Auld Lang Syne

Sorry, guys... but December 2013 was my "lost" month as far as this blog goes.  For various reasons I didn't post show rants... but for the record these were the shows I attended:

12/11 - High On Fire / Kvelertak / Windhand - The Regency, San Francisco
12/11 - Fates Warning - DNA Lounge, San Francisco
12/18 - Megadeth - The Warfield, San Francisco
12/27 - The Oath - The Garage, London, England

Yeah, I've been sort of busy and distracted... blah blah blah.  In short:

• Windhand were great even if they channel Acid King a good bit IMO.  Kvelertak were awesome as usual (one of my fave live bands) and High On Fire were more thunderous than ever but I think I've seen them too many times and need a break, 
• Fates Warning was a nice face time reunion with old friend bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint) and although I don't know anything about Fates Warning (aka I'm a poser) their Prog Metal was really good.
• Yes, 12/11 was a doubleheader night for Umlaut.  The last one was back in April 2012.
• Megadeth was another nice face time reunion with old friends Mr. Mustaine and Mr. Ellefson.  The band played basically the same set as I saw in September with Iron Maiden.
• The Oath were a nice cherry on the top of a great return Christmas visit to my spiritual home city of London (according to my passports it was my 15th visit to the birthplace of NWOBHM since 1995.. crazy how time flies..).  The Oath recently supported Ghost in Germany.  I'm glad I saw the band before their debut album, which is due out later this year on Rise Above Records.

This new year of 2014 marks the 10th Anniversary (TEN... YEARS) of this blog / rant space and at the moment I'm burned out on it.  Honesty is my only excuse.  We'll see if I can get inspired again in the near future.. Fingers crossed.  TEN.. YEARS.  Anyway, Umlaut's 2013 ended with..

Melvins / Redd Kross / Frightwig
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
New Year's Eve 2013

This was a very special bill for Umlaut because the Melvins and Redd Kross were THE two bands I gravitated to the most after I fell out of love with Metal in the mid to late 80's.   These bands specifically helped me to regain an innocent love of bands and music again. I had burned out on Metal and was disillusioned as "my" bands (specifically Metallica) had suddenly become popular with the types of people (specifically jocks) who had previously belittled and marginalized me.  These were the types of people who had made me feel isolated in the world... and music became my best friend... and via this music I suddenly found kindred souls who became my friends.  Then that scene was "gone" in my eyes... and again I felt isolated... but thankfully I was introduced to bands like the Melvins and Redd Kross by roommates and friends and I became obsessed with bands all over again... for the first time.  The Melvins and Redd Kross are as sacred to me as Mercyful Fate and Motörhead; they represent another phase in my life.  Anyway...

Prior to the show I met friends, some of whom I've known for 20 years, for a nice pre-show Thai dinner at Lers Ros Thai... and then we few, we happy few, waded through the human detritus of The Tenderloin and around the corner to the venue.  Sadly, while we were having dinner a 6-year old girl was killed and her mom and younger brother critically injured by an SUV as they crossed the street just around the corner from us.  Awful.

I only watched Frightwig for a couple of songs before going downstairs to say "Hi" to the headliners. Frightwig had Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart, PJ Harvey) playing keyboards!?  Interesting.

According to the Umlaut Archives this was around the 10th time I've seen Redd Kross. They played the perfect setlist that had a song or so from their latest album Researching The Blues and a slew of their most beloved songs like 'Annie's Gone', 'I Hate My School', 'Frosted Flake', 'Pretty Please Me', and 'Jimmy's Fantasy'. When they careened into 'Annie's Gone' I had a profound sense of deja vu back to my late 80's days in San Jose when I was first introduced to Redd Kross by an old roommate in a house we rented on 3rd Street.  Good times.. ain't we lucky we got 'em.  Things came full circle 20 years after the fact when they brought Frightwig onstage to perform 'Crazy World' with them; Redd Kross covered the song back in 1993.   They then closed with a roaring version of 'Deuce' complete with Jeff / Steve recreating the Gene / Ace stage moves just like the old days.

According to the Umlaut Archives this was around the 37th time I've seen the Melvins. Tonight it was the bedrock Melvins / Big Business version of the band performing.  I absolutely love how the Melvins (aka Buzz and Dale) have 2 or 3 different versions of the band that tour and record now; eclectic versatility that keeps their output and performances interesting.  The Melvins (aka Buzz and Dale) have found a way to adapt and change; they are like the cockroach.

