Locals Rule

Soilwork / Death Angel
Slim's, San Francisco
July 30, 2010

All in all it was a pretty good week, man. To celebrate, prior to the show Photo Ray, Sensory Abuse, and I convened for beers at Bloodhound on Folsom to catch up on shit. Then it was a quick walk over to Slim's for the latest installment of That Metal Show. FYI: In Umlaut's version of That Metal Show, Dee Snider isn't the fucking be-all-end-all spokesman for Metal... and Ratt SUCKED back in The Day and Ratt SUCKS now. Anyway...

I'll be honest: It's been tough for me to be a Death Angel fan recently. The band's 2008 homecoming show at Slim's was a triumphant night and a very special show... but a year later 2/5 of the band's lineup was different and the blood / family bond that made Death Angel special in the first place was gone for the most part. For the newbies: It was always profoundly cool that originally Death Angel were all related; Metal Blood Brothers in the literal sense. It seemed like they were becoming just "a band" and I feared they had basically become The Bay Area's version of Anthrax: A Metal band trying too hard to be something or hold onto something that they weren't anymore. Sorry, just being honest. However, as much as I almost didn't want to like Death Angel anymore part of me still couldn't write them off completely. Despite my doubts about the band, when this show was announced part of me still wanted to check them out. However, I didn't make any kind of effort about the show until less than a week out. THANKS to The Talent for sorting my +1!

The lesson for tonight: NEVER DOUBT THE LOCALS.

As soon as I got the tickets from Will Call we could hear instrumental music starting to play inside Slim's and we recognized it as Death Angel's intro tape. Talk about surgical timing! Amazingly, Slim's door security was practically non-existent tonight and I got inside almost immediately... and WOW.. The space was PACKED as Death Angel took the stage with 'Lord Of Hate' and we pushed and maneuvered our way towards the front.

Although I'd seen the new lineup a year or so ago, it was still weird to see White dudes onstage in Death Angel.. but you know what? They totally fit in now. Will (drums) and Damien (bass) have a similar fire onstage as their predecessors and don't act as simply the new hired guns holding down the rhythm section. Collectively the band is beyond solid onstage, and that's all that matters.

Death Angel were alloted a solid 45 minutes and they made the most of it, with the hometown crowd going off the entire time with at least 2 beers being thrown during the mayhem. 'Seemingly Endless Time' was my favorite song of the set, especially when the mid-song groove kicked in and the crowd action got even more frenzied. However, 'Kill As One' remains one of those iconic live Bay Area Metal moments... From when Rob steps to the front of the stage and starts the opening riff ... To the crowd action exploding as the song kicks off... To the communal chant of the chorus ("Kill... As... One!"). MAGIC. As the smoke and dust settled, the band closed with a new song from their upcoming album that's out in September... and then they left the stage to spend some quality time with their friends and families backstage since they were only home for the night. Awesome.

It was so cool to have Slim's packed and the crowd going off for the band eventhough they were the support act. Support The Locals, man. To be honest, I was somewhat offended that Soilwork didn't have Death Angel headline in San Francisco since it was their home stage (and they've headlined Slim's many times in the past). Where's the respect?! Fuck Sweden. No worries though... Death Angel wiped the stage with the Swedes and had Slim's in the palm of their hand. I was wrapped in a blanket of hometown Bay Area pride for the entire set.


LOCALS RULE!

Soilwork are from Sweden. Soilwork have a keyboardist. Longtime readers know that a Metal band with a dedicated keyboardist onstage is something I like about as much as being poked with a sharp stick while trying to talk on the phone. For the newbies who don't *get* sarcasm: I don't like it. I was going to stick around for some of their set but it was either that or, since I hadn't eaten dinner before the show, go find food. I think you know what won out, especially after Death Angel's set: Fuck Sweden. Evidently, I wasn't the only local who felt that way because I later heard that Slim's was substantially less crowded for the headliners.

We bailed for The Mission and ended up at the always reliable Taqueria Cancun... where we ran into Justin and Alan of the mighty Secret Serpents and got the skinny on what's going on in their Lock 'N Loll Poster World. Perfect.

I didn't do a merch audit, but the Death Angel table was crowded after their set. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Awhile back I put a bunch of old t-shirts up in the attic in a giant Tupperware bin... I think it's time I climbed up there and retrieved my old Death Angel shirt.

