Home Cooking

High On Fire / Black Cobra / Embers
The Uptown, Oakland, California
August 27, 2011

Home cooking is the best and this show was the volume equivalent of that with 3 of the Bay Area's best hometown bands on the bill. After going to Will Call to make sure I was on the guest list, Photo Ray and I walked over to Luka's for pre-show grub and libations. We then returned to The Uptown just as Matt Pike arrived in the passenger seat of a Honda. You know you're seeing a show in Oakland when Matt Pike gets out of a Honda and picks up a No Parking cone and throws it across the sidewalk into a building so his friend can park the car.

We arrived as Embers were already well into their set and while they sounded great I opted to go back to the bar to get a pint. It was going to be that kind of show. Black Cobra detonated onstage at 10:00pm and, as at the recent Eyehategod show, I was once again glad to experience one of my favorite bands in front of an enthusiastic alcohol-fueled East Bay crowd. I don't think I've ever seen a legitimate pit going during a Black Cobra show, but tonight featured a lively drunken one. The action included beer cups being thrown at the stage and bodies hitting the floor during practically every song...

Those crazy kidz... Truth be told, I've been a bad friend and the last time I'd seen Jason and Rafa onstage was 9 months ago (!). Sorry, guys... Despite having recently completed a new album (Invernal... out on Southern Lord this Fall..), no new songs were played and Black Cobra kept the set to an excellent cross section from all of their current releases... and for 40 minutes the boys whipped up a long haired thrash fest that made my 9 month absence from their shows melt away.

Photo courtesy of Photo Ray

More so than at other Black Cobra shows that I've seen, the crowd was in mayhem mode from the very first note of 'Negative Reversal'. This was the band's first Oakland show in awhile, and the best part about seeing shows in the East Bay is that the hipster element is outnumbered by the drunken crusty element... and that means more fun for your volume and more bodies flying around the room as the band works it onstage. My favorite salvos of the night were the groove monsters 'Frozen Night' and 'Chronomega'... but the entire set was absolutely ferocious on every level. As Rafa hit the final beat to close 'Swords For Teeth' and held his sticks aloft like the severed head of a defeated foe, I felt the performance, combined with the crowd action, was probably the best Black Cobra set I've seen since I started following them in 2006. For what it's worth Black Cobra's symphony of destruction went like this:

• Negative Reversal
• Machine
• Red Tide
• Storm Shadow
• Five Daggers
• Frozen Night
• Omniscient
• The Cry Of Melora
• The Sapphire Falcon
• Chronosphere
• Swords For Teeth

By the end of Black Cobra's set the room was crowded, hot, and sweaty so we retired to the bar until we heard the thunder of High On Fire starting up. Alas, the hallway to get back into the main area was jammed with humans and I was not in the mood to fight my way back to the stage. After listening to the opening salvo of 'Frost Hammer' into 'Blood From Zion' into 'Waste Of Tiamat' I was done with not being able to see the stage and being oppressed by the heat and sweat of the space... So, since this was already my 5th High On Fire show since the release of Snakes Of Divine last year, we cut our loses and beat an early retreat back across The Bay Bridge.

Yeah, it wasn't really a complete night of Rock but it was sufficient for Umlaut. Black Cobra were my priority because it had been awhile since I'd seen Jason and Rafa in full roar and that was worth the trip to the 510 alone. Also, hearing High On Fire thunder while looking at the backs of people standing on chairs who are trying to see the stage is still better than being down front for most other bands... but since I'm an Old Fart I wasn't in the mood to experience an entire show that way.

Anyway, I didn't do a merch audit. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. There was a nerd wearing his 1999 Metallica fan club t-shirt but I'm sure he was down front for High On Fire and I wasn't... so who's the poser?

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's combat shots from the night!

Cat House

The Head Cat
The Uptown, Oakland, California
September 15, 2010


For the newbies: The Head Cat is a cover band featuring Lemmy on bass / vox, Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) on drums, and Danny Harvey on guitar. The band plays vintage Rock and Country songs and is active whenever Lemmy’s other band is on a break from touring; Lemmy is like a shark and must keep moving. Normally a cover band is Umlaut’s mortal enemy; I can’t stand them (Sorry to all of Umlaut’s friends who are in cover bands, but I'm just being honest..). However, I accept The Head Cat because it’s LEMMY’S cover band. I saw The Head Cat a couple of years ago and it was a revelation seeing Lemmy performing songs that he obviously loves and that inspired him in his Salad Days; with The Head Cat Lemmy is basically being a Music Geek onstage.

