Murrain of Swains

Coheed 58

2011-12-27T03:46:00.005-05:00

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

2011-06-14T19:23:00.003-04:00

#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

2011-06-14T19:04:00.003-04:00

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

2011-01-05T15:14:00.011-05:00

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

2011-01-05T14:53:00.003-05:00

#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

September/October/November/December Shows

2010-09-08T12:14:00.010-04:00

I will miss most of Sept and Oct unless there are metal shows in Iraq, Tunisia & Algeria.

Thu 9/2 Explosions in the Sky at 2640 Space in Baltimore - bought tix
Thu 9/2 Fu Manchu at the Black Cat ($15)
Sat 9/4 SPSD at the Red & the Black ($8)
Sun 9/5 Hank III w/Assjack at 9:30 Club ($20)
Wed 9/8 Katatonia w/Orphaned Land at Sonar ($$15/$40 VIP)
Sat 9/18 Rush at Jiffy Lube Live ($31-$126)
Tue 9/21 Valient Thorr at the Black Cat ($12)
Wed 9/29 Immolation w/Vader at Sonar ($20)

Sat 10/2 GWAR at Sonar ($22/$25)
Thu 10/7 Katatonia w/Orphaned Land at Jaxx ($20/$23/$50)
Thu 10/7 Early Man at Sonar Club Stage ($12/$14)
Fri 10/8 36 Crazyfists at Jaxx ($12/$14)
Sun 10/10 Nuclear Assault w/Arsis & Acrassicauda at Sonar ($18/$20) - bought tix
Thu 10/14 SPSD at Sonar ($8)
Mon 10/25 Vader at Jaxx ($20/$23)

Thu 11/11 Bloody Panda at the Sidebar ($8)
Fri 11/12 Suicidal Tendencies at 9:30 Club ($25) - 6pm doors
Thu 11/18 Earl Greyhound at the Black Cat ($10)
Sun 11/21 Cannibal Corpse at Rock & Roll Hotel ($18) -bought tix
Fri 11/26 Toxic Holocaust at the Ottobar ($

Sat 12/11 Darkest Hour at the Ottobar ($13)
Sat 12/18 Arsis at Jaxx ($13/$15)
Wed 12/22 Blind Guardian at Jaxx (have ticket)
Tue 12/28 SPSD at the Red Palace ($8/$10)
Wed 12/29 GWAR at the 9:30 Club ($22)

Sun 3/6 Cradle of Filth at Bourbon Street Baltimore

Explosions in the Sky 9.02.10

2010-09-04T20:45:00.002-04:00

#16
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Explosions in the Sky
2640 Space
Baltimore

2640 Space is an old church a few blocks from The Ottobar and staffed by the same folks. We drove past and there were a lot of people sitting outside so we weren't sure they started yet. But as soon as we went inside we found out that they had started and why so many people were outside. It was over 100 degrees in the venue - I was dripping with sweat within half a song. Explosions is the kind of band I would prefer to see in a dark, cool, seated venue. So we watched about 5 songs or so and then headed to Max's for beer, which was probably the smart choice.

Coheed & Cambria #53 - #55

2010-09-04T20:15:00.004-04:00

August 28 - 31, 2010
Coheed & Cambria
Circa Survive
The Deer Hunter
Ches Arena - Cheswick, PA
The National Theatre - Richmond, VA
The NorVA - Norfolk, VA
____________________________________________________________
Cheswick, PA:

Getting ready to drive up to da burgh for @Coheed #53 in a roller rink 9:53 AM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

Wow, what a poorly run venue. The Russian guys at the door do nothing for my sense of security. #Coheed #fuckingCheswickPA 8:55 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

Somebody's making bank towing all the illegally parked cars in the nearby lots though #fuckingCheswickPA #Coheed 8:56 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

Using my new @PopCandy recommended @EarPeace plugs for @Coheed #53. Liking them much better than my old ones 9:06 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

Definitely going to have to fly somewhere so I don't miss @circasurvive @dredg & the magnificently reunited @codesevenNC this fall 9:11 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

I wish @EarPeace also made plugs for the mouths of people who talk during the bands 9:14 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

This is my 53rd @Coheed show, but I'll bet @cobaltcalcium won't retweet me. #fuckingCheswickPA 9:47 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

Wondering how many people in this building were even born when Ace of Spades came out? Less than 10% probably 9:55 PM Aug 28th via TweetDeck

@sandyk811 oh goodie, Jazmin & her friend are here screaming at people. Opening with IKSSE Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:17:52 PM via TweetDeck

Last time I saw @Coheed at this roller rink, I had a dream about #TenSpeed. At least I didn't drive an extra 200 miles that time Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:29:01 PM via TweetDeck

In the awards show in my brain, #Herewearejuggernaut wins "Best Overall Coheed Song" The trophy is shaped like a mushroom cloud. Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:33:41 PM via TweetDeck

The Crowing is the runner-up in that category. It wins a supply of Cheez-Its Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:38:10 PM via TweetDeck

The Suffering wins for "Song that reminds me the most of watching @Coheed in Columbus, OH" and receives a half-eaten buckeye for the effort Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:42:58 PM via TweetDeck

http://tweetphoto.com/42051538 Fitting pic through the fence #Coheed #fuckingCheswickPA Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:47:04 PM via TweetDeck

Pearl of the Stars gets the lighter/cell phone glow tribute #Coheed Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:49:08 PM via TweetDeck

Three Evils wins the award for "Song most likely to make me temporarily forget about my foot pain" Damn sesmoiditis Saturday, August 28, 2010 10:53:41 PM via TweetDeck

Claudio just gunned down the audience with his guitar. Judas Priest approves #Coheed Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:03:39 PM via TweetDeck

Everything Evil & Skeletons. Claudio complains his voice is fucking shot Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:05:33 PM via TweetDeck

WW:I Claudio's making my throat hurt Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:11:35 PM via TweetDeck

Delirium Trigger. The neck of my tshirt is too tight all of the sudden #Coheed Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:18:09 PM via TweetDeck

NWFT people are crowd surfing. Fortunately I don't see any penis #Coheed Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:26:31 PM via TweetDeck

Barf, I mean Wake Up. Claud orders everyone to sing 10x louder than normal #Coheed Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:32:10 PM via TweetDeck

Welcome Home; foot cramps Saturday, August 28, 2010 11:40:25 PM via TweetDeck
__________________________________________________________
Richmond, VA: watched all three bands; World of Lines was substituted for NWFT.
__________________________________________________________
Norfolk, VA: afraid to run into someone I know, I go in only for Coheed and leave before the very end. Bought a new shirt since I think the "newest" one I have is 3 years old.

Volbeat 8/15/10

2010-08-17T07:25:00.004-04:00

#12
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Volbeat
The Sleeping
Dommin
Recher Theatre

Dommin had their drummer off to the side so they could have a giant banner in the middle of the stage. They played a Nirvana cover.
I really liked The Sleeping although they got a somewhat lukewarm reaction. I feel like these European bands frequently do this - they invite a band on their tour that they really like but then their fans are just confused. At least they got treated better than HORSE did with Dragonforce.
Volbeat was down a man due to visa issues, but still played a nice long set. I couldn't tell if people recognized the other metal riffs they kept throwing in, although the guy in the Slayer shirt definitely did. Fun show, I just wish it wasn't all the way in Towson.

Cynic 8/8/10

2010-08-17T07:11:00.002-04:00

#11
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Cynic
Intronaut
Dysrhythmia
Rock & Roll Hotel

Dysrhythmia was good, instrumental technical stuff.
I really liked Intronaut. I think they were the opener on some other tour that I had missed before.
Cynic played their entire Focus album and had crazy lights and fog and projections and stuff.

I don't really have too much to say about it, so read this review instead:
http://dcheavymetal.com/2010/08/10/review-of-cynic-gig-at-rock-and-roll-hotel/

Asia 08.03.10

2010-08-04T08:18:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Original Asia
Birchmere

Finally saw a show at the Birchmere. Pretty nice venue, although the food & drink are damn expensive.
Asia was awesome - playing for almost 2 hours. Crazy drum solo with dual gongs. Of course the big closer was Heat of the Moment.

August Shows

2010-07-29T10:03:00.010-04:00

Mon 8/3 Boris w/Russian Circles at 9:30 Club ($16)
Sun 8/8 Cynic at R&R Hotel ($12/$15) - bought tix
Wed 8/11 Mumiy Troll at the Black Cat ($20)
Fri 8/13 Soilwork w/Death Angel at Sonar ($22/$50 VIP)
Sun 8/15 Volbeat at the Recher ($15/$17)
Thu 8/26 Beasts of No Nations at DC9 ($8)
Thu 8/26 SPSD at Iota ($10)
Sat 8/28 Coheed at that roller rink in PA - bought tix
Mon 8/30 Coheed in Richmond - bought tix
Tue 8/31 Coheed at the NorVA
Tue 8/31 Exodus at Jaxx ($18/$20)

Thu 9/2 Fu Manchu at the Black Cat ($15)
Sat 9/4 SPSD at the Red & the Black ($8)
Sun 9/5 Hank III w/Assjack at 9:30 Club ($20)
Wed 9/8 Katatonia w/Orphaned Land at Sonar ($$15/$40 VIP)
Sat 9/18 Rush at Jiffy Lube Live ($31-$126)

Thu 10/7 Katatonia w/Orphaned Land at Jaxx ($20/$23/$50)
Thu 10/7 Early Man at Sonar Club Stage ($12/$14)
Fri 10/8 36 Crazyfists at Jaxx ($12/$14)
Mon 10/25 Vader at Jaxx ($20/$23)

Sun 11/21 Cannibal Corpse at Rock & Roll Hotel ($18)

DC Heavy Metal's show calendar

2010-07-27T15:35:00.001-04:00

Since I was too lazy to make my own for July:
http://dcheavymetal.com/upcoming-concerts/

Sonisphere Istanbul 25 - 27 June 2010

2010-07-27T15:33:00.001-04:00

Sonisphere Istanbul was awesome - wish I could have stayed there longer and that we'd gotten the best tickets (ours were infield, not front of stage).
We saw:
Pentagram (the Turkish one)
Alice in Chains
Rammstein
Manowar (!)
Accept
Anthrax
Megadeth
Slayer
Metallica

M3 Fest 06.19.10

2010-06-20T23:48:00.003-04:00

OMG M3 Fest was like my 7th-grade-dreams come true! Winger! Kix! Nelson? Vince Neil! solo? Cinderella! Warrant!! The Scorpions!

There was so much hair and so many poorly-executed tattoos, it was hard to take it all in. I was sorry I missed Trixter (they played really early), but I still had a great time. I rocked it like a hurricane.

June Shows

2010-06-06T13:21:00.006-04:00

Tue 6/1 Jucifer at the Black Cat ($10)
Fri 6/4 AxCx at Sonar's Talking Head ($12)
Sun 6/6 Hall & Oates at Pier 6 Pavilion ($30-$75)
Fri 6/11 Goatwhore at the Ottobar ($15)
Thu 6/17 SPSD at R&R Hotel ($10)
Sat 6/19 M3 Rock Fest featuring the Scorpions at MPP ($35 lawn)
Fri 6/25 - Sun 6/27 Sonisphere Istanbul(!)

Wed 7/14 Soilwork w/Death Angel (!) at Jaxx ($22/$50 VIP)
Tue 7/20 Iron Maiden at Jiffy Lube Live ($31-$91)
Fri 7/23 Cap'n Jazz at the Black Cat ($17)

Sun 8/8 Cynic at R&R Hotel ($12/$15)
Wed 8/11 Mumiy Troll at the Black Cat ($20)
Fri 8/13 Soilwork w/Death Angel at Sonar ($22/$50 VIP)

Wed 9/8 Katatonia w/Orphaned Land at Sonar ($$15/$40 VIP)
Sat 9/18 Rush at Jiffy Lube Live ($31-$126)

Mon 10/25 Vader at Jaxx ($20/$23)

May Shows

2010-05-05T10:21:00.006-04:00

Tue 5/4 Thursday at the Black Cat ($18/$20)
Thu 5/6 Arsis w/Dying Fetus at Sonar Club Stage ($15/$17)
Fri 5/7 Ratt (@midnight) at Jaxx ($27/$30)
Wed 5/12 Dark Tranquility w/Threat Signal at Jaxx ($17/$20)
Thu 5/13 Salome at the Sidebar ($ )
Fri 5/14 Caverns at R&R Hotel ($10)
Sun 5/16 SPSD opening for Small Brown Bike at DC9 ($12/$14)
Thu 5/20 Agnostic Front at the Ottobar ($15)
Thu 5/27 Coheed & Cambria at 9:30 Club ($ )
Fri 5/28 Coheed & Cambria at 9:30 Club ($ )
Fri 5/28 - Sun 5/30 MD Death Fest at Sonar ($130/3 day pass)

Overkill 4.30.10

2010-05-02T23:29:00.001-04:00

#9
Friday, April 30, 2010
Overkill
Vader
God Dethroned
Warbringer
Evile
Woe of Tyrants
Krass Judgment
Jaxx

Too many bands...
Krass Judgment once gave me a free ticket, so they're awesome in my book.
Woe of Tyrants was pretty good, I guess. I was mainly in the back room.
Evile - why didn't I know that two of them were Drakes? I could have borrowed some money!
Warbringer has real purty hair.
God Dethroned was good n stuff.
Vader - my people! Also, purty hair.
Overkill - kicked ass. Terrifying fans.

