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Magnum + UXL -
Nottingham Rock City May 19th Review and photos by Steve Green I hate
gigs on a Saturday night. Ok, we can have a lie-in the next morning,
but it's such a rush to get home from the market on what is our
busiest day of the week. But for me, seeing Magnum for the first
time since they recorded a live video at Hammersmith Odeon on their
Wings of Heaven tour, is a sacrifice worth making.
Playing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magik album
seemed a strange choice of pre-show listening, but then again so did
UXL seem a strange choice for a
support slot. I do wonder how such tours are arranged and who
decides the opening bands, because this was not a good choice. They
looked as if they were straight out of school and a quick bit of
research shows that to be right, with drummer Paul Tierney being
only 16 years old. And his brother John only 17.
Ok, the sound was awful and despite some possibly nice harmony
vocals, it was hard to tell how bad UXL really were. The bass and
drum heavy mix couldn't disguise the fact that they were not a good
band to watch, especially the angst ridden theatrics of frontman
John Tierney. Talented musicians they may be, but a lot of work is
needed for them to look the part on stage. With time on their side,
that may well change in the future, but tonight was a major no-no
for me. |
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Being in a Magnum crowd for the
first time in nearly 20 years, it struck me that this was very much
a pipe and slippers type of audience. Don't get me wrong, the people
we spoke to were all very nice, but I was beginning to feel a little
old. Ok, I am actually quite old, but I don't feel it and even
though I often live in a time warp as far as my musical ancestry is
concerned, most of it is of a lively persuasion, something I
couldn't say about tonight's gig.
Ironically, it was When We Were Younger that started the show. After
the mayhem of the Saxon show a few nights before, the photo pit was
pedestrian in comparison and so was the show, with only Bob Catley
showing signs of life on stage. After Back Street Kid and Out Of The
Shadows, it was thankfully time to get back in the crowd, where
everything seemed a little rosier with the introduction of On A
Storytellers Night, which took me back to the first time I saw
Magnum as an 18 year old in 1985. It seems I wasn't the only one
excited to hear the song as unbelievably, Magnum had an idiot fan
who rushed past the security and managed to get on stage. Bob Catley
did look a little nervous, before the Rock City's security took him
off stage and threatened to kick him out if he did it again. After
the head of security put on his Hells Angels waistcoat, no-one else
dared to venture on the stage. A wise move. |
Like Brothers We Stand, as with all of the new material from
Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow, sounded stunning, although I
was beginning to feel a bit concerned for Bob Catley, who's onstage
movements began resembling a mad Lizzy workout (you know, the mad
woman that used to be on GMTV) But I guess if you are hitting 60,
you need to watch out for sudden movements. It was back in time
again for How Far Jerusalem, before the catchiest song of the past
decade, Dragons Are Real, lit up the Rock City. If you've not heard
this song yet, track it down because I guarantee it'll be stuck in
your head for days.
After a stunning rendition of Les Morts Dansant the band broke into
huge smiles. It's obvious that they still get a major buzz from
playing on stage and I have to say they are probably the most
sincere band I've ever seen live. They constantly thanked the
audience and it came across as genuine every time. We All Run, one
of the few good songs from Brand New Morning sounded great and
wherever I looked, the crowd were as happy as the |
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band and it was smiles all round. The Spirit saw Tony Clarkin take
centre stage as he and Mr Catley ran through a wonderful acoustic
version before the band joined them for the blistering solo that
ends the song. The end of the set was chock full of classics as we
were treated to All England's Eyes, Vigilante and the storming
Kingdom of Madness.
Encore time consisted of Thank You For The Day, which is a Magnum
classic already and fully deserves to be worthy of its encore status
and then an elongated version of Sacred Hour complete with a
keyboard solo courtesy of Mark Stanway and a Tony Clarkin guitar
solo.
I have to admit I did feel slightly out of place here tonight as I'm
not yet ready to become officially middle aged, nor am I used to
such a polite crowd. Ignoring the vaguely surreal experience, it
turned out to be a great show and I hope I don't leave it another
couple of decades before I see Magnum again, because by then, I'll
definitely be ready for my Rockin' Chair. |
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Magnum - Click thumbnails
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Dimmu Borgir, Unearth, Devil
Driver, and Kataklysm The Wiltern Theater, Los
Angeles, California.
