Archive for the ‘texas’ Category
Gordon Lightfoot Concert Review, Austin, TX, June 21, 2016
Gordon Lightfoot will be 78 later this year. He still tours. He plays 2 sets and stands the whole time. That’s pretty awesome.
Given his age, his voice has deteriorated a lot and it’s only in a few spots here and there that you can hear his golden voice from the 70s. He’s much higher-pitched and weaker nowadays but he gets it done and does it without a teleprompter which I think is even more impressive. His guitar playing is still pretty good, too.
He seems like quite a personable guy. Doing some quick research online, it looks like he just got married (again) 2 years ago to the 55 year old actress Kim Hasse.
It was a good show overall and was comparable to the show I saw 2 years ago. He played pretty much everything one would want to hear at his shows and it brought back great memories of being a kid listening to AM gold with my Mom.
Lynch Mob Concert Review, Austin, TX, June 12, 2016
I love Dokken. Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack are great albums. Breaking the Chains is just OK. Lots of folks slag that band but whatever, I’m a fan.
Lynch Mob headlined an early show last night with Roc Holiday and Snake Skin Prison. I missed SSP but caught Roc Holiday’s set. Paul Lidel (Dangerous Toys/Dirty Looks), lead guitarist and backing vocals for Roc Holiday, is simply a badass. He made their set for me.
It was a pretty packed crowd for this venue, Texas Mist. I hung out towards the back for Lynch Mob’s set with a good pal that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. To be honest, I never cared for anything Lynch did after Dokken. Too bluesy. BUT…his band is full of people who are listed in The Book. So going to a show that’s less than 10 minutes from my house was worth the effort.
Lynch’s band sounded absolutely great. Oni Logan’s vocals were stellar to be honest. I had heard that the drummer, Jimmy D’Anda, was not feeling well, but you wouldn’t have known it by his playing. Bassist Sean McNabb held the bottom down perfectly as well. And then there’s George. His performance was not so stellar. He fumbled around his pedal board quite a bit. His solos, especially during the Dokken songs, were awful except for that break in Tooth and Nail, he did that perfectly. He pretty much seemed like he didn’t care to be there at all. It was a bit disappointing, to be honest. Three times as they were counting a song in, everyone started except for George and they had to restart each time. I could speculate on the reason but anyone that was there, especially those of us who met him after the show could pretty much tell what was up. I’ll leave it at that.
After the show George and Sean came out to sign stuff. I got a minute with him and he signed The Book and my Tooth and Nail CD. He saw Pilson’s signature and asked when I got it. I mentioned that I got it during the “Foreigner tribute band” show. He laughed and said, “Well all original Dokken members are doing a Japanese tour. We’re getting paid so much money, it’s the only reason I’m doing it. I’ve got kids and grandkids to support.” He was very nice and so was McNabb who told me he was coming back to Texas later this year playing bass for Joe Lynn Turner(!!!!). He also stated that Oni Logan typically doesn’t come out to sign stuff and that D’Anda was pretty sick so he wasn’t coming out.
I went to the back stage curtain and one of their road crew was walking back there. I stopped and asked if he could get Oni and Jimmy to sign and I showed him where the pages were marked. Understand that this book has only left my sight a few times to get signed. I was able to see them each sign it through the curtain, though. The crew guy brought it back and said that Oni laughed that he was listed in there with Ferrari.
It wasn’t a great show by any means, but still enjoyable to hear some Dokken classics. Oni Logan’s voice was great on those.
Click fotos to enlarge.
-
- Jimmy D’Anda
-
- George Lynch (in gold)
-
- Oni Logan
-
- Sean McNabb
The Obsessed & Karma To Burn Concert Review, Austin, TX, June 7, 2016
In general I’m not a big stoner rock/stoner doom fan. I don’t think it’s because I’m not a stoner as I have a lot of friends who love that music but don’t get high. Too much droning and not enough melody for me.
I was on the fence about going last night as I was still tired after the Whitesnake show the night before. The Obsessed’s mgmt offered me a guest list slot so I sucked it up and went downtown.
As I arrived to the venue, Wino and co. were hanging out and I got a chance to speak with him one on one for a few minutes. I showed him The Book and he was surprised by the entry in it. “Where can I get a copy?” I had met him several times before and didn’t realize until yesterday that they were in the book. I should have known that at least based on their inclusion on Metal Massacre VI. Duh. I had him sign his entry and the CD cover. In a rush to leave the house, I had forgotten the first Hidden Hand CD (my favorite Wino project ever) and the last St. Vitus album he was on.
My friends in Crimson Devils opened the show with a solid 30 minute set. Jake and Curtis are fantastic musicians, good dudes and always a pleasure to watch.
