Just Like Honey

The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Warfield, San Francisco
May 16, 2015

This run of special shows celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Jesus And Mary Chain's seminal debut album was limited to 10 shows in 9 North American cities.. with 2 of those shows in San Francisco that included tonight's opening night sell out.  However, since this show was originally announced in January it kind of snuck up on me these 4 months later.   Part of me had second thoughts about why I wanted to attend since the last time I saw JAMC 8 years ago the show had left me underwhelmed (mainly because Jim Reid left his voice at home that night).  However, The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and tonight ended up being one of my favorite shows of the year so far.

For better or worse, I completely ignored the opening set by The Black Ryders due to lobby socializing... This despite the fact that the wife of Ian Astbury of The Cult is in the band.. and evidently he was in attendance.  Oh well...  Anyway, after being around 30 minutes late, the Jesus And Mary Chain walked onto a dark stage... Jim Reid mumbled something in Scottish... and the band slid into a mesmerizing half hour, 7-song opening set of hits and other songs not on the Psychocandy album.  This portion of the evening featured the band on a minimalist stage with literally only white lights and white strobes to punctuate the songs.

The opening blast of 'April Skies' into 'Head On' got the crowd into the show and behind the band perfectly and immediately.  I was hard pressed to remember the last time a band opened a show with a pair of their most well-known songs like that.  Other bands should take note and for the record 'Reverence' was the highlight of the set for me ("I wanna die just like Jesus Christ.. I wanna die on a bed of spikes.."). It was fookin' gleat!  Then it was time for the main attraction of the evening.

After the opening set the band left the stage briefly.. and then returned accompanied by a blast of onstage color via a video screen backdrop that had not been used during the graphite themed opening set.  The unexpected blast of color was jarring as it flashed the iconic Psychocandy album cover and then thematic archival film footage and images for the second half of the show.  The video presentation fit perfectly as the band launched into the debut album from start to finish.

  [Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

Tonight was far and away the best JAMC show I've seen in years and completely different than the last time I saw them at that bad 2007 Fillmore show.  It was compelling how strong and booming Jim's voice was tonight and I was reminded that William's dirty guitar fuzz tone is one of my favorites this side of Tony Iommi.  Whatever the Reid brothers have done to recapture their magic onstage left me almost teary-eyed because I've loved their songs so much over the years.. decades... lifetimes.

As the album's 14 songs unfolded onstage I remembered how cutting edge Psychocandy was when it was released... which seems weird now.  When I first heard the album in 1986 not long after its release it was so abrasive and non-traditional.  Like the Velvet Underground being put into a blender while the blender was being crushed by a hydraulic press.  Fast forward to the 21st Century and it's amazing how obvious JAMC's influence has been on the generation(s) of bands who followed them. 

Long story short:  In the mid-80's, as most others were just getting their denim vests dirty with Thrash Metal, Umlaut basically dropped out of the Metal Scene.  Metal was getting more popular, people who had previously dismissed me for being a Metalhead were suddenly showing up at Metal shows.  I grew disillusioned with Metal and I sought out other music to engage me that was still underground.  It was then that JAMC became one of my all-time favorite bands.  They managed to melt and form a sound that was based on so many bands I came to love after I dropped out of the Metal Scene... Music by the likes of Phil Spector, the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, and the MC5.  There was, and is, life outside of Metal.  Thank dog.

Other "80's bands" trot out a vintage album live and play it track for track but sound dated and the performance coming off like a desperate attempt to show relevancy here in the 21st Century.  Watching JAMC perform Psychocandy was the complete opposite of that.  Not everything that is old is irrelevant.  When the Reid Brothers have their shit together they're still a force.

If you bought one of every JAMC merch item I think you would have paid around $200.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. It's not often an old favorite band from another life proves why they're still great to me. Just like honey.

The Return Of The King

King Diamond 

The Warfield, San Francisco

October 30, 2014

This was quite an epic week in San Francisco! The night before the San Francisco Giants got it done and improbably brought the World Series Championship back to The Bay.  CRAZY!  Ironically, this show also fell within a few days of the 30th Anniversary of Mercyful Fate's first visit to San Francisco:

[From the Umlaut Archives]

If I remember correctly, this was King's first U.S. Tour in 6 years.  Of course, the excitement around this trek was completely justified; the S.F. show was sold out around 2 months in advance.  It's not often a bona fide event like this comes to town.  It was an obvious reminder that, compared to Metal legacy acts like King Diamond, few recent Metal bands have the same level of mystique and history that can turn grown men into screaming little school girls... unless maybe it's Baby Metal. Discuss amongst yourselves.

After a little bit of Will Call drama I found myself in the lobby during the support band surrounded by many old friends, some of whom I've known since we were teenagers.  This included an old Metal penpal named Brian Slagel who still pursues his teenage hobby of putting out records by Metal bands.  It was cool to chat and catch up with Mr. Slagel again.  The entire lobby experience tonight was all a nice full circle moment.  Curiously, members of Rancid were also there.  I guess there wasn't a Punk show tonight?

