Back in the 20th Century, ümlaut was a xeroxed fanzine that existed from 1992-95. Despite limited distribution, loyal readers ranged from coast to coast and included Rock Stars of various credibility, including Neurosis, Sonic Youth, Melvins, and Metallica. To quote The Cramps: “I dig that goddam Rock ‘N Roll.. The kind of stuff that don’t save souls.”
Recent conversations about Anton LaVey with members of The Umlaut Nation reminded me of these oldies but goodies from the original xeroxed 'zine version of Umlaut:
SHOPPING WITH SATAN: A TRUE ENCOUNTER (From Issue 9 - Spring 1994) - While in Service Merchandise on El Camino in South San Francisco to purchase a coffee maker, Umlaut was surprised silly when Anton LaVey, author of The Satanic Bible and founder of The Church of Satan, got in line next to us! His reason: To return an alarm clock!!! Pure evil. Too intimidated by his evilness to ask for an autograph, Umlaut watched as Mr. LaVey gnashed his teeth impatiently as the unsuspecting housewife in front of him played irate consumer. The fool!
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DINING WITH SATAN: A TRUE ENCOUNTER (From Issue 10 - Fall 1994) - While in Mel's Diner on Geary Blvd. in San Francisco for dinner, Umlaut almost wet its bell bottoms when Anton LaVey, author of The Satanic Bible and founder of The Church of Satan, got in line for a non-smoking table next to us! Accompanied by a bleach blonde wearing pumps and holding a little devil baby, Mr. LaVey sat at a table across from Umlaut. His order: A hot turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, a bowl of soup, and a chocolate shake!!! Pure evil. Too intimidated by his evilness to ask for an autograph, Umlaut watched as Mr. LaVey reprimanded the waiter for forgetting his cranberry sauce. The fool!
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For the newbies: Anton LaVey lived in The Black House at 6114 California Street in San Franfuckincisco for 30 years until his death in 1997.
Who: Krokus - Screaming In The Night (1983) Where: Baker Beach, The Presidio
It's funny how the Krokus video from Umlaut's recent San Francisco post inspired alot of e-mails from readers of this space; I now stand corrected about the filming location, which I had always thought was The Marin Headlands. Also, I just knew that several members of The Umlaut Nation would bite on sharing their experiences at the filming with me (HA!).
Screaming In The Night was filmed at Baker Beach. Trust me, I was there (was it me you were referring to cutting school to be an extra or one of your many other legion?). You can see me in the parade if you don't blink and freeze frame, I'm walking next to Randy Bachman.
Dalia (on the right) at the 1:01 minute mark!
I had forgotten Jane Dornacher was in it. R.I.P.
Given Dalia's insight I stand corrected: The 'Screaming In The Night' video WAS filmed in San Francisco! Krokus..... Dog bless 'em.. and right behind Dalia's account came Leah's memory of the day:
That's funny.. I did cut school with a bunch of friends and was an extra in that Krokus shoot at Baker Beach too! Brings back some memories to be sure. I recall wearing some weird ensemble of red and gold rags as a dress and they ratted our hair up, oh The Eighties....
... and then came another classic San Francisco Metal memory from Old Metal Erik:
OK, Mr. Umlaut Man. I, too, was there, and I feel compelled to share my memories. Yep, I remember the day well.
My friend Crystal had heard the announcement on KRQR that they would be filming at the Baker Beach bunkers, and they were inviting people to participate as extras. What?! A new Krokus video being filmed on the beach and spitting distance from our school campus??!! We had quite a little cluster of Metalheads at George Washington High, and had no problem recruiting a small posse to ditch class and go make a Metal video. Hell yeah!
We made our way to the bunkers, and waited for hours with a crowd of extras before being called into the "hair and make-up" trailer. They dressed us up like a bunch of weird futuristic peasants, gave us crappy box lunches and made us wait around some more.
Our big break comes about 4 minutes and 25 seconds into the video, when Marc Storace escapes his captors by climbing down a mysterious ladder into some strange diner. When he looks up at the TV in the corner, he sees himself performing in front of a crowd of weird futuristic peasants, and there we are, fist-banging away to one of the tamest "Metal" songs ever. Does it even qualify?
George Washington High down front at the 4:25 minute mark!
The only real excitement of the day was when one of our posse decided to steal a large case filled with camera lenses, belonging to the late great photographer Randy Bachman. I won't name the culprit, but it's safe to say that he is well known to many within The Umlaut Nation. Since Baker Beach is in The Presidio, which at the time was still an Army base, the Military Police were involved, and Randy got his lenses back.
Not the funnest day, but it definitely beat going to school! Plus, we all got Headhunter shirts, which I never wore; it's probably still in a box in my garage. Anyway, Krokus had already lost the plot at that point, and were obeying bad advice from lame American Record Execs. This video is evidence of that fact. I'm gonna go crank up Metal Rendezvous or Hardware, for old time's sake...
Trivia: The late photographer Randy Bachman also appeared in the Scorpions - 'No One Like You' video.
Click HERE and HERE to see Umlaut's Krokus memories... For a brief moment in time, that band from Switzerland actually meant something to me. Remember when Krokus toured with Motörhead in 1982? Me too..
