Archive for the ‘concert reviews’ Category
Yngwie J. Malmsteen Concert Review, June 10, 2017, Houston, TX
Last night I witnessed the over the top guitar playing of Yngwie Malmsteen for the 9th time since 1986. While he is my favorite guitarist, I haven’t liked any of his releases post-Alchemy and his latest one with him on vocals is pretty boring. That being said, I always love seeing him live.
Local (to Houston) band Apocalyptic opened up. They were super tight technical shred thrash that at times reminded me of Agent Steel with a singer that could hit insanely high notes at will. The only real issue I had with them is that the singer wouldn’t shut the fuck up between songs. They could have played one more song with all the time he spent between songs talking about how cool it was to be there or “show me your horns” or “scream for me, Houston” over and over. Less talk, more rock, please. Their main lead player and bassist were also really good.
Of course Yngwie comes on and the wall of Marshalls is lining the back of the stage. For the record, only 2 heads were actually used. They opened with Rising Force and the bassist sang. He sounded good but what irked me to no end was that they only did the first verse then the solo section. What? Most of the show consisted of instrumentals, which was fine. That meant that Yngwie didn’t sing. In Seventh Sign, the keyboardist sang and they did the whole song. Sounded great. Demon Driver and Heaven Tonight were also first verse and solo sections only. To be honest, if you’re gonna cut out sections of songs like that, just do a full night of instrumentals. In the encore, they ended with I’ll See the Light Tonight and, yes, first verse and solo sections only.
Beyond that silliness, Yngwie was awesome and I’m glad I went. His back up band, basically tucked into one corner of the stage, was really good. Of course Yngwie threw a bunch of picks out and only high kicked a few this time. I’m really glad he didn’t sing
The venue, White Oak Music Hall, holds 1200 and I imagine about 600-700 people were there. Hopefully the 10th time I see him won’t be too far in the distant future.
Satan, Cauldron & BAT Concert Review, Richmond, VA, October 23, 2016
Upon waking up Sunday morning, totally parched and tired, Kelz and I got our stuff together and headed South towards Richmond. He was a little slower than me that morning so I drove us to Vienna, VA to stop at Vienna Music Exchange. I had met the owner, Mike, the night before and had been wanting to stop in there for quite some time. After some traffic snags headed down that way, we finally got to the store and I scored some cool stuff.
From there it was down to Richmond to Petey’s and Amy’s house. By that time, I was starting to fade a bit. I didn’t sleep that well and was quite tired by the time we got to Richmond. Petey was ready to party by the time we got there and I succumbed to doing a shot, which helped immensely even though it was tough to get down. After a couple of hours of catching up, we decided to head towards the venue and grab some quick grub at the restaurant next to The Broadberry. Our other friend, Danile, was supposed to come up for this one but unfortunately had to back out.
Upon arrival in the venue, I see Ryan and Felix from BAT. Good dudes. Richmond locals, Humungus, opened the show and musically and vocally I thought they were great. Petey said they had a bit of a Heathen vibe and I don’t disagree. Both the singer and guitarist did great harmony falsetto work and the bassist and drummer held the rhythm down just fine. The only thing I didn’t like about them was their lyrical content. Pretty silly for the some of what I could make out. Shark Castle. Drinkin’ Beer. Solid band overall and I wouldn’t mind seeing them again.
BAT was up next and delivered their Venom-esque set flawlessly as they always do. I love watching Felix Griffin play drums as he’s just a mean machine back there. I was getting pretty tired so I sat for part of their set. As I was at the table in the back of the venue, got to hang out with Mr. Ross a bit more. Sorry again, Brian, but no more Jager mixers for me!
I didn’t go up front for Cauldron. I just can’t get into them. As I mentioned in a previous review, their sound is just too thin.
And then…Satan. They had a bigger stage this time and could move around a bit. Since Danile couldn’t make it, Petey drew his face on a plastic cup and we set it at the end of the stage so he could be there in spirit. Satan got a couple of songs in and then Steve blew his head. During the change out, Russ and Sean just did a little Voodoo Child rendition and then it was right back into the set. We got a full set that night as they were shortened by a curfew or anything. Again, they were awesome. The crowd had thinned out a bit as it was a Sunday night but we remained up front for the whole set. Much like the Philly show, I had to get barraged by a person who smelled like hell. This guy smelled like a chicken house. It was fucking gross, especially when he started swinging his dreadlocks around. Luckily he only stayed up for a couple of songs, but goddamn, bathe please.
And just like that, it was over. I could already feel that little bit of sadness coming on. But it was a wonderful weekend overall with 2 of my lifelong closest friends. I couldn’t ask for much more than that.
