Kidz These Days

The Summer Slaughter Tour
The Fillmore, San Francisco
July 29, 2011

The main reason I attended this year's Summer Slaughter was because it would be the perfect after hours meet up for the creative team behind Murder In The Front Row who have been gathered in San Francisco this week. Yes, production of the tome is proceeding fast 'n furious and the results so far have been both humbling and mind blowing. It's not often you can look back on your life 30 years ago in 6300 dpi glory.

The annual Summer Slaughter Tour features the newer Metal bands the kidz are into these days. These bands are also usually the new Metal bands that make me want to listen to Coltrane, Johnny Cash, or something else that isn't Metal. This year's tour is headlined by Black Dahlia Murder and White Chapel with eight (8) other bands. By the time I arrived at The Fillmore the show had been going on for around five (5) hours and some of The Fillmore staff were openly cranky from dealing with the Metal kidz.

"No Headwalking"... I would bet that sign has been in storage since 1987.. because do kidz these days even have a clue about what that is?

I met my publishing brothers out front at Will Call, was glad to find my name was on the guest list, and we made it inside just as White Chapel started. White Chapel has three (3) guitarists when one (1) good guitarist could do the job. However the kidz on the packed floor were into it and that's all that matters. I like seeing the new generation of Metal kidz having fun... but White Chapel drove us to the upstairs bar where my publishing brothers and I talked business and Old Metal for the duration of the set.

At one point a kid holding a 3/4 full beer cup came up to us and asked "Are you guys 21??" We looked at him blankly and collectively answered "Uhhh... Yes.. Why?"... and the kid mumbled something about how he couldn't finish his beer because he had to drive home and did any of us want it. Oookaay... A nice hippie-like gesture on his part.. but why would we want a cup of his backwash when we can afford to buy our own beer. Silly kid... Now go on your way you little scamp.. Kidz these days... but kudos to the kid for being DUI aware. His parents should be proud.

The thumping from downstairs announced that Black Dahlia Murder were taking the stage so we returned to the main floor. I've seen the band before and wanted to check them out again because the kidz love them and they sell alot of merch.

Again, I like seeing the youngsters have a good time with their moshing and their shoving and their 21st Century version of pit action... but I soon joined my publishing brothers at the downstairs bar. As we chatted over the din coming from the stage, I had a Music Geek epiphany that I didn't expect.. I've been seeing shows at The Fillmore since 1987 and I had never noticed this faux fireplace before:

Does anybody know the story behind this fake fireplace??

Anyway, that was that. We didn't see or really pay attention to any of the bands, but I guarantee we still had a more Metal evening than pretty much anyone else in the building via our conversations. If only you'd seen what our eyes had seen this week... Images of Metal in 6300 dpi from a time before most of you reading this were probably born.

I didn't do a merch audit, but the kids seemed to have a lot of disposable income tonight. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The show ended promptly at 11:00pm and some of The Fillmore staff were definitely cranky after 7+ hours of dealing with the Metal kidz.. which was funny. To quote Baloff: "Metal rules.. and if you don't like it.. DIE!"

A Case Of The Mondays

Fucked Up / Trash Talk
The Independent, San Francisco
July 25, 2011


I had forgotten about this show until a couple of days before... and then I discovered that the infamous Trash Talk were also on the bill. DOH!! It was going to be a F-U-N Monday night in The Haight! Prior to the show Photo Ray, Sensory Abuse, and I met up for some pre-show food 'n beers involving Rosamunde and Toronado.

Then we few, we happy few, walked over to The Independent for what turned out to be one of the best shows of the year.

I've seen Trash Talk described as a band with "two black guys and two white guys". They hail from Sacramento and are infamous for shows that escalate into full-scale brawls. This was one of those rare shows where the sense of danger, or at least that feeling that anything could happen, was thick in the air. Evidently Trash Talk are banned from playing Gilman Street; how Punk is that?!! They are also reportedly banned from playing several cities in the U.K. as well. Trash Talk are also one of those bands who seem to confuse mainstream / clueless music publications as I've seen them called "Metal" by some and "Punk" by others... but they obviously have some juice behind them since besides playing sweaty clubs they've also played major festivals overseas this year like Download in the U.K. and Soundwave in Australia.

