How much more appropriate can it be to end the year to finally getting to see a band I have followed since 1991? Got hooked on Drivin' N' Cryin' the year Fly Me Courageous was released but for whatever reasons I never got around to catch them live until now. Better late then never huh...yes indeed because this was a magic night!
At 9pm sharp the band casually walks out on stage, plugs in their instruments and kick things into gear with a short instrumental piece. It's followed by the beautiful Honeysuckle Blue and this long-time favourite of mine sets the standard throughout the rest of the night. Whether the band goes all out rocking or seduces the crowd with slower more mellow songs they can't do wrong at all. Hot Wheels from their current EP Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones is next and apart from getting the crowd rocking what stands out the most to me is guitarist Sadler Vaden. He is extremely versatile and plays a blistering solo on this great song. Not only that, during the entire set whether he is playing lead, rhythm, slide or solo guitar he does it with such ease and elegance. It looks so effortlessly and easy but he is doing some very intricate things. What an addition for the band!
Another old favourite is then aired, With The People, and it's still a very current song speaking about the people having to rise and stand against the injustices made towards them. Positive change won't happen until then and that's where we are right now more than ever.
Drivin' N' Cryin' are in the midst of promoting two EPs released in 2012, Songs From The Laundromat and the aforementioned Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones. They are parts 1 & 2 in a series of four to be released within 12 months, where part 3 is due in March 2013 and REM from Songs From The Laundromat follows With The People. It's a mid-tempo song with really nice vocal harmonies and it's a cool tribute to fellow Georgians R.E.M.
Further on Cheetah Chrome of The Dead Boys joins the band on stage for Out Here In The Middle Of Nowhere, a song from Songs About Cars, Space And The Ramones that he actual recorded with them. Fast and furious in true punk spirit it's over in about 2 minutes but man it rocks...awesome indeed!
After 27 years in the business Drivin' N' Cryin' know how to work a crowd. They know how to mix old songs with new to keep it interesting and they do it with such ease. Many a times bands barely play new songs when promoting their current album, Drivin' N' Cryin' on the other hand played 5-6 out of a total 11 on the 2 new EPs and that's great and how it should be. You couldn't really ask for more. However the icing on the cake for me occurs when they launch into Fly Me Courageous, the song that introduced me to these Georgians. It simply doesn't get any better than this!
The first hour of the show was recorded for a local radio station but as soon as that is over the band has everyone singing along in Straight To Hell. It's one of their most popular songs if you ask me and the crowd just loved it.
Cheetah Chrome returns to the stage and they go all out punk playing The Dead Boys' song Sonic Reducer. Actually from the moment the radio recording was over the band got rowdier, in every good sense of the word, with Kevn Kinney climbing speaker stacks and jumping from them! The frontman and founder of the band should consider a side career as a stand-up comedian. Because apart from being a great singer and guitarist he is extremely funny and really makes the crowd feel relaxed and at home. His interaction with co-founder and bass player Tim Nielsen is bar to none and their drive to keep Drivin' N' Cryin' rolling and still current is so visible on stage.
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and what an end it was. They launched into a Kevn solo song, Blues On Top Of Blues and are joined by guitarist Audley Freed. This guy has played with Cry Of Love, Black Crowes, Jimmy Page, Dixie Chicks amongst many others and what a fantastic string slinger he is. The band were on fire jamming real good with Vaden and Freed trading solos back and forth. Amazing!
Kevn and Tim has assembled a great band around them and I can only hope this line-up stays intact because they have something going on here. Drummer Dave V. Johnson is solid and versatile and alert to any changes/jams going on and never miss anything. And I have already spoken about new guitarist Sadler Vaden and all I can add to that is....check him out!
All in all this was a great show and subsequently a great night. I couldn't have asked for a better occasion to see Drivin' N' Cryin' for the first time and my affection for the band from listening to them all these years increased a thousandfold.
