08/08/2007 Stone Sour, Sydonia, Dirty Little Rabbits (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
By Eric | August 8, 2007 11:52 pm
This show was pretty good, but it could have been a lot better. Firstly, due to lower than expected ticket sales, the show was moved from the Main Street Armory to Water Street. Okay, not that big of a deal. But then, it turns out that the promoter for the show pretty much screwed Stemm off the bill as one of the openers. The band was promised a guaranteed amount of money for the show, plus a cut of whatever ticket sales they could generate (through a paypal link on their site). In reality, the cut of the tickets was all they would get, no guaranteed money. Since they’d have to sell an unbelievable amount of tickets to break even, it wasn’t even close to worth it for them to come out. Which sucks, because both Adam and I were looking forward to seeing them. And it also sucks, because both of the openers left a bit to be desired.
Dirty Little Rabbits features Shawn Crahan on drums, better known as Clown from Slipknot. They have a female lead singer, and feature a keyboardist as well. The songs were, well, interesting to say the least. Kinda goofy, as the keyboard sounded like a pipe organ on most songs (think a circus or a fair). The songs were okay (they actually had melody, unlike say, HORSE The Band), but 1/2 hour was more than enough for them. The keyboard player dove into the drum kit at the end of the set. Sydonia was next, and they hail from Australia, where apparently metal isn’t very fast. Every song had the same plodding beat, and the singer just kinda whined through most of it. As Adam said, every time they’d start a song, they’d go through the intro, and just when you thought it was going to kick in and really rock…. nothing. They sounded good, they could have been better, but simply fell flat.
Then it was time for Stone Sour. For better or worse, the setlist was nearly identical to the March show in Niagara Falls, albeit two songs shorter (Take A Number and Tumult were missing), and even though Corey said he was a little sick, he didn’t sound terrible at all. It was gravelly and rough, but using the time-honored trick of letting the crowd sing the most strenuous parts, he got through pretty well. Adam and I hung back for the first two songs, but by the time they did Made of Scars, I had to get in the middle of things for a bit! I got my mosh on for a couple of tunes, and then right about the time they slowed things down for Wicked Game, I got out and watched the rest from the middle of the floor. They ran through the entire set with no encore, but nobody seemed to mind. The band sounded just as good as they did in March, and the crowd was really into the band, although I thought the turnout should have been larger (maybe not Armory large, but I don’t think it sold out Water Street either). I grabbed the setlist from the soundboard after the show, so you can see that below. The set, in order was: 30/30-150, Come What(ever) May, Made Of Scars, Reborn, Inhale, Your God, Monolith, Sillyworld, Wicked Game, Bother (with Sweet Home Alabama insert), Through Glass, Blotter, Hell & Consequences, Get Inside.
[flickr]7082202077[/flickr]
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 08/08/2007 Stone Sour, Sydonia, Dirty Little Rabbits (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
Tags: 2007, Dirty Little Rabbits, rochester, Stone Sour, Sydonia, Water Street Music Hall
07/28/2007 Sevendust, Diecast, Point One (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
By Eric | July 28, 2007 11:59 pm
There’s something about going to see a band you’ve seen before, and you know you’re in for a great show. Where you know how they’re going to sound, how they’re going to play, you know all the words, so you’re less concerned about the intracies of the performance, and more concerned about getting crazy with the other people up front and having a hell of a time doing it. This was definately one of those shows. Sevendust has thus far never failed to deliver a great show, and this one kept the pace.
Naturally, we had to get through the openers first. There’s always openers, and they’re not always as stellar as the headliners. Point One was no exception. Besides having their levels way too loud, they just plain weren’t good. Much like another not-to-be-named-Japanese-band, they didn’t know what genre they wanted to play. The first two songs sounded like Buckcherry/Hinder type stuff, then it devolved into punk, then the singer got whiny, and so on from there. Besides the fact that the singer couldn’t hit any of the notes he was trying for in the upper register, his attempts at working the crowd just kinda fell flat. So not only were they bad, but not even close to the type of band that should be opening for Sevendust. Whatever. Diecast was up next, and this was a bit more like it! These guys were pretty generic metalcore, but at least they were good at what they did. (Pretty much, I’ll stick to KsE or All That Remains). The set got better and heavier as it went on, and the crowd got a little bigger, and more into it. Perfect segue for what was to follow!
