The Golden Gods Awards – LA: April 23 2014

April 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

*Shots inside the show are below – lots of them!

What an absolutely incredible show at Club Nokia at LA Live in LA last night. The Revolver Magazine’s Golden Gods awards

This was our first awards show and was such a rush to be there, part of the excitement and to see all the performers come down the black carper (of course it is black not red for the metal gods). We were not in real close, and they had us back behind a few low barricades, but we could see many of the guests and performers passing through and talking with the press. We were able to see such stars as Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, Ace Frehley, the guys from Guns N’ Roses, Dee Snider (who was doing the live pre-show for VH-1), the guys from Pierce the Veil, A Day to Remember, Zakk Wylde, Five Finger Death Punch, and the list goes on. Funny too, as we were eating lunch near the venue, we saw Jill Janus of Huntress coming out of an A-Team type van fully decked out in her Goth outfit and walked past us to the carpet…what a sight.

We got in a little before 8:00 as the bands and fans were fileing in. We had the best seats in the house, front row, aisle just left of center stage, on the balcony overlooking the stage and the crowd below…unbelievable.

The show was hosted by the guys from That Metal Show, Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson who did a great job throughout the show tag teaming introductions and coming together for the important points of the show. It was great to see the various artists, both from music and film presenting the nominees and making the introductions of the performers. Some of the more notable and memorable for us to see were Nicolas Cage, Chris Motionless (Motionless in White) , Scott Ian from Anthrax (a few times), Pauley Perrette (NCIS), Andrew Dice Clay, Matty Mullins (Memphis Mayfire), Alice Cooper, Zakk Wylde, Tony Hawk and Carmen Electra, Marilyn Manson, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (The Misfits), Richie Sambora and Orianthi (Guitarist from Alice Cooper), Jacoby Shaddix  (Papa Roach), and again, the list goes on…

Of course what was most memorable from the night was the music. The show opened up with a surprise band.. we were all real excited to see who they were going to surprise us with, and we weren’t disappointed…it was Slayer, who absolutely tore it up. Following up was a great performance by A Day to Remember who played a few songs including one of our favorites, Right Back At it Again. After a few awards, a newer, up and coming band called The Pretty Reckless came out and performed their current hits Heaven Knows and Going to Hell (both off their new album). One of the most memorable and definitely the most somber part of the show was when Zakk Wylde came out performing solo on a baby-grand piano, center stage playing tribute to all the rock and metal artists who have passed on too early. Following Zakk (prophetically) was Suicide Silence who had lost their lead singer Mitch Lucker in 2012 (and was mentioned in Zakk’s song). I thought I heard them being introduced as debuting their new lead singer Hernan “Eddie” Hermida, who put on a great show. Next up was Alice Cooper presenting Joan Jett with a Golden God award, and then Joan Jett and the Blackhearts performing a few of their hits (Bad Reputation and I Hate Myself For Loving You) and one of their songs from their new album Unvarnished (Any Weather). We got a bit of a treat as following their performance of I Hate Myself for Loving You (with Taylor Momsen – The Pretty Reckless), they had to preform it again due to some audio issues…but the crowd loved it! Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top came out and made a quick cameo during the song…real cool! After a few more awards (not the least of which was the Album of the Year: Black Sabbath, 13, with Tony Iommi accepting the award on behalf of the band) who else other than Nicolas Cage came out and presented the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award to Axl Rose and introduced Guns N’ Roses who put on one of the best Rosk performances I have ever seen. Duff McKagan performed with the band which was a real treat for true GNR fans. They put on about an hour show playing many of their greatest songs such as Sweet Child O’ Mine, Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and an absolutely stunning version of November Rain.

The night couldn’t have been better for the four of us.. Down in LA from Seattle, loving the sun and Rock Music. Definitely a show we will all remember.

Also want to shout out to Stephanie D. Cabral who was photographing for Revolver Magazine and sitting next to us…you’re living the dream! And thanks for the Megadeath picks!

