What is it? Well kidz... It's the stage back drop from Metallica's 1984-85 Ride The Lightning World Tour.
10 Bucks
(From the Umlaut Archives)
(From the Umlaut Archives)
"Guilty as charged.. but damn it.. it ain't right.."
Monday, November 28, 2011
Flash Before My Eyes
One day last week I found myself standing in front of this:
What is it? Well kidz... It's the stage back drop from Metallica's 1984-85 Ride The Lightning World Tour.
"Guilty as charged.. but damn it.. it ain't right.."
What is it? Well kidz... It's the stage back drop from Metallica's 1984-85 Ride The Lightning World Tour.
"Guilty as charged.. but damn it.. it ain't right.."
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn
Many thanks to Umlaut’s old friend Trace Rayfield for this! I remember this photo from back in The Day and he recently resent it to me… Time travel rules! Trace interviewed Lars and James for my fanzine Whiplash; it was probably their first interview after Kirk joined the band. Oh, and the interview was recorded in a moving car… but I’ll let Trace tell the story: 
"This picture was taken in the parking lot of the record store Rock 'N Roll Heaven in New Jersey. This was the beginning of my 4 hour odyssey with James and Lars including the Whiplash interview. We then went to the record store Zig Zag for an in-store appearance and ended up at L'Amours in Brooklyn for an Anvil show. In between was a comical drive through the streets of Brooklyn with lots of beer drinking and bad directions from the locals. Two kids from California and two kids from the Midwest lost in Brooklyn. Of course, the more beer we drank, the more lost we got. The happy ending was we made it before Anvil hit the stage and I got my interview."
An excerpt from Trace's 1983 interview:
WHIPLASH: HOW DO YOU GUYS LIKE THE EAST COAST SO FAR?
JAMES: Not as good as San Francisco.
LARS: The bangers out here aren't as fanatic.
JAMES: They don't get into mobs and bang like out in 'Frisco.
WHIPLASH: HOW DO THE AUDIENCES DIFFER ON THE EAST COAST FROM THE WEST COAST?
LARS: They just aren't as crazy. Fuckin' out there in San Francisco the first ten rows is just hair and sweat and bobbing heads. They're just fuckin' all over each other, but maybe it will be the same here soon 'cause we've only done a few gigs out here so far. The crowds are still kind of checking us out where as out there (in San Francisco) it's like home turf.
JAMES: L.A. was the fuckin' worst.
No Sleep 'Til.....
Metallica in New Jersey - April 1983
"This picture was taken in the parking lot of the record store Rock 'N Roll Heaven in New Jersey. This was the beginning of my 4 hour odyssey with James and Lars including the Whiplash interview. We then went to the record store Zig Zag for an in-store appearance and ended up at L'Amours in Brooklyn for an Anvil show. In between was a comical drive through the streets of Brooklyn with lots of beer drinking and bad directions from the locals. Two kids from California and two kids from the Midwest lost in Brooklyn. Of course, the more beer we drank, the more lost we got. The happy ending was we made it before Anvil hit the stage and I got my interview."
An excerpt from Trace's 1983 interview:
WHIPLASH: HOW DO YOU GUYS LIKE THE EAST COAST SO FAR?
JAMES: Not as good as San Francisco.
LARS: The bangers out here aren't as fanatic.
JAMES: They don't get into mobs and bang like out in 'Frisco.
WHIPLASH: HOW DO THE AUDIENCES DIFFER ON THE EAST COAST FROM THE WEST COAST?
LARS: They just aren't as crazy. Fuckin' out there in San Francisco the first ten rows is just hair and sweat and bobbing heads. They're just fuckin' all over each other, but maybe it will be the same here soon 'cause we've only done a few gigs out here so far. The crowds are still kind of checking us out where as out there (in San Francisco) it's like home turf.
JAMES: L.A. was the fuckin' worst.
No Sleep 'Til.....
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
And Metal Takes Its Price
Advance copies have arrived... which means it's only 33 days until this spawn is unleashed... Pre-orders can still be made HERE."Murder in the front row crowd begins to bang
And there's blood upon the stage
Bang your head against the stage
And metal takes its price
Bonded by blood!"
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
The End Of The Road
Warbringer / Lazarus A.D. / Landmine Marathon
Thee Parkside, San Francisco
November 7, 2011
It's not often that I've witnessed the first show of a tour and the last show of a tour... but that's what happened with the America Torn Asunder Tour featuring this packaged bill. A little over a month ago I attended the tour's first date down in Hollywood. The bands were all fresh faced, their merch bins full, and their equipment prepped and ready for over a month on the road. Now 38 days later the tour steamed into San Francisco for the 37th and final show of the trek. Damn, 37 shows in 38 days. I expected the bands to look pretty crispy when I saw them again… and they were… and some of their equipment was no longer alive.. but their merch bins were almost empty… which is a good thing.
