Restless & Wild

Accept
The Regency, San Francisco
April 28, 2011

Accept's early albums Breaker and Restless and Wild are still Umlaut favorites, but I haven't followed the band since literally 1984.

Balls To The Wall Tour
(From the Umlaut Archives)

At this point in time, I kind of don't care that Accept are now 2/5 of the classic lineup; at least the twin white Flying-V attack lives on with of Hermann Franks and the inimitable Wolf Hoffmann. Also, the new album Blood Of The Nations is good with American Mark Tornillo taking over the vocal legacy of the Teutonic Hobbit Udo Dirkschneider that still haunts the band.

It was an epiphany seeing an Old Metal show like this after having just seen an EPIC Old Metal show last weekend at The Big 4. It's been weird how so many Old Metalheads have asked me how The Big 4 show was and expecting me to be negative about it, when in reality it was one of the most amazing Metal days I've ever experienced. The Big 4 drew around 50,000 Metal fans while Accept pre-sold around 500 tickets in the 1,400 capacity Regency.. and the crowd was decidedly older versus the inspiring cross generational mosh pit in Indio.

Given the "older" demographic of the audience (guilty!) I guess it was to be expected, but the energy level of the crowd felt like I was in a Doobie Brothers audience at times. Seriously. There were more dudes air guitaring than drinking tonight and it was just one of those shows that made me feel old in some ways. The vibe of the show was more Old Fart nostalgia (guilty!) whereas seeing The Big 4 bands last weekend was a celebration and a validation that Old Metal can still be viable to a mass audience. Sorry, just being honest.

That being said, the band was good and Wolf Hoffman's Teutonic posing and playing were worth the price of admission alone. Wolf was one of my favorite guitarists back in my Salad Days and his Guitar God status is still intact here in the 21st Century. Udo's London Leather Boy has been replaced by Tornillio's Jersey Shore Leather Boy.. but the latter pulled off the old Accept songs admirably despite me wanting to call him Brian Johnson. Although 'Balls To The Wall' sadly doesn't have as much of a homoerotic undertone anymore without Udo singing it.

(Photo courtesy of Photo Ray)

The new songs came off nicely live.. and the selection of old songs was a good cross section of what I wanted to hear.. with the 'Restless and Wild' > 'Son Of A Bitch' combination being my favorite. I was impressed that Tornillo admirably delivered the "CocksuckingmotherfuckerIwasraped!" lyric of the latter in a way that didn't make me think of prison rape. Unfortunately, there was ZERO crowd action during 'Fast As A Shark'! NONE. In 1984 at the San Jose Civic I was against the stage and got pummeled by the crowd action during the song... but it was that kind of show tonight. Also, the inflatable toy shark that Tornillo brought onstage as the song started sort of sent the wrong message too IMO. The night ended with the obligatory 'Balls To The Wall' which I always think of as the beginning of the end for Accept... but judging by all the dudes air guitaring to it I know I'm in the minority. At least no dudes lined themselves up against the wall to recreate the song's video...


If you bought one of every Accept merch item you would have paid around $200. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Man, typing this rant suddenly made hungry for a meal at Schmidt's or Walzwerk...

The Big 4

The Big 4
Metallica / Slayer / Megadeth / Anthrax
Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, California
April 23, 2011

Yes, Umlaut attended The Big 4. Yes, I had All Access. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when I'll have time to post a complete rant about it here... Long story short, I've committed to covering the event for a "real" publication and I shouldn't post the Umlaut version of events until after that piece is published. Plus, I'm leaving for a long overdue vacation very soon...

All I will say right now is that The Big 4 was an EPIC day and it made this jaded Old Metalhead believe again. Man, around 50,000 Metalheads gathered in the desert for this show; no bullshit 2nd rate bands filling the day and no bullshit 2nd stages. It was just 4 classic Metal bands; all killer and no filler! The Old Metal vibe in the crowd and everywhere else was so intense I almost couldn't stand it; I realized this is what European Metal Fests feel like. I thought all of the bands were great in their own ways, but Slayer's set was incredible on many levels.

