Archive for 2009
Rapeman – Two Nuns and a Pack Mule
In 1992 I went to visit Kelz at JMU during his junior year there. I drove my sweet 82 Trans Am up there. It was a total blast, at least what I remember of it. 
Actually, there are only a few memories of that weekend in tact in my brain. We drank a lot of beer, mostly at some bar called JM’s. We played the video bowling game there and seemed to get better the more we drank. We went to some guy’s house and listened to Dwight Yoakam. I met some girl named Ursula. I was extremely hungover that Saturday morning. Somewhere there’s a photo of me dead on his couch in so much pain. But the main thing I do remember from that weekend was the music I was introduced to…Foetus, Rapeman, Iron Prostate and Motorpsycho (USA band) and even Motorhead to a lesser degree. I was also introduced to the Spawn comic book that weekend. That was a great series fro about 50 issues. But more on the other bands some other time, today is about the Rapeman album. I liked it the 2-3 times I listened to it while up at JMU that weekend and never bothered much with it again.
Flash forward to July 4, 2009. Jason McMaster and I rode down to San Antonio to check out a legendary record store called Hog Wild Records. The place has been there since the 70s and I always like seeing the independent shops that are still around, even if they are making it by the skin of their teeth. It is a cool shop and I dropped $60 easily in there. One of the things I picked up was Rapeman’s Two Nuns and a Pack Mule CD used for $5 in mint condition. I hadn’t thought about that album in years and had to buy it. I was hoping I’d still like it. There have been a few purchases of “back in the day” albums that I loved then and don’t care for now. Fortunately for me, this one still sits well in my listening palette. I’ve spun it at least 10 times since last weekend and I like it more and more each time I hear it.
I’ve seen it classified as post-hardcore. To me it sounds like a live Foetus album in some ways. A little frantic yet controlled…and without the digital samples. The guy’s voice even resembles Thirwell’s in places. The version I am posting has the BUDD EP include as well.
Tyton – Mind Over Metal
So back in the day there was this great music store at Military Circle Mall called The Music Man. That’s pretty much 
where we spent our allowances and paychecks in the 80s as thy typically had the coolest selection of metal. The Music Man was pretty cool and had a really cool staff. They also offered a replacement guarantee on their cassettes and CDs if they became defective. We knew the staff there pretty well and if we bought something we didn’t like, they would typically let us trade it in for something else. I was fortunate to work there for a year or so, an experience that I will never forget.
One of the cassettes I bought in 1987 was Tyton’s Mind Over Metal. I didn’t know anything about them but they were on an Enigma sub-label which usually meant you had a pretty good chance of buying something listenable. I played this cassette quite a bit. They weren’t over the top awesome but this album had some pretty good songs on it like Destiny Calls, Will You Follow Me (wimpy ballad but not too bad), and the title track. They were sort of mid-paced swords and shields style metal. I listen to it about once or twice a year still. It takes me back to some fun times with some former friends riding around Churchland trying to find a party or someone to buy us beer. Those were fun days and I am amazed that the 3 of us are even still alive. Come to find out years later that they hailed from Houston, TX and some people I know here in Austin knew those guys and even did a show or 2 with them. Living here in Austin and getting to spend time with guys that are metal legends (to me) is pretty incredible. Our metal round table discussions are pretty amazing.
I’ve attached the download to the album. It was never officially released on CD but some Euro label bootlegged it a few years back and I ripped the tracks from the CD.
Rolling Stones Review – Bomb Scare Show – 10/06/05
As you may know if you’ve either known me for a while or read back through some of my ramblings, I am a huge Stones fan. My #2 band of all time actually, only to be beaten out by Iron Maiden. I finally got an oppurtunity to see them in 2005 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA. I originally bought 5 tickets, 3 nosebleeds and 2 good ones. I planned to use the good seats for myself and whoever I decided to bring along with me and resell the other 3 for a profit. Yep. Capitalist pig I am! But…I ended up selling the 2 good seats to my friend Jeanne as she wanted to take her mom to the show. No profit to be made.
Right about a year or so before I got the tickets, I started to frequent the Taphouse in the Ghent section of Norfolk, VA. I had been there before with friends but never really “hung out” much there. I liked the place and started going there mroe often for shows and such. I lived about 25 minutes away so I didn’t do much of my partying there because of the drive. As I was sitting at the bar one afternoon, I was talking to one of the owners, Al, about how I had some spare tix for the Stones show if he knew anyone that wanted them. He said he’d buy them and take his guitarist along. Done deal. We ended up going to the show together with his brother as his guitarist bailed at the last minute.
I didn’t really know these guys that well but what the hell. I knew a lot of people who knew them and they were good to me as a patron in my early days there. These 2 guys play in a band called Rylo. Rylo is a boogie/honkytonk/jazzy/upbeat type band. Hard to classify really but they do what they do very well. Of course in my car I only brought metal stuff to listen to. Maiden, Dokken, Mercyful Fate, KISS, etc. Ended up that these 2 dudes were metalheads. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
We drove to the show, a 3 hour trip, and had a blast. We met Jeanne and her mom in town for some Italian food then parked and walked to the stadium for the show. We parked in some dude’s yard for $20 and walked about a mile. No biggie, the weather was perfect.
