Just got back from seeing the mighty Testament at the Scout Bar in San Antonio, TX.
Music
Sunday Metal – Down
Down. A super-group of sorts, combining members of Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Eyehategod into something that is unique unto itself. What started as just a bunch of friends jamming together turned into something huge. Something that was to be a side-project but seems to be growing larger than anything else the members are involved in. Is that good? Is that bad? It’s hard to say. I’m happy for Down’s success, but I’m not happy it puts Corrosion of Conformity on the side. Still, Down progresses, keeps working on albums, and I’m happy to hear each one. I’ve seen Down live a couple times, and every “Evening with Down” is always a treat.
Tough times don’t last; tough people do.
Gibson Guitars has an interview with Zakk Wylde, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and the creative force behind Black Label Society. Some people give Zakk a bunch of crap, but I’ve yet to see any of them give Zakk that same crap to his face. 🙂 I’ve seen BLS live and it’s most enjoyable. Good music (tho I think some of the later albums were rushed and not as inspired as the earlier albums). Nevertheless, Zakk’s got the right attitude:
Zakk on Metallica and Some Kind of Monster
“When I saw the guys, I said, ‘What were you thinkin’?’ Who needs a psychiatrist? Like I need marriage counseling? I’ve been married for 24 years. Look, I’m gonna get in fights with the wife and that’s life, man. You got the high and the lows. You’re in a band, you’re gonna fight, you’re gonna get over it or it wasn’t meant to be any more.“The bottom line is this: Tough times don’t last; tough people do.
“Once Mom sent me to Promises rehab. I said, ‘Promises rehab?’ I’ll make you a promise right now: either I’m going to cap myself or some mother is going to die in this joint.’ And one of the bylaws of Black Label is ‘suicide is not an option.’ I got in there and had no time for those weak-willed assholes. One guy said he just couldn’t get out of bed in the morning to get to the group therapy meetings. I said, ‘Hey, sometimes I don’t want to get up on that stage but you get your damn jock strap on, you man up, and you do it.’ I’ve got no time for weak willed bull****. I was cut from the same cloth as General Patton.
“Hey, lions are born lions. They are not made. Berserkers are born berserkers. They are not made. Marines are born Marines. They are not made. Get tough or get out.”
Sunday Metal – KISS
You wanted the best and you got the best. The hottest band in the world, KISS!
Love them or hate them, KISS’s influence on the world of music — and commerce — cannot be denied. There’s no questioning the money machine that is KISS. If Gene Simmons can make a buck at it, he’s going to go for it. I have nothing wrong with it as the man works hard and reaps what he sows. I also find myself enjoying listening to interviews with Paul and Gene. Gene is a hype machine and always amusing to listen to. Paul is always the showman, even when he’s being interviewed. Always enjoyable to listen to these guys, even if in the end all you’re doing is laughing at them. In the end, they’re living the life they want and seem to be enjoying it, so I have no problem with their desire to make lots of money. I’m here however to talk about the music.
I actually think KISS makes pretty good music. A lot of people don’t agree, which is fine. Sure the songs aren’t always artistic masterpieces, but the songs are catchy, have good hooks, and you enjoy them. It’s fun music. Anthems for your life, for your party. Music you want to turn up to 11. I also appreciated that with KISS, at least with the original four members, the band was structured that everyone contributed: everyone played an instrument, everyone sang, everyone wrote. Not many bands did that.
What KISS really brought to the music world was the show, the spectacle. You went to see KISS live and you didn’t just listen to the music, you saw a show. From the makeup, to the pyro, to the on-stage “acting”. Check this video from 1975:
While early in their career, they still put on a show with pyro, makeup, even synchronized “dancing”. All of this went into making KISS something not just to see, but to hear. Every rock act since can trace the evolution of their live performance back to KISS (and Alice Cooper).
Of course KISS always worked to outdo themselves in their stage shows, with giant sets, explosions, Ace’s guitar billowing smoke and fire, and of course The Demon, Gene Simmons, breathing fire and blood:
During the 1970’s you couldn’t deny KISS. As a small child I ended up with a set of KISS trading cards and of course thought they were the coolest thing. I recall my Mom looking at a card with Gene/Demon on it. Mom was completely appalled and terrified by it, which of course made KISS even cooler. 😀
Having to go unarmed
In going to see a concert last night, I had to do something I don’t care to do.
Opeth – May 19, 2009, Scout Bar, San Antonio, TX
Went to the Scout Bar in San Antonio last night to see the mighty Opeth.
This is the second time I’ve seen them live. I saw them some months ago when they came through Austin doing initial support for their Watershed album. Went with W and K. W is a major Opeth fan; last night was I believe the 7th time he’s seen them live.
The show was great. Opening act was a Norwegian metal band called Enslaved. Never heard of them before. They’re not quite my thing (I’m not that into death metal). But the music had a groove at times and really wasn’t all that bad. I’ve certainly dealt with crappier opening acts. I doubt I’ll go buy their album, again mainly because I’m not that much of a death metal fan, but they weren’t that bad.
