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. This 21st Century version of ümlaut has been ranting since 2004 and is also the co-author of the book Murder In The Front Row.
I almost forgot: This month marks the 6th Anniversary of this space. For the newbies: Umlaut was a xeroxed 'zine in ancient times and then it went into hibernation for 9 years. For better or worse, the advent of The Information Superhighway facilitated its rebirth in this format.
To commemorate the past 2,190 days, here are some posts from Marches of the past:
2004: Click HERE to view the very first posts on this site.
I rant in this space for mainly self-centered reasons: Putting words together keeps my mind sharp and I like the game of "writing"; putting words together is a puzzle that is fun to me. The fact that quite a few people actually read this space still surprises me... but THE coolest thing about the past 6 years is that I've met alot of those readers, and a couple of them have become good friends.
After having seen my last 8 shows in Ohio and Austin, it was nice getting back into the routine and see a show on my home turf again. Not long after getting into the Will Call line we ran into Bob, who used to work at the legendary Record Vault back in The Day. It was nice going to a show and see alot of familiar faces and Umlaut Nation friends.... The Scene... Home.
Once inside I had a flashback to a conversation I had last week in Austin at SxSW with someone about Orchid. We were sitting on a curb in Austin, killing time, and my friend was saying how they should have chosen another Black Sabbath song title for their name since there are, like, a dozen other bands named Orchid. He had a point. I'll cut *this* Orchid slack because I DO like them and I dig their new CD... but, man, they do cop ALOT of Black Sabbath circa 1970-71... The Orange amps... The Red SG. Their song 'Into The Sun' is the riff from 'Symptom Of The Universe'... The riff in their song 'Eastern Woman'... err.. "pays homage" to the riff from 'Children Of The Grave'. Their song 'No One Makes A Sound' is a bastard child of 'Supernaut'... but at least the bassist doesn't play a Rickenbacker. Sorry, Umlaut is a massive Sabbath geek... and anyone who's listened to their first 4 albums as intimately as me knows what I'm talking about. However, I don't mean to harsh on Orchid.... Hopefully they will bring something of their own to the Sabbath template in the future, like how Sleep used the Sabbath template but brought their own shit to the mix. I dig Orchid... and if I smoked weed they'd be playing during my nod time.
During Orchid's set there was some unnecessary drama with security over me accidently spilling some of my beer on a lady. Dudes, I was NOT drunk... sometimes gravity and an awkward move causes beer to spill... and I apologized to the lady and she accepted. No harm, no foul.. No need to go Jock on me.
Slough Feg has they've been around S.F. FOREVER. Back in the early-90's, when Umlaut was a xeroxed 'zine, the 'zine buyer at a now defunct comic store on Haight Street was an Umlaut fan and he always carried my issues... and he was the bassist in Slough Feg at the time (I forget his name). Fast forward to the 21st Century and I know people revere Slough Feg's brand of retro Metal and their longevity... but I've never connected with this band. As with Orchid, I understand why the kidz like it... but my old Thin Lizzy and Iron Maiden albums still hold up for me.
LUDICRA... NOW we're talking! They were the main reason why I was at the DNA tonight; THE undisputed headliners of The Bay Area Metal Scene! Having just seen Ludicra at Scion Fest in a basement I was beyond psyched to see them play a full set on a proper stage with a proper sound system behind them. Umlaut had some quality hang time with Ludicra in Ohio... and prior to their set I had some Ohio deja vu moments as I touched bases with Aesop at the merch table, Photo Ray and I chatted with Laurie about her Scion Fest experience... and I watched some of Slough Feg with Cobbett. The Scene. Home. As Ludicra were setting up their gear somebody came up to the stage and gave Cobbett a copy of George Benson's Weekend In L.A. live album.... and Cobbett played the riff from Benson's 'On Broadway' on his Les Paul. HILARIOUS! Music Geeks in The House!
According to The Umlaut Archives this was my 10th time seeing Ludicra. It's not often that I feel compelled to be against the stage for a band, but Ludicra are one of those bands who I've always been right up front for... They opened with a double shot of the new songs 'Stagnant Pond' > 'In Stable' and I was immediately sucked into the Ludicra universe as I've always been since the first time I saw them.
Ludicra's diabolical mix of Metal and Prog Rock is a force of unholy nature whose fury always catches me off guard when they play live. No matter how many times I've seen them, I'm never prepared for the intensity of their onslaught. The band is one of the most compelling and undeniable live bands I've ever seen. Ludicra create a wall of darkness and volume that is simply impenetrable.
During their set, as I have in the past, I've simply closed my eyes and let the band's music get into my head. Yeah, that's probably kinda Hippie Shit... but it's the reaction I have. Ludicra on this night was a religious experience... and I don't mean a "God" experience... I mean their songs and fury took me to a different place. The complexity of Ludicra's music (the interweaving guitars, melodies, vocals, heaviness, dynamics) is something that seems to translate BETTER onstage than on their recordings, which is the opposite of alot of bands. The new songs are just mindblowing and as brutal as Ludicra are I find their volume strangely and profoundly calming. Inner peace through mayhem. HAIL!!
I missed Pentagram last year when they played S.F. because I was out of town. Oh, man... Pentagram 2010... or aka The Bobby Leibling Band as a friend described it. Seeing Pentagram was in stark contrast to the Saint Vitus show a couple of months ago. Saint Vitus, another resurrected band from the past, were in top form musically and sounded completely relevant.... 2010's version of Pentagram not so much. Alot of it was probably due to the fact that the band's guitarist quit a week ago the day before the current U.S. Tour was scheduled to start... and evidently the new guitarist was hired within 6 HOURS. As we were waiting in the Will Call line, an old friend told me that during soundcheck Bobby told him their set would run 5 songs plus a "jam session". Uh-oh..... "Jam session".....
As Pentagram took the stage I knew what was coming. Whereas Ludicra came onstage as a unit, Pentagram looked like "The Bobby Leibling Band": The singer with some musicians. They didn't look like "a band"... and during the first song Bobby stood behind the new guitarist and I don't know if it was to coach him through the song... but it started getting a bit too homoerotic to me and I started feeling uncomfortable watching it... Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just prefer my Rockers to ROCK and not RUB. Just saying...
Anyway, I was just hoping they'd play the one song I wanted to hear earlier rather than later... and, thankfully, the 2nd song of the set was 'Forever My Queen'... and so we hit the exit. From what I heard later, I'm glad we made an early retreat before the 20 minute train wreck jam session...