First of all, seeing my old friend Gary Holt filling in for the ailing Jeff Hanneman was mindblowing... especially since Gary was a complete Rock Star on the big stage and nailed it. When Gary did the solo in 'The Antichrist' it was Ruthie's Inn coming full circle into the 21st Century. Dude, Slayer also played 'Black Magic'... and watching 'Seasons In The Abyss' performed in the desert was perfect. Also, watching Slayer from stage right as they charged into 'World Painted Blood' to the roar of 50,000 Metalheads will be one of my top moments of the year... and to those jaded Metalheads who dismiss the new Slayer songs I want to say that I could hear the crowd singing along to 'World Painted Blood' and 'Hate Worldwide' (the opening songs of the set) from the stage! 'Nuff said.

Araya and Holt prepare to destroy all..
(Photo by Umlaut)

However, one of THE best concert moments of my entire life happened at the end of Slayer's set: The stage lights were off and the intro to 'South Of Heaven' started... and I knew it wasn't Gary playing it because the guitar tone was a bit different... and then the stage lights came on and it was fucking JEFF HANNEMAN onstage for the first time in 6 months!! THE most METAL thing was Hanneman was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt with the right sleeve cut off to show his heavily scarred and damaged arm. WOW.

(Photo courtesy of Photo Ray)

It was one of the best Slayer sets I've ever seen. Jeff was obviously rusty onstage after so much time being sick and recovering, but then about half way through 'Angel Of Death' he stepped to the front of the stage and got into *that* trademark Hanneman stance (legs spread, head down, blond hair flying).. and he was BACK! It was so fucking awesome.. At the end of the song Hanneman turned his guitar headstock down towards the stage and held it in front of him like an inverted cross while strangling the final note out of the instrument. . Dude, you never see the Slayer guys do Rock Star / Guitar God poses with their instruments like that onstage... but it was that kind of set.

I never thought I'd get emotional at a Slayer concert... but I almost got teary-eyed. SLAAAYEER LIVES! ! The ORIGINAL lineup lives! The coolest thing was how Slayer handled everything: There was never an announcement about Gary being on guitar or introducing Jeff back onstage. Slayer always presents themselves as a single entity: SLAYER. No bullshit.

Slayer's Big 4 setlist:

• World Painted Blood
• Hate Worldwide
• War Ensemble
• Postmortem
• Raining Blood
• Black Magic
• Dead Skin Mask
• Americon
• Silent Scream
• The Antichrist
• Seasons in the Abyss
• Payback
• Snuff
• South of Heaven (with Hanneman)
• Angel of Death (with Hanneman)

To be honest, we had seen Hanneman backstage earlier in the day and had been tipped off he was going to be playing 2 songs... but when it went down it was WAY beyond what I thought it was going to be like. Slayer was just one of the moments during Big 4 that made this jaded Old Metalhead believe again.

All Access Laminate... Slayer VIP Pass... Maps.. VIP Parking Pass..

Devo shirts = 1. Anyway, that's all I'm gonna post about my All Access Big 4 right now (sorry). On the way back to San Francisco, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.. which makes sense I guess. I'll hopefully post a more complete rant about the EPIC day in the near future.

"Curse... Black Magic night.." Click HERE to see Photo Ray's SLAAAYEER shots from the day!

Anthrax appeases the Metal Masses..
(Photo by Umlaut)

Recital

PJ Harvey
The Warfield, San Francisco
April 14, 2011

Umlaut is still on a hiatus from most Metal shows... and what better way to continue my wandering through Music than with my old obsession PJ Harvey. This was the first of only 4 U.S. shows and a warm up for PJ's weekend appearance down at that hipster magnet Coachella. I like her new album Let England Shake more than her previous release, but I went into this show with no expectations. I've been fortunate to have followed PJ since her 1st album and tour, but I was hoping to regain some of my fandom that has waned in recent years.

Dry Tour
(From the Umlaut Archives)

There was a time when I was completely fanatical about PJ and I've witnessed some amazing performances over the years. However, her last S.F. show 2 years ago didn't engage me at all; I understand that artists need to change as their creativity directs them... but PJ's recent direction just hasn't done it for me. So, entering The Warfield, I cleared my head and hoped PJ would win me over again.

The Warfield was sold out well in advance and the anticipation in the crowd was thick enough to cut with a knife as the houselights went down. Judging from the stage I knew it was going to be a different type of PJ Harvey performance; I've never seen The Warfield stage so bare and empty without even a backdrop being used. The effect was like seeing PJ and her band playing in a void that had no reference to space or time.