May 17th, 2007 By: Dave Schalek
“In Sorte Diaboli” will no doubt grace many top ten lists for 2007,
probably mine included. With this in mind, it is indeed quite a
privilege to have Dimmu Borgir begin their tour to promote said
album here in the United States. So, it was definitely with
enthusiasm that I made my way to L.A.’s rather historic, and quite
beautiful, art deco-styled Wiltern Theater on a Thursday night to
see Dimmu Borgir with Unearth, Devil Driver, and Kataklysm as
support. In addition, thanks to the efforts of Steve Green, L4M’s
editor, and the good folks at Nuclear Blast, I was also able to
secure an opportunity to photograph the show.
Things started off on the wrong foot immediately. I was informed
just prior to the show of the many ground rules put into place to
restrict the photography. I was initially a bit disappointed but I
would certainly, if somewhat dutifully, follow the instructions. In
addition, the morons that run this city had staged an immigration
rally (for you non-Americans, this issue is currently a really big
deal in American domestic politics) just down the street from the
theater, which snarled the already shitty traffic in L.A. even
further. Just great. Luckily, anticipating L.A.’s penchant for
traffic nightmares, I left my house with just enough time to spare.
I arrived at the Wiltern just in time to catch the first band,
Kataklysm. What?! I thought that
Kataklysm was the main support! Not so. What an insult, frankly, to
this great, long running and hard working band. The theater’s
manager leads me down to the photo pit, about 25 feet or so front
and center and slightly above the stage. Sure enough, three songs
into the performance, I’m tapped on the shoulder and led back to the
manager’s office where I have to leave my camera. Luckily, I’m able
to make my way back towards the front of the crowd to catch the
remainder of Kataklysm’s approximate one half hour set. Kataklysm’s
set was excellent, with very tight playing and great sound. The
band’s finish was “Shadows And Dust”, and received an enthusiastic
response from the appreciative L.A. crowd.
Up next was Devil Driver and I
didn’t bother to go get my camera and repeat the procedure all over
again. This time, I staked out a spot fairly close to the stage
anyway and sat back to enjoy a great set from Devil Driver. The band
is beginning to cultivate an American image similar to Superjoint
Ritual, with references to Johnny Cash, lots of “Fuck you!”s and so
forth, and, frankly, it works. They delivered a blistering set that
included some material from their upcoming album. Watch out for the
song called “Clouds Over California” on the new album, it was a
killer.
Unearth came on next, and I
immediately headed for the lobby. Mallcore bores me and was
drastically out of place on this tour (especially as main support),
the adolescent weenies that ate it all up notwithstanding. Their
set, what I saw of it for the first song, consisted of extremely
annoying strobe lights and even had a beer bong as a prop. Come on!
I joined the rest of the photographers at the front outside of the
manager’s office, where just about everybody was bitching, to get my
camera. We’re led back to the photo pit and
Dimmu Borgir finally takes the
stage. I’m snapping away madly and barely have time to pay attention
to the songs and relax. Yep, three songs into the set, we dutifully
go back to the office and then race back in an attempt to squeeze
back in to the show. Damn near impossible, as you would no doubt
guess, as the lobby had emptied and the Wiltern was at full capacity
(the show had sold out). One of my fellow photographers and I glumly
found a mediocre spot near the far right side, and I finally settle
down to concentrate on the show. The set list is great, with songs
ranging from “Stormblast” to a few new songs from “In Sorte Diaboli”,
as well as a kick ass drum solo from Hellhammer. A crowd favorite
was “The Serpentine Offering”, which included the drum solo. Yes,
you just have to take a moment and realize that you’re watching
black metal royalty here, folks. Shagrath’s stage presence is also
excellent, and he profusely thanked the crowd for the support.
Finally, at about 11:30pm or so, it was all over after a two-song
encore.
After all of that, my photos didn’t turn out. In order to compensate
for the lack of a flash, my camera left the shutter open for a long
enough period to blur the images. Oh, well, some of my camera phone
photos were a bit decent. My problems and own stupidity
notwithstanding, this was an excellent, professional show and you’ll
no doubt enjoy it when it comes to your town. |
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Saxon + Masterplan + Chokehold -
Nottingham Rock City May 16th Review and photos by Steve Green After the
initial UK tour was cancelled because of a throat infection to frontman
Biff, it has seemed like an age for this tour to finally hit UK shores.