Superchrist 04.19.10

2010-04-20T07:51:00.002-04:00

#8
Monday, April 19, 2010
Superchrist
Deceased
Extermination Angel
Acid Queen
The Sidebar

Nice to see everyone again. Very late show for a Monday night (got home at 2am, seems like I will be going to Russia today too...ugh).

Acid Queen plays NWoBHM with a female lead singer. Pretty cool.
Extermination Angel was pretty good.
Deceased put on a tight set for their old buddies in the crowd.
Superchrist also played a nice tight set after midnight for those left standing.

April Shows

2010-04-05T13:19:00.004-04:00

Sat 4/3 Rattler at Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Sun 4/4 Past Lives at DC9 ($8)
Tue 4/6 Finntroll at Jaxx ($27.50/$30)
Tue 4/6 Enter Shikari at Sonar ($20/$23) - bought tix
Sun 4/11 High on Fire at the Black Cat ($15)
Sun 4/11 Red Sparowes w/Doomriders at R&R Hotel ($10/$12)
Mon 4/12 Weedeater at DC9 ($12)

Mon 4/19 Deceased w/Superchrist at the Sidebar ($10)
Mon 4/19 Beatallica at the Black Cat ($10)
Tue 4/20 Mastodon at Rams Head ($25) - bought tix
Thu 4/22 The Fall of Troy at the Ottobar ($12)

Fri 4/23 Screeching Weasel at the Troc in Philly ($19/$21) - bought tix
Sun 4/25 Municipal Waste w/Toxic Holocaust at R&R Hotel ($12)
Mon 4/26 Amon Amarth w/TYR at Jaxx ($28)
Fri 4/30 Overkill w/Vader at Jaxx ($25/$28) - bought tix w/meet & greet

Coheed 52

2010-03-31T23:17:00.006-04:00

#7
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Coheed & Cambria
Earl Greyhound
The Electric City

Left sunny DC to drive through rain then snow to the home of The Office. Mrs. SK left early-ish for the club so she could get up front, while I stayed in the hotel watching "16 & Pregnant" (don't judge). Turns out I probably could have watched it longer, since nothing much was happening when I got to the Hardware Bar (there was hardware on the walls upstairs and certain decor listed as the "flooring department" and such (I never went to the bathroom to see if it was the plumbing department)). Fueled by $3 Yuengling, I managed to stick it out upstairs until almost the bitter end when I couldn't see anymore so I went downstairs where it was cooler.
Earl Greyhound was pretty good. I would probably check them out again in a different setting.
Coheed played all the stuff from the set list I saw tweeted and now can't find, but I was pretty excited that it included 21:13 and Junesong. Only a couple new songs though. Set-wise, I thought it was a top-20 show. Venue-wise: sucked big ones.
Also, met some chick who's seen CoCa 55 times, so my only accomplishment in life has now been topped AND I'm going to miss their two 9:30 Club dates in May because of a work trip.
Here's the set list: 1.) One 2.) We are the broken 3.) A Favor house atlantic 4.) The Crowing 5.) Junesong Provision 6.)Time Consumer 7.)Here we are juggernaut 8.)In Keeping secrets of silent earth:3 9.)Al The KILLER 10.)The Light and the glass 11.)World of lines 12.) The End Complete 13.)NWFT 14.(Encore)Far 15.)Welcome Home 16.)2113

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer 03.25.2010

2010-03-26T09:58:00.004-04:00

#6
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
Bellflur
Rock & Roll Hotel

I think there was another band, but we missed them because Ms. BG and I were eating at the Argonaut.
Bellflur have a ton of stuff - two percussionists, a violin, everyone seems to have a keyboard or sampler or some piece of electronic equipment in front of them. Anyway, I thought they were good and would probably check them out again. They kinda reminded me a little of CVB (probably just because of the violin) and BvS (probably because I was listening to them all day).
It's been almost three months since I've seen SPSD last, but they've definitely been working hard. They're working on their first full-length album right now and must have a great producer working with them because all of the songs are really tight and they seemed much more confident on stage. I've liked them since the first time I saw them, but they've seriously come a long way and should be proud.

The Black Dahlia Murder 03.18.2010

2010-03-26T09:51:00.003-04:00

#5
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Black Dahlia Murder
Rock & Roll Hotel

How many times have I seen BDM? 7. I enjoy them live much more than listening to their records, which I suppose holds true for a lot of bands. As long as what's-his-name takes his shirt off partway through, I'm pretty happy. Too bad those other hot dudes were bears.

March Shows

2010-03-02T10:06:00.009-05:00

Wed 3/3 Kreator w/Voivod at Jaxx ($25.50/$28.50) - bought tix
Fri 3/5 Hammerfall at Jaxx ($27.50/$30)

Sat 3/6 Super Diamond at the Rams Head ($20)
Sat 3/6 Legends of NYHC at Sonar ($16)
Sat 3/6 Saosin at the Ottobar ($13)
Tue 3/9 Caspian at the Black Cat ($10)

Sat 3/13 W.A.S.P. at Jaxx ($25)
Mon 3/15 Megadeth at 9:30 Club ($40) - bought tix

Thu 3/18 The Black Dahlia Murder at Rock & Roll Hotel ($13/$15) - bought tix
Thu 3/18 Portugal. The Man at 9:30 Club ($15)
Sun 3/21 Misery Index at Talking Head ($12)
Thu 3/25 SPSD at R&R Hotel ($10)
Mon 3/29 The Dillinger Escape Plan at the Ottobar ($18) - bought tix
Tue 3/30 Coheed in fucking Scranton PA - bought tix

Leslie & the Ly's 02.21.2010

2010-02-22T10:20:00.002-05:00

#4
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Leslie and the Ly's
DC9

Gold pants, spandex, gem sweaters. The only thing I can really say is that Leslie Hall is who Lady GaGa wishes she could be in another dimension.

February 2010 Shows

2010-01-31T23:40:00.011-05:00

Fri 2/20 Caverns w/Prisms at Comet Ping Pong (10:30pm)
Sun 2/21 Leslie & The Ly's at DC9 ($10) - bought tix

Sun 2/21 Skeletonwitch at the Red & the Black ($ )
Thu 2/25 Cage the Elephant at 9:30 Club ($15)

Sat 2/27 The Clash tribute at the Sidebar ($ )

TYR 01.16.10

2010-01-17T00:37:00.004-05:00

#3
Saturday, January 16, 2010
TYR
Jaxx

It's been a while since I've been to Jaxx, but they've remodeled and painted and it looks much bigger for some reason. Swashbuckle was still on when I got there; I stayed in the other room. Although as far as pirate metal goes, I would take them over Alestorm.
TYR was up next and bless British Airways because they were all shirtless. [BA lost their luggage with their costume armor, and it hasn't caught up to them yet.] Unfortunately I had to watch a good bit of the show through this chick's iPhone. So despite the EXTREME HOTNESS of the 7-string-Ibanez-playing guitarist, I had a shitty time. Too bad they weren't the headliners.

Salome 01.11.10

2010-01-13T00:14:00.003-05:00

#2
Monday, January 11, 2010
Salome
Black Cat

Had a nice restaurant week dinner at Cedar and since I found a pair of earplugs in the car, I decided to go to the Black Cat to watch Salome. There were more people there than I expected, though they might have been really interested in Jucifer. Salome played a pretty long set and I had to go home after that because I had an earache.

Here's another review: Slowest wall of death ever! Ha!
And some photos.

Review: Solar Powered Sun Destroyer 1.6.10

2010-01-08T13:33:00.007-05:00

#1
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sainthood Reps
Caspian
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
Tone
Ottobar

Yay, first show of the future! At my favorite venue! Traffic was pretty light so we even had time for a quick dinner before the show. We missed the first opener, but arrived before Tone started. They were really good - instrumental stuff with a great drummer.
Up next was my local favorite, Solar Powered Sun Destroyer. I have to say that this was THE BEST set I've seen them play. I predict big things for them, provided they get hooked up with the right people. Ms. CH pondered whether we're groupies or not, but I would say no, since we never talk to them. Plus, they are but babes (younger than my little bro, and therefore off my radar).
Anyway, Caspian was next. Very glad we stuck around for them, because they rawk! Instrumentally rawk, that is. Really, really great.
Finally, featuring the guitarist of Brand New, Sainthood Reps. I felt like their set was really short, but maybe they don't have that many songs. I enjoyed it and was somewhat reminded of old BN, but not exactly.

N.B. this was my 8th viewing of SPSD, though there is still a ways to go before they're in the top 3 (3IoB=14, 3=19, CoCa=51).

January 2010 Shows

2010-01-02T22:50:00.010-05:00

Now that's it's the future, maybe I'll pick up the showgoing again.
Wed 1/6 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at Ottobar ($10) - bought tix

Thu 1/7 Salome at the Sidebar ($10)
Fri 1/8 Thor at Sonar ($15/$25)
Fri 1/8 Frontiers Journey Tribute at the State Theatre ($12)

Fri 1/8 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at the Red & the Black ($10)

Sat 1/9 Frontiers Journey Tribute at the Rams Head ($10/$12)

Mon 1/11 Salome at the Black Cat ($10)
Thu 1/14 Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven at 9:30 Club ($10 - $20)

Fri 1/15 Pentagram at Jaxx ($20/$23)
Sat 1/16 Korpiklaani w/TYR & Swashbuckle at Jaxx ($20/$25) - bought tix
Sat 1/16 Real Diamond at the State Theatre ($15)

Wed 1/20 Arch Enemy, Exodus, Arsis at the Recher ($22)
Fri 1/22 Tragedy metal BeeGees tribute at Rams Head ($12/$15)

Fri 1/22 King Giant at Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Tue 1/26 Epica w/Threat Signal at Jaxx ($20/$23)

Best of 2009 w/bonus best of the 'aughts

2009-12-30T20:21:00.009-05:00

2009 was a good year: I saw 57 shows (old favorites and new discoveries from far and wide) and even got an article about my Coheed fanaticism published on the USA Today Pop Candy blog.

There's so much good stuff, it's almost too much to list:

Best show I saw in 2009: hands down, ZZ Top. They were amazing and had the biggest beards and coolest guitars too. Runner-up: Landmine Marathon
Band I'd waited the longest to see live: Propaghandi. It could have been better but after listening to them for more than half my life, I just wanted to see them.
Funnest (Most Fun?) Show I saw in 2009: The Meatmen. Definitely the best crowd of the year, best costumes and stage props and hottest drummer.
Show I traveled the farthest to see, not counting the shows I saw in Portland (since I was there on vacation, not for the shows): Coheed 51 in Buffalo
Best non-US band I saw: Lyapis Trubetskoy [kruto!] Honorable mention goes to my favorite Tuvans, Alash.
Favorite locals: tie between Solar Powered Sun Destroyer and Caverns. Don't make me pick one.
Sweatiest show: The Dillinger Escape Plan at the Rock & Roll Hotel. Runner-up: Clutch at Sonar. Yes, those were both worse than any of the outdoor shows.
Weirdest show: Bloody Panda Very close runner-up: The Devil's Blood
Other favorites in no particular order: Hall & Oates, Air Supply, Far, & Mastodon
New favorite song: Crazy for Blowjobs (obviously)
Best bands I saw for the first time in 2009: Toxic Holocaust & Salome
Best sandwich: DC Nine smoked gouda grilled cheese [non-show-related runner-up: Milano sub from The Italian Store]

Best of the 'aughts (to the best of my recollection), in no particular order

Billy Idol at the 9:30 Club - wow, that was 2001? attended with Ms. LvL, one of the most expensive tickets I'd ever bought (at that point anyway) - found the stub, it was $35
Green Day at the Patriot Center - attended with Ms. LB after winning the tickets on DC101
Coheed & Cambria in Pittsburgh - I don't know if it was the lack of sleep or what, but this was a religious experience for me
Thursday at the 9:30 Club - Tue Sep 17, 2002.
Bear vs. Shark - anywhere, anytime. I miss those guys.
Turbonegro - anytime, anywhere. Hopefully they'll go back on tour now that Euroboy is cancer-free.
Anthrax - despite the "incident"
Three at the Electric Factory - this got them on the Progressive Nation tour; too bad their label dropped them (actually two labels dropped them) recently
Sick of It All at the Ottobar, August 2004 - still the most stage diving I've ever seen

I could probably go on, but I think that's enough for now. In 2010 I hope to see more of Coheed (duh), Toxic Holocaust, and maybe some new bands.

