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.

Rock review 2013

November 4, 2013 The return of Diary of a Madman! 

I haven’t written about music in awhile - partly because I’ve been preoccupied by other things and partly because there hasn’t been enough noteworthy music to write about.  I have been reinvigorated by some conversations with friends about following my passions and reenergized by a resurgence of some solid rock albums of late.  My goal is to get back to writing about once a month including album reviews, concert reviews, and other editorials.  This first issue of the year is going to be kind of a “state of the union address” for hard rock.

            The early 2000s was a big time for rock with the popularity of nu-metal.  That was followed by a wave of screamo bands and then a small resurrection of thrash and hardcore inspired outfits.  The last couple of years have been pretty disappointing for rock.  Ticket sales are down, cd sales are down, and most hard rocking bands haven’t been able to put out back-to-back releases with any degree of continuity or growth.  I had to resort to reminiscing through my back catalog listening to things like Buckcherry, Rob Zombie, Taproot, and Mudvayne.

            Slowly but surely, a few glimmers of hope emerged throughout this past year. First, Ill Niño put out their new album Epidemia that harkens back to their major label debut mixing equal parts aggression, chugging guitars, and Latin percussion.  I still think they were at their best in terms of lyrics and overall composition of songs on Revolution Revolucion, but Epidemia is a step up from their last few albums.  Then, Device brought back some of the original nu-metal magic that made Disturbed popular.  David Draiman’s new band has the angst and hostility that had faded when Disturbed got commercial and went more melodic with their sound.  Then Filter mounted a comeback.  They too captured some of the energy and anthemic rock from their younger years on their latest album The Sun Comes Out Tonight.  Some other noteworthy releases this year include new albums by Oleander, Pop Evil, Skillet, Soil, Devildriver, Trapt, and Mindset Evolution.

            There have also been some new bands that have caught my ear.  The Winery Dogs are kind of a throwback band that have blues and classic roots with good lyrics and hooks, sounding sort of like Chickenfoot, but with a style all their own.  Gemini Syndrome is a new hard rocking group that could really be something big if they get some publicity.  My uncle says they rocked live too.  Eve to Adam is another band that is on the rise and is carrying the torch for dynamic heavy music.  There is not a throw away track on their aptly titled Locked and Loaded.

            It’s not all good news.  Korn and Blue October took big steps backwards, in my opinion.  Queens of the Stone Age, Sick Puppies and Black Sabbath all released albums much softer than expected.  Others that have had some breakout moments are struggling just to make ends meet.  Ozma and MadamAdam are looking for fans to donate toward their recording sessions.  Nonpoint has similarly taken to social media to solicit funds to help them expand their touring schedule.  Is this a sign of a lack of label support for hard rock or just a new way for bands to connect with their fans?  I think its both, but only time will tell if this becomes the new normal.

Eve 6 @Starland 5/11/12

After being a fan for about 14 years and four albums, I finally got to see Eve 6.

I went with Jeff Schonfeld.  After a little pre-gaming at my apartment, we got there after Breathing Blue had played and when The Hollow were on.  These guys were decent, but not great.  Their best song is "RunAway" which sounds like a complete rip off of the melody from Lit's "Pictures of You."

Then came Fall From Grace.  These guys had more energy and a more diverse sound. Their best song is "18 & Out."  After waiting around outside after the show for Eve 6, I ran into the guitar player Brian and then the lead singer, Tryg.  Both were friendly and happy to talk.  They said they had a good time even though they were "barely" getting paid and only sold 15 cds the entire night.

The Audition came on and I had been excited about seeing them since listening to the latest album, Great Danger, on Spotify.  First of all, they didn't sound nearly as good as the album.  Secondly, I think they were wasted because the playing was sloppy and the singer was wandering aimlessly instead of with whatever rhythm there was.  First time I have been disappointed like this in a long time.  What made it bearable was meeting this cute chick, Brett.  Too bad after getting a free drink outta me she took off.  I was gonna try and talk to her again later but I got distracted when Eve 6 came on and I was trying to mack it to another chick who then said she was not single.

Eve 6 came on and Jeff and I moved down to the floor for a closer look.  The venue was only about half full so this wasn't difficult.  The band sounded great and played a mix of old and new material including Open Road Song, Here's to the Night, At Least We're Dreaming, Leech, Promise, Victoria, and closed with Inside Out.
Setlist: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eve-6/2012/starland-ballroom-sayreville-nj-1bdfa10c.html

I was disappointed that we waited 30 min afterwards by the buses and Eve 6 never came out.  Supposedly Max wasn't feeling well, but the other guys didn't come out either.  You would think after having a new album out and trying to regain support that they would be a little more appreciative of the fans.  Despite that I enjoyed seeing them and rocking out while striking out.  Overall a fun night and another favorite band checked off my list.

