Posts Tagged ‘broken teeth’
Jack Russell’s Great White & Broken Teeth Concert Review, Austin TX, 12/30/2012
The last time I saw Great White was in 1991 with Scorpions and Trixter (blech!). They played a short set, but I remember them being enjoyable even thought they didn’t play anything from their first 2 albums. A close high school friend had originally turned me on to Great White by loaning me their first EP in 1986 and I was hooked (pun intended). By the time Twice Shy came out in in 1989, I was done with them. Their cover of Ian Hunter’s Once Bitten, Twice Shy was the catalyst. To this day, that song still makes me want to hurl.
About a month or so ago I caught word that Jack Russell’s Great White was going to be playing a smaller Austin venue so of course I bought a ticket. Not to mention I wanted Jack’s signature in The Book.
Broken Teeth opened the show with their new bassist and played a revamped set which included a new song called “Devil On The Road”. They also played a couple of songs live for the first time including “All Hail The Altar” and “Spitting Nails”. The band was in fine form and this was the first show in about 6 months since the sudden passing of their now former bassist, Travis Weiss (RIP). It was great to have them back!
Great White used Teeth’s backline and opened the show with Call It Rock and Roll. I was pleasantly surprised to hear how good Jack’s voice was. He’s been dealing with some health issues in recent years and he looked a little on the frail side…but he got on stage and did a great job. Three songs in and they played On Your Knees from their first EP. That was certainly the highlight song for me. They also played Face the Day, Save Your Love and Rock Me, all songs that I do like a lot. They also mixed in some later Great White songs like House of Broken Love, Mista Bone (ugh) and Desert Moon. They of course closed with Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
The show was lightly attended, maybe 125 max but the band rocked it. Most everyone cleared out immediately after the show. I hung around for a bit to see if I could get Jack to sign the book. He came out for a minutes, signed the book and my friend’s poster then high-tailed it to his bus/van. The tour manager said he wasn’t feeling well.
It was a fun show and it brought out some folks that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was a fine closing to a year of seeing a ton of concerts.
Happy New Year!
Jason McMaster
(photo by Dave TeeVee)
Jack Russell
Jack Russell
Watchtower – Energetic Disassembly (1985)
I remember clearly the first time I saw this on cassette. It was at the Music Man at Military Circle Mall in Norfolk, VA. 
The cover was upside down as compared to how the majority of cassette j-cards were printed. It always struck me as odd but I always felt it was intentional, especially after listening to this album at least 100 times since I first heard it. It certainly turned my mind upside down several times.
My friends and I were pretty shocked by this one. Most of us were into thrash ala Overkill’s Feel the Fire, Anthrax, Testament etc…but this was something different. Something special even.
The album opens with a frenetic frantic pace with crazy guitar riffs, insane bass lines and hyperactive drumming. They don’t stop until the end of the album. Mix all of this with Jason McMaster’s incredible vocals that cut through all of this madness and you have a perfect technical thrash album…perhaps the first truly technical thrash album. Some may debate that one but for me, this is the first.
While I love every song on this album, my absolute favorites are Tyrants In Distress, Violent Change, Meltdown and Argonne Forest. The whole band really seems to just be together and well-rehearsed. Billy White (f. Don Dokken), Doug Keyser and Rick Colaluca just flat out lay it down on this album. Period.
I still don’t feel that this album gets enough respect although some of the major metal players loved them such as Chuck Schuldiner (RIP) and Dream Theater. Watchtower set the standard early for technical metal. Their popularity is Europe still seems to be pretty strong as I believe they’re playing one of the Euro-Metal fests in 2010. It seems that they are still pretty huge in Greece.
While Control and Resistance was a good follow-up and was partially written by Billy White, a lot changed in their sound. Ron Jarzombek (Spastic Ink) and Allan Tecchio (Hades, Non-Fiction) do a fine job, but the loss of Jason McMaster and Billy White took them down a slightly different progressive thrash metal path. Both albums are certainly worth owning, but I have always preferred the debut.
Watchtower is in the studio recording a new album with McMaster on vocals (!!!) and I can’t wait to hear the whole thing. Hopefully I’ll finally get to see them live.
Living here in Austin, TX now, it is great to see how much that band is loved and respected around here. It gives me a warm tingly feeling. It’s also pretty incredible for me to have McMaster in my Motorhead tribute band. He’s a talented musician all the way around and bring a lot of energy to the band on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Certainly one of my musical idols.
If you don’t own Energetic Disassembly and you like thrash, prog-metal, RUSH on steroids, you need to own this one.
Just do it.
“Breakdown, warning – Nuclear nightmare, reality”
Motorhead – Concert Review 092009
Motorhead! I’m always excited when they come to town. Last night was my 6th time seeing them since 1993. They 
never let me down with the live show.
Until last night.
So let’s backtrack and put some story along with this. If you don’t know this already, I have the Another Perfect Day album cover tattooed on my back…my whole back. 88 hours worth of tattoo work. No regrets! I’ve met Lemmy a few times but not since getting my backpiece done. I was hoping last night would be the night. Just wanted a picture of him with my tattoo. Didn’t happen. No big deal, I can live with that. Like I said, met him a few times and always a good experience.