When the houselights switched off the pent up anticipation, worship, and excitement that everyone in the room had been feeling exploded.  When King appeared onstage a lot of people.. for lack of a better term.. lost their shit.

[Photos courtesy of Photo Ray]

I'll come clean and say I've never been a big fan of King's solo material.  Mercyful Fate were and are one of the most important bands in my life... but I never gravitated towards King's other material as profoundly.  Honesty is my only excuse.  However, the stage show was one of most theatrical Metal performances (in a good way) that you could hope to witness.  Since King is such a larger than life figure, the fact that he was able to bring his full European stage production here in 2014 was nothing short of a blessing.  From the cemetery gates that divided the band from the audience for the first songs, to the simple iconic backdrops, to the excellent multi-level backline it was a show I can only imagine was life changing for the youngest fans in attendance.

 [Photos courtesy of Cable Car]

Combine that with some entertaining theatrical moments with characters such as Grandma (!) during 'Welcome Home' and later her burning during 'Cremation' and it was one of the best value for money shows you could hope for in this day and age.  More Metal shows should have magic tricks onstage IMO!  Of course, on top of all this magic was King and his top notch band of veteran musicians.  They were all solid and King sounded GREAT!  Given his recent health issues, it would be easy to expect King not to be able to perform to the same level of his past and cut him some slack... but there was obviously a reason why he's waited so long to return to the stage.  Recovery.  Rebirth.  His voice was top notch and his charisma was still undeniable... and when he and the band launched into a Mercyful Fate double shot of 'Evil' into 'Come To The Sabbath' the 3,000 or so in attendance.. for lack of a better term.. lost their shit.  As a bonus since it was that time of year, the set also included an especially nice version of 'Halloween' during the encores.

Hail Satan!  Go Giants!!

If you bought one of every King Diamond merch item you would have paid around $300 I think.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  I don't know what else to say... and I also don't think I said enough.  King has been one of my heroes since before I could buy alcohol legally and it's a special thing to know that one of my heroes is still basically at the top of his game. 

"Grandma, welcome home..  You have been gone for far too long.. Is this a dream?  Are you really back?"

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

He Who Cannot Be Named

Samhain/ Goatwhore / Kyng
The Warfield, San Francisco
September 20, 2014

Tonight was one of only 6 Samhain "reunion" shows scheduled for this year featuring 3/4 of the original band and the guy from Baroness filling in on guitar.  The week prior to the show I listened to Samhain again for the first time in awhile and I was surprised how Goth they sounded... something I guess I never thought about before.  Am I a poser or what?  Anyway, if only all shows were this easy:

This was the magical All Access wristband for Samhain in San Francisco... and then this happened:

Long story short:  Sitting on a dressing room couch next to Glenn as he told anecdotes about Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig Bay Area shows back in the old days was kinda surreal.  He also rattled off a couple of Cliff Burton and Jaymz Hetfield stories. Say what you will about Danzig, he was really cool and genuine to me.  I was surprised how much he remembered.. The Mabuhay.. The On Broadway.. The Stone..etc. He even mentioned the Mabuhay show later onstage.  Anyway...

I guess I should mention the support bands:  To be honest,  I've not listened to much if anything by Kyng but, because of my face time with the headliner, I only saw a sliver of their set as they played a cover of Van Halen's 'Hot For Teacher'.  The Umlaut Archives say that I've seen Goatwhore at least 10x now and if you've seen one of their Satanic sets you've seen them all... which isn't meant to be a negative... but maybe it comes off like it... so maybe it is..  Honesty is my only excuse.   Anyway...

Evidently there was a "no camera" policy in effect at the show but I wasn't aware of it until long after the show was over.  Oooops...

The view from the soundboard

The set was basically the Initium and November Coming Fire albums played in their entirety... which meant 'All Murder, All Guts, All Fun' and 'He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named' got the night's festive energy going early in the set as a result.  One thing that was obvious was how engaged Glenn was performing these songs compared to the most recent Danzig show I saw last year.  Samhain obviously still means alot to him and his demeanor onstage reflected that; he wasn't going through the motions.  

The first half of the show featured Initium with such "hits" as 'Horror Biz' and closing with 'Archangel' featuring Glenn on guitar. The second half of the night focused on November Coming Fire and was actually better.  Original members Steve Zing and London May traded places on bass and drums and it was interesting seeing the different energy each brought to those roles onstage.  London May had more of a swing to his drumming that kicked up the energy a notch more for those songs IMO.

During the set I wondered how many in attendance in the half full venue were there because they knew Samhain songs or because Glenn Danzig was performing.  You have to admit that Samhain is basically Glenn's deep cuts, right?  The night's final song was the Misfits 'Halloween II' which seemed to hit the "Hey! I know this song!" nerve with the majority of the half full venue.  Not that it mattered... I thought it was a solid set and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

It's a shame that Glenn has become the public figure that he is now here in the 21st Century; an easy target for ridicule and jokes.  The Misfits and the first couple of Danzig albums still completely hold up in my book... and Samhain is under appreciated.   Still... It's impossible not to laugh at Henry & Glenn Forever.

THANKS to Wedge for sorting me.  I didn't do a merch audit tonight..  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. All in all not bad for a Saturday night in San Francisco.