It's been a long time since I've seen a crowd terrified by a band... but that's what happened tonight when Trash Talk launched into their set and the singer Lee leaped off the stage during the first song for hand-to-hand combat with the audience. As the floor opened up into a pit for the entirety of the set, the tornado of anger and volume created by Trash Talk was infectious and, while kids around me moved away from the stage, I felt compelled to move closer. Trash Talk in full roar are impossible to keep your eyes off of as Lee roamed the entire length of the club (even ending up on top of the bar at the back of the room at one point) while onstage Garrett (guitar) and Spencer (bass) stalked back and forth feeding off the energy happening in front of them and Sam on drums kept the mayhem focused. Watching Trash Talk was like watching a street gang take apart a rival one limb at a time; at one point Lee returned to the stage, only to take a running leap to land amidst a pile of audience members.

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

For much of this year I've been a Jaded Old Fart, but watching Trash Talk take over The Independent reminded me why I got into this Music Geek business in the first place. Seeing a band display such uncut passionate rage is something most people never witness. Onstage the lads from Sacramento remind me alot of the Gallows who up to this point have been one of my absolute favorite live bands. However, with the recent departure of Gallows singer Frank, the time is ripe for Trash Talk to grab my fandom and chain it to the back of their van and hit the gas pedal. After their set I met back up with Photo Ray, Sensory Abuse, and SF Sludge and basically all we could say to each other was "Holy Fuck..."; it felt like we were standing in the aftermath of a horrific car accident and no one had been wearing a seatbelt. Hail Sacramento!

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

I've seen Fucked Up described as a band with "the 300 pound singer". As much as I like Fucked Up, I've only managed to see them once before back in February 2009. Fucked Up have evolved into a band that is hard to describe... They started as a Hardcore band but have evolved into almost like a Punk Prog Art Rock thing, with songs that can be downright transcendental. With 3 guitars they create a wall of sound that isn't something brutal that knocks you over, but more like a curtain of volume that lifts your head above the bullshit of the world so you can look down on it and have your eardrums blown out at the same time.

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

Fucked Up's songs are beautiful in a non-traditional way that's hard to describe; it's like looking at a gorgeous woman who only has one leg and no arms but who has profound things to say. Onstage their sense of melody combined with Damian's large personality and sense of humor makes them infectious. Whereas Trash Talk brought a darkness and uncertainty to the night, Fucked Up brought a more inspirational balance to the show; maybe it's because they're Canadian. However, as he's known for doing, Damian spent a good part of the set in the crowd as members of the packed audience held his mic cord above the fray.

How many bands dedicate a song to people who collect vinyl? Fucked Up does. If the band has a "hit" song it would probably be the anthem 'Crooked Head' that was the highlight of the set. I'd forgotten how inspiring and life affirming a really great Punk show can be. Tonight featured two bands who channel their anger and angst in different ways. Trash Talk brought the darkness and violence. Fucked Up brought something equally as powerful but from a different point of view. This was hands down one of the best shows of the year... Not bad for a Monday night in San Francisco.

(Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

I didn't do a merch audit but Fucked Up had 3 tees for sale and unfortunately Trash Talk had none. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Click HERE to see more of Sensory Abuse's shots from the night.. and click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots of Fucked Up and HERE for his Trash Talk shots.

The next morning (Tuesday) I had one of the shittiest starts to a day in awhile and while I sped to work I cranked Trash Talk... and just when I was starting to be in a better mood I found out that Ludicra, one of my all-time favorite bands and the undisputed headliners of the Bay Area Metal Scene, have called it a day. FUCK... I'm thankful to have seen Ludicra at least 12x over the years... THANKS for the volume inspiration Laurie, John, Christy, Aesop, and Ross. Click HERE for Umlaut's Ludicra memories... FUCK.

Outshined

Soundgarden / The Mars Volta
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco
July 21, 2011

The exciting sequel to Grunge Lives In Our Hearts!