After a 10-hour drive "back home" to Maryland from Tennessee my wife Kesha and I got to spend a day and a half with some of our best friends especially Mamma D, Evil Fanny and Jaks before show time at Cafe 611 approached. Krug's used to be THE joint for doom shows in Maryland but was sadly shut down early in 2012 and Cafe 611 has taken over a lot of their business. It is a nice small venue very suitable for a gig like this although the Amy Winehouse wanna-be bartender messed up just about every drink. Oh well, at least the beer was $3 cheaper than down in Tennessee...the little things.
On to the actual show, which was held to celebrate our friend Dustin's birthday, with Puricist kicking things off. They play old school-sounding thrash with distinct hints of death metal and weren't bad at all. However, they were plagued by technical problems throughout their entire set which naturally frustrated them. Still they battled on and did good.
Next up was a fairly new Maryland trio, Trilogy, featuring Fez on bass guitar and this was the first of three bands he played with this evening, talk about a marathon runner! The band is rounded up by Jason Sheldon Barker - vocals & guitar and Tony Saunders - drums, and they got the groove going with a real nice bluesy heavy rock. And of course, the steadily increasing crowd loved it, yours truly included. Having just recorded their debut cd, which is being mixed as I write this, you could tell they wanted to play live and they simply crushed. By the way, record companies with any sense and an ear for great music should take notice and pick them up immediately....you hear?!
Third band on the bill were four hooligans from York, PA, called Wrath Of Typhon and they brought the fury to Cafe 611 alright. No-holds-barred punk-infused metal is their forte and do they deliver. A still somewhat smallish crowd banged their heads to smithereens to this apocalyptic soundtrack as the band tore the place up. I have seen them live several times before and they never fail to bring the goods but after this display they show they have grown a lot and are so tight, heavy and good. No let me rephrase that....great!
The second trio of the night to take the stage, Admiral Browning, featured the second performance by bass maestro Fez. This is his main gig in many ways since he helped form the band with Tim Otis - drums and Matt LeGrow - guitars, effects and vocals back in 2002. Even though I'm not the greatest sea urchin in the world I do love this band of pirates and I have seen them countless times throughout the years. Once-instrumetal they do write vocal songs now which has expanded and pushed them forward. The focus is still on instrumental progressive metal/doom though and that excels live. Every time I see them they have tweaked the songs slightly making every show different and....amazing!
Fifth band to hit the stage were Nitroseed from Laurel, MD, and they feature ex-members of Earthride and Wooly Mammoth. Despite having a new album out in January 2013, their first since 2006, they probably played their last show ever on this night which is a shame if true. Mainly instrumental these guys absolutely crushes on stage. Stoner rock without vocals played this well is all I need on any given day but they went on like a bulldozer on a rampage and I'm amazed that Cafe 611 hadn't vanished when they were done.
Last band out and one of my all time favourite ever, Pale Divine. This was the first time I've seen them play since the release of their excellent album Painted Windows Black and the first time with the addition of Fez on bass guitar, so my anticitpation and excitement were running very high indeed. As always with The Pales though I shouldn't have worried at all because they were absolutely amazing. One of the best songs off of Painted Windows Black started their set, the fantastic Black Coven and to see them play with Fez, who made his third appearance of the night, is nothing short of brilliant. The focus was mainly on the new album and it was a joy to hear Angel of Mercy. However they did surprise us pretty good by playing two brand new songs, Curse The Shadows and Shades of Blue and an old previously unrecorded song, Chemical Decline. All three were great and but it was especially fun to hear the brand new tracks knowing they are working on new material. Yes, that's all I can say...yes!
Unfortunately an amazing evening and an amazing homecoming weekend had to come to an end. 10 hours on the road back to our new turf in the deep South loomed and it was with great sadness my wife and I left. We did have a great time watching some great bands and seeing great old friends and hopefully we'll be back up "home" soon. A big shout out goes to Jaks and Evil Fanny who let us crash at their places; to Mamma D, Fez and Shannon Diener for making the Sunday breakfast awesome; to Doug and Joe, two of my best friends!
