08/02/2015 Incubus, Deftones (Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
By Eric | August 4, 2015 9:36 am
Just a few days after the big Slipknot / Lamb of God show, I was right back at Darien Lake for another twin bill. Instead of 50/50, however, this was about a 95/5 in favor of the Deftones. There was an opening band [The Bots], but I didn’t see them, making it into the venue during set change. In fact, I had assumed that it was going to be anyone but the Deftones up next, and I was casually strolling back to my 5th row seat when opening riff of Diamond Eyes started. Can’t say I’ve ever made it back to the front of the amphitheater that fast in all of my concert-going!
Once ensconced up front, I was able to enjoy the rest of Diamond Eyes, and then the first of many nods to the old-school, My Own Summer followed by Lhabia (just like on the album!). There was a great flow to the set, working in the highs and lows, and a great mix across the entire catalog. The band sounded fantastic, Chino was hitting most everything, and the crowd for the most part was into the entire set. It was readily apparent that having an aisle seat on the left hand side was the place to be, as there were easily way more enthusiastic fans on my side. Way more people jumping in the seats, jumping in the aisle, and generally trying to make it like a “regular” general admission Deftones show. Seeing them in a seated environment is nowhere near as fun. (Why they didn’t do a GA pit (ala Slipknot) for this show is a bit of a mystery, although Incubus these days would have no use for it.) Anyway, Chino kept coming over to our side with the crowd pandering, probably a good 70% of the time; I’m pretty sure he could tell there were more “die-hards” on our side. Made the experience that much better! Nowhere was it more apparent than towards the end of the set, as after the mass appeal of Change and Be Quiet And Drive, it was time for arguably my favorite concert moment of the year… Stef hits the opening riff of “Headup” and the entire side of the crowd I was on went BONKERS. (Check out the 7th video in the playlist below, halfway through) There were a number of us that tried to make it as GA as possible. Speaking for myself, I don’t think I stopped jumping the entire song, and I wasn’t alone! Most fun I’ve had in awhile! That would have been great as the closer, but noooooo… they weren’t done! Next was Birthmark (which I’d never seen live!), and they closed with Engine No. 9, which was almost as much fun as Headup. And I even caught a drumstick at the end of the set! Kinda, sorta, not really. More like ripped it out from under the foot of a girl who had been sitting down the whole show (the exception to my “crowd going wild” statement above), and was sitting even as the drumstick came close to her. She was none too pleased. But I explained it to her a bit less eloquently than I’m writing here, in so many words saying “Sorry hun, your lack of care during the entire set equates to my lack of care for your proximity to the drumstick, or your foot, for that matter.” YOINK. Yes, I’m going to say it, she didn’t DESERVE that drumstick. The set was great, the band was great, the crowd was great. Slipknot/LoG may have been the best overall show of the year, but this individual set has to take top billing for the year.
Even better, someone that *didn’t* feel like jumping captured the entire set from just behind where I was, so not only can I relive the show essentially from my perspective, I can watch my lanky, dorky self jumping around and going crazy the whole time. (Ohhh, so that’s what I look like when I’m getting my money’s worth lol). Thanks dude!
Deftones setlist:
Diamond Eyes
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Lhabia
Beware
Bloody Cape
Sextape
You’ve Seen the Butcher
Rocket Skates
Tempest
Swerve City
Knife Prty
Digital Bath
Change (In the House of Flies)
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
Headup
Birthmark
Engine No. 9
After a set like that, there wasn’t going to be much of anything that would equal the excitement in my eyes, and Incubus didn’t. I had retreated back to the 400’s to hang out with Dave and his crew, catch a beverage, and catch my breath. I never really got into Incubus, and I’d only seen them once before, years ago opening for Limp Bizkit back in 1998 (on SCIENCE). Of course, I know all the radio hits, but that’s really about it. The only older song they played was Vitamin (I really only know Certain Shade of Green and New Skin, so even Vitamin was meh to me.) The show as a whole was okay, they sounded good, but there didn’t seem to be much movement among the band members, they just kind of stood there and played the songs. As a non-fan, it didn’t really make me like them any more than I already do. After they played Drive as part of the encore, I slipped out the back and beat all the traffic out of the venue. Obviously I’m biased, but compared to the Deftones, there was no comparison. Incubus didn’t have it, and the Deftones did.
Incubus Setlist:
Wish You Were Here
Anna Molly
Circles
Absolution Calling
Are You In?
