02/03/2018 Big Wreck (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
By Eric | February 5, 2018 3:45 pm
[Attica Riots was the opener, didn’t watch them. From Winnipeg.]
I only saw Big Wreck once during the initial run of the band, in 2001 at Edgefest, but this show marked the fourth time since the revival! Once on each of the last three new album tours, the Edgefest show was part of the Pleasure and the Greed tour, and now I got to complete the cycle by going back to the beginning – this being the tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of In Living Memory Of…
I timed this one pretty well, as I didn’t get into Buffalo until almost 8pm, which allowed me to stroll right in without waiting in line. I grabbed my ticket, poked my head in for two seconds to see what I was(n’t) missing as far as the opener went, and grabbed a beverage. No sooner did I receive it when I ran into my concert buddies from Syracuse, Kiersten and Pete! I hadn’t realized they were coming, so it was nice to have people to hang out with, and great to catch up on all the shows we’d seen and are going to see. We got corralled by a photographer for the Gusto taking all the “people at the show” pictures, and we look like pretty much everyone else that was at this show, perhaps a touch younger!
Onto the show itself! We managed to grab a spot at the barrier of the 3rd level, just left of center. It was a great spot, and given the show’s demographics, there was no jostling or anything. What made this anniversary show kinda cool is that they didn’t play the songs in album order. They opened with my favorite, Look What I Found, into the first crowd pleaser, That Song. What came next was a nice little wrinkle – a b-side from ILMO, Ill Advice! [More bands need to do this on their anniversary shows!!!] As Ian put it, (and I’m paraphrasing) “someone at the record company didn’t think this was good enough to make the record, but I really like it, so we’re gonna play it!” This was included on the re-issue (on Spotify anyway), but I’d had it for years on the Much @ Edgefest 99 compilation. I’d seen a number of these songs at the previous shows, but certainly not all, and I’m willing to bet there’s stuff they’d never played at all prior to this tour. Most everyone was singing to every single song, but the biggest reactions were for the singles by far, That Song, Blown Wide Open, and of course The Oaf. There was a fair bit of noodling and soloing through each of the songs, and holy hell can Ian Thornley play the guitar. My word. However, during one of the songs (can’t remember which), Ian forgot to put his slide on, and started to try to play without it! We all got a chuckle out of that one, as did he.
We got an encore starting with Albatross, which I’m happy to say had people singing just as loud, if not louder, than any of the ILMO stuff, and then Digging In, before they closed it out with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”. They had been playing Thornley’s “Come Again” as the last song, but unfortunately not tonight. The band sounded great, Ian sounded great, it was just a fun trip down memory lane all the way around. Super glad I came down for it!
In Loving Memory Of 20th Anniversary
Look What I Found
That Song
Ill Advice
How Would You Know
Under the Lighthouse
Prayer
By the Way
Waste
Blown Wide Open
Between You and I
Oh My
Fall Through the Cracks
Overemphasizing
The Oaf
Encore:
Albatross
Digging In
Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover)
End of Overemphasizing / The Oaf
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 02/03/2018 Big Wreck (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
Tags: 2018, Big Wreck, Buffalo, Town Ballroom
Machine Head – 2018 – Catharsis
By Eric | February 1, 2018 6:00 pm
Artist: Machine Head
Title: Catharsis
Label: Nuclear Blast
Released: Jan 26, 2018
Packaging: Digipack
Pack-in DVD? DVD Included
Release Type: Deluxe Edition
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Volatile
#Catharsis
#Beyond the Pale
#California Bleeding
#Triple Beam
#Kaleidoscope
#Bastards
#Hope Begets Hope
#Screaming At The Sun
#Behind A Mask
#Heavy Lies The Crown
#Psychotic
#Grind You Down
#Razorblade Smile
#Eulogy
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Machine Head – 2018 – Catharsis
Tags: 2018, Deluxe Edition, Digipack, DVD Included, Machine Head, Nuclear Blast
Top 5 Shows and Albums of 2017
By Eric | December 31, 2017 1:56 pm
Top 5 Shows
———–
1/28/17 – Will Hoge @ Waiting Room
2/23/17 – The Tea Party @ Town Ballroom
5/30/17 – Tool @ Blue Cross Arena
7/21/17 – Clutch @ The Dome
8/16/17 – Guns N Roses @ New Era Field
Top 5 Albums
————
36 Crazyfists – Lanterns
Black Stone Cherry – Back To Blues
Jasta – The Lost Chapters
Nothing More – The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Papa Roach – Crooked Teeth
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on Top 5 Shows and Albums of 2017
Tags: 2017, 36 Crazyfists, Black Stone Cherry, Blue Cross Arena, Clutch, Jasta, Nothing More, Papa Roach, Tea Party, The Tea Party, Tool, Town Ballroom, Will Hoge
12/07/2017 Hatebreed, Dying Fetus, Code Orange, Twitching Tongues (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
By Eric | December 8, 2017 11:35 am
I never miss a chance to see Hatebreed, and given that the Warped Tour set, while awesome, was way too short, hauling down to Buffalo was a no-brainer. This run was billed as “20 Years of Desire and 15 Years of Perseverance”, so there’d be a heavy slant on the first two albums.
