Posts Tagged ‘concert review’
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.
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.
Satan and Cauldron Concert Review, Philadelphia, PA, October 22, 2016
Another road trip? Sure, why not? This fall has been very busy concert-wise. Kelz and I started making plans for seeing Satan on this east coast jaunt several months ago when we first caught wind of the tour. Once I got the dates, Philadelphia and Richmond made the most sense and I booked my trip.
I flew into Raleigh Friday night after work and we left for Philly Saturday morning. It was a fun drive up as expected. Talking trash and eating Utz Red Hot Chips. I can’t find them in Texas and they’re my favorite. We made a quick stop in VA for a pork BBQ sandwich and continued our way north to PA. Delaware has great roads. Best I’ve ever seen.
We finally got to our hotel around 5:30PM or so and for whatever reason our room wasn’t ready? They gave us a different type of room than what we asked for and I didn’t have to spoon up with Kelz, so that was a plus. ha.
I called Lyft to get us over to either Pat’s or Geno’s for a cheesesteak before the show. Our driver couldn’t figure out how to get into the hotel entrance. She was pretty much the worst driver ever. Couldn’t follow the navigation properly, didn’t wear her seatbelt and was generally just an idiot. Once we finally got to the cheesesteak places, lines were around the block so we took the decision to just walk over to the venue, Boot & Saddle, and grab something there. As we turned the corner, Sean and Steve were getting a few things from the trailer and we spoke to them briefly as Graeme showed up. He needed some wine so they went to a liquor store to take care of business. We went inside and grabbed 2 seats at the bar and ordered some food. Perogis and a corn dog it is!
Ran into some friends there and as we were finishing up dinner, Brian Ross from Satan walks by and I said, “Hey Brian, how’s it going?” He was surprised to see us and hung out with us for quite a while. The venue door was open during Horrendous’ set and I didn’t care. We just stayed where we were and hung with Brian and Russ and whoever else came up. Brian was telling us of his favorite drink, equal parts Jagermeister and Fireball, dubbed The Firemeister. It sounded gross but we did a round of them anyhow. It was gross. I hate Jager. I also got a full download on Brian’s Alive Cooper tribute band that he does. He was showing us photos of his stage show. It’s a full on reproduction of Alice’s live show. I’m planning on attending the show in Newcastle in 2017. With only a few songs left of Cauldron, who we also only heard through the venue door from the bar, Brian scooted off to get his make up for the show. As people shuffled out of the gig for drinks or whatever, we shuffled in to secure spots near the stage.
Satan hit the stage and opened with Trial By Fire and Blades of Steel. The small room was packed and the band was slightly cramped on the small stage. Not a lot of room for moving around for a 5pc band. They sounded great as always. Brian’s voice was brilliant. If you have ever seen them live, you know how good they are. Still amazed that a band that has only been rejuvenated in recent years can still bring it about as hard as any newer band. As expected, the set was a good mix of all three of the Ross-era studio albums.
After the show we go back into the bar area and hang out with friends and the Satan guys came right out after to take photos with fans (like us) and sign stuff. A couple more of those gross Firemeisters were had and neither Kelz nor myself were feeling much pain. haha. It was starting to get late and we were both hungry and needed to soak up the buzz a bit, so we got some Chinese food to go from the place next to the venue and got a quick Lyft ride back to the hotel. This guy was a much better driver. Back at the hotel, were were just eating and laughing and having a grand time. Then the fade hit. We needed to get to sleep so we could head south to Richmond for Sunday’s show.
Quite a wonderful night. Met some great people. If there was anything negative to say about the evening it would be that the dude standing in front of me for the Satan set had body odor that smelled like a litter box. That sucked.
The Metal Files 
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