One of the rare exceptions when the album is way better than the cover leads you to believe.
A little over a month ago, I got a copy of Hardwired…
To Self-Destruct by Metallica, after being drawn in by cleverly
released videos of the title track and two others that ACTUALLY SOUNDED LIKE
METALLICA. I have been overly critical of the band’s output since I graduated high
school in the early 90’s, but I have to say that over the past year, I have
become fond of most of the singles from the Black Album through Death
Magnetic; except for that LuLu and St. Anger stuff, I still can’t
hang with how they sound. Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that Metallica won their way
back into my heart, and then some.
HOLY SHIT!
When Metallica’s fan club, “met club,” announced a bay area
club show at the Fox Theater to benefit the Alameda Food Bank, I felt the
strong urge to go; but did not win the raffle to purchase the $25 fan ticket,
nor was I able to procure a $100 general admission ticket through Ticket master
when they went on sale on November 18th. I was so bummed when my
Ticketmaster app timed out and even more bummed when I learned my friend Matt, who was also trying to get us
tickets, had similar luck. The following Monday, I was still down on the fact
that I would miss this prefect opportunity to see the Metallica I wanted to see,
in a setting where I am most comfortable; how could this happen? Better yet,
HOW COULD I MAKE THIS HAPPEN? I had found a guy on the Metallica forums who had
his plus one available, but that didn’t pan out and probably ended up too rich
for my blood anyway, I then decided to be a Metallican and not a Metallican’t.
I searched online for the band management’s email and thanks
to the WikiLeaks of an email forwarded from Laurie Mensch to John Podesta, I
got co-manager Peter Mensch’s email, as he was CC’d by his wife into the
exchange. I emailed him, and a few others I found and waited… The afternoon of
Friday, December 16th, the day before the gig and after I had given
up all hope, I received the following email,
“Hi
Jeremy: Peter Mensch forwarded your e-mail to us and it’s your lucky day! We
will be able to assist you - please fill out the attached form and return it as
soon as possible to this e-mail address. We’ll process your credit card and
send you a confirmation e-mail and you can pick up your tickets at will call
before the show.
Welcome to the
Bay Area and enjoy the show!!
Vickie Strate
Metallica HQ”
The aforementioned form was for a donation to the Alameda
Food Bank, which I filled out for $100 for two tickets, $50 apiece. I received
confirmation and let Matt know I had done the impossible; WE WERE GOING TO SEE
A METALLICA CLUB SHOW! The boy who fell in love with Metallica in Todd Peck’s
bedroom in 1986 was getting the opportunity few have had SINCE 1986, seeing
Metallica in a non-arena type setting. I have always been afraid to taint the “perfect”
set list I saw them play in 1989 but with how much I love the new record, I had
to go, I just HAD to. When Matt and I arrived, we found we had pretty awesome balcony seats.
When the band hit the stage with very little fanfare around 9:45, they hit us square in the jaw with Budgie’s Breadfan, which is the last song I saw them play in 89, I literally had tears in my eyes, it was like an extension of that gig from nearly 28 years ago; BREADFAN/ CREEPING DEATH/ BLACKENED/ SAD BUT TRUE/ FADE TO BLACK/ ATLAS, RISE!/ HARVESTER OF SORROW/ MOTH INTO FLAME/ ONE/ MASTER OF PUPPETS/ FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS/ ENTER SANDMAN/ WHISKEY IN THE JAR/ HARDWIRED/ SEEK AND DESTROY
I didn't take many photos, I was too busy, but here's one.
What a fucking set list! I know there are friends of mine that would probably disparage some of these songs, but as far as I am concerned, it was all top shelf bangers. The Metallica album I’ve always felt the strongest connection with is …And Justice For All and having 3 songs from it blasted into my ear drums was incredible. I appreciated the minimalistic stage set up and was very happy that Lars’ playing seems to have improved over where he was 10, 15 years ago. The band looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves and the sounds was fucking impeccable. This was hands down the best set I saw in 2016.
The Author and Matthew Kadi, of Monster Squad fame
2016 sure was a roller coaster ride of a year, right? Some
universally respected musicians died, politics got literally crazy, and fake
news shared by your distant relatives and barely remembered high school
classmates became the norm on Facebook. I, myself, had a pretty swell year; I
celebrated my one year anniversary at my dream job, my one year anniversary of
living on the west coast and my 6 year wedding anniversary. But all of this stuff is really not what this
blog is about, is it? 2016 also had some really fantastic highlights for me and
my relationship with music.
the wife and the author; 6 years on
Best 2016 shows:
I got to see the Prime Evil line up of Venom (playing
as Venom Inc) rage through an
absolutely incredible set at the DNA lounge in January: Prime Evil/ Die Hard/ Don't Burn the Witch/ Live
Like an Angel (die like a devil)/ Buried Alive/ Raise the Dead/ One Thousand
Days in Sodom/ Warhead/ Schizo/ The Seven Gates of Hell/ In Nomine Satanas/
Bloodlust/ Sons of Satan/ Welcome to Hell/ Black Metal/ Countess Bathory/ Witching
Hour. It was truly a sight to hear and behold, and being a fan of the Prime
Evil record, I had hoped for a couple of songs from the records (especially
“Skeletal Dance”) but sticking to the classics really got the crowd rip-riding.
I was surprised at the lack of In League
with Satan on the list, but the set was so good, it didn’t matter. The only way
the show could have possibly been better is if it was catered to me exactly: At
War With Satan into Manitou into side b of Welcome to Hell into all of Black
Metal, oh and if Cronos was there.
