07/16/2005 KRockathon 10: Shinedown, Cake, Seven Mary Three, Lit, Tsar, Boy Hits Car, Ra, Rock and Roll Soldiers (Weedsport, NY @ Cayuga County Fairgrounds)
By Eric | July 16, 2005 11:50 pm
I made my way down the 90 to Weedsport for the 10th annual Krockathon, and my first since 2001 at Vernon Downs. This time (like last year I guess) it was held at the Caygua County Speedway / Fairgrounds. Parking was suprisingly well organized, and the tailgate parties were in full effect. I really should have brought a case of beer and some ice, I would have made a killing! I rolled in at about 10:30, and the line to get in was snaking around the parking lot, but they opened the doors right at 11, and it only took a half hour to get in. Good thing, because it was hot and muggy all day. So I positioned myself down front on the right side of the stage. The music started right at 11:30, and they kept to schedule pretty much all day.
First up, Rock and Roll Soldiers. They reminded me a lot of the “The” bands, garage-type bands. They weren’t great, but they certainly weren’t awful either. They held my attention for their half hour set, and the lead singer tore apart the drummer’s kit during the last song. The singer also mentioned that they hadn’t been up that early in forever.
Ra was next, and I was excited to see these guys again. They opened with Rectifier, then Only, Fallen Angels, Tell Me, Every Little Thing, and closed with Do You Call My Name. The band sounded great. Sahaj said he was a little sick, and you could tell, as he missed a couple notes. He did get better as the set wore on though, and it didn’t really hamper the performance any. Plenty of people seemed to be into their set, which was nice.
Next was one of the most anticipated bands of the day, Boy Hits Car. They played the 2001 Krockation, and the lead singer, Cregg, did a 40 foot stage dive from the top of one of the speaker stacks. That, coupled with their energetic performance made them a hit with the crowd. So they were back, and according to Scott, were up for 24 hours and barely made their plane from L.A. to get here, as this was a one-off show for them. But get here they did, and rocked the place again. Opening with The Rebirth, they got the crowd into a frenzy early, then All The Love That We Hold Inside was next, followed by I’m A Cloud, which the crowd knew and went nuts again. During the set, some guy in a wheelchair went crowdsurfing… IN HIS WHEELCHAIR! It’s the damndest thing I’ve ever seen. Scott mentioned that the doctors probably told him he couldn’t walk, but he’s flying right now! The band continued with Forever and a Day, and then closed with Benkei. And the anticipation mounted… would Cregg jump again? He climbed up to the top of the stage, across the scaffolding, and on the top of one of the speaker stacks. And looked out. He hesitated at first, because he was concerned about the people he’d land on. He reconsidered as the band kept playing, and from a height of 67 feet, jumped into the crowd. And lived to tell about it! A dynamite finish to a dynamite set!
I got out of the crowd at this point, as I needed water and food. So I caught part of Tsar’s set, they struck me as a band in the vein of Franz Ferdinand and The Killers, but didn’t quite pull it off. They were okay, but nothing to write home about. Lit was after them, and while it helps that I knew a couple songs, they were more energetic, as their lead singer was running all over the place.
Seven Mary Three was next, and for as much as I like their music, they just always seem to disappoint me live. I don’t know what it is. They sound good, and they’re into their performance, but it always ends up blah. In any event, they sounded fine this time out, and the setlist didn’t have anything from Rock Crown or Orange Ave. at all. Just about in order, their set was: My My, wait, Water’s Edge, Headstrong, Bark No Bite, Dislocated, Subway Tunnel Microphones, Sleepwalking, Cumbersome.
Time for Cake!! They put on a great set, and the crowd was really into them. And heavy on Motorcade songs!! They started with Comfort Eagle, then Is This Love?, Comanche, Rock and Roll Lifestyle (!!!), a lot of crowd participation on Sheep Go To Heaven, The Guitar Man, a soliloquy about the horrors of cell phones during No Phone, and closed with the crowd pleaser The Distance. I was certainly glad to see Cake again, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun playing as well.
And now for the band that disappointed me greatly the last time I saw them, Shinedown. They’ve been off the road for 4 months preparing their new album, so they should have been fresh, and they were, to a degree. I still think their lead singer sells out some of the high notes and takes them down the octave with alarming regularity, but he sounded much better this time than in February at Tundra. They came out to In Memory, then Stranger Inside, Fly From The Inside, Better Version, Burning Bright, then slowed it down. They dedicated Simple Man to Dimebag Darrell, and kept it slow for 45, before closing it out with Left Out. They ultimately were better than the last time, but still not as great as the first time I saw them.