Clutch 12.28.2009

2009-12-28T23:26:00.000-05:00

#54
Monday, December 28, 2009
Clutch
9:30 Club

Very cold night out. Didn't stay for the whole thing. Nothing stands out about the show - typical Clutch.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

December Shows

2009-12-06T21:01:00.015-05:00

Didn't get a chance to go to any shows in London and have gotten very, very lazy...
Tue 12/1 The Queers at the Ottobar ($10/$12)
Thu 12/3 Russian Circles at DC9 ($12/$14)
Fri 12/4 Pelican at R&R Hotel ($12/$14)
Wed 12/9 Prisms at Velvet Lounge ($8)
Thu 12/10 GWAR at 9:30 Club ($20)
Sat 12/12 D.R.I. at Jaxx ($15/$18)
Sun 12/13 D.R.I. at Sonar ($12/$15)
Sun 12/13 Norma Jean w/HORSE the band at the Recher ($ )
Tue 12/15 Thursday w/Dillinger Escape Plan at the Ottobar ($18) - bought tix
Wed 12/16 Wreck the Halls HxC at the Black Cat ($13/$15)
Fri 12/18 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at the Black Cat ($10/$12)
Sat 12/19 Rattler at R&R Hotel ($10)
Sun 12/27 Hatebreed at Jaxx ($20/$23)
Mon 12/28 Clutch at 9:30 Club ($25)

The Black Dahlia Murder 11.2.2009

2009-11-03T19:55:00.003-05:00

#53
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Black Dahlia Murder
Skeletonwitch
Ottobar

So as you can see by the lack of Toxic Holocaust photos, I missed Toxic Holocaust completely. And I was so happy that it only took an hour door to door but they played at 8:15. Oh well, they'll be back I'm sure. Hopefully headlining so I don't miss any of their set (although I have occasionally also missed part of the headliner's set).

Skeletonwitch I had heard of because I started reading metalsucks for some reason. There's a whole lotta beard going on with this band, which I like. Musically it was somewhat similar to 3 Inches of Blood. I would check them out again.

I thought the guitarist of BDM quit? Maybe that was the other guy. Anyway, they were pretty much the same as every other time I've seen them. Good crowd for a Metal Monday in Baltimore.

November Shows

2009-11-02T11:42:00.003-05:00

Mon 11/2 The Black Dahlia Murder w/Toxic Holocaust at the Ottobar ($14) - bought tix
Wed 11/4 Vader at Sonar ($17/$20)
Fri 11/6 Super Diamond at 9:30 Club ($22)
Sun 11/8 Mae at the Black Cat ($13/$15)
Wed 11/11 All That Remains at Rams Head ($18/$20)
Wed 11/11 Lamb of God at 9:30 Club ($35)
Wed 11/11 Brand New w/Thrice at Sonar ($26/$29)
Thu 11/12 Heathenfest at Jaxx ($20/$25)
Thu 11/12 Lionize at Sonar Club Stage ($10/$12)
Thu 11/12 Prisms at the Velvet Lounge ($8)
Fri 11/13 American Speedway at the Red & the Black ($8)
Wed 11/18 Mumiy Troll at Black Cat ($15/$17)
Wed 11/18 Baroness w/Earthless at R&R Hotel ($12)
Thu 11/19 New Rock Church of Fire at the Velvet Lounge ($8)
Thu 11/19 Valient Thorr w/Red Fang at Sonar Club Stage ($12)
Sat 11/21 Matisyahu at Sonar ($26/$28)
Mon 11/23 Marduk at Sonar ($16/$18)

Caverns 10.30.2009

2009-10-31T13:05:00.001-04:00

#52
Friday, October 30, 2009
Caverns
Office of Future Plans
Rock and Roll Hotel

Had a decent Italian hoagie at Taylor, the new Philly-style deli, before heading over to R&R for the show. My new hoodie seems to be working for me and I got several nice comments on it. We just missed Imperial China and arrived just before the new J. Robbins project, Office of Future Plans. I thought they were really good but I am still sorry that I forgot my earplugs. They were very bass-heavy even though the bass player was wearing skeleton gloves.
After OoFP finished, a lot of people left and some of them unfortunately didn't return for the crushing instrumental force of Caverns. The sound was terrible for the first song which probably didn't help things either. They did play at least one new song, which was pretty great. I lost my focus after some bitches either spit on me or spilled something which they thought was hilarious. Bitches. Also, I was disappointed by Caverns lack of sexy Halloween costumes.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Far w/Solar Powered Sun Destroyer 10.24.2009

2009-10-27T08:09:00.005-04:00

#51
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Far
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
DC9

First show since my return from the city of barricades (dunno what the nickname for Baghdad is and that seems better than bombtown). DC9 grilled cheese, where have you been all my life?

Anyway, good to see Solar Powered Sun Destroyer again. I thought they were in top form and they got to play a decent set as the opening opener. I tried to stand in a different spot, but my pictures all pretty much look the same. Although there's one where Justin looks like a giant which is pretty cool.

Missed part of the second band because we were downstairs drinking. What we saw was good - in the same vein as Far.

So, Far = Fucking amazing. I never heard of them until long after they broke up (~2004) but since I really like a lot of bands who are heavily influenced by Far I figured I would like them also. I hadn't listened to them again since then but I was pretty excited to see that they were playing a few shows. They played a good variety of songs but promised to re-learn some more and come back again. Amazing show.

October Shows

2009-10-12T12:33:00.007-04:00

well, there weren't any metal shows in Baghdad but I did find some fellow headbangers. Still bummed about missing 3IoB though.

Fri 10/2 UFO at Jaxx
Mon 10/5 In Flames w/3IoB at 9:30 Club ($ )
Thu 10/8 3IoB at the Ottobar ($12)
Thu 10/15 Lionize at R&R Hotel ($10)
Fri 10/16 Moonspell at Jaxx ($18/$20)
Sun 10/18 Revolting Cocks at Rams Head ($20)
Wed 10/21 Hall & Oates at 9:30 Club ($55)
Fri 10/23 Pig Destroyer w/Triac at the Ottobar ($25) - bought tix
Sat 10/24 FAR reunion show (!) with SPSD at DC9 ($14) - bought tix
Fri 10/30 Caverns at R&R Hotel ($10)
Sat 10/31 Mastodon w/Dethklok at the Patriot Center ($35)

Satyricon 09.25.2009

2009-09-26T08:30:00.003-04:00

#50
Friday, September 25, 2009
Satyricon
Bleeding Through
Toxic Holocaust
Sonar Club Room

I don't think I'll ever figure out the proper timing for Sonar shows. The last time I wanted to see the early bands I got there way too early and this time I missed half of Toxic Holocaust. Anyway, Toxic Holocaust was still awesome and could totally be my new favorite band. Looks like they're going to be back through this region again before the end of the year, so I'll definitely be back for that. Nuke the cross!
Bleeding Through I have seen before and I will say that at least they're hot. And neck tattooed. But although I like hardcore and I like metal, I just don't like them. Whatever.
Finally, I finally see Satyricon after at least two failed attempts to see them in the past. It was fucking awesome too. Hey, where did everybody go? A lot of people left after BT but that was OK but it looked a little sad. I think there were actually more people there for Marduk and that was on a weeknight. But they still put on a top-notch set and seemed to be really enjoying themselves. They played both old and new stuff and now I have The Wolfpack in my head (which is so much better than what was in there before). K.I.N.G. was one of the encores (they played three) so I was excited about that. No Black Lava though. Frost is an amazing drummer - even after seeing the Gojira drummer earlier this week.
I can't believe I've already been to 50 shows this year. My record is 57 which is probably beatable, although I'm missing a lot of good stuff in the next couple weeks (no Lady Gaga or 3 Inches of Blood for me, :-(

Gojira 09.22.2009

2009-09-24T12:10:00.002-04:00

#49
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Gojira
Ottobar

Two hour drive to Baltimore - guess I shouldn't have left early. I totally missed Burst on their "Farewell Tour" which sucks.
When I got there, people were chanting "Gojira, Gojira" and they came out within a few minutes of my arrival. They played a really long set, with breaks interspersed. Their stage moves reminded me of Atreyu. I really don't have much to say - metal shows at the Ottobar are weird.

ZZ Top

2009-09-14T08:42:00.007-04:00

#48
Sunday, September 13, 2009
ZZ Top
Justin Jones and the Driving Rain
9:30 Club

After watching the losers lose and drinking a couple Hop Backs at DC9, I headed over to ye olde 9:30 Club. It was still well before show time but the line outside had been cleared. I got myself an Old Rasputin (so tasty!) and secured a spot near the front.
Justin Jones and the Driving Rain is a local alt-country/singer-songwriter act who made a good impression on most of the audience. I thought they were good, although it's not my kind of music.
It wasn't too long before ZZ Top came out since the massive drum-kit (with built-in ashtray) was already set up and just needed to be uncovered. You can't tell from either of the photos, but the mic stands light up. They also had a full LED wall with graphics and stuff behind them, not to mention the rhinestone jackets. Anyway, although I wouldn't say I'm a huge ZZ Top fan I do really love blues rock and I knew all the songs they played. Billy Gibbons must have had at least 4 different guitars during the set, and I wish I could have gotten a better look at them. The pic is not only fuzzy, those are fuzzy guitars. Awesome. The set was about and hour and a half total with the final encore being an extended version of Tush. This show was seriously amazing: seeing a band that's been around for nearly 40 years who are still at the top of their game playing at 9:30 is hard to beat.
An aside: this crowd was only about one step below a Clutch crowd in terms of pushiness but the old fogie behind me seriously underestimated my stamina [I got a bruised kidney once, jackass. I only move when I'm in danger of being kicked in the face.].

Motorhead 09.08.09

2009-09-09T08:30:00.003-04:00

#47
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Motorhead
Reverend Horton Heat
9:30 Club

Lovely weather for a show night. Also, I got the freakin sweetest parking space on 9th Street even though I got there after it started [I have no interest in Nashville Pussy].

Ah, Reverend Horton Heat, it's been a long time. They played a handful of new songs and all the "hits" (as it were). I couldn't see very well due to the 7ft tall guy standing in front of me at the balcony rail. But then I had to move anyway because of giant nostril girl BREATHING on me; it was like a leaf blower hitting my arm. Seriously.

It didn't seem like it was too long before Motorhead came out. They have Matt Sorum on drums right now. There really weren't any surprises in their set, although I didn't stay until the bitter end since my legs are still sore from walking around the Ren Fest for 7 hours on Monday. Plus, even though it was like dude city up in the joint, there were no hot single dudes there. [If you are a hot single dude you may prove me wrong by posting your photo in the comments. Hey, it's worth a try...]

September Shows

2009-09-02T16:27:00.008-04:00

Tue 9/8 Down w/Melvins at Sonar ($25/$30)
Tue 9/8 Motorhead at 9:30 Club ($35)
Thu 9/10 As Tall As Lions at Jammin Java ($12)
Fri 9/11 Salome at the Talking Head ($8)
Sat 9/12 Vinny Vegas at the Red & the Black ($8)
Sun 9/13 ZZ Top at 9:30 Club ($75) - bought tix
Tue 9/15 Angry Samoans at the Ottobar ($ 12) - bought tix
Sat 9/19 Enforcer at the Talking Head ($8)
Sun 9/20 GWAR at Sonar ($20/$23)
Tue 9/22 Gojira w/Burst at the Ottobar ($12) - bought tix
Wed 9/23 Sunn O))) at Sonar ($15/$17)
Wed 9/23 KMFDM at 9:30 Club ($25)
Fri 9/25 Rattler w/New Rock Church of Fire at R&R Hotel ($10)
Fri 9/25 Satyricon w/Toxic Holocaust at Sonar ($18/$20)
Tue 9/29 Lady Gaga at Constitution Hall ($43.50)
Wed 9/30 Andrew W.K. and Calder Quartet at 6th & I Synagogue ($20/$25)

Crime-Camera Extravaganza: Coheed 50 & 51

2009-08-31T15:56:00.006-04:00

#45 (50th of Coheed)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Coheed & Cambria
Crocodile Rock
Allentown, PA

I had no idea the blue-lighted crime cameras were so prevalent outside of DC and Baltimore. Although I can see why both of these cities have them: I made a note not to wear shoes with laces in Allentown, just in case. Outside the club in Buffalo, some plain-clothes cops were talking about how someone should have known what was going to get them stabbed. Yikes.

