The End

Black Sabbath

Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

September 15, 2016

 

Next to Motörhead the band that influenced me the most in this lifetime has been Black Sabbath.  In high school the jocks liked Zeppelin.  The normal kids liked The Beatles. I gravitated to Black Sabbath.  Sabbath pointed me towards the dark path, which hasn't been that bad at all.  This final Bay Area show tonight made me feel like that validated teenage misfit again.. In a good way.  Back in February I attended the band's show down in San Jose because it had been billed as "the final show"... but then they put this Oakland show onsale not long afterwards.  That kind of pissed me off and I didn't really think I wanted to see them again especially since the San Jose show had been amazing and perfect.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Casual Sabbath fans only focus on "Ozzy this" and "Ozzy that".  For me Sabbath has always been about the Hand of Iommi and tonight would be my 16th and final time being in the same room as him.  It should go without saying that Tony Iommi is my favorite guitarist.  Ironically the first time I saw Iommi live was only several hundred feet from tonight's venue in 1980 on the Heaven And Hell Tour.

Umlaut trips on full circle moments like this.  In 1980 I fell asleep in the stands during Journey.  Here in 2016 I was concerned about falling asleep on the BART train after the show.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Flashback to a couple of weeks ago and one thing led to another and the opportunity to attend this Oakland show with some veteran old Metal friends presented itself.  Sometimes the Metal Godz work in mysterious ways. First off, I was due to meet up with my concert buddies at Rosamunde in The Mission after work before heading to BART and heading under The Bay to Oakland.  I arrived early and one of the dudes who works there is a Metal guy who recognized me so we chatted, which was a nice way to start the night.  Then once my bros Chewy and Eric arrived we headed out.  However, I didn't get the memo because they were both wearing Thin Lizzy tees while I was flying Motörhead.  Awkward.  The BART ride was uneventful but I was inside the arena less than 5 minutes and miraculously ran into 6-7 old friends immediately.  METAL.  It was one of those shows that felt like a high school reunion more than a mere gig.

I've known these people since we were all teenagers going to Metal shows in San Francisco and the East Bay.  Oh Lord, yeah.

The final Bay Area performance of Black Sabbath started right around 8:45pm on this Thursday night on this fifteenth day of September in the year two thousand and sixteen.  The players known collectively as "the band" appeared onstage as the curtain fell with the unholy riff monster pounding darkness of the composition titled 'Black Sabbath'.. and for the next 2 hours or so we were given a final sermon by the band who started it all.

The San Jose show in February had been perfection with even the notoriously inconsistent Ozzy being strong of voice and not annoying at all between songs.  Tonight was almost a carbon copy of that show in the best possible way.  Having seen this final lineup twice before from up close it was actually a nice change to watch them from further back to appreciate the stage production and also the finer details of the great sound mix.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Tonight's setlist differed from January only by the exclusion of a song from that final new Sabbath album that I haven't bothered to listen to (yet).  So it was all old time songs performed in their original forms.  I still can't believe a Christian band hasn't covered 'After Forever' (yet).  'Hand Of Doom' was my favorite performance of the night.. but 'War Pigs' will always be my favorite song.  Watching the Hand of Iommi a final time in person was bittersweet but reminded me how music can be a time machine back and forth between moments in your life.  I know there are folks who crossed their arms and said "No Bill Ward, No Sabbath" which is unfortunate because the young gun drummer Tommy Clufetos plays like a young Bill Ward.  Geezer will always be the quintessential ying of Doom to Iommi's yang of Doom; the black vegan heart of Black Sabbath.  Ozzy is Ozzy.. Sometimes the worst example of Metal... but sometimes you're reminded how great he was and can still sort of echo.  Although he wasn't as chatty as at the past couple of shows, he was all business and his voice for this final Bay Area curtain call was strong.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Fourteen songs and then Sabbath said goodbye to The Bay Area (after) forever.  According to some Internets research the Ozzy-versions of Sabbath played 23 shows in The Bay Area (the 415, 510, and 408 area codes) between their first visit in 1970 to this year.  According to the Umlaut Archives I was fortunate to have witnessed 5 of these performances.  Given how good this final version of Ozzy Sabbath is it's hard to remember how profoundly Iron Maiden blew them off the stage at OzzFest 2005 even with Bill Ward in the lineup.  That being said it's awesome that Sabbath and the band's legacy is going to the finish line very strong.  Oh Lord, yeah.

[Photo courtesy of Timo's iPhone]

On the way back to my car via BART, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Actually, a weird incident happened on the BART return trip when 2 other Sabbath fans and I were caught in a train that evidently was going out of service; I was still 2 stations from my final stop.   In typical BART customer service fashion no one responded to my intercom request when I pressed the button on 2 different "emergency" intercom speakers.  Finally one of the other trapped Sabbath fans simply pulled the emergency door release and we were freed.  Bizarre.. Then as I waited for the next train heading my way literally the only other person on the platform was a drunk guy who has a copy of Murder In The Front Row.  METAL.   Anyway, I eventually made it back to Casa de Umlaut safely.  Oh Lord, yeah.

Now I will say adieu and merci boucoup to Black Sabbath.  With Sabbath due to play their "final" show in December, who would have thought both Motörhead and Sabbath would cease to exist within a year of each other!?  My name is Lucifer.. Please take my hand.. one last time.

Oh Lord, yeah.

My Oldest Best Friends

When I was an insecure, dorky teenager my record collection was my best friend. My record collection and my turntable kept me company when I was lonely and entertained me when I was bored. Last weekend two of my oldest best friends, like, ever visited me again.

Iron Maiden
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California
August 3, 2012

Iron Maiden. Always.