At this point, I’m tired, I don’t really care to stay for Trapt or Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society, and I wanted to beat the traffic, so I headed out. It started raining at this point, so it was just as well. I hit the bathroom in the parking lot before I left, and a girl asked me if I had a cell phone so she could call her brother. No prob. Here. So that was dandy. Why mention this? Because no sooner did I get back to the car, and the remote entry doesn’t work. Okay, I’ll use my key. Try to turn it over…. CLICK. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH. Left the lights on, killed the battery. I just get done cursing myself out, and out of this entire parking lot, the guy in the spot next to me just walks up to his car. And I believe in karma, so I wasn’t stuck in this parking lot forever. I got a jump, and got out of there in a reasonable amount of time. It’s always an adventure with these things, and usually a good time, which this was!
Topics: Concerts | 3 Comments »
Tags: 2005, Boy Hits Car, Cake, Cayuga County Fairgrounds, KROCKathon, Lit, Ra, Rock and Roll Soldiers, Seven Mary Three, Shinedown, Tsar, Weedsport
07/06/2005 The Tea Party, Woke Up In Vegas, Deep Water Daze (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
By Eric | July 6, 2005 11:59 pm
I made my way down to Water Street from work, and met up with Sara and her friend Kate. The first openers were a duo called Deep Water Daze, just a singer and acoustic guitarist. They were ok, something to pass the time really. Next up was a Buffalo band called Woke Up In Vegas. They reminded me of Greenwheel a little bit, with their melody and hard rock sound. The singer was decent, he could really belt out the tunes. After their set was up, it was time for Tea. Returning to Rochester for the first time since August of 2002, they still sounded great, as always. But save for the 4 new songs off of Seven Circles, it was the same setlist, as always. Therein lies my only pet peeve with this band, setlist selection. They have seven albums… PLAY SOME DIFFERENT SONGS!! Roughly in order, last night it was: Overload,
Writing’s On the Wall (which is much better live!), Lullaby, Fire In The Head, Psychopomp, Stargazer, Oceans, Zahira/Halcyon Days, Heaven Coming Down (All Along the Watchtower), Release, Psychopomp, and Temptation. And then the encore was The Messenger, Save Me w/ bow solo, Winter Solstice/Sister Awake/Paint it Black. I almost hate complaining, because they always sound great. But there’s just something unfulfilling about seeing almost the exact same setlist every time.
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 07/06/2005 The Tea Party, Woke Up In Vegas, Deep Water Daze (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
Tags: 2005, Deep Water Daze, rochester, The Tea Party, Water Street Music Hall, Woke Up In Vegas
06/27/2005 Opeth, Chimaira, Strapping Young Lad, All That Remains (Rochester, NY @ The Penny Arcade)
By Eric | June 27, 2005 11:59 pm
The “Sounds of the Underground” tour made an off-date stop in Rochacha, with four of the bands hitting the small stage at the Arcade. The place was like an oven on this night, and getting a couple hundred sweaty bodies in there didn’t help it one bit. All That Remains opened up, and rocked themselves pretty hard. Since they’re cut from the same mold as Killswitch, and I had just picked up the CD 2 days earlier, I kinda knew what to expect. They sounded good, but I can’t say I was blown away. One interesting thing is that they had two guitar players, but no bass player, as the one they had quit a while ago. The sound actually didn’t suffer all that much.
Strapping Young Lad was up next, and these Vancouver natives were certainly metal in every sense of the word. The band is made up of 5 guys that all look like they’re in their 40’s, but they still rocked! Lead singer Devin Townsend had long straggly hair, but was completely bald on top, which made him look that much more ugly. ha. Their sound was extreme, just flailing away on the instruments, and the lyrics were cheesy and over the top, but certainly entertaining. I’m thankful that I’m over 21, because in-between each set, I got to go outside and cool off a bit, and it was definately needed on this night.