After blaring some old-school rap over the PA, the boys came out and blasted right into Hero. The crowd got riled up right away, and the energy, at least where I was down front, never let up the entire night. Pieces was next, followed by Ugly. There was a brief pause, and then we got transported back to ’99 with Denial right into Waffle. Back to the new stuff with Deathstar and Clueless. The crowd really responded to the songs off of Alpha just as much as the old stuff, which was great to see. Enemy was next, then Beg To Differ. Another pause, and then the Sevendust signature riff… the opening to Black. Our area down front exploded! And just when that was over, the 2nd signature riff… Bitch! A massive sing-a-long ensued, followed by the title track of the new record, Alpha. The main set was closed out by Trust, followed by Praise. There was a short break, and the encore started with Driven, and the night finished out with the whole place screaming along with Face To Face. I was very pleased with the distribution across the various albums, with at least two tracks off of each of them. The band sounded great, Lajon hit his marks, and the crowd was all over it from start to finish. Simply a great show. It almost was the demise of the infamous RIT hat though! It flew off my head during the last song, and I had pretty much written it off, as I couldn’t see it on the floor anywhere as the crowd disbursed. Of course, that’s because I didn’t turn around. It landed behind the barrier, so not only was it “safe”, it didn’t even get stepped on!
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 07/28/2007 Sevendust, Diecast, Point One (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
Tags: 2007, Buffalo, Diecast, Point One, Sevendust, Town Ballroom
07/18/2007 Black Light Burns, HORSE The Band, Soulidium, Athera (Buffalo, NY @ The Icon)
By Eric | July 18, 2007 10:05 am
I rolled in from Rochester, and missed the first local opener, As Summer Dies. I got there just as they were changing sets, and found Sara and Adrienne. I subsequently found out that Julien-K, the band with Ryan and Amir from Orgy, wouldn’t be playing this night because of Ryan’s laryngitis. Too bad too, I was looking forward to seeing them. Anyway, we watched the the next local opener, a band called Athera. They were alright, nothing terribly spectacular, sound like most of the pop-punk-emo stuff that’s out there. Not much more to say besides that.
Next was a band called Soulidium, who reminded me a lot of Atomship, and their imagery with the graphics, and their eye makeup/contacts/etc. seemed like old Virgos Merlot. The music wasn’t too bad at all, but the vocals left a bit to desired. The singer is kinda nasally, and his voice was a bit grating. The band was decent, although the songs were kinda predictable nu-metal stuff. I’ve seen a lot worse, but I’ve certainly seen better. I really wanted to like them, but alas, that ship sailed about 7-8 years ago. At this point, me and the girls starting talking to two guys that came down from Toronto to see BLB, and along with the three of us, were the oldest people in the place (Nothing but 16-year-old emo kiddies!). Scott and Nick, nice meeting and hanging out with you guys! They had seen the next band before, and tried to tell us what we were in for. However, nothing was going to prepare for what came next.
HORSE The Band are a different beast altogether. They’re called “nintendo-core”, which is code for crappy screamo metal, with a keyboard player that makes sounds like an old 8-bit NES. Their stage setup had a bunch of fake lilac-looking bushes, various stuffed animals, and a sofa chair for the singer. WTF? The new breed of hardcore kiddies went ape for these guys. I think they’re one of those bands that are so bad that it’s cliche to like them. Actually, it was more like one big joke, and while the band was in on it, their fans missed it. So while the singer did the entire set from the sofa chair, the rest of the band rocked out, and the kids in the crowd practiced their kung-fu. Oh, I mean, spinkicks and floor punching (save for the one kid that had to watch everyone else first, and then try to do what they did, and FAIL.). The singer at one point asks if anyone has a job at an automotive repair shop, Starbucks, or retail store. When he got an affirmative response, he goes “You should get this job, it’s awesome.” Dude, I *do* have that job! The keyboard player kept going on about how the singer got his eye pecked by a bird for the entire set (a nod to Kids in the Hall we later found out), and the other highlight was the singer headbanging a stuffed tiger through one song. As for musically redeeming material? None to be found. Unintelligable screaming, songs with no flow, and 8-bit NES music.