I didn't do a merch audit, but before heading back to Casa de Umlaut we stopped for a midnight burrito in The Mission. Perfect. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. As I said earlier, it was nice to be seeing a local show again... The Scene. Home.
I had some work-related meetings to take care of in the morning, so Landmine went on ahead to the day's venue: A Pizza Parlor on 6th Street called Hoek's Death Metal Pizza! Throw The Horns and The Claw... I'll wait. Once I was done with my work duties, I had to wander around a bit looking for the place (Thank dog for Google Maps on iPhone). I finally found it and hung out on the sidewalk with various members of Landmine, Book Of Black Earth, and The Funeral Pyre and also some record label friends as well. I liked how the set times were posted on a paper plate at the door.
Hoek's is the type of place that doesn't exist in San Francisco: A pizza parlor that plays nothing but Death Metal on its stereo with a small patio out back with a bar and a small stage for bands to play... and a wide alley behind for easy load-in / load-out. It's the type of venue that makes me question just how "cool" my hometown really is... Just being honest.
Anyway, with the afternoon sun high overhead, it was an interesting contrast seeing Book Of Black Earth in bright sunlight after the previous night's pitch black performance. I'm happy to report that the band managed to block the rays of the sun with their wall of sonic darkness and volume... Although if the new bassist had been wearing a BLACK shirt the effect would have been more complete.... Just being honest. Pastel = NOT Metal... at least in Umlaut's Metal style guide... I wear black on the outside 'cause black is how I feel on the inside.. Just saying.
Book Of Black Earth in the daytime. (Pic by Umlaut)
Literally minutes before Landmine were due to start playing I was checking messages when someone came up to me and said "I MADE IT!"... It was Umlaut's music journalist friend Hard Rock Chick! It's always cool to see a familiar face from home when you're on The Road, right? Combined with the PBR I had in my hand and my final day at SxSW was starting off alright.
Once again, Landmine were in their element playing a venue that allowed their Hardcore side to drive their Metal side. Under a blazing sun, '25th Hour' got the afternoon pizza crowd going as PBR talls were served up at the patio bar. It was interesting how each of the band's Austin shows had a different vibe: Emo's was a classic Punk riot, Mohawk was a DIY basement party... and Hoek's was like a kegger in someone's backyard.
It's funny when a gap opens up between Landmine and the audience as the boyz in the crowd get intimidated by Grace. Her Velociraptor presence was magnified in the small, confined space of Hoek's patio... and maybe the fact that she "accidently" kicked a dude in the nads early in the set gave the boyz reason for concern. Pussies... Anyway, besides the Velociraptor on the mic, I liked how the band's musical fury had more of the Hardcore vibe than at the other Landmine shows I've seen so far. Their set felt like a fucking prison yard fight... the kind of prison brawl where the guards simply look at each other, shrug their shoulders, and just let the inmates shiv and beat the living shit out of each other.
'Skin From Skull' at Hoek's (Vid by VicthortheViking)
The band winged the setlist this time, which only added to the Hardcore feeling of the performance and the beat down was pretty complete. If Hoek's had been a prison yard, Landmine would have walked away with the bloody respect of the guards and inmates alike and taken anyone they wanted as their bitch in the showers.
I said this after the first time I saw Landmine in San Francisco 7 months ago: They are the real fucking deal. That's not something I say very often about a band (even ones I like); it's just a gut feeling I have about Landmine. I've never seen a band play so many different venues (from the stage at a major concert venue to a backyard patio..) under different circumstances (high pressure major show to a backyard patio..) in such a short time (4 shows in 6 days). I was seriously gobsmacked how the band approached each of the gig's circumstances and molded their performance accordingly; I'm sure it wasn't a conscious thing on their part. They collectively just grabbed each moment by the throat and went at it Landmine Marathon-style. Drink up, shoot in, let the beatings begin.
By the way, the band's performance at Scion Fest caught the attention of no less than the fucking NEW YORK TIMES, who featured a photo of the band onstage with their coverage of the festival in their March 15th print edition. Click HERE to read the NYT review online, which has some nice ink on the band's set as well.
(Pic courtesy of Landmine Marathon)
After hanging out for a bit, I knew it was time for Umlaut to move on and I said my goodbyes to Landmine as they prepared to continue their tour in Dallas that night. THANKS to Team Landmine (Matt, Ryan, Grace, Mike, Dylan, and Valerie) for putting up with me in 2 time zones in less than a week... and I'll never listen to *that* Kings Of Leon song in the same way again.
My parting with Landmine Marathon was perfect timing since it dovetailed into another Metal showcase back at Emo's. This one was to feature a "surprise" appearance by The Dillinger Escape Plan. However, before DEP I found myself at Emo's outside stage watching Orphaned Land. I have to be honest and say Orphaned Land aren't my thing... I can appreciate what they're doing with their music... combining cultures and trying to bridge the rifts in their homeland... but I like my Metal Satanic. Just being honest.
I had never seen DEP live before but had heard how insane they are onstage. Although Umlaut knew about this performance several weeks ago, DEP's appearance at Emo's was a secret to the public until they issued an announcement via their Twitter a mere 30 minutes prior to the 5:15pm start time. Luckily we were inside Emo's well in advance; THANKS to Metal Joh for walking us in the back door! However, we made a serious miscalculation thinking DEP were playing the outdoor stage, when in reality they were playing the stage inside. DOH!
Long story short, there seemed to be an insurmountable line to get in the room's back door... but amazingly people were leaving the room and security let new people in as the sweat drenched lightweights left... and it wasn't long before we found ourselves amongst the lucky 300 or so inside the sweaty box. I'm not sure what band played the room just prior to DEP, but I wonder if those kidz leaving even knew what was coming next. Oh well! The sweaty energy in the room was thick enough to cut with a Bowie knife, but cold Lone Star talls cured that.
We got inside in time to watch DEP finish setting up their gear and then walk back to Emo's "dressing room". Oh, the drama..... After leaving the stage for a few minutes the band returned to the stage and as soon as the first note of the first song was hit... ALL FUCKING HELL broke loose!! HOLY SHIT!
