May concerts, CKY and Avatar, and why you shouldn't skip openers.

My last two concerts experiences reaffirm my preference to see all of the bands on a given bill.  Even the worst openers I've seen have been tolerable, and more often than not you discover something or someone that you really enjoy.  Most recently I saw CKY with Crobot, Midnight Foolishness, and Tango Machina.  I knew nothing of the opener, Tango Machina, before the show beginning at 7:30 PM on the dot.  They are a three piece band from Asbury Park, NJ.  The lead singer/guitarist looked like a cooler version of Pedro from Napolean Dynamite.  He played a maroon BC Rich guitar with heavy disortion through a Mesa amp.  Songs mostly consisted of choppy riffs during verses and lyrics with a story.  The bass player was bald and had big sideburns connected to a mustache.  He did the banter with the crowd between songs with a dry humor, but also thanking us for coming early to see them, and explaining some of the songs.  For example, "This next song is about how Agamemnon goes to Troy, called Everybody Gets Laid."  The last song he promised the weed smokers they would enjoy.  It was called "Fire in the 'Quila."  It had a cool name, some complicated drumming, and was the longest song, but it was a little slow for my liking, and I much preferred the song before last.  Still, for local openers, these guys were great.  They didn't have any merch for sale at the venue, but they have music available on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc.

Tango Machina photo by J. Bink

The next band I didn't know much about either, but I had looked up on YouTube prior to the show.  They're from Brooklyn, NY and Pop-Punk with Emo leanings.  Unlike the last band, their songs were not predictable in structure.  In fact, I think it was cool that sometimes they started with bass, sometimes drums, sometimes guitar or vocals.  Though they have a distinct tonal sound, every song was mid-tempo, and I found it hard to get into a groove in their 30 minute set.  Likewise, while I could understand most of the vocals, I couldn't really identify with a story or emotion.  There was some head-bobbing and light moshing by the crowd and most of the audience seemed into them.  They also have stuff on Bandcamp and Soundcloud, but it seems abandoned after 2017.  However, you can find a lot of newer songs/videos on Youtube.

Midnight Foolishness photo by J. Bink

Next up was Crobot who I was seeing for the third time.  The first time at Wellmont Theater in 2014 I was blown away by the vocals of Brandon Yeagley. After the first album Brandon held back on the high notes a bit more, but he is still an energetic frontman.  In March of last year, and again on this occasion, I was up near the railing to get a close view of the band including a whole lot of chest hair poking through Brandon's leather vest and a whole lot of beard and tattoos from the bassist in jean shorts and Doc Martens.  I also noticed that the black drum set brought in was the same one that Tango Machina had played on earlier!  They must've loaned the openers their drums, which happens often on tour.  The age diverse crowd grew a bit more during their set from 8:58-9:47 PM.  There were two young girls in the front row with their dad singing along with many of the songs.  A setlist still hasn't been posted, but at least one copy made it into the crowd and I saw another kid take a picture of it.  I wrote down that they played Queen of the Light, Necromancer, I Am Metal, Dizzy, Ancient Druid, Golden, Low Life, Legend of the Spaceborn Killer.  During the End of Low Life, Brandon jumped up on the shoulders of his guitar player who continued to wail while Brandon pretended to smoke a joint and then continued to sing.  They closed with new single Obsidian from the album by the same name coming out in September.   You can watch the video here.

Crobot photos by J. Bink

During the final break there was an older guy taking pictures of the crowd and a younger tattooed female photographer with short hair that took some pictures and also interviewed a couple of girls in the front row.  CKY is touring on the "New Reason to Dream" tour and are celebrating 25 years as a band.  They still have the original drummer, Jess Margera, brother of Bam who is famous from Jackass.  This is why Jess and Bam's parents, April and Phil, also famous from the show, introduced the band and threw out some frisbees and t-shirts with the band's logo!  Original guitar player, Chad Ginsberg, is also still performing and now does lead vocals as well.  The band has a new bassist that joined them in 2023 named Ronnie "Elvis" James, who has Elvis-like sideburns and reminded me of Will Ferrell as Ricky Bobby.  By the time the screen went up at 10:05PM, the audience was nearly full.  They played until 11:30PM and despite owning two albums from the band, I only recognized a couple of songs from their 18 song set.  Still it was a fun time.  One thing unique was that Chad would frequently solicit the crowd for song suggestions.  This rarely happens at rock shows anymore, and he did several requests.  I was enjoying being near the front except for one drunk guy behind me who kept yelling and pushing, and a few repeat crowd surfers.  I decided to step back towards the pit area.  While the pit was not very violent, there were a few idiots spilling beers all over the floor which made it more unsafe and anyone who fell would be wet and smell like beer so I didn't partake in moshing.  I miss the original singer whose voice was much more dynamic and the fuller sound of two guitars.  However, CKY still were fun to see and I'm definitely glad I went.