I called for a Lyft ride to get us back to Petey’s and NWOBHM legend, John Gallagher of Raven, was our fucking driver! I saw him at the show as he’s old chums with the Satan guys. We were totally surprised and happy to have a familiar face take us home. I’ve met John several times and he’s always a gentleman. I think it was a fitting ending to the night.
Back at Petey’s house, we sat up and hatted for a bit longer and finished off his wife’s homemade beef jerky. Delicious! Then off to bed. Kelz had to get up and be on the road to Raleigh by 830, Petey had to work and Amy, Petey’s wife, had an appt, so not much sleeping in time. Amy took me the airport and that was that. Mitchfest over. I had a lengthy layover in Atlanta and my flight got delayed. Part of me was hoping for a cancellation as Satan was in town that night, too. It would have been great to catch a third show, but alas, no luck.
Long live Satan. Hope they come back in 2017. I’m hoping to catch Graeme and Steve in the Slyclad reunion in Germany and will definitely see Brian’s Alice Cooper tribute next fall in Newcastle.
Frost and Fire II Concert Review, Ventura, CA, October 7, 8 & 9, 2016
Last year I attended the one day Frost and Fire Fest and had a wonderful time. It was a foregone conclusion after that weekend that the mighty Cirith Ungol would be playing this year’s fest. It was announced several months ago that this year would be a 3 day fest with days 1 and 3 at the Bombay Bar and Grill again and day 2 at the Majestic Ventura Theater. I bought 4 sets of tickets automatically as I knew Kelz, Rodney would be interested and obviously I’d be able to hold the other set for someone. So flights and accommodations got booked and it was just a long countdown until the actual time to go. Ultimately I had to sell the 4th set as one friend who wanted to go had some other issues to take care of. Our friend JT/Petey was slated to come as well, but unfortunately life happens. He was severely missed but we’ll see him in Richmond in a few weeks for Satan.
Our 3 flights all arrived at LAX around the same time, we grouped up and took the rental car to Ventura. Upon arrival and checking into the Clocktower Hotel, we ran into the guys from Midnight. Their main man, Jamie, is a huge Steelers fan so we chatted about that briefly. Rodney peeled off with them and Kelz and I hit the Saloon BBQ for some tri tip beef, a shot and some beers. We had been up since super early to catch our flights so we went back to the hotel for a quick nap.
Doors were at 5PM and we got there right around that time to get in line, get our tix for Friday and Sunday and go in the venue. Having attended FF previously and the last 3 Ragnarokkr Fests, I knew quite a few people there. Fans traveled from all over the world to attend and that was great seeing many of them. Ran into Jerry Hartman from Lethal and his lovely wife, Sue. He gave me a CD of his latest project (pictured below). Can’t wait to listen to it. Tim, Robert and Jim from Ungol were hanging out as well and I got Jim to sign The Book.
Here’s the Day 1 band rundown:
Livin Alive – Watched a little bit of them but nothing caught my ear
Seax – Had seen them a time or 2 before and enjoyed them much more this time
Vanlade – Watched a couple of songs but couldn’t get too interested. Solid though.
Salvacion – Listened to them from the patio while hanging with some friends. All great guys but just can’t get into them
Resistance – Missed their whole set
Widow – Only heard them from the patio
Midnight Chaser – Delivered another solid set comparable to their Ragnarokkr show. Highly recommended
Blade Killer – Always delivers! I caught most of their set inside then the last couple from the patio
Thrust – Solid performance. Met Ron and had him sign The Book. Super nice guy
Slough Feg – Enjoyably odd band to watch
Omen – Got to catch up with Wittig before their set to get my stuff signed since we didn’t get time at their Austin show. They delivered a great set to a packed back room and I finally got to hear Teeth of the Hydra.
By the end of Omen’s set, I was starting to feel the drag from the travel and 2 hour time difference. Totally worth it. Hung out with some friends for a bit before they emptied the venue and people watched for a bit before heading back to the hotel. Also had some incredible Al Pastor tacos from the truck outside. The mom in the truck was cooking up a huge pan of red chili peppers for blending and it was mesmerizing to watch.
Saturday morning. A little tired and some back issues. Getting older sucks. Kelz and I grabbed some breakfast at the hotel and then headed out for a bit to do some record shopping. We started at Salzer’s Records which I had been to the year prior. I picked up MSG’s Assault Attack in VG+ condition for a good price. We then went to American Pie Records. That is an experience. Their owner, Dennis, is quite the character. He has a ton of stuff in there, too much to have gone through in a day but I did find 2 KISS records to add to my collection. From there we went to Grady’s Records in downtown Ventura. Small metal section but I found some good rock pieces that I had been looking for. From there back to the hotel for a 30 minute or so nap. It helped. We then walked over to the Majestic Ventura Theater for Day 2.