One casualty of the rescheduling was Rose Tattoo unfortunately not being
able to make the new dates, which was a major bummer as far as I'm
concerned. But it did give Chokehold a chance to play with
possibly the greatest ever UK Metal band.
I'm sure the band were stoked to be touring with Saxon, although the
actual reality wasn't what they were expecting. Crammed in on the front
of the stage with 2 backlines and 3 drum kits for company and coming on
about 5 minutes after the doors had opened was not what they expected
either. And musically I don't think they were right for this bill
either, with their Pantera inspired intensity perhaps a bit too heavy
for some of the older members of the audience. Despite this, they still
put in a good performance and I'll definitely check them out again on a
more suitable bill.
I have to say that Masterplan were not my cup of tea, although I
have to applaud them for a stunningly professional performance.
Everything was a little too clinical and clean for my liking. Sure, the
sound was wonderfully smooth, but the multi-layered backing vocals were
too Bon Jovi for me. New vocalist Mike DiMeo also seemed a little
reserved and didn't really let go and seemed a little lost at times. The
same cannot be said for drummer Mike Terrana who was an absolute star. I
was impressed with his performance throughout the set but he really
excelled during his drum solo. I normally hate solos of any description,
but this was something special. Unfortunately it killed their set as the
song after simply couldn't follow the high of the solo and was very flat
in comparison. And although they didn't do it for me, I was in the
minority as they warmed the crowd up nicely for the main event. |
Fuck Harvey Goldsmith! If he thinks Saxon are pedestrian, then
the man needs a fucking lobotomy. Saxon have been alive for 31 years now
and they still play with the enthusiasm of a band just starting out.
Whatever Biff and the boys possess to make them so full of energy, then
I want some as I was so knackered the day after this gig.
Running around the photo pit for the glorious opening trio of State of
Grace, Let Me Feel Your Power and the wonderfully heavy Motorcycle Man
sent the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
After another song off the Inner Sanctum, If I Was You, it was time for
a set of classics. Strong Arm Of The Law was followed by Never
Surrender, which the band had rehearsed that day especially for
Nottingham and then The Thin Red Line.
As predictable as ever, but still great fun, Biff asked the crowd if
they wanted a fast one, or a slow one. As usual, the fast one won and one of my favourites
Saxon songs, 20,00
Feet saw the place explode and to my right, a group of young kids were headbanging as if their life depended on it. Are We Travellers In Time
made way for Witchfinder General, which was followed up by To Hell And
Back Again, which is also to be the title of Saxons forthcoming DVD.
Another newie, Red Star Falling saw the stage bathed in red lights and I
have to say, all of their new songs have fitted in with Saxons older
material very well. The crowd were |
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baying for Dallas 1PM, but there were no complaints when Princess of
the Night exploded from the extremely loud PA. Crusader followed
before I’ve Got To Rock (To Stay Alive) brought the main set to an
end.
First of 7 encores was Attila The Hun, which I have to admit I prefer on
cd, because it didn't really hit home live. 747 (Strangers In The Night)
went the same way for me and wasn't as good as I've heard it in the
past. Normality was restored with Heavy Metal Thunder. Doug Scarrat
seemed to attempt a solo just before And The Bands Played On, which he
seemed to abort very quickly, I think due to a broken string. But he got
his chance to shine just before Wheels Of Steel, which saw Biff finally
remove his long coat for the first time tonight. How he coped with the
heat on stage I'll never know.
Saxon left the stage briefly, but Biff was caught trying to sneak back
on stage in the dark and it was time for the anthemic Denim and Leather.
I'm not sure why, but Ashes To Ashes closed the set. Which for me is a
strange choice as Saxon have so many barnstorming anthems that didn't
get played tonight (Power and the Glory + Lionheart being the most
obvious omissions) but hey, I'm not going to nitpick after such a great
concert.