Strapping Young Lad – Skeksis
Next up was the almighty Chimaira. They came out to “Pure Hatred”, and whipped everyone into a frenzy right away. Unfortunately, as the show went on, the frenzy dissipated, at least in the front couple rows, as the Opeth fans seemed less than impressed. Didn’t quite stop me from rockin out though! “Severed” was next, followed by the 1-2 punch of “Cleansation” and “The Impossibility of Reason”. Time for two new songs, “Nothing Remains” (which the die-hards already downloaded) and “Inside The Horror”, which has a really cool outro. “The Dehumanizing Process” was up next, and then completely dehydrated and exhausted from the heat at this point, “Eyes of a Criminal” was cut from the set, and the band closed with “Power Trip”. I managed to snag the setlist that Chris threw out, and took that and my sweat-drenched self out to the car. I threw on the shirt I just bought, and headed out back behind the venue to catch some autographs. All of the Chimaira guys were quite gracious and cool to talk to. Feeling satisfied, I decided I wasn’t quite interested enough to stick around for Opeth, and as such, my night was completed. A great night of metal entertainment, and the two new songs merely whet my appetite for the new Chimaira record coming out in August.
[flickr]7082246957[/flickr]
The awesome Underground Video Television site has two Chimaira clips from this show (Pure Hatred and Severed) and a clip of Strapping Young Lad’s “In The Rainy Season”.
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 06/27/2005 Opeth, Chimaira, Strapping Young Lad, All That Remains (Rochester, NY @ The Penny Arcade)
Tags: 2005, All That Remains, Chimaira, Opeth, rochester, Strapping Young Lad, The Penny Arcade
Upcoming Concert Calendar
By Eric | June 27, 2005 11:53 am
Ripping off Sara, here’s the upcoming concert calendar. Shows in bold are things I either already have tickets for, or plan to have tickets fairly soon.
# 06/29/05 – Opeth, Chimaira, Strapping Young Lad, All That Remains – Penny Arcade – Rochester, NY
# 06/30/05 – Thornley, Hurst – Arizona’s – Thorold, ONT
# 07/06/05 – Tea Party – Water Street – Rochester, NY
# 07/07/05 – Tea Party – Sphere – Buffalo, NY
# 07/08/05 – Tea Party – Sphere – Buffalo, NY
# 07/10/05 – Def Leppard, Bryan Adams – Frontier Field – Rochester, NY
# 07/16/05 – KROCK-athon: Seven Mary Three, Cake, Shinedown, Trapt, Ra, Boyhitscar, and Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society – Cayuga County Fairgrounds – Weedsport, NY
# 07/21/05 – Ozzfest – Darien Lake PAC – Darien, NY
# 07/22/05 – The Allman Brothers, Gavin DeGraw – Finger Lakes PAC – Canandaigua,NY
# 07/22/05 – Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Soilwork – Magic City Music Hall – Binghamton, NY
# 07/26/05 – Warped Tour – Darien Lake PAC – Darien, NY
# 07/30/05 – George Thorogood – Fallsview Casino – Niagara Falls, ONT
# 07/31/05 – George Thorogood – Fallsview Casino – Niagara Falls, ONT
# 08/11/05 – ZZ Top – Erie County Fairgrounds – Hamburg, NY
# 08/11/05 – Cinderella, Firehouse, Quiet Riot, Ratt – Shea’s – Buffalo, NY
# 08/13/05 – Green Day, Jimmy Eat World – HSBC Arena – Buffalo, NY
# 08/20/05 – Buddy Guy – Buffalo Bikefest – Buffalo, NY
# 08/21/05 – The Fabulous Thunderbirds – Niagara Square – Buffalo, NY
# 08/27/05 – ZZ Top – Finger Lakes PAC – Canandaigua,NY
# 09/01/05 – Nickelback, Seether, Crossfade, Dark New Day – New York State Fairgrounds – Syracuse, NY
# 09/02/05 – Motley Crue – Darien Lake PAC – Darien, NY
# 09/03/05 – 3 Doors Down, Staind, Breaking Benjamin, No Address – Darien Lake PAC – Darien, NY
# 09/04/05 – 3 Doors Down, Staind, Breaking Benjamin, No Address – New York State Fairgrounds – Syracuse, NY
# 12/09/05 – U2 – HSBC Arena – Buffalo, NY
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Upcoming Concert Calendar
Tags: Buffalo, casino, house, music, NT, rochester, Work
06/02/2005 Theory Of A Deadman (Buffalo, NY @ Thursday In The Square)
By Eric | June 2, 2005 11:59 pm
Tiff and I headed out after work to wonderful downtown Buffalo for the Thursday night show, featuring Theory of a Deadman. We never make it in time to see the openers, but considering that said openers were Breaking Point and Submersed, we didn’t miss much. Anyhoo, we got into a decent spot about 20 people back, dead center. The guys came out and ripped into Hating Hollywood, then into Quiver and Invisible Man. Some talking with the crowd, Amanda calling me to try to figure out my location, and then Nothing Could Come Between Us, Last Song, Any Other Way, and Say Goodbye. Another little break, another aborted phone call, and then Hello Lonely, Better Off, What You Deserve, and the main set was closed with Make Up Your Mind. After a couple minutes, Tyler came out by himself to do Santa Monica acoustically, then everyone came back for No Surprise, and the closer, Leg To Stand On. The band sounded good overall, there were a couple times where the mix wasn’t so hot, but outdoor and free, whaddya want? It had a typical Square crowd for a harder rock show… that is, a bunch of drunk idiots that will mosh to anything. Just more entertainment for us, I guess. As far as the setlist goes, I would have played some different tunes off of the new album, but I wasn’t disappointed either.