Anyway, I was super-excited about Coheed 50 though I probably shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it since I missed the first third of the show due to traffic (it took an extra hour to get to Allentown). It was like Hamburg all over again (at least I got inside the club) . What I did hear was great, of course, although very predictable. The ceiling was dripping with something (hopefully it was just condensation) and everyone was very, very sweaty. I got the set list from the sound guy (forgot his name about 1/2 second after he told me) and got out of there as quickly as I could.

#46 (51st of Cohee d)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Coheed & Cambria
Town Ballroom
Buffalo, NY

The Town Ballroom in Buffalo was pretty nice and if I'd gotten there earlier I probably could had a better place to stand, but the door staff wouldn't let me bring my camera in and that took up most of the extra time I'd left myself. So I spent much of the show viewing the band through the camera phone screens of the two little princesses in front of me (I seriously hope those guys were their dads, not their dates, but I don't know how y'all roll in the Queen City). At any rate, they played the same set as Allentown although they did seem to be having a good time on stage. Oh, and I Googled the cover song.

So, now I've got to find something to do until Coheed tours again after their new album comes out sometime next year. [As much as I'd like to go back to WA for other reasons, I can't make it to their Puyallup Fair show on Wednesday 9/16. I'm also very sorry to miss the Austin City Limits Fest, because I'll be in Baghdad.]

Pop Candy Guest Blog

2009-08-26T15:24:00.000-04:00

Yay!
What's it like to see one band 50 times?

Coheed 49 w/Heaven and Hell 08.23.2009

2009-08-23T23:54:00.006-04:00

#44
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Heaven & Hell
Coheed & Cambria
Merriweather Post Pavilon

Ugh, outdoor shows are not my favorite. At least the weather was better than the past week or so - with slightly less typical August heat and humidity. I got there pretty early since MPP starts their shows on time. Coheed played for about 50 minutes, focusing on the heaviest songs in their oeuvre - No World, Gravemakers, IKSSE, Ten Speed, End Complete w/Trooper medley, Al the Killer (!), Welcome Home, and The Final Cut. It was OK - kinda petered out there in the middle, but I'm not sure why. The Final Cut was great with the "self-indulgent prog wankery" including the theremin, talk box, and Claudio playing guitar with a drumstick (not the ice cream or poultry variety).
My friend just sent me the new Heaven and Hell album but they didn't cover too much new material, though they did do Fear which I thought was the best track. Their stage set was pretty cool - it looked like it was decorated for my friends' Halloween party with huge gargoyles and chains and gazing ball thingys and a screen that looks like lightning. Not too much to say about these guys since they're so amazing (and magical). They played an extra-long version of Heaven and Hell and Neon Knights was the encore so I left satisfied.
I may also have to look into getting a new camera because the one I viewed most of the show though was freakin sweet (the guy held it up the whole time).

Bellman Barker 08.14.2009

2009-08-15T01:14:00.002-04:00

#43
Friday, August 14, 2009
Bellman Barker
Rock & Roll Hotel

So it was the R&R Hotel's 3rd anniversary party featuring a few local bands including Lady TJ's favorites Bellman Barker. It was OK, I guess. They played a fairly short set of new songs and covers. It was not as traumatizing as the R&R's 1st birthday though, with the AWK fail.

Marduk / Withered 08.12.2009

2009-08-13T16:55:00.002-04:00

#42
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Marduk
Withered
Black Anvil
Sonar Club Stage

I readily admit I don't know much about black metal, beyond say, Satyricon (whom I like) and Enslaved (which sounds like boring emo to me) and some of the more scandalous stuff that happened in the past (still need to read that book though). I guess maybe if I did I would have been more successful at hitting on hot dudes or realized that there would be more gay dudes there (maybe they were successful at hitting on the hotties?).

Anyway, speaking of three hot sweaty dudes, NY's Black Anvil was the first band I saw. Unfortunately I was completely bored by them - not really my thing. I was however, mesmerized by the drummers pierced, tattoo-encircled, gyrating man-boob.

Withered has four hot sweaty dudes and lots and lots of stage fog. I really liked them and am actually considering seeing them again this weekend since I took off from work for a change. It was sometime during their set that I was first annoyed by the guy who smelled like onions who took tons and tons of flash photos into the stage fog [tip: don't do that] and the couple (the only two people not dressed in black BTW) who were making out like crazy under the PA. It was kind of like being on the Moscow metro, though fortunately without the barrel of an AK-47 sticking into my sweaty back.

Finally, after unsuccessfully buying a beer for someone and then talking to another cute guy, Marduk came out. They played a really long set in their corpse paint and there were a lot of happy (drunk) people forming a mosh pit and generally falling all over the place. I did find it amusing that the female-half of the crazy make-out couple made the guy hold her beer and purse so she could get in the pit. I was also amused when someone headbutted them while they were making out. Overall, a very successful evening. [Also, I just learned that Marduk is also the ancient patron diety of Babylon - thanks, Wikipedia!]

Clutch 08.08.09

2009-08-09T15:11:00.007-04:00

#41
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Clutch
Lionize
Caverns
Sonar

Ms. Ch and I had the distinct privilege of taking a young English lass to her first concert ever! I think she liked it even though it was very hot, sweaty and crowded. I have definitely been to sold-out shows at Sonar before but I think this was the most uncomfortable one. It doesn't help when people spill beer all over your legs and talk smack about how they're going to beat up the opening bands (which always seems to happen at Clutch shows).
Speaking of being threatened, DC's own Caverns started out the show with a fairly lengthy set of their heavy piano rock. I enjoyed it and definitely would not beat them up in the parking lot afterwards.
Moving farther north, Silver Spring's Lionize put on a great set. I really enjoyed them and didn't hear any threats since they sound much more like Clutch than Caverns does.
Finally, the mightly Clutch in all their bearded glory came out. Had I been alone, I would have definitely fled to the perimeter much earlier but since I was with two other ladies, I felt like I should stand my ground behind the two tallest dudes in the club. Anyway, Clutch played a pretty long set for their home-state crowd and my two favorite songs were near the beginning. We didn't stay until the bitter end because after you've given hundreds of incidental lapdances for no tips and you're all sticky from other people's spilled beer it's not quite as appealing no matter what the lead singer looks like. Still, had a great time in my favorite city. Iggie's Pizza is awesome! Now I'm off to post my missed-connections ad for that beardo in the gray t-shirt (who unfortunately did not grope me at all).
Here's a video of the show:
Pure Rock Fury

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer 08.06.09

2009-08-07T01:57:00.004-04:00

#40
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
Gray Young
Prisms
Eat People
Comet Ping Pong, CT Ave NW

So very tired. Apparently 10pm is the new 8pm and now it's 2am. Georgetown ho's and d-bags are the dumbest people I've come across today and I took the metro filled with tourists AND was on the Kennedy Center shuttle with a woman who was talking about how JFK was assassinated in 1951 when she was in high school. But I did get to see some awesome Tuvan throat singing from Alash and their American dude Shawn. And I got to practice my Russian a little while trying to become a throat singing groupie. [I totally got all their autographs.]
Later...
Eat People is from Frederick and reminded me somewhat of Verbal but with lyrics and neck tattoos.
Prisms was really good - much like SPSD.
Gray Young was also good and in the same vein.
SPSD played some new songs and some old songs and managed not to kill me with their theatrical haze.

August Shows

2009-08-01T19:06:00.017-04:00

Sat 8/1 Triac at the Talking Head Club ($15)
Mon 8/3 Mogwai at the 9:30 Club ($25)
Tue 8/4 Agent Orange w/Fear at Jaxx ($20/$25)
Thu 8/6 SPSD at Comet Ping-Pong ($5)
Sat 8/8 Clutch w/Baroness at Sonar ($25/$30)
Wed 8/12 Marduk at Sonar ($16/$18)
Fri 8/14 Threat Signal at the Golden Monkey tattoo shop, Fredericksburg, VA
Thu 8/20 Bloody Panda at the Talking Head Club ($8)
Sat 8/22 Judas Priest w/Whitesnake at Merriweather Post
Sun 8/23 Coheed opens for Heaven & Hell at Merriweather Post
Tue 8/25 Rattler at DC9
Wed 8/26 Coheed at the Croc Rock in Allentown
Sat 8/29 Coheed at the Town Ballroom, Buffalo NY

Frontiers 07.24.2009

2009-07-26T08:51:00.002-04:00

#39
Friday, July 24, 2009
Frontiers
State Theatre

This is the kind of thing that's fun if you go with a group, so I got a group together and we hit the Dogfish Head Ale House in Falls Church and then the State Theatre for the ultimate tribute to Journey. Frontiers was actually really good (after that Motley Crue tribute that didn't even have a cowbell, I'm always suspicious when something is the "ultimate" tribute to something). The singer has a close-enough Steve Perry voice (see current incarnation of Journey) and the guitar player was amazing. I have to admit that I have never seen the guitar played with a platform sandal or toy ray gun before (although nothing tops the piece of fence).

Salome + Bloody Panda 07.23.2009

2009-07-24T16:03:00.003-04:00

#38
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Bloody Panda
Salome
The Red & The Black

Huge lightning storms tonight. 2nd time seeing Salome. They played a good set to the small crowd.

Bloody Panda is one of the weirdest bands I've ever seen. There are six members - five in black hoods with a tiny Japanese girl who sings very ethereally over the crushing doom. One of the other guys does some throat singing, which was awesome. How many times have I thought that metal needs more throat singing? And there were chimes and a keyboard and it was just weird. Good, but weird.

Here's a City Paper piece with some photos.

Fort Reno Monday

2009-07-22T10:27:00.002-04:00

#37
Monday, July 20, 2009
Meredith Bragg
Hey Arbore
Fort Reno

I couldn't hear very well due to the loud teenagers behind me. Hey Arbore was a mostly-female popish group.
Meredith Bragg is a boy - singer-songwriter stuff that I wished I could have heard better.
I need to lie on the ground and look up at the sky and trees more often.

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer/Paper Route 07.15.2009

2009-07-17T10:34:00.004-04:00

#36
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
Audrye Sessions
Paper Route
DC9

We got there pretty early for some of the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever made (with smoked gouda) and onion rings. Very tasty.
I couldn't believe the line for this show - it must have taken at least 30 minutes to get the folks of all ages upstairs.
SPSD started playing before the line was through so we listened to the first few songs from down below. Still sounded good though. Their newish lineup and new songs are all great. Note that this is a new photo from Wednesday night, even though it looks much like the last time I saw them. SPSD is now in the 5x viewing club as well - congratulations!
Next up was CA-based Audrye Sessions. Definitely good tour-mates for Paper Route. I thought they were pretty good, though I don't think I liked them as much as Ms. Ch. I also prefer my men with socks.
I was a little confused that Paper Route were headlining, although that certainly wasn't a bad thing and we probably wouldn't have watched Audrye Sessions otherwise. They put on a good set in the crowded, sweaty upstairs of DC9. I don't have much new to say about them.

Caverns 07.02.2009

2009-07-02T22:26:00.005-04:00

#35
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Caverns
Aerialist
The Eubonics
Fort Reno

I got there early enough to catch the end of The Eubonics. Look 'em up, cuz I don't know what to say about them.
There definitely weren't as many people there as Monday night but still a good crowd. Saw some really nice dogs too. Had a lovely picnic with Ms. TJ and her dude who keeps hanging around. He was trying to breed fireflies.
Aerialist was good - Arlington rockers.
I really like Caverns and this set was no exception. They played some songs I don't recall hearing before. I was less concerned that they might injure themselves, although as soon as they got on stage the sky looked very ominous. But the huge dark cloud passed over and the moon was out by the time they ended with nary a drop of rain having fallen. Oh and this was the 5th time I've seen them, so welcome to the club Caverns!