'American Woman' 7" single - 1982 (From the Umlaut Archives)
For the newbies: If you don't know what All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) is, then please leave now and do your homework... Come back when you're done... There will be a quiz!
For everyone else: The latest installment of the ATP series was one that was closest to Umlaut's heart with several bands who I hold near and dear on the bill (SLEEP reunited for one weekend only... The Jesus Lizard.. Killing Joke..) as well as other bands who I dig (Devo.. Electric Wizard.. Harvey Milk..)... but, alas, I couldn't attend. Thankfully, Umlaut Nation members Joey (representing the United States) and Alan (representing Great Britain) were there to allow me to live vicariously through their Rock 'N Roll Lifestyles. Read on:
ATP Vs. The Fans Part II: The Fans Strike Back Butlins Holiday Centre, Minehead, England May 8-10, 2009
It Was A Classic: A Visit to Haven Butlins
By “Al from Hell” Dickey and Joey “Blow Torch” Osbourne Joey’s Take (JT): What a week this was. I recently visited my buddy Alan and his lovely family in London to go to the Fans Strike Back II All Tomorrow’s Parties festival blow out. It started with a primer visit to Photo Fit printing shop to see the latest England team football and Sleep shirts in the production queues. Then a drive by Jerry Hall’s ‘bungalow’ (I think Mick Jagger perped on her for years next door) and Petey Townshend's Wick House digs all overlooking the scenic Thames River. We connected with Todd and Dema and hit the road north to Butlins in Hertfordshire (near Wales) from London. Although it was supposed to be a 3 ½ hour trip, we successfully made it a 6 hour drive full of great shuffle on the iPod and anticipatory chit chat. We’re not sure why it took so long as no one was paying attention including Alan who was driving.
Alan: I was paying attention, honest officer! Hey they only dug up half of bloody London to repair their ancient water pipes and then decided to close half of the M4 so the council could repair a small part of the fence in the centre of the motorway.
JT: We got to the Butlins production area and picked up our dialed tickets and VIP efficiency key cards. Barry, Deborah and crew rule, period. We saw Xavier’s fleet (Highway Tiger Tour vans) but no Xavier. Oh well. We settled in and were off to the races.
Alan: I saw Xavier first as I was driving and paying attention whence why we didn’t hit them.
JT: Friday started with Andrew W.K.. Ok, I am so glad I never paid to see him. He wears all white. I’d guess he’s a nice guy so he gets the Nice Guy/Bad Band status.
Alan: Yeah, me too, but he does get the vote of confidence. The kids lapped it up as I am sure his accountant does too but I would still prefer to stand and watch WHITEHOUSE over Andrew WK. WHITEHOUSE wears black.
JT: Then it was Devo who I had never seen. Look, I was waiting for a festival like this and didn’t see them when they played for free in S.F. because I have to pay rent in that friggin’ city. Plus I’m a drummer who’s from Kentucky. What do you expect? Devo were great and a lot of dancing and screaming by Dema, Todd, Alan and I (and probably Tommy and Julie at this point) went down. They even played 'Uncrontrollable Urge' so I could finally die in peace.
Alan: Hey Joey, I agree Devo were still as energetic as ever and to see them still don the little black hot pants and black vests after all these years was priceless as I am sure not many bands from now would be able to pull that off. 'Mongoloid', 'Freedom of Choice', 'Girl U Want', and 'Whip It' had us all in a sweaty pool of bliss.
JT: Lots of "socializing" ensued until Electric Wizard came on. A significant improvement from the last time I saw them. I think it was due to the new line up. All that said, Electric Wizard = bad guy + great band. At some point I went over to Todd and Dema’s and met some really cool people including Ozzie who played drums with Brian James (The Damned and The Lords of the New Church) and Nick Treguna (The Lords of the New Church). Holy Shit! The Damned are my favorite punk band. Holy Shit! And Ozzie was a very cool guy to boot. We talked shop of course. Beddy bye for me at some point after this. Dema went on to dance the night away with Fuck Buttons.
Alan: Supposedly this is when I ended up on the beach with a shit load of TMFT (Today Mother Fucker Today) stickers and a shit load of ATP fans getting stickered to death. All I remember is waking up with one sock on and a bucket and spade beside my bed full of sand?? Joey, the door was locked right?
JT: I can’t remember Al. I was so tired. Saturday: started with Qui with Mr. Yow on vocals. Good musicians and David warming up for the eventual hoo ha ha. I saw a few songs of Young Marble Giants to say that I saw them. Wait, did I write that? Then I traipsed over to see Grizzly Bear and was pleasantly surprised at how good these guys were. Incredible harmonies. Check ‘em out. Then it was on to Harvey Milk. I had seen them earlier this year at Great American Music Hall with Joe Preston and was pleasantly surprised that they upped the ante with the ATP show. Brutally amazing band and very cool guys. I met them after the set with Cyrus (Drunk Horse, Saviours and a sweetheart in general). The Harvey Milk guys gave Cyrus and I backstage passes for the rest of the show which came in handy later on in the evening. Harvey Milk = great guys + great band.
