Posts Tagged ‘concerts’
Faster Pussycat Concert Review, Houston TX, 3/7/2013
I’m on temporary work assignment in Houston and saw last week that Faster Pussycat was playing right up the street from my hotel. I’d seen them a couple of times before including being able to open for them in 2003 when they were on tour with Pretty Boy Floyd and Enuff z’Nuff. That was a fun night for sure. On to last night…I had been sick all day and laid up in my hotel room from diverticulosis. Lucky me. By dinner time, I was feeling a little bit better and had enough energy to go and grab a bite to eat. I drove up the road to find the venue after dinner and hung out in my truck for a little while trying to decide whether I was going to go in or not. Ultimately (and obviously) I went in. Quite an interesting crowd at this north Houston venue. The groupie girls were definitely in full effect, most of whom are really past their prime. Sorry ladies, you’re looking rough these days.
While sitting there wading through some opening bands who were so horrid that they shall remain nameless, Danny Nordahl, bassist for Faster Pussycat, walked in. When we played with them in ’03, he and I talked for a long time, mostly about Thin Lizzy. The custom guitar picks I was using at the time had Phil Lynott on them and I gave him one, since he said he was out of picks. Last night I mentioned to him about that show and he said something to the effect of ‘you’re the dude that gave me that guitar pick with Phil on it. I still have that!’ Sweet! We hung out for a few while the last opener was clearing the stage and then it was showtime.
They were slated to go on at 10:30 but ended up being closer to 11. I was getting really tired but I stuck around for for about half of the set. Taime was his typical self. His voice sounded pretty good and the band was pretty solid. I think my favorite thing about the show was that Taime held an unlit cigarette in his hand the whole night. It was quite funny.
Faster Pussycat is one of the few “hair bands” that I like and their first 3 albums are pretty good.
I stayed for 6 songs, but could only recall 5.
Testament, Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam & 4arm Concert Review, Austin TX, 2/5/2013
Not too long ago it was announced that Testament, Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam, and 4arm were coming to Emo’s. What a lineup! I bought a ticket as soon as they went on sale.
Let’s just get right into this. You’ve seen me talk about The Book several times and my outer metal nerd was in full effect yesterday. I left work and went straight to the venue to do some hanging around trying to catch up with Bobby and DD from Overkill and the Flotsam guys.
There was a guy and his son hanging out as well who had made a nice huge canvas screen print of a current Overkill photo with their logo on it. When those guys rolled up, they signed it cheerfully. I had Bobby and DD sign the book and got the usual question of, “What the hell is this?” Right after Overkill headed to their hotel, Gene Hoglan came out of the venue and I spoke with him for a little bit. Ten years ago I gave him a ride from his Strapping Young Lad show to go see Nuclear Assault at another venue. We laughed about shoving his huge frame into my little Saturn wagon.
A few minutes later I saw a friend of mine who works at the venue and he went ahead and walked me in with him before they started letting people in. Testament was doing their paid meet and greet on the patio and I was standing at the merch booth when Eric AK from Flotsam walked up. I shook his hand, talked to him about my F&J history of seeing them in Virginia. He remembered both venues saying something to the effect of, “The Peppermint Beach Club? Cool place on the beach? Loved playing there. But the Boathouse was a dump.” Mustaine said the same thing about the Boathouse when I met him in ’06. I loved that place (RIP), but whatever. Mike Gilbert came up as we were snapping a picture and photo-bombed it. I then had both guys sign the book and again a “WTH?” reaction. Eric said, “Come find us after the show, we’ll get Kelly and Ed to check this book out.” Sweet!
The doors open up and a small crowd shuffles in. Australia’s 4arm was the opener at 645PM. I had just listened to a few of their songs earlier and while not overly impressed, I didn’t think it was awful…other than their name. They had a 30 minute set of standard thrash and were solid. I heard a little Slayer meets Bay Area Thrash in their sound. They were solid enough, but nothing groundbreaking.
Up next came Flotsam and Jetsam. They sounded great and to be honest were the band I was most excited about seeing. The last time was 1992 opening for Mercyful Fate. They were only given 35 minutes for a set and just came on and killed it. They sounded great in general, minus some sound issues from Ed Carlson’s amp…snap crackle and pop were all in attendance. Haha. They played Hammerhead and Escape from Within and 3 others. They were super solid, though. Kelly’s drumming was still as spot on as it was 20 years ago. I stood about 3 people from the barricade with a huge smile on my face the whole time they were on. Just great. Eric’s vocals started a little rough in the first song, but by song #2, he was in full AK mode sounding great and powerful. I’m ready to see them again ASAP and hopefully with a longer set. Eric told me after the show that they’d definitely add Der Fuhrer and She Took An Axe when they tour on their own. I almost squealed like a little girl.