During the FIRST song, guitarist Ben Weinman jumped into the crowd and rode it not once but TWICE... and during the entire set various members of the band dove straight into the mass of fans jammed against the stage. Pretty unreal... At one point during a song I glanced back at the bar and rhythm guitarist Jeff Tuttle was standing on top of the bar facing back to the stage. I literally said "What the fuck!?" out loud because Emo's was pretty packed and how he got through the sea of humanity is beyond me. Unreal. I'm not familiar with any of DEP's material so my reaction was purely to their performance... Non-stop mayhem. During the final song Weinman climbed up onto the stage right PA speaker... Kneeled on top of it for a bit... and then leaped off it to land on the stage. Unreal.
(Pic by Umlaut)
Holy shit DEP are an INSANELY GREAT live band; I can't fathom how they generate that kind of mayhem consistently at every show. They're like Jesus Lizard or Gallows onstage, with that same brand of danger and spontaneity in their performances. If you bought one of every Dillinger Escape Plan merch item you would have paid $50 out on the sidewalk... which is where their merch was set up.
After DEP's set my SxSW experience was over. I headed back to my hotel to chill and cancelled plans to stay out late again and opted for room service instead. I know... BORING... but Ohio the previous weekend and SxSW had finally caught up with me. However, the next day The Rock Godz arranged for a final magical conclusion to Umlaut's week.
As I was about to head for the airport, I received a text from my brutha Jason of Black Cobra telling me how he and bandmate Rafa had just ran into Landmine Marathon at a vegan restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas (about 200 miles from Austin)! Landmine were on their way to San Antonio and Black Cobra were headed to Austin for their SxSW appearance on Saturday. What are the ODDS of that happening?! I trip on coincidences like that, man... Unbelievable, right? The Rock Godz work in mysterious way... On the flipside: Austin Buzzkill = A teenage prayer circle in the middle of the airport terminal as I checked-in.
While boarding my connecting flight home in Houston, I realized I really needed to take a mental shower because my brain was jammed up and bruised from all of the METAL hand-to-hand combat I had experienced over the previous 6 days. So, at 40,000 feet I put THE SMITHS on my iPod and ignored the inflight movie. As the plane landed back in San Franfuckincisco I had decided Umlaut's theme song for my SxSW experience would be:
Yeah, NOT METAL... but it summed up my feelings about my experience ending.. and a text exchange with Landmine Marathon after I landed applauded my choice. So fuck you if you don't like it.
"To die by your side, the pleasure, the privilege, is mine..."
So ended my debut SxSW experience. On the way back to San Francisco, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag... which makes sense I guess. Yeah, my SxSW experience was limited. Yeah, I didn't embrace the whole SxSW *thing*... but I was there on a work-related agenda of meetings so that was my focus... and I generally hate people... so being around thousands and thousands of people generally puts me into a less than perfect mood. I honestly don't know if I'll attend SxSW again... while the shows I saw were awesome, everything else about the event (the crowds... the congestion... the crowds... the crowds...) aren't my thing. My Scion Fest experience had been inspiring and, while I liked Austin, SxSW was like that drunk girl you see from afar who you think would be cool to hang out with... but after awhile you realize she's not your type... and her record collection has too much crap in it that you don't like.
Sometimes the best laid plans don't pan out. Only 2 days earlier Umlaut had been in deepest, darkest Ohio and had an epic Metal Adventure that featured quality time with my favorite Arizonians, Landmine Marathon. The band's new album (Sovereign Descent) was released on the 16th and we were going to celebrate on the day of release in Austin. Unfortunately, their drive from Albuquerque to Austin didn't cooperate and they were too fried from the trek to hang out once they got into Austin late in the night... so we made plans to meet up the next day instead. Withered / Landmine Marathon / Salome / Dark Castle Emo's, Austin, Texas March 17, 2010 (Day Show)
In a cruel and ironic twist, Music Geek icon Alex Chilton (The Box Tops, Big Star) passed away during the day. Evidently Big Star were scheduled to be one of the closing bands at SxSW... and Umlaut had been reintroduced to his 60's band The Box Tops while in London in January. Sad, man... cue 'The Letter'.
The tone of my time at SxSW was set as I drove down 5th Avenue and noticed Matt Pike of High On Fire waiting at a crosswalk wearing his leather on a warm Austin morning. METAL. Officially it was St. Patrick's Day and I made sure to note that the theme song for the day would be the Landmine Marathon song 'Bile Towers'. When was the last you helped a band carry their gear? It's been awhile for Umlaut, but I can now add Landmine to the list of bands whose gear I haven't dropped while pretending to be a roadie.
The tone of my SxSW experience with Landmine was set soon after load-in at Emo's was done. As we strolled around the streets of downtown Austin, Grace almost stepped on a dead bird and I almost punched a Hipster who was ironically wearing a Venom - Black Metal shirt. We also passed a block-long tent where they intended to charge people a $15 admission fee to drink Guinness later that day. What would Phil Lynott do!?
Back at Emo's I only caught the very end of Dark Castle's set because I held a business meeting in the "dressing room" of Emo's while they played. It wasn't the ideal location, but it did the job. I was very interested in seeing Salome and their brand of Doom Metal. Salome are a trio consisting of vocals, guitar, and drums... and the absence of bass might cause some concern, but Rob (guitar) and Aaron (drums) manage to create a trench of blackness that Kat (vocals) fills with some of the most soulful Doom vocals I've ever heard; I didn't expect such a mesmerizing set. It was like having a black canvas sack put over my head, but in a good way... Unfortunately, by the time I got to Salome's merch table after their set they had already packed up and left! Dudes! Oh well....
Before Salome's set a random guy came up to me and asked "Are you Umlaut??" Since I was in Texas, being recognized caught me COMPLETELY off guard. If that guy is reading this: THANKS, man!
It was an interesting contrast being with Landmine in Austin after having seen them at Scion Fest only days earlier. Despite the clusterfuck nature of SxSW, the band was obviously more in their element on the small stages of Texas. More often than not, Landmine are closer to a Hardcore band than a Metal band and that's especially true when they're confined liked caged beasts in a small space. I always picture Landmine as angry badgers (possibly rabid)... but you can imagine whatever animal you want for reference.
As an opening song, '25th Hour' feels like being caught in a firestorm and having the oxygen sucked from your lungs while you're being kicked in the chest and your head is shoved into a plastic bag... and a sledgehammer is slammed into the back of your skull... and you fall into a muddy trench.
Landmine Trench Warfare at Emo's (Pic by Umlaut)
Today's modern warfare is distant and impersonal, with triggered drums and packaged guitar effects taking the human element out of the mayhem. Landmine are students of the ancient and, some would say, more honorable craft of hand-to-hand combat. They get into the face of their opponent in order to smell their sweat and fear as they plunge their volume dagger into the soft underbelly and rip the blade upwards. The final thing your mortal eyes will see is dressed in black...