Joey's "All Access, Bitch!" Pass
Alan: Harvey Mother Fucking Milk more like and Cyrus (I am hanging with you broads) is a class act. How come we didn’t hang with Cyrus later on as he seemed like he had the best party going on? Seriously Harvey Milk were one of those bands when you see them for the first time and just wig out to and later think they fit into that “When they are in your town they aren’t to be missed” category.
JT: Then it was on to see one of Todd ‘I booked ‘em Cote’s band, Sleepy Sun. Holy crap, these guys blew me away. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but they did an amazing cover of a late era Fleetwood Mac song ('The Chain'). Hats off to the youth for having no hang ups on "What’s the right cover song to do". Then The Jesus Lizard came on and blistered the crowd. O.K., they are older, but damn those guys are masters at kickin’ your face in old school. Wait, did I write that? Then it came time for the reason I came across the pond, Sleep. I was definitely backstage and not to shoot the shit with the guys, but be witness to the brutal hour and half onslaught by the masters of doom. They did tons of songs from Holy Mountain, a snippet of Dopesmoker (sorry guys I can’t call it Jerusalem ‘cause that’s not what I called it when I first witnessed that song) and a song I’d never heard to close the set. One word: Holy. No more needs to be said. I followed the riff-filled caravan of Sleep to their room and went to bed soon after that. Nice.
Alan: Sleepy Sun really got the new band on the block award for sure and what a fine bunch and a fine psychedelic hippie dose was needed at that time of day as it set up the rest of the evening for sure. There were various amounts of Jim Beam and Tetleys bitter top ups in between the above bands. We also managed to gate crash Adam’s (Production House) birthday celebrations back stage just prior to Sleep as his crew was doing all that was needed to get each band off that stage and the next round of musicians on the stage in time. He is now OFFICIALLY one of the OLD BASTARDS AT THE BAR as he turned 35 and Dr. Bourbon (Photofit) has confirmed yes he can have the official shirt very soon.
JT: Sunday started with spaghetti dinner with Alan, Dema, Tommy, Julie and myself. Todd was busy booking something I’m sure. We checked out the end of !!! CHK CHK CHK. Good enough plan. Then came the second reason I crossed the pond: Killing Joke. Mind you, I saw them 8 years or so ago at Slim’s and they sucked. This was a very influential band for me and they needed to redeem that slot in my life for me. This was the original line up and those fuckin’ Brits delivered. Even the disco stuff sounded great. I could now die in peace. We all traipsed over to see Spiritualized who were really good, but Todd and Dema’s antics were by far more entertaining. No more needs to be said. School of Seven Bells = two hot birds with a twat in the middle. I’m not sure why I skipped the second Jesus Lizard set but I’m sure it was for some reason that was funny. Then I saw This Will Destroy You long enough to appreciate that I never heard any of their music before and never paid to see them. Life is good. Then, the Holy Mountain boys, Sleep. I stood in the crowd this time. Holy. Back to London. It only took 3 ½ hours. Weird.
Alan: Fuck man you forgot the bit when we are staggering around Butlins following each other and we came across the infamous 50ft climbing wall and this dude comes up to us and says ”Man do you know that Dale Crover is the only musician to actually climb all the way to the top of that there wall”? Well I was like no f*cking way? Joey starts pacing about and you could see he’s thinking “I can beat Mr Crover at most things but that wall is pretty high”. I managed to convince Joey that if anyone would want to better that feat leave it to the Electric Wizard guys. You never know it might become an ATP event in the future. Sleep and Spiritualized were two bands similar in thinking but so different in action and after witnessing both the Fuck Buttons DJ set at The Crazy Horse for a few laps around the dance floor was needed. God knows who that poor boy was but Dema had him doing cart wheels and rolly polly’s on the dance floor. It was all Dema’s fault for sure.
JT: We saw Sleepy Sun again at the Luminaire and had amazing Indian food.
Alan: This was Sleepy Suns first ever London show and it was their Embrace debut album release which made it all the more special. As Joey said the Indian food at VJ’s on Willesden Lane is probably the best. In London that’s for sure. Then a short walk up to The Luminaire. What a perfect way to finish off a CLASSIC weekend?
JT: There is one major thing that I learned in England, thanks to Dema, “That ain’t no Ferris Wheel, Joey. It’s the fucking Millennium Eye”.
Joey and Al say in closing "Remember kids, Uncle Chop Chop says "Don’t cut off your fuckin' ears".
I was bored and this post is the result... I'm sure there are other videos featuring *my* city, but these are the ones that popped into my head. Of course, the Krokus video technically wasn't filmed *in* S.F., but the location is just on the other side of The Golden Gate Bridge... AND I know there are at least a couple of people reading this space who cut school to be extras in the video (wink wink).
Note: I couldn't embed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video, so click on the link below the screencap... Also, I only "discovered" The Hooters video a couple of weeks ago when I channel surfed onto VH1 Classic while it was on. There was a time when The Hooters could pack The Warfield? Who knew!?