July Shows

2009-07-01T01:08:00.012-04:00

Wed 7/1 Ruiner at the Velvet Lounge ($7)
Thu 7/2 Caverns at Fort Reno
Thu 7/2 Middle Distance Runner w/New Rock Church of Fire at the State Theatre ($12/$114)
Fri 7/10 Psyopus w/Atheist at Jaxx ($20/$23)
Fri 7/10 August Burns Red w/Iwrestledabearonce and Enter Shikari at the Recher ($16)
Sat 7/11 Madball at Sonar ($10)
Wed 7/15 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer w/Paper Route at DC9 ($10/$12)
Thu 7/16 Evergreen Terrace at Fletcher's ($10/$12)
Sun 7/19 Evergreen Terrace at Jaxx ($12/$15)
Thu 7/23 Nachtmahr at DC9 ($10/$12)
Thu 7/23 Caverns at the Velvet Lounge ($8)
Fri 7/24 Frontiers [the Ultimate Tribute to Journey] at the State Theatre ($12)
Fri 7/24 Abigail Williams w/Goatwhore at Jaxx ($12/$15)
Fri 7/24 SPSD & Caverns at the Talking Head ($8)
Wed 7/29 Torche at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($14)
Thu 7/30 The Answer at Rock & Roll Hotel ($10/$12)

Hank III/Assjack 06.30.2009

2009-06-30T23:37:00.002-04:00

#34
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hank III & Assjack
9:30 Club

Very confused about this crowd. I guess Hank III is country for people who listen to Slayer. Or something like that. And people who drink a whole lot on Tuesday nights. Due to a freak rainstorm, I missed the opener Lucky Tubb, who is the grandson of country legend Ernest Tubb who toured with country legend Hank Sr. Anyway, I was looking forward to this show since I listened to Hank III all the way across eastern Oregon in the pimpmobile. He played for over an hour and then switched off into Assjack which is his hellbilly band. Normally I don't really go for this kind of music, but I think I may have to look into it further, since aside from hxc shows I've never seen this many neck tats in one place.

Ft. Reno Concert 06.29.2009

2009-06-30T09:59:00.003-04:00

#33
Monday, June 29, 2009
Small Doses
Cigarbox Planetarium
Fort Reno
WTOP article

Fun evening under the clouds and stars. Can't really describe Small Doses - 3-piece rock outfit. Cigarbox Planetarium was like lounge music with a keyboard and guitar. I liked their lamps.

Sick of it All 06.19.2009

2009-06-23T07:54:00.003-04:00

#32
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sick of it All
Bane
Wisdom in Chains
Ottobar

Thankfully not as hot or crowded as the last show I saw. Wisdom in Chains was good. Some guy in the audience said he is too fat for hardcore, but for me it's not hardcore if there's no fat guys. The singer from Bane was wearing the same shirt he always wears - at least he wasn't wearing that wool hat though. Sick of it All was great. I left after the wall of death though because my feet hurt too much to stand there anymore but they played for over an hour that I saw.

The Dillinger Escape Plan 06.11.2009

2009-06-12T22:52:00.003-04:00

#31
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Number 12 Looks Like You
Rock & Roll Hotel

I only caught the last song of The Number 12 Looks Like You and it was great. Wish I'd seen more.

It was so hot and extremely humid in the club, I didn't think I was going to last long. My bar stamp melted off my hand before DEP even came on stage. I managed to make it through half the set. Crowd was super-lame - not a looker in the bunch. Sad.

Did meet a very nice Necrophagist fan at Wonderland though, so my night ended OK.

June Shows

2009-05-31T20:51:00.015-04:00

Wed 6/3 Cracker at the State Theater ($20)
Thu 6/4 The Business at DC9 ($15)
Fri 6/5 Caverns at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Fri 6/5 Threat Signal at Jaxx ($12/$14)
Fri 6/5 Summer Slaughter tour w/Necrophagist at Sonar ($20/$25)
Sat 6/6 Summer Slaughter tour in Richmond ($20/$25)
Wed 6/10 Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band at the Black Cat ($10)
Wed 6/10 Victims at the Talking Head ($10)
Thu 6/11 The Dillinger Escape Plan at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($16; bought tix)
Sun 6/14 Real Diamond at the State Theatre ($15)
Tue 6/16 Portugal. The Man at the Ottobar ($10)
Tue 6/16 Trampled by Turtles at Iota ($10)
Fri 6/19 Sick of It All at the Ottobar ($15) bought tix
Thu 6/25 Pansy Division at the Velvet Lounge ($10)
Sat 6/27 Alex Skolnick Trio at Fletcher's ($10)
Mon 6/29 Abigail Williams w/Goatwhore at Sonar Club Stage ($13/$16)
Tue 6/30 Hank III at 9:30 Club ($20)

Coheed & Cambria May 28 - 29, 2009

2009-05-31T18:15:00.007-04:00

#29 [47th of Coheed]
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Coheed & Cambria
House of Blues Atlantic City

I got there after Coheed had already started, but I didn't miss too much. Apparently they didn't play any new songs, which was what I was really hoping for here. It was nice to see my fellow fanatic and her daughter as well as my favorite fellow-Pennsylvanian-who-used-to-manage-Coheed. Claudio's voice sounded really good.

This photo has nothing to do with Coheed but I went to Cape May, since I always wanted to go there.

#30 [48th of Coheed]
Friday, May 29, 2009
Coheed & Cambria
Starland Ballroom
Sayreville, NJ

I think Kylesa was still on when I got there but it was so packed full at that point that I decided to spend the whole show in the back near the bar area, watching the tv screens. Not like I really need to see anything at this point - I know what they look like and what they do on stage. The last time I saw Claudio do something original was probably last year when I first saw him with that stupid theremin (which he still has). I was pleasantly surprised they played Al the Killer. I left before the end of the encore because the idiots parked next to me were very bad drivers and I had also given up on my other lost cause of the evening.
I've already seen 30 shows this year and seen old favorites for the first time (Air Supply, Hall & Oates) and I met Capt. Phil Harris. I have no idea what I will do for the rest of this year.

Edited to add that this trip cost me $25.50 in tolls. Thanks god for E-ZPass.

Book Review: Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore

2009-05-26T19:40:00.003-04:00

By Albert Mudrian

Thanks to having jury duty last week (which provided 8 hours of uninterrupted reading time), I finally finished this book which I purchased some time ago. Overall it was an interesting read, although a lot of it was along the lines of "this guy and this guy had a band that never played a show but recorded a tape that this other guy got in the mail and then two of those guys formed another band that played one show with this other guy who was later in yet another band." And everyone was named Mark or Mike or Danny or something (except for Chuck from Death and Trey from Morbid Angel). And there were no females involved, with the recent exception of Angela from Arch Enemy (Jo from Bolt Thrower got a one-line quote, though I guess Bolt Thrower is neither death metal nor grindcore).
By the standards of the book, I would not really consider myself a death metal fan (although I'm largely unfamiliar with Death; Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Nile and the like don't really "do it" for me). Near the end of the book, the author says something like despite the fact that there have been literally thousands of death metal bands, none have really changed the formula or raised the profile of the scene because all those bands sound the same.
On the other hand, I looove grindcore, which is probably because I have a very short attention span and also identify with the political elements present in the lyrics. But since there are so many fewer grindcore bands, the focus of the book is really Napalm Death and death metal.
One thing that did strike me after finishing the book is that metal - especially so called "extreme metal" - is really a small, insular scene. Although thanks to this book, it's one I now know more about so I can act all superior when discussing such things in the future. Sweet.

Lyapis Trubetskoy 05.22.2009

2009-05-26T19:15:00.002-04:00

#28
Friday, May 22, 2009
Lyapis Trubetskoy
State Theatre

I was so excited when I saw this show advertised - Lyapis is my very favorite Belorussian rock band and I've been listening to them for over 10 years and never thought I would have a chance to see them live.
This show was pretty expensive though and holding it the Friday before Memorial Day was probably what contributed to the small crowd. There were two opening bands that I didn't catch the name of, although I think they may have been local. Both were sort of pop-punk bands (one was more emo).
Lyapis Trubetskoy could be classified as a ska band, since they have horns, but they play a pretty wide variety of rock styles. They played a lot of stuff that wasn't so familiar to me (new?) but since they played for two hours they covered some of my favorites too. I doubt I'll see this many Belorussian flags in one place again for a while. Very fun show.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (featuring a special live performance by Anvil!)

2009-05-21T08:11:00.004-04:00

Anvil! The Story of Anvil official film website

I had wanted to see this documentary anyway, since the story behind bands making it or not fascinates me, but when I saw that Anvil would actually be playing after the movie I definitely had to go. As I'm sure you are aware, Anvil is a Canadian metal band which originated in the early 1980's alongside many other bands who subsequently became huge superstars. The documentary begins with some footage of them performing at a 1982 heavy metal festival in Japan with future superstars Scorpions and Bon Jovi. Then it cuts to Anvil in their current lives (jobs/families/etc.) and follows them for over a year on a disastrous European tour and the recording of a new album. There are also some interviews with other musicians who were influenced by Anvil who also speculate on the reason that Anvil never got huge.
I would say that even though Anvil have yet to achieve metal superstar status, they haven't done too badly. They (apparently) never had any major drug/alcohol problems, they have paying jobs and families who love and support them, and they've never stopped playing music or trying to achieve their dreams.
Though the film plays a little like a real-life Spinal Tap, it leaves you routing for Anvil, so it was quite appropriate for them to play a short set after the film. They played their new song Thirteen and of course Metal on Metal, 666, and the song surrounding the drum solo that is White Rhino.
I ran into the guys from Relentless, who were right up front singing along with Anvil and were also disturbed by the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the DC post-movie crowd.

Exodus + Kreator 05.17.2009

2009-05-18T08:01:00.006-04:00

#27
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Kreator
Exodus
Jaxx

I had to work until 8, so I missed the three openers: Epicurean, Warbringer, and Belphegor. I don't think I missed much of Exodus, but they were already on by the time I came in. I bought this ticket back in October, thinking this show would sell out, although they still had tickets at the door (it must have been close to sold-out though). Exodus played for a least an hour and I thought it was better than the last time I saw them (and the time they ruined my Valentine's Day, when the show got cancelled).

Kreator was thrash-tastic and played for over an hour. There was some relatively non-wacky stage banter but mostly they just played straight through hitting the new songs as well as the classics. At the beginning of the encore, I went to go to the bathroom and discovered that there were several Fairfax County cops in the back so I figured it was time to go at that point.

Apparently I missed the final-night-of-the-tour-prank (I was hoping for some naked sombrero action, but this looks good too):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3YrN5lXtLA

Mastodon 5.12.09

2009-05-13T23:28:00.004-04:00

#26
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Mastodon
9:30 Club

I spent most of the day on planes coming back from Portland and only got home around 7pm after a quick stop at Z-Burger [I give the onion rings a 6, mostly for the sauce]. So I wasn't up for Intronaut or Kylesa. I cabbed it over to 9:30 club just in time.
Mastodon played the full new album Crack the Skye and a second set of older songs. 9:30 was totally packed so I couldn't really see anything. I really wanted a hoodie but they only had small and extra-small. Good jorb.
Here's an Express article/interview with Bill.

Napalm Death + Toxic Holocaust 05.05.2009

2009-05-13T23:05:00.004-04:00

#25
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Napalm Death
Toxic Holocaust
Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR

So after meeting Capt. Phil in Albany, OR and not understanding how to get tickets to the Deadliest Catch viewing party featuring him and Jake, I headed back to Portland for the Napalm Death show. I was sad that I missed Coliseum but excited to see Toxic Holocaust on their home turf. I think they could be my new favorite band.
I skipped out on Kataklysm and watched Deadliest Catch in the front bar.
There weren't many people there for Napalm Death but enough of them annoyed me. The venue was OK - the all ages part of the floor is separated from the 21+ portion by the sound booth. The Napalm Death set was basically the same as Jaxx, though they didn't have any sound problems. At least Portland has good beer.

Stormcrow 05.02.09

2009-05-13T22:03:00.004-04:00

#24
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Stormcrow
Thrones
Aldebaran
Satyricon, Portland OR

So I didn't take any pictures of the bands because it was too dark in the show room. I also didn't get a picture of the "Hard Corn" sign on the popcorn machine, so you'll have to settle for the menu featuring punk corn.
Dude, these bands were so crusty it would take me a year of not bathing to get in with this crowd. It was pretty cool though. Very loud and sludgey. I was so exhausted after midnight (3am for me since I just got into PDX that afternoon) I had to leave before Japanese headliners Coffins.
My Ukrainian taxi driver educated me about the new Russian pop. Very entertaining evening.
I should also say that the one bouncer at this club was the best looking guy I saw in Portland.

Super Diamond 5.1.2009

2009-05-13T00:18:00.002-04:00

#23
Friday, May 1, 2009
Super Diamond
The Reflex
9:30 Club

Even though Super Diamond seems to play DC all the time, this was the first time Ms. dW and I managed to catch them since it was a Friday night. I got there super-early so for only the second time in history I got a seat at the top bar. Cuz I'm old and needed to go home and pack for my trip since I was leaving for Portland at 8am.

The Reflex is a local 80's cover band and I thought they were good. People on the floor definitely seemed to be having fun. Although the bassist was wearing a Debbie Gibson shirt and they didn't even do any DG songs...

Super Diamond is of course the ultimate Neil Diamond tribute, even down to the pompadours and fringe. They did a pretty big variety of songs, although they didn't do my favorite (since I was little - Song Sung Blue) or dW's favorite (Desiree). I'll definitely have to check them out again when I can relax and stand a little more.