We definitely had nosebleed seats. Trey Anastasio of Phish opened up. B O R I N G. I was amazed at how many people left after Trey played. Whatever. The Stones were the Stones. Sloppy. Energetic. Funny. To be honest, I shed a tear when they hit the stage. Lifelong dream for me to see them.
Halfway through the set, Mick stops and does introductions then says they need to take a break per the “authorities”. We figured someone called and complained or something. Turned out to be a bomb threat. They cleared the floor for the first 40-50 rows and brought in bomb sniffing dogs. No bomb. Of course. The big treat for me was that they played Sweet Virginia. They NEVER play that song.
They came out and finished their set. From what I understand we only lost 2 songs…Infamy and The Worst. No big deal.
We decided to drive back to Norfolk that night. It was slow getting out of there but we had a blast. Mountain Dews, beef jerky and Doritos all around for the ride home. It was a blast, almost as fun as the show.
Soonafter that I moved to Ghent and the Taphouse became my place. I ended up working there as a doorman as needed and loved every moment of it. I made some friendships there that will last forever. I miss that place a lot and when I go to visit Virginia, it’s usually the first place I stop in.
Setlist:
- Start Me Up
- It’s Only Rock’n Roll
- Shattered
- Tumbling Dice
- Rough Justice
- Ruby Tuesday
- Sweet Virginia !!!! with additional sing-along after the song had ended
- All Down the Line !!
- Night Time is the Right Time
— band intros, thru Ronnie.
Time: 9:43pm
“We have to take a 10 minute break, according to the authorities”. Band leaves the Stadium, they bring in bomb sniffing dogs, clear out the stage people entirely, and vacate everyone in the first third of the field and the seats at the ends of Mick’s catwalks.
Time: 10:38pm - Miss You (to second stage)
- Oh No, Not You Again
- Get Off My Cloud
- Honky Tonk Women (from second stage)
- Sympathy For The devil
- Midnight Rambler!
- Paint It Black
- Brown Sugar
- Jumping Jack Flash
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want (encore)
- Satisfaction (encore)
Pentagram Concert Review – Emo’s, Austin, TX – 070609
Pentagram, Outlaw Order, Nachtmystium, Wolves in the Throne Room, Minsk, The Roller – Emo’s, Austin, TX 070609
I’m pretty sure it was Daniel who turned me on to Pentagram In 1987 when he bought Day of Reckoning on cassette. It had a cool cover of a mausoleum. I had seen it advertised in the ‘zines but never bothered with it. As stated a zillion times before, my parents weren’t so keen on the whole metal thing and this one would have surely gotten mom’s attention just by the name of the band. I had Daniel dub it for me and I just had it titled “Day of Reckoning” on the cassette with no song titles or anything else. Hey, we had to play it safe. I simply adore this album. Very Sabbathy without some of the heaviness of Iommi’s tone. Although Victor Griffin really lifted a lot from Iommi, he took that style to another level. They only other comparable band from that era that was pulling this off was Trouble.
I wanted to see Pentagram live and tried a few times in the mid-to-late 90’s but it seemed that every time I wanted to go up to the Baltimore/DC area to see them, they cancelled. Typically because of Liebling’s drug and alcohol abuse coupled with his frail mental and physical states. Sad but I have no sympathy.
In 2000 I went to Jaxx in Springfield, VA to see Raven/UDO. Joe Hasselvander was drumming for Raven and we talked Pentagram for a while. He told me some trippy stories about playing with Bobby.
Flash forward to about 2 months ago. I heard Pentagram was doing a handful of shows in the US and that the final one was in Austin. Seriously? Pentagram? Here? I got my ticket the day they went on sale as I expected it to sell out. My friend Jasmine had seen them a few months prior in NYC and she said they were great so I was really excited to finally see them. In recent years they have used the drummer from Spirit Caravan, Gary Isom and a good guitar player named Russ Strahan. Not sure who he and the player may have played with before but they sounded fine.
So for the last 6 weeks or so I have been super excited. I finally (hopefully) get to see a band I have wanted to see for 22 years!
I head downtown around 730 or so and go to the Jackalope for a burger (the best!) and a few beers. Gary from Mala Suerte and Noah stop in and hang out for a bit. After we finish, we head over to Emo’s for the show. I go in and check out the Pentagram merch booth. Talking to the girl who works it, Nancy, we had a few friends in common from the east coast. I end up buying both styles of the Pentagram shirts as they don’t sell the XXL versions on the website. Yea! Just what I needed, more black t-shirts!