Who: Scorpions - No One Like You (1982) Where: Alcatraz
Who: The Hooters - Day By Day (1986) Where: Fort Point, Land's End, The Warfield
Who: Frehley's Comet - Into The Night (1987) Where: North Beach
Who: Exodus - The Toxic Waltz (1989) Where: The Fillmore
Jane's Addiction / Nine Inch Nails / Street Sweeper Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA May 22, 2009
Evidently, the NIN/JA Tour (clever!) was inspired by a desire to relive the glory of 1991's debut Lollapalooza Tour. Ironically, Umlaut also saw that trek at Shoreline. That show was the first time I ever used earplugs at a concert; our seats were in front of the stage right PA and NIN were fucking LOUD and Jane's even LOUDER.
(From the Umlaut Archives)
Fast forward to the 21st Century and you have to admit that on paper this was a pretty stellar post-120 Minutes / Alternative Nation bill. If Nirvana had simply broken up I'd like to think they'd be participating in a tour like this. Smells Like Teen Nostalgia; oh Kurt, you were so short-sighted.
Trivia: At Lollapalooza 1991 I watched the show from Section 103, Row Q. Here in the 21st Century I watched the show from Section 101, Row T.
The last time I saw Tom Morello was in 2005. I was completely unfamiliar with Street Sweeper, Morello's new project. One of their songs uses the riff from 'Straight To Hell' by The Clash, which I suppose is cool but it could also be construed as sacrilegious; my opinion falls somewhere in the middle. Discuss amongst yourselves.
The last time I saw Nine Inch Nails was in 2005. I've never been a huge NIN fan; I'm the type of casual follower who is happy if they play 'Head Like A Hole'. Evidently this is NIN's final tour but their performance didn't give any indication that Trent & Co. were merely going through the motions on this victory lap. In contrast to the headliners who followed them, NIN performed as a tight volume machine onstage and were much better than I was expecting them to be. The guy next to me was an obvious hardcore NIN fan and a couple of times during the set he elbowed me and screamed "I CAN'T BELIEVE HE PLAYED THAT SONG!!" and I'd nod in faux agreement. Sorry, dude... I'm a NIN poser.
'March Of The Pigs' was probably my favorite song of the set, although 'The Hand That Feeds' was great and the crowd was WAY into it... At that moment I thought to myself "Man, if they play 'Head Like A Hole' next they'll blow the roof off this place"... and that's exactly what Trent & Co. did. Awesome.. My initial reaction, which was captured in a text message, was "FUCK".. During 'Hurt' a straight couple in front of me made out while the gay dudes next to them had their arms around each other... Awww. After NIN laid waste to the stage, our row of seats emptied and it was obvious who some people had come to Shoreline to see..
NIN tuning the smoke machines (Pic by Umlaut)
The last time I saw Jane's Addiction was in 2002. I've never been a huge Jane's fan; I'm the type of casual follower who is happy if they play 'Ocean Size'. Much was made prior to the tour about founding member Eric Avery's return and the band finally having all of the original members back for this reunion tour. However, unlike NIN who acted like a complete unit onstage, Jane's was more like 3/4 of the band and the bassist.. Avery barely interacted with the other members of his "band" and the dichotomy of his low key t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes versus Navarro's leather pants sans shirt and Perry's corset costume thing was obvious. It was just weird how Avery was so detached and in his own little world onstage, while his Rock Star bandmates posed and made with the cock jokes.. Thankfully, Avery's musicianship shined through the smoke and schtick and it was nice that his bass was up in the mix so you could hear how his bass lines really do anchor Jane's radio hits.
That being said, I actually yawned during 'Ted, Just Admit It' because I just wasn't feeling it... but thankfully the opening guitar doodle and launch into 'Ocean Size' brought the set back to life for me. I did appreciate Perry giving props to Bill Graham and the legacy of Bay Area Music... and he also hugged a 60-year old guy in the front row.. which was a bit too Hippie Shit.. but I'll let it slide.
There have been times in my life when I've gravitated towards Jane's Addiction's music... but I have to say at this moment in my life I related more to NIN on this chilly night in Mountain View.. and, if this really was the final time, I'm waving goodbye.
THANKS to Tour Manager Doug for sorting my +1.
Atomic Records shirts = 1. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Hmm... after my reaction to the show it's ironic that as I type this I'm listening to Jane's Addiction's Triple XXX debut album. I'm talkin' 'bout the pig.. I guess.
This was Gojira's 3rd visit to San Franfuckincisco, but their first headlining show... Previously the Frenchmen had flattened this city while supporting Behemoth in 2007 and In Flames last November. Their S.F. debut in 2007 at Slim's was nothing short of crushing and is remembered as one of the best performances I saw that year... but I was wondering what kind of draw the French would be as headliners.
Timo and I arrived at Slim's exactly at 9:00PM and timed it perfectly so we bypassed the 2 openers and Gojira was only about 15 minutes from hitting the stage; surgically precise, mofo! Any doubts about Gojira being a headline draw were laid to rest by the crowd's size and enthusiasm; it was nice to see Slim's nicely packed on a Thursday night... Plus, Machine Fucking Head were in The House which gave me the chance to have a nice chat with their manager, who I've known for awhile (Hey Joe).
