The Darkness at Club Nokia on 10/24

Last Wednesday, I took off my heavy metal blinders and ventured to Club Nokia to see The Darkness perform. I really like their music, especially Justin Hawkin's screeching vocals, but I wasn't sure what to expect from a live show. Fortunately, the show was hellaciously awesome and blew away all of my expectations!

Maybe you don't like The Darkness because you think they don't take themselves seriously enough as musicians, but my response to that would be that you take yourself too seriously. Like a lot of glam bands and hair metal, The Darkness' musicianship gets over looked because of the band's silly, over the top glam style and the fact that they're not really "heavy". But that doesn't mean that these guys don't know how to shred! Everything I saw Wednesday night demonstrated that they can and do play guitar (and bass and drums) very well. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say that the Hawkins brothers' guitar style is little reminiscent of AC/DC's Angus Young. Maybe it's not full of sweep picking but it's original, competent, and respectable. And when Justin Hawkins plays a solo, it's still an impressive guitar solo.

Even if you're a super serious metalhead, you have to admit that it would be nice to see mainstream rock go more in this direction than the horrendous path it's taken towards DJ point 'n click music that's composed on a Mac or PC. I hope that more bands like The Darkness, Gypsyhawk, and Scorpion Child can start to gain momentum in the popular and alternative music realms because a hard rock and glam revival is just what this world needs. It's more palatable to the generic masses than thrash metal and it's genuinely good music. Who knows? Maybe The Darkness fans of today will become the Accept and 3 Inches of Blood fans of tomorrow?

Dreaming Dead, Isolation in Infamy at The Stardust Club

I was chased by zombies for about three miles last Saturday but it wasn't enough to stop me from going out to see a metal show later that night. It was a close call which show I went to, though. I had already committed to seeing Dreaming Dead play and then my buddies from Gypsyhawk surprised me with a last minute show in Pasadena that was taking place at the exact same time as the Dreaming Dead show. Damn. I ended up sticking to the Dreaming Dead show with promises that I would see the next two upcoming Gypsyhawk shows. I still felt a little cheated at the end of the weekend.
Regardless of that, the show at The Stardust Club was totally killer! A band I had never seen before, Isolation in Infamy, played right before Dreaming Dead, and they put on a great show. It was technical -extremely technical- death metal, and a bit progressive. Isn't most technical death metal also progressive death metal? Well maybe not, but I think that's the only kind of death metal I listen to and enjoy. This band showed a lot of scorn for the luke warm audience response, which I suppose was understandable. They really killed it on stage but most of the crowd was sitting down, half-asleep. I tried to make up for everyone else's lack of spirit by screaming and clapping loudly. I still got scorned. That's death metal for you. Of course, I bought a CD later and talked to the band in between sets and they were actually really nice guys!
Next up was Dreaming Dead. I'm a big fan of front woman Liz Schall's shredding and screaming skills and I think anyone who likes death metal even a little bit will LOVE Dreaming Dead. Everyone in this band has chops. Their music reminds me of some sort of primordial horror rising from the swamps to devour humanity in the middle of the night. Really, it's amazing! The sound was a little weak for the first part of the set but Liz turned up halfway through and all was well. I took off pretty soon after Dreaming Dead finished their set since I was utterly exhausted from the zombie race, but I did make a quick stop at El Taco next door for some amazing Mexican food. Apparently, it was the heavy metal taco shop that night.

The next events on my concert calendar are The Darkness tonight at Club Nokia, then Future Villains at The Viper Room on Friday, October 26th...but I also heard that Gypsyhawk might be playing that same night at an undisclosed location in Rosemead! Too much good shit goin' on!

Scorpion Child, Gypsyhawk at The Viper Room on 10/5

Holy crap, what an awesome night! 70's hard rock commandeered  the Viper Room last Friday with awesome performances by Scorpion Child and Gypsyhawk. It was a rock 'n roll double whammy!

Seeing Scorpion Child play was one of those concert moments when you say to yourself "I can't believe I'm really here now and my life is so hellaciously rad!" When they took the stage, I felt like I had been pulled through a time portal to the early 1970's - except that I was loving it instead of hating it! 
I like some classic rock but I am definitely 100% hesher and 0% flowerchild. Somehow, Scorpion Child has taken classic 70's rock and completely reinvigorated it without really changing the essence of it.  I think it's partly due to the amazing, melodic bass lines that drive most of the songs and the overall incredible, dynamic song composition.  Everyone is pulling their own weight in this band. Sure, there is a Led Zeppelin influence but nothing I heard sounded derivative or unoriginal (did you get that joke?). In fact, I'll go so far as to say I like Scorpion Child better than Zeppelin because they don't remind me of dirty free-love hippies, even though they did have a dude doing psychedelic visuals on an overhead projector, but you know what? He was rad, too.  

The only band that could follow a set like that is Gypsyhawk, and fortunately, that's who played next. These guys also have a 70's rock feel but their style is a little more metal, with muscular guitar riffs and shredding solos. Their set was totally killer and full of songs off of their new album, Revelry and Resilience, which I highly recommend you buy. These guys balanced out their 70's rock vibe with some 80's cock-rock, synchronized, guitar moves and got the crowd really going! People were dancing, head-banging and rockin' out for the entire set! They finished their set with Commander of the High Forest, an awesome song off of their first album, and then we all migrated over to The Rainbow to keep the party going. What a great night! 

Be sure to check out both bands on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Gypsyhawkusa

https://www.facebook.com/scorpionchild

The next event on my concert calendar is Dreaming Dead on October 20th at The Stardust Club.

