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.
In my last couple of posts I said that I was burned out and jaded about most Metal bands... So, of course the logical thing to do was get on a plane to Texas to go see Metal bands... right?
So it was get up at 4:00am… Drive to Oakland Airport for a 7:05am flight to Vegas to meet a 9:30am connecting flight to Austin.Land in Austin at around 2:30pm… METAL.Tonight’s show was the final night of the 15-city U.S. / Canadian “Skullsplitter Tour” and was also basically a Prosthetic Records showcase with 4 label mates sharing the bill on this Saturday night.
Landmine Marathon (Arizona): It's always interesting to follow a band closely and witness the moment when something finally clicks for them; a time in their career when a missing piece of their puzzle falls into place. No offense to their previous drummer at all (Hey Mike…) but Landmine's new drummer Andy is their missing piece. SOLID Metal drumming that focuses their chaotic Hardcore tendencies. The set was a tight blast furnace that lit up with 'Bile Towers' and scorched to a close with 'Rise With The Tide'. One of my favorite bands has stepped up their game and all I can say is "FUCK YEAH..." See? Good things DO happen to people who believe in blasphemy.
Trap Them (Washington State): Trap Them were a last minute addition to the show and they rolled onto the stage with their druggie Hardcore vibe that's as jarring as it can be entertaining. I'll be honest and say Trap Them are a band who tends to make me head to the bar for another round but, unless there's something else going on out front, I'll hang at the bar to watch them. Tonight I was going back and forth.
Withered (Georgia): Thankfully Withered left their smoke machines at home this time and let their sonic darkness do the talking. They were amazing... and the volume wall they built in this chilly Austin night was more profound in its simplicity than anything Roger Waters performing The Wall could do for me. Withered's new album Dualities is a magnificent beast that I've been having hand-to-hand combat with for the past couple of weeks. Seeing the new material presented live made it even better; bands like Withered who make me go straight into the darkness are my favorite ones... and I don't want a flashlight.
Skeletonwitch (Ohio): This was the best set that I've seen by the band and I’m still of the opinion that the opening riff to ‘Beyond The Permafrost’ is perfect. I don’t know if it was because it was the last night of the tour, but having a Metalhead transvestite in the front row must have been special for the band... 'cause who doesn't like Metal Trannies!? Whatever the case, it was a great set that reminded me how a Metal Scene really can be the same from city to city (in a good way). The crowd was into the Metal… The band was into the crowd… What else is there except the band selling more merch as a result in order to eat decently the next day? “Breathing The Fire” indeed…
Anyway, by definition I did travel to Austin to see some Metal bands… but it ended up being a little more than that for my head. Besides seeing the bands I also spent the afternoon and the night and the next morning hanging with old friends, band friends, and new friends… and it was cathartic for me.As I said in the beginning of this rant, I’ve been feeling burned out about most Metal bands recently.However, hanging out in Austin… eating BBQ… record shopping... and shooting the shit and trading war stories pre-show with friends in Casino over beers was good for the soul… and also provided the most symbolic moments of my Austin trip: The two times I brought up Metallica in a conversation a Metallica song started playing on the bar's jukebox; I shit you now. The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways.I think the lesson that I learned during my 24 hours in Texas was that you can’t escape your past… and sometimes that’s a good thing… and you should embrace it… and I will.A shout out to Umlaut Nation friends Landmine Marathon and to my Texas comrades Hard Rock Chick and Crawlspace Booking for the good times.
If you bought one of every Landmine Marathon merch item you would have paid around $120 (I think).On the way back to San Francisco, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag... which makes sense I guess. I went to Texas with 3 black t-shirts in my bag and I came back to San Francisco with 6 black t-shirts in my bag. How did that happen?
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!
If you bought one of every Landmine Marathon merch item you would have paid around $120 (I think). On the way back to San Francisco, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag... which makes sense I guess. I went to Texas with 3 black t-shirts in my bag and I came back to San Francisco with 6 black t-shirts in my bag. How did that happen?
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