Gojira brings a decidedly European vibe to Metal.. Most of their songs deal with the environment and spirituality, and this high-brow vibe carried over to their merch table and the watercolor paintings created by band members:
(Pic by Umlaut)
How charmingly French is that!? Joe (vocals / guitar) and his brother Mario (drums) painted the abstract art on scrap pieces of cardboard earlier in the day and they were sold alongside the usual band t-shirts.. While some bands spend their down time backstage doing lines and snorting strippers, Gojira paints. Oh Zee French (cue accordion and the sound of an espresso machine)!
As they had on their previous two visits to S.F., Gojira flattened Slim's with their wall of volume that is a love child of Metal, Prog, and Jazz elements. Witnessing the Frenchmen perform live is like staring at the inner workings of a clock; solid metal craftsmanship and precision musicianship at its finest.. The band knows how to work a stage and Mario is without a doubt one of THE best drummers going right now; his double bass work is beyond compare... and it was great how the intense crowd action down front was hot and heavy from the first song of the set. C'est manifique!
My favorite song of the set was 'Vacuity' off the new album... and I couldn't stop watching the band's monitor / sound guy at stage right as he rocked out to his band's performance; you don't see that kind of enthusiasm from an employee very often. I also thought it was charming that Joe wore a Beatles shirt onstage; NOT Metal, but Zee French march to their owner drummer, don't they? Charming.. simply charming.
I must admit that Umlaut has been thinking alot about the Old Metal Dayz again due to the publication of *that book* and sometimes I don't have a perspective on how influential the old Bay Area Metal scene has been to bands over the years.. I was reminded of this when Joe said what an honor it was for Gojira to have come all the way from France and headline in San Francisco, because without the bands from The Bay Area (he name checked Metallica and Machine Head) Gojira would not exist. That's some heavy shit, man. Oh Zee French have such a way with words, don't they?
As I said back in 2007 after seeing Gojira: They say "Merci Beaucoup!" the way other bands says "Motherfucker!" Charming.. simply charming... However, I didn't do a proper merch audit. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Paris is one of Umlaut's favorite cities and don't be a jingoistic American: Zee French know Zee Metal.. For Zee Newbies:
The first time I visited The Fillmore was in 1987 to see The Jesus & Mary Chain (Darklands Tour) supported by Opal (Does anyone even remember Opal!?).. Fast forward to the 21st Century and it was funny how much the ghost of that Jesus & Mary Chain show haunted this evening in my head.
Magic Wands (another 1 girl / 1 boy band lineup) was onstage as we entered the sold out Fillmore; their use of drum tracks instead of a human drummer gave me a sense of deja vu back to that '87 Jesus & Mary Chain show and its lack of a human drummer. However, I couldn't really get past the silly stuffed tiger heads the band had onstage. Sorry, guys.. but that's where my head was (or wasn't) at..
The Horrors' debut album grabbed me by the neck with its Goth / Garage Rock Fuzz vibe.. and I had been waiting 2 years to see them since I missed their S.F. debut in 2007 at 330 Rich. However, recent developments with the band made me regret missing that show even more. Much to my horror (pun intended), The Horrors changed their image and sound since their debut; I was bummed out by advance reviews of their new album announcing the band's new direction to a more 80's Electronic thing. As a result, I decided not to listen to any of their new songs prior to the show; I wanted my first live experience to be untainted by further negative preconceptions about the band.
Well, my strategy did not work... The Horrors are like an 80's cover band.. They mimic that era's sound.. They play *the right* vintage guitars and have *the right* look, but they don't have THE SONGS to honor their retro image. This was magnified 1,000x by the fact the band ignored their debut album and only played tracks from the new album... and the new songs are a misguided departure from the sound that made me a fan 2 years ago; the Goth / Garage Rock Fuzz has been replaced by a half ass impersonation of Alternative / Shoegaze /120 Minutes. Long rant short: The Horrors went from THIS to THIS. Sorry.. that was me yawning. Donde esta Dave Kendall?
I've been following The Kills since their 2003 debut, but have gone in and out of being into them over those years. I genuinely like the band; their use of drum tracks instead of a human drummer gave me a sense of deja vu back to that '87 Jesus & Mary Chain show and its lack of a human drummer. They play *the right* vintage guitars and have *the right* look but, unlike The Horrors, they have some good songs. Still, I like The Kills because of Alison's voice and charisma, which manages to transcend any shortcomings in the songwriting department... Needless to say, I'm waiting to see what she pulls off fronting a full band in The Dead Weather thing with the guy from that other 1 girl / 1 boy band.
Alison and Jamie covered 'Crazy', which was ironic since I saw Willie at The Fillmore earlier this year... and for their encore they brought out The Horrors to perform a decidedly lackluster version of 'Baby Please Don't Go' that ultimately went nowhere musically... but I got the point.
The Drunk Hipster of the Night Award goes to the Hipster Girl who, despite having a good 4-5 feet of open space, still managed to careen off course to drunkenly bump into someone. Ironically, the Umlaut Nation was nicely represented at the show.. so a shout out to Timo, Teri, Ray, Miatomic, Dema, Todd, Alan, Photo Ray, and Hard Rock Chick.