Summer Weather

The exciting sequel to Weather Report!

The Dead Weather
The Warfield, San Francisco
July 22, 2010

Prior to the show Skychick and I met up with The Sheriff, Mrs. Sheriff, Kathy, and Robert at Ananda Fuara for some excellent Hippie food. It was a typically cold and grey Summer evening in San Francisco, with the fog and chilly air wrapping its arms around us like a zombie pal. In fact, the day before had been the coldest July 21st ever in S.F. dating back to 1875 (56 degrees F... and, yes, EIGHTEEN SEVENTY-FIVE... 135 YEARS..). Yeah, we don't have heat and humidity like most of the country, but at least we get killer concerts. This was show #7 of The Dead Weather's current 15-date North American Tour.

When I first saw Dead Weather in April I was transfixed by them and I was wondering if I'd feel the same way this time. I have the new CD but haven't really listened to it... but any doubts I might have had were put to rest when the houselights went down and the intro tape (an old blues song) blasted from the PA. The band swaggered onstage, picked up their instruments and, with the intro tape still playing, threw up a wall of feedback that slid straight into their cover of Pentagram's 'Forever My Queen'... YES! I know of at least one Hard Rock Ghost who was smiling down upon the room as that song kicked things off... and the set just got better from there and for the next 90 minutes I was caught up in the band all over again.

The Dead Weather onstage strike the perfect balance between moody atmosphere and raw energy. The stage lighting was more balanced this time compared to The Fillmore show in April, which had been darker, and the staging itself was minimalist but moody with taxidermied animal heads flanking the stage. The immediacy of the presentation was kicked up another notch by the absence of a photo pit in front of the stage, which meant the crowd down front were right up against the stage old school style.

The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and we were fortunate to have seats right at the front of the balcony (aka The Royal Box) which allowed me to really watch the band perform this time.

The view from The Royal Box..

I like Rock bands who have a cocky swagger about them... not a dickhead, douchbag vibe... but a street walkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm attitude... and The Dead Weather have that. This swagger is magnified by how confident they are onstage... Jack White moving between the drums and then guitar for 2 songs... Alison as the front person (sometimes with guitar) standing on monitors, climbing onto PA speakers, owning the lip of the stage... and Dean (guitar / keys) and "the other" Jack (bass... and drums for one song when White played guitar..) holding down the band's groove rock steady. It's not simply the Jack White Show as most non-fans assume; onstage they are a band.

What? Oh, the setlist... The 1st album tunes are still just as strong live and even more so now that the audience knows the material and the energy level of the performances are jacked up as a result. The songs from the new album became breathing beasts as well, especially the 70's groove of 'Hustle And Cuss' and the 80's swirl of 'The Difference Between Us'. However, I will say that I don't really like The Dead Weather songs that Jack White sings... He'll always be the voice of The White Stripes, for better or worse... and to paraphrase Axl: I used to love them but I had to kill them.

My Inner Music Geek loves how Dead Weather are so retro old school with their instruments, equipment, and sound... My Inner Music Geek loves how their instruments are hardwired into amps via cords and how Alison's mic cord gets tangled around the stage monitors and mic stands as she stalks the stage... causing their roadies to scamper onstage to untangle things as the band steamrolls around them. Most bands at their level are all about the wireless this and the wireless that. I realized while watching them that Dead Weather embody the core genres of music that I love the most: Hard Rock... Classic Rock... Old School Blues... Old School Country. There's everything from Black Sabbath to Curtis Mayfield going on in their music. It's all right there, man. My favorite bands are the ones who are like Music History lessons for those willing to dig a little deeper. Dead Weather are one of those bands. However, while they embrace the old they also manage to throw in just enough of a contemporary vibe to make it all sound relevant here in the 21st Century. I know Doom Metal purists will scoff violently at their Pentagram cover, but to me it makes perfect sense. While METAL is my roots and my soul, I'm not a METAL purist and I love cross pollination like this; Dead Weather knows MUSIC and not simply genres.

If you bought one of every Dead Weather merch item you would have spent close to $300. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. According to the Umlaut Archives I've been to more shows at The Warfield then any other venue; this was around my 75th visit to the place dating back to 1984. Despite the shitty Summer weather this is still home... and it was nice going to a non-Metal show for once.