Umlaut has been on somewhat of a hiatus recently... Not hitting as many shows... and hitting a patch of writer's block because I've had to write a couple of "serious" pieces that are being published between now and the end of the year. A couple of weekends back I found myself on The List (THANKS to Tour Manager Doug for getting me sorted...) for this year's Mayhem Festival (co-headlined by the truly awful duo of Disturbed and Godsmack). It was a fun afternoon in the sun seeing local heroes Machine Head and Testament (who only played the 2 Cali Mayhem shows) as well as Megadeth. However, I wasn't inspired to rant about it... Sorry. Machine Head were great on the main stage... Megadeth had just flown in from Europe and their sound sucked but Mustaine's hair looked fabulous as always... and Testament ruled the day headlining on a GA side stage. They opened with 'Over The Wall' and it was solid mayhem for their set. However, Mayhem Fest 2011 wasn't nearly as epic as Mayhem Fest 2009 had been. Anyway, that was almost 3 weeks ago...

I hadn't set foot inside the Bill Graham Civic since that Tenacious D. show in 2006. While the building has more than its share of San Francisco concert history (The Who, The Clash, U2, and Metallica among others have headlined there over the decades) it's always been a venue that's sucked because it's basically a concrete box where decent sound goes to die. I'll also be blunt and say I was not caught up in the hype of a Soundgarden reunion. I liked the band back in The Day.. saw them a bunch of times.. but I burned out on them. I also saw Cornell with Audioslave and it was just okay and not the Second Coming of Rock. I also had gone through a phase where I was WAY into Mars Volta when their Frances the Mute album was out... but I burned out on them too. So, basically, I went into this show with the mindset of a jaded old motherfucker.

The Mars Volta hit the stage right around 7:30pm and for the next 45 minutes played a game of hacky sack with the ears of the half full Civic. Since I haven't followed the band in recent years I didn't recognize any of the songs but Omar was his usual nerd Guitar God self and Cedric worked the stage in his usual manner: like a cocky James Brown impersonator on meth.

Quote Of The night: "When I think of S.F. I think of Full House. Full. Fucking. House." - Cedric of The Mars Volta

A good opening set that sort of made me want to check out Mars Volta's recent stuff.. but we'll see. During Mars Volta's set the floor was only 1/3 full and the balcony even more empty... but as the stage was being changed over between bands the floor was suddenly packed and the balcony very full as well. I then remembered that there were ALOT of people in the audience who were teenagers or younger when Grunge was King who had never seen Soundgarden; a sobering reality check for this Jaded Old Fart. Yes, Umlaut was into the Grunge... and I will argue forever that it was the bullshit Hair Metal bands that destroyed 80's Metal and not Grunge.

Anyway, after the Stooges songs '1969' and 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' played over the PA, the houselights switched off, the stage lights went up, the crowd screamed, and it was time to see if Grunge still lives in our hearts here in the 21st Century. The answer came as Soundgarden walked onstage in the Bay Area for the first time since 1996 and lurched into 'Searching With My Good Eye Closed' and then straight into 'Spoonman'.

It was a good start, but the following one-two punch of 'Room A Thousand Years Wide' (my favorite Soundgarden song..) into 'Jesus Christ Pose' made me wonder where my old flannel was these days. Both versions of these songs were pretty magnificent... I was upstairs and, unlike at Soundgarden's last Bay Area show (Henry J. Kaiser Center, Oakland - 12/5/96), the sound was near perfect... probably because the PA was in direct line with the balcony. Since local promoter Another Planet took over the Civic they've evidently spent millions on remodeling and improvements; it seemed to me that the ceiling was a bit lower than before with what looked like sound baffling and it also looked like the stage might have been moved in a ways so the room wouldn't be such a concrete echo chamber like in the past. Whatever the case, it was the best sounding show I've seen at the Civic.

[Update: After posting this, I was informed by a member of the Umlaut Nation that there have been NO improvements done at the Civic because no one wanted to spend the money.. So the show's sound - at least from up in the balcony - probably had everything to do with an excellent house and front of house sound crew. Kudos to them... although I have also since heard the sound on the floor was like "dogshit trampled in mud".. So, note to self, sit upstairs at future Civic shows if you want decent sound...]

