Buckcherry at Starland 2/22/14

Buckcherry at Starland 2/22/14

I had been looking forward to this concert as it was my first in three months, I had been on a huge Buckcherry bender and listening to all their albums in regular rotation, and it was to be the first concert for my brother-in-law ever (besides Trans-Siberian Orchestra).  They didn't quite sell out, but the place was packed halfway through.  There was a pretty big variety in ages and a good amount of females for a rock show.  It was a fun time and below is my chronological review of the show.

The first band to come out was called Machine Elves.  The lead singer had a mohawk and black eyeliner and came out with a megaphone.  The megaphone usually does not work for me unless you are Scott Weiland or Otep.  This time was no exception, but it didn't last long.  The band was rock and roll and kind of had an 80s vibe.  The highlight was definitely the two stage dancers they brought with them.  I have never seen this at a club show and especially not from an opening act.  One brunette and one blonde girl danced around stage and flirted with the singer during three different songs including one called "Stripper."  The songs were not terrible, but the musicianship was nothing special and the singer was average.  I told Youssef that this was good for a first band, but I don't expect them to blow up any time soon.

Next up was Trimm.  Three of the guys were bald and most of them had facial hair.  This is a local band out of Piscataway, NJ and they had apparently played Starland before as they kept saying that they were happy to be back.  This band leaned more toward grunge-metal.  They had good energy and I was digging their music more, but not enough to run to the merchandise booth.

The third band was 3 Pill Morning from Minnesota.  These guys came out in dress clothes, with the singer and bass player wearing ties (incidentally, their latest album is called Black Tie Love Affair).  This gave me a weird vibe at a hard rock show.  They were sort of emo, but only in the wrong ways for my taste.  I just couldn't get into them, although they had a few songs that were jamming and a few screams thrown in for good measure.  The crowd seemed pretty divided about these guys as well, although it seemed like the majority were engaged with the fist pumping and waving side to side.

Pre-headlining was Monster Truck.  From the first note, these guys had my attention and they just kept getting better.  The best way I can describe them is like a hybrid of Soundgarden and Winery Dogs.  They are bluesy with dirrrty riffs and Cornellesque vocals.  The lead singer has a huge mop of hair that flops around while he plays bass and sings.  They weren't flashy, but they were tight.  Again, the crowd was a little listless overall except for a few headbangers and foot-stompers.  A cute blonde behind me asked me who the band was and said that she was really digging them too.  Afterwards we chatted about Monster Truck being our new favorite band.  Her boyfriend concurred.  Wah-wah :(  I ran to the merch booth to pick up the cd called Furiosity.  Apparently they are from Ontario.  Unfortunately, the band members weren't around to chat or sign my cd.

Finally it was time for Buckcherry.  I had lost Melissa and Youssef and the place was so packed that I had to squeeze my way down the side of the floor to get a decent place on the floor, stage-right.  They came out blazing with "Lit Up" off their self-titled debut album.  From there they played a good mix of songs covering each of their six albums including tracks Ridin', Porno Star, Sorry, For the Movies, All Night Long, Tired of You, Fall, Everything, Out of Line, new single Gluttony, and of course Crazy Bitch.  Surprisingly they threw in a couple covers too!  They played a little bit of ACDC's "Big Balls," opened Crazy Bitch with a mashup of "Love Rollercoaster" and "Bustin' Loose" and later played Icona Pop's "I Don't Care" during their encore while Josh wore an NWA hat, lol.  Overall this was a really fun concert and, seeing them for the third time, cemented Buckcherry as one of my favorites.  I just wish they would make all their albums like their concerts and stay away from too many of the slow songs.  Oh, and to top off the night my sister, Melissa, caught a guitar pick from the "Filipino Nightmare," Stevie D.  Good time was had by all.