Posts Tagged ‘heavy metal’
Judas Priest Concert Review, Cedar Park, TX, May 14, 2015
Poster art by Billy Perkins
Priest returned to Central Texas last night to conquer the mighty town of…wait. what? Cedar Park? Alright then. Cedar Park! To talk to people in Austin, you’d think Cedar Park was 1000 miles away, and sometimes when dealing with traffic around here, getting to the north side of town to cross over into Cedar Park can be daunting, especially during rush hour. But Priest wasn’t hitting the stage until 930PM, so traffic should not have been and was not an issue. We zoomed right in and got parked. Making it even easier to get in was the fact that the show wasn’t sold out. Not even close. The newer Cedar Park Center (CPC) is a great venue and can hold up to 8,700 for concerts, according to their website. I dare say there were 5,000 in attendance last night. I think several factors led to this. (1) Concert in Cedar Park and no one likes driving up there, (2) Priest just played here in November supporting the same album, (3) GA floor price was $70 and seats were around $50. But I still went even though I had seen the November show.
This was only my second time seeing them with Halford. The show was pretty much the same as the November show with the addition of Hellion/Electric Eye and Painkiller. Painkiller was a way better closer than the snoozefest of Defenders of the Faith. Faulkner seemed a little more controlled as well. He was all over the place in November. Beyond the Realms of Death did give me the same chills it did at the last show.
To be honest I almost didn’t go last night and was going to give my ticket away, but once I got there and ran into everyone, my spirits were kicked up and I was ready to rock out.
Click on the photos to enlarge. Most of mine sucked, so I used a lot of DaveTV by permission.
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- Picture by David Prewitt/DaveTV
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- Picture by David Prewitt/DaveTV
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- The blue dots are seats not sold as of a few hours before the show. The GA floor wasn’t even half filled.
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- Picture by David Prewitt/DaveTV
Ragnarokkr Metal Apocalypse 2015 Concert Review, Chicago, IL, May 1 & 2, 2015
Wow. What another great weekend in Chicago. This was my second year attending this festival and it was a lot of fun, albeit tiring.
Like last year, Kelz flew in from NC and met me at the airport on Thursday. Local friends Rodney and Brent also flew along and we all rode together to the hotel. We chilled out for a bit at the hotel then headed over to a pizza place to meet with some fest regulars prior to the pre-party. I wasn’t so into my pizza but the Peroni on tap was right on. After eating we headed over to a great dive called The Mutiny and rocked out some great old metal. There were a few merch vendors as well. I was pretty worn out and so were Chris and Rodney so we headed back to the hotel. We had a long day ahead.
Early Friday consisted of going to Portillo’s for lunch and inhaling their incredible Italian beef sandwich. So incredibly awesome. Afterwards I napped. I wanted to get to Reggie’s for the fest as the doors were opening, mainly to catch Satan’s Hallow in which a good friend plays guitar. They’re a newer band and have only released 2 songs, but those songs are great. They were great! I really love Mandy’s vocal delivery and the riffs are good. New pal, Poncho, was filling in on bass and was absolutely badass. I see good things ahead for this band.
Twisted Tower Dire was up next and I had last seen them in 1999 with the old singer. Their power metal set was solid and they now share singer and a guitarist with Walpyrgus.
Cleveland’s Vatican came on next and I caught most of their set. Vince and company laid it down playing most of their Metalmorphosis re-release. They were fun to watch and their singer has some serious pipes. Added bonus getting those guys added to The Book!
With the fest having two stages, bands overlap and during Vatican’s set, Hessian started on the smaller stage and I wanted to catch a little of their set. While they were solid, they weren’t my thing.
Back to the main stage for my friends, Dantesco. I met them in Puerto Rico last year and was excited to see them. They were great. Powerful, heavy and Erico’s vocals were right on point. The crowd dug them a lot.
Back to the smaller stage for Kantation which featured Martin Debourge who fronted a more recent version of Damien Thorne. His vocals sounded great and the band was solid. Martin’s a good dude.
Salem’s Wych was up next and their set was a little loose. This was their first show since the 80s. Pretty legendary though.