Seether @ Starland Ballroom 8/25/11

Saw Seether for the 5th time tonight and definitely confirmed them as one of my favorite bands.  I went with my friend Jeff and his girlfriend Tara.  Openers were some local NJ band called Empire Weekend (I think) and they kinda sucked.  Singer was not good and the musicians brought nothing original or noteworthy to the band.  Then Art of Dying came on.  They were much better.  I hadn't heard of them before but they were a pretty straightforward rock band.  Their single "Die Trying" was their closer and probably their best song.
When Shaun from Seether came out wearing a flannel shirt with black stretch sleeves underneath, I knew it was gonna be a good show.  They also had two monstrous amps that were each 6ft tall.  The guitar amp was Mesa and the bass amp was Hartke.  Shaun wasn't drinking and although he wasn't as connected to the audience as I've seen him, he really looked like he was into the music.  They're now playing as a three piece and you barely notice a difference. The lead parts that are lacking are more than made up for by their improved performance.  Seether played a lot of their more poppy/ballady songs in the middle of their set, but they also played some old school stuff from the first album, Disclaimer.  Of the new songs "Tonight" definitely stood out to me and the dancing chicks behind me.  I didn't get close enough for any pics this time cuz Starland was sold out and it was packed.  We stayed back in the bar area cuz we had a pretty good view of the stage.  They played for 1.5 hours straight with no encore.  Shaun threw his guitar into the mic stand at the end of the set and then picked it up and smashed it.  I never saw him do that before; it was pretty cool

Its the first time I wrote down a complete setlist too so here it is:

Seether @ Starland Ballroom 8/25/11
Fur Cue
Gasoline
Needles
Take Me Away
Fine Again
Driven Under
Broken
Gift (solo by Shaun Morgan)
Drum solo (John Humphrey)
Burrito
Heart Shaped Box (Nirvana cover)
Breakdown
Tonight
Country Song
Rise Above This
Fake It
Remedy

Skynyrd @PNC 8/21/11

Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Doobie Brothers @ PNC Bank Arts Center

Tailgated a bit with dad before heading in.  It poured right as we walked up the big hill.  We were drenched by the time we reached our seats, even though I had a large golf umbrella.
Tom Hambridge was the opener and he played snare drum & cymbal alongside a guitar player. His style is a blend of rock, pop, and country. His songs are often catchy and feel-good which was a nice start to the evening.
Doobie Brothers played next and were very impressive. Their songs really rock and they have wicked vocal harmonies. Songs included Jesus is Just Alright, Black Water, Listen to the Music, China Grove, Takin it to the Streets, Rockin Down the Highway, new song World Gone Crazy and Long Train Runnin' (Talkin bout LOOOOOOOOOOOVE)

Lynyrd Skynyrd sounded great once again and made everyone forget they were soaked at least for the time being. Songs included Workin' for MCA, What's Your Name, Simple Man, That Smell, Down South Jukin', Gimme Three Steps, They Call Me the Breeze, Tuesday's Gone, Sweet Home Alabama, and Free Bird. Surprisingly absent this time around was Gimme Back Your Bullets and Saturday Night Special.  Peter Keys was amazing on keyboards.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Floors 1-3)

So I've been wanting to go to the HOF for some time and I finally got my chance this summer.  It was extremely interesting and overwhelming at times how much music history was represented in one museum.  I'll detail here what I saw in each of the five levels and what stood out to me personally.  I would go again just to try to absorb even more and because some of the featured exhibits change.

1st Level: Evolution of Rock
Here I found pictures and listening stations for some of the early influences to rock including Woody Guthrie (This Land is Your Land), Hank Williams, and Bo Diddly.  The most interesting to me was Robert Johnson.  I had never heard of him before but as the museum guide explained he was the originator of two of rock's most notorious legends.  First, he supposedly made a deal with the devil and sold his soul to play guitar (which the devil himself tuned).  Second, this supposedly happened at a crossroad (intersection) and this has gone on to be a recurring symbol for not only decision making, but a threshold for celebrity.  Robert Johnson was definitely a blues artist, but it was not a big stretch from his music to early rock.

After the country, blues, and soul influences there was another computer station where you could look up modern artists and listen to a sample song of theirs and then view/listen to a song of their biggest influences.  Then came some monitors that showed historical clips about the negative portrayal of rock and roll in the media (devil's music, sexual, sexist, evil, deliquent, etc.)  That led right into the Elvis Presley hall.  There were numerous Elvis outfits on the wall - everything from pants/jacket to the notorious sequin jumpsuits.  Many were surprisingly small.  On display too was a large movie screen showing documentary style footage in front of which sat one of Elvis' cadillacs.  They even had his personal jukebox.