Overkill was up next and to be honest I wasn’t enthused about it. I absolutely love Feel the Fire and Taking Over and a few tracks each from Under the Influence and Years of Decay, but without Rat Skates’ insane drumming and Bobby Gustafson’s uniquely styled riffs, they lost a lot. That this man’s opinion. Overkill hit the stage and I got what I expected, a cross section of their long career. They did Rotten to the Core and Wrecking Crew and while I love those songs, they just didn’t feel right last night. Way too fast and a tad sloppy. Almost like ‘let’s just get through these as fast as we can’. I’m such a curmudgeon. They also played Elimination and Fuck You, but I only heard them from outside the venue and my friend Carlos who was getting ready to interview Flotsam called me to their bus to get Ed and Kelly to sign the book. Score! I’d missed Overkill the last 2 times they were here and I had heard that they were both good shows and that they had even played Deny the Cross(!!!). But not last night. Oh well.
Last night was my 7th time seeing Testament since ’87 on The Legacy Tour opening for Anthrax. They’ve never put on a bad show in my opinion and tonight they were on it. I think Chuck Billy’s voice sounded better than it has in years. He used his cleaner voice more than the rough voice he’s done a lot live in recent years. The setlist was a good mix of old and new with all of the usual suspects except for one, and to me it’s a major one…Disciples of the Watch was not played. To me, that is the defining Testament song. I can’t have everything, right? But overall the band was great. The new album is good and a lot better than Formation of Damnation. Gene Hoglan was on the kit again for this tour and the guy is so incredibly awesome that it hurts my soul a little. He’s so fluid in his playing that it makes it look like he’s not even trying. Skolnick’s playing was spot on as always but I always get the feeling that he’d rather be doing his solo jazz thing these days.
Overall it was a great night for $20! I bought a shirt from both Flotsam and Testament, Overkill didn’t have a design that I liked. Saw lots of friends and made some new ones. Flotsam said they’ll be doing a US tour after their new album, Ugly Noise, comes out in April. I hope they can make some Texas dates. Great to see Austin continuing to get some quality metal tours.
I didn’t get any shots of Overkill or Testament as I was playing the “old man” and hung out near the back of the venue.
4ARM
More Flots
Erik AK says, “Horns up!”
Eric AK and I being photo-bombed by Mike Gilbert
Sigs from “Blitz” and DD of Overkill in The Book
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
Bryan Adams Concert Review, Austin, TX 12/15/2012
Even though metal is my favorite music in general, I do enjoy a lot of non-metal music and Bryan Adams’ early rock stuff has always been a favorite of mine. I don’t really care for much of his 90s soundtrack ballad stuff but always held a ton of respect for the guy. He knows how to write good hooks.
A few months back ACL Live At The Moody Theater announced that Bryan was coming on tour. I bought tickets on the presale and got front row balcony, my favorite section in my favorite venue in Austin. Immediately after buying the tickets I noticed that this was going to be an acoustic show. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! The date of the show ended up being the same day I was moving into a new house and I figured that I would either just sell them or give them away. I had trouble doing both. We finished the move pretty early and I decided that I would just go ahead and go even though I was super tired and still getting over some health issues that have brought me down this week (kidney stone and diverticulosis). After taking one last stab at a few girls I know in town who didn’t have to work, I finally asked my pal Jason K to go. He’s a hard rocker/musician that, like me, likes a variety of stuff. He agreed to go, we met up at a bar and took a pedicab to the venue since I can’t do a lot of walking right now.
We both went into this show thinking it was going to be some weak ass, boring set of Bryan sitting in a chair doing slowed down versions of his hits. Thankfully that wasn’t the case.
When we got to our seats, there was a mic and a grand piano on stage. Bryan hits the stage with a top hat on, removes it and goes right into Run To You. I was a bit stunned as to how good his voice sounded. The song in general sounded great, even as an acoustic version.
He went right into It’s Only Love (sans Tina Turner of course). After this song he talked for a minute and mentioned that he had been writing music for himself and others for almost 40 years. The crowd started yelling out some of his hits and said, “We’ll get to those.” There was a quick lull between the crowd and what he was about to say and I blurted out “War Machine!” He heard me and said, “Man, I don’t even know what song that is.” He paused for a second as the wheels turned in his head and he said, “Oh man…wait, that is really fucking obscure. No one has ever requested that song at any of my shows!” In case you didn’t know, War Machine is a KISS song from Creatures of the Night that Bryan had co-written.