Unfortunately, when HORSE the Band was done, so was most of the crowd, leaving only about 100-150 people for Black Light Burns. Everyone that stayed was quite into the show though, which was good. As was the band. Wes came out with his face painted, and wearing a 3-piece suit, and they immediately started into Mesopotamia. They continued with 4 Walls, One Of Yours, and then really rocked with Animal. Cruel Melody was a bit more melancholy, followed by Stop A Bullet, I Have A Need, and Coward. I Am Where It Takes Me slowed it down a little before ramping back up for the first single off the album, Lie. The closer was The Mark.There wasn’t a whole lot of crowd interaction as they plowed through the songs, save for a brief period when the bass amp cut out, and Wes and the drummer improvised a little of Primus’ “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver”, much to the delight of the crowd. No matter, the band rocked out 11 of the 13 tracks on the album, and sounded good doing it. Of course, that was helped by the unofficial 5th member of the band, the laptop that had all the samples on it. Not really a bad thing at all, though, as all the live instrumentation meshed with the samples with no problems. The band was tight, everything sounded good, the vocals sounded good, and again, even though the crowd was small, the fact that they were into it made the show even better.
Right after the set, Wes jumped down off the stage, and started shaking hands, signing autographs, and talking to people. I grabbed the setlist from the soundboard, and got everyone in the band, including Wes, to sign it, and got to chat with him for a second. He seemed genuinely interested in talking to everyone, and when I mentioned I was disappointed more people didn’t come, he said he didn’t think the turnout was that bad. I still think there should have been more people there. Ah well, more intimate for us I suppose. I certainly got my twelve dollars worth of entertainment, it was nice to see the girls again, and it was cool talking music with some new people.
[flickr]6936127270[/flickr]
Topics: Concerts | 3 Comments »
Tags: 2007, Athera, Black Light Burns, Buffalo, HORSE The Band, Icon, Soulidium
Run For It Marty!!!
By Eric | June 29, 2007 10:20 am
“Oh, my God, they found me, I don’t know how, but they found me.”
Apparently, somehow, someway, my crappy little website caught the attention of the fans of Dir En Grey, and since I pretty much blasted the band in the review from the Deftones show awhile back, they’ve been trying to critique my review in the comments. I tried to reason (ha!) with one of them, and then another popped up. And I just don’t have the time or energy to debate my opinions of a forgettable opening band with overzealous fans of said band. So I figured I’d just close out the comments with this:
Wow, I see the “Dir En Grey Shitty Review Rebuttal Team” has been deployed in full-force. I get it, my review wasn’t terribly detailed, and you all are trying to point out the error of my ways. Thanks, point taken. I don’t care how “grossly disappointed” anyone is in my reviews, because the reviews are primarily for me, and my personal recollections of the show. Period.
I guess I’m grateful that anyone even found my site, let alone decided to comment on it. But seriously, no one reads this site besides my family and friends, which is about 15 people, tops. I’m sure your collective energy could be spent for far greater gains elsewhere on the internet. Debating opinions with someone who just does this for my own concert recollections just isn’t an effective use of your time.
Anyway, we caught Will Hoge at Thursday in the Square yesterday, so that review will be up shortly. There shouldn’t be any controversy about this one, since it will be a glowing review, and there were no other opening bands. Unless, of course, the Joan Osborne fans come out of the woodwork and slam me for not staying. 🙂
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Run For It Marty!!!
