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with Suffocation, Hypocrisy & Decapitated
The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
November 17, 2006
Polish death merchants Decapitated took the stage promptly at 8:00 to kick off an evening of killer heaviness. Drawing heavily from their most recent two albums, the band hit the ground running but suffered from a lousy mix throughout most of their 25-minute set. The bass was conspicuously absent for half the set, and Covan's vocals, although delivered with sufficient venom, overpowered Vogg's solid guitar work. For half the set I could hear only Covan, Vitek's jackhammer drum blasts, and some noise coming from Vogg's side of the stage where his fingers moved deftly along the fretboard. This was unfortunate, because an established band this intense on album (especially the most recent 2) really deserves better. No soundcheck is often the fate of tour openers. Still, they had their rabid supporters who were behind them 100%. One fan held up a Polish flag several times, and "Spheres Of Madness" (from 2002's Nihility album) elicited a pretty violent reaction on the dance floor. Aside from Covan's movement about the stage, and windmilling from the 3 members with hair, the overall stage presence was fairly static.
The venue continued to fill in, more people made their way down to the front, and 20 minutes after Decapitated finished, Swedish extreme legends Hypocrisy took the stage to an ominous keyboard intro. Assaulting Worcester for the next 40 minutes and enjoying a proper mix, Peter Tagtgren & company stepped up to the plate and delivered in a big way. Playing as a 4-piece, the group benefitted from the occasional sequenced synth track to enhance the experience of otherwise great songs. "Eraser," from 2004's The Arrival, featured some tasty harmony leads. The members were more animated than Decapitated, and Tagtgren's varied vocals--deep, guttural sounds giving way to high shrieks and mid-level, savage growls--added to the depth of the material. Oldie "Osculum Obscenum" (title track from the 1993 album) elicited a feverish response from the pit during the thrash part. The speed and intensity built with each song for the first half hour, culminating with "Warpath" from 2005's Virus disc. Then came the epic, crushing "The Final Chapter," (title track of their 1997 album) and set closer "Let The Knife Do The Talking," a mid-paced track (overall) off the newest album. Well, I was impressed...despite the idiotic couple standing next to me sucking face nonstop since 8pm (it was now 9:25 and the woman hadn't even faced the stage yet). A couple of guys in front of us stepped away, so I was able to stand a bit forward of the amorous simians.
It was soon time for my personal faves, Long Island death kings Suffocation!! They took the stage a short 15 minutes later, and the crowd was ready to be pummeled. Opening with "Thrones of Blood," it was clear that there would be nobody left alive when they were done. Complete and total thunderous, blasting brutality. Vocalist Frank Mullen obviously loves his job. He knows he sings for a sick band (he's sick himself), and it is awesome to watch him freak out on stage with his sympathetic body movements, broad grin, and "blast beat hand waves." Next up was "Abomination Reborn," a killer track off the new album, which totally destroyed. Then came "Breeding The Spawn"--played a good clip faster than the album version(s)--and then the opening track of Effigy of the Forgotten, "Liege Of Inveracity." During the next tune, another new one called "Bind Torture Kill," I turned my attention to the mind-blowing drumming skills of Mike Smith, who not only plays extremely difficult parts with surpassing precision and organic flow, but he also lands blows to his drum kit like he's swinging 5-pound hammers! Jaw-dropping. "Jesus Wept" followed, then "Pierced From Within" and "Catatonia" ("the first song Suffocation, me and Mike, ever wrote all those years ago," said Frank). Closing this blistering 45-minute set was the devastating "Funeral Inception." I shared three thoughts with my friend Matt as the crew broke down and made way for Fear Factory:
1) I don't know how anyone plays one song the way Suffocation does, let alone a whole set, without fingers seizing up and falling off.
2) I would HATE to be Fear Factory and have to follow Suffocation every night. It's a short list of bands who could follow and stand a chance to give them a run for the money.
3) I think I'm going to change my listening habits to all Suffocation, all the time.
