Bad Blood Tour BOTDF – Seattle: December 13 2013

December 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Another great show tonight at Studio Seven in Seattle. The last time we were at this Venue it was to see Black Veil Brides and had a terrible experience with the venue staff… this time was MUCH better. We did the VIP meet and greet with Blood on the Dance Floor so were able to get in a little early and before the masses. We had a great time meeting both the guys (Dahvie Vanity  and Jayy Von Monroe). They were both very nice and polite with Toni and I, and Nicki absolutely loved hugging them and having a short chat. It’s always refreshing to meet members of bands you listen to so much. You get very nervous and anxious only to find that they are just people too, and are usually very approachable and personable. These guys were certainly no different…what a treat. (Oh and Dahvie – if your reading my Blog – Thanks).

The show started out with a band we saw open up for the Bryan Stars show a few months ago. They are called Beneath the Spin Light and are local (from Camano Island WA). It is great to see these guys playing as much and as often as they seem to do. This kind of dedication will take them far. They seemed improved from just a few months when we saw them..

Next up was Lionfight. It’s awesome how you come and see these types of shows where bands you have never heard of before and they just blow you away. These guys had just an absolute, ton of energy and pounded out massive sounds.. What a great set they did.

I think Farewell My Love were supposed to be on next, but unfortunately the lead singer ended up getting sick during the tour and had to cancel out. Too bad, as we were really looking forward to seeing them. About 6 months ago, we donated to their funds to get a new van, and felt like we kind of knew them.. oh well, they’ll be around again I’m sure.

Haley Rose came on next and did a very nice solo acoustic set. She was very inspiring to Nicki and made her want to practice guitar even more. I liked her rendition of Johnny Cash’s Hurt. What a sobering, heavy bunch of lyrics, but Haley did a great job performing it. She has a great voice.

On next was another band that just blew us away. They were Relapse Symphony. These were five guys who were dressed for ROCK!. They reminded me of the earlier Motley Crue with a dash of Guns and Roses. The lead singer (Bret Von Dehl) had moves reminiscent of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose. These guys absolutely tore it up. The stage was too small for them both figuratively and literally (were kind of tripping over each other)..they need to tour some bigger venues with their immense sound and performance. These guys are going far.. They were also very down to earth and seemed to really appreciate their fan base.. Bret was hanging out at the merch table for a long time…it seemed as though he was there until there were no more fans to meet.. We met him, had a short conversation and got a picture of him with Nicki. We also bought some of their music – I want to hear more!

The final act before BOTDF was Davey Suicide. It was clear why these guys were the last opening act. They were so polished and perfect in their sound, performance and presence that they could carry a show as a lead act without any problems. Davey has the looks that would scare anyone in any dark alley, with his music being as shock inspiring as his stage presence. It has a power that hits you inside and makes you want to bang your head and pound your fists then leaves you wanting more.. He was another one who Nicki and I went to visit after the set, but unfortunately he wasn’t doing pictures at te time, so Nicki settled for a hug and I followed up a handshake and a thanks.

Finally, what we had all been waiting for was the arrival of Blood On The Dance Floor. One of Nicki’s all-time favorite bands, but I haven’t really heard too much of their stuff before tonight. I had no idea what I was missing! What a refreshing sound these guys have. The beat, lyrics, incredibly powerful percussion all wrapped up in an electric blanket. I have never been to a Rave, but if this was anything like one..it was the spray of soapsuds mixed with lasers and techno that put it over the top. I want to go! Their music had everyone in the crowd jumping and absolutely loving every second of it. Some of the most memorable songs they performed were; I Refuse to Sink, Fake is the New Trend and Damaged. The end of their set was an acoustic encore with Dahvie sitting, playing his acoustic guitar playing the song Don’t Want to be Like You in the crowd.. what a great ending to a great night of music. Although many of their songs are racy and provocative to a point where the lyrics don’t necessarily resonate with me personally (although I venture guess that their target audience is not someone of my generation) their message of tolerance, equality, fairness and love for one another transcends all generations and their music reflects something that everyone who loves music would enjoy listening to.

All in all, this had to be one of the highlight shows of the year.. and was a fitting end to the 2013 concert season for us. Hopefully we can see many of these great bands again next year as well as discover new bands who we can add to our favorites list..

Filed Under: Mix

Heart – Seattle: December 12 2013

December 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Thursday night at Benaroya Hall in Seattle was a very special show with Heart. This was a show they called “Heart and Friends Home for the Holidays”. It is always a treat to see Heart in concert, especially in their hometown. Seattle definitely loves their Heart. Both Ann and Nancy Wilson have the most beautiful and symphonic voices that have absolutely not changed since I started listening to them in the seventies.  This was a special show not just because it was Heart in their hometown during the holidays, but that the show was being filmed for broadcast on the AXS channel on Christmas Day (tune in, you will love it).

The show started out with a long set of seasonal holiday songs with them bringing some of the friends from the music business on stage to perform with them. What a mix of artists they were with Shawn Colvin, Richard Marx, Sammy Hagar and Pat Monahan from Train.

