Posts Tagged ‘concert review’
KISS Review, Raleigh, NC, May 17, 2022
This is a story about many things, but mostly of friends, KISS and how small of a world we live in.
Let’s just start with me being a huge fan of 70s KISS. I’ve told the story often about how my older brother Robert (RIP) stole a copy of Dressed To Kill from Montgomery Ward when I was a kid and that got me hooked on KISS immediately. Forever thankful that my brother was a thief I guess. Haha. I do prefer the 70s and some of the 80s stuff, but mainly the makeup era for sure.
But let’s get on with this story. I play poker…A LOT…and a couple of weeks prior to this show I was playing at a friend’s house where we play about every other month with fellow friends in our industry as well as some other friends of Steve’s (the host). That night a friend of a friend came to play and was seated next to me. He is in his early 60s and we got to talking about music and we connected pretty quickly. He tells me that he manages Earth Wind and Fire, Smokey Robinson and works with Doc McGhee (KISS). I tell him about how big of a KISS fan I am and show him some info about “The Book” and how much I’d love to get those guys in there. “I can make that happen.” Oh? He gives me his card and says to contact him over the weekend and he would see what he could do for the upcoming Raleigh show. He left mid-poker game to take care of some band business and that was that.
The next morning I send him a text with my contact info and he said he’d get back to me. I didn’t book my flight yet because you never know how real stuff like this is. I didn’t hear back from him until the following Wednesday and he said, “You’re all set up. I couldn’t get the meet and greet as it was filled up and still very limited, but I have you +1 and you’re gonna love your seats.” WHAAAAAAT? Sweet! I thanked him about 20 times then went and booked my flight. My best friend Chris lives in Raleigh so he was going to be my +1, mainly because he was available and I needed a place to sleep while I was there, not because I wanted to see him again so soon after Hell’s Heroes. Ha.
So I get to Raleigh on Monday afternoon and we go and grab dinner and a couple drinks before heading to his place. We get there, hang out with his wife and then crash out.
We get up Tuesday and he’s got to get his boys ready for school and work and I also had work to do, so we took care of business as we needed to and then got ready to head to the Walnut Creek Amphitheater for the show. We hit a record store, found nothing of interest and went across the street to a little bar and grabbed dinner and a couple of drinks and made our way through the show traffic to get parked. I was a little nervous since I didn’t have tickets in hand that maybe we didn’t get hooked up so I went to will call and gave her my ID and she handed me an envelope. Whew. We were prepared to buy cheap seats just in case we didn’t get tix. I opened the envelope and I saw that we were in section 2, row N. Ooooooh, those sound close.
Once inside, we bought an overpriced drink and meet up with some friends for a bit. After that we go to our seats and WHOA…we’re close. We’re dead center in the front section and only about 10-12 rows back. I was shocked to be honest. These are not cheap seats, especially at a KISS show.
As we’re sitting down, I have a woman and her kid next to me and we get into a conversation. She was in visiting from Corpus Christi, TX and I tell her I was in from Austin. Come to find out, she got hooked up through the same guy I did. Her best friend is this guy’s neighbor and her friend got them hooked up for the show. Oddly enough, I know her friend as well. Her daughter is 11 or 12 and is a massive KISS fan. I sent a message to the guy and their picture and he was ecstatic that we had connected. What a small world! Just a crazy connection.
So there we were, all anticipating KISS hitting the stage. Chris isn’t a fan, but that was only because he didn’t get that exposure in his younger years like many of us did, but he was also looking forward to seeing it live. And then boom, the curtain drops and there they are opening with Detroit Rock City and I got an instant boost of energy. They rolled through the same set that they have been playing for a while but it was a solid list overall minus Say Yeah and Psycho Circus. Of course I would have loved more from Rock and Roll Over but oh well. They were solid and both Gene and Paul’s voices sounded good. There was only one spot in one song that I think Paul used something canned, but the rest of the night sounded natural to my ears. The show was absolutely fun and I had only seen KISS one other time and that was within the last 10 years. One of the things I loved the most was watching Jeanette’s kid have such a great time seeing her favorite band. KISS knows how to put on a show. Towards the end they dropped large KISS balloons and I caught one to give to her kid. She was excited about it. I had such a great time and getting to see my best friend enjoy a band he wasn’t all that into and meeting new friends made it a wonderful night all around.
The show ends and as we’re walking out covered in confetti and Jeanette mentioned that she was going to try and get an Uber to get back to their hotel. I told her she’d likely be waiting forever and that we could give her a ride. So we get back to Chris’ vehicle, throw the large balloon in the back and head to their hotel. Quick hugs and goodbyes at the hotel and we were off to find a late night snack and drink. We found it, but it wasn’t that great. Whatever. Back to the house and we crashed out pretty quickly.
The next morning, we both do some work, catch his wife up on how the show went and the “small world” story. Once we both got caught up on work, I packed and showered and we headed off to hit a BBQ restaurant to get my belly filled with some eastern NC style pork BBQ since I can’t get that style here in Texas. Off to the airport from there. I had a connection through Atlanta and ran into a poker buddy there who was headed back to Austin.