To be honest, although his vocals were in fine form, I'm not really a Chris Cornell fan; the best career move he's made in the past 15 years was to grow his hair out again. The highlight of the night for me was seeing Kim Thayil playing guitar onstage again! He's one of my favorite guitarists with TONE for days AND he was wearing a Neurosis tee onstage! A very nice nod to The Bay Area, right?. It was also good to see that Ben Shepard is still one of the weirdest bassists onstage, with his zombie-like movements that make his playing secondary at times. I'll also forgive Matt Cameron for being in Pearl Jam (Sorry Umlaut Nation friends who are PJ fans... but I can't stand Pearl Jam...) because his chops on the drums are still solid, solid, solid.

The setlist was a good mix from the band's entire catalog... but I'm completely done with the band's radio hits ('Black Hole Sun'.. 'Fell On Black Days'...'The Day I Tried To Live'...). If I never hear those songs again I'd be happy. Thankfully, Soundgarden has enough less popular songs that make up for the overplayed hits. Including 'Nothing To Say' from their debut EP was a nice touch... as was 'Ugly Truth' and 'Loud Love' from their 2nd album. 'Rusty Cage' was excellent and the main set closing '4th Of July' did the job.

The oddest moment of the night came during the final encore ('Slaves & Bulldozers') when it was pointed out to me via a text (Hey John!) that future Hall Of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson was onstage behind Thayil's backline with his camera.

The Big Unit Onstage
(Photo courtesy of Cable Car)

Actually, not really a surprise since Johnson is a longtime Metal fan... AND he is from The Bay Area.. but still an odd moment seeing The Big Unit onstage. I wonder how good his fast ball is these days.

Tonight was the 12th show of Soundgarden's month long, 16-city reunion tour... 24 songs... Over 2 hours onstage. I didn't have a Grunge Revival epiphany, but it was a great set that I wasn't really expecting to like as much as I did going in. Where is that old flannel of mine?

Number of Slayer hockey jerseys = 1. If you bought one of every Soundgarden merch item you would have paid around $400. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. I was always more into Alice In Chains over Soundgarden... but ALL of the Cool Kidz know the greatest band to come out of the Seattle Scene is the fucking Melvins!!

The Saddest Book I've Ever Read

What's the saddest book you've ever read? Like other literate people, Umlaut has read hundreds (thousands?) of books since I learned how to read. However, there's one book in particular that makes me sad every time I open it... and it's been sad since the day it was published. That book is Sotheby's catalog for the September 2004 auction of property from the estate of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.

(From the Umlaut Archives)

The catalog is literally the print version of Johnny's haunting final video for the song 'Hurt'...


... only the catalog is EVEN MORE profoundly sad. It's 320 pages of photos and text detailing almost 700 items that were put up for auction after the deaths of Johnny and June in 2003 (They passed away within 4 months of each other). In fact, most of the items featured in the video are pictured in the catalog (including the furniture and iconic piano..). Also featured are every day detritus (furniture... dishes... check stubs... clothes... jewelry... rugs...) as well as items that would cause any Music Geek's jaw to hit the floor (musical instruments.. album awards... photos..).

Some of the items that I found most poignant or amazing were:

• The 1967 Grammy Award presented to Johnny and June for the song 'Jackson' (which of course was their most beloved duet together).
  
• The dozens and dozens of handwritten letters to and from Johnny. For the newbies: In the days before e-mail people wrote letters to each other. The letters that Johnny wrote or received from friends like Carl Perkins, Nixon, Muhammed Ali and Jimmy Carter... and love letters from June.
  
• An autographed photo from Elvis Presley to June ("To June, I love you. Elvis").

However, it's hard to really focus on individual items because the book represents the life and career of a musician the likes of whom we will never, ever see again. Songwriters of Cash's magnitude and charisma simply aren't possible in this age of mass media where original creativity is something most wouldn't recognize if it hit them in the face; you can quote me on that. Johnny Cash was / is one of Umlaut's Music Geek heroes and I'm thankful I was able to see him and June in concert.

(Ticket Stub and Guitar Pick from the Umlaut Archives)

Anyway, that's the saddest book I've ever read... "We've been talkin' about Jackson ever since the fire went out."