Interesting that following their set of Holiday music was an intermission…huh? I guess the venue was the place where the Seattle Symphony performs.

They came back on stage and tore it up with many of the vintage hits like Crazy on You, Kick it Out, Even it Up and starting it off with of course Barracuda. I could tell right away when they came out that they were going to open with Barracuda as Nancy had her distinctive Gibson SG, guitar she has used to play this song with every time I have seen them perform it. It’s no secret that Heart are big Zeppelin fans and they always sneak in a few Zeppelin songs into every show and this time they didn’t disappoint playing The Rain Song from the album Houses of the Holy and an absolutely mesmerizing version of Stairway to Heaven…wowwwwww!

Not sure if Heart does this every holiday, but if they do this show will definitely make it on our must see, holiday tradition list along with TSO.

Filed Under: Classic Rock

In This Moment, Motionless in White – L.A.: November 27 2013

November 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Last night at the Nokia Theater in L.A. we saw the “Hell Pop” tour with In This Moment, Motionless in White, KYNG and All Hail the Yeti. This was the final night of the tour with this line-up, so we were fortunate enough to catch it here in L.A.

The last time we came down to see a show here in L.A. was for the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour at the end of September which was also at the Nokia Theater. We decided that we very much liked this venue and would come down and see shows here as often as we could. We arrived fairly early (as usual) and were quite surprised that there was really no line-up at the entrance to speak of. We thought we were way early, but it was only a half hour until the doors were to open. It turned out that it must have been a bad night to schedule a show (night before Thanksgiving) as they did not sell enough tickets and instead of letting us sit in our incredibly awesome seats in the balcony, they kept the balcony closed and gave us pit tickets instead. We were a little bummed out at first, but scored ourselves a good vantage point just to the right of center stage at the second level rail so we didn’t have anyone standing in front of us.

The first band on was All Hail the Yeti. There are a few new bands throughout the year where we are surprised on how good they turn out to be and these guys were one of these bands. They were incredibly powerful and full of energy. They really got the crowd pumped and started the night of great music. Nicki and I went and visited them at their merch. table after their set to meet them and get their CD. We talked with the guys for a little while and had them sign a poster for us. They were a great group of guys who clearly love doing what they do and very much appreciate their fans.

Next up was KYNG who were also surprisingly good. These guys didn’t have the typical thrash metal sound to them. There was no screaming, but more of a vintage vibe reminiscent of Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Sound Garden. They did a great rendition of Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher, actually nailed it! Interesting how many of the kids in the audience had no idea this was a cover until the band told them.

Motionless In White came up next. These guys were actually the reason why we were at the show. They are Nicki’s favorite band (or at least one of her top 5). With the exception of the equipment issues that they were having (which they handled very well), they were epic. They opened with “Synthetic Love” which was a great opening song that set the energy level for the rest of their set. One of the best songs they played was an acoustic version of “Sinematic” featuring Tim Skull on the guitar. This song by no means is a soft acoustic song, but Chris Motionless performed it with incredible emotion and passion. They also did a mind-blowing version of “Abigail” which they didn’t play live when we saw them at the Mayhem Festival over this past summer. They closed their set with their anti establishment anthem “A-M-E-R-I-C-A” featuring Michael Vampire of Vampires Everywhere! accompanying Chris Motionless on lead vocals. This band has a great stage performance with Balz’ keyboard stand raising, lowering and spinning throughout the show and the incredibly hypnotic and entrancing Ghost on the Bass.

Finally, In This Moment came on and put on a great show with an incredible stage show. Maria Brink (lead vocals) came out and performed in her usual distinctive and suggestive style, which the guys in the crowd are obviously drawn to. They performed their top songs from the Blood album opening up with “Adrenalize” and of course playing many of their older songs as well. One of the most memorable performances had to be “Into the Light” where Maria performed sitting in a chair in center stage under blue spot lighting and swirling fog.

One of the highlights to the night was when Ashley Costello – vocals and Nikki Misery – guitar of New Years Day showed up right next to where we were standing. Both Nicki and Ryan rushed over to meet them and have their photos taken with them. What a treat this was. We saw them perform at Warped this past summer and they became one of our favorite bands.

Filed Under: Heavy Metal

Trans Siberian Orchestra – Seattle: November 23 2013

November 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

We went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra at Key Arena last night. This has become a regular holiday tradition for our family for the last three years. The first time we saw them in 2010 we were blown away and all decided right then that we would make this an end of the concert year tradition. We were (and still are) blown away by their incorporation of classical, orchestral, symphonic, and progressive elements into rock and heavy metal music.

Tonight’s show did not disappoint, and in fact we thought that it was the best TSO show that we have ever seen.

This was the last performance of the “The Lost Christmas Eve”, their show, which is based on the album released in 2004.

The stage set-up seemed much bigger than in previous years as well with side platforms and more projection area in the back of the stage. Of course they had the spectacular elevating platforms both in front of the stage as well as in the back of the arena where the performers would raise above and over the crowd while playing…very cool.