Two weeks earlier at Starland, I had the pleasure of seeing Conquer Divide, Oxymorrons, and Avatar on the Great Metal Circus tour.  Conquer Divide is an all-female group with two singers and three musicians.  A blonde with braided pigtails did the screaming parts and a woman with black and red hair did the clean vocals and had a really good voice.  They've been around for several years and active on social media, but I only recently became aware of them as their new material was getting played on Octane.  They kept trying to get the crowd to start a moshpit, but their music isn't that heavy and any heavy part was soon changed to a slower singing part.  It just didn't make sense and the crowd didn't move much.  At the end they resorted to asking for phone lights to be waved and much of the crowd obliged.

The Oxymorrons are a rap-rock group out of Queens, NY.  I gave them a look on YouTube before going to the show and I wasn't sure if I would like them or not.  I moved from the side bar to the middle of the floor.  When they came out wearing a bunny ear mask and a studded facemask, I really wasn't sure.  However, they quickly won me over with their energy and talent!  Songs like "Look Alive," "Enemy," and "Definition" have a lot of power and a positive message.  I highly recommend giving them a chance and definitely see them live if they come around again.  Check out a clip from their performance of "Definition" here.

After the crowd was sufficiently hyped, Avatar made their way to the stage.  These guys put on a show like few others could.  First of all they have a unique look.  The lead singer looks like a sadistic court jester with his face paint, red and black costume outfit, and wielding a crop or staff of some sort.  The stage is rigged with red metal caging around lighting fixtures, but you feel like you have entered a demonic carnival.  The other band members usually have eyeblack and black costumes as well.  Vocalist Johannes Eckerstrōm comes out with his arms spread wide, inviting you into his world and we begin with a song called "Dance Devil Dance."  They are a Swedish melodic death metal band with 9 studio albums and 4 EPs to their name.  One of their latest singles "The Dirt I'm Buried In" reached number one on the modern rock chart.  I think I first heard of them around the time when their self titled album came out in 2009.  Then I bought a couple albums and became more of a fan.  They have some slower songs, but I'm a fan of the hard rockers like "Smells Like a Freak Show," "Colossus," "Legend of the King," and what I think is one of the best hard rock or metal songs to come out this century "Hail the Apocalypse."

About 45 minutes through their two hour, 18 song set, Johannes comes out into the crowd.  He climbs on top of a table by the soundboard and starts blowing up a long balloon and twisting it into a poodle like a clown.  He then breaks out a trombone and plays a tune.  Then it's back to the stage for the second half of the show.  We were treated to dueling guitar solos by Tim Öhrström and Jonas "Kungen" Jarlsby. Both were really good, but I definitely preferred the playing of Kungen.  After a solemn performance of Tower with Johannes on piano came my favorite part of the show, the crescendo of heavy songs "Colossus; Let It Burn; A Statue of the King; The Dirt I'm Buried In". Johannes says he has two more songs for us if we're ok with that.  Girls in the audience start calling out for three, four, and ten more.  He says he doesn't like to be told what to do and that we're a greedy audience so he leaves.  Then he comes back and says that is what "power" he yields, and that we will get two more songs after all.  They do fan favorite "Smells Like a Freak Show" with some of the best synchronized headbanging I've seen on stage and then close with the ultra heavy, yet fun, "Hail the Apocalypse" complete with glitter cannons and more synchronized head banging.  I leave satisfied and knowing I just saw one of the greatest live shows out there today.  You can check out videos from the show on my IG or YouTube.