Old Friends

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The Warfield, San Francisco
July 7 and 8, 2014

Some trivia:  These shows were Umlaut's 20th and 21st times seeing Nick Cave dating back to 1990.  It was also the 12th and 13th times I've seen him at The Warfield.  As I've said several times in this space over the years, Nick Cave is my favorite songwriter... and he's also the only artist whose art has seemed to grow with me over the years and kept me engaged.  Yes, some of his albums have left me less interested than others, but I'm not one of those fans who only listens to his "old" stuff.   I'm a fan of the complete oeuvre of Cave (fancy word... Google it..).

NIGHT ONE:   Prior to the show I met up with a couple of old friends for dinner which was a nice opening act.  Also, while passing the line in front of The Warfield on my way to dinner I ran into 2 other old friends who I had not seen in awhile.  Cave shows bring people out of the woodwork.

Mark Lanegan and his deep I-fell-down-a well-while-lost-in-the-forest voice was the perfect opener for Cave tonight.  Also, his presence was made even more valuable when he sang 'The Weeping Song' with Cave & the Bad Seeds later in the night.. but I'm getting ahead of myself.

One thing I always geek out on when Nick & the Bad Seeds come into town is how the Bad Seeds are configured onstage.  This tour's configuration seemed to have the band members more segregated than in the past but I guess it's to give Nick more room to roam.  As with the performances last year, Nick worked the stage in an aggressive way that I haven't seen since his iconic early-90's shows.  I don't know what's gotten into him but it's pretty amazing.

The old warhorses like 'Tupelo', 'From Her To Eternity', and 'The Mercy Seat' still hold up, but I think my favorite song of the night was the newest song 'Jubilee Street' with its slow build up that smashes against the wall driven by that maniac Warren Ellis on violin.  Does anyone else remember Warren when he first visited San Francisco in 1995 with his band the Dirty Three wearing an AC/DC t-shirt onstage?  It's almost impossible to imagine it's the same person.  The deep cut tonight was the very vintage 'Sad Waters' (!) which hasn't been in a Nick setlist in 11 years.   The 4-song encore was given a special nod when Nick asked a fan down front what they wanted to hear, he listened, notified the band who switched instruments, and they launched into 'Jack The Ripper'.  Nice.

After the show this happened:

The backstage action was very sedate and the only Bad Seed milling around was Jim Sclavunos; I don't think I can name another drummer who is almost 7 feet tall.  Then 24 hours later it was...

NIGHT TWO: Prior to the show I met up with several old friends for dinner which was a nice opening act.  From experience, for some reason the 2nd night is always better when seeing a band on back to back nights and this is especially true with Nick & the Bad Seeds.  Night #2 in San Francisco was even more intense right out of the gate... Although the set tonight was 1 song shorter but who was counting (I was of course.. but anyway..).  There were multiple deep cuts pulled out including 'Do You Love Me' and the extremely vintage 'Watching Alice' (!); both songs evidently have not been played live in 11 years.

Unfortunately almost 2 weeks has passed since these shows and my post show excitement and inspiration has faded with time... so writing this post mortem of these special nights isn't as fiery as I would like.  All I can finish up with is that Nick Cave is literally the only artist and musician who has kept me completely engaged as profoundly as the when I first fell into that dark space of his creativity many years ago.  It's a very rare artist who can perform a song from his first album that was released 30 years ago and have it be as menacing and relevant sounding as it did in the last century, but that's what Nick did with 'From Her To Eternity' both nights.

It's an even rarer artist who can pull the past into the present so easily and then minutes later slam the here and now down with compelling songs released only a year ago.  For those wanting to know the score, Nick & the Bad Seeds played 22 songs from his cavernous catalog over the 2 San Francisco sessions this time around. Seeing Cave is still a reality check for me about what I value about music and the experience of being a Music Geek.  Metal is like having a cold beer.  Cave is like having that cold beer followed by a glass of wine with an amazing meal.  Food analogies!  Discuss amongst yourselves.

If you bought one of every Cave merch item you would have paid around $470; as much as I love Nick his merch has always been boring.  Oh well... as long as his art doesn't suffer.  On the way back to the car both nights, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  A special shout out to The Sheriff, who has been my Cave fanboy compatriot since 2001.  It's trippy how 25 years of following an artist can go by just... like.. that:

1990 - 2013

Good Friday

Motörhead / Graveyard
The Warfield, San Francisco
April 18, 2014 

Lemmy visiting San Francisco on Good Friday was very appropriate, right?  Amen.

Thanks to Coachella's popularity and it now hosting 2 consecutive weekends of sunburned hipsters, San Francisco benefits by having some of its main bands spending the off week traveling the 500 miles north to play here as well.  This year Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey (as well as Graveyard) made the trip.  Tonight was also #5 of only 6 Motörhead shows currently scheduled for North America this year.  Special.

[Full disclosure:  Umlaut also saw that other Coachella band Queens of the Stone Age the night before... It was around the 6th time I've seen QOTSA dating back to their club days but I'm not gonna rant about them here because there's not really much to say.  The band was good and the show was ridiculously sold out to the rafters... but the venue (the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium) is awful. Arena Rock is alive and well.. but I could easily have stayed at home.  At least I had some quality face time with friends.  Anyway...]