The Vernon Club, just off the interstate in Louisville, Kentucky, is about the space of a really spacious apartment. It's under a bowling alley. A double Jack Daniel's cost $12 (£ 7.5). Not much compared to Boston or New York, but still....
(Maybe) interestingly, this whole endeavor became, at least while wading through the opening bands, a sort of amateur sociological study:
At a casual glance, band members and audience members tended to look like metal fans tend to look-- i.e., homeless and probably suffering from at least several personality disorders: old black clothes, dreads, very long hair and beards, et cetera.
What might not be as obvious is how much money they spent to look this way-- by my estimation, there were thousands of dollars' worth of tats (full color sleeves, back tats, everything) and musical equipment ($2000 Hamer, Paul Reed Smith, Fender and Gibson guitars --and two or so of these per musician), not to mention the amps and electronics through which they played them.
It's the John Cougar Mellancamp haircut issue: an hour on your hair, spent to look like you just got out of bed.
The dress code, too, was even more narrow than the first time I went to a metal concert-- I was wearing, comically literally, the only white t-shirt and white shoes in the whole venue (and after noticing this after about an hour, I consciously scanned the place to see if I was being paranoid-- nope).
And I am NOT giving up my Hanes v-necks. Fuck YOU.
Of all people, I would argue Billy Joel summarizes this phenomenon the most succinctly: Where have you been hidin' out lately, honey? You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money. Ah, metal-- 25 years after my first concert, still a fashion show. (Not that other genres aren't.)
I drove two hours to see Goatwhore and have been standing this whole time because chairs are apparently not metal. Don't get me wrong-- I'm in good shape and I work out five days a week-- but I'm essentially middle-aged and after five hours of just standing, watching bands, my goddamned feet hurt.
They still do, as I write this.
And so after five (fucking five!) local opening bands, one of whom I'll write about later, New Orleans' Satanic-blackened-death-thrash-metal outfit Goatwhore go on at 11:15 pm.
At this point there was so much smoke from the smoke/fog/haze machine my sinuses are still nearly completely blocked-- but Goddamn...
it looked COOL.
Black (ened) metal needs theatrics... it needs features that highlight and exaggerate the ceremonial aspects of the performance... just ask Watain and their blood-fests. They set the stage.
I would argue, anthropologically-speaking, that they play up an essential human need to connect to the Divine, and are accoutrements we find psychologically necessary to facilitate that process.
But that's just me.
You know... it's whatevs, as the kids say today. (So I hear.)
So with no curtain, Goatwhore walked onto the stage and started talking, via the PA, with the sound engineer: they were particularly (in my experience, anyway) specific and demanding about their "wedges" (i.e., stage sound monitors)-- noticeably the specific combination of what they wanted to hear as they played: guitarist Sammy Duet, in a rather intimidating tone, I venture to say, needed snare and bass in his; singer Ben Falgoust wanted the vocals way down in the mix, but wanted the guitars way up; and bassist James Harvey, all six foot four of him, never said a word-- just kept gesturing up and down until he nodded approval with whatever he was hearing.
Once this was settled, Ben Falgoust looked at the other members of Goatwhore, a few seconds passed...
...and with a subtle gesture from the singer-- shit EXPLODED.
I mean, surprisingly so, considering the band members were discussing trivialities for about a full five minutes in front of the audience.
But once they started playing... they became-- Something Else.
In all seriousness... irony aside: fucking... WOW.
THIS is why you see bands in person.
Maybe the openers were there only to reinforce the star power, for lack of a better word, of Goatwhore.
The other bands were fine, very technically and musically competent-- but there was always that seeming hesitation, that subverbal lack of confidence: and after five bands' worth of this, you start to think maybe it's just you.
And then Ben Falgoust starts singing, and his sheer stage presence is comically obvious compared to the previous five other bands.
Metal doesn't use the term "star power" or "stage presence" that much (thank God), but here, it's genuinely deserved-- once Goatwhore started playing, it was obvious they had that certain something (particularly Falgoust): you wanted to watch him; you wanted to hear whatever he had to say, you wanted to do what he told you to do (generally involving screaming HEY and fist pumping)--
it
was
fucking
COOL.