Self-Aware Hipster "ironically" wearing an Iron Maiden shirt who would get his ass kicked at a Maiden show = 1. If you bought one of every Kills merch item you would have paid around $120. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. A week ago to the day, I had a much better, and bloodier, Tuesday night; you can take Umlaut out of THE METAL, but you can't take THE METAL out of Umlaut. Click HERE to see some nice photos from that night with the lovely Swedes.
The exciting sequel to Summer Reading! In bookstores now:
Click HERE for the Amazon.com link. From the press release:
On September 27, 1986, METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton lost his life at the age of 24 in a coach crash near Ljungby, Sweden. In the 23 years since that devastating event, no one has chronicled Burton's huge talent and achievements in book form. However, in June 2009 this is set to change with the global publication of "To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton", written by U.K.-based author Joel McIver and published by Jawbone Press. The foreword has been provided by Cliff's close friend in METALLICA, Kirk Hammett.
"I'm deeply honored that Kirk spoke to me for the Cliff Burton biography," says McIver, who has written 14 books since 1999, including 2004's bestselling "Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica". "We talked about the rollercoaster ride of METALLICA's early career which he and Cliff experienced, from the time that both men joined the band in early 1983 until Cliff's death three and a half years later. The impact that Burton had on the rest of METALLICA, both musically and as an example of how to stick to your principles in the music industry, was profound — and Kirk provided a perspective on that impact which couldn't have come from anywhere else."
Other interviewees who spoke to McIver for this book, many for the first time on the public record, include Cliff's bass teacher Steve Doherty; legendary reporter and photographer Brian Lew; Bay Area headbanger Harald Oimoen, the subject of "The Ballad Of Harald O" by the infamous SPASTIK CHILDREN, in which Cliff played; that band's frontman Fred Cotton; EXODUS founder Gary Holt; the Metal Blade label founder Brian Slagel; photographer Ross Halfin; Cliff's first guitar tech Chuck Martin; METALLICA's first fanclub manager KJ Doughton; "Ride The Lightning" and "Master Of Puppets" producer Flemming Rasmussen; the last reporter to interview Cliff, Jörgen Holmstedt; roadie and ex-METAL CHURCH guitarist John Marshall, who was also in the bus crash which killed Burton; Lennart Wennberg, the photographer at the scene of the crash; and Cliff's girlfriend for the last year of his life, Corinne Lynn.
After Kirk Hammett's foreword, separate introductions are provided by a range of musicians influenced by Burton, including Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH), Alex Webster (CANNIBAL CORPSE), Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT), Dave Ellefson (F5/ex-MEGADETH) and a host of other musicians and writers.
McIver's earlier book, "Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica", will be republished in its third edition in the summer by Omnibus Press. "Looks like that first METALLICA book has taken on a life of its own," comments the author. "Since its publication five years ago it's been translated into nine languages: clearly there was a gap in the market for a fully comprehensive book on METALLICA. Lars Ulrich told me recently that he's constantly asked to sign copies of it all over the world."
This will be a weird and surreal book for Umlaut to read... especially given recent events that dug up alot of old memories from that time when Cliff roamed The Earth.
This has been a year of "firsts" in S.F. with Amebix, Coffins, and now General Surgery all making their debut appearances in San Franfuckincisco over the past 5 months. While Umlaut listens to a variety of music, this was the type of show that caused me to say out loud "I fucking love Metal shows...".. and I do. It was a small crowd in the DNA on this Tuesday School Night, but everyone was there for THE MUSIC; quality over quantity. Not a drunk hipster in site.
For the newbies, besides established local legends like Metallica, Testament, Machine Head, Death Angel, and Exodus, there is a vibrant underground Metal Scene thriving in S.F. and the East Bay that includes some of Umlaut's favorite bands.. such as Ludicra, Saros, Black Cobra, Acid King.. and now Ghoul.
For lack of a more imaginative description on my part, Ghoul are like Gwar's Bloody Euro Slasher Movie cousin. They hail from Creepsylvania, a charming hamlet nestled in the Volkov Mountains of Eastern Europe, and they took to the stage wearing bloody hoods after being introduced by The Curio Shoppe Owner. Metal Theater Rules! Ghoul play their own brand of 80's style Thrash Metal and it was obvious a large portion of the crowd were members of their Ghoulunatics Asylum.
(Pic by Umlaut)
The band's set was non-stop action... and I've seen the bass that bassist Cremator was playing onstage with another local band.. Hmm! For the set's finale they marched out their blood covered 7-foot tall mechanized mascot Kilbot, which was pretty damn impressive for a band from the Volkov Mountains!
General Surgery hail (HAIL!) from Stockholm (SWEDEN!).. GS have been around since 1990... GS have only released 3 albums and a handful of 7" singles and compilation tracks in that time.. and GS had never played on the West Coast before this tour (!). For lack of a more imaginative description on my part, General Surgery are like the surgeons in residence if Carcass operated a hospital, and they took to the stage wearing bloody surgical smocks just like real doctors.