I saw just a little of Beyond Fallen but wanted to catch Q5 on the main stage. They sounded really good. They were one of the biggest surprises to me. I had listened to them back in the old days but it didn’t catch on with me. I got to meet them in the green room before the show and they were super cool. Three original members got added to The Book.
I caught most of Ostrogoth’s set and they were pretty good. Their drummer is the only original member left and he’s an awesome guy. I caught a little bit of Iron Finger and they were ok, solid, but not my thing.
Then…LIEGE LORD. I’ve been a fan since randomly buying Burn to My Touch based on having an album cover by Ioannis (Fates Warning, Warlord, Obsession). Let’s make no mistake about it, I prefer the Andy Michaud era. Master Control never did anything for me but I was still stoked to see them live. They were another band I got to meet prior to them hitting the stage and they were all cool dudes. When showing Joe Comeau The Book, he said, “Ah cool. I have one of these” and continued to tell me a story about the promo shoot that the photo (see below) was taken from. Only original member, Tony Truglio, was also very nice. They opened with 2 from Master Control then Dark Take from Freedom’s Rise. Cast Out from Burn to My Touch was next and it sounded awesome. The band was tight and the crowd was loving it. They rolled through Rainbow’s Kill The King, a couple more from Master then went into Speed of Sound. I nearly lost my shit on that one. One of my favorites from Burn. Their whole set was good and I was so glad I finally got to see them. Then back to the hotel for the typical late night jibber jabber and sleep.
Saturday, Kelz and I went to a taqueria and had some awesome food. Afterwards we drove over to Cabrini-Green, the site that the TV show Good Times was based on. That used to be a very rough area. “The projects”. Now it’s all condos and heavily gentrified. Was hoping for some sort of historical monument to JJ and the family but it was nowhere to be found.
Saturday’s show started a little earlier at 4:30 and got started with Kentucky’s Savage Master. They were solid but not completely my thing. There’s a buzz about them and I think it’s mainly because of the scantily clad singer. I’m not much of a fan of her vocal delivery and I think she could work on her stage presence a little. The rest of the band is dressed in black hoods and the whole thing reminded me of the band Bitch being backed up by The Mentors. I think a little tweaking could get their live show more exciting. Nice folks, though.
Crumble came on the small stage and I caught a little of it. By “a little” I mean less than one song.
Züül was up next on the main stage and the singer announced that it was their last show ever. I had seen them a time or two before in Austin and enjoyed them. They sounded good in Chicago as well but the singer seemed to be having a few vocal issues. He was lacking some of the power he normally has. Still sounded good.
Skelator was up next and delivered their sword-wielding metal the masses that were really just starting to roll in. They sounded great but I only caught about half of their set as I needed to catch Moros Nyx on the small stage.
Moros Nyx has the drummer for Satan’s Hallow on bass. This was their first show and they did a great job. Looking forward to more from these guys. Their drummer is a bad ass.
Back to the big room for the return of Skullview. I’ve always liked their debut quite a bit and it was good seeing them finally. Especially good to finally meet their guitarist, Dean. We’ve known each other from online forums for a long time. Their singer has an enormous range, but antics I saw before and after the show pretty much let me know that I can’t care to see him again. I stayed for half of the set and went back to the small stage.
Hrom was up next and they were powerful with yet another singer with a great high range. Nice kids, too.
I went back to the main room to catch a little of Chicago’s reunited Aftermath. They were good straight up thrash and super nice guys.
I went back to the small room and waited for Walpyrgus to come on. This band features members of Twisted Tower Dire as mentioned above. They put on a great set. Would like to see them again.
As soon as they were done I rushed back over to catch High Spirits. I really enjoy this band. Good, straight up hard rock and I really like Chris’ vocal delivery. “Without Zuul, there would be be no High Spirits,” Chris said. He’s good at working the crowd too. When I saw them in San Antonio, he was on bass but had a full backing band for this show.
I caught a little of Coven 13 but it wasn’t my thing.