The only production was moody dark lighting and the odd pieces of vintage furniture used by the band. Despite this, the staging worked well to focus attention on the songs and the introverted tone of the performance. PJ is such a chameleon; she's been a different personality for every album and tour. For this album and tour she is like a Victorian storyteller traveling back through time armed with an autoharp and guitar.. and dressed like a character from a World War I memorial come to life with a white flowing outfit and black feather head thing.

Her current band is a musical team featuring longtime cohort John Parish, Mick Harvey, and drummer Jean-Marc Butty (who played on her To Bring You My Love album). The tone of this performance was more like a recital than a concert and it was the most introverted PJ show I've ever seen. Normally if I call a show "introverted" it would mean "self-absorbed" but in this case it meant the focus was on the words PJ was singing instead of her personality. This feeling was magnified as PJ didn't say a word to the audience in between songs.

As the set flowed off the stage like rolls of sheet music, PJ displayed more talent in her little finger than any bald screaming Metal guy wearing half pants. She and band performed every song off the new album with the set rounded out with a few older songs, but nothing dating from before 1995... which I'm sure bummed out the more casual fans in attendance. The "hits" highlight was 'Down By The Water' > 'C'mon Billy' which came near the end of the main set; my favorite part of the set was the encore double shot of 'Big Exit' > 'Angeline'. These few older songs were reimagined as PJ strummed her autoharp instead of a guitar for them, which gave them the same outworldly vibe that is the aesthetic of PJ's current theme and displayed in her latest songs.

As we left The Warfield I wasn't sure how I felt about what I'd just witnessed. Part of me still misses *the old* PJ of 1991-93 when she was a She-Demon guitarist fronting a power trio. However, her evolution as an artist has been interesting for me to follow over the past 17 (!) years. As I've worked on this post I've come to the realization that at this point I'm a PJ Harvey fan for life, whether I like it or not... but I'm cool with it.

If you bought one of every merch item you would have paid around $200. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Earlier today was Record Store Day 2011 (For those keeping score: I managed to get 9 of the 13 items on my 2011 RSD list...) and with that in mind I just pulled out all of the PJ Harvey singles (7" and CD Singles) and promo-only CDs in the Umlaut Archives dating back to 1992:

The Geeks shall inherit The Earth... Click HERE for Photo Ray's shots from the night!

Old School

Jeff Beck & the Imelda May Band
The Fillmore, San Francisco
April 9, 2011

Jeff Beck is one of Umlaut's favorite Guitar Gods... and the chance to see him at The Fillmore was a no-brainer. A historic musician in a historic venue; those who fail to learn from history are destined to listen to crap music.. Tonight was the final show of a brief 12 city tour featuring Jeff Beck backed by singer Imelda May and her band. The inspiration behind the shows was Beck paying tribute to the late Les Paul and also to pay homage to the Rock Music of the 1950's that inspired him when he was young.

While killing time in The Fillmore's upstairs bar before the show it was obvious the crowd tonight was a total Baby Boomer Sausage Fest; it was definitely a Bro Date Night for the Weekend Warrior crowd. The following exchange happened between the bartender and an older gentleman standing next to me at the bar:

Bartender: "What would you like?"
Older Gentleman: "A beer."
Bartender: "What kind of beer?"
Older Gentleman: "In a bottle."
Bartender: (pause) "... a Budweiser?"
Older Gentleman: "Yes."

Hope I die before I get old.

Before the set started Beck announced the tribute nature of tonight's show and then he and the band were off and running with versions of songs by Elvis Presley ('Baby Let's Play House') and Gene Vincent ('Cruising'). I was in total Music Geek alert watching Beck strap on his Telecaster because I knew something special was coming... and then he and the band launched into a rip-roaring version of 'Train Kept A-Rollin' that was done like the original rockabilly version instead of the more famous Yardbirds take on the song. Jeff Beck playing 'Train Kept A-Rollin' at The Fillmore!? Woah..

The saucy Imelda May joined the band onstage about 1/3 of the way into the show for a compelling set of Les Paul and Mary Ford classics, including 'Vaya Con Dios' (of course..)... but Beck & Imelda didn't perform 'Tennessee Waltz'. Hmmm.. wonder why.