Filed Under: Heavy Metal

Bachman Turner – Tacoma: April 11 2014

April 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Went to see Bachman & Turner (Overdrive) or as I will always know them B.T.O. at the Emerald Queen Casino tonight with Toni.

I have to say, this was by far one of the best classic rock shows I have seen in a long time. I am not sure why I felt this way. Maybe it was the classics that I haven’t heard in a very long time; maybe it’s because I could sing along to most of the songs and knew all the words; could have been the incredible amount of cow bell; or maybe it was just because they sounded so darn good and true to their original sound. Not too many bands can say that after being around for 40 years, but these guys sounded like they just stepped out of the 70’s.

The show started off very strong with Roll On Down The Highway which got all the 50-60 somethings up on their feet and clapping their hards. They then went into some of their more obscure, vintage BTO music (a lot of it apparently was originally recorded in Seattle). One of the best songs of the night I thought was Looking Out For No. 1. This is a mellow, bluesy song that you would never hear on the radio, and only could enjoy from playing the full Head-On album end to end.. This song featured some incredible, long blues guitar playing by Randy Bachman. It was just cosmic.

They played nearly all their most popular songs including Let it Ride, You Ain’t See Nothing Yet, Four Wheel Drive, Sledgehammer, a great rendition of American Woman. Of course they has to closed the night with their final encore song being Takin’ Care of Business. AWESOME!

Filed Under: Classic Rock

Michael MCDonald – Tacoma: April 5 2014

April 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Well, a mix-up on the family events calendar resulted in Toni and Nicki up in Seattle attending the Lion King show and me down in Tacoma at the Emerald Queen Casino at the Michael MCDonald concert. Not sure if it was just a matter of poor planning or some strange voodoo magic of Toni’s to get out of going to see Michael MCDonald. Oh well, she’ll have another chance in August when he comes through this area again touring and co-headlining with TOTO.

The photo cops were out in strength, enforcing the “no photo” rule, which of course wasn’t posted anywhere I could tell. Another bummer about the show was that there was no swag! Every performer sells swag. It’s a staple of income and a given that you can buy a shirt, CD, poster, headband or whatever, but not tonight…bummer, my first Michael MCDonald show, and no commemorative T-shirt.

The show started a bit later than the typical 8:00pm start with him coming on to stage around 8:45. He came out and started the show off right with a couple of older Doobie Brothers songs and then a great mix of his single stuff, some great covers and more Doobies. They did a great rendition of Eric Clapton’s 1996 Grammy hit Change the World, it turns out it was written by the bassist for Michael MCDonald‘s band Tommy Sims. They also performed an incredible medley of Stevie Wonder songs. But of course, everyone was there to hear him perform the great hits such as Yah Mo B There, Takin’ It to the Streets, It Keeps You Runnin’, Minute by Minute and What a Fool Believes.

I have always enjoyed his music. He has such a unique and soulful voice and writes songs with a strong southern blues a jazz influence. His soft rock ballads bring back so many memories that make you sit back and remember all the good times.

Missed not having Toni with me at the show tonight, but I am glad I didn’t miss it.

 

Filed Under: Classic Rock

Issues, Of Mice & Men – Seattle: March 24 2014

March 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

 

Went into Seattle to see the The American Dream Tour featuring; Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Issues and Letlive.

Unfortunately Toni and Nicki couldn’t make it to this show, but Ryan and I decided we would still go even if the girl team was sitting this one out.

As usual, we got down to the venue a little early (around 4:45 with doors opening at 7:00), but the sold-out crowd was already starting to grow down the street. We decided to not get into the line and go and grab some food at the Pyramid Alehouse just across the street from SafeCo Field.. Glad we did, great burgers. By the time we got done eating and went to get in line we were about 200 yards back from the entrance and still had over an hour to wait.. this was going to be a BIG crowd.