I got there plenty early, as I was interested to see the other three bands on the bill as well. Twitching Tongues was on first, and they have Sean Martin playing guitar, who used to be in Hatebreed. I liked them a lot, they were hardcore-ish, but had some straight up rock/metal parts and actual singing. Pretty good stuff. Next up was Code Orange, and I’d heard a ton about them. While they were good, their brand of hardcore is more with the dissonant, off-rhythm type stuff, and try as I might, I cannot get into it. They had plenty of fans there, however, and the spin kicks, floor punches, and circle pits were on full display. After them was Dying Fetus, whom I’d seen once before, also with Hatebreed, back in 2009. I said in that review that I enjoyed their set, but death metal isn’t my cup of tea. It still isn’t, however, once again, their set was impressive. Besides, who am I to say a cross word about a band who has a song and album called “Wrong One To Fuck With”??
Finally it was time for Hatebreed, and true to the tour billing, it was a lot of the old stuff. Lots of guys came out of mosh retirement for some of these songs. I was happy because there’s a couple of these tunes I’d never heard like You’re Never Alone, Afflicted Past, Mark My Words, Betrayed By Life. I’d gotten a bunch of the other ones checked off the list on the “20 Years of Hatebreed” tour at Montage back in 2015, and I feel like Buffalo will usually get some older stuff in the set every time as a nod to the city’s hardcore history. The end of the set was pretty special also, as they brought out Sean Martin as a third guitarist to play on the last three songs, all of which he was originally on. They rocked out Proven, Perseverance, and I Will Be Heard to send everyone home happy. Per usual, the crowd was enthusiastic all night, and while the pit was a bit bigger and maybe a touch more violent due to the old songs and old hardcore crowd, I still didn’t see anything too memorable, so I’m assuming everyone was cool and had as good of a time as I did!
Hatebreed setlist was pretty much this:
Empty Promises
Burn the Lies
A Call for Blood
Before Dishonor
You’re Never Alone
Puritan
Not One Truth
Looking Down the Barrel of Today
Conceived Through an Act of Violence
Afflicted Past
Prepare for War
Betrayed by Life
Last Breath
Mark My Words
Burial for the Living
Worlds Apart
Destroy Everything
Driven by Suffering
Smash Your Enemies
To the Threshold
Under the Knife
Proven (with Sean Martin)
Perseverance (with Sean Martin)
I Will Be Heard (with Sean Martin)
Empty Promises / Burn the Lies / A Call for Blood / Before Dishonor
You’re Never Alone / Puritan / Not One Truth
Perseverance / I Will Be Heard
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 12/07/2017 Hatebreed, Dying Fetus, Code Orange, Twitching Tongues (Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom)
Tags: 2017, Buffalo, Code Orange, Dying Fetus, Hatebreed, Town Ballroom, Twitching Tongues
Nine Inch Nails – 2017 – Not The Actual Events
By Eric | November 26, 2017 6:00 pm
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Title: Not The Actual Events
Label: The Null Corporation
Released: Nov 17, 2017
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Branches ~ Bones
#Dear World
#She’s Gone Away
#The Idea Of You
#Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
Review:
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Tags: 2017, Cardboard, Nine Inch Nails, Standard, The Null Corporation
Gord Downie – 2017 – Introduce Yerself
By Eric | November 9, 2017 6:00 pm
Artist: Gord Downie
Title: Introduce Yerself
Label: Arts & Crafts
Released: Oct 27, 2017
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#First Person
#Wolf’s Home
#Bedtime
#Introduce Yerself
#Coco Chanel No. 5
#Ricky Please
#Safe Is Dead
#Spoon
#A Natural
#Faith Faith
#My First Girlfriend
#Yer Ashore
#Love Over Money
#You Me And The B’s
#Snowflake
#A Better End
#Nancy
#Thinking About Us
#The Road
#You Are The Bird
#The Lake
#Far Away And Blurred
#The North
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Gord Downie – 2017 – Introduce Yerself
Tags: 2017, Arts & Crafts, Cardboard, Gord Downie, Standard
Gord Downie – 2016 – Secret Path
By Eric | November 9, 2017 6:00 pm
Artist: Gord Downie
Title: Secret Path
Label: Arts & Crafts
Released: Dec 2, 2016
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#The Stranger
#Swing Set
#Seven Matches
#I Will Not Be Struck
#Son
#Secret Path
#Don’t Let This Touch You
#Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them
#The Only Place To Be
#Here, Here and Here
Review:
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Tags: 2016, Arts & Crafts, Cardboard, Gord Downie, Standard
10/25/2017 Insane Clown Posse, RA The Rugged Man, LYTE, Ouija, Unborn Society (Rochester, NY @ Funk N Waffles)
By Eric | October 27, 2017 9:50 am
Well, well, well, 20 years later, who would have thunk it. I had purchased The Great Milenko not long after it was released (the 2nd time, on Island) and it still stands as the one and only ICP record I own. Always loved this one, but never had any real desire to delve in any further. I had missed out on a show around that time (a little digging looks like it would have been January 8, 1998 at Showplace), so prior to this I’d never seen ICP either. Who knows what life would have been like had I gotten to that show – mayhaps I would have turned into a juggalo? Food for thought.