Thee Parkside is a special venue for Umlaut when it comes to my kindred spirit band Landmine Marathon because it's where I was first exposed to their blow torch ways onstage. Fast forward over 2 years and 12 shows later and it was cool to see Landmine within these familiar confines again. Tonight would be my lucky 13th time seeing the band. Landmine were welcomed back to San Francisco with the traditional box of Mission burritos that touring bands have coveted since time immemorial.
As Ryan Landmine and I went to the Prius that was parked on a dark side street to retrieve the foil wrapped jewels it felt like I was making a drug delivery to the band. For those who care, Landmine's burrito setlist was:
Truth be told, this was more of a hang out session than a gig… I was only there to see Landmine and the night took an unexpectedly old school social turn when I discovered that Rafa Black Cobra and Gary Holt and his entourage were in the house. Gary was literally just off the plane back from Austin where he had sat in with Slayer again at the final show of their World Painted Blood Tour. Much old school conversation ensued and I decided that Gary needs a History Channel show called You Weren't There where he will debunk all the myths about The Old Metal Days.
"Thrash started on the East Coast?! Bullshit.. You weren't there!!"
Landmine Marathon killed it. Tonight was the 13th time I've seen Landmine and they were firing on all cylinders from the opening notes of 'Three Snake Leaves'. The first night of the tour 38 days earlier had been somewhat shaky, but tonight the grueling 912 hours that had passed since that first show detonated for this last show. It was one of the most focused sets I’ve seen Landmine play... No bullshit... 7 songs… 40 minutes.. blow torch volume… decent crowd action.. Thank you, g’night! While I missed hearing some of the old set list standards, the 3 news songs were confidently brutal and felt broken in from the month of working them out on the road. I've said it before: Great band... great people... and Gary Holt even liked them. So there you go...
Sorry, I don’t like Lazarus A.D... so the outdoor patio of Thee Parkside was a welcome refuge as they entertained the crowd inside. I don’t mind Warbringer; they seem like good dudes and they’re definitely Road Dogs when it comes to touring. I had heard they added a cover of Motӧrhead’s ‘We Are The Road Crew’ to their set since the opening night of the tour. When they started into that classic I went in to watch some of their set from that point. Again, Warbringer are a good band but it's just that I've seen it before... in 1983. Honesty is my only excuse.
If you bought one of every Landmine Marathon merch item you would have spent around $95. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. The burrito drop was handled the old fashioned way: Via the barter system.. will delivery burritos for t-shirts and vinyl.
Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night!
Thee Parkside, San Francisco
November 7, 2011
It's not often that I've witnessed the first show of a tour and the last show of a tour... but that's what happened with the America Torn Asunder Tour featuring this packaged bill. A little over a month ago I attended the tour's first date down in Hollywood. The bands were all fresh faced, their merch bins full, and their equipment prepped and ready for over a month on the road. Now 38 days later the tour steamed into San Francisco for the 37th and final show of the trek. Damn, 37 shows in 38 days. I expected the bands to look pretty crispy when I saw them again… and they were… and some of their equipment was no longer alive.. but their merch bins were almost empty… which is a good thing.Thee Parkside is a special venue for Umlaut when it comes to my kindred spirit band Landmine Marathon because it's where I was first exposed to their blow torch ways onstage. Fast forward over 2 years and 12 shows later and it was cool to see Landmine within these familiar confines again. Tonight would be my lucky 13th time seeing the band. Landmine were welcomed back to San Francisco with the traditional box of Mission burritos that touring bands have coveted since time immemorial.
As Ryan Landmine and I went to the Prius that was parked on a dark side street to retrieve the foil wrapped jewels it felt like I was making a drug delivery to the band. For those who care, Landmine's burrito setlist was:- 1 bean rice and cheese
- 1 chicken burrito with lettuce pico sour cream, etc
- 1 bean rice cheese lettuce tomato/pico
- 3 bean rice pico guacamole no cheese
- Hot sauce on the side
Truth be told, this was more of a hang out session than a gig… I was only there to see Landmine and the night took an unexpectedly old school social turn when I discovered that Rafa Black Cobra and Gary Holt and his entourage were in the house. Gary was literally just off the plane back from Austin where he had sat in with Slayer again at the final show of their World Painted Blood Tour. Much old school conversation ensued and I decided that Gary needs a History Channel show called You Weren't There where he will debunk all the myths about The Old Metal Days.