Tags: family, friends, NT, Work
06/28/2007 Will Hoge (Buffalo, NY @ Thursday in the Square)
By Eric | June 28, 2007 11:47 pm
So after hearing about how great live he was from Tiff, and hearing the various live albums he’s put out, I finally got to see Will Hoge in person. And he didn’t disappoint. The singer/songwriter from Nashville brought his rock/blues/soul revue to Thursday in the Square, and pretty much rocked the place. We heard more than a few comments around us to the tune of “We don’t know who he is, but he’s pretty damn good!”. They opened up with Secondhand Heart, She Don’t Care About Me, and then ripped into The Man Who Killed Love, which got the juices flowing. After a bit of an extended jam on that one, they slowed it down for Someone Else’s Baby, but not before tuning in the local radio station over their monitors! The band then picked it back up with Sweet Magdeline. Woman Be Strong, and Ms. Williams, before getting a bit more serious with Bible Vs. Gun. Back to the rollicking fun stuff with Wait Till Your Daddy Gets Home, July Moon, and All Night Long. As if that wasn’t enough, it seems like their set time kept getting extended, so we got Hearts Are Gonna Roll, and the closer was Doesn’t Have To Be That Way. The band was in fine form, with guitarist Adam Fluhrer rockin solos all over the place. The square kept filling in the later it got, and he had everyone’s rapt attention by the end of it all.
I managed to snag the bass player’s setlist, and we got to meet Will himself near the merch tent for a quick minute to chat and get the setlist signed… he thanked us for coming and “thanks for singing along!”. I think we saw one other group of girls that were singing along, but I have a strong suspicion that he made more than a couple new fans in Buffalo on this night!
[flickr]7082201953[/flickr]
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 06/28/2007 Will Hoge (Buffalo, NY @ Thursday in the Square)
Tags: 2007, Buffalo, Thursday In The Square, Will Hoge
06/11/2007 Deftones, Dir En Grey, The Fall Of Troy (Niagara Falls, NY @ The Dome Theater)
By Eric | June 11, 2007 11:59 pm
So ten years of concert going brought me to the Dome for some Deftones. There weren’t a lot of people there at first, and they had the balcony closed, so the lack of people was even more pronounced at the start. The Fall Of Troy was up first, and I still don’t know what to make of this band. They’re a three-piece that incorporate some cool metal riffs and solos, but then the songs devolve into just noise, and the singer just kinda wails incoherantly. They had a ton of energy, which at least made them fun to watch, but a half hour was plenty. The middle band was Dir En Grey. The hype on this band is that they’re a five-piece from Japan. They apparently didn’t do any touring or releases outside of Japan from the time they formed in 1997 until 2005, and they’ve also had a ton of underground (and internet) hype. And they suck. To me, it seemed like they were trying to copy every harder musical style, and not achieving any of it. One song had a couple breakdowns, sounding like a poor-man’s Hatebreed, and then the very next song started out like Dave Matthews before launching into some super high-pitched screaming. As I told the kid next to me at the bar, “They’re not the absolute worst I’ve ever seen, but they’re damn close.” Mercifully, they were done after 45 minutes, and then it was time for Deftones.
I hadn’t seen them in seven years (July 2000 at ESL and Runwayz during the White Pony tour). I was hoping for some classics, and some of the new stuff. I got both in large doses! I started out right in front of the bar, and the band started out with two from Adrenaline (Nosebleed and Engine No. 9) and two from Around The Fur (Lhabia and My Own Summer), and once My Own Summer got started, I couldn’t stay on the sidelines any longer. I had to get up towards the front and jump around with everyone in the pit. What a great decision! Everyone in the front was awesome, getting their mosh on without being idiots, belting out every song, picking people up, etc. And Chino sounded freakin’ great. I’ve seen clips where his voice isn’t the greatest, but tonight was not one of those nights. The band did an awesome job of whipping the crowd into a frenzy, and then toning it down with some of the slower tunes (Digital Bath, Passenger, Change, etc). They also whipped us good, with Hexagram, Around The Fur straight into Rickets, Rats, Korea, Root, etc. After a brief rest, the encore got started off with Back To School, then Change, and the riotous closer was 7 Words. Needless to say, due to the heat and humidity in the place, everyone was wringing their shirt out at the end of it. Freakin gross, but you can’t say you didn’t have a good time getting there! And if he ever happens to read this, I just want to give a shout out to Mike from Pittsburgh (and his girlfriend whose name I didn’t catch) for being cool at the bar, trading beers, and catching my watch in the pit! The whole setlist (mostly in order) was:
Nosebleed
Engine No. 9
Lhabia
My Own Summer
Korea
Hexagram
Around the Fur
Rickets
Digital Bath
When Girls Telephone Boys
Rats! Rats! Rats!