Vitamin
Trust Fall
In the Company of Wolves
Nice to Know You
Here in My Room
Sick Sad Little World
Pardon Me
Make Out Party
Megalomaniac
(Nirvana’s Come As You Are snippet)
Encore:
Dig
Drive
A Crow Left of the Murder
(Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy) closing)
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 08/02/2015 Incubus, Deftones (Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
Tags: 2015, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Deftones, Incubus
Crash Karma – 2010 – Crash Karma
By Eric | July 31, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: Crash Karma
Title: Crash Karma
Label: E1 Entertainment
Released: Mar 30, 2010
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Like a Wave
#Awake
#Next Life
#Lost
#Fight
#Fire, The
#Man I Used To Be
#Energy
#On My Own
#Not About Anger
#Live a Little
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Crash Karma – 2010 – Crash Karma
Tags: 2010, Cardboard, Crash Karma, E1 Entertainment, Standard
Saint Asonia – 2015 – Saint Asonia
By Eric | July 31, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: Saint Asonia
Title: Saint Asonia
Label: RCA
Released: Jul 31, 2015
Packaging: Jewel Case
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Better Place
#Blow Me Wide Open
#Let Me Live My Life
#Even Though I Say
#Fairy Tale
#King Of Nothing
#Waste My Time
#Dying Slowly
#Trying To Catch Up With The World
#Happy Tragedy
#Leaving Minnesota
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Saint Asonia – 2015 – Saint Asonia
Tags: 2015, Jewel Case, RCA, Saint Asonia, Standard
Ludacris – 2001 – Word Of Mouf
By Eric | July 31, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: Ludacris
Title: Word Of Mouf
Label: Def Jam South
Released: Nov 27, 2001
Packaging: Jewel Case
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Coming 2 America [Explicit]
#Rollout
#Go 2 Sleep [feat. Three 6 Mafia] [Explicit]
#Cry Babies
#She Said [feat. Fate Wilson] [Explicit]
#Howhere
#Area Codes [feat. Nate Dogg] [Explicit]
#Growing Pains [feat. Fate Wilson] [Explicit]
#Greatest Hits
#Move Bitch [feat. I-20] [Explicit]
#Stop Lying
#Saturday
#Keep It On The Hush [feat. Jazze Pha] [Explicit]
#Word Of Mouf
#Get The Fuck Back [Explicit]
#Freaky Thangs [feat. Jagged Edge] [Explicit]
#Cold Outside [feat. Chimere] [Explicit]
#Block Lockdown (Album Version
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Ludacris – 2001 – Word Of Mouf
Tags: 2001, Def Jam South, Jewel Case, Ludacris, Standard
From Zero – 2003 – My So-Called Life
By Eric | July 31, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: From Zero
Title: My So-Called Life
Label: Arista
Released: May 6, 2003
Packaging: Jewel Case
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Myself
#Lines
#Sorry
#My So Called Life
#Sold Out
#I Don’t Care Anymore
#Time Of Day
#Drama Queen
#Fleeting Glimpse
#Free Without A Struggle
#Believe
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on From Zero – 2003 – My So-Called Life
Tags: 2003, Arista, From Zero, Jewel Case, Standard
B.B. King – 2005 – The Ultimate Collection
By Eric | July 31, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: B.B. King
Title: The Ultimate Collection
Label: Geffen
Released: Mar 15, 2005
Packaging: Jewel Case
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Three O’ Clock Blues
#Please Love Me
#You Upset Me, Baby
#Sweet Sixteen Parts One & Two
#Rock Me Baby
#How Blue Can You Get?
#Everyday I Have The Blues
#Sweet Little Angel
#Don’t Answer The Door
#Paying The Cost To Be The Boss
#The Thrill Is Gone
#Nobody Loves Me But My Mother
#Chains And Things
#Ain’t Nobody Home
#I Like To Live The Love
#Never Make A Move Too Soon
#Better Not Look Down
#There Must Be A Better World Somewhere
#When Love Comes To Town
#Ten Long Years
#I’ll Survive
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on B.B. King – 2005 – The Ultimate Collection
Tags: 2005, B.B. King, Geffen, Jewel Case, Standard
07/29/2015 Slipknot, Lamb Of God, Bullet For My Valentine, Motionless In White (Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
By Eric | July 30, 2015 2:29 pm
This was the show of the summer. Hands down. Billed as the “Summer’s Last Stand” tour, it lived up to the name. I sprung for pit, as I’m way too antsy to see Slipknot and LoG in seats. The pit section was fairly empty as Motionless in White came on, but everyone that was there seemed to pay attention, and the band was pretty good. They seem like they’d have a way better go of it in a dark club as opposed to broad daylight, visually speaking, however musically they sounded good. I’m not familiar with any of their stuff, so their half hour was as entertaining as it could have been.