Opeth hit the stage for 2 hours of music. The band was tight. Mikael is an interesting front-man to me. He’s calm, but he’s not. He’s witty, but mellow. He plays off the crowd, but knows when to ignore then. He’s peaceful, but yet writes music like this. Just an interesting cat, no doubt. W was commenting on how he believes Mike has some of the best stage raps of any front man.
Set list:
- Heir Apparent
- Ghost of Perdition
- Godhead’s Lament
- Wreath
- Karma
- Hessian Peel
- Closure
- The Night and the Silent Water
- The Lotus Eater
- Demon of the Fall (encore)
Good set list. Flowed very nicely. Of course, there was bits of teasing and noodling between some songs. During Closure there was an extended jam and they went into some riff which we all recognized but couldn’t place. I think it was a Jimi Hendrix riff, very familiar.
One funny side note. When we were in line to get into the club at the Austin show some months ago, there were a couple of goth-chicks in the line in front of us. We spoke with them, very cool chicks. So who should wind up being in front of us in the line to get into this club? The very same two chicks. 🙂 It was easy to recognize one of them, by her tattoos. Nice girls. I’m sure we’ll run into them again.
Updated: Recounting the evening with the family over breakfast I remembered something.
Smoking. Austin is a “clean-air city” so you can’t smoke in bars and most other public buildings. Apparently San Antonio is not this way. Walked into the club and the smell of cigarette smoke was everywhere. I haven’t smoke a cigarette in about 10 years. That last time I stopped was truly the last time I stopped because since that point cigarettes have been physically revolting to me. While I chose to stop smoking, the fact my body is repulsed by the smell of cigarettes was not a choice and I can’t really explain how that came about. It’s interesting tho that when I’m in a situation like a club seeing a show, my body can put up with it. I couldn’t take many deep breaths last night, but I could deal with it. While I apparently prefer the “cleaner air” of Austin, I also don’t like how it is a mandate. If you don’t want to suck up smoke, don’t go to places where there will be smoking. I grant there will be smoking at a club; if it bothered me so much, I wouldn’t go. W said it best when he smelled the smoke: “Ah, the smell of freedom.”
Wreckage of My Past
The trailer/teaser for the upcoming documentary, Wreckage of My Past, the Story of Ozzy Osbourne.
I don’t know what to make of Ozzy any more. His time with Black Sabbath was seminal. His early solo work was great and he always found the most amazing guitar players (e.g. Randy Rhodes, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde). Then… there was stuff like the TV show, which was amusing, but also rather sad to watch. Then there are performances like this (sorry, can’t embed it, you’ll have to click to watch).
Obviously Ozzy is still compelling enough for me to care enough to blog about him. In a way I’m wondering if this movie, being done by his son Jack, might show more of John Michael Osbourne and less of Ozzy. I don’t know. I’ll admit I’m curious.
Sunday Metal – Judas Priest
The Metal Gods. The Almighty Judas Priest.
There’s debate as to where and with whom metal was born, but many will agree that if not for Judas Priest, metal would not be what it is. Leather, spikes, and chains. Motorcycles. Dual shredding guitars. Double kick drums. Pounding bass. Amazing vocals. Lyrical content that runs the gamut. Heavy metal is what it is in large part due to Judas Priest.
I like the obvious things about Judas Priest, such as K.K. and Glenn’s guitar work, Scott Travis’ drumming (opening riff of Painkiller, ’nuff said), of course the mighty Rob Halford’s vocals. But I also like how Judas Priest is a band that allows itself to evolve. Look at the early Priest albums like “Rocka Rolla” or “Sin After Sin” and compare them to albums like “Painkiller” or “Angel of Retribution”… the musical style is still Priest, but the overtones are quite different. Or consider how the band can have songs such as “Diamonds and Rust”
and then songs like “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”
But no matter how it is, it’s all Judas Priest. A band with depth, feeling, talent, and is all metal through and through.
And of course, if not for Judas Priest, we wouldn’t have Heavy Metal Parking Lot. 😎
Sunday Metal – W.A.S.P.
From the buzzsaws and sparks, to Chris Holmes’ appearance in The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, to being the poster child for the P.M.R.C., love them or hate them, W.A.S.P. carved their niche in the metal world.
What I always found interesting about W.A.S.P. was the mix they presented. They had theatrics from KISS and Alice Cooper. Blackie Lawless pranced about the stage like David Lee Roth, which isn’t surprising given they came from the L.A. glam scene. In fact, there’s a lot of L.A. glam present in W.A.S.P. too. The music was a bit harder edged for L.A. tho. Still, they managed to stand out and Blackie has turned out quite a long career for himself.
While I prefer songs like “I Wanna Be Somebody”, “Wild Child”, or even their cover of The Who’s “The Real Me”, the sense of humor displayed in the video for “Blind In Texas” just can’t be passed up.
Iggy and the Stooges tour rider
I love reading tour riders. Some are boring, some are just interesting, some demonstrate how “out of touch” the star is with the rest of the world, and then there’s the rider for Iggy and the Stooges which …. well, you’ll just have to go read it for yourself. Warning: not for the easily offended or those lacking a sense of humor.
Stuff From Hsoi 