Before heading over to The Warfield I sat with a couple of old friends at the legendary TuLan.  Amidst the greasy spoon Vietnamese ambiance we had good food and a spirited conversation about the ironic brilliance of the lyrics and videos of Judas Priest.  I wanna go hot rockin'!  Then we few, we happy few, made the short walk over to the venue.  If only all shows were this easy:

"All Axxxes"

Tonight was sold out in advance and I'm sure many in attendance were motivated by the same thought: "This could be the last time..".  Yes, a morbid motivation but if it meant Lemmy playing in front of an adoring sold out house then so be it.  I'm still haunted by the memory of seeing what turned out to be Ronnie James Dio's final Bay Area show in this same room and it was not sold out. Blasphemy... so kudos to my hometown for showing Lemmy and Motörhead respect!  I've been seeing them in this venue dating back to 1982 and I'm pretty sure they've played The Warfield more than any other Bay Area venue.

I finally *got* Graveyard tonight.  I will admit that the last time I saw them 2 years ago I was completely bored and left early.  Yes, I'm a poser but I'm also not above admitting when I'm wrong.  Graveyard were awesome this time.  There's something about Scandinavian bands doing American-style Rock that works better than most American bands.  In order to play this type of Rock well you have to have swagger... and since Scandinavians in general have a natural swagger that's probably why around half the bands I like are from that region.  Sorry America; the foreigners do *our* Rock better.

The backstage scene tonight was less crowded and more subdued than past Motörhead shows here.  Yes, Matt of High On Fire, Phil of Machine Head, and Chuck of Testament were there to give it that local Rock Star flavor.  There were also enough old friends with the right backstage pass who made being downstairs worthwhile since we could talk and not have to yell at each other to be heard.  Old people problems...

Back upstairs at around 10:15pm the houselights went off and there was a legitmate roar from the crowd as Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey walked onstage.  There are not many bands with an aura of legend like Motörhead and I was taken aback how emo I suddenly got seeing them onstage again.  I immediately geeked out that Lemmy was not playing his usual dark wood and elaborately carved Rickenbacker but was armed with an older, lighter colored Rick tonight.  I wonder what happened to his weapon of choice?

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

Then Lemmy growled his standard introduction of "We are Motörhead!!  And we play Rock 'N Roll!" and they launched into the vintage 'Damage Case'... and then proceeded to tear shit down with 4 more vintage classics in succession:  'Stay Clean', 'Metropolis', 'Over The Top', 'The Chase Is Better Than The Catch'.  Yes, they're the same vintage songs the band has played on the last couple of tours but hearing them in the context of this time in the band's history made it a very special sequence.  Also, midway through the set Phil Campbell said from the stage that The Warfield was the first place in the U.S. where he played with Motörhead.. which would have been this epic show:

 San Francisco - 1985

Pretty cool, right?!  Yes, Umlaut was there that night... and Motörhead had the legendary Bomber lighting rig with them.  Epic only begins to describe it.

As the condensed set steamrolled towards its conclusion with a profound version of 'Killed By Death' I suddenly got caught up in the moment and panicked.  I realized this could possibly be the last time I see Motörhead for at least a long time... 30+ years of fandom and worship exploded in my brain and, since I knew from experience what songs were coming next, I pushed my way to the front for the finale of 'Ace Of Spades' into 'Overkill'.   I thrashed and banged my head like I was 17 again and yelled out the lyrics to the songs that changed my life a million years ago.

"Devil's grip... The Iron Fist.."

Throughout the set I felt that the crowd energy was on a higher level than other recent local Motörhead shows.  Rather than it being mostly the expected older crowd, tonight's sold out house had a healthy mix of younger fans, many of whom who were probably seeing the band for the first time... and it was not my imagination that tonight's show was special.  The next day the band's tour manager posted online how San Francisco had been "magic" and "one of the best shows ever" and the crowd had been "insane".  IF this was the last time (at least for awhile... knock on wood..) it warmed my heart that San Franfuckincisco showed Lemmy and Motörhead such respect and adoration.  The band and this city have a long history together.

Best quote of the night: 

English Bob (to Lemmy as he walked past us after the set):  "You rule, Lem!"

Lemmy (without missing a beat):  "If I did I'd be a rich man."

HAHA, right?!!  Lemmy still has it!!  My hero.  Always.

The sobering reality was that tonight was Motörhead's last announced headlining show in North America this year.  This was around my 25th Motörhead show and who knows what the future holds.  I just want to urge everyone reading this to see your old heroes now while you still can. No, it's not 1982 and, yes, the band is older but Motörhead were still great. I was down front at one of their shows again for the first time in a very, very long time and they turned me into that Teenage Metalhead again for around 70 minutes.