What'd they play, you might've asked, droolingly...?
Let's see: "Collapse in Eternal Worth" and "When Steel and Bone Meet," from the upcoming Blood For the Master; what I think was "Into a Darker Sun," from The Eclipse of Ages into Black; "Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult" from A Haunting Curse; "Blood Guilt Eucharist," from Funeral Dirge for the Rotting Sun; "The All-Destroying," "Carving out the Eyes of God," [see below] and "Provoking the Ritual of Death," from Carving Out the Eyes of God.
Falgoust's stage banter between numbers was funny and/ or hilarious: a bit about Blood For the Master being released on Valentine's Day --"Maybe it's a reference to your significant other's time of the month," got a lot of laughs; and when he asked if anyone had pre-ordered the upcoming album, one guy screamed something-- after this Falgoust said, "Hey listen, I don't care if you buy it, I don't care if you steal it, I'm not here to accuse you, I just want you to rock the album... I got an idea: everyone [here], just borrow that guy's copy, and in a couple of months, when we come back, everyone'll be on the same page."
AND they played the intro to Sab's "Into the Void," causing an embarrassing amount of THRILL on my part.
Finally, they closed with "Apocalyptic Havoc." When they hit the line in the second chorus--
"Who needs a god, when you've got Satan?!"
Which EVERYONE, from the bouncers, to the kids up front, to the bartenders, knew--
it was practically liturgically ecstatic-- (perhaps ironically)... but the thrill was still there in screaming the line, with both hands making the HORNS.
All in all, there were about 100 people there at the end (about 25 of whom, no exaggeration, were in opening bands)-- not bad for a cold Monday night with no other major bands playing.
I recorded about 30 seconds of "Carving Out the Eyes of God," which you can see below (I would've recorded more, but I'm not a fucking documentarian-- I came to rock out, baby).
Rarely does an album title ever perfectly capture how well an album truly is and Green Day’s latest album Awesome As F**k (the band’s fifth live album) does just that. Even as their song “Fashion Victim” (from their album Warning) says, “What’s in a name?” Green Day knows how to make an awesome album with a killer title. Ever since I could remember I have always been a huge fan of Green Day. Strike that. Since 1994, when I first heard Dookie, I have been a huge Green Day fan. For the past decade I have received the strangest looks from people when I proclaim this. Usually, there is some kind of remark along the lines like “How could you support those ‘Anti-Americans’?” or “Why would you support a band that ‘sold out’?” To those naysayers I simply say, “I will always remain a faithful fan through thick and thin because I truly love Green Day. Besides how many bands do you know can say they have made two iconic albums in two different centuries (Dookie and American Idiot)?”
Since my introduction to following bands/music I have noticed an unusual trend amongst music fans or rather I have actually paid attention for the first time. Most individuals are “casual music fans” and only listen to bands that are “hot at the moment.” Only the true and diehard fans follow a band when they appear/disappear from the limelight and never give up on them. I can honestly trace back the moment when I first heard Green Day. It was in Mrs. Jones’ third grade class at Grace Brethren Elementary School and my classmate Chad introduced me to the awesomeness that is Green Day. Thank you Chad, wherever you are.
Over the years I have loved discussing my affection and admiration for Green Day. While at concerts I will usually interact with other fans discussing their past albums, side projects (such as the Foxboro Hot Tubes) and describe how we were first introduced to the band. After a while I noticed a pattern amongst the “older fans,” who were introduced to Green Day prior to American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, which I like to call the Dookie situation. The reason I call it the Dookie situation is because most diehard Green Day fans categorize people into two categories: 1) Fans of Green Day before Dookie and 2) Fans of Green Day after Dookie. Basically, their argument is always “Were you a fan before or after they found mainstream success?” My counterargument has and will always be, “I discovered Green Day because of that album. What’s wrong with that?” That’s usually fine, but if they have an attitude I add, “Excuse me if I was only in the third grade when it came out and weren’t able to check them out in the East Bay in the early 1990s.” Luckily, that has rarely happened.