Bloody Cape
Xerces
Passenger
Hole in the Earth
Beware the Water
Bored
Feiticiera
Root
————–
Back To School
Change
7 Words
Topics: Concerts | 7 Comments »
Tags: 2007, Deftones, Dir En Grey, Dome Theater, Niagara Falls, The Fall Of Troy
Ten Years of Concerts
By Eric | June 11, 2007 2:19 pm
It has been an even ten years since my first rock concert. June 11th, 1997. Our Lady Peace, Cool For August, and Puzzle Gut at the Tralf in Buffalo, NY. Accompannied by my friend Christine from the Harrison co-op program (and driven by her mom, Thanks Mom!), we managed to be right up front the whole night. For some reason, the experience of the show stuck with me. Singing along with the CD in your bedroom is fun, but singing along with the band right in front of you, sometimes in places no bigger than your bedroom, with 500 other people who are also singing along with every word is usually even more fun. I whipped together a little retrospective for myself on the past 192 shows over 10 years:
Over these past ten years, I’ve driven way too far to get to shows far too early, only to wait in far too long of lines for far too long in far too cold (or too hot) weather, to be one of the first in line. This led to running to the barrier to be right in front, and then pinned against said barrier for 3+ hours. I’ve been helped off the ground, helped people off the ground, been kicked in the head and/or slammed by crowd surfers (and I’ve subsequently yanked them to the ground), gotten in shoving matches and fights (*usually* not instigated by me); I’ve jumped, moshed, sweated, screamed my lungs out, lavished praise and bitterly complained more than my share about openers and headliners alike. I’ve met lots of band members, some cool, some not-so-cool, some famous, some not-so-famous; met a lot of interesting fans, some cool, some not-so-cool. I’ve gotten autographs, guitar picks, drum sticks, drum heads, setlists, posters, flyers, stickers, promo CD’s and videos, and anything and everything else I could get my hands on. I’ve won contests to see shows, I’ve ridden other contest winners’ coattails to see shows, I’ve gotten into “exclusive” shows by talking to the band. I’ve seen two different shows in one day. I’ve seen great bands, good bands, OK bands, and absolutely terrible bands. I’ve had some of the best times of my life, and some of the worst times of my life at concerts. I’ve celebrated my birthday at shows (1998 and 2005, and within a day in 2000 and 2001). I’ve celebrated New Years Eve (2000/2001) at a concert. I probably should have worn earplugs at more of them, but I’m doing what I can now. I’ve immensely enjoyed these last ten years of concerts, and I look forward to the next ten years (albeit at a far slower pace I’m guessing!).
Naturally, it’s fitting that on the 10th anniversary of my first concert, I’ll be attending a concert. I’ll be seeing the Deftones for the first time in seven years, in Buffalo tonight. Here’s to another 10 years!
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Ten Years of Concerts
Tags: Buffalo, concerts, NT, video, weather
05/18/2007 Breaking Benjamin, Puddle of Mudd, Red (Rochester, NY @ RIT Gordon Fieldhouse)
By Eric | May 18, 2007 11:00 pm
I thought the Fieldhouse was an odd choice of venue for this show (too big!), and I still think I’m right. The floor was filled about halfway back, and the seats on the sides of the stage were filled, and then sparsely after that. Joined by Karl, Kelley, and Carlo, we took up residence in the last row of seats directly across from the stage. Great vantage point! The other odd thing about his show was that Three Days Grace was also on the bill, and ended up being the headliner (which I still can’t figure out). We ended up leaving after BB, as no one in our group really cared about 3DG.
Red was up first, they’re supposedly a Christian nu-metal band, and according to their website, credit Linkin Park and Chevelle as influences. No kidding. It may as well have been Chevelle we were seeing. Their radio single was catchy, but other than that, it’s nothing I didn’t see from 1998-2002 a million times. But good enough.