Hand-To-Hand Combat: 'Crisscross Thoughts' at Emo's (Vid by Umlaut)
The dichotomy of seeing Landmine in their element again after Scion Fest was profound. In Ohio they had played to The Eternal Void since the audience was far away from them on that big stage. At Emo's they were back to their beloved hand-to-hand combat that makes them such an explosive live band. You could almost see the red mist in the air from spilled blood that the band's volume was whipping up... and you could almost imagine the gore dripping from the mic as it was raised towards the sky in triumph. During the set-closing 'Rise With The Tide' Grace kicked a hipster in the front row in the chest who was wearing a V-Neck tee and sunglasses. Then she charged back into audience to exact a final body count.
After the set audience and band members alike stumbled out the front door into the sunshine and fresh air... and the first thing Grace said to me was "Did you see me kick that Hipster in the chest?!" Epic.
Emo's setlist written on the hand of Perry (Pic by Umlaut)
Earlier, as Landmine were setting up their gear, a 9-year old girl was standing next to me with her mom; I overheard mom excitedly say "This is the first time you've been in the front row at a concert!" Then all HELL broke loose... Afterwards the little girl asked to have her picture taken with Grace. CUTE!
Withered took the stage after Landmine and while I like them, their smoke machine made it impossible for me to watch them as it filled Emo's with a thick white smoke that had no where to go. I finally stepped back outside and the smoke venting from the front door made it look like there was a Texas-style BBQ going on inside. Plus, after all of that, I completely forgot that Fucked Up were due to play the outside stage at Emo's not long after Landmine's set.... and I missed them. FAIL.
This was a long ass day, man..... After the Emo's show, the band's gear was carried several blocks to the next venue on their Austin Tour: Mohawk. Once we arrived at the venue we had to wait for the previous showcase to end and the place to be cleared out. As we were sitting around I observed Matt Pike of High On Fire (who were playing the outside stage that night) wearing his leather jacket in the afternoon heat; keeping it real, man. I also chatted with some record label contacts who were there and almost broke my ankle. ALMOST. After sitting around and waiting for the clusterfuck to catch up to us, we were finally able to load-in the gear (Wow, the room was SMALL)... and get FOOD. I don't think any of us had really eaten all day.
Sidebar Rant: There should be a version of Guitar Hero or Rock Band that accurately depicts the reality of being in a band. A gamer should have to sit around for 5-6 hours before they can play the first song in the game... because that's the reality of being in a band on tour.
Real Life Rock Band: No cheat codes or level skips.. (Pics by Umlaut)
Evidently there was a Hospitality Compound for SxSW bands not far from the venue... so off we went looking for it. Magically, the compound did exist and it was an oasis in the middle of the clusterfuck. Nestled in a fenced off grass field, tents were set up offering SxSW performers FREE food (including veggie options), FREE drinks (including alcohol), FREE massages, and FREE... haircuts (?!). Haircuts: NOT Metal.. It was pretty cool and awesome to sit down like civilized humans to eat and drink and swear loudly. The only buzz kill was the overbearing SxSW staffer who lectured us WHILE WE WERE EATING that we needed to clean up after ourselves. WTF... We weren't even done MAKING a mess, let alone ready to clean it up. I think she only lectured us because we were sweaty Metalheads; I didn't see her lecturing the cardigan sweater-wearing Indie Rock kidz. To quote Landmine Marathon: "Steadfast hate..."
Anyway, once we were back at Mohawk we discovered that it was actually a cool venue. On the roof was a patio bar where we got free shots of some spiced thing and drink tickets got us beer. Adjacent to the patio was a green room with another bar and couches. Nice. The patio offered a view of the outdoor stage and of the street below; it was the perfect place to hang out and shoot the shit. It was kind of funny to watch Matt Pike hold court at a table in the middle of the patio, cradling his 9-string axe and riffing on it every now and then. He chatted with friends as VIPs tried to discreetly take phone camera pics of him.
I completely spaced and didn't watch The Funeral Pyre (Sorry, guys..)... but some of this night was a blur. I'd been wanting to see Book Of Black Earth again since first seeing them in S.F. last August. The band had gone through a lineup change since then, but their live assault was even more blowtorch than it was 7 months ago. The Northwesterners played in complete darkness which ratcheted their power up that much more and the new songs were darkness personified. Watching them on that blackened stage reminded me of vintage Neurosis... and that's a huge thing in my book.
After Book Of Black Earth's set, 2/5 of Landmine Marathon and I hung out in the corner of the green room and chatted, killing time before their set. There was no place for me to sit except on a guitar case that had been put in the corner for safe keeping. I learned that Prosthetic Records (whose showcase this was) had all of of their bands autograph the guitar inside the case and it was going to be auctioned off for a Ronnie James Dio cancer benefit. Very cool, but weird that my ass rested on it for almost an hour on St. Patrick's Day 2010. After awhile I noticed smoke was seeping up from the stairwell that led to the downstairs concert room and it was obvious Withered and their unnecessary smoke machine had started their set. I wandered down to watch a song, but the smoke was simply ridiculous in that small space. Sorry, guys... Lose the smoke machine and I'll watch your entire set no problem.
It wasn't St. Patrick's Day anymore by the time Landmine Marathon went on at around 12:20am. As I said earlier, Landmine are in their element when playing in a small room on a small stage. As their set exploded off to its start on the dark Mohawk stage I felt like I was trapped inside a sealed metal garbage can with a live hand grenade as it detonated. KA-BOOM... SPLAT.
I recognized at least a couple of people who had been at the Emo's show earlier in the day, and while the crowd was small the hand-to-hand combat continued. Partly as an experiment to see if I could finish it before it got knocked over, I put my Lone Star tall in front of me on the knee-high stage in between sips. I'm happy to report that I finished it before any of the precious liquid was wasted on the floor. For better or worse, I was actually standing next to the PA so most of the volume (mainly the vocals) was blasting behind me...
'Exist' at Mohawk (Vid by Umlaut)
Yeah, it's a shitty video but 'Exist' was the stand out performance of this set for me. Hand to hand combat at night always has a different aura about it... you don't really see the blood as much as you smell it. You have to stab and punch more by feel and instinct than by sight... The chaos is more horrific... and that's the vibe that Landmine's set had at Mohawk... Black fighting darkness with a heavy dose of brutality and the bar is still open for another hour.