Les Paul & Mary Ford

It was interesting to watch musicians from England and Ireland (May is Irish) recreating vintage American Rock Music and coming across completely genuine and not cheesy at all. From a Music Geek standpoint it was also interesting watching Beck switch between different guitars so often during the set; usually he just delivers the goods onstage with a Stratocaster. He went from a Gibson hollow body, to a Les Paul (!), to his signature cream Strat depending on the song. When Beck struck his trademark stance to hit a note, posing his cream colored Strat against his right hip and pointing the headstock towards the sky, you could hear the Music Geeks in the room squeal like little schoolgirls (guilty!).

(Photo stolen from The Internet)

According to the Umlaut Archives this was the 5th time I've seen Beck (dating back to 1983) and it was my favorite performance. I'm a fan of Beck's Jazz work, but this was a completely old style Rock 'N Roll set... and the Guitar God soloed during every song. Highlights for Umlaut were the blistering versions of 'Peter Gunn' and 'Apache'. The version of the latter kind of blew my mind... and there was also a very good version of 'Walking In The Sand' with Imelda May channeling The Shangri-Las nicely. A bonus for the great night was that the free Fillmore poster was one of the best ones I've seen in a long time:

The night had the exact same vibe as when I've seen Lemmy perform with his side band The Head Cat; an evening where a Rock Legend geeks out on the music that influenced him. It was like watching Jeff Beck pull records (vinyl!) out of his collection and play them for us.

Thanks to Cable Car for sorting my ticket tonight!

If you bought one of every Jeff Beck merch item you would have paid around $390 including Wired on vinyl (!). On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The next day ALL of the 21st Century communication wired into Casa de Umlaut (The Internets / Cable) went down for most of the day. How did people find out about music in the 1950's?!

Clear Windowpane

Metalliance Tour
Helmet / Saint Vitus / Crowbar / Kylesa / Red Fang
Mezzanine, San Francisco
April 3, 2011


Umlaut has been on hiatus from Metal shows for the past month or so; I had hit a wall and nothing with volume was engaging me at all. Even this bill, which included 2 of my favorite bands (Saint Vitus and Kylesa) didn't light a fire under me until literally the morning of the show. I'm old and jaded... but sometimes The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and by the end of this night I was at one with the volume again.

The Mezzanine is a weird 1,000 capacity venue located in an alley and it's basically a concrete dance club with a decent size stage shoved in a corner. However, despite its appearance, the sound was surprisingly clear and loud... so kudos to the venue's owner and staff... Although it was weird being at a Metal show where the security staff wore suits.

Man, no offense to anyone involved with this tour, but 7 band bills are ridiculous... Timo and I rolled into the Mezzanine late and missed the first 2 bands (apologies to Atlas Month and Howl). I'm old and jaded and simply can't sit through more than a couple of support bands; quality over quantity. Sorry.. Just being honest.

Red Fang: The band from Portland were already onstage when we arrived... and they were good in that meat 'n potatoes Rock way that I'm a sucker for... However, the band cranked things up a huge notch by bringing Wino onstage to sing vocals on a GREAT cover of ‘Suicide’ by Dust. WOAH!!

Wino with Red Fang
(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

Pretty fucking cool... and after that they played one more song... I finished a beer... and then it was time for…

Kylesa: I said earlier how I've been burned out on seeing bands recently... and it's always interesting that whenever I get to this low point ('cause I'm old), I eventually see a band that kicks me in the ass and brings me back to center. Tonight was around the 6th time I've seen Kylesa and it was probably the best. Their performance was so focused and seamless from the past 6 months of touring..

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

I like how the keyboards and theramin are used subtlety and nicely integrated into their live sound, but neither are gratuitous. At this moment in time, Kylesa weaves a volume journey that few bands are capable of presenting effectively live. They are as much a fuzzed out Pink Floyd as an ambient Black Sabbath. It takes a lot to inspire me to buy a band’s merch these days… but there I was at Kylesa’s merch table after their set.