"Thrash started on the East Coast?! Bullshit.. You weren't there!!"Landmine Marathon killed it. Tonight was the 13th time I've seen Landmine and they were firing on all cylinders from the opening notes of 'Three Snake Leaves'. The first night of the tour 38 days earlier had been somewhat shaky, but tonight the grueling 912 hours that had passed since that first show detonated for this last show. It was one of the most focused sets I’ve seen Landmine play... No bullshit... 7 songs… 40 minutes.. blow torch volume… decent crowd action.. Thank you, g’night! While I missed hearing some of the old set list standards, the 3 news songs were confidently brutal and felt broken in from the month of working them out on the road. I've said it before: Great band... great people... and Gary Holt even liked them. So there you go...
Sorry, I don’t like Lazarus A.D... so the outdoor patio of Thee Parkside was a welcome refuge as they entertained the crowd inside. I don’t mind Warbringer; they seem like good dudes and they’re definitely Road Dogs when it comes to touring. I had heard they added a cover of Motӧrhead’s ‘We Are The Road Crew’ to their set since the opening night of the tour. When they started into that classic I went in to watch some of their set from that point. Again, Warbringer are a good band but it's just that I've seen it before... in 1983. Honesty is my only excuse.
If you bought one of every Landmine Marathon merch item you would have spent around $95. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. The burrito drop was handled the old fashioned way: Via the barter system.. will delivery burritos for t-shirts and vinyl.
Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night!
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Work Night
Mastodon / The Dillinger Escape Plan / Red Fang
The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
November 3, 2011
This was one of the most solid bills of the year and basically all killer, no filler for Umlaut. At this point in my life, I'm an old jaded fart and I don't pay attention if others think a band is "Hipster Metal" or whatever; if I like a band I could give two shits about what you think about them... and if being labeled "Hipster Metal" means a band of Mastodon's caliber can go from playing clubs to headlining a theater and make a living being musicians, than what's the problem? Anyway, most of my shows this month have revolved around work, which is fine because it's always good when a show is this easy:
I like Red Fang a lot and they seemed to win over the large venue with their Oregonian brand of bearded Rock. Their 30 minutes of boogie sludge flew by, which was a bummer… but not as big of a bummer as when I found out Red Fang had to sell their shirts for $30 tonight. It’s not the band’s fault for the pricing, but it was a reality check about the downside of playing a major venue. I'm looking forward to when Red Fang comes back through town and can sell their tees for $15.
To be honest, I'm not as enamored with Dillinger Escape Plan since I realized they basically copped their sound from Rorschach. However, they're still one of the best live bands going. Dillinger attack a stage like a serial killer with a hunting knife and it's hypnotic to watch the members fly around the stage, up onto the backline, up onto PA stacks, leaping into the air, leaping into the crowd. I always wonder how Dillinger keeps their stage intensity up over an entire tour; they probably do yoga or something. The crowd's 45 minute stint in the Dillinger kill zone was rewarded with the special appearance of Mike Patton on guest vocals; an "only in San Francisco" moment, right? Dillinger are still one of my don't miss live bands; it still feels like anything can happen during their set... and that "anything" usually ends up with people getting bruised.
Outside of the venue I was surprised to see as many as 6 bootleg vendors selling Mastodon tees. Odd. It’s not like Mastodon are AC/DC and the show was not sold out. I should bring this up with the band’s merch company….. Anyway, Mastodon sounded unbelievably great tonight and kudos to their soundman. There's a lot going on when Mastodon are in full roar and the mix was crystal clear and booming out front. Oddly, Mastodon posted the setlist they're playing on this tour on their website. After watching the start of their set from near the soundboard, I found myself at stage left for a couple of songs... and you know you're at a show in San Francisco when Jello Biafra and Matt Pike are standing next to you.
Stage left Mastodon
However, watching a band from onstage is overrated, so for the last part of their 90 minute set I went back out front. As you can see from the posted setlist 'Blood & Thunder' was the final song of the set as it has been for awhile. It was a solid, solid set and it was good to witness Mastodon finally headlining a big stage because I've been following them for a long time... despite what the haters think.