Still, my passion runs deep for Green Day. As a matter of fact I plan on attending American Idiot, their musical once it opens in Los Angeles Spring 2012 with some fellow diehard Green Day fans. When Rock Band released the Green Day videogame I immediately marked my calendar and rushed out and bought it the morning of its release. Needless to say I’m a fan regardless how old I get.
Awesome As F**k is what a live album should be: fun, fresh and fantastic. As the title even alludes to its f**king awesome and the album immediately drops you into that concert environment. The last two times I saw Green Day was during the first leg of the 21st Century Breakdown tour with their final show at The Forum and during “New Years” at L.A. Live near the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Both times, they sounded fantastic, but the “New Years” gig was even more amazing. At that show, they primarily played their old stuff from Kerplunk, Insomniac, 39/Smooth and a handful of “current songs” from American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown (maybe three or so during a 90 minute set). The raw energy they infused the audience with at each show created two great memories for this Green Day fan.
That same energy can be seen in their latest effort Awesome As F**k. The album kicks off with “21st Century Breakdown,” the titular track from their platinum selling studio album, and for the first few seconds all you hear and feel is the crowd going wild. There is nothing more exhilarating than an audience picking up your intensity and getting your blood pumping. Immediately I was brought back into that environment as though I was at the concert. That’s when you know a live album is great- it brings you into the concert.
The intensity continues to build throughout the track and even more enthusiasm erupts when the explosions go off before Billie Joe Armstrong starts singing. Once Armstrong belts out the lyrics, it’s nonstop fun. The very first time I listened to this album I had goosebumps all over my body. Around the 2:20 mark, you hear Tre Cool’s awesome drumming in the background as Armstrong riles up the crowd before the crowd’s intensity blows up. Then a minute later all hell breaks loose and the energy goes up a whole another notch. That’s what a great band does- pumps up its crowd’s energy to the max and then some.
Where “21st Century Breakdown” leaves off “Know Your Enemy” picks up. These first two tracks highlight the raw energy of Green Day fans much like the KISS Army on the KISS album Alive! and Cheap Trick’s Cheap Trick at Budokan. This irresistible live track makes you want to clap and scream along with as though you were there.
Much like their last album, “East Jesus Nowhere” is my favorite track on Awesome As F**k. Armstrong illustrates what a fun, fantastic frontman he truly is by getting the entire crowd involved with repeating the intro. Once the guitars and drums kick in, “East Jesus Nowhere” highlights how talented Green Day is with creating catchy, energetic and effective songs filled with messages.
With lyrics like, “A fire burns today/ Of blasphemy and genocide/The sirens of decay/Will infiltrate the faith fanatics” it’s no surprise Green Day has been successful for over 20 years. Still, my favorite part of the song is when the audience sings the part, “Don't test me (Pause)/ Second guess me (Pause) /Protest me” by themselves. Overall, a fantastic live version worth checking out.
The song smoothly transitions to one of the most popular and enduring songs from American Idiot, “Holiday.” It’s so flawless, much like a concert, that for a few seconds you forget it’s a whole new song. For almost the past decade, this politically-charged song has inspired, infuriated and increased awareness for many people around the world. Most people tend to forget the only musicians who openly condemned and criticized President George W. Bush’s actions with the War in Iraq from the very beginning were Green Day and the Dixie Chicks. This song still sounds fresh and effective almost a decade later. Hearing the audience shout back “Amen” is intense and inspiring, mostly due to Dublin’s unbelievable energy. Every time I hear this song I can’t help, but get excited. This live track just adds to my enjoyment even more, especially when the crowd sings along to “Zieg Heil to the President Gasman/Bombs away is your punishment/Pulverize the Eiffel Towers/Who criticize your government.”
The more relaxed “¡Viva La Gloria!” follows and shows the softer side of Green Day for a few tender moments before blasting off to the hard sound we have been accustomed to for their entire career. Much like their previous live album Bullet in a Bible, Green Day’s Awesome As F**k primarily focuses on songs from the previous album (21st Century Breakdown features six songs), but do include some awesome tracks from their back catalog.