MIW setlist:
Break the Cycle
Devil’s Night
America
Abigail
If It’s Dead, We’ll Kill It
Unstoppable
Reincarnate
I’d seen Bullet For My Valentine in 2011 on Uproar, plus I’d spun some of their stuff in anticipation of the show, so I had an idea of what to expect. Pretty straightforward metal/metalcore, they sounded great. As with MIW, I don’t really know many of the songs, but the interest and entertainment factor was certainly there. I can see why they’re as popular as they are; they’re a really solid band.
Bullet for my Valentine setlist:
No Way Out
Your Betrayal
Raising Hell
Scream Aim Fire
Army of Noise
Tears Don’t Fall
Waking the Demon
With the openers out of the way, it was time to get down and dirty. Lamb of God had just released Sturm und Drang the Friday before, and this tour started the same day, so everything was fresh. The boys opened with Walk With Me In Hell, and that whipped everyone up from the word go. Pretty much a “greatest hits” set with two of the new tunes sprinkled in (512, Still Echoes), I was thrilled that even during a non-headlining set they throw stuff like Vigil in there! It was a figurative and literal sprint through the set. Literal, as in Randy was running and jumping all over the stage for the entirety of their time. He had more energy than most of the crowd! The rest of the band sounded fantastic, as per usual. They seemed to be having a lot of fun up there, and most of the crowd in the pit was equal to the task, if not the massive mosh pit that a LoG headliner might induce. Always too short, but a hell of a time.
Lamb of God setlist:
Walk with Me in Hell
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
Still Echoes
512
Ghost Walking
Ruin
Hourglass
Vigil
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Walk With Me In Hell
Ghost Walking
The pit area really packed in once set change hit. It got a little darker outside, which helped the stage show immensely. There were huge curtains across the stage as they rolled tape on XIX. The curtains opened to reveal the band and the stage, they closed out XIX, launched into Sarcastrophe, and away we went. The band sounded fantastic, Corey’s screams were on point, and the stage show was the usual chaos you’d expect from a Slipknot show. Their setup was as elaborate as anything I’ve seen at Darien Lake, and they used every square inch of it. All of the band members were wandering around the entire time, Clown and Fehn were up and down on their drum rigs all night. The crowd went nuts, and just about everyone went as crazy for the new stuff (and knew all the words!) as well as the old. No worries about diehards in the pit this time around. Lots of movement, bouncing, dancing, moshing, a complete 180 from the crowd at the 2008 Mayhem Fest show (I didn’t go in 2012). We did the requisite “jumpdafuckup” during Spit It Out, and Corey, Clown and Fehn made their way to the barrier on more than one occasion to get as close as they could.
I’d be remiss if I forgot to mention the one character in the pit who presumed it was his rightful duty to be “barrier access ambassador”. No joke, this guy would keep ushering girls (and it was always girls) in front of him to get closer up front. Which is a noble act, except the pit was packed, and there was nowhere to put anybody! Didn’t matter to him though. More annoying than actually disruptive, its just one of those things that happen when you get a show that EVERYONE comes to.
No complaints about song selection, however! The new stuff was all bangers (Sarcastrophe, Devil in I, AOV, Custer, etc.) and they played all the old favorites. No one could have left unhappy either, as the encore was a perfect cap to the set and the night – they left it all out there. 742617000027 into (sic), People = Shit, and the rightful closer, Surfacing. If you’re not jacked up for those three songs, you’re not a fan. It closed out a fantastic night of metal, and as I said up top, this was the show of the summer. Worth every penny.
Slipknot setlist:
XIX (tape as intro)
Sarcastrophe
The Heretic Anthem
Psychosocial
The Devil in I
AOV
Vermilion
Wait and Bleed
Killpop
Before I Forget
Sulfur
Duality
Disasterpiece
Spit It Out
Custer
Encore:
742617000027
(sic)
People = Shit
Surfacing
‘Til We Die (tape as outro)
XIX / Sarcastrophe
Psychosocial
Before I Forget
Duality
Some LoG and Slipknot clips from the photo pit:
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 07/29/2015 Slipknot, Lamb Of God, Bullet For My Valentine, Motionless In White (Darien, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center)
Tags: 2015, Bullet For My Valentine, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Lamb of God, Motionless In White, Slipknot
Team Sleep – 2015 – Woodstock Sessions Vol. 4
By Eric | July 27, 2015 9:25 am
Artist: Team Sleep
Title: Woodstock Sessions Vol. 4
Label: Woodstock Sessions
Released: Jul 10, 2015
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Your Skull Is Red
#Formant
#Ever
#No
#O.P.