Venom Inc. photo by the author
Just about a week after the Venom Inc gig, I saw Fury play
with Mindset at 924 Gilman. Mindset were good, but this was the show where I
totally fell in love with Fury. The
energy of the singer, Jeremy Stith (whose name is LITERALLY a consonant away
from mine) was astounding, and I was sold immediately! I made sure to download
their 2016 promo tape on my drive home and it got heavy rotation thereafter. I
was already aware of the demo and the Kingdom Come 7” but the promo tape, with
only two original songs, was already a huge step up performance wise and a hint
of what was to come on their full length; but more on that later.
photo by nate zoeller
In February, I got to see one of my absolute favorite
current hardcore bands: Boston Strangler and they did not disappoint. Primitive/
Outcast/ Forward to Hell/ Fire/ First Offense/ We Don’t Need/ Take Control/
Disconnect Me/ Overcrowded/ Violence Addicts/ BXS/ The Truth/ Slow Burn. I love
that they are a hardcore band from Boston that sounds, well, like a HARDCORE
BAND FROM BOSTON. I also really liked Give’s set at the show, and although
their style seemed a bit out of place, their short and energetic set made me a
fan and absolutely smoked any of their recorded output.
April brought me two shows in one night, Burn and 7 Seconds. Burn played at Gilman with Bane, and 7 seconds was headlining a show about a 45 minute drive away at Thee Parkside. The last time I saw Burn was in NY at an incredible show in 1998, nearly 20 years ago and in another century. This 21st century set was on point, they have an inherent energy to their style and groove that packs so much punch, that it’s incredible. Out of Time/ Cleanse/ We Don’t Stand A Chance/ Godhead/ You Can’t Stop Me/ The Bait/ New Morality/ Disgraces/ Last Great Sea/ Tales Of Shatou/ Drown/ Decay/ …Shall Be Judged. I grooved the whole set, in spite of myself. There are videos of the show on youtube, you’ll see me, I’m hard to miss. Right after Burn’s set and while I still had the adrenaline amped, I hopped into my car and sped over to the 7 Seconds gig. They were good, but the lower energy show was very noticeable after coming from a charged set. I’ve seen 7 seconds sets of varying levels of quality over the past 25 years, and this was good, just not as good as some other shows I’d seen, but still way better than the fucking show I saw in Syracuse in ’95.
The author looks at one of the few people at the gig in his age range
The author sings along
The last weekend in May, I made a mistake… and that mistake
was called Punk Rock Bowling, a sweltering punk rock festival in a fucking
parking lot in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was enticed to by promises of sets by my
favorite current band, Night Birds, some of my all-time favorite bands, Dag
Nasty and Excel, and bands I respect or like a record or two by: The Buzzcocks,
The Descendents, Dillinger Four, and like a zillion others. The flight I got
ended up arriving too late to see any of the Saturday shows, even a late night
Voivod gig not affiliated with the festival that I was on the guest list for,
but still did not make on time. I could write paragraph after paragraph about
the no reentry policy or the small amount of shaded seating or how bad the
Buzzcocks actually sounded, but let’s focus on why it makes my 2016 post.
poor photo the author took of Night Birds
Night Birds were absolutely stellar, a perfect setlist and
flawless execution; I just wish it was a club show. Dag Nasty Played around 7 pm the last day of
the festival. They were the band I truly went to see. But, though their setlist
was great, Values Here/ I've Heard/ Under Your Influence/ Can I Say/ Circles/
All Ages Show/ Cold Heart/ What Now/ Another Wrong/ Trying/ Safe/ Wanting
Nothing/ One to Two/ Justification/ Ghost (swiz)/ Little Friend (minor threat)/
Fall/ Thin Line/ Never Go Back, the cold start of Values Here was a little
rough and there were massive tuning issues. My favorite Dag Nasty song has
slowly become All Ages Show over the past 15 years or so and hearing the entire
song with a grossly out of tune bass was agonizing. But, it was shortly after that that
something clicked; Shawn Brown’s presence on stage is so genuine that by the
time they found their groove a song or two later, I was completely sold. I was
saying to friends after the set that I wanted to “give Shawn a hug” because I
loved the set so much. Low and behold, about 45 minutes later, Shawn and his
wife Michelle were walking by, and after a split second hesitation, I got my
hug (as did my friends) and got to have a great chat with the two of them.
Genuine on stage as well as off! Made the trip worth it, but I don’t think I’ll
ever go to another outdoor festival again. Standing in a parking lot for 8
hours, regardless of the entertainment, is still standing in a parking lot for
8 hours.
the author and his friends meet Shawn Brown, all get hugs
cool unplanned lighting effect, adding to the Fury. Photo by the author
A couple of weekends ago, I saw Praise and Fury play in
Oakland. Praise were good and dropped their Egghunt cover in the center of
their set, but I like their earlier 7” records best and wished I had seen them
in that era. Fury were fucking incredible. I can’t write enough about how much
I love that band. I’ve told friends that I feel they are the “real deal” and
seeing them after their incredible lp Paramount has been released has not
only increased their fan base, but also crowd participation. Jeremy Stith has
just enough weirdo to make him a perfect front man. They blasted through the
set in a packed 1234 Go! Records, Danse/ Thin Line/ Damage Done/ Duality of
Man/ Richochet/ Reality Check/ Death Yellows Life and Reason/ In Extremis
intro/ The Fury/ End is Nigh/ The Feeling. After their set, I was bummed to learn
they had no shirts with them (luckily I had bought a hoodie last time I saw
them) but I thought “fuck it” and bought a copy of Paramount on CD (yes, a
CD) for my car.