If you bought one of every Motörhead merch item you would have paid around $400.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  It is not an overstatement when I say that Lemmy and Motörhead completely changed my life in an almost supernatural way.  Discovering Motörhead when I was an isolated teenager set me on a path in life that my Inner Teenage Metalhead could never have imagined.  This EP was one of the first Motörhead records I discovered in a record store import bin circa 1981 and I was fascinated by the band photo:

They looked dangerous... and Heavy Metal.. and they were English.  Yes, I still have that copy of this record; it's followed me through life all of these years.  The first time I met Lemmy was in 1982 and I was completely intimidated... He was my hero.. and he still is... When I ponder and obsess about it, when it comes right down to it, Motörhead are my most sacred band.  Born To Lose - Live To Win... always.

"The only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud.."

Thrashy

Lamb Of God / Killswitch Engage / Testament / Huntress
The Fox Theater, Oakland, California
November 9, 2013

YES I'm behind with this blog thing and NO I haven't really been motivated to write recently for some reason.  Anyway, this show was over a week ago and it was pretty chilly that night and I should have worn a heavier jacket.  Before the show Photo Ray and I fueled up at Rudy's Can't Fail before diving into the potential drama that can be the guest list at Will Call.  Long story short, if only all shows were this easy:

Before entering The Fox I had a long overdue drink and catch up session with my Murder In The Front Row co-author / brother Harald O. at a nearby bar that I'd been to before but had completely forgotten about.  Then I found myself inside The Fox watching the last songs of the Huntress set.  Oddly, I had not seen Huntress before... although I had seen the singer in a Metal cover band called Chelsea Girls several years ago in Vegas.  Huntress were not awful and I appreciate how their music is based on Classic Metal, but I will offer the opinion that a song like 'I Want To Fuck You To Death' sung by a witchy woman in a leotard and cape might cause people to pigeonhole the band into a certain stereotype.  Just saying..

During the changeover there was a nice mellow social scene in the VIP area with a few friends as well as 1/2 of Machine Head.  I was kind of surprised there weren't more familiar faces in attendance, especially since it was a Saturday night. However, given that we were in downtown Oakland the local vibe was in full effect.. something that Mr. Robb Flynn commented on as well. 

Anyway, local heroes and legends Testament were up next and it pains me to see them playing so far down on bills like this.  Eight songs and 40 minutes for the longest running and most influential band playing tonight?!  Also, I can't remember the last time Testament actually played inside Oakland city limits.  Of course, they destroyed their hometown with the newer song 'Native Blood' being my fave of the set.  However, given the brief time onstage, it was a classics heavy setlist with 4 songs from The New Order album alone and 'Over The Wall' closing things out.  Then it was "Thankyougoodnight!" and Testament disappeared into their hometown night to be with family and friends before leaving for the next city in the morning.

Uhh, the last time I saw Killswitch Engage they had a different singer and that one guitarist wore a cape onstage and told jokes about having sex with underage girls. I think I'm too old to *get* Killswitch so I'll just leave it at that.  So while they entertained the kidz I had a nice conversation with my good friends a cold beer, Photo Ray, and Nikki Blakk in the bar during their set.  Since The Fox has an in-house video system that's shown on the big screens in the bar, I can at least say I saw Killswitch tonight.

Last but not least, the heirs to the Pantera crown Lamb Of God exploded onstage and I'm sure there was a guy wearing a Pantera shirt in the pit trying to start a fight.  LOG's production was not unlike the recent Megadeth staging that was heavy on video projected behind them on screens behind the backline.  Honesty is my only excuse:  The only song I wanted to hear was 'Walk With Me In Hell' and they blasted that out as the 3rd song of the set.  LOG should headline a Beards of Metal Tour; fake beards could be sold at the merch stands so the entire crowd could participate.

If you bought one of every Lamb Of God merch item you would have paid around $260.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Then 5 days later it was...  

Kreator / Overkill / Warbringer
The Fillmore, San Francisco
November 14, 2013 

Honesty is my only excuse:  The main reason I was interested in going out tonight was because it was a rare Metal show at The Fillmore.  There's so much history in the space and it's my favorite hometown venue... and if only all shows were this easy:

I've seen Warbringer several times and they are good at the retro Thrash thing... but I'd like them more if the singer didn't talk to the crowd in his Metal character voice in between songs.  The voice sounds silly... and Baloff didn't have to use a character voice onstage..  but I'm nitpicking because they are one of the better younger bands who dress like we did back in The Day.

The fact this show was at The Fillmore was surprising because the last time Overkill were scheduled to play in San Francisco the show was cancelled due to tepid ticket sales.  However, tonight the old school New Jersey veterans made up for it by playing one of the best sets I've seen them play in these parts... but they didn't play 'Wrecking Crew'.. which I thought was odd.  There were a lot of kidz in the house tonight and it was cool to see them respond to Overkill like it was 1987 again.  I watched the set from the lazy person's spot in the VIP balcony. I noticed a guy in a wheelchair heroically pushing himself around the pit.  After one time around a random guy started pushing him and then another guy helped out.  They ran into people like a careening car on a busy street going the wrong way but no one cared.  I got teary-eyed watching it.  A Metal band of brothers!  Yes, I was a hypocritical jerk for being up in the balcony while those kidz kept it real... but I salute them.