Coming up next…ATTACKER! Another band I’ve loved since their debut, Battle At Helms Deep. That album rules. I’ve no problem admitting that I didn’t care much for the follow up, Second Coming. But no matter. I was finally getting to see them live. They opened with The Hermit from their debut and the crowd went nuts. The band was tight and most recent singer, Bobby Lucas, sounded great. Original drummer, Mike Sabatini, and guitarist, Pat Marinelli were great as well as the rest of the band. Their set was great and very tight.
Wretch played the small stage and they were another band who was solid, but I didn’t get to see enough to really form an opinion. We were so hungry we went next door to grab a burger.
Upon returning, The Rods were already playing the main stage. I’ve seen them before and I am 0.0% a fan of them. Their brand of hard rock just never caught on with me.
Nuclear Assault was on next, but again, I’m not really a fan. I had met and seen them live in 2003 in Norfolk, VA and got Dan and John to sign The Book. Glenn signed in the green room earlier that evening. The room was packed and there was a big pit going. I saw about 1.5 songs and retreated to the small room where all bands had finished for the night. Kelz and I got to sit and hang out with Sabatini and just talk about stuff. We talked with him for a long time and he was very cordial. “Playing festivals like this is great, but we all have jobs.” It was great hanging out with him and the rest of the band.
What a great night and fun festival. After Nuclear Assault, we were all dog tired and went out to the street to say goodbyes to all of our friends. I hope they continue to get quality bands for next future fests. My band, Eternal Champion, was originally slated to play but had to back out a few months ago. Warlord was also originally booked but backed out. That was a crushing blow for me.
Click here to see the setlists from the festival.
Mouse over or click photos to see captions.
Doro Concert Review, Houston, TX, March 8, 2015
First and foremost, I need to get this out of the way…“apology accepted”. Those were the words Doro said to me last night after I apologized for my Butthead moment with her back in 1988. She thought it was very funny actually. It had always been in the back of my mind anytime I’d think of Warlock or her, so I’m glad I finally got to get that off my conscience.
When I saw that Doro was coming to Texas again (last time was 2007 in San Antonio but I couldn’t make it), I got a ticket ASAP. I absolutely love Warlock. The drive to Houston yesterday and the return home today were tough as it was a heavy rain both days.
Upon arrival to my hotel, I was relaxing a bit after a nice hot shower and looking at Instagram and saw that Johnny Dee, Doro’s drummer, ate at the ramen place next to the venue. I was very hungry and this sounded like a good idea on such a cold and rainy night. It was an incredible pork broth, noodle, ground pork, chopped pork, hot sauce, bok choy concoction that set me just right.
After the meal I go to the venue and run into some friends and hung with them for most of the night. There were 4 opening bands, 3 of which were local and one from Santa Cruz called Archer. I missed the first opener and couldn’t really get into the other 2 local bands at all. Archer was a decent 3 piece of heavy rock band that is touring with Doro.
The crowd had thinned out some. It wasn’t packed in there by any stretch but by the time Doro came on, I’m guessing about 150 were still around. The band hits the stage and opens up with I Rule the Ruins and plowed right into Earthshaker Rock. The band sounded awesome and I couldn’t believe how great her voice was. She looked and sounded like it was still 1988 and she is very appreciative of her fans. You could tell how much she loved being up there and seeing familiar faces in the crowd. Some people had traveled from Luxembourg to be there as well as other parts of the USA and Mexico. I love that.
The setlist was filled with songs from all four Warlock albums. It was awesome hearing Out of Control and I freaked when they played Evil from the Fight for Rock 12″. She played a handful of songs from the solo career as well including 2 from her new album, Raise Your Fist In the Air. Hearing Metal Racer just blew me away. They performed the cover of Dio’s Egypt (The Chains Are On) and it was just perfect. I’ve always loved her cover of that.
It was just a wonderful set, which of course I wanted more Warlock songs. Just play all night, ok? After the show I got to spend a little time with Johnny Dee which was cool. I’ve always liked that self-titled Britny Fox album, even though I despise most of that hair band stuff. That riff on Long Way to Love is killer. After talking with Johnny, I was afforded a moment to get on the bus with Doro. It was a cool few minutes. She signed The Book and my Triumph and Agony CD. The tour manager was rushing me off the bus so I didn’t get the other Warlock CDs signed, but he did call me “assman”. I didn’t take but a couple of photos as I really just wanted to stand there and take it all in.