Puddle of Mudd was up next. Who knew these guys were still around? They opened up with Away From Me, then Control, and Drift and Die. We figured it was going to be all radio singles! They played another song I didn’t know, a new tune from their forthcoming new album, then Blurry and She Hates Me. Certainly entertaining enough, and we weren’t sitting there twiddling our thumbs.
Breaking Benjamin put on another great show, with a setlist quite similar to the February Buffalo show. It was a little lighter on Saturate tunes, as they weren’t the headliner. They still sounded excellent, Ben was way more into the crowd interaction than I’ve ever seen, and they had the crowd rocking. They did attempt a cover of NIN’s Hurt, which I think was better left unattempted, but hey, points for trying I guess. They played Blow Me Away again (and after Hurt), so they got back in my good graces! Shoulda been the headliner. As I said before, no one really cared to see Three Days Grace, so we all took off, and from the looks of it, we weren’t the only ones. I wonder how many people were left???
Breaking Benjamin – Breakdown
Breaking Benjamin – The Diary of Jane
Breaking Benjamin – Hurt (the sound sucks)
Breaking Benjamin – Breath
Breaking Benjamin – So Cold
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 05/18/2007 Breaking Benjamin, Puddle of Mudd, Red (Rochester, NY @ RIT Gordon Fieldhouse)
Tags: 2007, Breaking Benjamin, Puddle of Mudd, Red, RIT Gordon Fieldhouse, rochester
05/11/2007 Mike Doughty (Rochester, NY @ Lilac Festival Stage)
By Eric | May 11, 2007 11:53 pm
Matt and I had wanted to check this out, and I was quite surprised that it was just him with one accompanying player. I kinda thought he’d have a full band behind him, but no matter. We got there a bit late, so I’m not sure what was played before we got there, but once we got there, among other things, we heard Bottom Of A Well, Unsingable Name, Madeline and Nine, and Circles, along with some tunes off of Skittish/Rockity Roll that I quite frankly don’t know. Even by himself, it was entertaining, the crowd was into it, a lot of them were there for him (as opposed to just being there because it’s the Lilac Festival and it’s free). Not bad for nothing! Found the setlist: Busting Up A Starbucks, Tremendous Brunettes, Janine, Your Misfortune, Put It Down, True Dreams Of Witchita, Shunned & Falseified*, Circles*, Thank You Lord For Sending Me the F-Train, Grey Ghost, Madeline And Nine, 27 Jennifers, Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well, St. Louise Is Listening. Audio is available at archive.org, here
Circles
Your Misfortune
27 Jennifers
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 05/11/2007 Mike Doughty (Rochester, NY @ Lilac Festival Stage)
Tags: 2007, Lilac Festival Stage, Mike Doughty, rochester
Keep Those Updates Coming
By Eric | April 19, 2007 2:05 pm
So as you can see, I’m trying to be a bit more prolific on here, compared to months past. As per usual, I don’t have a hell of a lot to say though. Work is work, home is home, and the Sabres just keep winning… 🙂
Concert updates:
There’s a couple more shows that I may or may not be going to, depending on interest, cash, timing, etc.
Friday May 11th, Mike Doughty @ Lilac Festival, Rochester, NY ($Free)
Friday May 18th, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Days Grace, Puddle of Mudd @ RIT Fieldhouse, Rochester, NY ($35)
Monday June 11th, Deftones @ Dome Theater, Niagara Falls, NY ($30)
Apparently Godsmack is in Buffalo at Shea’s on Sunday, May 27th, but no openers have been listed yet. If the openers are good, I may consider that one too. The Tragically Hip are going to be at Artpark on Saturday June 30th and Sunday July 1st, but I just saw them and unless I get free tickets, $35 for lawn seats just ain’t happening. Warped Tour is Friday August 10th at Darien Lake, but considering that I’d only want to see Killswitch Engage, I don’t think I’ll be doing that one either.
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Keep Those Updates Coming
Tags: Buffalo, house, NT, rochester, sabres, Work