Instead of taking to the stage in 2013 and then stopping their set for the obligatory midnight countdown, the Melvins waited until the stroke of midnight and walked onstage in 2014. They were accompanied by a vintage recording of 'Auld Lang Syne' that segued into a loop of the coughing intro from Sabbath's 'Sweet Leaf' as the obligatory balloons fell from the ceiling. Perfect!

I thought it was a nice touch for them to open with the crushing epic 'Hag Me' since 2013 had marked the 20th Anniversary (!!) of the Houdini album.. and 75 minutes or so later the show ended with 'Hung Bunny' / 'Roman Dog Bird' from the Lysol record.  In between those vintage bookends the 4 Horsemen of the Rockalypse played their usual enchanting mix of newer songs (like 'A Growing Disgust'.. 'City Dump'..) as well as more ancient songs that old fans like Umlaut still geek out over (like 'Sweet Willy Rollbar'... 'Your Blessened'..).  The cadence call and response classic that is 'The Water Glass' was a perfect New Year's song. 

As I've probably said before in this space, at this point in my life a Melvins show in San Francisco is as much of a reunion as a concert.  There are at least a couple of old friends from back in The Day who I only see at their shows now... and after being around the band for 20+ years it's nice just to be able to casually chat with the Melvins (aka Buzz and Dale) about different shit now.  It's not like that with some other bands who I've know for that long or even longer.  Anyway...

Footnote:  I can't remember the last time I didn't drink alcohol at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.  It wasn't by choice but because I didn't want to lose my cushy stage right spot and deal with the bar.  Priorities for 2014 have now been set.

I didn't do a merch audit.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  Then 48 hours later, one thing led to another, and I was at a San Jose Sharks game with this perspective:

[Pic courtesy of Old Man Moss]

Then this happened:

[Video courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone]

'Honeybucket' on Ice!  The song was selected by Sharks #22 Dan Boyle who is a big Melvins fan.  Pretty cool, right?   Also a damn fine way to start the New Year which, as I said at the start of this, is the 10th year of me doing this "blog".   Let's see what happens... THANKS for the support.

Neurotica

Redd Kross
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
August 8, 2012


It's been a special week for Umlaut, with 3 of my all time favorite bands visiting The Bay Area within a week of each other. First it was Iron Maiden and Cheap Trick last weekend and then on a Wednesday night it was Redd Kross! Amazingly this was Redd Kross' first show in S.F. in 5 years and I think 1 of only 8 shows the band is playing this Summer.

Warning: Umlaut is in a Non-Metal frame of mind; I've simply burned out on seeing most mid-level Metal bands these days. I need a break from the same-old vocal style and the same old guitar tone and the same old drumming style. Yawn... It will be interesting to see what shows I actually make it out of Casa de Umlaut for in the coming months. I'll come back to The Metal at some point (I always do), but right now Metal is that good friend who's become annoying because we've spent way too much time together. Sorry, Metal... It's not you, it's me.

Anyway, Redd Kross are a very sentimental favorite for Umlaut dating back to the late-80's. After I burned out on Metal the first time back then (TRUE!), they were a band I discovered through an old roommate via their Teen Babes From Monsanto EP and Neurotica album. They reminded me of Cheap Trick and, for the newbies, although they were from L.A. Redd Kross were a big influence on the Seattle Scene that begat Grunge. Fast forward to 2012 and original guitarist Robert Hecker plays on the band's brand new album, but is not touring with them like he did in 2007... which was a bummer.

Anyway, at this point I've seen Redd Kross double digit times and seeing or hearing them is like running into an old friend. The McDonald brothers and their supporting cast of Jason Shapiro on lead guitar and Roy McDonald (no relation.. I think..) on drums walked onstage a bit late at around 10:15pm and flipped the switch on a musical time machine that lasted for a good 80 minutes. As I said earlier, Redd Kross had not visited San Francisco in 5 years and tonight was also only the band's 2nd show here in 15 years (!). It's crazy how time flies, man... but Steve and Jeff McDonald have not aged at all.

[Photo courtesy of Sensory Abuse]

The set was a nice cross section of the band's history. It featured ancient favorites like 'Blow You A Kiss In The Wind', 'Annie's Gone', 'Annette's Got The Hits', and 'Frosted Flake' and also nuggets from the early-90's with 'Lady In The Front Row' and 'Pretty Please Me'. The songs from the band's brand new album Researching The Blues translated great to the stage and, of course, Steve used At Budokan-isms to introduce them ("This is the 1st song off our new album, etc etc"). The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Just as they did the last time they played San Francisco, Jeff and Steve gave a shout out to the city for being "the first" to accept Redd Kross a million years ago. This was followed by their cover of the song 'Crazy World' by the underground 80's S.F. band Frightwig. They also namechecked some of the clubs here like The On Broadway; ironically that space is hosting live events again here in the 21st Century. Nice touch, guys.