Topics: Concerts | 4 Comments »
Tags: 2005, Buffalo, Theory of a Deadman, Thursday In The Square
05/12/2005 Chevelle, Dark New Day (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
By Eric | May 12, 2005 11:59 pm
I had been salivating over this show for a little while, mainly due to the fact that Dark New Day was the opening band. For the unintiated, DnD is a “supergroup” of sorts, with Brett Hestla (Virgos, touring bass player for Creed) on vocals, Clint Lowery (Sevendust) on guitar, Troy McLawhorn (doubleDrive) on guitar, Corey Lowery (Stereomud, Stuck Mojo) on bass, and Will Hunt (Skrape) on drums. Anyway, their new album isn’t out yet, but about 5 songs have been previewed on the website. I was about three people back, and when they came out and opened with Taking Me Alive, I immediately started rockin out, and since I was right in front of Corey and Troy, they noticed me almost right away. (I’m sure wearing a doubleDrive shirt didn’t hurt!). Brett was all over the stage, and I think the crowd warmed up to them as the show went along. My order is probably off, but they also played Brother, Heal In Time, Pieces, one I didn’t catch the name of (“Free” maybe?), and closed with Bare Bones (which oughta be the next single!). At one point Corey was rockin so hard he nearly fell off the front of the stage! After the set I ran back and bought the 3-song sampler they had at the merch booth, and headed outside to find the guys. After a bit, Corey and Brett came off the bus and started meeting people. Corey instantly recognized me from being in front of him, and goes “Damn dude, you knew all the words already!” Brett pretty much said the same thing, and after getting some autographs I chatted briefly with them about the album coming out. I went back inside, met Clint and Will, and then after meandering about, got to talk to Troy for a little bit, told him how awesome the new stuff was, and asked him and Corey if they’d let Brett sing any Still Rain stuff (ha! Wouldn’t that be awesome!). I headed up to the balcony to check out Chevelle, who put on a good show in their own right. Their set list was as follows: Another Know It All, Vitamin R, Still Running, Emotional Drought, Get Some, Forfeit, Send the Pain Below, Grab Thy Hand, Liars & Thieves (Ministry Cover), Comfortable Liar, The Red, Closure, Wonder What’s Next. Encore: Panic Prone, The Clincher. I was kinda surprised that they didn’t play anything from Point #1, but so be it. With a sparse setup and only 3 guys, they had a lot of room to move around. The crowd got a little louder as the show went on, and predictably everyone went nuts for the singles, especially The Clincher. Chevelle was impressive, but I primarily went for Dark New Day, and certainly wasn’t disappointed. Can’t wait for the Buffalo show!
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 05/12/2005 Chevelle, Dark New Day (Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall)
Tags: 2005, Chevelle, Dark New Day, rochester, Water Street Music Hall
…And That’s When I Dropped My Donuts.
By Eric | May 11, 2005 1:32 pm
So after our whirlwind parents weekend, we’re back to the usual home life, plus a dog and a cat for a week. We’re pet-sitting for Tiff’s parents while they’re having fun in Vegas, and while I’m getting used to it, I’m not prepared to get used to it for the long haul. I’m simply too lazy to deal with the pets as far as the feeding, walking, making sure the door is closed, etc. Don’t wanna deal with it.
I saw an accident on the 590 (Northbound) on my way into work this morning. Everyone else stopped, and some lady in a prism didn’t. Sucks to be her, as the front end looked like it was in rough shape. (‘Twas amazing how the back end bounced once or twice too!) Gotta pay attention folks!