After having seen one of the first shows of Maiden's current tour last month in Boston, I was curious to see Maiden as they neared the end of another North American Tour. It's always interesting to see a band early in a trek as they're fine tuning their performance versus a dozen or more shows later when they've played to thousands of more people and (hopefully) gotten into their groove. Also, at this point in history, Umlaut has seen Maiden double digit times so I'm always interested to see if I can still geek out over seeing them.

The last time I saw Iron Maiden at this venue was for OzzFest 2005 when they absolutely blew the reunited Ozzy-fronted Black Sabbath off the main stage and made Rob Zombie on the 2nd Stage look silly.

[From the Umlaut Archives]

What can I say about Maiden that I haven't already said many times in this space? If you have time to kill go back through some of my older Maiden posts from years past (Click HERE to see all of my Maiden posts). Whenever I start to rant about Maiden here I feel like I'm repeating myself, and I don't want to bore the longtime readers by plagiarising myself again. However, I will say (again) that my Inner Teenage Metalhead lost it when 'Doctor Doctor' by UFO was turned up over the Shoreline PA to clue longtime fans that Maiden were hitting the stage in around 4 minutes. For the newbies: Maiden have played 'Doctor Doctor' before they come onstage since Day One. Umlaut LOVES tradition!

On this tour Maiden are doing what is basically a "Greatest Hits" set focused on a certain time period in their history. On this tour the focus is on the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son era (1988) which was a time when Umlaut wasn't engaged in what Maiden were doing. However this was one of those shows that reminded me way more people became Maiden fans after I discovered them during the Paul Di'Anno years. Does that make sense? Discuss amongst yourselves.

As in Boston, the high water mark of the night was the mighty mid-set 1-2-3-4 punch of 'The Trooper' into 'The Number of the Beast' into 'Phantom of the Opera' into 'Run To The Hills'. However, I have to say my favorite songs of the night were 'Two Minutes To Midnight' and 'Aces High' because it's awesome when a crowd sings along to them. At one point Bruce announced that Shoreline was unable to accommodate the band's full production tonight, which I found to be a very odd thing to happen here in the 21st Century. No matter, Maiden still performed with the same intensity that they had back in The Day and Steve Harris is still my hero.

One thing that I love about Maiden now is how much fun they look like they're having onstage. All of them are smiling, either at the crowd or at each other. Alot of jaded old fans will complain about what songs they didn't play or should have played but fuck that attitude. Personally, as much as I want to hear my fave Maiden songs live, I'm cool at this point in history to simply watch them perform as they attack a stage with the level of charisma and musicianship that very, very few bands now possess. Here in the 21st Century I'd rather watch 15 minutes of Iron Maiden onstage than 60 minutes of a band, like, Hatebreed. The right hand of Steve Harris über alles!

If you bought one of every Maiden merch item you would have paid just over $1,000 (one thousand dollars); Maiden's merch company rules! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. It cannot be understated how amazing it was for me to have Iron Maiden visit the Bay Area again and then 24 hours later it was...

Aerosmith / Cheap Trick
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
August 4, 2012

Cheap Trick. Always.

Before I discovered Iron Maiden and Metal, there was Cheap Trick. Umlaut was fanatical about them in Junior High and my first concert was Cheap Trick supporting Blue Öyster Cult at San Jose State on the At Budokan Tour. Yes, Umlaut is old and Cheap Trick are still one of my all-time favorite bands. Also, at this point in history, Umlaut has seen Cheap Trick double digit times so I'm always interested to see if I can still geek out over seeing them.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and no matter how tepid Aerosmith's creativity has become over the past 20 years it was hard not to have my Inner Classic Rock Teenager be awakened by seeing this bill on paper. Aerosmith with Cheap Trick is so 70's... but I didn't make any plans to attend. However, the Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and 24 hours prior to the show I found out that I'd be visiting Oracle Arena again on a Saturday night. The last time I saw Cheap Trick in this building was on the Dream Police Tour in 1979 (!):

[From the Umlaut Archives]

Reality check: In 1979 the ticket price was $9.50. In 2012 parking was $35. Crazy, right?

As I just said, the Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and one thing led to another and I found myself sitting in a front row reserved seat. WTF. As the houselights went down I stood at the rail for the first time in I can't remember how many years as some of my first Rock Star heroes walked onstage and jammed into 'Hello There' and went straight into 'Big Eyes' and then into 'California Man'. Holy shit! It seriously felt like 1979 all over again except I was in the front row this time! My head was in a haze watching Cheap Trick as half my brain was immersed in their performance and the other half was flashing back to the show almost 33 (!) years ago.

Cheap Trick are pretty much the only band that can erase every jaded thought out of my old man mind. When I see them I'm immediately that 16-year old dorky kid whose best friend was literally his record collection. My oldest best friends from Rockford, Illinois owned the stage in Oakland again for an hour and played all the hits you would want in an abbreviated Cheap Trick opening set. 'On Top Of The World'... 'Ain't That A Shame' (featuring Brad Whitford of Aerosmith joining them onstage)... 'I Know What I Want'.. and closing with the full tilt sprint of 'Dream Police' into 'Surrender' into 'Goodnight'. Yes, sadly Bun E. Carlos retired from touring a couple of years ago... but having Rick Nielsen's son Daxx on drums is working just fine and it's cool they kept it in the family. Also, this NEVER gets old:

[Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

The one difference seeing Cheap Trick in the support slot was that Rick was more subdued and didn't work the stage in overdrive like he normally does... and he didn't toss out as many guitar picks into the crowd either. Thankfully I managed to get one:


Me. Love. Cheap Trick. Long Time!