Later in the set Jeff's teenage daughter came out for lead vocals on a new non-album song called 'Pop Show' and it was interesting to watch the offspring of Power Pop Royalty (her parents being Jeff and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's) perform. The set also highlighted a of bunch of early Born Innocent-era songs which was also interesting considering that Steve has been resurrecting old L.A. Punk ghosts with OFF! recently.

It was very much a time machine night; I hope someone bootlegged it! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. By the way, Redd Kross have a direct connection to my catchphrase "On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.".. For those who are interested, the story began with this show review from the very first issue of the original Umlaut xeroxed fanzine in 1992:

From Umlaut - Issue #1 (The debut Umlaut review...)
Metallica - Arco Arena, Sacramento - 1/11/92
We were supposed to be on the guest list. We weren't. We were pissed. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. We drove 300+ miles, halfway across the fuckin' state for nothing. Metallica probably cleared $200,000 that night. Corporate rock sucks.

Those pimply-faced teenagers were partying in the back of a pickup truck as we walked back to Big Wayne's car. What that original review didn't say was how Big Wayne and I drove like crazy all the way back to downtown San Jose from Sacramento in time to catch REDD KROSS at the Cactus Club (R.I.P.)! Redd Kross were greater than Metallica in 1992. So there you go and now you know.

"Laughing at all the assholes at The Rainbow.."

Bands Of Brothers

Trivia: 3/4 of the bands in this post feature siblings in their lineups. Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Jesus & Mary Chain
The Fillmore, San Francisco
October 26, 2007

Band Of Brothers: Jim (vox) and William (guitar) Reid.

As I drank my beer (Thanks Raymond!) I remembered that 20 years ago (TWENTY YEARS!?) I was at The Fillmore seeing JMC... The Darklands Tour... The first time I saw a show at The Fillmore.. The Reid Brothers had a drum machine instead of a drummer. I'm sure I was drunk or stoned. These two nights at The Fillmore here in the 21st Century were the first JMC shows in S.F. in some years.

You know, Jesus & Mary Chain have been one of my favorite bands for a long, long time.. but I kinda look at them through rose-colored glasses because, truth be told, they've never been the most stellar live band. Tonight was no exception.

All the hits were rolled out... I mean, 'Head On' was the second song of the set.. and hearing others like 'Just Like Honey', 'Darklands', and 'Some Candy Talking' were gleat.. but I'm just not into the shoegazing stage demeanor at this point in my life; love the songs though.. I also still worship William Reid's guitar tone. Fookin' gleat, dontchaknow... Oh, and the drummer from Ride was onstage with them too.. and you know he's gazed at his shoes a good bit in the past.

If you bought one of every Jesus & Mary Chain merch item you would have paid $150. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Speaking of cars: As we walked back to the car I received a text from Miatomic informing me that she had recovered her beloved car that had been stolen a month earlier!! STUNNING.

"... and the way I feel tonight, I could die and I wouldn't mind."

High On Fire / Mono
The Independent, San Francisco
October 28, 2007

High On Fire's latest album is their best one yet and the local lads have definitely taken things to the next level. Their two night homecoming stand at The Independent was a highlight of Umlaut's Rocktober calendar for sure, like, totally.

The Umlaut Nation was out in force on this evening, but my communication with everyone should have been better since I didn't know some of them were going to be there.. Sorry.. but a shout out to Todd, Lori, Timo, Johnny, Joey, Eric, Raymond, Robin, and John.

Under different circumstances I would have really dug Mono... but I just wasn't in the mood for bombastic Japanese rock instrumentals tonight. That being said I did venture to their merch table after their set to get one of their CDs, but the line was too long... so I bailed.

High On Fire remind me of another local Bay Area Metal band who rose out of the local scene many years ago. They have that same kind of fire and charisma onstage... Let's just hope Matt and company don't decide to film a self-serving documentary about their personal lives anytime soon. Just keep it about the music, lads... Keep it about the MUSIC.

Man, as much as I love High On Fire, their merch was really underwhelming; if only there was another merch company out there for them. If you bought one of every High On Fire merch item you would have paid over $315. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Before the gig I realized that the laundromat on the corner of Divisadero / Hayes is now the fancy restaurant I've been hearing about for awhile. Wow... I need to get out more.