It wasn't St. Patrick's Day anymore by the time High On Fire went on at around 12:15am. As soon as Landmine's set finished I walked back through the bar, past the merch stand (Hi Valerie!), and through a door to catch High On Fire's set on Mohawk's outdoor stage (which holds around 700)... and with perfect timing they had just started 'Frost Hammer'.
'Frost Hammer' hits Austin (Pic by Umlaut)
I stood by the soundboard and most of the crowd around me seemed clueless; a young girl turned and asked me "WHO IS THIS??" However, just when I thought I was going to let the non-Metal element of the crowd get to me, I was saved by the appearance of a blond woman who I immediately recognized as artist Tara McPherson! She was about to pass me on her way towards the stage when I tapped her arm and said "I'm a big fan of your art!" (which I am... but it was still a total GEEK move..). She stopped and seemed surprised to have been recognized in the middle of a concert, but she asked my name and thanked me... shook my hand.. and then tipped her can of beer to mine. Pretty cool.
Snake Charmer by Tara McPherson
This was High On Fire's last one-off show before their U.S. Tour with Umlaut's bruthas Black Cobra kicks off at the end of the month. The new songs were SOLID live and only supported my opinion that the band is at the top of their game right now. 'Bastard Samurai' is already in the running for my favorite song of 2010.
The bizarre thing about the entire day and night was that I never really encountered any out of control projectile vomiting drunken St. Patrick's Day behavior. Seriously. I wonder if most of that was contained on the surrounding streets where the younger Indie Rock crowd was gathered. Not that I'm complaining, but it was bizarre being in Austin on St. Patrick's Day and not have to dodge projectile vomiting revelers.
If you bought one of every Landmine Marathon merch item you would have spent $60, but I didn't see any High On Fire merch for sale. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. It was considerably easier sneaking a band into my hotel room in Austin at 2:30am to crash for the night than it was getting service at a Denny's in Austin at 2:30am. Who woulda thunk?!
Umlaut had never been to South By Southwest. Hard to believe, but true. Ironically, although I've gone through phases of being really into the standard SxSW genres of music (Indie... Rock...), in recent years I've gravitated back towards my center: METAL. Long story short, The Rock Godz enabled me to attend this year and although the V-Neck Tee Hipster Indie Rock element was more than annoying, it was perfect that I was able to attend on behalf of METAL.
After getting settled at my hotel I drove down Congress Avenue towards downtown for a dinner meeting with an associate. Although I was breaking my Austin cherry, I was surprised how many landmarks I recognized (like the Hey Cupcake! trailer and the Austin Motel) from photos and movies that I've seen over the years. After the dinner appointment, we arrived at Stubb's and found Will Call.... got the envelope with my name on it... and entered the outdoor earthen floor confines of Stubb's. Thank dog it had stopped raining earlier in the day.
We made our way up to the VIP balcony above stage left but, due to the early set times, we had completely missed The Sword. I was bummed about that since I had been looking forward to seeing them on their home turf and probably hearing a new song or two... Oh well! The balcony was crowded with drunk VIPs and various important people... like members of The Sword... and a good number of people who had little to no idea about Motörhead... which annoyed me. However, it was primarily a festival event so I had to roll with it... and I was able to meet up with the rest of my business guests and made sure they were taken care of, so it was all good.
At around 8:45pm Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey Dee sauntered onstage. Lemmy said how it was nice to be back in Austin and with no other fanfare my heroes launched into 'Iron Fist' to get things going. From there it was straight into 'Stay Clean' and they sounded GREAT. However, despite how *on* the band was below us, the VIP balcony was REALLY annoying me as the drunks attempted to elbow to the rail for a view of the stage. After the first couple of songs I decided to explore downstairs and see where the plastic around my neck would get me.
I ended up standing at stage left next to the mixing board and realized I could probably go a bit further. So I cheekily stepped onto the stage as a song ended (I think it was 'Over The Top')... and almost ran into Phil Campbell as he went to talk to one of the band's techs. DOH! However, it was all good and, after walking about 10 feet, I turned around to find myself standing next to Lemmy's backline and looking out at the 2,500 people in the audience. WOW... It was nice that Motörhead's stage manager Dan took a second to greet me and shake my hand to make me feel welcome... and this only amplified my realization I was living out my Inner Teen Metalhead dream of watching Motörhead from the stage.
(Pic by Umlaut)
The band basically played the same set as the one from last year's U.S. Tour (with at least one song either dropped or replaced... No 'Bomber' tonight..) and Lemmy's son Paul joined the band onstage to play guitar on 'Killed By Death' as he had at the L.A. show I saw last Fall. I'll admit that I got chills down my spine as the crowd chanted "Motörhead!! Motörhead!" before the encores. When the band launched into 'Ace Of Spades' and then the show closing 'Overkill' my Inner Teen Metalhead lost it. If you had told me when I was a kid that I'd be standing onstage next to Lemmy's backline during a Motörhead concert I would have called bullshit. UNBELIEVABLE... and this was the exact moment when my life came full circle (again):
'Ace Of Spades' from onstage at Stubb's (Vid by Umlaut)
I was seriously tripping out to be so close to Lemmy while he was onstage; I've met him several times over the years but this was the first time I'd seen him "at work" so intimately. It tripped me out when we made eye contact as he came offstage to change basses. It tripped me out watching him during Mikkey's drum solo as he took a smoke break behind his backline and air drummed certain parts of the solo. Lemmy... air drumming... right!? It tripped me out to feel the energy of 2,500 fans directed towards this legendary band and its leader.
A pretty amazing evening with the only Rock Star who really matters to me. Although I've been seeing Motörhead for over half of my life now (!), and this was around my 15th time seeing them, I can say this was easily my favorite Motörhead show ever. As always THANKS to Adam and Dan of The Road Crew for sorting my All Access and THANKS to Tine for keeping it real.
If you bought one of every Motörhead merch item you would have paid around $160. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Fun Trivia: Lemmy's 2 bass amp heads are labeled on the back: one is labeled "Suck" and the other "Balls". CUTE!
Only one word can describe this weekend: EPIC. I'm also just going to say this right now: Whatever I end up writing here will NOT completely convey how EPIC this weekend was... Scion Fest 2010 was overwhelming, man. Overwhelming in the best possible way.