Crowbar: The anticipation in the crowd before Crowbar's set was palpable... although I have to say I've always been more of a Down fan. A lot of dudes were channeling their Inner Pantera down front during Crowbar's set... and the Lousiana Sludge sounded pretty good... but during their set I found myself holding a beer and talking to Jason of Black Cobra back by the soundboard. Just being honest… and Dave Chandler of Saint Vitus was at the bar as well.

Saint Vitus: Umlaut was fortunate to have seen the mighty Vitus 3x last year, with 2 of those shows being the closest thing to religious experiences that I'll ever let myself have... and I was completely awestruck when I had the same experience all over again tonight. It spoke volumes about what Vitus are about that, as the opening bands played, Dave Chandler was casually hanging out at the bar and Wino killed time at the merch table and also just hung out chatting with fans on the main floor. Old School approachable.

'Living Backwards' > 'I Bleed Black' opened the set and the clouds parted and the sunshine of volume enlightenment seared into my brain. The look on Wino's face when he's onstage is like watching a soul whose voice isn't bound by time or mortality.. and, when combined with the holy thunder of Chandler's TONE and the mighty bottom end anchored by Adams and drummer Henry Vasquez, the stage becomes a church for me. I don't say that lightly... because I'm a jaded mofo... but it's hard to describe the feeling of having my mind cleaned and my eyes cleared so quickly and profoundly after having spent the past month being bored with everything. Sacred stuff, man.

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

When 'Clear Windowpane' started, the lyrics reminded me just how *off* I'd been feeling recently because of my concert inactivity. I'm still going to stick to my "quality over quantity" mantra for seeing bands... but the most important thing is my head is back into the volume again. It's always weird when you're not feeling yourself... but now I am again.

During the break before they played 'White Stallions', Wino handed his bottle of Jack to a guy in the crowd. Once the song started the empty bottle ended up back on the stage... where it proceeded to bounce around on the vibrating stage caused by Vitus' volume! The bottle was joined by some empty beer cans in a bizarre version of the Saint Vitus Dance. WOW.. Even more ironic was that the band were playing 'Dying Inside' as this macabre liquor dance was going on. “Drinking has wasted my life.. and I’m dying inside..”

Note: The cans were vibrating and are not out of focus! Saint Fucking Vitus!!

Besides The Hits, Vitus also played a new song (evidently titled 'Blessed Night') that showed the band's reunion is fueled by something more than nostalgia or a paycheck. Seeing Vitus play their new music was like watching a band reborn. Take it from an Old Fart like me, age is only a number and "getting old" has more to do with your attitude.

Unfortunately, a package tour like this meant Vitus had an abbreviated set time... and their short volume sermon closed with 'Born Too Late' that ended with Wino stage diving and Chandler jumping off the stage to deliver one final devotional volume blast with his SG to the audience up close and personal. AMEN!! After all of that, Wino was hanging out in the crowd chatting with fans again literally 5 minutes after leaving the stage. Wino... Saint Vitus... The real fucking deal.

I Bleed Black: Wino > Wino's BÖC Tattoo > Umlaut
(Photo courtesy of Photo Ray)

Helmet: As this tour’s admat said, Helmet are playing the entire Meantime album on this tour. According to the Umlaut Archives, I saw Helmet 4x on the Meantime Tour in 1992-93.

Meantime Tour - 1992
(From the Umlaut Archives)

However, as good of an album as Meantime was back then, I COMPLETELY burned out on it... and I wondered how hearing the entire album live would hold up for me here in the 21st Century. Well, I guess I’ll never know… The 21st Century version of Helmet (Page Hamilton, his pink ESP, and some guys) took the stage at around midnight. Unfortunately, since it was a school night, I lasted 1 1/4 songs because instead of launching straight into Meantime they opened with songs I didn’t know… and suddenly it was 1993 again but not necessarily in a good way. I’m so glad I didn’t get a tribal tattoo back then! Anyway, it was late and after Saint Vitus I didn’t need anything else except sleep.. so we bailed. In the meantime: THANKS to Steve for getting me sorted for the show!

I didn’t do a merch audit, but there were an unusual number of Death Angel shirts in the crowd tonight. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The next morning I was still buzzing from Kylesa and Vitus and Kylesa's merch girl Tweeted: "So Wino cold knocked a dude out last night." Saint Vitus... Wino... the real fucking deal.

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night!