May Shows

2009-04-30T21:48:00.005-04:00

Fri 5/1 Super Diamond at 9:30 Club ($22)
Sun 5/3 Paganfest (featuring Korpiklaani) comes to Jaxx? ($30/$35)
Tue 5/5 Napalm Death at the Hawthorne Theater in Portland, OR
Thu 5/7 Big Business at the Rock & Roll Hotel
Tue 5/12 Mastodon at 9:30 Club
Tue 5/12 Iwrestledabearonce at the Ottobar ($12/$14)
Fri 5/15 Hammer No More the Fingers at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Sat 5/16 A Life Once Lost at Jaxx ($13/$15)
Sun 5/17 Kreator/Exodus/Warbringer/Epicurean at Jaxx ($22/$25) - already bought tix
Fri 5/22 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at the Velvet Lounge ($8)
Fri 5/22 Lyapis Trubetskoi at the State Theatre ($41)
Sat 5/23 The Bakerton Group at 9:30 Club ($15)
Tue 5/26 Mae at the Ottobar ($14)
Thu 5/28 Coheed at AC HOB (yes, I bought a ticket at a 30% markup, thx Ticketmasters)
Fri 5/29 Coheed at Starland Ballroom (how lost will I get this time, with GPS?)
Sat 5/30 Pelican w/Isis at the Black Cat ($13/$15)

Bellman Barker 04.28.2009

2009-04-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

#22
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Cage the Elephant
Bellman Barker
9:30 Club

I met up with my friend TJ and her friends for her favorite local band Bellman Barker for an early show at 9:30 Club. I missed the first few songs but I liked what I saw - laid back indie rock with some random instruments and samples thrown in. It was their first time playing 9:30 Club so it was a great night for them.

Cage the Elephant are a five-piece of very young looking dudes from KY who are probably one of the next big things. They reminded me somewhat of The Blood Brothers mixed with blues rock. The live show was very spastic, while their recorded stuff sounds a little different. I really liked a couple of the songs but overall it was not really my thing.

Russian Circles 04.26.2009

2009-04-27T19:29:00.008-04:00

#21
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Russian Circles
Lichens
Sweet Cobra
Ottobar

Got into a traffic tie-up on 70 coming back from PA so I ended up taking route 40 all the way to Frederick so I had a nice scenic drive. I was worried about getting there too early but I ended up at the Ottobar just before Sweet Cobra started. Sweet Cobra was good - kinda stoner rock stuff and the singer had neck tattoos.
Next up was one-man act Lichens which was so weird - bird noises and ambient sounds and experimental stuff. I didn't even realize he was playing until someone asked when the next band was coming on and it was explained that this was it. So weird.
Russian Circles are a 3-piece instrumental band from Chicago that I've been trying to see for a while. I missed them with Coheed and also in their headlining show at the Ottobar this time last year so this was the first time I'd actually seen them. They had lots of stage fog and very minimal lighting (one light) and played for probably 45 minutes. Both the bass player and the guitarist switched instruments a few times, but I'm not really sure of the reasoning behind that - maybe they're tuned differently? Anyway, I really enjoyed it and hope to see them again in the future.

Air Supply! 04.24.2009

2009-04-27T18:36:00.004-04:00

#20
Friday, April 24, 2009
Air Supply (!)
Wheeling Island Casino
Wheeling, WV

You would think that someone who loves wuss rock as much as I do would have known that Air Supply are not, in fact, dead. But I totally thought they were - or at least not still touring - and yet when I set up my various preferences for music on iLike, there they were: on tour at casinos around the country. So I made plans to drag my sister-in-law along (we're both younger than the group Air Supply) to Wheeling Island, the classiest WV casino this side of Charles Town. We didn't get there in time for the dog racing but we did managed to make it before Air Supply started. The Showroom is basically just a very large ballroom area with a ton of chairs set up in front of a stage. There was no rake to the floor and the center section was way too long of a row. But it wasn't bad - I could see fine the whole time. I felt kinda bad for anyone blocked by a whole party of drunk girls (who were probably younger than me) dancing in the aisle.
Air Supply - Graham and Russell - and their hired guns (keys/guitar/bass/drums) played for almost two hours, changed shirts a couple times, did a solo acoustic song, had some crazy banter, and even came down into the audience full of crazed fans to shake hands and hug the ladies. They did all the hits, including songs I didn't even know they recorded like The Power of Love and Without You [which I only think of as Ken Lee] and songs that I had totally forgotten about like Just As I Am and Two Less Lonely People in the World [which are definitely going in my musical featuring the songs of Air Supply]. At any rate, I definitely want to see them again and I really need to get cracking on my musical.

The Meatmen 04.22.2009

2009-04-27T18:17:00.003-04:00

#19
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Meatmen
American Speedway
DC9
PHOTOS!

Even though last week I managed two shows each on two different nights, there was no way I could do more than one of the three I wanted to see this night. It sucked that I was out the money for one ticket to this show since I couldn't find anyone to go with me and the money I spent on the ticket for The Haunted (which I had thought was on Thursday when I bought it). Plus my old friend playing with the Murder Junkies was all the way up in Morgantown and I doubt I could have made it there on time for the show.

As it was, I missed a couple of the openers of this show and came in just before Pennsylvania's own American Speedway. I had wanted to see them a few months back at DC9's sister club across town - The Red & The Black - but didn't get out to that show. They have a kinda southern punk thing going on and I liked it. At one point in their set, some drunk guy got up and took the mic and then moshed into two of the guys until some people pulled him off stage. Weird.

Then it was getting pretty crowded and hot and so it must have been time for El Matador Tesco Vee and his hired guns in The Meatmen. Not that there's anything wrong with hired guns, especially if they're hot and/or wearing mullet wigs and/or studded codpieces. Or cowboy hats.
Anyway...this was definitely the craziest show I've seen at DC9 with several drunk people forming a small mosh pit for almost the entire show and lots of crowd participation. I think they had a good time and even though they probably could have played a few more songs it was a good time overall.

Dredg / AxCx 04.18.2009

2009-04-19T03:21:00.004-04:00

#17
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Dredg
Torche
Sonar Club Stage

I missed the first opener and got there minutes before Torche came on. I bought two of the other early Dredg cds from the cute mustachioed merch guy and found a spot in the back corner where I thought I could remain unmolested. Unfortunately I guess a lot of other people thought the same thing plus it was the only way to get to the bar so I think almost every person in the room ran into me at some point. Anyway, I liked Torche a little better than the first time I saw them, but think they're still not really my thing.
By this point, it was getting pretty steamy in the room and there was zero air circulation so by the time Dredg came on it was almost unbearable. Gavin said he likes the heat in the club though. They also mentioned that AxCx was playing next door, which was kinda funny. Dredg's new album hasn't actually come out yet, but they did play a handful of new songs which were all great. With about five songs remaining, I had to go out in the hall because I couldn't stand the heat anymore. So from there I got to hear my favorite which mentions the color of my car as well as a few other old favorites. Then I headed around the corner to the Talking Head (a/k/a the back room of Sonar).

#18
Anal Cunt
Strong Intention
Talking Head Club

The Talking Head is actually a way better space than the Club Stage, except for the in-room bathroom which makes everything smell like piss. Although it was cooler so it wasn't exactly like the NYC subway in the summer. I've seen Strong Intention's name on a lot of shows but I don't think I've ever seen them before. Apparently it's just some dudes I've seen at Jaxx - some as recently as last Sunday's Napalm Death show. I thought they were pretty good - all the songs were pretty much just as fast and loud as possible.
Finally, well after midnight Anal Cunt came on. Seth is looking rough - like Lemmy on a bad day. No sweatpants this time though. Gavin from Dredg and their cute merch guy did come over to watch, so that was cool. Not much to say about AC except they played a lot longer than the first time I saw them - almost an hour - which is pretty impressive. When I was leaving there was a huge crowd of people who must have been coming from that club down the street (the one in that really narrow building) and I have no idea what was going on but there was an ambulance, cops on horseback, cops with batons out yelling at people, paddy wagons, etc. Definitely time to go home.

Solar Powered Sun Destroyer / Misery Index 04.14.2009

2009-04-15T13:37:00.008-04:00

#15
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Solar Powered Sun Destroyer
DC 9

Even though I was warned numerous times by the SPSD myspace to arrive before 8pm, I only got upstairs at DC9 at 8:09pm. So I missed 1/3 of their set, I suppose. What I did see was excellent and I think mainly new songs because I didn't really recognize any of them. There were a lot of people up there too, which is good for them.

#16
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Misery Index
Landmine Marathon
Drugs of Faith
Salome
Rock & Roll Hotel

The door guy at R&R Hotel said I was one of several people to show up with DC9 stamps on my hand and I did recognize a couple of people from being at that first venue. I managed to catch this whole show, minus a few minutes of Salome. Salome is a 3-piece death metal band with a blonde female singer who sounded a little like that woman from Arch Enemy. Very cool.
Drugs of Faith are another 3-piece, except that their chick plays bass instead of sings. Their set was very short, but I guess that's a function of grindcore.
Landmine Marathon was awesome - definitely one of the best bands I've seen in a while. Very high energy, death-grind and they also have a female singer (for those keeping track). I don't think I'd seen them before but they all looked so familiar, maybe I have? At any rate, they played a mix of older and new songs that they burned right through, although their set was longer overall.
Misery Index also kicked ass. This being the third time I've seen them, I guess they've finally started to make an impression on me (even though the leg-tattoo guy wasn't there). They had a pretty long set, mixing old and new stuff. I guess they've got a new album out and they're going to Europe, so they got that going for them, which is nice.
I should also add that R&R Hotel also has Strongbow (it's Bowtime!) and I really like that place. Also, I need to invent a bar/club hand stamp remover that works better than rubbing alcohol and exfoliating products from LUSH because it just doesn't look good to be going to work on Wednesday with the remnants of several stamps on my hand.

Napalm Death 04.12.2009

2009-04-13T10:09:00.008-04:00

#14 Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009
Napalm Death
Kataklysm
Toxic Holocaust
Coliseum
Trap Them
Jaxx

This show was set to start pretty early so I went straight from work (which was thankfully also out early). I had no idea what was going on when I got there but Trap Them was already on. I never heard them say their name so I had to look it up today. The singer had neck tats - which was my only tweet about them.
Up next was Coliseum, a three piece from KY who kinda remind me of Mastodon. I really liked them and managed to get up off my fat ass to go stand up front. I'm looking forward to seeing them again when I catch this tour in Portland.
I wasn't really sure what to make of Toxic Holocaust when they were setting up. Frankly I was a little scared - what with the hair and the skinny jeans and all. However, I was pleasantly surprised that TH kicks fuckin ass! Thrash, speed metal, whatever you want to call it. Seemed like their set was a lot longer than the first two bands, although it was quite a good thing. They should have a good reception from their local crowd in Portland.
Ah Kataklysm, y'all have real purty hair. Musically, they're not really my thing but it was a fun set nevertheless.
Finally, with the curse of the PA, Napalm Death. The mic went out for an entire song but they didn't seem too fazed by it. They played a handful of songs from their latest album and then a mix of old old songs and other stuff. I've been reading the history of grindcore book and actually considered asking them to sign it, but maybe I should finish reading it first.

Review: Superchrist 04.04.09

2009-04-06T17:51:00.003-04:00

#13
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Superchrist
Villains [the flyer says "Villians"]
Relentless
Warhawk
Talking Head Club (a/k/a Sonar's back bar)
PHOTOS

So even though everyone else was either "doing laundry" or "already in their pjs" or "in Texas" I did manage to get one Ms. S to come with me to Baltimore to see our friends in Superchrist. We got there a little early and went to the Angels Rock Bar in the Power Plant to eat. After getting free beer due to the hour-plus wait for our wings and grilled cheese (they had a surprise health inspection?) we finally headed back to the alley next to Sonar and into the Talking Head. Warhawk was on when we arrived, but I can't really comment on them since I didn't see much.

Relentless is apparently a fairly new band since they seem to have no internet presence or lyrics to many of their songs. They were OK though they could probably benefit from some additional practice. Also the singer/guitarist could possibly be the bastard son of Tom Araya because he has real purty hair.

After that, I was comfortably ensconced on a stool with my back to the bar but once I heard the opening "noises" coming from Villains (Villians?) I had to go up front and watch them. It was kinda punky/metal/hxcx and it was awesome: just like some random dude promised before they started when he walked into a conversation where I was discussing my beard fetish. [Although that same guy took credit for the beer I got for the singer, but I guess that's OK since it was a fan beer.] Anyway, even though a couple of their songs talked lot of smack about bitches, I really liked them and "Crazy for Blowjobs" is definitely my new favorite song. [After the show I talked to guitarist Patrick a little bit and found out they're from Brooklyn and don't have a myspace.]