Very early in the morning Photo Ray and Umlaut flew to Phoenix to catch a connecting flight to Columbus. This was a calculated move in order to meet up with Umlaut friend's Landmine Marathon, who were scheduled to open the main stage at Scion Fest. However, the EPIC nature of the weekend was set into motion not long after we arrived at the gate as 2/5 of Ludicra and those road dogs the Saviours all arrived at Gate 18 to catch the same connecting flight. WOW... a Bay Area Metal Scene takeover in the Phoenix Airport.... and so Flight 666 took off for that foreign land known as Ohio.
After landing in Columbus, we waited with the Rock Stars as they gathered their gear from baggage claim and then made our way to the taxi stand... and the MAGIC of the weekend started.
Not long after Landmine started to deal with the most uncooperative taxi drivers I've ever encountered, who should come lumbering up with their luggage carts but the almighty Shrinebuilder! Nice timing and it warmed my heart when Al started chanting "Umlaut, Umlaut.." as he walked up to me.... and it was funny as Scott, Al, and Dale all asked "What are YOU doing here??"
Shrinebuilder waiting for a cab..
Seeing old friends in unexpected places rules, right?
The tone for the next 36 hours or so was set as soon as we arrived at the hotel. The scene inside the lobby was intensely SURREAL with the space filled with bands waiting to check-in or just hanging out. It was like a scene from Almost Famous, but made more crazy because there was also a TEACHER'S CONVENTION staying at the hotel! Crusty musicians mingled past gawky teachers and one band member I know later told me a teacher offered him food because she thought he was homeless (HAHAHA!)! During the elevator ride to our rooms with some of the teachers one of them asked if we were there for "the music festival". When we said "Yes" the following exchange occurred:
Teacher #1: "What kind of music?" Me: "Loud....." Teacher #1: (staring at me blankly...) Teacher #2: "Do you mean, Rock music?" Me: "Yes....."
At this point I guess I'm supposed to say "Cue 'Hot For Teacher'"... but I won't.......... okay..... I will.
Awhile later, Photo Ray and I found ourselves at a pub across the street called Michael O'Toole's. We sat in the corner of the bar and people watched the normal Happy Hour types go about their fun. As our food arrived, a dude wearing a backwards baseball cap and a Slayer - Strictly F/X pyro crew shirt sat on the stool next to me. Ironically, Umlaut has the same shirt and I commented "Nice shirt.." to which the dude replied "Thanks. Slayer gave it to me.." and when I said "I have one too.." he kind of did a double take. During the uncomfortable silence that followed I kept thinking that the dude looked totally familiar, but I couldn't place him. Finally he turned to Photo Ray and I and asked "Are you guys playing the festival?" Long story short, it turned out the dude was fucking Pat O'Brien, lead guitarist of fuckin' Cannibal Corpse! Fucked with a knife, man... We ended up chatting with him about his band... Ozzy... Lemmy... and he ended up buying us shots of Maker's Mark. METAL! We would encounter Pat several more times before our stay in Ohio was over. A nice dude.
Later that night the hotel bar was the scene of an EPIC hang session. The amount of Metal in the bar was truly stunning... the conversations were truly stunning... the amount of alcohol consumed by some was truly stunning.... and it was stunning how many current and former San Francisco / Bay Area Metal people and bands were in the house. It was like we were all hanging out back at home, except we all NEVER hang out at home together. You meet some really amazing people on the road, man. Also, it was really cool for me personally because I was able to meet up with old friends like Dale of Shrinebuilder and Harald O. of D.R.I... who I've known since we were both teenagers in Silicon Valley, California. Life is strange.. How the Hell did we end up in Ohio, man!?
Photo Ray... Umlaut... 3/4 of D.R.I.
The highpoint of the night for Umlaut was being able to introduce certain band members from Arizona to their Rock Star heroes. Awww...
The next afternoon we went to the Will Call tent to collect our passes and I was impressed by how well organized Scion Fest was.. For the newbies: Scion Fest is a FREE Metal festival sponsored by Scion / Toyota. Yup, all tickets were free to anyone who registered online (last year's Scion Fest was held in Atlanta). The festival was spread out over 4 different venues (Newport Music Hall, Skully's, Bernie's Distillery, and Circus) with 24 bands scheduled to play. All of the venues are located on High Street and, not unlike SxSW, the venues are all a straight shot from each other. The furthest two venues were around a mile apart, but shuttle vans were operating to ferry Metalheads to and from the venues. Like I said, the event was very well organized AND I was surprised by the lack of overt Scion advertising anywhere around the festival site. Interesting...
After collecting our passes at the Will Call tent, we rode over to the venue with Landmine Marathon and watched their soundcheck at the Newport Music Hall. The Music Hall was the main stage of the festival and it's a cool, decrepit old theater that seats around 1,500 people. It's always fun to walk into a venue via the back door, but this time it felt so Metal since Newport Music Hall has faded glory character and it was raining, which added to the METAL atmosphere. When the doors opened there was some time to relax before the mayhem; one of these people is NOT in a band:
Landmine Marathon (Newport Music Hall): A sizeable crowd arrived early for Landmine's opening set and I was impressed how the vast majority went to the front of the stage instead of hanging at the back by the bars. Even if the festival was free, people were there for Metal. I'll just cut to the chase and say this about Landmine's set: THEY FUCKING KILLED IT. ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. I know they will say otherwise... and they had to struggle with playing on the festival's rented equipment instead of their own gear... and they were playing the big stage when they would rather have been on a small stage in a club down the street... but THEY KILLED IT.
I've said this many times in this space: My favorite bands are the ones who take a less than perfect situation and make it their own... and that's exactly what Landmine did. For their 40 minutes in Ohio they OWNED that big stage.
Hate Eternal (Newport Music Hall): To be honest, I wasn't familar with Hate Eternal at all... although I think I've seen them before. I guess that says it all right there... but to be fair I spent almost their whole set hanging out in the merch area with friends.
3 Inches Of Blood (Newport Music Hall): I've seen 3IOB before and I really like them live... Their Old Metal sound translates well to the stage. I found it interesting that the guitarist who looked so much like vintage James Hetfield the last time I saw them had ditched the white Flying-V for a Les Paul... so he doesn't look so much like vintage Hetfield anymore. Anyway... 3IOB earned big points for using the music from the Star Trek (Original Series) episode 'Amok Time' as their Intro Tape... "Kal-if-fee!"... although at the time I couldn't remember the name of the episode (GEEK!). As Photo Ray pointed out, you can't really go wrong with songs about Thor's Hammer. Word.
