end of the world!” (“JFC.”) with thunderous drums (nice mix, dude) and a “fuck the world” chorus… Caught up in the “don’t fuck around, but have fun with your life” (Vincent’s words) celebration, I even danced. A little. 
I walked out of there with the Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man shirt (Dogs and Cats, Living Together, Mass Hysteria) completely invigorated and satisfied. If you love hardcore, go early.
July 21st – Mt. Clemens, MI – Hayloft
July 22nd – Evansville, IN – Boney Junes
July 23rd – Iowa City, IA – The Picador
July 24th – Orlando Park, IL – Moejoe’s Coffee House
July 25th – Fort Wayne, IN – Sunset Hall
July 26th – Toledo, OH – Headliner’s
July 27th – Erie, PA – Forward Hall
July 28th – Albany, NY – Northern Lights
July 29th – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
July 30th – Manchester, NH – Rockos
July 31st – Bucksport, ME – The Kave
Aug 1st – Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre
Sunday, July 19, 2009 1 Comment
So here I am again, finally posting – something. And I’m so glad I went to this show, it was the metal show I’ve always hoped and dreamed for. As you can see from the flyer the line up was beyond awesome. I personally wasn’t aware how awesome it really was till after I heard Starring Janet Leigh, For The Fallen Dreams.
This was my second time visting The Basement, and like last time, I had a blast. And I was slightly deaf after it was all said and done. This venue by far, is great for metal! You are literally a foot away from them. I don’t know how that is for the actual artists, but I think it’s awesome.
Hit the jump for me complete run down on each band.
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![7/16 Unearth Show w/ Starring Janet Leigh, Woe of Tyrants, For The Fallen Dreams [Concert]](http://www.knucklesfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Unearth7_16.jpg)