Boys Night Out

Rob Halford
The Regency, San Francisco
July 17, 2010

The exciting continuation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell a million years later!

According to the Umlaut Archives, this was the 8th time I've been in the same room as Rob Halford dating back to when I was a naive teenager... and last year's Judas Priest / Whitesnake show was one of the best shows I saw in 2009. As far as I know, this was Halford's only North American headlining show of 2010 and was a warm up for this upcoming stint on this year's OzzFest. It was cool that he chose San Francisco for such an honor, right? It makes sense I guess... just saying... not that there's anything wrong with that! This was also a "gathering of the tribe" event, with a lot of Old School people coming out of the woodwork. It was cool to see people who I've known since high school again (a shout out to Rich Hellhound, Hans, and Sven..).

Although The Regency (1,400 capacity) was a little over half full it seemed more crowded than that especially with the balcony open... and it was definitely a crowd of die hard Halford fans and not simply Judas Priest fans; most of the punters around me seemed to know all of the songs. While Judas Priest were one of the bands who introduced me to METAL, I've never listened to any of Halford's solo stuff. I entered The Regency expecting not to recognize most of the setlist... and I was right! I walked out of The Regency and could only claim to have recognized ONE song in the set... which also happened to be the ONLY Priest song included in the setlist ('Never Satisfied' from the Rocka Rolla album!? So random... )... which made this show's ad border on false advertisement ("Featuring Rob Halford Performing The Music Of Halford, Fight, & Judas Priest"). The last time I saw Halford solo 10 years ago (!) he had busted out such iconic vintage Priest songs as 'Tyrant' and 'Stained Class'... but not this time. Oh well...

Note: I was later informed that another Priest song had been played... but it was an obscure outtake from the Turbo album or something that only appeared on a Japanese import CD and in a Priest box set. Okay, then! The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.

However, despite my own lack of Halford knowledge it was still a fun show. His band is decent enough (although I have trouble seeing him without K.K. and Glenn flanking him on guitars)... and he sang and worked the stage better than he has at some of the Priest shows I've seen in recent years. "Halford" is still Halford: He's still one those Metal vocalists who's godlike when he's at the top of his game like he is right now.

(Pic courtesy of Photo Ray)

I also liked how Halford stayed away from his "Metal Leatha" personae and presented a more "refined" stage presence... I mean, not many Metal vocalists can take the stage wearing a blazer and be taken seriously... but that's why he's Halford! If the recent passing of Ronnie James Dio taught us anything it's that Metalheads need to see their heroes at every possible opportunity. Also, Halford is one of those original Metal Heroes who still delivers the goods onstage.

I think most Metalheads can say where they were when they found out Halford was gay, right? I found out in 1982 via a Metal penpal I had in Miami, Florida. Priest were in the area mixing the Screaming For Vengeance album and my penpal told me how Halford had been seen around or entering the local gay bars there. I was, like, NO WAY! We were SO NAIVE back then... Too funny.

If you bought one of every Halford merch item you would have paid around $300... and if you presented your ticket at the merch table you got a free copy of the new remastered / remixed version of his Crucible CD. Pretty cool, right? On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. As I type this I'm listening to Judas Priest and reliving when Halford was someone who introduced me to Metal when I was a directionless, geeky teenager; Metal gave me focus. Again, it was a fun show... but I wish he'd busted out 'Heroes End' or something.

Point Of Entry Tour
(From the Umlaut Archives)

Screaming For Vengeance Tour
(From the Umlaut Archives)

Black Metal Night Out

Inquisition / Altar of Plagues / Velnias
Elbo Room, San Francisco
July 16, 2010


This was Umlaut's first gig in 2 weeks; I had blown off at least 2 shows in that time because I think I'd hit a wall with seeing bands... at least for a moment. Prior to the show Timo and I hit up Can-Cun on Mission for a pre-show burrito fix and ran waist deep into the Friday night Mission Hipster Clusterfuck. Under different circumstances I would have been far more annoyed by the Hipster kidz who didn't know how to order at a taqueria, but I rolled with it because I was hungry.