What a great time. No matter that KISS is still Gene, Paul and “those other guys”, they still kill it live. They’re obviously not young guys anymore but can still put on as good of a show as anyone.
KISS FOREVER. And a million thanks to Mike for the hookup.
Flotsam and Jetsam Concert Review, Austin, TX, May 14, 2018
This could also be titled: “NEEEEEEEERRRRRD!” I guess most of my posts could be called that.
Last night was pretty huge for me in general. Since first hearing Chastain’s Ruler of the Wasteland in high school, I’ve been a huge fan of drummer Ken Mary’s work. Most folks know about his time in Chastain, Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO and a slew of others and there’s no need to go too in depth on his discography as that info is all out there for anyone to look up.
In recent years and thanks to the internet I’ve been able to connect with Ken and always had hopes to meet and see him play. A year or so ago Fifth Angel did a reunion and I considered flying out for that but saw that Ken had some shoulder issues and had to bow out of the shows. Recently he stepped in with Flotsam and Jetsam after Jason Bittner left to join Overkill. He ended up doing the Keep It True show in Germany a couple of weeks ago and is on Flotsam’s upcoming album. He’s also doing the current tour with them and that’s where this story gets us to yesterday.
Doors for last night’s show were at 7PM and I arrived around 6:30 in hopes to catch the band, do some metal nerd stuff and whatever. As I pulled up, Erik AK was outside the bus while the trailer was getting some welding done to the ramp gate. We started talking and I asked if they had dinner plans and if not, I’d be glad to take them to dinner. He rounded up the troops, did a quick round of introductions and we walked over to the Jackalope for some burgers and beers. Of course I was stoked to hang out with Ken and jibber jabber on the walk over. Once at the Jackalope, the guys took pictures on the giant rabbit and I ordered up drinks and food for everyone. It was great talking with them about the old shows at the Boathouse in Norfolk, VA where I had seen them several times in the 80s and 90s and talking with Ken about his time in Chastain, Cooper etc. The guys really enjoyed the food and the restaurant in general. As we walked back I mentioned having some stuff to get signed and was invited on the bus to get that taken care of.
Once there, the first thing I had Ken sign was The Book. Obviously he’s got numerous entries in there but I wanted to have him sign on the Chastain band photo. I already head Leather, David and Mike sign it in recent years and Ken was the final piece. Michael Gilbert, the only other original member with Eric AK, signed my Doomsday and Flotsam (2016) LPs. I had gotten his and Eric’s signatures in The Book a few years back. Added bonus was Michael Spencer being back in the band on bass. I had him sign in the Sentinel Beast section. Score! Of course I had a stack of LP covers for Ken. It was really cool having him tell stories about each of the bands. I had the rest of the band sign the 2016 F&J LP as well and then I made my exit off of the bus to let them rest up before their show. Added bonus, I got to hear 3 rough mixes from their upcoming album while we were on the bus. “Want to hear some of the new album?” “Is that a real question?” It sounded killer and Ken’s on drums for that one, too. I also asked if they were playing Der Fuhrer from the debut LP. Eric said they sound checked with it but didn’t plan to play it. “We’ll add it for you. Thanks for dinner.” SWEET.
After putting my nerd stuff back in the car, I needed to just chill out for a bit before their set and hung out on the patio and caught up with some friends.
Flotsam was scheduled to go on at 10:20PM. Love early shows! They ended up going on closer to 10:30 and opened with Monkey Wrench from their 2016 LP then went into Hammerhead. The already small crowd thinned out a little but the ones who stayed let Flotsam know they were appreciated. The setlist mixed up a lot of stuff from Doomsday, No Place, the 2016 LP and one from Drift. The band was solid and Eric’s voice sounded good. This was the first show of the latest leg of their Forbidden Territories of the World Tour and we were lucky to have them as a headliner as they end up in the opening slot with Hammerfall for much of the tour. That tour rolls back around in June in San Antonio and I’ll likely hit that show as well. Michael Spencer is a beast of a bassist, very impressive. Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley (F5) shred well together and of course the highlight for me was watching Ken play. He’s not an overly busy drummer but adds the right amount of flash and technique when needed and had some nifty stick tricks here and there. After the encore song, Doomsday for the Deceiver, Ken handed me a stick and Steve gave me his pick. They were done just before midnight. PERFECT.
What an incredible evening all around with a killer band and some good friends. Super thankful to Ken and Flotsam for letting me intrude on their time for a bit.
Click photos to see comments.
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.
Y&T Concert Review, Austin, TX, April 14, 2017
Sorry to all 8 of my faithful readers, I’ve been super slack in keeping up with show reviews lately but trying to get my ass in gear again.
