Gojira, 9 FEB 2013

#4
9 February 2013
Gojira
The Devin Townsend Project
Mr. Smalls Theater
Pittsburgh, PA

Well, I finally made it to Mr. Smalls. I'm like an actual Pittsburgher now (even though I'm technically homeless). I don't know that I need to see another show there.

I know of Devin Townend since friends are Strapping Young Lad fans. I enjoyed TDTP and would probably check them out again.

I was happy that Gojira sold out this show (and others on this tour), so hopefully we'll be seeing more of them Stateside in the future. They played basically the same set I saw in Cleveland, which was excellent. Longer encore than I expected and they all stayed on stage and high-fived everyone on they way out. Tres bien!

Coheed & Cambria, February 2013

Coheed & Cambria
4 Feb 2013
5 Feb 2013
9:30 Club
Washington, D.C.

7 Feb 2013
Stage AE
Pittsburgh, PA

New album [The Afterman: Descension], new tour. Opening acts: Russian Circles (whom I like) and Between the Buried and Me (whom I didn't ever really need to see again). New stage set (more mannequins!) and backdrops. Nice that the tour started at 9:30 Club, still my favorite venue, even though I hadn't been there in more than 3 years.

Setlist:

Pretelethal

Sentry the Defiant

[night two: Holly Wood]

A Favor House Atlantic

The Afterman [night two: Good Night, Fair Lady]

No World For Tomorrow [night one only]

The Crowing [intro made me think it would be Delirium Trigger]

Vic the Butcher

Evagria the Faithful

Iron Fist (acoustic)

Here We Are Juggernaut

Dark Side of Me

In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Encore:

Wake Up

Domino the Destitute

Welcome Home

I'd not been to Stage AE before. It's in the middle of the parking lots for Pittsburgh's sports stadiums, where it's $10 (cash-only) to park. With no nearby ATMs, I ended up paying mostly in change I happened to have in my pockets (from my Megabus trip to DC). Thankfully, I could use a card to buy a new tour t-shirt. The set-list was the same as the first night of the tour. I couldn't take yet another Wake Up or Welcome Home, so apparently I missed a power outage during the encore (Super Bowl fallout?). You can find the whole set on YouTube though.

I didn't get any good photos because I was too far back & never carry a camera anymore. 

Coheed 60 - Oct 16 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Coheed & Cambria

The Dear Hunter

Three

House of Blues

Cleveland

I think this is the fourth of the Houses of Blueses for me (LV, AC, Chi, Cle) and it certainly wasn't the worst. I do really wish I'd gotten a seated ticket though because my legs hurt for days after standing for 4+ hours on their concrete floor (plus the 5ish hours of driving). I never understood why clubs don't use that rubber flooring. Anyway.

Three was great as usual, playing the same set I saw in Kingston. A lot of the people standing around me had apparently never seen them before but I'll bet they would all go see them again now.

Even though I recall The Dear Hunter touring with Coheed before (and other bands I've seen), I don't think I ever saw them before. Just before they came on, there was a large group that came and stood near me who were there ONLY to see TDH. Hipsters. Also: Bears. Here's a Simpsons quote that pretty well illustrates my feelings at this point in the night:

Teen1: Oh, here comes that cannonball guy. He's cool.
Teen2: Are you being sarcastic, dude?
Teen1: I don't even know anymore.

Coheed played a slightly different set than Kingston, including new songs Holly Wood and Afterman. I feel guilty reporting that I didn't stay until the bitter end, but I would literally not have been able to walk back to the car and drive home if I had. Apparently I could have gotten in early too since I'd ordered the box set (which I still haven't received, unsurprisingly). I would be dead now if I'd spent that much time in the club. No one posted the full set list, but you can read various compliments and complaints about it on Cobalt & Calcium. It looks like I was not the only one feeling bad after this show, as now the last few tour dates have been changed. Maybe I can actually go to Nashville now.

Edited to add that my box set came WHILE I was typing this post. Also, that I think it's cute that posters on the Co&Ca forums have all their show dates as their signatures.

Coheed & Cambria w/Three, Kingston, NY, 09.13.2012

September 13, 2012
#59 of Coheed
#20 of Three
UPAC Theater
Kingston, NY

Well, at least I will know where I was when my second niece was born: the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. So to celebrate, I took a tour of Ommegang Brewery and tasted some delicious Belgian (and Belgian-style) beers before heading on 2-lane roads and gravel/dirt detours to Kingston. I'd been to Kingston once a few years ago, on my way to Bearsville for the Three CD release party. It wasn't any different than I remembered.

My friend BB, who saw Coheed once before with me, came along since it was a local show for him. It was a nice venue - seated theater - so it was more comfortable that his previous experience.