Well, I listened to Fear Factory's newest album, Transgression, once, and it was enough to conjure the similar feeling of disappointment I felt when I first heard Digimortal. Ah, well. I was supposed to stay and review the whole set, so I would just sit and wait to see what they had to offer. After about a half an hour, the lights went down and Iron Maiden's "Number Of The Beast" was cranked up on the P.A. and played in its entirety. The grindy "Crash Test" intro followed and I perked up. Opening with the classic "Martyr," things were off to a rocking start. Burton's growly voice was ABSOLUTELY MONSTROUS throughout the set. I can't emphasize that enough. Then came "Leechmaster" and "Self Immolation" and "Scapegoat"(!!), which received a manic response from the pit dancers. Following this great start were a couple of tunes off 1995's Demanufacture album. During the title song, my shirt was visibly shaking by the volume of the mid-tune synth pulses. The crowd joined the end refrain in a feverish fervor. Then came "H-K." Nice. Continuing the chronological approach, masterwork Obsolete was the next album to address. The one-two punch of "Shock To The System" and "Edge Crusher" was worth the admission price. The bass drops in "Shock..." were so massive I really did wonder how it didn't take down the entire power grid.
The set didn't continue in strictly chronological order after this; and I don't own Digimortal or Transgression, so I can't tell you what tune came next. I think it was off the latest disc. FF delivered it with just as much conviction, but it didn't receive the same response. BCB strained to keep the higher-register melody in key. The next tune was also a heavy hitter and fared a bit better. "Slave Labor" and "Cyberwaste" from 2004's Archetype followed, and the crowd was totally back into it. Given that this is a FF review, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that drummer Raymond Herrera has some of the best footwork around. "Linchpin" followed, and then they closed with "Replica," another great tune off Demanufacture. Fear Factory's was the loudest I've ever heard at the Palladium, including Manowar. The mix was good, and the surging synths were used for the maximum powerful effect. The fact that the set was so well selected renewed my faith in Fear Factory. A great night.
A- -Mark Fields
with Priestess & Love Weapon
The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
October 28, 2006
Worcester was just coming off of a strong Halloween weekend rainstorm that brought warmer temperatures and winds up to 50 mph, so what better welcome for Black Label Society who is out promoting Shot to Hell, their first release for Roadrunner Records.
Opening the show were Boston locals Love Weapon, a band with a melodic stoner metal vibe that has a lot of promise. They were added to the bill at the last minute when Black Stone Cherry (who's touring with BLS) had a prior engagement this night (most likely forced upon by their label, as they're being pushed to the mainstream). It's always good to see a local band given the chance with a sweet opening slot for a show like this. They definitely held my attention and left me wanting to see them again (and hear their debut CD when it comes out).
Up next were Priestess, a quartet from Montreal, Canada that took the whole stoner rock vibe and electrified it to another level with seventies rock and some sweet melodic songs that would easily fit in a Hellacopters fans CD collection. They're on the road with BLS supporting their RCA CD Hello Master, which, after purchasing it and having the band sign it at the merch table, (I know, I'm such a groupie) is already becoming a new favorite of mine. Amidst their hazy melodic rock songs they even took a total arena rock stance when the drummer pulled out a five minutes plus drum solo that was equally engaging as he is definitely a talented skin basher worthy of such a spotlight to showcase his chops. Definitely a band to watch out for, especially if you like your stoner rock with some sweet melodies.
Zakk Wylde, being the metal rock warrior he is, launched BLS into their set with a blazing version of "New Religion" (off Shot to Hell) and set the pace for the rest of the evening. Backing up Zakk is the Shot to Hell lineup of John "JD" DeServio on bass, Craig Nunemacher on drums, and Nick "ET" Catanese on second guitar who, as you soon find out, are all as vital to this band as Zakk is.