Local doom/sludge band The Roller opens the show on the outside stage. I’ve seen them several times and they do their thing well. Halfway through their set I go inside to get a beer and some A/C and check out Minsk from Chicago. Not really my thing but I guess they are alright. I liked that sound better when Tiamat was doing it 15 years ago. Haha. Just kidding guys…sorta. Now let’s take into account that I have been up since 530AM and it’s around 10PM. I’m a little tired. So I go outside and sit for a while and see some friends, shoot the shit, check out some nice asses…you know, the usual. Outlaw Order (EYEHATEGOD) were setting up and I found a place in the back of the venue and sat down for their set. It wasn’t too bad, a little better than their EYEHATEGOD stuff. I was comfortable on the bench and didn’t go back in to check out Wolves In The Throne Room. Noah said they were good and he bought the 12” of their latest. Shortly after Wolves finished inside, Nachtmystium took the stage outside. Death metal, upbeat, double bass, fist pounding type stuff. Not bad, nothing groundbreaking.
Then Pentagram sets up. Pretty decent crowd. I estimated about 400 or so but definitely not a sellout. I expected more. So Pentagram hits the stage. Bobby looks old. Well, Bobby is old. His voice sounded like shit in the first song. Absolutely awful. I wonder how it was for the other shows? It got a little better towards the middle of the set but he was obviously hurting. I understand it. Singers can’t always be 100% and with Bobby Liebling I imagine you never know what you’ll get. He looked really frail but was very mobile. He seemed to get all the words right. When he spoke between songs, though, he sounded like Keith Richards. Couldn’t understand much of what he was saying except when he said “I fucking love you guys!” He said that about 10 times. Right on, Bobby. The band was tight and Russ’ guitar playing was good. Nice tone, good licks…a fitting guitarist for Pentagram.
But I do have to say I was a little disappointed overall. I guess maybe because of the setlist. Having never seen them live, I don’t know what they would usually play, but I expected more stuff from Day of Reckoning. As previously stated, I love that album. At minimum I wanted to hear Burning Savior. The only thing we got from that one was When The Screams Come. Great song, sure, but it’s no Burning Savior. They played 3 from Relentless: All Your Sins, Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram) and 20 Buck Spin. I never cared for 20 Buck Spin but love the other 2 tracks. They also played Petrified from Be Forewarned. There were a few new songs from an upcoming album called Last Rites but I can’t say they were very memorable. There were a few others in the set that I didn’t recognize as well. But where was “Living In a Ram’s Head”? I think in total we only got about 10 or 11 songs. It seemed as if they wanted to play more during their encore but he stated “They said this has to be our last song of the night.” The crowd near the front seemed pretty into it. A lot of people singing along and such. When I didn’t like was seeing all of the beer cans being thrown around. I’ve been hit while playing and it sucks. Also, WTF was with the crowd surfing? Stupid kids.
The merch girl told me that Bobby usually comes out to sign stuff after the show and as always, I came armed and ready with CD covers…but at the end of the show, I just wanted to go home. I was tired, hot, sweaty, disappointed and deflated. One guy I know said “You should be happy that you got to see a legend. What did you expect?” I guess I expected a better setlist, but that is my fault, not Pentagram’s. The sound in there was pretty shitty too which didn’t help much. Bobby complained several times at the beginning of the set to turn his monitors up. Like I said, his vocals got a little better as the show progressed but he just sounded beat and tired. Decades of self-abuse with drugs etc have taken their toll. In a way I sort of wish I would have stuck around to see if Bobby was signing stuff as I’ll likely not get that chance again. Oh well.
I was going to write this review last night when I got home but my emotions were still high. I think I gave a better and more level-headed review by waiting. I am glad I got to see them even if my expectations weren’t met.
I have attached a setlist from one of the Chicago shows. I assume this is what we got last night with the encore songs being reversed.
Enjoy the vids too!
Urchin feat. Adrian Smith
Like a lot of American kids, my exposure to the NWOBHM was Iron Maiden. Sure I had heard Priest in the 70s but they 
were pre-NWOBHM. As a Maiden fan, I always loved Adrian Smith’s guitar work, songwriting and vocal abilities. When the 10 Wasted Years video came out, they showed Adrian’s pre-Maiden band Urchin doing “She’s a Roller.” A cool poppy sounding song, very British in its stylings. I adored Adrian’s A.S.A.P. and always found it to be a refreshing and original album.
Last year I found a copy of the Urchin stuff on eBay for a mere $12! I had to have it. It’s a fun CD, nothing too crazy but it’s total Adrian Smith. I always wished he’d do a follow-up to ASAP’s Silver and Gold. Unfortunately we got Psycho Motel. I have both of their CDs but haven’t listened to them in forever. Perhaps I will one day soon…perhaps not (more likely).
Anyhoo…enjoy this trip down Adrian Smith’s memory lane.
- She’s a Roller
- Long Time No Woman
- Black Leather Fantasy
- Rock & Roll Woman
- See Right Through You (live)
- See Right Through You (studio)
- Walking Out On You
- Watch Me Walk Away
- The Latest Show
- Life Time
The Metal Files 
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