(Pic by Umlaut)
The band's smocks and faces were freshened with new "blood" by a pair of hot Swedish nurses carrying buckets who came onstage during the set and who stood dutifully at the side of the stage when they weren't dispensing gore. The hot Swedish nurses also smeared "blood" on any willing audience members in the front row as the band dispensed the volume. Metal Theater Rules!
Despite the small crowd, General Surgery did exactly what a "real deal" band does: They didn't pander to the small audience. The Swedes simply stormed through their set as if they were in front of hundreds more Metalheads.. and the Metalheads in attendance loved it! The songs off their new CD Corpus In Extremis were GREAT, especially 'Virulent Corpus Dispersement'! It was all brutalicious... Classic Grind / Death Metal performed by seasoned musicians who were being smeared in "blood" by hot Swedish nurses. Who wouldn't love that!? You don't get that at Indie Rock shows, dude! METAL. For the set's finale, GS did a raging cover of the Repulsion song 'Maggots In Your Coffin' with Cremator of Ghoul swinging a giant battle axe around onstage. Metal Theater Rules!
A mere $12 for so much quality Metal and onstage Metal Theater was a righteous bargain, man. I didn't do a proper merch audit, but you could get a General Surgery shirt and CD for only $25. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. This was Umlaut's 23rd gig so far this year... pacing yourself is everything.
For the second time this year Umlaut pulled a gig doubleheader in one night. A month ago it was Leonard Cohen > Green Day in the same evening and tonight it was a potent Power Pop > Japanese Death Metal combination!
Cheap Trick May Fairgrounds, Dixon, CA May 7, 2009
A couple of years ago, Cheap Trick were the subject of Umlaut's biggest music geek moment ever.. It was a magic moment that I still get warm and fuzzy about... and if you really want to know how deep my Cheap Trick geekdom runs click HERE. Rockford's Finest has been one of my favorite bands since I was 14-years old, man.
Fast forward to 2009: Photo Ray and I travelled to The Fairgrounds in Dixon to see Rockford's Finest under the open sky and with the smell of livestock in the air. Dixon seems like it should be a thousand miles from San Francisco, but it's actually only about 60 clicks away. Umlaut had been to The Fairgrounds a couple of years ago for the annual Pin-A-Go-Go pinball show (Geek!), and there's nothing better than seeing Cheap Trick at a county fair!
I can't remember the last time the stubs were actually torn off my ticket at a concert, but that's exactly what The Dixon Fairgrounds does to tally attendance; one side for fair admission, the other side for concert admission. Old School! At around 7:15PM, Rockford's Finest hit the stage with a classic triple punch of 'Hello There' > 'Big Eyes' > 'California Man'.. NICE. Over the next 65 minutes they played a solid set with Rick playing a different guitar for practically each song (as usual); I counted 15 different guitars for 16 songs.. The band performed great and sounded excellent (as usual) and, while my favorite song of the set was the pop power of 'She's Tight', the end sprint of 'Surrender' into the encore of 'Dream Police' > 'Auf Wiedersehen' made everything perfect. The night was also a Full Moon! Like I said: Perfect.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words... so here are 2,000 words on Cheap Trick in lovely Dixon, California:
Folding chairs in a field. (Pic by Umlaut)
Cell phone in one hand > Cigarette in the other. (Pic by South Bay Bret)
According to South Bay Bret: "Ms. Fair Dancer was sharing smokes with her mom and had these painted on eyebrows and a Hard Rock Cafe Cheap Trick shirt that Rick pointed out, so she somehow had *it* going on. She and mom were also getting down to 'Don't Be Cruel' - as were all the fair goers."
Indeed, most of the fairground audience seemed to go the most nuts when the band played their cover of the Elvis song 'Don't Be Cruel'.. which I found a little odd, but good times in Small Town America!
It's funny when I run into readers of this space and they greet me with "Umlaut!", especially at a county fair (a shout out to Mr. King). Also, THANKS to South Bay Bret for scoring me one of Rick's guitar picks. After Cheap Trick finished, we wandered around a bit to soak up some the old fashioned county fair vibe:
(Video by Umlaut)
(Video by Umlaut)
If you bought one of every Cheap Trick merch item you would have paid close to $200; I liked how the shirts were simply displayed behind a folding table on the chain link fence to the right of the stage. Nuthin' fancy! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Once we were back on the road, Photo Ray and I made a pit stop in lovely Vacaville, California for food... then we continued back West on Highway 80 towards The Big City and:
Coffins / Stormcrow Annie's Social Club, San Francisco, CA May 7, 2009
Man, what a night! A mere 2 hours after The Dream Police got inside of our heads, Photo Ray and I entered the sweaty and packed / sold out Annie's in time to catch the last part of Stormcrow's great set. Given the magnitude of this show, the Umlaut Nation was nicely represented.. so a shout out to Photo Ray, Lori, Dave, Rich, and Rafa.