The Uptown was crowded but not packed... WTF!? It was LEMMY playing A BAR in OAKLAND. When was the last time Lemmy even set foot in the heart of Raider Nation?! My guess is 1988… seriously. Most of those in attendance were tattooed Rockabilly types supporting The Head Cat because of their fandom of Slim Jim and Danny. If the passing of Ronnie James Dio taught us anything it's that Metalheads need to see their old heroes at every possible opportunity. It was shameful that Old Metalheads didn’t show up en masse to support Lemmy! This is someone who many Old Metalheads claim is one of their “Metal Gods” and yet most of the local Metal types stayed away from this gig. Shameful! Lemmy not getting Metal support in The East Bay of all places was pathetic... There, I said it. However, at least the Umlaut Nation was nicely represented… so a shout out to Photo Ray, DeVito, The Talent, Scapparo, Stacy, Wexford Girl, and The Bassist.

Lemmy and the guys casually walked onstage at around 11:10pm and took off with ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ and for the next 75 minutes or so it was pure F-U-N. The setlist was basically a mirror of the one I saw in 2008 with songs by Eddie Cochran ('Somethin' Else'), Buddy Holly ('Not Fade Away'), CCR ('Suzie Q'), Johnny Cash ('Big River'), and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates ('Shakin' All Over') among others. If you can't recognize the connection that these vintage songs have with the roots of Lemmy and Motörhead then you shouldn't wear a Motörhead shirt… and because of the stripped down format (vocals, bass, guitar, 2 half stacks, snare drum / tom tom / kick drum / cymbals), Lemmy’s Bass God status was on display like a punch to the sternum.

Photo courtesy of Photo Ray

As with the show I saw in 2008, the highlight of the set was The Head Cat's version of the Stray Cats' mega hit 'Rock This Town' with Slim Jim on vocals. There were certainly a lot of drunk chicks and dudes in the crowd, especially for a Wednesday night. Those Rockabilly kidz sure know how to have a good time with their alcohol; the crowd action was more drunk dancing than thrashing. At one point one of the drunk Rockabilly chicks grabbed my hand and twirled me around a couple of times before she spun staggered back towards the stage. Cute.

Lemmy's onstage demeanor is so different when fronting The Head Cat vs. Motörhead. He looks happier and more relaxed. He smiles onstage and talks more to the crowd. He wears Creepers instead of cowboy boots. He wears a comfortable looking cowboy hat instead of a black military-style calvary hat. Seeing Lemmy be that way up close and personal should be a revelation for anybody who claims to be a Motörhead fan; it's as close to seeing "the real" Lemmy as you'll ever get. He’s a Lock ‘N Loll God, but he’s also a fan of Lock ‘N Loll.

Photo courtesy of Photo Ray

Number of Motörhead shirts = 2 (ONLY TWO). If you you bought one of every Head Cat merch item you would have paid $40; whoever does their merch did a fine job I must say. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags..... Dude, LEMMY played A BAR in OAKLAND and the Metalheads were outnumbered in the crowd. Bay Area Metalheads, sometimes I feel like I don't even know you. Those who fail to learn from History are destined to listen to crap music. The Head Cat can be explained by this simple progression:

Vintage Motown original > Motörhead cover version > The Head Cat

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night.

Tired

For the record, Umlaut is having an amazing Music Geek month of April so far...

Leonard Cohen
The Paramount Theatre, Oakland, CA
April 15, 2009

Umlaut was introduced to Leonard Cohen via Nick Cave's covers of 'Avalanche' and 'Tower Of Song' way back a million years ago.. However, I missed Cohen when he last toured 15 years ago, but it must be noted that Cohen's music was part of my soundtrack during my "What The Fuck Am I Doing With My Life" period circa the late-80's / early-90's.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I was in the mood or mindset to see Leonard Cohen.. For the past week, Umlaut had been completely caught up in Green Day's Power Pop Punk Fury and their Bay Bridge Tour. Anyway, this was the final show of Cohen's 3-night stand in Oakland... and on this night Umlaut wore his Anvil (Toronto) - Metal On Metal shirt to honor Cohen (Quebec) and the other Canadian musicians. Oh, Canada!