Anyway, ICP announced a 20-year anniversary tour for Milenko, where they’d play the album front to back. Rochester had a date! No time like the present, said this old man. I’d finally get to see them, and they’re only playing the one album I know? Perfect! Initially this was going to be at the German House, which seemed strange to me (too nice, too small), and then they moved it to Water Str… er, Funk and Waffles. New name, same place. Hasn’t changed a bit. I had my ticket, and then as it turned out, Tiff’s friend had just gotten married, and her husband is a big ICP fan, so a little extra wedding present saw Doug coming with me.
We got there pretty early, and the place was packed already. The crowd was about what I expected – the juggalos rolled in with tons of face paint, dyed hair, and whatever else. There were a ton of openers – first (and only) band on was Unborn Society, who for what little we saw sounded pretty good. A metal band wasn’t quite what I was expecting to see. The next guy, Ouija, was a skinny little white dude that I guess was rapping – it was hard to tell what was song and what was hype. Not terribly impressed. LYTE was the next guy up, and he was much better. Direct support was RA The Rugged Man, and this was more like it. I’m no rap connoisseur, but he impressed me.
So after all the openers, we squeezed down to the front left by the bar, and the intro tape hit, and away we went. I had a blast rapping along with all the old tunes, and speaking of blasts – everyone and everything was blasted with Faygo. I had the foresight to wear garbage, and bring a change of clothes in the car! Nostalgia aside, ICP put on a great show – Shaggy and Violent J obviously know what they’re doing in front of a crowd, their support crew had everything sounding good, and the crowd didn’t seem like it had too many idiots in the pit. For all the talk about juggalos and ICP and all the hysteria over the years, this was like any other sold-out show I’ve ever been to at Water Street – hot, sweaty, kinda gross (given the Faygo, and it’s not like GWAR is any cleaner!), and a ton of fun. You’ll never mistake me for a juggalo, but this was a damn good time!
The Great Milenko 20 Year Tour
——————————
Intro
Great Milenko
Hokus Pokus
Piggy Pie
How Many Times?
Southwest Voodoo
Hall Of Illusions
Under The Moon
What Is A Juggalo?
House Of Horrors
Boogie Woogie Wu
The Neden Game
Hellalujah
Down With The Clown
Just Like That
Pass Me By
House of Horrors
The Neden Game
Hellalujah
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 10/25/2017 Insane Clown Posse, RA The Rugged Man, LYTE, Ouija, Unborn Society (Rochester, NY @ Funk N Waffles)
Tags: 2017, Funk N Waffles, Insane Clown Posse, LYTE, Ouija, RA The Rugged Man, rochester, Unborn Society
Nine Inch Nails – 2017 – Add Violence
By Eric | October 17, 2017 6:00 pm
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Title: Add Violence
Label: Capitol
Released: Oct 13, 2017
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Less Than
#The Lovers
#This Isn’t The Place
#Not Anymore
#The Background World
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Nine Inch Nails – 2017 – Add Violence
Tags: 2017, Capitol, Cardboard, Nine Inch Nails, Standard
36 Crazyfists – 2017 – Lanterns
By Eric | October 17, 2017 6:00 pm
Artist: 36 Crazyfists
Title: Lanterns
Label: Spinefarm
Released: Sep 29, 2017
Packaging: Jewel Case
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Death Eater
#Wars to Walk Away From
#Better To Burn
#Damaged Under Sun
#Sea And Smoke
#Where Revenge Ends
#Sleepsick
#Bandage For Promise
#Laying Hands
#Below The Graves
#Old Gold
#Dark Corners
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on 36 Crazyfists – 2017 – Lanterns
Tags: 2017, 36 Crazyfists, Jewel Case, Spinefarm, Standard