Unfortunately we didn't get to the show in time to see Dispirit, but their presence was obvious as soon as we entered the Elbo Room. Besides their formidable Metal, Dispirit are also infamous for having the most enveloping and choking use of smoke machines in recent local memory. The smoke from upstairs where the bands play had seeped down during Dispirit's set into the Elbo Room's Hipster and Tourist filled bar downstairs. It was kind of funny... and it's also funny how the Elbo Room downstairs was filled with the types of people who annoy me the most, but upstairs was fairly crowded with people who I relate to the most. The Umlaut Nation was nicely represented upstairs... so a shout out to Timo, Lori, Richard, Photo Ray, and Sensory Abuse.

I'm not sure where Velnias hail from (Colorado?) but I think it's safe to say they have a lot of Neurosis in their record collections... I liked their set, but their onstage presentation made me take points off. I mean, only JAZZ musicians are supposed to play with their backs to the audience, right? The only possible explanation for a Metal band to play with their backs to the audience is if they want to show off their back patches (kudos to Velnias' guitarist for that)... but, I'm sorry, I'm from the school where a Metal band should engage their audience... ESPECIALLY if you're wearing a Kerry King gauntlet with 2-inch spikes on your left arm (kudos to Velnias' guitarist for that). Otherwise it's like watching a band at rehearsal, dyaknowwhatimean? However, I did think Velnias had the strongest songs of any band I saw tonight and a glance at their MySpace page says their influences are:

"The ancient whispers of the woods, the rumble of the cold mountains, the roaring of the frigid sea; despair, for you stand as but nothing in their midst."

Well, oookaay then! There you go... at least they didn't go for the obvious.

In between bands the bass player from D.R.I. called my cell... but I didn't answer it. Sorry, dude... I was at a show.. and I thought you were on tour in Poland or something? Anyway, call me back, dude.

Altar Of Plagues hail all the way from Ireland and they're currently on their debut U.S. Tour... However, a guy down front thought the band were from L.A. for some reason and heckled them about it as they set up their gear. His anti-L.A. rant continued as the band were about to begin their set so James (guitar / vox) leaned over and said to the heckler "We're from Ireland..." HAHA! I think it's safe to say Altar Of Plagues has a lot of Neurosis in their record collections. They hit things off STRONG and I was on the verge of being blown away completely by them... but then the set became locked into a certain amount of "sameness". It's not that the "sameness" was a negative... but at some point my brain locked up and I swear I passed out mentally for a brief moment... or maybe I teleported somewhere and then back... because as Altar Of Plagues' set thundered to a close I felt like I had literally left the room for a minute. It's was bizarre... or maybe just the stress of the day catching up to me.

Altar Of Plagues at Elbo Room
(Pic courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

It was interesting to see all the excitement that Inquisition's first visit to San Francisco generated. I mean, all of the members of Ludicra were in the house, as were members of Acid King and Saviours. Christy of Ludicra was like a little school girl caught up in the excitement of finally seeing them... and Umlaut is always interested when bands that he likes gush about their heroes. It's that "may the circle stay unbroken" sort of thing; the music and bands feeding themselves via mutual inspiration... or some Hippie Shit like that.

Inquisition distill Black Metal down to its barest, liquid form... which is hit and miss for Umlaut. Any band consisting of 2 members has challenges as far as creating a compelling dynamic for my ears. Black Cobra are a duo but live it's unbelievable that their wall of volume is being created by only 2 dudes; Inquisition are a duo and live it sounds like 2 guys onstage. The quality riffs were there... The quality drumming was there... and Dagon (guitar / vox) and Incubus (drums) know how to work a Black Metal crowd... but, to be blunt, I'm not sure if the adulation for Inquisition is because of the actual quality of the music or because they have such a mystique around them due to their lack of Stateside live performances. It's probably a combination of both... As much as I liked the black groove that Inquisition created, I kept waiting for their riffs to take me someplace... but they never went that far... which maybe is the whole point. Inquisition are Black Metal in its barest, liquid form... like a poison bottle whose contents are obvious and without any pretense of being anything else. Swallow the unbuffered blackness.

I have to say that it's cool the Elbo Room is starting to book Metal shows again after years of ignoring the local Metal clientele. If it continues the space will be a nice addition to Thee Parkside as a clubhouse for the underground S.F. Metal Scene; the spirit of Annie's Social Club (R.I.P.) lives on.

There was a limited edition show poster for $10 but I didn't do a merch audit. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. All in all it was a routine night, but probably just what I needed to ease back into a gig schedule again.