I could't believe I hadn't seen Three in FOUR YEARS. Crazy. They played a good set, including a few of the songs off of the latest album The Ghost You Gave to Me as well as a selection of older songs like Alien Angel and Amaze Disgrace.

Coheed sounded good. My first time seeing Josh back with the band and first time I've seen Sentry and Domino live.
Better fans than I posted the set list:
The Hollow (?)
No World for Tomorrow
Gravemakers and Gunslingers
Everything Evil
Made Out of Nothing
Ten Speed
The Suffering
Mother Superior
Sentry the Defiant
Blood Red Summer
In Keeping Secrets

Encore:
Domino the Destitute
A Favor House Atlantic
Welcome Home
The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut

Gojira - Cleveland - August 20, 2012

#3

Monday, August 20, 2012

Gojira

Carbomb

Dagger Rebellion

Peabody's - Cleveland, OH

I have been in literally every corner of Ohio this summer - Wheeling, Dayton, Toledo, Cleveland - and in the center. Weird. I also went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, which was pretty neat. I didn't leave the house early, so I didn't have enough time to get a new EZ Pass or visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I fully intend to do both in the near future though.

Cleveland seems to have a pretty robust metal scene and Peabody's definitely gets way more shows that Pittsburgh (or DC). Dagger Rebellion were the local openers and fortunately, unlike many I've witnessed, were actually really good. If I lived in Cleveland, I would be sure to check them out again.

Why have I not seen Carbomb before? They're LI math-metallers who have everything I like in a band: crazy drums, screaming, beards. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the tools in Tool shirts who were standing in front of me.

Was it really 2009 when I saw Gojira? I guess I spent too much of the past three years overseas but in places where they don't have concerts. They have a new album and luckily added a short string of dates in the US after the larger Lamb of God tour got cancelled. They played a pretty long set, pronounced Cleveland strangely, and were sold out of the best merch. 

Peabody's is pretty nice and I'd definitely check it out again, as long as I'm living within a 3-hour drive.

Iron Maiden - Tinley Park, IL - July 5, 2012

#2 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Iron Maiden

Alice Cooper

Tinley Park, IL

So after spending 24 hours taking what was supposed to be a 12-hour bus trip to Chicago, seeing Magic Mike, drinking a lot of high alcohol beers, and watching illegal fireworks from the air-conditioned comfort of my friends' place, I took the commuter train and a taxi to Tinley Park for the Iron Maiden show. I lucked out and found some nice people on Craigslist who sold me their extra pit ticket for what they paid ($135 with all the fees, and yes, I'm unemployed).

Chicago was in the middle of a heatwave, so it wasn't the greatest day for an outdoor concert. Alice Cooper is 64! He's also a consummate professional, so his set was flawless and included all the giant puppet monsters and gore you would expect. He played all the "hits" and seemed genuinely happy to do so. None of my pictures of Alice really turned out though, at least partially because I got jostled around quite a bit and the pit area was packed. [I didn't know what to expect of this "pit" because I've apparently been spoiled by Merriweather Post]

It was just starting to get dark by the time Iron Maiden came out. Surprisingly people calmed down and I got a few good pics of them throughout the show (while hopefully not being one of those people who blocks everyone else with their damn phone). They played all the songs that I would have wanted to hear (the only other one I would have liked is Rime of the Ancient Mariner, because it's ridiculous). At several points, Bruce wrung out his shirt. They don't appear to have any kind of backstage oxygen tent like Halford, either. Anyway, it was awesome and I can check both Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden off of my list.

July 5, 2012 - Tinley Park - Maiden England

• 1. Doctor Doctor 
     (UFO song)
  1. Moonchild 
  2. Can I Play With Madness 
  3. The Prisoner 
  4. 2 Minutes to Midnight 
  5. Afraid to Shoot Strangers 
  6. The Trooper 
  7. The Number of the Beast 
  8. Phantom of the Opera 
  9. Run to the Hills 
  10. Wasted Years 
  11. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 
  12. The Clairvoyant 
  13. Fear of the Dark 
  14. Iron Maiden 
  15. Encore:
  14. Churchill's Speech 
  15. Aces High 
  16. The Evil That Men Do 
  17. Running Free 
  18. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life 
      (Monty Python song)

Napalm Death - Maryland Deathfest - May 25, 2012

#1

Friday, May 25, 2012

Napalm Death

Maryland Deathfest

Sonar, Baltimore

We only got tickets for the first day, and spent quite a lot of time meandering down from Pittsburgh. Plus, it was super-hot and humid, so I'm not all that sorry that we missed about half of the day.

I primarily wanted to see Napalm Death, so I did. They played about an hour-long set of selections hitting every single one of their albums along the way. They played several songs off of their latest album and I'm looking forward to seeing them headline in the fall.