The show was also a Who's Who of Bay Area Rock with 1/2 of Black Cobra, 1/4 of the Dead Kennedys, 1/5 of Faith No More, 2/3 of High On Fire, 1/3 of Papa Wheelie, and 1/4 of Metallica in the house. However, my biggest Music Geek moment happened as I was walking past a table backstage and recognized a member of the band Gallows… I stopped and said “GALLOWS!” and the guy, Laurent (guitar), looked surprised to be recognized. Long story short, Gallows had the day off in S.F. and were playing the next night; I chatted with Laurent for a good while about his band. Unfortunately, Gallows recently got a new singer which was a buzz kill for me... so I felt kind of bad not seeing their S.F. show the next night... but I just wasn't feeling seeing the band with a new front man. Honesty is my only excuse.. bummer.
Oh, cheers to the guy who walked past me at the downstairs bar and shouted "UMLAUT!!" and shook my hand. I think I know what SLAAAYER feels like now. Thanks, dude!
Anyway, I didn't do a merch audit tonight... although Mastodon had the best merch IMO. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Pop culture trivia learned during backstage hang tonight: That band guy is dating that porn star.
The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
November 3, 2011
This was one of the most solid bills of the year and basically all killer, no filler for Umlaut. At this point in my life, I'm an old jaded fart and I don't pay attention if others think a band is "Hipster Metal" or whatever; if I like a band I could give two shits about what you think about them... and if being labeled "Hipster Metal" means a band of Mastodon's caliber can go from playing clubs to headlining a theater and make a living being musicians, than what's the problem? Anyway, most of my shows this month have revolved around work, which is fine because it's always good when a show is this easy:
I like Red Fang a lot and they seemed to win over the large venue with their Oregonian brand of bearded Rock. Their 30 minutes of boogie sludge flew by, which was a bummer… but not as big of a bummer as when I found out Red Fang had to sell their shirts for $30 tonight. It’s not the band’s fault for the pricing, but it was a reality check about the downside of playing a major venue. I'm looking forward to when Red Fang comes back through town and can sell their tees for $15.To be honest, I'm not as enamored with Dillinger Escape Plan since I realized they basically copped their sound from Rorschach. However, they're still one of the best live bands going. Dillinger attack a stage like a serial killer with a hunting knife and it's hypnotic to watch the members fly around the stage, up onto the backline, up onto PA stacks, leaping into the air, leaping into the crowd. I always wonder how Dillinger keeps their stage intensity up over an entire tour; they probably do yoga or something. The crowd's 45 minute stint in the Dillinger kill zone was rewarded with the special appearance of Mike Patton on guest vocals; an "only in San Francisco" moment, right? Dillinger are still one of my don't miss live bands; it still feels like anything can happen during their set... and that "anything" usually ends up with people getting bruised.
Outside of the venue I was surprised to see as many as 6 bootleg vendors selling Mastodon tees. Odd. It’s not like Mastodon are AC/DC and the show was not sold out. I should bring this up with the band’s merch company….. Anyway, Mastodon sounded unbelievably great tonight and kudos to their soundman. There's a lot going on when Mastodon are in full roar and the mix was crystal clear and booming out front. Oddly, Mastodon posted the setlist they're playing on this tour on their website. After watching the start of their set from near the soundboard, I found myself at stage left for a couple of songs... and you know you're at a show in San Francisco when Jello Biafra and Matt Pike are standing next to you.
Stage left MastodonHowever, watching a band from onstage is overrated, so for the last part of their 90 minute set I went back out front. As you can see from the posted setlist 'Blood & Thunder' was the final song of the set as it has been for awhile. It was a solid, solid set and it was good to witness Mastodon finally headlining a big stage because I've been following them for a long time... despite what the haters think.
The show was also a Who's Who of Bay Area Rock with 1/2 of Black Cobra, 1/4 of the Dead Kennedys, 1/5 of Faith No More, 2/3 of High On Fire, 1/3 of Papa Wheelie, and 1/4 of Metallica in the house. However, my biggest Music Geek moment happened as I was walking past a table backstage and recognized a member of the band Gallows… I stopped and said “GALLOWS!” and the guy, Laurent (guitar), looked surprised to be recognized. Long story short, Gallows had the day off in S.F. and were playing the next night; I chatted with Laurent for a good while about his band. Unfortunately, Gallows recently got a new singer which was a buzz kill for me... so I felt kind of bad not seeing their S.F. show the next night... but I just wasn't feeling seeing the band with a new front man. Honesty is my only excuse.. bummer.
Oh, cheers to the guy who walked past me at the downstairs bar and shouted "UMLAUT!!" and shook my hand. I think I know what SLAAAYER feels like now. Thanks, dude!
Anyway, I didn't do a merch audit tonight... although Mastodon had the best merch IMO. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Pop culture trivia learned during backstage hang tonight: That band guy is dating that porn star.
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