The theater had a no ins or outs policy so we had to decide if we wanted to try and survive whatever food they served inside or grab a bite nearby and miss an early band or 2. We chose to go in and ultimately the food was palatable. Beer prices were steep. $8 for PBR draft? $10 for premium beer? Not that I planned on drinking a lot, but that kept it to a bare minimum. It is a nice big venue with several tiers for viewing. It was great running in Attacker’s Mike Sabatini outside and Steel Prophet’s Steve Kachinsky. Awesome dudes. Upon entry I jumped right in the merch line for Ungol. I got a shirt and blinked on getting the limited edition Paradise Lost reissue LP. When I went back for it, they were all gone. 
Day 2 band rundown:
Spellcaster – They rocked it although it was a really short set. Great seeing them again.
Axxion – I had seen Axxion in Chicago in 2014 at Ragnarokkr. I think they were a little better this year, stage costume selection notwithstanding. See pic below.
Visigoth – Do I really even need to say anything about them? Aside from them being the nicest dudes, they are great live and Jake Rogers is the best frontman in metal right now.
High Spirits – This band seems to be a love em or hate em band. I personally love them. Great hooks, solid vocals, positive energy. It’s happy rock for sure. They were great as always and look forward to seeing them on tour in 2017. I bought a shirt, LP and 7: from the new album, Motivator.
Night Demon – This is Jarvis’ fest and fitting that Night Demon is on the bill. They laid down a solid set including a new song, Stranger in the Room.
White Wizzard – At first I thought they were a weird choice for the fest but after seeing them play all of their High Speed GTO EP with James Paul Luna (Holy Grail) on vocals, my mind was changed. Solid set even though I was never really a fan. They played Hollywood Tease by Girl and I couldn’t place who wrote it until after their set. Thanks for clarifying, Rodney.
Mindless Sinner – Probably the biggest surprise of the fest for me. I had listened to them in the past but still wasn’t huge on them. Their set was great. They were absolutely great.
Midnight – While never owning anything they’ve ever done, I always enjoy seeing them live. Super energetic show with some good tongue in cheek lyrics. Saturday’s set was on par with previous viewings.
Cirith Ungol – A band that I’ve always liked, but never loved. They were fringe. They are fringe. When they were announced to do the meet and greet last year, I revisited the catalog and grew a new appreciation for them. By the time they were coming on, we went to the upper balcony and sat. My knees, back and feet were killing me and this was perfect viewing. They opened with Join the Legion from Paradise Lost and went right into I’m Alive from Frost and Fire. They pretty much played everything one would expect to hear at a Cirith Ungol show except for maybe Death of the Sun. I was absolutely blown away by Tim Baker’s voice. He still sounded like it was the early 80s. Mind-fucking-blown. The whole band was great. Garven’s enormous drumset with Paiste cymbals and gong looked and sounded fantastic. Jim Barraza handled most of the leads with ease and Greg Lindstrom handled the rhythm and some leads beautifully. Jarvis handled the bass lines perfectly and added some great backing vocals. It was really just a perfect set by them and I couldn’t be happier.
After the show, everyone was ushered out of the venue and just hung around the sidewalk. Everyone was in high spirits (pun intended) and I got to see a few folks that had come in just for that day’s show. I was pretty elated but also dog tired and went back to the hotel. Kelz went across the street to this tiny venue for an after party show with Hessian and Alchemy (MX). I went back to the room and fell right asleep…happily.
Sunday morning…worn the hell out. Woke up with only about 5 hours of sleep. Went down and had breakfast with Rodney and Midnight. Most of that discussion was about the Steelers. Perfect! Back to the room to clean up. Kelz went down and had breakfast while I did some packing and such. Luckily I ran into the Mindless Sinner guys in the lobby and got them to sign The Book. Doors were at 10AM at Bombay. We stopped in there for a minute to check out the merch and I picked up a few things. From there we went to Jockomo Records where I found a few more classic rock pieces. Ashbury wasn’t scheduled until 4:15 so we decided to grab lunch and ate some extremely bland Indian food. The garlic naan was great, though. Afterwards it was back to the hotel for a recharge nap. NAPS!
Back to Bombay where I finally got to talk to their owner, Diego. We have a mutual friend in common who used to play there a lot but now lives in Austin. It was way more relaxed on Sunday. He bought me a shot. Sweet! The crowd started flowing
in common who used to play there a lot but now lives in Austin. It was way more relaxed on Sunday. He bought me a shot. Sweet! The crowd started flowing in for Ashbury’s set.