The show opened up with a few great instrumentals showing off the amazing talents of the guitarists Angus Clark and Al Pitrelli; String, Asha Mevlana and Keyboardists Vitalij Kuprij and Jane Mangini (who do an incredible dualing keyboard bit)

The show then transitions into the story portion of the Lost Christmas Eve, which starts out with a narration and set-up of the story followed by the band kicking into more of their signature sound. The story line is a musical tale of loss and redemption. A story of a business man who forty years prior had abandoned his newborn son to a state run institution, and how there is something about Christmas Eve that allows people to correct mistakes they have made in their lives…pretty emotional stuff, but mixed with great rock!

Following the story, they played another fairly lengthy set of their hit songs and the groups founder Paul O’Neill even came out and performed for much of the last part of the show. The stage show really picked up in the part of the performance. They broke out all of the lighting, lasers, pyrotechnics (felt the heat from the fire from where we were sitting) and a few members of the band even walked through the crowd while playing, stopping periodically to jam in the audience.

If you haven’t see Trans Siberian Orchestra perform, you absolutely must experience them at least once. You too will be blown away by the music, story and stage show.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Feel This Tour – Seattle: November 16 2013

November 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

OVER THE TOP!

That is even an understatement of the show tonight at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle. We all went to see the “Feel This Tour” with Sleeping With Sirens, Breathe Carolina, Issues and Our Last Night. Memphis May Fire was supposed to be there as well but apparently had a better gig somewhere in the UK…too bad for them. This was one absolutely Killer show.

First off, Nicki and I were part of the meet and greet autograph, pre-show so we were able to get into the show a bit earlier than Toni, Ryan and Nicki’s friend Jenna. We arrived at the venue early of course at around 3:30 and were to meet at the front entrance for our early entry at 4:30. It was very cold on this winter Seattle night.. I think it must have gotten down into the lower 40’s to high 30’s. As usual with these early entries, they tell you to get there at a certain time and then make you wait for over an hour before they let you in…but at least we got in around 5:30. Toni, Ryan and Jenna couldn’t get in until after 6:30, and probably closer to 7:00. They were REAL cold.

We were able to get the band to pose for a picture with Nicki (although she won’t let me post it here, even though it’s a great pic) and they also signed a couple of posters for us. Nicki brought something special for them to sign, but they wouldn’t have much to do with signing anything but the posters. Needless to say Nicki was pretty bummed about that.

Once we got in, we immediately claimed our favorite spot against the wall near the restroom about 25 yards from the stage. There seemed to be a steady stream of people coming in through at least the first opening act, and the place got packed. As it turned out the show was sold out. Tonight seemed exceptionally crowded however. We have been to sold out shows at the Showbox before and have always had a little room around us to breath, but not tonight. We were jammed in like sardines. It was uncomfortably  hot in there tonight too. Even the bands were saying how hot it was. I think their AC must have not been working or something.. Poor David Schmitt (vocals for Breathe Carolina) was about to pass out after their set. He actually commented that this show was the hottest show that they had ever done and that he had never sweat more during a show than tonight.

The show started at about 7:00pm with Our Last Night opening and playing a great set. I have never heard them before, and they had a good sound to them with a powerful lead guitar, very talented bassist and great vocals.

Issues came on next and they were as good as the last time Nicki and I saw them at this same venue back in April opening for A Day to Remember. They are definitely a heavier band with a good mix of melodic vocals and trashing screams. They played songs from their first album of course, but also some new music which we hadn’t heard before. During their set, they really got the crowd pumped. I think I counted more than 7 crowd surfers all going at once and there were even a couple of body catapults. They really rocked the place out. These guys will definitely be around for a while.

Breathe Carolina came on next and they were quite a surprise to me (although Nicki and Jenna have heard their music before). Their vibe was a mix of dance/club and thrash metal…very interesting. I think the highlight of their set was a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Not only was it dead on when they wanted it to be, but they mixed it up and added their touch of thrash to it which I think made it better than the original. These guys had a great light show as well, made you feel as though you were in a Rave with black light strobes and very loud bass pounding the room..

Sleeping with Sirens came on around 9:30 or so and played 10 songs I believe, plus one encore. The guys put on a great show I thought, however Toni thought their WARPED 2013 performance was better. Kellin Quinn sounded great and despite the band missing their guitarist Jesse Lawson who left the band exactly one month ago (Oct 16), they rocked it. Kellin mixed it up a bit between each song with personal stories and positive messages, and then one weird rant around a bottle of water, which we all thought was a bit strange (you had to be there). They were definitely the highlight of the night for us and the rest of the crowd.

Set-list of Sleeping With Sirens:

  1. Here We Go
  2. Congratulations
  3. Low
  4. Free Now
  5. The Best There Ever Was
  6. If I’m James Dean, Then You’re Audrey Hepburn
  7. A Trophy Father’s Trophy Son
  8. Scene Five: With Ears to See, and Eyes to Hear
  9. Do It Now Remember It Later
  10. Satellites
  11. If You Can’t Hang
Filed Under: Alternative
«Previous Page
Next Page»