Stay hard, true as steel!
Alice Cooper Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, February 11, 2015
To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has said, “I don’t like Alice Cooper.” Sure, you may not be into his music, his politics, his religion, but how can you not just like the guy? He’s a class act. Intelligent. Funny. Consummate front man.
I’ve been a fan since as long as I can remember thanks to one of my older brothers. One of my favorite Cooper moments ever was his appearance on the Muppet Show in the 70s. I met Alice last year in Dallas and those few moments talking together will forever be special to me. A few months later I saw him with Motley Crue and it was great. Shortly after that show, it was announced that he was doing a solo tour, an evening with Alice Cooper. I bought tickets for the Austin show as soon as they went on sale and got one for the San Antonio show and scored second row 2 weeks after they had gone on sale, which I thought was odd.
I rolled down to San Antonio right after work and picked up my friend, Rodney, who had a close seat in the section next to mine. I had never been to the Majestic Theatre before but wow, what a beautiful venue.
Alice was scheduled to come on at 8PM but didn’t hit the stage until about 8:15. The lights went down and The Underture started. The open up with Hello, Hooray and roll right into House of Fire and No More Mr. Nice Guy. The crowd was going crazy and I was smiling ear to ear. Alice and the band, as expected, sounded great. He is pretty active on stage, especially for a guy who is 67 years old.
He played most of what I expected to hear. Of course I want to hear songs from From The Inside but he’s been ignoring that album for quite some time. I was a little surprised he didn’t go deeper into the catalog since he was doing the longer set but he decided to play 4 covers which apparently he’s been doing often when he’s headlining.
His band is always top notch and last night was no different. Everyone is extremely talented and are each a show within the show. Drummer Glen Sobel is a beast of a drummer. Veteran guitarist, Ryan Roxie and bassist, Chuck Garric, were positioned on my side for most of the night. Ryan slapped 2 picks in my hand throughout the course of the night. While I started out in the second row, the security girl motioned for me to come right up front and there I was stationed for more than half of the show. I didn’t realize until after the show that guitarist, Tommy Hendriksen, was the bassist for Warlock, who I had seen in 1988. He and third guitarist, Nita Strauss, also handed picks to me during the show. Score!
Alice threw out 2 of his plastic canes, a ton of Cooper dollar bills and some plastic bead necklaces (during Dirty Diamonds). At the end of the show during the School’s Out encore, tissue paper feathers and streamers fell from the ceiling and the crew threw large balloons filled with confetti out on the stage and into the crowd. The ones that got near Alice were pierced with his sword.
It was a great show and I can’t wait to see it again tonight!
High Spirits Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, December 1, 2014
Chris “Professor” Black is a busy fella. Along with High Spirits, in which he writes and plays everything on their releases, he’s also in Superchrist, Pharaoh, Dawnbringer, Metalusafer and Aktor. High Spirits has been getting a lot of buzz over the last couple of years over their listenable brand of hard rock/metal that slightly teeters on the AOR style. I like them a lot and am basically a latecomer to the HS as I just started listening to them around May of this year. It’s great melodic hard rock that’s got all the hooks. Chris has perfectly crafted it to be accessible to just about anyone’s ears.
I went down to San Antonio last night and stopped off at my friend, Rodney’s, house. As always, I have to peer into his insane room of metal. We go grab dinner then dinner then head down to Limelight on the north side. High Spirits was scheduled to go on at 11:30 so we weren’t in a hurry to get down there. I’m not really a fan of the 3 openers so didn’t care to see them. Unfortunately, when we arrived right at 11:30, the 2nd band was mid-set. Ugh. I was already pretty tired.
I met Chris and talked to him for a while. Very nice guy. It was right around 12:30AM when they finally took the stage and opened with the song High Spirits. Much of the crowd had left by the time HS went on, but a few of the faithful hung in there. They were pretty tight and the folks that stayed there were familiar with the material, which was nice to see. I really like his voice. Other than a few drunkasses up front, it was a fun show and worth the late night drive home. I hit the sack at 3AM…exhausted…happy.
The Metal Files 
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