Day 3 band rundown:
Ashbury – This band just seems to set me right. I think it’s a combination of the demeanor of Rob and Randy Davis. These guys are so laid back and peaceful. They played a 2 hour set consisting of 8 songs from Endless Skies, 3 songs from Something Funny’s Going On, 5 covers (3 from Jethro Tull, 1 from BOC and 1 from The Who), and two new songs, Out of the Blue and Mean Guitar (Rock and Roll Star). They were great. They’re always great. I love seeing how many metalheads love them as well. They didn’t hang out much after their set, though. That was too bad.
Black Death Resurrected – I watched a little bit from the back of the room but just wasn’t that interested.
Grim Reaper – Steve and company laid down a solid 17 song set which included several from their new album, Walking in the Shadows. His current lineup is solid and his voice sounded great. I’ll see them again this weekend in San Antonio.
After the goodbyes to friends in the club and on the street, we headed over to Dargon’s Irish Pub for a quick bite before heading back to the hotel. We had to be up at 430AM to drive back to LAX to catch our flights.
I’ve done 3 Ragnarokkr fests, 2 Frost and Fire fests and 1 ProgPower and this past weekend tops them all for the overall experience. The location is perfect because of everything there is to see and do within walking distance in Ventura, the lineup was superb and just the overall feel of the event from the patrons to the organizers. No fest is perfect, but this is as close to perfect as I have been to so far. I can’t wait for FFIII!
Extra special thanks to Jarvis Leatherby (Night Demon/Cirith Ungol), the Night Demon guys, Cheryl and the whole FF crew for making this a success by obviously working their asses off on this. Also to Oliver Weisenheimer for his generosity and for being so fucking cool. It’s always great seeing the Visigoth guys as well. Great bunch of dudes.
To see the setlists played, click here.
Striker & Spellcaster Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, May 20, 2015
Striker, Spellcaster and Weresquatch rolled through San Antonio Friday night. I had just seen Spellcaster in Chicago at Ragnarokkr and couldn’t really get into the 2 songs I saw after getting blown away by Old Wolf.
We arrived with about 2 songs left from Weresquatch but I didn’t hear anything from them that made me care.
Spellcaster’s main man, Cory, found me before the show. Great dude. Spellcaster went on shortly after and were just great. Super solid, good stage presence and good players. Unfortunately the sound in the Korova basement leaves a lot to be desired as does the lighting. Overall it didn’t matter. Spellcaster rocked the crowd of 40 or so and I look forward to seeing them again at Frost and Fire II in October. The 3 songs from their new album, Night Hides the World, sounded great, especially the title track.
Striker headlined and I had only listened to some of their stuff a few days prior to the show. Good solid stuff that translated well live. My favorite part of seeing them was their great 3-part vocal harmonies. Much of the crowd had left during their set and admittedly I spent a lot of time talking with my drummer outside. I’d definitely like to catch them again.
Catch the tour if you can.
Voivod Concert Review, Austin, TX, May 21, 2016
The first time I ever saw Voivod live was during SxSW 2010, and there was blood. I was a latecomer to them and really prefer their middle-era of Nothingface, Angel Rat and Outer Limits, Negatron and Phobos over all of their other material. I love seeing them live and last caught them in Denver last year when I was up there for work.
I picked up my ticket yesterday afternoon and they were playing at the newly renovated Barracuda (f. Red 7). What a great job they did inside and out. The place is way more comfortable to see a show.
I missed opening act, Child Bite. King Parrot (King Boring) was up next and while I’m 0.0% a fan of them, their drummer is damned good.
Voivod was on next to a crowd of 100 or so, which was a bit disappointing. Apparently Dying Fetus was packed around the corner. Gross. Voivod was just hanging out with fans prior to their set. No rock stars here, folks. They’re really just laid back dudes and at least every time I have seen them, they’ve made themselves very accessible to their fans.
They opened with Ripping Headaches, Tribal Convictions and Order of the Blackguards. The set included 3 of the 5 songs from their latest EP, Post Society. The songs sounded great, especially We Are Connected. My favorites of the night would have to be The Prow and The Unknown Knows. This tour features new bassist, Dominique LaRoche, who did a great job. The whole band was tight as always and it’s really a pleasure to watch Away’s drumming. He’s a very unconventional.
The only played 13 songs ending the night with Voivod and Pink Floyd’s Astronomy Domine.
Upon exiting the stage, Dan Mongrain came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and said with a smile, “How’s the head doing?” I said, “Other than a weird occasional twitch, no problems.” We both laughed, I told him it was a great show, he gave me a pick and we moved on. I’m surprised he even remembers that at all.
Can’t wait to see them again!
The Metal Files 
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