We also saw Artillery and Godflesh. The only other band I kinda wanted to see from the 2012 line-up was Morbid Angel, but that was on Saturday when we had other plans.

Coheed FAIL Lexington, KY May 10, 2012

For my running list...

I did have a great time in KY, despite not being able to see Coheed. I tour Jim Beam and Makers Mark and spent a day at the Kentucky Horse Park (which would have been the greatest thing ever when I was about 6-7 years old). Most important, though, was proving to myself that I can go places alone again without being completely terrified and crying the whole time. So, yay.

Coheed 58

Coheed & Cambria

El Teatro Metro

Bogota, Colombia

Sept 20 2011

Yes, I went to Colombia. Ran into the crew in my hotel. Set was a decent mix of old and new songs. Live-tweeted the show.

Coheed #56 & #57

#56 Tue 4/19 Coheed at the Rams Head in Baltimore
#57 Wed 4/20 Coheed at the 9:30 Club

[Philly would have been #58 but I had a sinus infection and missed it]

Was up front for the acoustic set in Bmore and sat at the bar for the rest. Similar to Neverender Night One, but with an intro acoustic set (and bonus songs for pass-holders by Travis, Angry Dave (!), guitar tech, and Claudio (on drums!)) and a second electric set after ripping through SSTB in its entirety.

Since my longstanding wish for Coheed to become the Grateful Dead has been answered, live recordings of each night are available either at the merch booth (on a flash drive) or as a download the next day. I downloaded the DC set which was (I thought) significantly better than the Charm City show. Ms dW accompanied me to dinner at Ben's Next Door and to the DC show.

Cradle of Filth 03.06.2011

March 6, 2011

Cradle of Filth

Bourbon Street

Baltimore

Three months into the year, I finally got around to seeing something. Drove up with Metal Chris of DCHeavyMetal.com as he was having car issues. We missed all the openers. I would have liked to have seen Turisas, but I think they were either first or second of four and with the traffic and rain there was no way to get there in time.

Cradle of Filth played a pretty long set of old and new stuff with a background slideshow that reminded me of this.

2011 Shows

Sat 1/15 Charm City Grindfest at the Sidebar (4:30 pm)

Tue 2/1 Death Angel at Jaxx $22/$25
Fri 2/4 A Life Once Lost at Sonar Club Stage $12
Sat 2/5 A Life Once Lost at Jaxx $12/$15
Thu 2/10 Biffy Clyro at Rock & Roll Hotel - bought tix
Sat 2/12 Tragedy at Bourbon Street Baltimore $12/$15
Sun 2/13 Malevolent Creation at the Ottobar $17
Sun 2/13 the church at the Birchmere $35
Tue 2/15 Shai Hulud at Jaxx $12/$14
Sun 2/27 3 Inches of Blood at Jaxx $17/$20

Thu 3/3 Master at Sonar Talking Head $12/$15
Sun 3/6 Cradle of Filth w/Nachmystium & Turisas at Bourbon Street Baltimore $18/$20
Thu 3/10 A Life Once Lost at Sonar $

Wed 4/6 Caverns at the Red Palace
Mon 4/18 3 Inches of Blood at the Ottobar
Tue 4/19 Coheed at the Rams Head in Baltimore
Wed 4/20 Coheed at the 9:30 Club
Fri 4/22 Rush at 1st Mariner Arena $46 - $111
Fri 4/22 Volbeat at Sonar $
Sat 4/23 The Slackers at Rock & Roll Hotel $15
Tue 4/26 Coheed at the Electric Factory in Philly
Sat 4/30 Protest the Hero at the Ottobar 5PM

Tue 5/10 Destruction at Bourbon Street Baltimore $20/$25
Fri 5/13 Destruction at Jaxx $17/$20
Sat 5/21 Dredg at Bourbon Street Baltimore

Other stuff I saw in 2010 and various excuses about things I missed because later I'll wonder why I didn't go

#17 GWAR at Sonar 10/2/10 - my second 33rd birthday party; we went after the pirate cruise
#18 Dredg/Codeseven/Animals as Leaders in Chicago 11/19/10 - I didn't stay for headliners Circa Survive because I went to see Checkov's Seagull at the Goodman Theatre (which was excellent BTW)
#19 Arsis w/Powerglove at Jaxx 12/18 - awesome
#20 Blind Guardian w/Holy Grail at Jaxx 12/22

And I didn't see the following:
Vader - was sick both times they played close-by
SPSD - at least two of those shows got canceled or I was out of town, one of those
Bloody Panda - I just plain forgot about it and did something else that evening
36 Crazyfists - that show got canceled
Nuclear Assault w/Arsis & Acrassicauda at Sonar - neither Arsis nor Acrassicauda ended up going on this tour and that was all I cared about
Suicidal Tendencies show started too early
Cannibal Corpse I missed because I was on a plane