The last time I saw Aerosmith in this building was in 1984 (!) when these same band members attempted their first Reunion Tour; this was a couple of years before Run-DMC brought Aerosmith back from the dead. The show was filmed for MTV but it was never aired. Steven Tyler was fucked up and fell off the stage (TRUE!) and Joe Perry smashed apart his Stratocaster at the end of 'Sweet Emotion'. This venue on that Friday night in 1984 was also less than half full; here in 2012 on a Saturday night the same venue looked pretty much sold out.

[From the Umlaut Archives]

Reality check: In 1984 the ticket price was $13.50. In 2012 parking was $35. Crazy, right?

During the changeover after Cheap Trick there was the strong smell of incense coming off the stage; Aerosmith are such Millionaire Hippies now. I think 99% of the people reading this will agree that Aerosmith were better when they were younger and fucked up before they started writing songs geared specifically for film soundtracks. It's still hard to fathom that the same band who wrote 'Lick And A Promise' did that awful song from the movie Armageddon.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and I found myself on the rail preparing to see Aerosmith for the first time in 17 years (the last time I saw them was in 1995). The band's stage was the same style as AC/DC and Foo Fighters had used in this same venue in recent years: A long ego ramp from the main stage that ended at a smaller stage in the middle of the arena. I understand that bands claim to have this stage configuration in order to bring fans at the back into the show. However, Umlaut hates this modern day stage because it diffuses the energy of a Rock concert if some of the band members are on the main stage and the others are 100 yards away. Doesn't that make sense? If you're a BAND you should all be on the same stage at all times... but that's just me.

Aerosmith popped onstage (literally) at close to 9:15pm with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry suddenly appearing on the small stage to lead the rest of the band (aka the less popular original members) on the main stage into a surprisingly great version of the old classic 'Draw The Line'. For the next 2 hours I was both entranced and dubious about watching Aerosmith again. Of course, being in the front row directly in front of Joe Fuckin' Perry was awesome, but the fact that Tyler spent at least half of the set behind me on the smaller stage was annoying. Also, having Tyler perform away from the rest of the band so much gave Aerosmith 2012 a weird energy. It was sort of like a "That Judge from American Idol and The Rest of the Band" feeling. So, I spent most of my time taking advantage of where I was standing and watched Joe Perry at work. Despite everything else about Aerosmith 2012, Joe Fuckin' Perry is still a badass.

[Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

Perry performed like the old school Guitar God that he is, especially when he pulled moves like jamming the headstock of his guitar into the battered grill of one of his vintage Marshall cabinets to strangle more feedback out of them. Magic. Thankfully, Aerosmith included a satisfactory number of vintage songs in the setlist. 'Same Old Song And Dance' and 'Last Child' were good. 'Rats In The Cellar' was the best song of the night with Tyler joining the rest of the band on the main stage and leaning forward into his mic stand to sing like he did back in the old days. Aerosmith wrote such GREAT fucking songs back when they were fucked up, man. When they announced 'Combination' I raised my fists in the air, but it was a weird version with only Joe Perry front and center singing and Tyler basically offstage behind the backline and drums. SO FUCKING WEIRD! That was one of the songs The Toxic Twins would sing together in the same mic when they were onstage fucked up on coke or whatever back in The Glory Days of the 70's. Weird. Anyway, if I never hear 'Dream On' again I'd be happy.

If you bought one of every Cheap Trick merch item you would have paid $210. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Aerosmith's "Day Pass" was basically All Access... as long as you stayed in hallways and didn't go into any rooms backstage. Ooookaaay. I've always been a much bigger Cheap Trick fan than an Aerosmith fan anyway.

One Man Show

Foo Fighters / Cage The Elephant
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
October 19, 2011

I was way into Nirvana before they were hijacked by the mainstream, but I can't say I've ever been a Foo Fighters fan. Not because of any "loyalty" to Dave Grohl's former band, but because they were just average to me, with their albums maybe good for 2 decent songs max to my ears. The last time I saw Foo Fighters was on their debut tour back in the 20th Century.

San Francisco - 1996

(From the Umlaut Archives)

Here in the 21st Century, the Foo Fighters have obtained an odd mainstream popularity and are pretty much a household name. Recently I watched the documentary Back And Forth that tells the band's story and it's not bad as Rock documentaries go. Dave Grohl has also unabashedly championed Metal starting with his excellent Probot project almost a decade ago. Which is cool, but that doesn’t make him or Foo Fighters Metal IMO. Part of me still thinks most people "like" Foo Fighters because they represent 1/3 of Nirvana. Just saying.

As we approached the Will Call window I was surprised to see a couple of Christian "You Are So Going To Hell For Liking This Music" protesters screaming at the people entering the show. Uhhh, was it a slow day in Christianity?? The Foo Fighters are about as Satanic as whole milk... but I did laugh out loud when a guy yelled "SLAAAYER!!" at the protesters. Nicely done.

After getting a beer we found our seats right before Cage The Elephant took the stage. I've seen the band's name before and thought it was stupid... but they actually weren't terrible. The band are from Kentucky and play a sort of retro Brit Pop / Grunge hybrid thing. The singer was entertaining to watch as he worked the stage in a 3rd tier Iggy sort of way. He even closed their set by diving into the crowd and standing on people's hands ala Iggy with the Stooges - Cincinnati 1970.

Iggy Pop - Cincinnati 1970

Nice try, Cage The Elephant singer... but everything's already been done.