Then finally our friends in Superchrist. They've got a new album so they played a bunch of new songs, which was cool. They also did "Frano Fucked Yoko Ono" which was touching. I got a couple good photos but nothing of the Pit Viper because there was a cymbal in the way so I had to go look at RTTP for my fix of photos which make me weep for a variety of reasons. [Don't worry, I have a prescription for that now.]

April Shows

2009-04-02T09:52:00.007-04:00

Sat 4/4 Superchrist at the Talking Head Club ($8)
Mon 4/6 Destruction at Jaxx ($20/$23)
Tue 4/7 Kreator at Sonar ($20/$25)
Sat 4/11 Agnostic Front at the Ottobar ($12)
Sun 4/12 Napalm Death at Jaxx ($22/$25)
Tue 4/14 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at DC9 ($12) - bought tix
Tue 4/14 Misery Index at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Sat 4/18 Dredg at Sonar club stage ($15) - bought tix
Sat 4/18 AxCx at the Talking Head Club ($13/$15)
Wed 4/22 the Meatmen at DC9 ($12) - bought tix
Wed 4/22 The Haunted at Jaxx ($18/$23)
Wed 4/22 Murder Junkies in WV
Fri 4/24 Paper Route at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($13/$15)
Fri 4/24 Air Supply at the Wheeling Isle Casino - bought tix
Sun 4/26 Russian Circles at the Ottobar ($12) - bought tix
Tue 4/28 Valient Thorr at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($10/$12)
Thu 4/30 Solar Powered Sun Destroyer at the Black Cat ($10)

Review: TYR 03.27.2009

2009-03-29T09:18:00.003-04:00

#12
Friday, March 27, 2009
TYR
Alestorm
SuidAkrA
? from Newark, DE
Sonar

I got there plenty early because this was not a main-stage show so I wasn't sure what time it would actually start. As it turns out, I probably could have showed up about an hour later. The local opener added to this show was actually pretty good - although they were a death metal band, not folk metal. Even though they had quite a bit of stage banter going, I never caught their name but they're playing at a Jaxx battle of the bands in the near future.

SuidAkrA is from Germany and plays Celtic-tinged metal. And two of them were wearing costume-y bondage wear type stuff and the other two were just wearing jeans and t-shirts. Weird. It was one of their birthdays so they had the well-bearded sound guy bring a flaming cake on stage and made everybody sing happy birthday. I thought they were OK, but I've never been into Celtic-tinged anything. Apparently I inherited the wrong Irish/Scottish genes.

I was pretty interested to see Alestorm since I love metal songs about pirates and they're a pirate metal band (from Scotland). Also they have a keytar and crazy hair, although I could understand them (as opposed to other Scots I've known). I thought their set was pretty fun although I wish I had been drinking and it was in a different venue. Also, the keytar was no longer fun after about a song and a half.

Finally, the biggest (only?) Faroese band in the world, TYR. I really like them and they came out wearing armor which was a plus (no swords though). While their songs are generally pretty straightforward metal, sung in both English and Faroese, they also do a cover of the traditional song Wild Rover. Which was my cue to leave: I can't fucking stand that shit (like I said, wrong genes). I think I managed to make it through one more song to cleanse my brain of the Wild Rover but by then my body was giving out on me so I had to leave before TYR was over. Hopefully I'll see TYR again in a more comfortable venue and I'll take a bathroom break during any Irish drinking songs.

Review: Hypernova 03.12.2009

2009-03-14T22:27:00.002-04:00

#11
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tom McBride and the Whig Party
Hypernova
DC9

The fourth in our Thursday night concert series brings us Tehrani indie rockers Hypernova and a couple DC locals.

Hypernova sound (to me) like The Killers and were dressed in super-tight clothes for that indie rock hipster look. Obviously they fit right in around here. Anyway, they're on their way to SXSW where I'm sure they'll do very well. I have to say that they were the most polished band I've seen in quite some time and they had a really solid set, which I think covered every song on their cd. And the drummer kinda looks like Andrew W.K. (even dressed in white jeans and a white t-shirt).

We decided to stick around for locals blues rockers Tom McBride and the Whig Party, even though most of the people left in the club were those career military types and I couldn't stand to look at Tom McBride himself because he was way too conventionally good looking (like, burning my retinas). I literally spent the whole set looking at the saxophone player or the ceiling. I'm told that TMcB was doing all kinds of cheesy things too. I thought they were pretty good though.

Review: Propagandhi 03.11.2009

2009-03-14T22:09:00.004-04:00

#10
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Propagandhi
Ottobar

Check another band off my list of bands to see before I/they die. Between my freshman year of high school when I first got into punk and my freshman year of college before I started down that strange path that leads to where ever I am now musically, Winnipeg's Propagandhi were one of my favorites. I think I wore out my cassette of 1993's How to Clean Everything and 1996's Less Talk More Rock was a favorite of both my college roommate and me. I also have their early 2001 release Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes (strangely prophetic, though completely written and recorded in the before time), but I never got into that record. I also credit them (and Bad Religion) with lighting the fires of protest in me that got me really interested in foreign policy and such. I'm not exactly sure why I never saw them before, though I do remember hearing that they disliked coming to the US.
The show was, of course, sold out and I arrived just before they took the stage. I guess there were some problems with the sound onstage throughout the set but I didn't really notice in the audience. Propagandhi has a new album out (duh), which is actually their first since 2005 and only the second since TETA. They played a mix of old and new stuff, so although I was disappointed that they didn't do "Pre-teen McCarthyist" they still covered a lot of ground. Only Chris(?) sang though. I wish they could have/would have played a set about twice as long but I'll take what I can get, I guess. Hopefully they'll come back again sometime.
And I almost forgot that when I was walking to the car afterwords that some dude yelled at me from across the street "hey miss, you got 80 cent?" - unbelievable.

Review: Pentagram 3.7.09

2009-03-08T21:40:00.005-04:00

#9
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Pentagram
Priestess
The Devil's Blood
Sonar

First, why would you get full calf tattoos and then wear jeans? Waste of skin. Still hot though.
Second, it was very nice to see Mr. & Mrs. J, whom I missed last week in Philly. It's good to have people to commiserate with during the hard times (like watching Priestess).

I don't know who was playing when I walked in. It was OK I guess, but they never said their name. Way to market yourselves there.

So apparently The Devil's Blood is some type of Dutch cult, hailing from the town of Eindhoven (we had an exchange student from there in HS). It was super-weird. Their (female) singer was decked out in a satin gown and was practically motionless for much of the set. Then she would stand facing the drummer with her arms down at her sides, but stiff, so that her hands and arms didn't touch her body. I don't really know how to describe them musically, 70's doomy kind of stuff.

After that, Montreal's Priestess. And the singing. Oh god, the singing. The first song, the singing was like pure torture. One of the other guitarists and the drummer also sang on some of the songs but I might have been painfully inoculated to the bad singing during the first song, because I didn't think they were so bad. Musically, I actually liked it. Consider going instrumental.
ETA: their recorded songs are pretty good, though I'm still not a fan of the singing it's not as bad as it was live *shudder at the memory*

And finally, the legendary Pentagram. It was quite an interesting crowd - oldsters, hipsters, those guys who wear vests with patches from bands I've never heard of, punky kids, several hot Ottobar bouncers, etc. For some reason, the sound was terrible for most of their set. Don't know what was going on here. Bobby Liebling was wearing the same shirt as the last time I saw him except now he has a crazy pornstache and was strutting around like Mick Jagger and humping the guitarist and talks like he's got marbles in his mouth. The bass player looked out of breath after one song. It was nuts. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with Pentagram (though I love bands inspired by Pentagram and named after witchcraft). They did play their best known songs though. At least I can check them off of the list of bands to see before they die, so I have no regrets.
*update: LINK to NYC show info and photos*

Review: Hall & Oates 03.06.2009

2009-03-08T21:28:00.002-04:00

#8
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hall & Oates
Rams Head

After spending almost two hours driving to Baltimore, we finally arrived at the fucking Rams Head about 8:20. I think we probably only missed about 20 minutes of the show, so it wasn't too bad. The show was sold out and it was packed in the downstairs area.

Even though the Rams Head pisses me off, their sound system is top-notch and since Hall & Oates are such amazing musicians, it sounded great. They played a bunch of newer (and unfamiliar to me) songs and played most of the hits as extended jam sessions, sometimes not even coming back to the refrain. Well worth the money if you get a chance to see them.

Review: Early Man + Red Fang 03.05.09

2009-03-06T11:33:00.006-05:00

#7
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Red Fang
Early Man
DC9

Since parking was ample for some reason, I also saw the opening band (locals). And I get it, sometimes your drummer has the flu and things just don't go the way they should, so I'll not mention anything else about them here.

Continuing our Thursday evening concert series: Early Man. It's been a few years since I've seen them (I had attempted to go this past summer in Pittsburgh but spent too long at dinner and missed it, though that dinner was technically working). In the interim Early Man released new material and got a touring bass player. Hawt. I must say they rocked much harder than I remember. Perhaps because previously I was way too focused on my 3IoB boys or playing with dolls or whatever. In summary, Early Man is awesome and I hope to see them more frequently in the future.

I didn't know much about Red Fang, although I had looked up their myspace so I was pretty excited to see a bunch of beardos from Portland playing what I would call "straight-ahead rock-and-roll" metal. I don't know - read their reviews or something if you want a better genre classification. I just know I liked it and there was a song about sharks, so you obviously can't go wrong. If I move to Portland and learn to brew my own beer, I will definitely share it with them.

March Shows

2009-03-03T08:26:00.021-05:00

Sun 3/1 Satyricon at Jaxx ($18/$20)
Thu 3/5 Early Man at DC9 ($10)
Fri 3/6 Hall & Oates at the fucking Rams Head ($55) - bought tix
Sat 3/7 Thursday at the fucking Rams Head ($22/$24)
Sat 3/7 Pentagram at Sonar ($15) - bought tix
Wed 3/11 Propagandi at the Ottobar ($15) - already bought tix
Wed 3/11 Caverns at the Rock & Roll Hotel ($12)
Thu 3/12 Hypernova (Iranian rock) at DC9 ($8)
Thu 3/12 Bret Michaels' Rock of Love Bus tour in Winchester, VA (?)
Sat 3/14 Misery Index at Sonar's club stage ($15)
Mon 3/16 Gist w/Hammer No More the Fingers at the Black Cat ($8)
Fri 3/20 Deceased at the Talking Head Club ($10)
Sat 3/21 Weekend of Metal I w/Darkest Hour at Sonar ($15/$20 for both days)
Sun 3/22 Weekend of Metal II w/Soilwork at Sonar ($15/$20 for both days)
Wed 3/25 New Rock Church of Fire at DC9 ($8)
Fri 3/27 Tyr w/Alestorm at Sonar ($15/$18) - bought tix
Sat 3/28 TK Webb & the Visions at DC9 ($8)
Mon 3/30 Tragedy opens at 9:30 Club ($15)

Review: Cradle of Filth 02.28.2009

2009-03-02T10:57:00.004-05:00

#6
Saturday February 28 2009
Cradle of Filth
the Trocadero

We missed all of Satyricon and most of CoF. It was so hot in the Troc - I had sweat dripping off the tip of my nose. I hate that. I think CoF must have played a lot of new songs because I didn't recognize most of what we heard. Had a good time in Philly though catching up with friends and family. Shitty drive back in the slush and snow.

Review: Witch 02.26.2009

2009-02-27T10:35:00.004-05:00

#5
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Witch
Earthless
DC9

Again, where do these people hide out the rest of the time - the sewers? With the exception of that guy who spits beer on people, that guy who is always at DC9 who looks like GK, and this one couple next to me, I have never seen any of these people at any shows before.
I didn't know anything about these bands either, but this is my year to try new things and since Witch was compared to Pentagram in the blurb posted on the club's website and I like Witchcraft, I figured I would check it out.
After finally finding a parking spot, I got there for the last song of the first band and managed to weave my way over to the bar for a Brooklyn Brown Ale. Tasty. I do love the dark ales.

Anyway, Earthless is instrumental stoner-rock from San Diego. I thought they were really good and the whole upstairs was totally packed during their set. It's a good thing stoner-rock fans mainly just stand in one place and nod their heads, or it would have been very uncomfortable. I think the tarot card reader in Santa Barbara was right about me though.