The set contained with a few other Shot to Hell songs like "Concrete Jungle" and "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" that sounded twice as heavy as the CD versions. As always frenetic solos with a bluesy overtone added to the sting of metal, were in abundance, but what makes Zakk such an accomplished player, is his ability to pull out a few piano ballads (with Zakk himself behind the keys) in the midst of a blistering set of hard rock metal. Included in the piano set was a moving Dimebag Darrell tribute song called "The Last Goodbye" off of Shot to Hell which expresses Zakk's feelings about his fallen good friend Dimebag, prompting the near sold out crowd to hold cigarette lighters high in tribute to him. One thing Zakk will make sure of while he's alive is to pay tribute to his brother in metal who was taken from us too soon!
As always, there were the BLS crowd pleasers "Suicide Messiah", "Stillborn" and "Fire It Up" to get the momentum of the pit in full effect. During Zakk's guitar solo portion of the show he did a blistering rendition of the star spangled banner that led the band into "Black Mass Reverends", one of the meatier tracks off the new album. One thing about BLS shows is they're so much heavier and in your face than the studio recordings, and I think if more people saw them live they would see that this isn't just a band with Ozzy's guitar player but a band that can hold their own live and continue to put so many other bands in this genre to shame.
And if it's any indication by the number of people (all ages included) with their BLS colors proudly showing, Zakk and BLS will be there to carry the torch of Sabbath heavy biker metal for many generations to rock to.
B+ -Matt Smith
with Vital Remains, Grave & Withered
The Middle East
Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 13 , 2006
The Dismember/Vital Remains/Grave/Withered/Demiricious tour arrived in town on Friday the 13th, sans Demiricious (there was no information about why they weren't there). A local band, Extinction Agenda was supposed to open the show, but we were told they got stuck in traffic and weren't able to play. After getting snubbed on the guestlist [it's a damn conspiricy I tell ya! -MBB], we wandered down during Withered's set, and were treated to a unique blend of death metal and sludgy doom, creating a heavy wall of sound that pummeled all in it's path.
Grave followed with a 30-minute set of absolutely crushing death metal. Playing as a three piece, with guitarist Jonas Torndal not
there (not sure why, no info on their website or anything), the band ripped through a wide range of songs from their almost 20-year career. Ola Lindgren showed that his guitar work was enough to maintain the power of the band, and you didn't really miss the second guitar, except maybe during some of the solos when the heaviness dropped a bit. The band closed out with fan favorite "Into the Grave", and left many wanting more than the brief set they had tonight.
Vital Remains played next, and it seemed that the crowd was quite into their 45-minute set. They do have some pretty cool pointy
guitars & armbands, too. Closing off the show was the mighty Dismember. First up was the classic "Skin Her Alive", which was perfect to get the crowd immediately involved in the show. The guitar sound was the classic Dismember buzzsaw distortion that rips through you and feels as if your body is going to just tear apart from the heaviness - totally incredible!
From there, they spanned their entire catalog, with such offerings as "The God that Never Was", crowd favorite "Casket Garden", one of my personal favorites "Autopsy", "Bleed for Me", and closing out the set "Dreaming in Red". For their encore, Ola from Grave joined them on bass, and everyone from the opening acts jumped on stage (including a super-hot merchandise gal named 'Angel') to
join them in a massive version of Venom's "Heavens on Fire". It sure looked like everyone was enjoying themselves, as I know I did.
B+ -Goz
with Converge & The Bronx
The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
September 9, 2006
When I first heard about Mastodon, their name and music conjured up visions of a massive elephant-like mammal tromping through the forest knocking down everything in it’s path. But when you see them live, it’s more like watching this gargantuan beast fighting for it’s life against an army of cavemen only to be chased into a tar pit to die a long and excruciating death.
Mastodon is truly a band like no other. They can go from beautifully melodic to skull crushingly brutal and back again so fast your head will spin like Regan from The Exorcist. Their style ranges from classic metal, progressive, thrash, doom, sludge and everything plus the kitchen sink. As a colleague of mine said while watching the show, “They are a metal band for every man.”
They play such intricate music and make it look all so easy, they don’t labor over their guitars; they ham it up, thrash out and really enjoy playing for the audience. The twin guitarists, Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds, don’t battle for supremacy. They share the stage and trade riffs with a smooth flow, creating an often mesmerizing sound and then locking together as an unmovable force of decimating resonance.