Foo Fighters hit the stage at 9:00pm sharp with the new songs ‘Bridge Burning’ and ‘Rope’ and remained onstage for a solid 2 ½ hours. Impressive. Although I just said I can't call myself a Foo Fighters fan, I have to admit I know all of their radio hits... 'My Hero’… ‘The Pretender’.. ‘Learn To Fly’.. ‘Everlong'. I was surprised how many songs I actually recognized.

We had good seats in the band guest area... but of course the downside of sitting in comp seats is sharing a row with tall skinny girls with short attention spans. Tonight it was a pair who bopped along to a song and then left, and then came back, after literally every other song. Yes, girls, you're pretty and I'm sure that works for you, but I so want to shove you down the stairs because this is the 5th time you've interrupted the show for me... and the band has only been onstage for 40 minutes. On the flipside, in an Old Metal small world moment I found myself sitting 2 seats over from my old friend Rick Brackett, who I had not seen since we both attended Metallica's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame shindig in 2009. Somewhere Cliff Burton smiled.

Anyway, Foo Fighters onstage should really be called The Dave Grohl Show since he pretty much does everything onstage and the rest of the band basically just stand there. The band had a monster stage show that included video screens, an ego ramp, and a runway down the middle of the arena that went all the way to the soundboard. The small soundboard stage was also on a riser that rose KISS-like at one point during the set for Grohl to give the bad seats the front row experience. Pretty cool, but it was weird that only Grohl utilized the staging and was the only one who even ventured past the stage monitors. However, I guess that onstage dynamic works for AC/DC with Angus.. so what do I know. That being said, Grohl is an excellent front man.. which is good since he’s the only one who looks like he breaks a sweat onstage.

Besides the odd onstage band dynamics, the sound was also kind of weird too. It seemed to be heavily weighted towards Grohl’s vocals and everything was mixed way too clean for my liking. I mean, there were THREE guitarists onstage but you could never tell because that’s not what the band’s live sound is about. It should have sounded huge... but it didn't. Bizarre… but THREE guitarists looks cool onstage. However the Foo Fighters are not Iron Maiden or Lynyrd Skynyrd... or even The Outlaws.

All in all, it was a fun show but of course no Probot songs were played. Besides the big radio hits, Grohl and the band pulled out a very good cover of Pink Floyd’s 'In The Flesh' (with drummer Taylor on vocals and sounding eerily like Roger Waters). During the encores they also trotted out a guest appearance by Bob Mould for the new song ‘Dear Rosemary’ (on which he appears on the new album) and then for a cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Breakdown’…. I know… Tom Petty.. but it made me realize that Dave Grohl is the Tom Petty of Hard Rock... Entertaining... not terrible.. but safe. On that note, I was fascinated that evidently NO dudes with long hair seem to like Foo Fighters. Out of the 13,000 or so people in the house I saw no dudes with long hair outside of myself and maybe 3 others. It was downright bizarre to me.. Safe Rock.

Number of Metallica shirts = None. If you bought one of every Foo Fighters merch item you would have paid around $300. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Again, it was a fun show and a good night out, but I just realized I could have simply said a Foo Fighters show is kind of the opposite of a Slayer show instead of writing this whole thing.

Über Alles

Rammstein / Combichrist
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 18, 2011

In an ironic twist of Teutonic fate, I woke up in Frankfurt, Germany the day before this show... Long story short: Umlaut was on his way back from vacation in Europe. Anyway, as my jet lag and fried brain and body made its way to Oracle Arena, I hoped my Deutschland Week wouldn't end with me in a bunker and the Soviet Army closing in on me...

Row 13 in First Class, mofos!

Oakland was one of only 9 cities on Rammstein's brief North American Tour, their first trip to these shores in 10 years (!). The Germans were the #1 band I've been wanting to see since I've missed their past visits. I'm not the biggest Industrial fan... and I tend to find Trent Reznor more annoying than not... but I've come to be a big fan of these Germans mainly because they've managed to meld Industrial heaviness with a sense of humor.

Man, I was DRAGGING by the time I arrived at the venue; I had been home from Europe less than 24 hours, got only 4 hours of sleep, and had gone to the show straight from work. I was borderline exhausted and teetering on passing out... Anyway, after getting felt up for the second time in 24 hours by a large security guard (the Frankfurt airport security dude had a softer touch than the Oracle security dude) we found a table in the Club Level... and ordered what turned out to be one of the worst veggie burgers I've ever had. Who the fuck puts barbecue sauce on a veggie burger that hasn't been cooked outdoors on a fucking barbeque?! Oracle Arena does, that's who.

The night could only get better after the awful veggie burger, and Combichrist were good... but I was still hungry; I probably should have gotten some fries. Anyway, onstage Combichrist exudes a Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine vibe; I liked how the lads took their opening slot by the throat and treated the stage as their own.

To be honest, I started writing this rant around 2 weeks ago... and I lost steam. Jet lag cracked my skull for several days... and catching up with work... and then my 103 year old grandmother passed away... so basically there are only so many minutes and hours in the day... and this rant lost out as time passed and my motivation to finish it waned.

Anyway, like the Roger Waters - The Wall show, I was having trouble putting the Rammstein experience into words because it was so fucking visual. INSANELY VISUAL but with so much dark humor it made The Wall look like a stage show for old people... which I guess it was when you think about it. Everyone knows that Rammstein have a shitload of pyro and flames in the stage show, including FLAMETHROWER MASKS (look vids up on YouTube).