At the tail end of “¡Viva La Gloria!” around 4:03, Billie Joe Armstrong announces to a Dallas crowd, “We are going to play a brand new song,” which the crowd rejoices to before Armstrong adds, “It ain’t that brand new.” The song transitions unnoticeably (from Dallas to Phoenix) with “Cigarettes and Valentines” officially beginning with Armstrong saying, “This song is called ‘Cigarettes and Valentines.’ Let’s Go!” Surprisingly, there is a good amount of fans who already know some of the lyrics and it makes you wonder what could have been?
For those unfamiliar with what I am getting at, let me give you some insight into Green Day history. Green Day was following up their album Warning with an album called Cigarettes and Valentines in 2003. Near the end of their sessions, the master recordings for the twentysomething tracks were stolen and the band was left with two options: rerecord everything or start from scratch. Green Day chose the latter and history was made. The band recorded the rock opera American Idiot and created one of the most iconic albums thus far in the 21st Century. Even my Baby Boomer parents know who Green Day is because of American Idiot. I heard “Cigarettes and Valentines” for the very first time because of this live album and it’s exactly what I want in a Green Day song.
The classic Dookie song, “Burnout” has become a staple at shows and you can see why. Everyone from Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, Mike Dirt, the rest of the touring band (Jason White, Jason Freese, Jeff Matika) and the crowd’s excitement fuels the intensity of an already splendid song. Even when you see Green Day live, it’s nice they enthusiastically still play their classic songs that gained them national exposure. They follow up with an oldie from their debut album 39/Smooth, “Going to Pasalacqua.” Like most live albums, this one keeps giving with another rare track, “J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)," from the movie soundtrack Angus and besides the aforementioned soundtrack was only featured on the greatest hits album International Superhits! These gems supplement this stellar album, which proves even superstars like Green Day aren’t afraid to play their back catalog and still love playing their classics.
“You guys want to hear some more old shit or what?” Billie Joe Armstrong says before opening the track “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?” and adds after strumming a few notes, “This song is my favorite song from Kerplunk by the way.” Armstrong’s energy and enthusiasm pumps me up every time I listen to this part of the album. Much like attending one of their shows, Green Day keeps you entertained and somehow builds upon your excitement with each subsequent song. The album Insomniac is finally represented with “Geek Stink Breath” and like the previous five songs, a classic song will always be great no matter what.
Then it really gets crazy with “When I Come Around.” Besides “Basket Case” (my all time favorite Green Day song), “When I Come Around” is definitely in my top three songs from Green Day. Once again, they deliver another amazing live version and you can’t help, but sing along. However, my only complaint about this entire album is the Berlin audience’s lack of enthusiasm and knowledge of the lyrics to this Green Day classic. At times, you can’t even hear them sing the lyrics, which is disappointing.
Luckily, Brisbane’s audience picks up the pieces and gives great enthusiasm for “She.” Three of Green Day’s most popular recent songs “21 Guns,” “American Idiot,” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” follow. Like everything preceding these tracks, Green Day remains full of fun and energy after playing these songs essentially nonstop for the past seven years. Hearing the entire audience sing the opening chorus, “Don't want to be an American Idiot/Don't want a nation under the new media/And can you hear the sound of hysteria?/The subliminal mind fuck America” is beyond amazing. It honestly doesn’t get any better than that.
The standard edition of the album closes with “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” which feels like the perfect bookend to Awesome As F**k. As the lyrics suggest I “had the time of my life” enjoying this album. If that’s not enough, the album includes a DVD with concert footage from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Talk about an extra hour of awesomeness! Awesome As F**k is easily one of my favorite albums of the year and in my opinion the best live album of 2011! I wish more albums were filled with so many goodies.
This was my first “field trip” where I write a review and as I am writing not long after viewing the band, the post-live-music hype is still going around my head. So, in advance, I apologise for any craziness.