Next up were the headliners: The legendary Coffins from Japan! Evidently this was the first time the band had ever played in S.F.. which was amazing. The anticipation in the club was thick enough to cut with a knife, as was the humidity and sweat; it reminded me of the Amebix show earlier this year. The contrast between Cheap Trick playing in a grass field under a full moon earlier in the night and the Coffins setting up on the tiny, sweaty stage at Annie's was dramatic to say the least.
Preparing for Death Metal. (Pic by Umlaut)
"We are Coffins from Jahpon!" As soon as Coffins lurched into their set I was instantly caught up in how different this gig was from the one I had been at only a few hours earlier. At Cheap Trick, hearing my favorite songs was the most important thing. In contrast, during the Coffins set I fed off the volume and energy coming from the band and the audience rather than any specific songs. At several times during the set I thought my cell phone was vibrating in my pocket, but it was simply my clothes moving from the sound waves coming out of the PA.. METAL! Cheap Trick was great entertainment; Coffins was all consuming and the experience more cerebral. Good times in The Big City!
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words... so here are 1,000 words on Coffins' debut in San Franfuckincisco:
(Pic by Umlaut)
Click HERE for Taija's awesome photo session with Coffins and Stormcrow!
I didn't do a merch audit, but the Merch Girl got confused by basic mathematics; I made it easier for her by adding a CD to my shirt purchase so she wouldn't pull a brain muscle. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. It was an epic night: I love Cheap Trick and I love Metal... Thank dog my brain allows me to appreciate both. Music: Is there anything it can't do?!
Anvil The Bridge Theatre, San Francisco May 3, 2009
I hadn't planned on writing about this since I've already ranted about Anvil twice in this space within the past month... but dammit.. this was one of those perfect Metal nights.
To start off the evening, members of the Umlaut Nation gathered at The Pig & Whistle for some pre-movie / concert libations and sustenance. So a shout out to Timo, Ray, Lori, Sarah, Dave, Rafa, Pam, Richard, Jim, and Pashke.. and a bonus shout out to Mr. Gould of Faith No More as well. Then we few, we happy few, walked down the block to The Bridge to get in line for the 7:10PM screening / performance. As we neared the door, there was a commotion behind us and I turned around just as THE BAND walked past us into the theater... and the people in line gave them a rousing ovation! So fucking cool, right?!
Lips has entered the building! (Pic by Umlaut)
I've ranted about the movie already in previous posts... but I must admit that in the past couple of weeks I've become slightly (okay.. fully..) obsessed with Anvil and all of the back story involved with the making of this movie. Long story short: Anvil are from *my* generation of Metal bands; I bought their first albums when I was a Teenage Metalhead in the early-80's. Their tale of growing old and wanting to stay Metal resonates with me in an extremely profound way... and I realized that I can't really put into words how much this movie (and this story) means to me; it strikes to the core of who I am in so many ways. Hope I die before I get old.
Anyway....
As at the Slim's screening last month, as soon as the final credits finished the band took to the stage to give the sold out theater a dose of Metal... but with an added twist to start as Lips ran off the stage and down the aisle next to me to get the crowd going with some guitar antics.
Lips fires it up! (Pic by Umlaut)
Then he returned to the stage and the band launched into the instrumental 'March Of The Crabs'.. So fucking awesome!
Sidebar: I would like to point out the lame hipster wearing the vintage Vandenberg shirt to the left of Lips.. I'm sure he paid $$ for it at a secondhand store somewhere and thinks it's "COOL" and oh so "METAL".. For the record, Umlaut saw Vandenberg in 1983 at The Keystone Palo Alto (supported by Quiet Riot no less) and their brand of Dutch Hair Metal SUCKED. For the newbies: Adrian Vandenberg went on to play with Whitesnake during their 15 minutes of fame when Tawny Kitaen did the splits on the hood of a Jaguar on their behalf. Hipster Posers Fuck Off!
ANYWAY... Sorry, back to ANVIL:
Their setlist went 'March Of The Crabs' > 'This Is Thirteen' > '666'.... but then Lips broke a string and the set ended abruptly! After a few moments the houselights came on and a roadie said "Anvil loves you!" WTF... No backup axe!? I thought for a second there might be a riot... but alas there wasn't. At that moment I remembered we were "at the movies"... so we obediently filed out of the theater. However, it didn't feel like I was exiting a movie because Anvil, despite their abbreviated set, had laid waste to the theater... and I ran into more Umlaut friends as if I was at a Metal gig... so a shout out to Hard Rock Chick, Old Metal Tim, Jedi Pablo, and Mr. Baker as well.
There was Anvil merch for sale, but I didn't take note of it. On the way back to the car some pimply-teenagers called us fags. As I type this, I feel like I'm 16-years old again... and to quote Anvil: "I'd rather be a king below than a servant above... I'd rather be free and hate than a prisoner of love... You heard my warning but you didn't, didn't, didn't learn... 666!"
There were so many clues about Rob Halford's sexuality back in The Day... but Umlaut was too young and naive to understand them... and I was too naive to understand the double entendre of an ad like this:
The teenage Umlaut circa 1980 would have said: "An album is 12 inches in diameter... and YES I can take it... 'cause I'm a METALHEAD!! Disco SUCKS!" "Grinder.. looking for meat... Grinder.. wants you to eat..."