Morocco

"You cannot make friends with the Rock Stars..."

Most Metalheads are obsessed with Horror movies... or Sci-Fi flicks... but one of Umlaut's favorite movie of all time is... Almost Famous. Long story short: I identify with this movie on many levels because of my teenage experiences writing about Metal bands for various fanzines and even befriending some of them who went on to become famous. Those experiences profoundly influenced me and this space is without a doubt a direct result of those times as well.

Most people my age were first introduced to Cameron Crowe via Fast Times At Ridgemont High... but I was fascinated by Cameron Crowe's story before even that: A teenager who wrote for Rolling Stone!? My teenage mind couldn't comprehend that. The guy was even thanked on a Lynyrd Skynyrd album! From the original liner notes of Skynyrd's One More From The Road:

Long story short, when I learned that Crowe was making a movie about his teenage Lock 'N Loll years I was beyond geeked out. Almost Famous opened in September 2000; I was such a dork for this movie I even kept my ticket stub from the screening I saw:

Not long after the movie's premiere I stumbled upon this item on Ebay:

It's a 100-page promotional book containing 8 of Crowe's vintage Rolling Stone interviews from 1972-79 with Jethro Tull, The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell. The book also features vintage Neal Preston photos of the bands and Crowe backstage or during the interviews. It's a pretty awesome time capsule of Crowe's Rolling Stone years and he wrote an introduction to each interview to give them context and perspective.

The opening pages of Crowe's 1975 Led Zeppelin interview with his modern day introduction and a photo of Crowe with Robert Plant circa U.S. Tour '75:

Another nice touch is the end papers of the book were printed on translucent paper with text from Crowe's original typewritten draft of an interview. Pretty cool, right?


The copyright on the book is credited to Dreamworks Pictures and states that it is meant for "Promotional Use Only"; I can only imagine that these were maybe given out at the film's premiere... but I've never been able to find out the exact story behind this book. I've also never seen it featured or for sale anyplace else since I scored it on Ebay. Around the same time that I found the promo book, I also scored a promo keychain for the movie:

(From the Umlaut Archives)

My Almost Famous obsession came full circle in 2006 when I saw SLAYER at the San Diego Sports Arena, where the movie's early scenes were filmed. On the way back to the car after the Metal show, I snaked around to the back and snapped a picture of the iconic truck ramp:

"We're band aids.."

The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.

I watched the Academy Awards in 2001 only to see if Almost Famous would be awarded from its 4 Oscar nominations. It only won 1 Oscar, but at least it was for Best Screenplay... which is the only one that mattered to complete Crowe's story IMO.

I end up watching my Almost Famous DVD at least once a year; it's become like Star Wars was when I was younger. I don't pretend that it's the best movie ever made but, for whatever reasons, this movie resonates for me personally like no other movie. This has only been magnified in recent years as I've found myself working in an area of the Music Business that arguably ruined Rock 'N Roll and strangled everything we love about it. Be careful what you wish for, man.

Fifty bucks and a case of beer.

48 Hour Marathon

The exciting sequel to 15 Hours!

Landmine Marathon
The Hub, Sacramento, CA
July 1, 2010

This was Umlaut's 6th show in 7 days... and also the first Landmine Marathon show in almost a year that I didn't have to take a plane to see.

In classic Lock 'N Loll drama, the scheduled venue (16th Street Cafe) abruptly closed the day before this gig. However, the show was quickly relocated to a new space called The Hub. There wasn't a whole lot of information about The Hub on The Internets other than shows there were usually "invite only"... but we had the address and word that the show was confirmed... so with that Photo Ray and Umlaut jumped into the teeth of rush hour traffic to hit the road North to Sacramento. When we arrived at The Hub we found out why the venue is on the down low: It's basically a 20' x 20' room behind an auto body shop!

"The Stage" as seen from The Merch Table

The tapestries on the wall covered up the windows that looked into the body shop and the cars in various states of repair. Too funny.

I IMMEDIATELY knew this was going to be one of my favorite Landmine shows. The space was so Punk Rock DIY Medieval! It was going to be like a cage match in Stalingrad.... but at least it had a clean bathroom, although "the bar" was Straight Edge.