So my guitar player, Doug Morrison, (Turbin, Waysted) and the drummer of Reverend Horton Heat have been close friends since the late 70s and with the Rev on this tour, we got the hookup. Doug and I get there early and have dinner with Paul Simmons (drummer for the Rev) and some of the roadcrew guys from Rev Heat and Motorhead. The guy sitting next to me was pretty special though. It was Hobbs! Hobbs has been with the band for almost 30 years and is mentioned in the song Going to Brazil. I think he may even be the one who screams on We Are The Roadcrew from No Sleep Till Hammersmith. Not important. Hobbs! Talk about a weathered old British soul. He was extremely polite in a typical British sort of way yet as foul mouthed as an old Greek sea captain. He was awesome! Hobbs!
After dinner we headed backstage. Nashville Pussy was setting up their gear and there it was…Lemmy’s bass rack. From a distance I snap a picture and Paul says, “Come on, man. Step over here and get a real look at them.” His beautiful Rickenbacker 4004LK and one of his old Rics with the original hand-carved oak leaves. I got to hold history in my hands! And I couldn’t believe how high the action was on those. Seemingly about 3/8″ off of the fretboard.
So after hyperventilating over that a bit, we all just hung out backstage while Nashville Pussy played. I’ve never been a fan so I had no interest in seeing them. Paul was telling the Motorhead roadcrew guys about my backpiece and they flipped out over it. “Lemmy needs to see this!” Yes sir, I agree!
NP finishes their set and Paul had to get prepared for the Reverend Horton Heat set. Doug and I stayed backstage a little longer. Matt Sorum, (GnR, The Cult, Velvet Revolver) came in and said hi. I mentioned that I had just seen his episode of the Dog Whisperer. “Did Ace and I look like total idiots?” No man, you guys were fine, no worries. Apparently he hadn’t seen it yet. The dude is a class act even if I never cared for his other bands.
So after that, Doug and I just went out in to the crowd to watch the Rev’s set. As always, they were tight. The Rev works the crowd very well. I opened for them back in like 93 or 94 and he’s still the same old cool laid back guy.
The gig was at Stubb’s in Austin, TX. It’s an amphitheater type set up. I’ve never really cared for it all that much. Too narrow and when it gets packed it’s difficult to get around. So we hung out towards the back. Run into several friends, of course. Ran into my other guitarist, Jason McMaster (Broken Teeth, Watchtower, Dangerous Toys) and he says, “Hey man! You need to meet an old friend of mine, Craig Behrhorst.” I said, “From Ruffians?” Craig said, “How did you know that?” Sir, I am an 80s metal nerd. Plain and simple. Turned out that Doug knew him as well. I guess Craig’s sister used to hang out with Doug and his friends back in the old Sunset Strip days. I also ran into Art Villareal and Bob Catlin, both of SA SLayer/Juggernaut fame. They are both in Martyhead, a Motorhead tribute from San Antonio. Of course I have a Motorhead tribute here in town called Capricorn USA. That’s the band with Doug and Jason.
Whatever, you don’t care. You want to know about the Motorhead show!
Light’s go down and they open with Iron Fist. Sweet! I love that song. But I swear it sounded a little slower than album speed. Stay Clean was next. Same thing. The band was tight. Sorum held his own pretty well for the whole night but they really seemed lifeless to me. Everything seemed slow. To be honest I was bored until mid-set when they played a few tracks from Another Perfect Day. Matt’s drumming on everything was pretty good. Who knew the guy could play double bass? But then, they played Ace of Spades. Of course everyone knows that songs and the drunks in the crowd and the kids who only know it from Guitar Hero were freaking out. Matt’s drumming killed it. His bass drum pattern was all wrong. It put the song in a weird dynamic. I recently saw a vid from one of the shows a few weeks ago with him and it was the same thing. I hate to say it (again), but I was so bored for most of their show. They were missing a key element to their modern sound…MIKKEY DEE.
Mikkey’s a phenomenal drummer. I’ve known it since I first heard King Diamond’s Abigail and got to experience his playing live on the Them tour. Mikkey was the main reason why I ever went to see Motorhead the very first time in 1993. I wasn’t into them at all at that point and oddly enough I don’t like but a handful of songs from his era. But the live show with him is intense. If you’ve seen him play, you get it. He’s a monster. And with Motorhead, he certainly tightened them up. They were always fast, vicious. “We may not be the best band in the world, but we’re certainly the fastest” Lemmy said years and years ago on their famous No Sleep TIll Hammersmith album.
Last night they weren’t fast. There was just no electricity. Sometimes I think I am just getting old and crotchety. I do tend to get hyper-critical when it comes to live shows, but I’ve always been that way. I can never just sit back and enjoy it, I always have to dissect it. Oh well. My problem, not yours, eh?
The setlist was pretty good overall, it was just the feel and the pace of the songs that got to me. Most people I know loved it and I am glad they had a good time. I did too, actually. I got to see some people I hadn’t seen in a while and got to meet a few new folks.
Setlist:
Iron Fist
Stay Clean
Be My Baby
Rock Out
Metropolis
Over the Top
One Night Stand
I Got Mine
The Thousand Names of God
Another Perfect Day
In the Name of Tragedy
Just ‘Cos You Got the Power
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Bomber
Whorehouse Blues
Ace of Spades
Overkill
Sure Lem’s in his 60s now and not everyone can do it like they used to. No matter the performance from last night, I’ll always go see them. It’s Motorhead!
He said something last night that I heard him say the previous 2 times I saw them, “Don’t forget us.”
That line saddens me.
After all, who ever could?
The Metal Files 
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