The Band- Disco Nap is a group of two, Ross Hope and Derek Mudge, who sometimes play with lots of other people. They call themselves “electronic, emotronic, indie” I just call them cool. They also celebrated a Triple J Unearthed award.
The Scene- Powerhouse Theatre, Friday night, 6pm playing as part of the “Residents” (which basically is just one band comes along and plays every Friday of a month to get some publicity going). It has a casual feel to it, just a small crowd. Really pretty location as well (google it.)
The Night- These guys are great and no, I won't stop saying that. They are funny and can play like dynamite.
They opened the night with “False Teeth” which is a really sweet love song with lyrics like, “The truth is it's you that I see, In a nursing home next to me The truth is I hope you're with me, When we're old and frail with false teeth”
The line up got even better from there with the likes of “Back Down The Aisle”, “Birthday Song” and “Home Karaoke” to mention a few.
There was plenty of audience interaction, which always manages to make the night far more interesting than just the band playing song after song...
“I think we discussed today that we are veterans of the music industry.. *starts playing*..And all of the money to show for it too!” (Ross Hope)
“That song was going to be for my wife, but I don't think she is even here. I think that is grounds for divorce. What do you think?” (Ross Hope)
It could very easily be said that the highlight of the night was their cover of Icehouse's “Electric Blue” (now... I wasn't around in the 80's so if anyone can confirm or disprove this, please let me know). Disco Nap learnt the song in a week to live up to a promise they made. The reason the cover was so awesome was because of Derek Hope's saxophone solo... on the keyboard. After finishing the song... “Can we do the solo bit again? I practised for two hours today” The encore was granted and after he finished there was a huge round of applause.
Finishing off with “Can't Concentrate” was a wise move. The loud electric guitar and bass filled climax resulted with half of the audience doing an amusing head nod.
Now, as I wrap this up I think I had better confess that I already loved this band before I sought out permission to write about them, which made it even better. They are really enjoyable and you really do have to admire Derek Mudge for his wild “looking for the sound” after every song change. Ross Hope's vocals are very strong and top off their music beautifully.
Worth seeing or buying their album (Running Red Lights).
There’s a buzz around town. No . . . I’m not talking about the contact high one gets when hanging around the back alley’s of Pacific Beach . . . though, I suppose that could count. No, no, no! I’m talking about the inaugural performance from San Diego’s latest reggae fusion, world soul, funkified R&B outfit called Zig Zag Jones. I’ve seen many a band’s first performances in my time, but never have I seen a place so packed as I did on Friday night, January 21st at Longboard’s in Pacific Beach. Holy spit . . . you couldn’t walk from one end of the bar to the other in under a half hour! Once you eventually got there and tried to order a drink . . . forget about it! And all of these revelers were in attendance strictly to see this new band break out and make some noise. Waveriders, this band puts on a hell of a show!
This seven piece outfit hit the stage and the place came unglued. There wasn’t a hip that wasn’t swaying, a toe that wasn’t tapping, a head that wasn’t bobbing . . . Zig Zag Jones hammered away through a little over an hour long set and impressed me on several different levels. First off, the rhythm section . . . tight, but not so tight that drummer John Sheppard, percussionist Ty Kiernan, and bassist Denis Sluka couldn’t go a little free-style or throw in some improv without losing the groove. This trio is the foundation of the band, sturdy yet retro-fitted to move in case of earthquake so the whole house doesn’t collapse. Then you have the flourishes of keyboardist Matt Trout and trombonist Jordan Morita, masters of adding color and texture to the songs, never overplaying their parts, yet always lurking in the shadows, prepared to jump out and give the listener that Wow! moment. Finally, the two man tandem of singer/guitarist Gerald Lee and guitarist Craig Mitchell, acting as MC’s, energetic frontmen, and ringleaders to this circus of world class musicians. Smooshed together . . . Zig Zag Jones. In your face, uncompromising, and fucking fun!