Straight Edge Bar

I have now seen Landmine Marathon in a major concert hall, bars, a pizza place, clubs, and now in the back room of an auto body shop. Now all I need to do is see them in a house and I can stop following them... (JOKING). This was the type of space I've been wanting to see Landmine perform in... Most people would be horrified to see a band under these conditions, but not Umlaut. It was completely DIY and underground... bare bones... no place to hide. Landmine exploding in such a small confined area would define everything I love about this band.

The band went on 2nd in order to make sure they played in case the Sacramento Police Dept. showed up to close the show down, which evidently happens regularly at The Hub. So, after setting up their gear with the quickness of a seasoned touring band, the tripwire was set and Landmine detonated with 'Exist' and the room quickly became a murder scene.

(Pic by Umlaut)

Initially there was that space of cowardice as people tried to keep a safe distance from the band... but that was quickly broken down and it was like a fistfight in Hell for the next 35 minutes or so.

(Pic by Umlaut)

In an unexpectedly heartwarming moment, Landmine dedicated 'Crisscross Thoughts' to Umlaut and Photo Ray. It was extra special because that happens to be Umlaut's fave "old" Landmine song. Awww... Special. This was an insanely fun show with the crowd practically on top of the band in the tiny room. Like I said, a fistfight in Hell.

Quote of The Night: "One word: Fuck yeah, man!" - Random Kid to Landmine... except that's 3 words, dude.

If you bought one of every Landmine merch item you would have paid $80. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Then 24 hours later it was...


Landmine Marathon
Kimo's, San Francisco
July 2, 2010

FINALLY a Landmine show where I could be home within 15 minutes and also Landmine's first S.F. gig since last August. I'm sure this has happened to everybody: A band asks if they can have a delivery sent to your house in advance of them arriving in your city... and then they ask if you can bring the delivery to their local gig. Am I right? Yeah, I thought so...

What was inside those boxes? MAGIC. Prior to the show Umlaut met up with Landmine as well as Aesop Ludicra and his genius son Ezra (aka The Biggest Iron Maiden Fan under the age of 10) at El Toro for that time-honored tradition amongst touring bands: Mission Burrito Sacrifice. The sacrifice was made... much salsa was spilled.

Upon arrival at Kimo's we had an hour or so to kill before load-in and spent it in time-honored San Francisco fashion: Drinking beers in a gay bar. Note: When there are dudes in a bar who sing along to every word to a Pink song you're probably in a gay bar. Not that there's anything wrong with that of course!

Landmine Marathon are a band with 2 sides: A Hardcore Punk side and a Metal side and I've noticed one of these sides becomes more dominant depending on the venue... or the crowd... or the band's mood. In Sacramento the night before it had been Landmine Hardcore... Tonight in San Francisco it was Landmine Metal and they performed the tightest, most focused set I've seen them play to date. Sometimes a steel pipe to the head is most humane of all weapons... sometimes... like tonight.

After the set opener 'Exist', Grace took command of the show by immediately closing that space of cowardice as people tried to keep a safe distance from the band. The band then played a defining performance that featured everything I love about Landmine onstage (the interaction, the unpredictability) kicked up a notch.

Landmine @ Kimo's
(Pic courtesy of Sensory Abuse)

There is always an underlying amount of theater going on when Landmine are onstage. When Grace sneers at a venue from the stage while wrapping the mic chord around her neck like a garrote and letting the mic hang like a charm around her neck it's worthy of Alice Cooper. This was Umlaut's 3rd Landmine show in 4 days and I had quickly keyed into how the rest of the band were playing at another level already as well. The Jackson bookends of Dylan and Ryan were Ginsu-like with their slicing precision and the Matt and Mike bass / drum hammer was a meat tenderizer to the ears. It's still early in this 35-date U.S. tour but, especially at Kimo's, it was obvious the band are already getting into a rhythm onstage as they pursue their bloodlust for bigger things. A blog rant like this can't communicate the energy and mayhem; Landmine Marathon needs to be experienced live in order to appreciate them. If you're lucky, some blood might even be spilled (literally).

Number of Motörhead shirts = 1. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. THANKS as always to Team Landmine (Matt, Ryan, Grace, Mike, Dylan, and Valerie) for our fellowship and joy in Jesus Christ.

• Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from Sacramento and Kimo's.
• Click HERE to see Sensory Abuse's shots from Kimo's.