Saxon are probably the best band ever to come out of England and yes,
that means better than Maiden and to see them once again this close and
personal does it for me every time. With Saxon, you know exactly what
you are going to get. A set of classic Heavy Metal and lots of fun from
Biff Byford. Yes, he churns out the same corny jokes and one-liners on
every tour, but would you honestly want it any other way? Saxon are the
perfect live band and epitomise just why we all Live 4 Metal. The
interaction between band and their audience at a Saxon gig is second to
none and this feels like a gathering of old friends rather than a
concert. Once again, this was one of the best gigs I've ever been to and
it rivals last years St Georges day bash at the Astoria. Breathtaking. |
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Saxon - Click thumbnails for larger picture |
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Masterplan - Click thumbnails for larger picture |
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Heaven And Hell, Megadeth, and
Machine Head - Los Angeles Forum, Inglewood, California.
April 25th, 2007 By: Dave Schalek
You better believe that I was going to this one! “Heaven And Hell”
and “Mob Rules” were amongst the first albums that I ever bought
after discovering Black Sabbath when I was about 12 years old or so.
Over the years, I’ve also enjoyed Dio’s first couple of solo albums,
but I never got a chance to see the Dio version of Black Sabbath as
Dio, alas, left the band immediately after the show at Poplar Creek
in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near where I grew up, at the
conclusion of the “Mob Rules” tour. I didn’t go to that show (I was
still too young at the time), but I managed to pick up my first
black t-shirt, a 1981 tour shirt.
Naturally, I was ecstatic to hear about this reunion tour of sorts,
Sharon Osbourne’s paranoid histrionics notwithstanding. So, I
eagerly made my way on a Wednesday night to the 20,000-seat L.A.
Forum, an arena in Inglewood, California, for the Heaven And Hell
tour with openers Megadeth and Machine Head. I headed immediately
for the merchandise tables (so did everyone else) and bought two
shirts, one with the “Heaven And Hell” album cover, and the second
being the “Live Evil” album cover. Afterwards, I found my seat in
the lower mezzanine (the general admission floor was well sold out
and I had procrastinated) to watch Machine
Head. Machine Head has always been a band trying to live
up to their monstrous debut, although I do like their last two
albums. Unfortunately, their set was exceptionally short, consisting
of just four songs with “Davidian” as the closer. I would guess that
their whole purpose for being on the bill was to provide samples for
the sound engineers for the remainder of the show, as their sound
was a bit muddy. Rob Flynn did take a few moments, though, to honor
Dimebag Darrell, which was well appreciated by the slowly gathering
crowd.
The crowd was pretty much at full strength for
Megadeth. Megadeth rewarded the appreciative crowd
with a string of classics, mostly covering material from “Peace
Sells…” to “Countdown To Extinction” with the inclusion of “The
System Has Failed” and their latest opus, “United Abominations”
(specifically, “Washington Is Next!”) I’ve never been a huge fan of
Megadeth, but their set was excellent with the encore being “Holy
Wars…”
Crowd anticipation continued to build for the appearance of
Heaven And Hell. Finally, the
band appears with a strong, clear sound composed of thundering riffs
from Tony Iommi, a loud bass from Geezer Butler, strong vocals from
Ronnie James Dio, and an excellent, punishing performance from Vinny
Appice. A strong stage show accompanied with moving lighting
gantries, backdrop film, and pyrotechnics. Ultimately, over one
quarter of the Dio-era discography was played with such notables as
“The Sign Of The Southern Cross”, “Children Of The Sea”, “Lady
Evil”, “Voodoo”, “Computer God”, “Falling Off The Edge Of The
World”, and the main show closer, “Heaven And Hell”. A thundering
drum solo from Appice was present, as well as two new songs from the
Dio-era compilation that was just released. The encore was “Neon
Knights”. Suffice to say, this was a great show with plenty of
nostalgia for myself and the other older people in the crowd (at
least one half of the audience appeared to be over thirty five).
In closing, this was the first arena level show that I’ve attended
since the 2004 Ozzfest, and I’m disappointed to some degree. For
some reason, arena level shows seem to bring out the worst in some
people, as the crowd contained a sizable contingent of white
supremacist/redneck trailer trash from San Bernardino and Riverside
counties that were drunk and picking fights. I saw their ilk at the
2004 Ozzfest and was disappointed to see these scumbags show up for
this one. Go back to the trailer from which you crawled out from
under! At any rate, I wouldn’t let these assholes ruin a great show.
Lastly, you can view all of the pictures and videos that I shot at
http://metalrunsinmyveins.blogspot.com |
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