Highlights of the night were definitely the show opener “Zig Zag Jones” with its heavy groove, infectious melodies, and high energy musicianship, as well as “Dinner For Two”, “There’s Love”, and “I’ll Be There For You”. All of the songs incorporated a technical aspect that couldn’t be ignored, but also featured a soulfulness that couldn’t be manufactured . . . they balanced everything perfectly, keeping the songs organic, but not completely turning their backs on modern ingenuity. The way these guys would break down the songs, create tension within the groove, then bring it all back up . . . damn impressive. Every time I looked up on stage, I saw a band smiling, having a good time, doing what felt natural and that translated to a crowd that soaked up the reggae tinged R&B groove tunes and returned to the band even bigger smiles, squeals of delight, energetic dancing, and sing-a-longs that had me wondering how this was the bands first ever gig. If you were there and weren’t having a good time, you must have been dead or too stoned to know what was going on.
The Brooklyn Masonic temple was erected in 1907 and sits in Brooklyn’s beautiful and historic Fort Greene section. About 3 years ago various promoters began renting it out and having concerts there. Everyone from Neurosis to Big Star have performed inside the historic space and was the perfect venue to catch one of the few Sleep reunion shows. Sleep’s unique blend of heavy music, spirituality and massive weeed consumption was well served on the majestic altar.
Sleep played 2 nights in Brooklyn, Monday Zeptember 6 and Wednesday Zeptember 8. The Wednesday show was the first one announced and sold out so quickly another show had to be added. The Masonic Temple also hosed a concert of Boris and Sunn O))) performing as Altar on Tuesday Zeptember 7. I was told that the Monday Sleep show was a complete fog of pot smoke and that the Boris/Sunn O))) show was cut short by a visit from the police, while others claim there was a problem with the power. The Temple has no air conditioning so it was pretty fragrant with the scent of b.o. and swampy air.
All of these events contributed to tighter security and stricter set times. It was posted that Sleep would start the Wednesday show at 10PM and they hit the stage at ten on the dot. The crowd went berserk as guitarist Matt Pike started the opening droney riffs of “Dopesmoker.” When bassist Al Cisneros and guest drummer Jason Roeder of Neurosis came thundering in for “Holy Mountain” the sound was truly overwhelming. As someone who’s been going to see really loud music for over 25 years, this was easily one of the loudest shows I’ve ever witnessed. I was towards the back of the venue near the soundboard and the beer stand. When it was time for a freshie there was no chance of telling the bartender what you wanted. You just had to point to what you wanted and hope they understood. Unfortunately the tighter security totally harshed the mellow of those trying to let Mother Nature fly free. A few people were kicked out but plenty of sneaky weedians were able to sneak a puff or two.
Back in Sleep’s original 1990’s heyday they were know for playing massive Green Amps but it seems that they were using borrowed or rented gear on this tour. Matt played his cherry burst Les Paul through two Marshall amps and four Orange 4x12 cabinets. Al’s Rickenbacker bass was powering two Ampeg amps with matching 8x10 cabinets plus a Marshall amp and two 4x12’s. The PA system was excellent allowing Jason’s drums and Al’s vocals to be heard over that inanely hellish crossfire of sound.
For the main set, they played everything from the classic Holy Mountain with some parts of the epic “Dopesmoker” mixed in. The band was very tight but took plenty of liberties with the material and stretched out on some incredible jams. The zonked out crowd loved it. Behind the band a huge screen projected space footage, pot leaves, fire and other hallucinatory images. It’s hard to pick any standout songs because everything was played so well but the jam during “From Beyond” was especially Grand Funk-esque.
After a short break, the band returned to play a cover of Ozzy’s “Over The Mountain.” It was a good choice since playing a Black Sabbath cover would be completely redundant since all of Sleep’s songs owe such a huge debt to them. It started off at Ozzy’s tempo before dropping to a slower pace for the verses. During the guitar solo the band got faster and slower a few times, but I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. The last two songs of the night were the unreleased “Antarcticus Thawed” and “Cultivator,” both of which were massively heavy.
Without a word, the band left the stage and the stunned and deaf crowd filed out of the Temple and went in search of munchies and fresh air.