Lightning Swords Of Death (Bernie's Distillery): Halfway through 3IOB's set we wandered down the block to the next closest festival venue: Bernie's, which is one of the funkiest venues I've been in.. From the front doors you immediately walk downstairs to the basement of the building. After you turn a corner you enter a space with a dining area and sandwich counter to the left and to the right is a dark bar and a dark open area with a low ceiling and a "stage" (maybe 2 inches high) shoved in a dark corner underneath pipes and floor supports only inches above the bands' heads. Even with only around 50-60 people in the space it was impossible to see the band. I tried to move around and get a good angle but getting an unobstructed view of the "stage" was not to be. After listening to Lightning Swords for a bit I *think* we wandered back out onto the street and got something to eat at a pizza parlor.
D.R.I. (Newport Music Hall): D.R.I. had the main floor of the Music Hall packed and the crowd action was really good... BUT I couldn't get past the fact the bassist is the old clerk from the Photo Drive-Up in Sunnyvale, California who I've known since we were teenagers. However, the Midwest crowd ate up D.R.I.'s set and no matter what, it's just simply cool to see Spike onstage healthy and playing guitar! The kidz (and adults) still like the Crossover stuff.
Ludicra (Bernie's Distillery): We cut watching D.R.I. short to run back down the street to Bernie's to see local S.F. heroes Ludicra in the basement. They must have gone on early because they were already playing as I turned the corner into the basement. What a bizarre venue! The low ceiling and the non-existent stage made it impossible to see the band, but they sounded amazing even in that bunker. I had listened to Ludicra's new album (The Tenant) on the plane... and the new songs are even better live.. even in a basement. We heard later that Laurie Sue accidentally smashed her head on John's headstock and "blood was everywhere", but I couldn't see that action! METAL.
Voivod (Newport Music Hall): For my money Voivod had the best stage backdrop of the festival.
Although it was weird seeing them without Piggy on guitar (R.I.P.) they still laid down an absolutely solid set; the old songs sounded so great! I watched VoiVod's set with old Umlaut friend Scott Kelly (Neurosis, Shrinebuilder) who was in full-on geek mode. Before VoiVod's set Scott mentioned he had to get to his gig (a mile down the street at a place called Skully's) right afterwards and that we should share a cab down there. Long story short, I felt like the Make-A-Wish Foundation when I invited one of my Arizona band friends to join me and one of his heroes for the cab ride. It was a short ride, but the conversation was magic. I think it's safe to say it was my favorite cab ride ever.
Yob (Skully's): Skully's was easily the most annoying venue of Scion because it had the highest number of Hipsters crammed inside; I guess every city has that problem. Ironic moustaches were in full effect. Unfortunately we only saw the last 2 or so songs of Yob's set... which is a bummer since The New York Times raved that Yob are "one of the best band in America" after witnessing their set. Good for Yob... I do dig their last album... too bad I missed them in Ohio since they don't play that often.
Shrinebuilder(Skully's): We made our way fairly close to the stage as Shrinebuilder finished setting up. When the houselights went down the lights still glared onto a disco ball which caused Al to say "Can you turn off that fucking disco ball!"... which they did and the band launched into 'The Architect' and I really dug the first couple of songs before I realized I didn't want to be jammed down front anymore (especially since I'd seen Shrinebuilder twice already). I joined Photo Ray and 1/5 of Landmine Marathon back at the bar for the rest of the set.
Upon leaving Skully's we were starving and, once again, the Midwest impressed me by having things that you simply don't find in San Francisco. Right outside of the venue was a food cart serving a selection of gyros that were both inexpensive AND delicious. It was something that kept the mood of the evening going as Photo Ray, 1/5 of Landmine Marathon, and I piled into a cab to find the After Show party that Scion's organizer had e-mailed us about earlier. During the cab ride I had an epiphany and remembered the name of the Star Trek (Original Series) episode whose music 3 Inches Of Blood had used as their intro tape (GEEK!). I texted this important trivia to another 1/5 of Landmine Marathon who was on the other side of town; mission accomplished. The cab took us to a darker part of town (literally... there was nothing else lighted around the club) and we entered a place called Carabar.
Saviours (Carabar): A cool, long space! A BIG bar area on one side and a small stage tucked in the back right hand corner (For the S.F. locals: Picture Bottom Of The Hill maybe 3x bigger). Saviours were setting up onstage to play their 2nd set of the night (earlier in the night they'd played at the festival's 4th venue... a club called Circus that we didn't make it to..). We made our way to the front and it wasn't long before Saviours launched into a blistering version of 'Acid Hand' and it was game over, man. It was a riotous set and, the more people gave the band shots of Jäger, the BETTER they played! It was AMAZING and they did the Bay Area proud by blowing the roof off the drunken, late night crowd. At one point a woman who was in her 60's (we learned later she is in the bar practically every night...) pushed her way to the front to air guitar and rage in her own private mosh pit; I did a total double take when I first noticed her. Hope I die before I get old too!
Vid by Umlaut
Saviours closed the night with a magnificent cover of Blue Öyster Cult's 'Hot Rails To Hell' that was simply... perfect.
Some local band took the stage after the Saviours, so we finished our beers and went out to the sidewalk to figure out how the Hell we were going to get back to the hotel. The area around the club looked deserted and, although a cab did stop to pick people up out front, there was already a fairly long line of people waiting for the next cab... and the next cab... and the next cab. I imagined us standing there for hours. Perhaps emboldened by our weekend of METAL (or maybe the beers we'd drank), we set off walking down the street towards the darkness of the surrounding neighborhood. Up to this moment our Scion Fest / Ohio experience had been absolutely perfect. Being the eternal pessimist, I thought this was when things were going to go wrong. We walked about a half a block when, lo and behold, A CAB turned down the far end of the street towards us! BUT then it quickly made a u-turn and went in the opposite direction! WTF?! Here we go, right? However, not 30 seconds later ANOTHER CAB turned down the street towards us... and he stopped to pick us up! Within 15 minutes we were walking back into the hotel lobby... where we saw Pat of Cannibal Corpse AGAIN who stopped to chat with us AGAIN; I didn't tell him that I'd missed his band's Scion set... Anyway, it was the perfect way to end the weekend... or was it?