It’s been said that drummer Brann Dailor is currently the only drummer that can look Dave Lombardo in the face. Lightning fast and full of precision, Brann beats the hell out of his specially designed Randy Rhodes drum kit, painted to look like Randy’s guitar with a picture of the late master in his most metal stance on the kick.
Mastodon’s vocals are also shared, with leads switching between bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds and growls from everyone. The vocals are what really set Mastodon apart from every other metal band out there. They aren’t trying to be scary, and they don’t whine like a lot of bands. Troy’s screams are tortured as if he was in physical pain, whereas Brent sounds like he’s possessed, not by some lowly demon, but Satan himself. When they take it down, they can really sing, just pure and simple vocals. There’s nothing fake about Mastodon.
The night’s set ranged from old favorites like “March of The Fire Ants” and “Mother Puncher” to selections from their latest release Blood Mountain like “Circle of Cysquatch” and “Crystal Skull”. The highlights of the evening was when they played “Blood and Thunder” and the place erupted (I haven’t seen a place go that nuts in a long time) and “Hearts Alive” as an encore. “Hearts Alive” is the perfect song to showcase Mastodon’s skills. It flashes between melodic and thunderous; it has progressive and classic metal riffs, and slides between beautiful and terrifying vocals. It truly is a gorgeous piece of work. Some other favorites of mine from the evening were “Sleeping Giant”, “Bladecatcher” and “Megalodon”. It really was a great night.
This was my first time seeing Mastodon live and I have now gone from an occasional listener to a full fledged fan.
If there’s one thing that makes Mastodon stand apart from other bands, it’s their dedication to their fans. They hang out chatting with them afterwards and even before the show, which is where we caught up with guitarist Bill Kelliher who was kind enough to answer a few questions...
GASPetc: What makes you different from all the other bands out there today?
Bill Kelliher: [Stumped for a second] Good question. We’re a unique band. Each one of us writes, it’s not just one person; each one brings 25%. We’ve been doing it from the ground up. We’ve played basements and clubs, and now we’re playing stadiums and arenas. Everything we have, we earned. Nobody gave us anything. We’re original, no egos, no expectations. We enjoy playing with each other. We play to play.
GASPetc: What influences do you draw on when writing?
BK: Slayer, Melvins, old Metallica, High On Fire, Isis. You play with these guys every night and its hard not to have it rub off on you or be influenced by it.
GASPetc: What message would you say your music is trying to deliver or is there even a message behind your music?
BK: We write for ourselves. We’re not trying to change the world. We don’t sing about politics or religion or any of that. Our lyrics are open to interpretation. We use a lot of metaphors so you can interpret it however you like. Sometimes we make up our own words to make it fit.
GASPetc: How do you feel when magazines say that Mastodon is almost single-handedly responsible for a metal revival and basically kicking Metallica right out the door?
BK: [laughs] They say that? That’s cool is hell. I hope it’s true. We are a unique band.
It’s true, Mastodon is a unique band; insanely talented, without egos, and heavy as hell. They’re just regular dudes that play kick-ass music and enjoy doing so.
Thank you, Mastodon, for making Heavy Metal great again.
A -Choppy
Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher [right] with GASPers Ryan 'Choppy' Travis [left] & Mike Baronas [back]
Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor [left]
with GASPer Bruce Millet [right]
Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds [right]
with the ever-silly Bruce and Mike
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with Goatwhore & Frozen
The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
November 5, 2006
The opening band, Frozen, are a local group from Townsend, Massachusetts. Unlike many of The Palladium’s local openers, these guys were quite good. Unfortunately for them, only about thirty or forty people had arrived by their set time.