I “acquired” the new Limp Bizkit and System of a Down albums last night, and ran through both of them this morning. The SOAD disc sounds much like the single does, like the System of old, but a little bit more produced. (It’s only 36 minutes, and they had to do a double disc?) Kinda political, kinda goofy. Everything you’d expect. Now the LB disc was surprising. Out of morbid curiousity, I listened, and now that Wes is back in the band, it actually sounds decent (it was a steady decline, but Results May Vary had no redeeming songs whatsoever on it, even Starfish had a couple). As one review put it, this should have been put out after 3 Dollar Bill, but as such, it’s 6 years too late. But decent (and only a half-hour long!). Fred doesn’t whine, and he doesn’t say Limp Bizkit 57298728935 times. As much as it pains me to say, I actually somewhat like it.
Topics: Blog | 3 Comments »
Tags: cat, NT, tiff, Work
04/30/2005 Tony C. And The Truth (Rochester, NY @ RIT SAU)
By Eric | April 30, 2005 8:11 pm
I should have known that the apathetic RIT student population was not going to turn out, most likely opting for the Ludacris show later on in the Fieldhouse. I think if there was 40 people in the SAU cafeteria, that was a lot. Tony C and crew were slated to play out on the lawn, but since it rained all day, they moved the free shows inside. So they played to about 30 people and the tech crew, and everyone that was watching just kinda sat there with the “deer in the headlights” type look on their faces. Tiff and I grabbed some chairs and sat dead center, and I rocked out as much as I could without looking like a total moron (or any more than usual!). The band sounded good, and put forth an honest effort, even though they played to essentially nobody. They ran through most of their album (Demonophonic Blues), plus some blues covers. I got some autographs and bought a shirt after the set, and thanked the guys for rocking despite the lack of turnout. They seemed gracious, and alluded to the fact that they’ll probably be back around this area over the summer. I hope they have a crowd next time!
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 04/30/2005 Tony C. And The Truth (Rochester, NY @ RIT SAU)
Tags: 2005, RIT SAU, rochester, Tony C. and The Truth
Lewis Black Coming To Rochester!
By Eric | April 29, 2005 3:42 pm
So maybe I was out of the loop on this, but tickets go on sale TOMORROW for Lewis Black at the Rochester Auditorium Theater, on Saturday, June 25, 2005. $32.50 a pop. I know some of you are Lew fans, so take heed!!
And speaking of shows, here’s the latest list of stuff I’m either going to or thought would be interesting to mention:
Tomorrow 2pm – Tony C and the Truth @ RIT Spring Festival (on the lawn, FREE!)
Sunday May 8 – Mike Doughty (the guy from Soul Coughing) @ Milestones
Thursday May 12 – Chevelle / Dark New Day @ Water Street (I got my ticket)
Tuesday May 17 – Chevelle / Dark New Day @ Sphere (Might go again, dunno yet)
Sunday July 10 – Def Leppard / Bryan Adams @ Frontier Field (ha! what a show! hehehe)
Saturday August 27 – ZZ Top @ Finger Lakes PAC (I’d like to see them!)
Topics: Blog | 6 Comments »
Tags: NT, rochester
Music Television… playing Music?
By Eric | April 29, 2005 10:30 am
So I’m going to try to get back to real posts, and not crappy updates on the state of the site.
First off, as I was flipping channels this morning, I was confused. Horribly, horribly confused. MTV was playing videos. Of music! And it wasn’t hip-hop or rap! I could scarcely believe my eyes as I saw not only one, but TWO videos back to back! 8 minutes of programming before the commercial onslaught again. And dare I say, decent videos? The new System of a Down track, “B.Y.O.B.”, and then the new Weezer track, “Beverley Hills”, which I have to admit is kinda catchy.
We have been instructed at work to use discretion when congratulating a customer on a Jackpot win. We actually had someone complain that they were congratulated, because this miserable woman “spent way more than this trying to win something”. Boo freakin hoo. Be gracious, say thank you, and go dump it all back in the machines.
People will complain about anything, and if they’re getting it for free, that’s no good either. Thursdays are free coffee and soft drink days, and you’d think people would be happy about that. But noooooo… they bitch and moan even more than they do when they have to pay! (I know, it should be comped anyway, but its not.) Oh, we’re giving away scratch-off lottery tickets? Complain that you didn’t win. Loudly. So as to embarrass yourself.
By the way, Congratulations!
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Music Television… playing Music?
Tags: cat, commercial, music, NT, video, Work