Despite the rave reviews I heard about his first 2 Oakland shows, I had no idea what to expect from a 75-year old (!) Cohen. However, all doubts vanished after his band took their places and Cohen literally ran onstage and gave a flawless performance over the next 3 HOURS, with only a 25 minute intermission in between. Holy shit.

All I can say is: THAT VOICE and THOSE LYRICS... Songs like 'Chelsea Hotel #2'.. 'Bird On The Wire'.. 'Famous Blue Raincoat'.. 'So Long, Marianne'.. 'The Partisan'... 'Hallelujah'.. and, my favorite, 'Suzanne'.. WOW. I realized that this was the perfect time for me to be seeing Cohen since it balanced out my previous 8 days of Metal and Power Pop Punk Fury experiences.

(Pic by Umlaut)

Although I was fortunate to be sitting only 15 rows back, I'm sure Cohen's charisma and humor projected back to the upper seats of the balcony.. and his band were all top notch and sublime in backing his performance. Indeed, a very grown up event.. but also one that engaged my brain in a profound way. Halfway through the performance I was thankful that my brain allows me to go from Metal > Power Pop Punk Fury > Leonard Cohen and appreciate it all. Music, man... Is there anything it can't do? Seriously.

THANKS to The Sheriff for inviting me to be part of his posse for the show. Trivia: We were sitting directly behind Victor Krummenacher of Camper van Beethoven; for a moment I wanted to take the skinheads bowling.

Anvil shirts = 1 (mine). If you bought one of each Leonard Cohen merch item you would have paid around $500.; he had a shitload of merch, man! After the show, The Sheriff and I walked around the corner to check out the scene at the latest Green Day sneak show at The Uptown...

Green Day
The Uptown, Oakland, CA
April 15, 2009

Evidently this was the final show of Green Day's week-long Bay Bridge Tour.

I was planning just to say "Hi" to Tour Manager Doug (TMD) and then split for home.. Instead, as we walked up to The Uptown at around 11:25PM, TMD was actually working the door and slapped wristbands on us, so we entered the tiny club that was a packed sweat box. I'm keeping this short so this space doesn't become a Green Day fan site and I lose even more of my overrated cred with Metalheads.

Yes, they played the entire new album again but we only caught the last 3 songs. Yes, they opened the encores with a great cover of The Buzzcocks - 'Ever Fallen In Love'. Yes, they also played 'Ziggy Stardust' (sort of..) and 'The Midwest Medley' (Cheap Trick - 'Surrender' > The Replacements - 'Bastards Of Young'). Yes, it was fun watching The Kidz go off when they launched into 'Basket Case'. Yes, a kid climbed on the PA and jumped off after Billie Joe told him "Don't be a pussy! Jump!!"

I noticed David Fricke from Rolling Stone watching the band and jotting notes down on his old school journalist notepad.. I stopped to tell him we had met in Cleveland and he may or may not have remembered me, but he said "Right! Cool, man!" anyway. If he really did recognize me, hopefully he didn't think I was stalking him.. since this was the 3rd time we'd been in the same room in 2 weeks... but I think he was wearing the same clothes that he wore to Metallica's party and at The Fox.

After about an hour I decided it was time to go home; 6 shows in 8 days (including 4 Green Day gigs) had caught up with me and I was tired. I didn't realize I was that tired until I almost ran into a barback carrying a bucket of ice on my way out. Sorry, dude.

As always, THANKS to Tour Manager Doug. Keep it real out there, my brother.

If you bought one of every Green Day merch item you would have paid $80. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. I walked into Casa de Umlaut at around 1:00AM; I had traversed decades of my Music Geekdom in the course of one night with Leonard Cohen > Green Day.. which was pretty fucking cool. Music, man... Is there anything it can't do? Seriously.

Sleep.... good.