The bombastic and mindblowing set consisted of 18 songs with only 1 of them sung in English ('Pussy'). Despite the language barrier I was surprised how many of the 10,000 fans in attendance knew all of the songs... and I was not threatened at all by the trio of young blond boys to my right who sang along to every song in German. However, it was the subtle and sublime parts of the stage show that blew me away more than all the pyro... but I'm seriously not into trying to finish this piece since it was, like, 2 weeks ago now and alot has happened in my life since this gig. All I will say is that Rammstein were probably the greatest arena show I've ever seen; Rammstein are KISS for adults. Seriously... and sorry I'm not motivated now to back this claim up with fancy adjectives and such.

Leiderhosen = 1. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. While exiting the arena, the girl walking behind me was singing in German... and I didn't feel threatened by it. Anyway, this was 2 weeks ago and Ghost are playing San Francisco in October!

Now For Something Completely Different

Prince
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
February 21 & 24, 2011

Talk about building hype: Prince had 3 shows in Oakland, 2 of which were announced only 6 days in advance of the first night. Anyway, I'm sure this post will not sit well with most Metal Kidz, but I don't give a shit. Back in The Day this was my March 1985:

March 3rd: Prince - Purple Rain Tour ($17.50)

March 14th & 15th: Metallica - Ride The Lightning Tour ($10.00)

March 21st: Iron Maiden - Powerslave Tour ($14.50)

Say what you will, but in hindsight here in the 21st Century it was pretty fucking cool to see 3 such historic tours within 18 days of each other like that... and I was open-minded about music for a Metalhead back then. However, quite a few other Old School Bay Area Metalheads are also Prince fans (Gary Holt of Exodus being one of them). So go ahead and call us fags...

Anyway, I ended up seeing 2 of the 3 shows and they were... awesome. No, I don't listen to Prince's music and barely know any songs past his big hits, but he was definitely one of the most talented musicians and performers I've ever witnessed onstage. He embodies old school showmanship, it's like watching James Brown onstage, and his guitar skillz were sublime and blazing; Prince is a legitimate Guitar God. I was surprised how much his guitar playing was featured in the shows and the range of virtuosity he displayed across different styles, from Funk to Soul to Rock, was beyond impressive. The production of the show was also unique, with the stage being in-the-round and shaped like Prince's symbol. Not many performers could pull this off:

The first night had some rough spots, with Prince calling out for monitor adjustments during the opening song... which I found interesting since I was expecting a show like this to be more choreographed. The first night's highlight was an unexpected guest appearance by Carlos Santana, who appeared onstage seemingly from out of nowhere to jam on a version of his song 'Soul Sacrifice'.

Santana... Jamming...

Man, a Prince crowd is fucking LOUD; I've never heard a Metallica crowd that loud. Seriously... and the version of his iconic hit 'Purple Rain' was kind of transcendental. Going into the first night I was halfway expecting the show to be closer to when I saw Celine Dion; a show more about heavy-handed production instead of musicianship. However, I was proven wrong and Prince onstage wasn't much different than when I saw him in 1985. Metalheads, go ahead and call me a fag.

Three days later I found myself back at Oracle Arena... and the closing night performance will definitely be on my Best of 2011 List. First of all, Prince was onstage for 3 hours (an hour longer than the previous shows) and his guitar playing seemed to be even more off the hook than opening night. Pretty much all of the hits were given a run through and at mid-set Larry Graham (original bassist of Sly & the Family Stone) came onstage for versions of the Sly songs 'Everyday People' and 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)'. Given that Sly & the Family Stone were from The Bay Area, the vibe coming off the stage was pretty amazing. Besides having longtime associate (and Oakland native) Sheila E. in his band, Prince also gave shout outs to Oakland often during the shows. It's pretty cool that a performer like Prince was influenced by Bay Area Music in the same way that Metal bands were influenced by the original Bay Area Metal Scene. Yes, it's all connected, man... It really is..

Anyway, these shows were NOT Metal but I was blown away by Prince nonetheless. His level of musicianship combined with showmanship is something you do not see very often here in the 21st Century. Given that he's 52-years old it makes sense that Prince is versed with the same type of Old School Music sensibilities that I grew up with... and THANKS to The Sheriff and to Cable Car for the leg-up into the shows.

Prince... The Guitarist.. starting at around the 3:20 mark.

Scorpions shirts = 1 (on the 1st night). If you bought one of every Prince item you would have paid around $435, although bootleg shirts were being sold outside the venue for $10 with better designs than the official tees. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. No, I'm NOT going to start wearing purple, but I do rank Prince as one of my favorite musicians... but now back to Umlaut's regularly scheduled programming.

It's Cold Gin Time Again

KISS / Buckcherry
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
November 22, 2009



Earlier in the day, I was a bit bummed that I was missing Heathenfest at the DNA Lounge tonight. The Norwegian band Vreid were on the bill and I've been wanting to check them out ever since I got into their latest album Milorg, a concept album chronicling the Norwegian resistance movement against the Nazis in World War 2 (!). It's Metal AND educational; the liner notes alone are great. Alas, Umlaut can't be everywhere at once... and as events unfolded it was obvious I had made the right choice of events for this Sunday night.

I grew up during the original KISS Generation, and KISS were like my first girlfriend; they were the first Rock band I ever got serious about. However, I was done with them by 1979 after they put out the disco pandering 'I Was Made For Loving You' and while other friends kept their fandom alive over the years, I buried mine before my 15th birthday and moved on. Later in the 20th Century, I saw 2 shows on the Reunion Tour back in 1996-2000 and had a great time at both (1996: Louisiana Superdome with the Melvins supporting.... 2000: Oracle Arena with Ted Nugent...). However, KISS became "KISS" to me when Ace Frehley was kicked out of the band in 2002 and Tommy Thayer donned Ace's makeup and Eric Singer became The Cat in place of Peter Criss; having "replacements" donning the iconic makeup seemed blasphemous and false. The argument has been made that other bands change members all the time, but with KISS there is something very emotional and sacred about the original members that exists for no other band. Although I haven't been a "true" KISS fan in years, I still felt outrage over "imposters" wearing The Spaceman and Cat makeup and could never see being "okay" with it. I felt that way..... until tonight.