We got into the venue around 7:30 and there were people about 30 deep from the stage (already!), we went and grabbed our usual spot along the right side of the stage, against the stairs to the bar. This spot is usually pretty good as it is close enough to get a good view of the band, but far enough to the side that you are not jammed..tonight was much different. There were wall to wall people. And as usual at the Showbox, the lighting just does;t lend itself to good photography, so pictures were limited.

The first band LetLive came out and opened the show with a tremendous amount of energy. The lead singer Jason Aalon Butler was just a maniac on the stage. Never before have I seen someone jump up into the rigging above the stage while still singing. He also jumped into the audience and continued to sing while waving back to the stage. I have seen this before, but not the crazy monkey swinging from the rigging.. what a show!

Next up come Issues. This is the third time I have seen them and they just keep getting better each time. I love their dual vocals, Tyler Carter (known as “clean vocals”) and Michael Bohn (known as “un-clean vocals”). They really do a great job of mixing it up during their songs. They played a decent set of about 5-6 songs including Hooligans, Love Sex Riot,  Princeton Ave and King of Amarillo.

It was clear from the response of the crowd when Austin Carlile, lead singer Of Mice & Men belted out that first vocals from Bones Exposed that these guys were the main attraction for the night. They put on an absolutely incredibly powerful performance. The crowd was at the height of mosh and crowd surfing during their set. Although this was a great set, we were a little disappointed that they seemed to play a fairly short set of just 5 songs and it seemed like just short a a half an hour. Everyone, including me and Ryan could have stood for another half hour at least. They did play some great songs such as You’re Not Alone, Second & Sebring, Would You Still Be There and O.G Loko, but would have been nice to hear more. It might not be as bad if they were not skipping the Warped Tour date at the White River Amphitheater at the end of June…we were looking forward to seeing them again soon.. Oh well, next time!

Of Mice & Men left the stage around 10:00 or so and it seemed like a ton of people left…kind of strange, but I think a lot of people just moved to the back of the venue where there was more air.. the stagnation, temperature and humidity within 50 feet of the stage was unbearable. Ryan and I waited toward the back until around 10:30 and decided that Issues and Of Mice & Men were really the two bands we came to see, so decided to cut out early before Bring Me The Horizon came on. We don’t typically do this, but we were both burnt out and ready to get out.

 

Filed Under: Heavy Metal Tagged With:

ZZ Top – Seattle: March 23 2014

March 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Tonight was an awesome night of “TexiCali”, backwoods, rock and roll Blues with ZZ Top at the Moore Theater in Seattle. Although I have been a fan for years, this was the first time I had seen ZZ Top ..I think since the early 80’s when I first heard them on the radio.

The guys came out sharp dressed in sequined jackets, funky hats, styling shoes, sporting their trademarked sunglasses and those incredible long beards…what a sight.

They started the show off with “Got Me Under Pressure” followed by their very bluesy “Waitin’ for the Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago“. It was amazing how both Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill played the same guitars almost all the way through the entire set. Most bands change guitars after every song, but these guys were so simple and basic (all in a good way) that all they needed to do was stand and play, and they just blew everyone away. The crowd was standing and cheering for the entire show, and for a venue full of 50/60 somethings, that is really a testament to their incredible power to jam. I think my favorite songs of the night were “Legs” and then as part of the encore, the extra long version of “La Grange“. They also played a very good rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” which of course the crowd just loved. Naturally, all their music brings back great memories and for me with what I think are the two most recognizable ZZ Top hits of the late 70’s/early 80’s, “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Sharp Dressed Man”

Seeing ZZ Top was a very long time coming, and if I would have known they performed and sounded this good, I would have seen them way before now. It’s hard to believe that these three guys have been rocking for over forty years. Well, I do know that when they come around to Seattle again, they will definitely be on the list of must see bands.

Filed Under: Classic Rock
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