Next up were the mighty blackened death metal band Goatwhore. They have some intense stage presence, as their frontman, Ben Falgoust, carried the show with his frantic movement on stage. That isn’t to say that their music was no good by itself, but you got the feeling that Falgoust was trying to make up for it. At times, you couldn’t hear their guitar solos. Moreover, their bass was practically inaudible. The band was obviously honored to be on the tour. Between songs, Falgoust paid homage to Celtic Frost, saying that one would be a fool not to respect such a venerable band.
Finally, after an extended period of anxious anticipation while sets were changed, the legendary Celtic Frost came out to a thunderous reaction. They opened with “Procreation (of the Wicked),” to which the crowd chanted along. To everyone’s delight, Frost’s setlist featured music from their entire oeuvre. They brought out classics from To Mega Therion like “The Usurper” and tracks from their new album, Monotheist.
Celtic Frost sure knows how to put on a live show. Tom Warrior’s demonic presence set the tone for the entire show. He normally remained still, but this added to the moody atmosphere created by his growled, almost spoken vocals. In addition, Martin Ain looked possessed onstage. He moved around spastically—stomping all around the stage—and all the while, never missing a note. After leaving the stage, they sadly did not return for an encore; however, that was only a slight problem. It seemed as if the Celtic Frost enthusiasts were more than satisfied.
B+ -Adam Kohrman
with 1349 & Sahg
B.B. King's
New York, New York
September 14 & 15, 2006
Thursday, September 14
The day we had been waiting six months for had finally arrived. The four horseman had been knocked down to three as cohort Mark Fields couldn’t bear letting down his Devo tribute band who were scheduled to perform at the annual Devo Convention that same weekend. So at 11:00am that fateful Thursday morning, Mark ‘Goz’ Goslin, Matt Smith and I departed to NYC to witness what we hoped would be metal in its purest form – Celtic Frost were back on American soil after more 17 years.
I had only seen Lord Thomas & Co. twice before: first – when I was but a 17 year old kid – in December of 1987 opening for Anthrax & Exodus, and again in March of 1989 during the Cold Lake mishap. I was MORE than overdue to bow down and worship this new and proper incarnation of my favorite band.
Sustenance was key. Fuel to keep the adrenaline flowing was a necessity. This wasn’t going to be an inexpensive trip. Stopping at a Cracker Barrel, I discussed the probable need for a nap upon arrival. I got a pretty good ribbing for that. We finally ordered with Goz & I choosing the southern fried steak while Matt ordered grilled fish. After ripping on his pansy-ass choice for a few, out comes Goz’s frilly pink lemonade. We laughed, chowed, bought bags and bags of candy, and as we left were greeted by the following billboard:
It was indeed a telltale sign of things to come.
We arrived at the Super 8 Hotel and beermonger Goz had us running right out to a bar close to the club. We were in walking distance of B.B. King’s and it was a beautiful, yet almost surreal, site to see as we made our way down 42nd Street:
At $6 a pop, the pints weren’t going to flow as quickly as we all would’ve liked at the Heartland Brewery. We decided to shoot back to the room and stop off at a liquor store on the way. We dropped $17.50 for a six-pack and a couple of Diet Cokes. Foolishness.
The doorman told us the first band went on at 8:00, so it was odd to see 1349 onstage playing to a half full room when we arrived at the ticket window. Sahg had already played...they went on at 7:00. A show starting at 7:00 in NYC?!? I remember back in college coming to CMJ Conventions where you were lucky to see the headlining act begin before 2:00am. Ugh!
No matter. Tonight was all about one band for me.
Having purchased tickets back in December when the two shows were first announced, I had asked my contact at Century Media Records multiple times for passes to properly greet the boys and welcome them back to the States. My interview with Tom on this site was well-received and even made the Blabbermouth news headlines. An article closer to their Massachusetts performance in my hometown alternative weekly is also written and ready to go for early November. I’ve done nothing but love and promote this band for close to 20 years now, and to be told by the listmaster that I wasn’t on it was a bit of a bummer. Perhaps we were down for Friday night instead.