After the chilly guest list drama of the night before in San Jose I was a little apprehensive as I approached Will Call. However, as soon as I saw the envelope that had been left in my name I knew we were gonna have ourselves a Lock 'N Loll party tonight!

Umlaut's All Access Laminate
(color removed to make it harder for sneaky fucks to counterfeit)

With the magic plastic around our necks there was no way I was going to enter the venue via the civilian entrance, so we walked around to the truck ramp and entered the show properly via the backstage door. We wandered around backstage and checked out catering and the production office before finding our seats... but I didn't stay there long as I went to meet a friend for a drink in the concourse and then found myself backstage again with Wexford Girl and The Bassist.


Wexford Girl introduced me to a couple of KISS' high ranking crew guys and we stood in a hallway chatting as the VIP meet & greet was being organized around us. As we waited I ran into 4-5 former colleagues from "another" merch company where I used to work; although it's been awhile it was nice catching up with them. Then we noticed a commotion at the end of the hallway and suddenly KISS came marching into view to take their place inside the meet & greet room... but as Gene was about to enter the room his attention was distracted by a couple of chicks who seemed to have bum rushed backstage (at the 0:17 second mark of the video):

(Vid by Umlaut)

Also note Paul was air guitaring to Buckcherry (who were onstage at that moment) as he walked into the room.

We waited as the other guests were ushered into the room for their photo op, and at one point KISS' tour manager came back to check on us and asked "Why are these people going in ahead of you?? You should have gone in first.." Say what you will about KISS, but their people really took good care of us (THANKS!). Finally it was our turn, and we were ushered into the room where the band members stood in front of a backdrop. Gene immediately gravitated towards Wexford Girl (of course) and we did a quick pose as the band's photographer took a couple of shots. Eric Singer asked me something and I said something in response and as we were leaving I turned back around, took a couple of steps, stuck out my hand and shook Gene's hand and said something to him... and he said something back... and that was that. I met Gene Simmons and lived.

After our close encounter with Gene & Co. we few, we happy few, laughed our way to a beer vendor for a celebratory cold one and found our seats and minutes later the houselights went down... "Oakland! You wanted the best, and you got it... The hottest band in the world... KISS!!" I was caught completely off guard by how great the band was from the moment they hit the stage with the old school double punch of 'Deuce' > 'Strutter'... Oh man, as soon as they launched into 'Strutter' (perhaps my favorite KISS song) something went off in my head and I was 12-years old again. "Everybody says she's lookin' good.. and the lady knows it's understood... STRUTTER!"

The view from Umlaut's seat.. Section 127..

I'll get this out of the way now: This was THE MOST FUN show of the year. Hands down. No contest... Game over, man... Game over. The entire evening was so easy and everything that a Lock 'N Loll experience should be. I haven't laughed so much at a show in a long time and it's funny how I still know ALL the lyrics to the old KISS songs... and, as much as part of me hated to admit it, Tommy Thayer was GREAT on lead guitar and played Ace's old solos note and nuance perfect and moved around the stage with more energy than Ace ever did.. I know, sacrilege perhaps, but I only speak the truth... However, I did have a problem with Thayer singing Ace's signature song 'Shock Me' and Eric Singer singing Peter Criss' song 'Black Diamond'. At least they didn't have Singer sing 'Beth'.. but 'Shock Me' was just plain wrong.... but my outrage soon disappeared as THE FUN of the show swept me away again (sorry Ace and Peter..). So much FUN... 'Hotter Than Hell' with Gene fire breathing... 'Calling Dr. Love'... 'Parasite'... '100,000 Years'.. 'Shout It Out Loud'.. Gene spitting blood then flying up to the top of the lighting rig to sing 'I Love It Loud'... Say what you will about KISS, but they still put on an amazing Arena Rock show... over the top production and stage design.. and they know how to work a stage and a crowd like few other bands these days.

Two songs off the new Walmart-only CD were played, but I used the first song as an opportunity to hit the bathroom, as did alot of other dudes. Great minds think alike! As I got back to my seat Paul was going into his onstage banter to introduce the next song by saying "When you're feeling down you KNOW there's only ONE THING that will pick you up.." and I shouted "COLD GIN!!" and the dude behind me heard that and said "YEAH!! COLD GIN!!!" At that point I should probably have turned around to high five him, but I didn't.. but a couple of seconds later the band launched into... 'COLD GIN'! You know it's the only thing that keeps us together.

Another aspect of the KISS live experience has always been the cheesy element, especially Paul's between song banter. I wish I had counted how many times he said "PEOPLE!" when addressing the crowd... "PEOPLE listen here..".... "PEOPLE we have a song...".... "PEOPLE!"... and then Paul flew:

Paul Flies During 'Love Gun' (Vid by Umlaut)

What a fucking FUN night.. Say what you will about KISS, but I left the show feeling HAPPY... REALLY HAPPY... and that doesn't happen very often. No, KISS won't change my life at this point.. but they reminded me that life is not bad at all. I still wanna Lock 'N Loll all night and party every day... and it's always funny when a stranger comes up to me at a show and asks "Are you Umlaut??"

Number of Landmine Marathon shirts = 1 (mine). I didn't even bother to try and do a merch audit because the merch area was the size of a small store. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. As I drink my morning coffee and prepare for the chaotic week of home renovation that I have ahead of me, it's nice to know that I can still be 12-years old in my head and have FUN in that innocent way again. Okay, back to the 21st Century.