After Overkill I went to the bar and ran into Tom Hunting of Exodus.  Then, after a longish changeover, those veteran German thrashers Kreator returned to a San Francisco stage. At this point Umlaut was a bit punchy from a long work day, but the German's set pretty much went like this the entire time:

Video courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone

Yes, they played 'Pleasure To Kill'.  Despite my fear earlier in the evening that the show would not be well attended, the floor of The Fillmore ended up being decently full and action packed.  There were enough young kidz in attendance to give the floor action some good energy.  It wasn't one of those Old Metal shows where it's just 45-year old men shoving each other and calling it a pit.  All in all an unexpectedly great show!

I was lazy and didn't do a merch audit.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Although I didn't do a merch audit there was some juicy merch drama tonight:  Overkill have a different shirt for every night on this tour specific to each city.  Pretty cool, right?  Unfortunately, evidently there are certain rules of conduct when using a venue's name on merch (I might or might not know about this...) and, long story short, Overkill were not able to sell the San Francisco event tee.. which was pretty cool:

Tee pics courtesy of Alan Ralph

Since I may or may not know something about this, I'm disappointed that Overkill's merch person didn't sell the tees outside the venue after the band's set.  Oh well... Anyway, such is the drama behind the scenes at some of your favorite concerts, kidz.

At Dawn They Sleep

Slayer  
San Jose State Event Center, San Jose, California
Roctober 30, 2013

 

This might have been the last show I go to in San Jose on a week night.  It took Umlaut 2 1/2 HOURS from driveway to parking space; this drive should only take 45 minutes given the distance.  Rush hour traffic through Silicon Valley here in the 21st Century is ridiculous.  Anyway...  If only all shows were this easy:

Once inside I had to take care of a work related task that basically involved me carrying a 30 pound box across the San Jose State campus... but after that it was Metal.  Unfortunately, I missed Gojira because this was happening:

Ruthie's Inn Reunion

[Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

For the newbies that would be 2/5 of the Bonded By Blood-era Exodus lineup (Rick Hunolt, Tom Hunting) and Mr. Tom Araya.  Crazy how time flies. It's funny how a Slayer show is like a high school reunion for me now.  Double digit old friends are always in the house and the vibe is very tribe-like.  Slayer shows are supposed to be angry affairs but I find myself laughing and smiling almost the entire time.  Since I was caught up in socializing it didn't hit me right away that this would be my first Slayer show since Jeff Hanneman passed away.  Reality check..

Yes, there is much debate about Slayer these days, but I really don't care what anyone else thinks.  The bottom line is that Slayer are on fire again. Yes,  it's only 1/2 original members now but the other 1/2 are guys who were there in the beginning too. The current version of Slayer is so heavy with history and bonds of blood it gets me all emo. Slayer is now 1/2 L.A. Thrash and 1/2 Bay Area Thrash.  It's all a direct line straight back to Ruthie's Inn and San Pablo Avenue circa 1984.. and the band guys know it. Their nod to the Bay Area by playing 'Strike Of The Beast' (EXODUS!) in the middle of the set unannounced and with zero fanfare is proof of that.  I was standing next to 2 current members of Exodus as this happened, watching their Exodus brother Gary onstage, and it was special.  SLAAAYER!!  In fact the entire set was all old school vintage material with nothing post 1988 performed... 19 songs that kicked off with 'Hell Awaits' and they played 'At Dawn They Sleep'!!
 

 [Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

There is a different energy with Slayer onstage now.  It's not better or worse than the old days.  It's just different.   Tom smiles onstage now and I like how it's obvious he is watching the crowd and paying attention to the other side of the barrier.  Gary and Kerry bring a special volume storm to things that is unrelenting both sonically and historically; so much history is shared by those 20 fingers now channeling their departed brother.  Hanneman is definitely a spirit in black that hovers over it all now and if you don't believe that then you're way too jaded to be reading this blog.  Bostaph is the logical drummer now and he really does hold it down great for the most part, but I will say that 'Angel Of Death' is not the same. Some things can't be replicated or summoned again, but that is not Paul's fault.  Haters will bitch and rant about why Slayer should call it quits, but why should they?  Umlaut is old.  My Metal heroes are old.  Alot of my old Metal heroes are gone.  I'm thankful for who is still here and I'm thankful Slayer can still deliver us to evil.  I've been supporting them since literally Day One and I have no reason to stop supporting them now.

  Holt Awaits
[Photo courtesy of Cable Car]

Maybe I should grow a beard. It's funny how the Slayer front line (Kerry, Tom, Gary) is now the Beard Wehrmacht.  I dance with the beards in my dream.. Listen to their hallowed screams.. the beards have taken my soul....

Anyway, if you bought one of every Slayer merch item you would have paid around $600.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  Who knows what the future holds for Slayer.. but for now I say just cherish them because there are a lot of kids out there who think Avenged Sevenfold are, like, the best band ever.

"An unforeseen future nestled somewhere in time.."

Then 24 hours later it was... 