A strange thing happened Friday night in Austin, TX. A couple of things actually. Let’s just line these out:
- Y&T played in downtown Austin
- Y&T played an almost full house
- Y&T did not play San Antonio on this current tour
You may not see these things as strange, but San Antonio seemingly has had a lock on many of the classic hard rock and metal bands that still tour. Y&T has played there at least 6 times in the last decade and hadn’t played Austin since 1987. As many know, San Antonio had a legendary DJ named Joe Anthony who helped make a lot of bands popular in San Antonio and elsewhere for that matter. He did a lot for the scene and even years after his death (RIP), San Antonio still holds that era near and dear to their hearts, and rightfully so.
But it’s nice to see that the winds are changing a little bit. When this show was booked at one of Austin’s newer venues, 3Ten, I was a bit surprised. It’s in the fancier part of downtown attached to the W Hotel and Austin City Limits Live. I was really wondering how attendance would be for this location. To be honest, I imagined about 50-60 would show up.
I’d not been to this venue yet but took a ride into downtown loaded with my Y&T vinyl and ready to rock with Meniketti and Co. Upon arrival, I ran into some good friends and in we went. The venue is just basically an open box with the stage at the far end and a bar on the right side. But it’s a nice place and obviously owned by ACL Live.
There was no opening act and Y&T hit the stage promptly at 9. As we were getting our spots near the stage, we were all surprised by how many people were filling in. I was shocked. I would have expected this show to be booked at Dirty Dog or Grizzly Hall but whatever, this was a good thing. They hit the stage and dove right into Lipstick and Leather and followed that up with Don’t Stop Runnin’, which is my favorite song by them and easily in my top 20 songs all time by any band. I had goosebumps through the whole song. So many great memories of that song from a time long gone.
The band sounded great. They mix up the setlists every night but keeping most of the hits in there. Every song was great. The band have been road warriors since their inception and it shows in how tight they are. Upon introducing Winds of Change, Dave mentioned the recent deaths of original members Joey Alves and Leonard Haze and of Phil Kennemore in 2011. That’s got to be hard knowing you’re the only one left.
They totally killed it though. Their backing vocals are great and Meniketti is an underrated guitar god.
This may sound goofy but I was proud of this town for showing up and it was obvious a lot of long time fans were there as you could hear people singing along all throughout the venue. Granted one of their biggest cheers came from Summertime Girls, which I understand, but they had so many great songs. Of course people were just calling out song titles in between songs and Dave asked a girl in a wheelchair down front what she wanted to hear. She asked for Let Me Go and Dave said they had only played that 10 times or less since it came out…then they nailed it. Someone else had yelled out “Game Playing Woman!” from the first album. Dave laughed and started playing the riff. The other guitarist and drummer fell right in perfectly. The new bassist didn’t know that one. They only did a piece of it but it was impressive seeing Dave just whip it out off the cuff and still remember the riffs and words.
After the show, Dave came out to hang with the fans. It’s always great hearing his stories and he loves to talk about the olden days. Since I had a stack of stuff to get signed, I hung back to let folks say hi, get photos and such. He was super gracious signing my 7 LP covers and their 2010 CD cover. He talked about how extremely happy that they were about the show and that he was a little worried about attendance but that from now on, he’s planning to book Austin instead of San Antonio for future tours. Score! He said the last few shows down there weren’t very well attended or as enthusiastic as this one.
One observation: what’s with dudes my age and up in bedazzled jeans and shirts?
It was a great show all around and I highly recommend seeing them. If you weren’t a fan before, I guarantee you’ll be one after the show.
Queensryche & Armored Saint Concert Review, San Antonio, November 22, 2016
I’ve been working in Houston during the week lately and have missed some shows that I wanted to see lately as I cross paths with the bands while traveling between Austin and Houston. Missing Diamond Head hurt a little. Even though I’m not a huge fan, I have always wanted to see them live. Such is life.
I picked up tix for Leanne, Rodney and myself and headed to Alamo City Music Hall. I don’t like this venue at all. The sound is horrible and stage lighting for the bands just sucks, but they get quality shows so that’ll keep me coming back. As we arrived I got in touch with Armored Saint guitarist, Jeff Duncan, who I’ve known for some years. We hung outside at their bus for a little while while the opening band played. Great dude, killer guitarist.
We caught the last few songs of Midnight Eternal. They were listenable keyboard-heavy metal. After a quick set change, Saint came out an executed their short set flawlessly. Bush’s voice was squarely in tact and the whole band was on fire. I just wish the sound in that place wasn’t so shitty. I really like Saint’s latest album, Win Hands Down, and they opened with that track. They mixed the set up from some of the other shows so we didn’t get Last Train Home or Nervous Man, two of my favorites, but it didn’t detract from their performance.
Queensryche was up next and I hadn’t seen them with Todd yet. Overall I’m not a huge fan of anything of theirs post-Rage for Order. I know I’m in the metal minority when I say I don’t care much for Operation Mindcrime. While the band played perfectly and Todd sounded absolutely amazing, we were both pretty bored and left during their 4th song. I did get to hear Best I Can, which I do like a lot. Again, sound is such a huge issue with this place.
Looked like about 400ish people were there which is a good showing for a Tuesday night.
The Metal Files 
You must be logged in to post a comment.