The next morning we met Landmine Marathon downstairs for brunch / early lunch... but after wandering around a couple of blocks we realized it was SUNDAY in OHIO and everything was closed. WTF... Luckily Matt Landmine remembered that a certain pizza chain had a location nearby and he arranged for a delivery of 3 pies to us in the hotel lobby. How Metal was that!? Very...
After one last hang out in Ohio, over pizza, it was time to get to the airport. It was hard to let the weekend end, but alas it had to... For the record, my theme song for the Scion weekend is 'Acid Hand' by Saviours... I listened to it, like, 3x in a row on the plane on the way home. From Columbus we flew to Denver to catch the connecting flight back to Alcatraz... and Flight 666 continued with Yob and 2/5 of Ludicra being on the same flight. It was in Denver that the magical weekend had its magical conclusion.
We had only around an hour layover in Denver before our flight back to Alcatraz. Within a few minutes of getting off the plane I was leaning against a wall checking my iPhone messages when I noticed somebody standing next to me. I looked up and it was Paschke, my Old Metal buddy from San Franfuckincisco who I hadn't seen since last December!! He was on his way to NYC and his connecting flight had been delayed so he just happened to be wandering the terminal when he saw me.... What are the ODDS of that happening?! I trip on coincidences like that, man...
Unbelievable, right? The Rock Godz work in mysterious way...
Yeah, I'm leaving stuff about Scion Fest out... like the vomiting... and the falling down... and the desecrating of the hotel Bibles... and the "Do you want to come up to my room and look at drugs"-ing... What happens in Ohio, stays in Ohio. THANKS to Adam of Scion for the All Access hook up. A special shout out to Photo Ray,Team Landmine (Matt, Ryan, Grace, Mike, Dylan, and Valerie), Harald O. of D.R.I., Ludicra, and Al, Dale, and Scott of Shrinebuilder. Good times.
On the way back to San Francisco, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags... which makes sense I guess. I was able to see 10 of the 24 bands at the festival and I know I didn't really rant about them too much. Also, I'm not sure I even accurately captured my Scion Fest experience, but I guess it's simply a case of "You had to have been there"... The vibe of the entire weekend was pretty fucking cool and the best part was being able to hang out and bond with friends, both old and new and from near and far, with MUSIC being the glue that binds us together... and not just MUSIC... but METAL. It was really cool, man... Really cool.
Best back patch ever...
Click HERE to see Photo Ray's awesome photos from the weekend!
The final night of the supergroup's 3 nights in the Bay Area (Although, Shrinebuilder were also scheduled to play a Nike corporate party in S.F. the next day as well.... SHHH..). I passed on the Saturday show in Oakland even though it was the spiritual highpoint of the band's Bay Area shows; I'm sure the East Bay Crusties were out in full force. However, it was more appropriate for Umlaut to see the band at The Independent. For the newbies: Back in the early-90's xerox Umlaut 'zine days the space was called The Kennel Club and Neurosis, Sleep, AND the Melvins played there dozens of times. There were more than a few shows where they shared the bill, and those nights were life defining times for me, man...
Grotus / Neurosis / Sleep @ The Kennel Club May 1992
Remember when the Melvins played unannounced as the surprise support band for Neurosis at The Kennel on May 7, 1993 to break in a new bassist named Dave Sahajik (Trivia: He was in the Melvins for ONE brief U.S. Tour before being replaced by Mark Deutrom)? Me too... and the mighty Buzzov-en were the first band on that night as well... Epic.
Speaking of epic: This night will go down as one of Umlaut's favorite nights of the year. The tone was set as we nervously drove down Divisadero at 9:20pm on a Sunday night expecting to spend the next 20-30 minutes looking for parking. Instead we immediately found a spot only 1/2 block away from The Independent! Amazing! Parking karma was in full effect... and the night only got better from there.
Steve Von Till.... errr.... I mean Harvestman was already onstage when we entered and his solo assault sounded even better compared to the San Jose show a couple of nights before. It was also good seeing Steve... I mean Harvestman... on *that* stage again where Neurosis laid down the law so many times. I'm sure there were a good number of ghosts in the room from The Old Days who would agree.
Everything I felt about Shrinebuilder's San Jose set was magnified at least 10x tonight. The sound and lighting at The Independent made a huge difference, and it was obvious from the band's body language onstage that they were in "The Zone", especially Al and Wino. I saw Sleep at least a dozen times and it's cool seeing Al playing with a full band again. He looks comfortable not being the center of attention onstage as he is with OM and it's just great seeing him rocking out once more.
It's beyond cool to see Wino so active (with the Saint Vitus reunion and Shrinebuilder) after the starts and stops he had with The Hidden Hand and Spirit Caravan in recent years. The man is a legend who deserves WAY more than he's gotten to this point. Wino and Lemmy = The only real Rock Stars left IMO. Onstage in San Franfuckincisco you could tell Wino felt things were in "The Zone" as he raised his arms in triumph at least a couple of times after songs and gazed out at the raised fists and hands in front of him. Awesome.
Also, I was in "The Zone" for Shrinebuilder alot more than I had been at the San Jose show. The fact they went on 2 hours earlier at The Independent than they had at The Voodoo Lounge was probably the main reason; yeah, I'm old. Also, I had listened to the Shrinebuilder album 2x again and was much more in tune with the songs. I have to say the weakest part of their set tonight was the Joy Division - 'Twenty Four Hours' cover; an inspired choice for a cover song... but it doesn't really work for me. On the flipside, the set closing 'Pyramid Of The Moon' with it's Drone Doom mantra REALLY sucked me. Can I have my brain back please? WOW.
It's so easy for people to be jaded about Shrinebuilder and debate the "quality" of Shrinebuilder's material, but those people are missing the point IMO. Seeing these 4 iconic musicians onstage together is what makes the band so compelling. They're kindred spirits and that translates onto the stage... You don't see this kind of timeless, legitimate Rock Brotherhood that often, man.
The After Show hang was nostalgic with old friends mingling with band friends. Dale offered us band beers... Al offered us band pizza. Portal live videos on YouTube were watched on an iBook and discussed... and I had an inspiring conversation about Iron Maiden with the drummer of one of my favorite local bands. Steve Von Till.... errr... I mean Harvestman used his mom's car to drive himself and his gear to the show. Good times.
If you bought one of every Shrinebuilder merch item you would have paid around $100. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. A really great night... and it's cool how you can have a history with a concert space and spending time in that venue can remind you what it felt like to be in your 20's again. Hope I die before I get old.
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