There were 2 bands coming up next and I left to go get dinner. By the time I got back, West Virginia’s Karma to Burn was getting ready to start. My memory is a bit hazy but I think I saw them in Virginia in the late 90s, but can’t confirm that. Almost all the way to the end of their first song, the growing crowd was standing at least 5 feet from the stage. I walked right up front to help entice the rest of the crowd to move up and it worked. Their set was solid, heavy and instrumental. Highlight for me was their unrelenting drummer. Although much of their stuff started sounding the same to me after a few songs, that drummer was damn near flawless.
Up next was The Obsessed. Admittedly I’m not familiar with their stuff at all. From what my friend told me, the first 3 songs were all Obsessed songs, then they played a Spirit Caravan song. I’ve seen them before but again, I’m not familiar with the material. After a couple more songs, I went home. I was dog tired. The band was solid and Wino’s guitar playing was good. He looked confident playing it. I will say this, though, and a few others noticed the same thing, Wino looked tentative when he was singing. They’re midway through their tour right now so I don’t know if it’s just my perception or if he’s having some nervousness. The guy is a seasoned veteran so I’m thinking it’s just my perception.
By the time I left, it looked like there were about 70 or so people there, which isn’t bad for a Tuesday night downtown.
-
- Crimson Devils
-
- Karma to Burn
-
- Wino and The Obsessed
-
- Wino’s sig in The Book
-
- Wino signs Metal Massacre VI
Holy Grail & Savage Master Concert Review, Austin, TX, May 31, 2016
Savage Master began their tour with Holy Grail last night here in Austin at Dirty Dog. They had just come off of a European tour that included playing the Keep It True Festival.
Last night’s show was an early show with Savage Master going on at 930PM and headliners, Holy Grail, going on shortly after 1030PM. Perfect.
I saw a couple of songs from each of the two openers. I didn’t hate either of them nor did I really get into them.
Savage Master hit the stage with a revamped lineup due to an abrupt exit by their former drummer. Brandon, formerly their bassist, is handling drum duties for the tour and they have a fill-in bassist. They opened the show with 6 songs from their latest album, With Whips and Chains. I hadn’t heard anything from the album prior to the show beyond the title track. Everything sounded really good. The final 4 songs were from their 2014 debut, Mask of the Devil. Overall they sounded good and it’s always nice to hang out with them. Good people. As with their last show in Austin, I let them stay at my place. I like being able to help my friends when they’re out on the road.
Holy Grail was up next and the crowd got to maybe 50 total…MAYBE. Other than the first time I saw them at SxSW several years back, I’ve not really been able to get into them. They just leave me bored. All competent musicians, just nothing that catches my ear. I left after about 3 or 4 songs.
It’s funny how divisive this band seems to be, though. Most of my friends either love them or hate them. There’s really no middle ground.
Go see Savage Master on this tour. Buy some stuff.
Dictators NYC Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, May 29, 2016
Let’s face facts, I’m not really into much punk rock and I’m not into Manowar beyond their first album, Battle Hymns, but The Dictators have 2 folks that are in The Book that I wanted to have added: Handsome Dick Manitoba (HDM) and Ross the Boss. Add to the fact that my pal, Dean Rispler, plays bass for them, I had to see them.
I had a ticket to their Friday show in Austin and sold it because I had forgotten that Chicago was the same night. That show ended early enough and I ended up at the Dictators show anyhow. To be honest, I just wasn’t feeling it Friday. Not sure why. I was pretty tired and left mid-set to go home.
Dean put me on the guestlist for the Sunday show at The Korova in San Antonio and I got there around 930PM. I saw that a few friends were in the bar next door so I stopped in there for a little bit. As it turned out, Ross the Boss was there and I asked if he’d sign The Book. He laughed at the Manowar photo, signed it, gave me a guitar pick and took a picture with me. Super nice guy. I’m glad he didn’t ask me about Manowar. :)
Jeff from The Offenders and I headed back to Korova as Dallas’ Swingin’ Dicks were setting up. I bought a Dictators shirt then went up front to watch the band. Enjoyable set from this heavyish punk band. The bassist had a gorgeous white ’76 Rickenbacker.
With the backline being shared by the Swingin’ Dicks and The Dictators, it was a quick 20 minute or so break between bands and the on came The Dictators.
The crowd may have gotten up to 100 folks, but just barely. The band was solid, very solid. I classify them more as a garage rock band than punk, but I don’t really know. HDM is a character and the whole band gels together perfectly. Dean’s bassplaying is superb. The band is rounded out with JP “Thunderbolt” Patterson on drums and legendary producer, Daniel Rey, on second guitar.
It was quite an enjoyable show overall minus a few drunk shitheads.
After the show, I got to meet Dick and have him sign The Book. I told him that prior to this week I had never listened to the band, but that after seeing them live this weekend, I was now a fan of the live show and looked forward to seeing them again. “Nothing could make me happier than getting a new fan, man. That means a lot.” He signed The Book, I gave Dean a goodbye hug and headed home.
The Metal Files 
You must be logged in to post a comment.