Gojira
Slim's, San Francisco
October 29, 2007

Band Of Brothers: Joe (vox / guitar) and Mario (drums) Duplantier.

BONJOUR FRENCH METAL! This was Gojira's first visit to S.F. and, although they were 2nd on the bill, the crowd treated them as if they were the headliners (who, for the record, were Behemoth and Job For A Cowboy..). A chant of "Gojira!! Gojira!" started up before the band even hit the stage... and when they did hit the stage the packed crowd was going OFF from the first note. C'est manifique!

Fook me... but Gojira was the most brutal live band I've seen in awhile.. Machine like precision and monstrous stage presence. It was cool hearing a singer say "MERCI BEAUCOUP!!" but in a tone that other Metal singers say "MOTHERFUCKER!".. The French have such a beautiful way of saying things (*sigh*).

This was the type of show that reminded me why I love going to Metal shows most of all... In the line out front a couple of Metal kidz asked if they'd be able to get in even though they were under 18.. To quote Neil Young: "Old man, take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you were.." The kidz got in of course... However, Timo and I bailed after Gojira 'cause it was a Monday night... so I suppose we were fronting (as they say in The 'Hood).. but at least those kidz will carry on our Metal legacy. Go forth and do great things in the name of METAL, my lads.

Gojira only had 1 shirt, their 2 CDs, and their live DVD for sale.. but no prices were posted. Oh well. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Ummm... I'm hungry for some French food right about now.. NO ONE does trout like the French, man. No one.

Redd Kross
Slim's, San Francisco
November 9, 2007

Band Of Brothers: Jeff (vox / guitar) and Steve (bass) McDonald.

Wow.. I couldn't believe it had been 10 years (TEN YEARS?!) since the last time Redd Kross played in S.F.!! Redd Kross are one of my all time favorite bands - Top 5 for sure. Remember when they'd open with their note perfect cover of 'Deuce' that included a perfect recreation of KISS' 1975 stage choreography? Me 2. Were you at the Butthole Surfers / Redd Kross show? Me 2! Did you see The Spirit Of '76 in the theater when it came out? ME 2!! Redd Kross are a band that takes me back to a very specific time in my life and their music reminds me of very specific people... but in a good way.

Twas the original Neurotica era lineup and they opened with some OLD songs: 'Linda Blair' > 'Annette's Got The Hits'.. It was a time warp, man... 'Annette's Got The Hits'! Wow.. Every time I've seen Redd Kross, since Day 1, I've always had a smile on my face during the show.. and here in the 21st Century it was no different.

Trivia: The 1984 Teen Babes From Monsanto record has only been released on CD as a 1992 Australian Tour CD. Good luck finding it... but I can burn it for you if you want. Umlaut went through a maniacal Redd Kross geek phase once upon a time... so I have all that stuff. Just lemme know.

The show was billed as "career spanning" and it was.. Pretty much all of the old hits were trotted out: 'Blow You A Kiss In The Wind', 'Annie's Gone', 'Jimmy's Fantasy', 'Frosted Flake', etc. etc. The kicker was the band played the songs in chronological order, which was a nice touch.. The band would play 2-3 songs from an early release, followed by 2-3 songs from the next record, and so on.. and then start the cycle over again. Besides that they also threw in a couple of surprises.

Back in The Day, Redd Kross were the quintessential Music Geek / Pop Culture band.. At their last S.F. show 10 years ago (TEN YEARS?!) they pulled out a cover of my fave Kinks song 'Til The End Of The Day'.. and here in the 21st Century they lived up to that by performing an out-of-left field cover of PJ Harvey's 'Rid Of Me'... Woah!

Of course, the set closed with 'Peach Kelli Pop'.. The definitive Redd Kross song, right? Dude, they played for 2 hours and it was so much fun seeing the McDonald brothers onstage again.. They may have cut off their matching waist-length hair years ago, but the spirit is still there. Dog Bless Them!

At one point Steve McDonald name checked S.F. clubs Redd Kross has played over the years: The Farm, The On Broadway, The I-Beam, The Kennel Club... Nicely done. R.I.P. all of them.

If you bought one of every Redd Kross merch item you would have paid $30; the 2 shirts for sale were the same ones they sold 10 years ago. Good thing someone kept them in their attic! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. This was one of those shows that reminded me of where I've been... but in a good way.

"Laughing at all the assholes at The Rainbow flying high on coke... what a joke."