Accept, Kreator at The Avalon on 9/26

German metal invaded Hollywood and blew the top off of The Avalon last Wednesday!

I had never seen Accept before and I'm not very familiar with the material they've put out in the post-Udo years so I wasn't sure what to expect. Oh man, it was so awesome! These guys had such camaraderie on stage - you could tell they really love performing and they've been doing it for a long time. The crowd was stoked and gave back tons of good energy to the band. I was thrilled when they played Losers and Winners and Fast as a Shark, and I really enjoyed the songs they played off of their new album, Stalingrad. I was standing right behind the sound booth so I could hear them really well. The sound was killer - that's a concert experience I rarely have. After their set the band was walking around and talking to fans, even hanging out at the merch booth for a bit. What an awesome bunch of dudes!

The night got even better when Kreator took to the stage and began to lay waste to everyone's ear drums with some blood thirsty, relentless thrash metal! Same as the Accept set, I really enjoyed the songs they played off of their newest album, Phantom Anti-Christ, and I totally rocked out to Pleasure to Kill and Raise the Flag of Hate.  The only thing I did not enjoy was the lack-luster crowd enthusiasm. Seriously, these guys came all the way from Germany, played an awesome show, and then no one was able to muster more than a golf-clap? Lame. Anyway, if you've never heard Kreator before, you should check them out. You'll definitely like them if you're a Slayer fan. They have a similar angry guitar tone and they're super fast shredders. A lot of their brutal sound also comes from their amazing drummer, Jurgen "Ventor" Reil, who knows exactly how to compose and execute a pounding thrash metal drum fill.

https://www.facebook.com/KreatorOfficial?fref=ts

The next event on my concert calendar is Gypsyhawk at The Viper Room on Oct. 5th.

TYR at The Whiskey, with Moonsorrow, Korpiklaani on 9/12

After almost three years of being a huge fan, I finally got to see TYR live at The Whiskey! As soon as Metsatoll completed their set, I squirmed up to the very front of the stage to maximize my viking metal experience. And what an experience it was! Sure, there are plenty of other folk metal and viking metal bands out there, most of which I've seen, but no other band comes close to sounding like TYR. Ah, the bright clear guitar tone, the Faroese chanting, the ancient rhythms of old Norse songs... all of these attributes and the feelings they impart are unique to TYR. Their songs conjure up images of viking long ships navigating the foamy oceans centuries long past during the great Norse expansion.... sigh. As expected, their live show was nothing short of breath-taking and it exceeded every expectation I had. Now, all of my metal dreams have come true!

Korpiklaani and Moonsorrow also played great sets and I'd say all around it was a stellar show. Major props to whoever managed to put together such an amazing line up! Sometimes a concert is just a concert, but sometimes a concert is a mind-blowing, time traveling journey into an age of epic sagas and glorious, heathen adventures! 


Check TYR out on facebook https://www.facebook.com/tyrband

The next event on my concert calendar is Accept and Kreator at The Avalon on Wednesday, September 26th. 

The Glory Stompers CD Release Party at The House of Blues

I was at the House of Blues twice last week! What a great week for local music. Steel Panther on Monday, and The Glory Stompers on Friday for their long awaited CD release party! 

The Glory Stompers are a high energy five piece that smoothly blend a variety of different influences to summon forth a powerful hard rock-metal alchemy of sorts. They possess a genuinely unique sound - something that is rarely encountered these days, and which easily sets them apart from other hard rock/NWOAHM bands. 
I've watched these dudes play a ton of shows but this was the first time I've seen them pack the House of Blues! I was so stoked for them! And it somewhat restored my faith in the people of LA to see such an outpouring of support for a local band. The Glory Stompers have built a solid track record of delivering exceptional live shows with their over the top stage presence and tremendous, synergistic energy and this show was no exception. It's difficult to describe unless you've seen them, but when these guys take the stage I would maintain that it definitely feels more like a "concert" than like seeing some friends play in a bar (not that I don't enjoying seeing my friends play in bars every chance I get). There is no lack of entertainment or shredding! To complete a perfect evening, singer Joe Manente performed his signature move during the last song of the set by stapling pictures of the presidential candidates to his forehead and chest (while sober). I'm sure you can find some bloody footage on youtube. Seriously, check these guys out the next time they play a show!

The next event on my concert calendar is TYR at The Whiskey on Wednesday, September 12th.

Steel Panther at The House of Blues Every Monday

Here's a possible scenario for you: 

Maybe you love going to metal concerts but you hate comedy clubs. And maybe you have a friend who's one of those "comedy club people" who would rather go listen to people tell jokes than see a totally bitchin' metal concert (I know, it sounds unbelievable but it happens). Well, I have the perfection solution for your hang-out hang-ups:  if you and your friend both go see Steel Panther you will both somehow miraculously agree that you witnessed a killer show full of heavy metal shredding and raunchy jokes! 

I saw these guys perform on Monday night at the House of Blues and (just like the last four times I've seen them) they definitely blew away the expectations of everyone in attendance. All jokes aside, these guys rule! Steel Panther is singly-handedly keeping glam metal alive and well on the Sunset Strip by fully embracing and owning the comedy of the hairspray-spandex era. Songs titles like "Just Like Tiger Woods" and "Asian Hooker" consistently keep every audience shocked and laughing while guitar player Satchel's undeniably impressive guitar skills keep any skeptical metalheads fully engaged and impressed by the music. This is not a show for the pious, though. The humor is definitely R rated and so are the occasional displays of nudity by the random drunk women who crawl onto the stage. Whatever, I just go for the music.

The next event on my concert calendar is The Glory Stompers on Friday, September 7th, at The House of Blues.