Finally, Witch took the stage. I didn't bother to look up anything about them before the show (I like to be surprised) but they're a four-piece from VT. The first couple songs of their set sounded a little off (like off-time, not like "pitchy, dawg") but I don't know if that was a result of the sound system where I was standing or they really just needed some time to warm up. At any rate, I really enjoyed their set because while each song was definitely in a 70's heavy-rock vein, each song was a little different. [esp. appreciated after the Earthless set which was like one 30+ minute song] Doesn't hurt that their one guitarist looks like a (hopefully) non-violent Brent Hinds. I would definitely check them out again.

Review: mae 2.19.2009

2009-02-24T20:49:00.004-05:00

#4
Thursday, February 19, 2009
mae
Jammin Java

mae is a band I actually like quite a lot, although I've only seen them once before (ATL 2004). It was truly serendipitous that I found out about this show - I happened to look up their myspace page because I was wondering what they'd been up to since The Everglow and saw that they were coming to Jammin Java. I was also interested in seeing them because what they're doing this year (2009) is releasing one song per month for purchase via download and donating the profits to charity. So I went to their live show to give them some money. There was a pretty wide range of fans there - from teenagers to folks my age and they played both old favorites and new songs. I'm not sure which of these guys are left from the band I saw in 2004, but they claimed they couldn't play too many encore songs since the bass player was new. They did play two encore songs as a two-piece which was really cool. I heard my couple favorites, so despite the jackass frat brothers standing near me, I was pretty happy.
They're going on tour with Barcelona this spring, but unfortunately not coming anywhere near DC again for a while.

Review: Goblin Cock 2.9.2009

2009-02-10T11:06:00.009-05:00

#3
Monday, February 9, 2009
Goblin Cock
Warship
DC9

I didn't know anything about these bands but went to this show based on GC's name alone. I had hyped this up in my head and fortunately wasn't disappointed. A note about the crowd - where are these people the rest of the time? I never see metal people just around in DC and I've never seen any of this crowd at Jaxx or in Baltimore (those that I would remember, anyway, you know, sexy beardos). Weird.

Warship is a two-piece with a singing drummer and a third man for this tour. I just now looked up their myspace and their singing drummer is in From Autumn to Ashes, which explains a lot. Musically, I thought they were very good but I didn't enjoy most of the vocals (see FATA, although I saw them so long ago it's not on this blog). I also thought their set was a little disjointed, with some really rocking songs and then some slower ones that didn't seem to flow very well together. But I liked them enough that I would check them out in the future if they come back to DC. Also, I recommend their album - Supply & Demand.

Goblin Cock. It's a great name on several levels. Their set looks like something from the J&A Halloween party and they come out dressed in cloaks and there was more stage fog than that Nacht-something band and New Rock Church of Fire combined. I can't believe I didn't have an asthma attack in there. I guess I would describe them as stoner rock with random 80's covers thrown in. Fucking awesome! And they all played BC Riches! Overall it was an experience I look forward to repeating. Goblin Cock.

Review: Paper Route 2.3.2009

2009-02-04T17:53:00.004-05:00

#2
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Paper Route
Cale Parks
Black Cat

Ms. CH and I tried to have dinner at Marvin so I could harass the bartender there but it was a 30-minute wait so we ended up at Bar Pilar instead. We got to ye olde BC while tickets were still available and the line was short. I lucked out buying a ticket from a guy behind me for $10 so I saved $2. Hopefully he bought them at the BC and not through the evil ticket overlords.

Cale Parks was pretty cool - he's a solo drummer/singer/electronica performer. I would liken his music to Depeche Mode. Or possibly just the haircut. Some kinda 80's thing anyway. I would definitely check him out in the future.

We were mainly there to see Paper Route, whom we saw a few months back at Jammin Java with SPSD. They put on a good show and apparently played a few songs we didn't hear the first time. I like the fact that most of their songs are duets (both singers singing simultaneously). Also, I'm not sure when I developed a fetish for well-defined platysmas but...damn...I guess I'm just a neck fetishist, tattooed or not.

Oh right, the concert. The headliners were Passion Pit who are quite popular with 80's-fashions-clad teenagers. Apparently this show had sold-out as a BC Backstage show so it was moved to the Mainstage (which I would say was also very close to being sold-out by the time PP came on). They were really not my thing, but from the looks of it they don't need my patronage anyway.

February Shows

2009-02-03T17:50:00.014-05:00

Tue 2/3 Paper Route at the Black Cat ($12)
Fri 2/6 The Dillinger Escape Plan at the Ottobar
Fri 2/6 Caverns at Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Mon 2/9 Goblin Cock at DC9 ($10)
Tue 2/10 Soilwork w/Warbringer at Jaxx ($22/$25)
Fri 2/13 New Rock Church of Fire at Rock & Roll Hotel ($10)
Fri 2/13 Coheed & Trivium open for Slipknot at 1st Mariner Arena ($37/$45)
Thu 2/19 mae at Jammin Java ($20)
Sat 2/21 Air Supply at the Hilton in AC ($40)
Sat 2/21 The Screws and American Speedway at the Red & the Black ($8)
Wed 2/25 Tom Jones at 9:30 Club ($55)
Thu 2/26 Witch (another Pentagram-inspired act) at DC9 ($10$12)
Thu 2/26 Cradle of Filth w/Satyricon at the fucking Rams Head ($20/$22)
Sat 2/28 Cradle of Filth at the Troc ($24/$26)

Review: Camper van Beethoven 01.08.2009

2009-01-10T20:05:00.002-05:00

#1
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Camper van Beethoven
Maple
The State Theatre

This was Camper's 25th anniversary tour. I think they actually played for two hours. I couldn't even think of any songs that they didn't play (though they obviously didn't play them all). I was kinda hoping they would play Matchstick Men a second time though...

January 2009 Shows

2009-01-01T14:00:00.009-05:00

Wed 1/7 Rotting Christ w/Epicurean at Jaxx ($22/$25)
Thu 1/8 Camper Van Beethoven at the State Theatre ($20)
Wed 1/14 The Sword at Rock & Roll Hotel ($15)
Wed 1/21 Mumiy Troll at the Black Cat ($15)

Review: Clutch 12.29.2008

2008-12-31T21:55:00.006-05:00

#44
Monday, December 29, 2008
Clutch
Russian Circles
Viking Skull
Caverns
9:30 Club

So it looks like the last time I was at 9:30 Club was over a year ago. They never book much that I want to see anymore, though.
This was a CD-release show for my favorite local instrumental rockers in Caverns. I missed the first part of their set but liked what I saw. There were some pretty rude hecklers, but I guess that's to be expected with a sold-out crowd hungry for Clutch. Caverns did not have their light friend, but I didn't have to worry about them falling off of the large 9:30 stage either.
Viking Skull I had not previously heard of but they're old skool metal from England. I thought it was pretty good and would probably check them out again since I wasn't paying too much attention to them. The bass player was wearing a Whitesnake shirt though.
I was really excited to see Russian Circles whom I missed both with Coheed and earlier this year at the Ottobar. Again with the heckling of instrumental rockers! Some guy punched me square in the back for no reason too. Fucking asshole.
Right before Clutch came on I decided to had to move because two people who were so drunk they couldn't stand came up beside me and there were some Army dudes immediately behind me talking about how they were going to pummel people twice their size once Clutch started. So I just ended up being annoyed by one Army guy, some farty dude in a hxc hat and a big fat ass. Fortunately I was not annoyed by Clutch who played a very solid hour and a half set with minimal talking. Overall it was a very satisfying show and a good way to close out 2008. My feet didn't even hurt at the end.

Review: Coheed & Cambria Neverender II 12.5.2008

2008-12-08T08:04:00.005-05:00

#43 (46th of Coheed)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Coheed & Cambria
Astoria
London

So in keeping with the tradition of weird coincidences that benefit me, not only was I lucky enough to get a work trip to London at the same time as the London Neverender shows, I was also lucky enough that the only show I could really attend (IKSSE night) ended up getting postponed - so on Tuesday night I was at a swanky publisher reception in Tower Bridge and Friday night I was in the enormous Astoria nightclub watching the 'heed.
I was also extra excited because due to the postponement, Claudio decided to open with a few Prize Fighter Inferno songs. To be extra thorough, I took notes this time (though I'm sure YouTube is full of video):
-acoustic cover of The Outfield's 'Your Love' which I thought was amazing but apparently people weren't super-familiar with. Josie's on a vacation far away... I like that song anyway.
-explanation of Claudio using his dad's guitar cheat books when learning to play the guitar and then an acoustic version of Purple Haze (yeah-huh)
-PFI's Wayne Andrews, The Old Bee Keeper (w/Travis on lapsteel; photo with dude's head in the way)
-a new song he's working on for a musical he's writing with Chondra called "Rosie Barber and the Family Massacre" which was tentatively titled "The Echomaker" after a book Chondra was reading in the gym (see how the notes come in handy)
-Who Watches the Watchmen? with the crowd doing the "do's" and handclaps for the electo-beat in the original
-then finally Claudio was talking about his and Chondra's song [which I immediately knew would be Journey] and was in fact, Faithfully (because of the "joy of rediscovering you" line which makes me physically ill, but I guess if you're a music man like Claud you identify with it). I felt like a lot of people didn't know this song either, so perhaps I am the cheeziest person in Coheed's audience. Hmmm...
I was kinda sorry he didn't do more PFI songs (I went to freakin Margaretville last summer, fer crying out loud!) but hopefully I will get to see that in another time and place.
The regular Neverender Night II show was the same as the other cities. I thought the London crowd was really good and I was pretty happy that I could sit down and still sing along and see and not annoy or be annoyed.
Getting out of the block the Astoria was on was pretty tough - there were way too many people crammed into that block with no extra space due to contruction barriers and scaffolding. People were not as pushy as Americans though. Of course in DC, at least three people would have been stabbed in such a mess but I made it to the nearby Tube station with no real problem outside of my general anxiety about crowds and being touched by strange people.
I was glad to made it to this show since it will probably be a while before I see Coheed again if they're going around opening for the likes of Slipknot and other things like that.

Review: Finnish Fire tour 12.4.2008

2008-12-08T07:48:00.008-05:00

#42

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Korpiklaani
Battlelore

Kivimetsän Druidi

Carling Academy
Islington, London UK

This was my first solo adventure in merry old England (the rest of the time I clung to my colleague who grew up in London). I was pretty excited about the prospect of Finnish folk metal, since I doubt we'll ever see any of these bands tour State-side. I had no trouble figuring out the Tube (other than the fact that it seems to take one hour minimum to get anywhere on it - two stops or twenty) and got out at the suggested Angel station. I had a tiny, uninformative map of the venue from their web page and I finally figured out that it was inside the N1 shopping center after walking around the shopping center for about 20 minutes. I guess shows in London start pretty early since public transportation stops after midnight so I missed the first band on this "Finnish Fire" tour and got there when Kivimetsan Druidi was about half-way through their set. I'd never heard of them before, but they were pretty cool. They got chicks and stuff.

I'd heard of the other two bands from the Metal Hammer "Battle Metal" compilation discs. Battlelore was so fucking cool - ice cold! Like Finland! I highly doubt I will be that entertained again in the near future - crazy makeup and costumes, swords, the Finnish equivalent of ululation, keyboards, craziness! The crowd was pretty into them and it was a pretty long set too. At the same time I was sampling my new favorite beverage - Strongbow - which I must now seek out in the States. Yummy! I also got my picture taken with the singer, who like all Finnish people I've ever met, was super-nice.

Korpiklaani are Sami but I think may also be some kind of forest trolls. At least one of them is definitely a troll. Anyways, they had an acordion (hot!) and violin and a bunch of reindeer antlers all over the stage. Caribou metal - Yes! I doubt many people would come out to see this in the States - especially since most of their songs are in a language spoken by less than 50,000 people worldwide. It was pretty cool but not as fun as Battlelore - although my feet were killing me and I was much more interested in obtaining more Strongbow by this point.

The club itself was pretty nice and the crowd was a lot of fun too. Hopefully I'll get back to it again sometime.

December Shows

2008-11-30T20:19:00.006-05:00

Tue 12/2 Coheed & Cambria Neverender in London (oh yeah!)
Wed 12/3 Job for a Cowboy w/All Shall Perish at the Ottobar ($13/$15)
Thu 12/4 Finnish Fire tour in London
Fri 12/5 36 Crazyfists opens for In Flames at Rams Head ($22/$25)
Fri 12/5 Deceased at the Velvet Lounge
Sat 12/6 Suicidal Tendencies w/Madball at Sonar ($20/$22)
Sun 12/14 Misery Signals at the Ottobar ($14/$16) - Misery Signals dropped off this tour
Wed 12/17 Dub Trio at DC9
Sun 12/21 Darkest Hour at 9:30 Club ($15)
Sat 12/27 AxCx at the Velvet Lounge
Mon 12/29 Clutch w/Caverns at 9:30 Club ($25)