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's pics from the show!

Don't Stop Believing

Metallica / Lamb Of God / The Sword
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
December 20, 2008

When I was a teenager in the late-70's / early-80's Journey represented S.F. Bay Area Rock to the rest of the world; they were massively popular, headlined stadiums, and sold out arenas from coast to coast. Chicks dug the shit out of their ballad 'Lights' and some guys didn't mind them because Neal Schon was a pretty good guitarist. According to the RIAA, Journey has sold over 75 million albums worldwide. Also, Journey had a video game based on their exploits and in 2008 they had a Filipino guy singing.

Fast forward to the waning days of 2008 and Metallica represents S.F. Bay Area Rock to the rest of the world; they are massively popular, headline stadiums, and sell out arenas from coast to coast. Chicks dig the shit out of their ballad 'Nothing Else Matters' and some guys don't mind them because James Hetfield is a pretty good frontman. According to the RIAA, Metallica has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. Also, Metallica will soon have a video game based on their exploits and their guitarist is half Filipino.

Am I saying Metallica and Journey have eerie similarities? Maybe..but who wouldn't want to see a knife fight between each band's departed members?? Jason Newsted vs. Gregg Rollie?! Cliff Burton vs. Steve Perry!? GAME ON, I say.. Discuss amongst yourselves.

What? Oh yeah...

For the record, Umlaut hated the new Metallica album 'Death Magnetic' when it came out... Hated it... Dismissed it. I still wasn't sold on the album even after attending the band's tour rehearsal in October. So what happened? To be honest, I don't really know.. other than one day within the past month I realized I was listening to 'Death Magnetic' all the time.. Weird.. but it's definitely riff-tastic.

Prior to the show, Timo and I fueled up at The Irish Bank where the waiter recognized us and said "Do you guys even need menus?"... and we didn't 'cause we order the same thing every time.. Metal. Our evening remained surgically precise as Will Call was absolutely painless; THANKS to Paschke and Wiig for sorting my +1.

We missed The Sword, but saw most of Lamb Of God's set. Umlaut likes LOG quite a bit, but it was weird seeing them playing on Metallica's in-the-round stage. The best part of their set was watching a young fan who was against the rail singing along to every song, even when a LOG member wasn't in front of her.. Metal... That kid is gonna be alright.

Seeing Metallica in front of a sold out hometown crowd is still just as cool as it was back in The Day; the overwhelming "local boys make good" vibe in the crowd is a rare thing. Straight up, I thought this was the best performance I've seen the band give since the 1991-92 Tour... On recent tours the band has seemed robotic and going through the motions onstage more often than not IMO. Tonight the band was loose and having a good time on their home stage, especially James. To paraphrase Journey: Don't stop believing... in The METAL. The setlist for those who care:

• That Was Just Your Life
• The End Of The Line
• Creeping Death
• For Whom The Bell Tolls
• One
• Broken, Beat And Scarred
• Cyanide
• Sad But True
• The Unforgiven
• All Nightmare Long
• The Day That Never Comes
• Master Of Puppets
• Blackened
• Nothing Else Matters
• Enter Sandman
• Last Caress
• Whiplash
  
• Seek and Destroy

Fave Moments: Saxon's 'Heavy Metal Thunder' blasting out of the PA leading into the houselights going off and the band's 'Ecstasy Of Gold' intro tape... The pummeling 'Creeping Death' > 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' > 'One' triumvirate of Metal... and then later 'Master Of Puppets' > 'Blackened'... Wow.

Also, the new songs were riff-tastic live, which was nice compared to recent tours when the new songs made me want to count the number of Slayer shirts in the crowd. OH! But the #1 Metal Geek moment was caused when Kirk played the beginning of 'Sails Of Charon' in his brief solo spot! You could hear the Old Metal types in the house screaming like little school girls... seriously.

It's pretty fashionable amongst my generation of fans to nitpick what Metallica does these days and, granted, they've done some lame things over the last 12 years (waging war on Napster, etc..)... but here in the 21st Century they seem to be trying to atone for those past transgressions... and I'd MUCH rather see Metallica selling millions of albums than any of the crap that the record industry is spewing out these days.

That being said, this was the 34th time I've seen Metallica since 1982 (Yes.. 34 times.. Umlaut is old..) and I realized just how jaded I can be about this band: During a blazing version of 'Master Of Puppets', with thousands of people going bonkers around me, my mind totally wandered and I noticed a guy on the complete opposite side of the arena who was wearing a Motörhead - England shirt; I felt like trying to get his attention and point out the Motörhead hoodie I was wearing. DUDE! HEY DUDE!! OVER HERE!

What? Oh yeah....

During the final encore ('Seek And Destroy'), and with the houselights on, the band dropped dozens of black balloons from the ceiling emblazoned with the Metallica logo. Evidently they are doing this at every show and, I'm sorry, but a balloon drop is more HIPPIE than METAL. They should at least have metal spikes on each balloon to make it more exciting. Oh well... Although the balloons became a mere footnote to the evening after the band and crew celebrated Lars' birthday early by assaulting him with shaving cream pies and silly string as the song ended. Funny.. Really funny, actually. You don't see Millionaire Rock Stars being humiliated in public very often.

After the encores, Paschke waved his Magic Laminate and Timo and I found ourselves at the after show "party".

Paschke waves his Magic Laminate

Long story short: Free food, open bar... 300 guests jammed into the arena's club.. 3/4 of the band showed up to get mobbed by most of the 300 guests.. Umlaut chatted with The Lead Guitarist for a tiny bit and interacted with The Bass Player for a wee bit.. To be honest, the high point of the "party" was being introduced to the band's private chef who had made all the excellent food. Metal.