#Princeton Review
#Blvd. Nights
#Death by Plane
#Live from the Stage
Review: It’s been 10 years since Deftones singer Chino Moreno and his Team Sleep cohorts have released an album. This collection, recorded live for Woodstock Sessions, includes new material as well as new versions of older songs. It features Gil Sharone of Marilyn Manson on drums.
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on Team Sleep – 2015 – Woodstock Sessions Vol. 4
Tags: 2015, Cardboard, Standard, Team Sleep, Woodstock Sessions
InAeona – 2010 – Blue Sky All Day
By Eric | July 23, 2015 6:00 pm
Artist: InAeona
Title: Blue Sky All Day
Label: Radar Recordings
Released: Oct 12, 2010
Packaging: Cardboard
Pack-in DVD?
Release Type: Standard
Autographed?
Tracklist:
#Time To Go
#Leave The Lights On
#Falling
#(wait…)
#Sunshine
#Forever
Review:
Topics: CD Collection | Comments Off on InAeona – 2010 – Blue Sky All Day
Tags: 2010, Cardboard, InAeona, Radar Recordings, Standard
07/22/2015 10 Years, Nonpoint, The Family Ruin (Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall)
By Eric | July 23, 2015 4:42 pm
[A Vintage Year and Awaken The Empire were also on the bill, but I missed them.]
I had this date circled on the calendar for a little bit, as Nonpoint is always a good show (and I’m certainly biased from meeting them back in December at this very venue!), and I became a 10 Years fan after seeing them on Carnival of Madness back in 2010 but hadn’t seen them since. I caught the tail end of The Family Ruin’s set, and they sounded pretty decent, your standard (what I’d call) radio metal (they’re all over Octane on XM apparently). Nothing really stood out, but it wasn’t terrible by any stretch.
But up next in the direct support slot was Nonpoint. A large number of people were there to see them, and we weren’t disappointed. They opened with a song I’d never seen live before, The Wreckoning, and we also got to hear Misery, which they didn’t play in December. Beyond that it was a pretty standard Nonpoint set, full of crowd-pleasers including a bit of Jay-Z’s 99 Problems blended into the end of Hands Off. The boys were all over the stage, dreads flying everywhere, full of energy for sure. I could have used a couple more songs from them, but I always feel that way.
I was curious to see how 10 Years would be, and I came away feeling mixed about the set. Part of it was misplaced expectations, as I peeked at one setlist that had a lot of songs I really liked in it, versus the most recent setlist I’d seen, of which this show was a copy, and needless to say I was less than thrilled with the song selection. The opener was the new single, Miscellanea, which rocks hard, right into Minus The Machine and Chasing the Rapture. After that, every song seemed to have the same tempo, and while the band sounded good, lead singer Jesse Hasek has pipes, and the crowd was certainly into it, I watched and just had a feeling of “ehhhhh”. They just didn’t jive with me for whatever reason. I liked most of the songs that did get played, but there’s definitely things I would have rather heard that didn’t get played. Perhaps that’s part of it. I kinda snapped back into things at the end, as the last two songs were Wasteland and Shoot It Out, but overall, I came away with a “good but not great” feeling. I wouldn’t even classify it as a dud (after 300+ there’s bound to be a couple), just not the super-mega-awesome set I usually gush about.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the guy that FaceTimed his buddy the entire concert, or at least Nonpoint and 10 Years. Not sure how much the guy on the other end saw, as his friend couldn’t hold the phone steady amongst all his jumping around. Is this a thing now?? That’s worse than watching the show through your phone to film it.
Nonpoint setlist
—————-
Wreckoning
Alive and Kicking
Hands off / 99 Problems
Breaking Skin
Your Signs
That Day
What a Day
Misery
Bullet With A Name
Breaking Skin
10 Years setlist
—————-
Miscellanea
Minus the Machine
Chasing the Rapture
Dancing with the dead
Fix Me
Russian Roulette
11:00am (Daydreamer)
Fade Into (The Ocean)
Luna
From Birth to Burial
Triggers and Tripwires
Actions and Motives
Wasteland
Shoot It Out
Shoot It Out (pt 1)
Shoot It Out (pt 2)
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 07/22/2015 10 Years, Nonpoint, The Family Ruin (Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall)
Tags: 10 Years, 2015, Montage Music Hall, Nonpoint, rochester, The Family Ruin