He continued on with more and less popular songs from his repertoire and did a lot of interactions with people in the crowd. There was a girl sitting in the front row with an empty seat beside her and he asked her where her date was. She said he was driving in from Dallas and be there soon. Bryan said, “Get your phone out and call him, I’d like to speak to him. She dialed his number and handed him the phone. He asked the guy how long he would be. “10 minutes? Ok. Should we wait for you? Oh, this is Bryan. Bryan Adams. The guy you’re coming to see.” It was really cool to see that type of interaction. He also had the girl switch places with a dude so when the guy got there, he’d be a little confused about what was happening. He messed with the guy saying that his girl had left and that he had found him a new date. It was all quite funny.
He continued through several more songs, left the stage and came back for a six song encore. He had a pianist with him who played on about 3/4 of the songs.
The show ended up being much better than I expected and I am really glad that I went even though I felt like hell. If there was one disappointment for me, personally, it was that he didn’t play One Night Love Affair. That’s by far my favorite if his. Maybe that was a difficult one to play acoustic. I don’t know. He played everything else that I would have wanted to hear and even a few older tracks that I had forgotten about. It was a great show and that guy is a great performer.
Can I get my metal card back now?
Aerosmith & Cheap Trick Concert Review, Austin, TX 11/16/2012
Having just seen Cheap Trick a few months ago and having had such a great time at that show, when the second leg of Aerosmith’s Global Warming Tour was announced, I knew I had to go. This was not a cheap show by any stretch of the imagination and I think partially because this show was sponsored by/centered around the Formula 1 (F1) race that is in Austin this weekend. Thousands of people from around the world have come to town to watch cars go fast at a premium price. More power to ’em, I say.
I bought 2 tickets to the show as I figured it would be pretty easy to have a friend tag a long. For various and sundry reasons ranging from work, lies, sickness etc, it was difficult finding someone to come with. Finally my friend’s girlfriend stepped up and came with me. Perfect. She’s a good friend and we’re almost related. haha.
We walked to the Erwin Center, checked out the shirts and found our seats. We were a little higher in the stands than I would have liked, but that’s what I got in the ticket presale. No biggie.
Cheap Trick hit the stage promptly at 8PM to their standard opener of Hello There and went right in to Come On, Come On. The band sounded great and Robin’s voice was crystal clear as it was a few months ago. Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) came out and played guitar with them on Ain’t That A Shame which was super cool. A few songs later and right after Sick Man Of Europe (great song!) they announced that they would do a Beatles song. Steven Tyler (Aerosmith – duh) came out and split vocal duties on Golden Slumber/Carry That Weight/The End. While I’m no Beatles fan, it’s blatantly obvious that both Cheap Trick and Aerosmith are. It was a cool thing to see them on stage together. They closed with I Want You To Want Me, Dream Police and Surrender. I was hoping to hear She’s Tight again but no biggie. Cheap Trick changes their set up every night which is quite impressive. The crowd left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t even half full for most of their set. Either way, Cheap Trick sounded great again and I can’t wait to see them for a 4th time, whenever that may be.
After about a 30 minute set change, Aerosmith hits the stage with Mama Kin. On the first leg of this tour they had been opening with Draw The Line. Unfortunately that song fell from the setlist for this leg. It’s my fave! They went right in to Love In An Elevator (gag) and that was my cue to go to the bathroom. I really dislike that era of Aerosmith in general, save for a few songs. As my buddy put it last night, “they played the soccer mom setlist.” No truer statement could be told. It was cool to hear Movin’ Out and Last Child, which was my brother’s (RIP) favorite song by them. Hearing that one definitely sent a little wave of emotion up through me. What It Takes sounded great and that’s probably my favorite song from that era of the band. There were a few songs from the new album played and of course they did Come Together (I detest the Beatles in general), Dude Looks like a Lady (gag), Walk This Way (heard too many times to enjoy), Dream On and Sweet Emotion. Right before Dream On, a piano was to rise up out of the runway portion of the stage. It seemed as if there was a Spinal Tap moment about to happen as the piano wouldn’t move. But it finally did and they played through the song perfectly. While I’ve heard that song too many times in a lifetime, I still like it.
Tyler’s voice sounded great and the energy that the man has is practically unparallelled by any rock singer. His interactions with the crowd and just overall gender bending charm are unmatched. I think he’s a freak of nature to have done the things to his body that he has done and still be able to perform at that level. It’s impressive. Perry played well but I’ve always thought of Whitford being the unsung hero of that band. That guy is a killer guitarist but gets zero credit. Joey Kramer, as always, played flawlessly. I love seeing him live. Let’s not forget Tom Hamilton. Talk about unsung. He’s a lot like Bill Wyman in that he’s seemingly the quiet one in the band but lays down low end perfectly. He and Joey are definitely in tune with each other as they should be after playing together for 40 years.
It was a great show and was my 3rd time seeing Aerosmith (’89 and ’93 previously). It was also my 3rd time for Cheap Trick (’99 and ’12).
The Metal Files 
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