Danzig / Butcher Babies / Ghoul / A Pale Horse Named Death
The Warfield, San Francisco
Halloween 2013

Unlike the night before, tonight's trek to the show was much more tolerable and realistic.  Twenty minutes from driveway to parking space is more like it... Oh yeah, it was also Halloween.  When did Halloween become a 2 week "holiday" and just another reason for douchbags to get fucked up?  However, seeing Danzig on Halloween had a nice, nostalgic ring to it... and if only all Danzig shows were this easy:

Yes, liking Glenn Danzig is problematic here in the 21st Century but as soon as I hear any of those old Misfits or Samhain songs or the first pair of Danzig albums I remember how great he used to be.  Then I see that video of him getting punched in Arizona and the reality of today returns.  Oh Glenn...

Halloween... and tonight was also the last night of the tour.  There were a surprising number of Umlaut Nation friends in the house tonight, which was a nice surprise.  Evidently the first band, A Pale Horse Named Death, included Danzig's drummer and a former member of Type O Negative... but I didn't pay attention to them.  Honesty is my only excuse: I was never a Type O Negative fan.  However, also on the bill were local Thrash Horror kings Ghoul!

Maybe I was caught up in Halloween or something, but I assumed that Ghoul's East Bay-centric fanbase wouldn't be at the show in force due to the pricey ticket.  Wow, was I wrong!  Naively we made our way to the front and as soon as Ghoul hit the stage some nice pit action immediately opened up and the drinks we were holding were knocked out of our hands.  Sadly Ghoul were denied from using their usual blood-colored liquids by the headliner so their stage show was neutered... but the hooded locals and their mechanical and diabolical stage friends made up for it with one of the best sets I've seen them play.  Their 30 minutes was quintessential Halloween mayhem.

Uh, yeah... Butcher Babies.  I will be polite and only say that I had a wonderful conversation with a cold beer during their set.  Anyway, there was a very strict "No Photo" policy in effect tonight, which included phone cameras.  However, one thing led to another and I ended up watching the headliner from this vantage point:

Twist Of Cain

Long story short, "Danzig" here in the 21st Century does feel like a cover band who are required to dye their hair black to be in the band, but Glenn was better than I expected.  It still surprises me how I know the lyrics to almost all of his songs.  'Twist Of Cain'... 'Dirty Black Summer'.. 'Mother'... but it was the Misfits set with Doyle that was the obvious draw tonight.  Danzig and Doyle playing 'Halloween' on Halloween was cool.. but not as entertaining as the guy wearing the gorilla mask who randomly attacked a guy in zombie makeup right in front of the soundboard.  Security!  I will admit without any guilt that 'Skulls', 'London Dungeon' and 'Bullet' made me smile.  All in all it was a fun, easy night and I must thank Wedge for sorting me and letting us watch the show from his office.  Cheers, brother!

If you bought one of every Danzig merch item you would have paid around $260.  On the way back to the car, some-pimply faced teenagers called us fags.  Actually, on the way back to the car I saw Ross of Ghoul and he gave me a hug when I told him how our drinks were spilled by the pit mayhem during his set... Then we passed a new Prius on Market Street that was basically surrounded by 8 (EIGHT) SFPD officers wearing riot helmets.  Hybrid Horror!

 "I remember Halloween.."

The Year Of The Snake

Whitesnake
The Warfield, San Francisco
August 9, 2013

There was a time before Hair Metal when I liked Whitesnake.  In the late-70's and the beginning of the 80's they were still David Coverdale's post-Deep Purple blues Rock band with a lineup that included other former Purple members Jon Lord and Ian Paice.  That early lineup was supposed to support Molly Hatchet in Oakland in 1980... and I was there.. but Whitesnake cancelled and didn't play.  Then Hair Metal happened and Whitesnake changed lineups, teased up their hair, and Tawny Kitaen did back flips on the hood of a Jaguar for them on MTV... and I hated them.  Fast forward to the 21st Century and Whitesnake have become a guilty pleasure for Umlaut.  Four years ago I saw them at one of the most fun shows ever when they supported Judas Priest at a fairground in the middle of California.

Before tonight's show I met up with Joey Acid King and our bros Bob Revolve and Eric The Woodman for some hardcore pre-show conversation about KISS over beers at an appropriately divey Tenderloin 'hood bar whose name I can't remember but that is only a block away from The Warfield.  Then we few, we happy few, made our way over to The Warfield for the big Rock Show.  Will Call was painless as my name was on the guest list as promised; I wish every show was this easy.  Thanks Bob!

In a nice marketing coincidence, this year happens to be the Year of the Snake but I'm not sure if it generated any spike in Whitesnake fandom, but it didn't matter.   For the next 80 minutes or so, Whitesnake managed to make me forget about the outside world and performed what was easily the most fun show of the year. Ironically, the former Beatle who is not George Harrison or John Lennon was headlining on the other side of town in Golden Gate Park in front of 50,000+ people at the exact same time, which Coverdale acknowledged mid-set.   He was a true English gentleman about it.  I will take 'Slide It In' over 'Hey Jude' any day.