I didn't do a merch audit for political reasons, but Rock Star sightings = Ted of Death Angel, Chris Isaak, and Mike Dirnt of Green Day. On the way back to the car, some pimply-face teenagers called us fags. Sorry, but I have to close with one more Journey vs. Metallica comparison: Each bands depiction of "The Road" in song and video:

Journey - 'Faithfully'
(click the title for the video)

Metallica - 'Wherever I May Roam'
(click the title for the video)

Both videos show each band aboard their private Rock Star planes, but I think Journey wins because of the insanely dramatic scene where Steve Perry shaves off his moustache, which symbolizes the personal sacrifices the band is making on "The Road". Discuss amongst yourselves. Bay Area Rock Stars... Is there anything they can't do? Don't stop believing... in The METAL.

Click HERE to see Ray's 'Tallica photos from the show.

Shoot To Thrill

AC/DC
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
December 2, 2008

The last time I saw AC/DC was in 1982 on the For Those About To Rock Tour. It's kinda weird how I can recite all of the Bon Scott-era songs by heart without even trying ("He made it out with a bullet in his back.."... "I didn't mean to kill that woman of mine, it was a heart attack.."). As I once said in this space, I've never been an AC/DC fanatic, but the band has always *been there* and I've always had their albums either on vinyl or CD since I was in Junior High. So when it was announced that AC/DC were embarking on their first tour in 8 years, I figured it was time to see them again.

The last time I saw Angus & Co., Ronald Reagan was President and it was a rainy February day at the Cow Palace. My friend and I spent the afternoon in his car eating sandwiches and drinking Southern Comfort. Of course, we were underage and an older co-worker had scored the booze for us, so it was a pretty classic "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" day.


(From the Umlaut Archives)

When you're a teenage Rock fan how can you not like AC/DC, right? The show was solid, however it didn't change my life the way seeing Iron Maiden for the first time did.

Fast forward 26 years (DOH!) and prior to the show I wondered if seeing a 53-year old Angus in a school boy uniform would seem silly. Yes, he's a Guitar God, but shtick is shtick, and Angus' stage costume has seemed dubious as the years go by.. Still, the endearing thing about AC/DC is they've never changed or pandered to the whim of popularity... Like the Ramones and Motörhead, the band has stuck to their guns, kept their songs and image simple, and have transcended the fickle nature of Music in the 21st Century. As I guided the Prius off the freeway I can honestly say I felt like a 15-year old Rocker kid again.

Pic by Umlaut

Any doubts I had about a 53-year old Angus being onstage were blown away the second he did his first trademark Chuck Berry-style duck walk across the stage while soloing.. and he moved practically non-stop for the entire 90 minute set. I was also reminded what a great lead guitarist Angus still is... His solos were dead on fantastic.. not flashy.. but perfect. AND, unlike back in The Day, he wore AC/DC underwear when mooning the audience and saved us having to erase the image of a bare 53-year old Angus ass from our minds. Shoot to kill, way to thrill..

The show was made even better by the amazing sound: CLEAN and LOUD. Of course, they played all the FM radio hits, but I loved how they launched into 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be' for the second song of the set (after opening with the new catchy-as-all-hell single 'Rock N' Roll Train')... I loved how Malcolm and Cliff still wore t-shirts and off the rack jeans onstage. I loved how Phil still smoked cigarettes while playing.. I loved how AC/DC didn't pander to 21st Century political correctness: It was charming in a 70's coke spoon way how their video crew flashed images of women in the crowd on the huge onstage screens during 'The Jack'. Sexist? Yep. Rock N' Roll? Yep. If you can't handle that you can go back to your boring sad kid Indie Rock. There, I said it.. Bye bye.

I've seen many of the new Hard Rock / Metal bands and what bugs me about alot of them is they feel the need to instruct their crowds on what to do during a song ("I want you to start a pit".... "I want you to clap your hands"... etc..). It's as if they've never been to a concert themselves or something... AC/DC knows that a ROCK crowd instinctively knows what to do at a ROCK concert: Band plays song > crowd goes berserk.. which gives their show a sense of spontaneity that lacks with so many of the new bands. Kidz these days don't even fucking know... unless they go see AC/DC of course. You're not a Rocker simply because you play Guitar Hero or Rock Band, dude.

Angus during 'Let There Be Rock' (Video by Umlaut)

Thanks to The Sheriff for the hookup to the show. Given the hysteria around this tour, ticket demand has been, like, off the hook.. as the kids say. An F-U-N show and quite possibly the most F-U-N show of the year for Umlaut. Yes, seeing bands in a club is important... but a quality arena show like AC/DC reminds this old man that there was a time when Rock Stars were larger than life and seemed like Super Heroes... and that was a good thing... and the world was a better place because of it, goddammit.

Scorecard: According to the Umlaut Archives, this was my 23rd visit to Oracle Arena (nee Oakland Coliseum) dating back to a Cheap Trick show in 1979 (Dream Police Tour!). Yes, I keep score... it's on an Excel spreadsheet... I think it's about 90% accurate documenting every concert I've attended since losing my gig cherry in 1978. The Geeks shall inherit The Earth.

Middle age white guys dressed like Angus = 2. If you bought one of every AC/DC merch item you would have paid around $500; I lost track because every merch stand I passed had 2-3 different items than the other ones. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. As I came off the freeway towards Casa de Umlaut I almost hit a raccoon that darted across the street in front of the Prius.. For those about to Rock we salute you, especially you Mr. Raccoon!