I then went into a series of halls that had rock music divided by geographical region.  East (NY), South, LA, SanFran, Central, Seattle, London.  Some of the areas had videos playing.  I, of course, was drawn most to the grunge section that featured Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Nirvana and the metal section that featured Angus Young's schoolboy outfit and Rob Halford's leather coat and handwritten lyrics from Judas is Rising.

The Beatles and Rolling Stones each had a whole wall.  The things that stuck out to me were John Lennon's piano and green card and handwritten lyrics for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.  Old people were sitting in front of the monitor playing historical footage of the Beatles.
In the middle of the floor was a black ramp which led to displays of Michael Jackson - outfits from 70s-2000s including a glittery glove (museum lady said its one of only 10 left known to exist); David Bowie; Who (John Entwistle bass, Pete Townsend guitar and weathered amps); ZZ top (fuzzy drum kit and guitar and bass made from motorcycle parts and steel chains).  Outside this central room was Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith stuff.  They had original handwritten lyrics for Walk This Way!  Across from this was a wall for Hip-Hop which included Run DMC gear (Adidas shoes, chains, & black frame glasses) and info on Grandmaster Flash and Snoop Dogg.

2nd floor: History of Music
Sound music recording/playback was displayed from Edison's wax cylinders and phonographs to vinyl records, transistor radios, 8-tracks, cassettes, boom boxes, CDs, discmans, and iPods.  I didn't know the first walkman came out in the late 70s and the first discman came out in 1984!

Also featured on this floor was Les Paul and the story of his guitar making.  He once used iron railroad as a way to experiment with string tones.  He used a wooden 2x4 as the basis for the first solid-body guitar.  He finally convinced Gibson to make his style guitars and they remain among the most popular in rock today.
Guitars from the Allman Brothers and Gary Rosington from Lynyrd Skynyrd were showcased too, including Rossington's 1959 Gibson Les Paul "Berneice."

Radio mics, DJ equipment, mixers, and soundboards can also be seen here.
That would have been enough for most museums, but no, there are three more floors!  I eagerly took the escalator to the next floor.

3rd floor: Inductees
Wall info described the nomination and selection process and and video screens showed footage from some HOF induction ceremonies.  In another room a massive theater screen was showing more classic footage of some inductees.  When I walked in to the dark room "Sweet Home Alabama" was playing letting me know Blacky was there with me.  I then walked the dark corridor that had glow-in-the-dark signatures from all the inductees.  Out into the light again, a hallway showcased the 2011 inductees including Alice Cooper.  Having seen Alice not so long ago it was cool to see some of his old outfits and props.  The foam head in the case looked much more real than the rubber one he used at Mohegan Sun.

Silversun Pickups concert 6/24/10

I passed up the shore for a concert at the Wellmont Theatre.  Henry Clay People, Against Me, and Silversun Pickups.  I went by myself and bought a ticket the day of so I was put in the balcony.  Its just as well because the floor was packed.  Henry Clay People were surprisingly good.  They're kinda old fashioned rock and roll with a little country-blues influence.  The lead singer kinda yells but he has a decent voice.  Pretty unique too.  The lead singer played guitar along with another lead guitar, bass, keyboardist, and drummer.  Their best songs were "Working Part Time" and "Slowburn."

Against Me was next and they put on a good show.  They had a lot of energy.  They're kinda emo-hard rock but its not real whiny and not super fast.  One of the highlights was when they said "This is a true story" and then busted into "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" which is my favorite song of theirs.

The crowd was electric for Silversun Pickups and they didn't disappoint.  They just kept getting better as the night went on.  Later, the singer confessed that he wasn't sure how the night would turn out because he was pretty hungover earlier in the day but that our energy turned it into a good night.  It was made a little better when the Wellmont staff allowed us into the lower center balcony area that had previously been taped off for no apparent reason.  I ran down to get a better view of the stage and also lucked out by having hotties join at my left and right.  The couple of chicks on my right kept making fun of the dancing of this red-haired drunk chick who was actually in my row before I moved down.  It was pretty hilarious.  The highlight for me was definitely the end of the set with "Lazy Eye" and then "Panic Switch."  The crowd was begging for more and they came out for a three song encore.  I would definitely see them again and now I can't wait for their next album.  I just hope it is as original and catchy as the first.  After this show I soon bought Henry Clay People and Against Me.  Neither album was disappointing.