David Coverdale still has *it* when it comes to being a frontman. He might not be able to hit all the notes like he used to but he makes up for it with that kind of vintage Rock Star charisma and swagger that bands today simply do not have. Thirteen songs... All the Whitesnake hits you'd want to hear were included: 'Love Ain't No Stranger', 'Gambler',  'Slide It In'... During 'Here I Go' I felt like doing the splits on the hood of a Jaguar... and then the show closed with the obviously appropriate 'Still Of The Night'.  The MILF energy in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife... and every cock-like stage move that Coverdale did with his mic stand made me laugh out loud.. but I was laughing with him and not at him.

It was a solid, no frills show.  It was the type of performance I appreciate more these days since it relies on the strength of good songs and good showmanship.  I will say that the guitarist wearing black leather pants who used to be in Dio did a better solo spot than the other guitarist wearing black jeans who used to be in Winger.  Also, I've seen Tommy Aldridge with the Pat Travers Band, Ozzy, Ted Nugent, and Whitesnake over the years and he did the same drum solo again... where he finishes by playing with his hands... but it's just about the only drum solo that does not bore me.  Aldridge is still a Drum God... and after the show this happened to Joey Acid King and I:

Two Drummers and an Asian

Yes, the evening ended with us drinking Whitesnake's beer backstage; not bad for a Friday night.  If you bought one of every Whitesnake merch item I think you would have paid around $180.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  My Inner 20-year old Metalhead and the ghost of Paul Baloff are appalled that I like Whitesnake here in the 21st Century... but the next day I hung out with my friend Adam Dubin and we talked about how the kidz these don't know as Nine Inch Nails played in a park in San Francisco.

"I hope no bad people show up.."

Adam still looks the same except without glasses and with long hair now:

I'm Eighteen

Alice Cooper / Kill Devil Hill
The Warfield, San Francisco
November 27, 2012

I've never seen Alice Cooper twice in one year before; earlier this Summer I had seen him play an abbreviated set supporting Iron Maiden in Boston.  When I arrived at The Warfield I chatted with a friend on the road crew, completed a work-related mission, and got some good gossip.  Then as Alice himself walked past me backstage on his way to his dressing room he said to his assistant "Okay put me back in my cage now.." It should go without saying that made my day.  Birth - School - Work - Rock... If only all shows were this easy:

Watching Kill Devil Hill was weird since the vast majority of the crowd didn't seem to know or even care that the bass player from Pantera and the drummer from Dio-era Black Sabbath were onstage.  It might have had something to do with the fact that they were awful... but I could be wrong.  Anyway... Alice started off his set in his usual strong manner with the vintage 'Hello! Hooray!' as pyro cascaded down upon the stage.  It's very rare for a Warfield show to feature any kind of pyro so the evening was off and running in very Lock 'N Loll style.

 [Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

However, after the pyro intro, the stage show on this tour did not include nearly as many stage props as past Alice shows, which was interesting.  It was the first time I've seen Alice where he was not "killed" onstage; there was no guillotine or hangman's noose.  The closest thing was when he was "transformed" into the monster during 'Feed My Frankenstein'. This performance was more focused on the songs instead of the theatrics and Alice proved (once again) that he is one of the most influential and consummate Rock Stars ever.   If you don't understand how much Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, King Diamond, and Ghost have copped something from Alice Cooper then you shouldn't be reading this space.  Really.

The setlist was typically tight and hit all the marks that fans want including songs that I will never get tired of hearing:  'No More Mister Nice Guy'.. 'Billion Dollar Babies'.. and now I even don't mind later hits like 'Hey Stoopid' when 20 years ago I would have tuned them out.  It's Classic Rock in the best way possible. The theme of this tour is Raise The Dead and in keeping with that Alice and the band unearthed cover songs by some of his dead heroes and friends such as The Doors ('Break On Through'), The Beatles ('Revolution'), The Who ('My Generation'), and Hendrix ('Foxy Lady').  I'm not a huge fan of bands playing so many cover songs, but it worked tonight.  The latter was perfect to showcase the band's current guitarist Orianthi who completely shreds and brings a whole lot of blond estrogen energy to the current Alice show.  

The highpoint of the night was one of my all-time favorite songs 'Ballad Of Dwight Fry'; I became obsessed with it in the early-90's when the Melvins made it a cornerstone of so many of their shows.  As the set ran its course I was reminded that the beauty of any Alice show is how he can deliver a 1-2-3-4 punch of iconic songs that few others can match.  On this night he brought the house down in San Francisco by closing with 'I'm Eighteen' then 'Under My Wheels' then 'Poison' and then encoring with 'School's Out' complete with the usual confetti and balloons (Yayy!!).  I'm always struck by how youthful Alice still comes across performing 'I'm Eighteen' as he channels his own inner teenager after singing the song for 41 (!) years.  Watching him perform the song always makes me feel young again even when I think I'm the most jaded motherfucker.  Like Alice, I'm still 18 and I like it.

Number of authentic vintage 1973 Alice tour shirts = 1.  If you bought one of every Alice merch item you would have paid around $500.  I have to say that Alice's merch looked badass and his merch company has it dialed.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Another thing I love about seeing an Alice Cooper concert is that most of the crowd is older than me for once.  

"I've got a baby's brain and an old man's heart..."