We were all thoroughly unimpressed by 1349. Black metal just doesn’t go over live in the States for some reason. I must admit I was a bit preoccupied with vying for a front row spot. Upon 1349’s completion, I snuck right in and stood my ground for the remained of the night. Matt and Goz brought me beers while I stood against the guardrail of the tiny B.B.’s stage right in front where Martin would soon be thrashing like mad.
During one of the beer runs, Matt said he met comedian (and Horror & Metal freak) Brian Posehn at the bar. I had been trying to arrange an interview for this issue with Brian through Relapse Records who recently released his hella-cool “Live In: Nerd Rage” CD. Since I gave Matt a card and told him to explain how Relapse has ignored multiple requests from GASPetc for some reason...needless to say, I’m still waiting to hear from Mr. Posehn.
Finally the time had come. “Totengott” blared from the speakers as an eerie introduction with smoke machines going full-blast. Soon my icons assumed their positions and I was freaking out like I did back in 1987. My ears were soon treated to a slowed-down, heavy-as-all-fuck version of “Procreation of the Wicked”. I knew the old tunes were going to sound massive, but I honestly wasn’t prepared for this. It was ecstasy. It was perfection. I couldn’t get enough of every note, and we weren’t even halfway through the first song yet.
I was ferociously headbanging and screaming along to the lyrics. Giving every ounce of myself to empower the performers. At one point, my glasses flew off into the photo pit. No matter. I would find them later unscathed.
I couldn’t get over how precise everything sounded. They plowed through classics like “Dawn of Meggido”, “The Usurper” & “Circle of the Tyrants” with gusto. The set did seem to hit the brakes a bit with Into the Pandemonium’s “Sorrows of the Moon”, but it did translate live better than I thought it might. They continued on with and a mind-blowing rendition of “Dethroned Emperor”, saving the best song the band has written to date, “Synagoga Satanae”, for the end – 14 minutes of pent-up aggression that left me completely satisfied upon its completion.
I must admit that touring guitarist Anders Odden could’ve appeared to be a bit more interested in what he was doing, but the guy mimicked many of Tom’s classic solos to a T. Aside from this, Celtic Frost had risen above every expectation I had as a live act. The best part was that I was seeing them again the following night!
Sweaty and sans voice, I met Goz and Matt who were equally as impressed. We were booted out shortly thereafter for a private aftershow autograph session that sukers paid an extra $55 for (!) No hanging out with the Frost this night. I did, however, shake the hand of Frost’s amazing new drummer Franco Sesa and thanked him for a great show before we split.
We made our way up the stairwell to the merchandise booth where I found solace in the wide variety of 2XL-sized shirts available. I have been without a wearable Frost T since my Vanity/Nemesis one finally decayed in the wash in the late-90’s. I promptly whipped out my credit card and dropped $200 on eight of them. That'll keep me going for a while...
At this point we were all starving, so we wandered across the street to Applebee’s for some of the poorest service in the history of chain restaurant dining. First we received beers that were not what we ordered, then got six tiny buffalo tenders for a mere $9. I don’t recall the burgers being that bad, but when the $110 bill arrived, we all felt like sticking our fingers down our throats in exchange for payment.
As we left, I noticed Martin chatting with fans across the street. We dashed over and I was greeted with, “Hey Mike, I saw you there in the front row banging away. I hope you stretched out your neck beforehand.” I had done my job well! He was off to an unofficial afterparty at a metal bar in Brooklyn known as Duff’s. As he sped away, we searched for a cab that knew of this bar. After hitting up 3 or 4, no luck.
We were all exhausted, but began roaming the streets. It was only 11:00 on a Thursday night in New York – there had to be SOMEthing to do. At this point, the dark cloud that surely follows Celtic Frost around finally decided to open up and rain upon us. We needed to duck in somewhere pronto. We grabbed a card from a guy on the corner that directed us to Legz Diamond.
While not the nicest strip joint we’d ever been in, it was far from the worst and the small staff was friendly enough. We were immediately targeted by a small spitfire named 'Victoria'. She was digging on Goz, so I got him a lap dance. Poor Matt had his fill for the evening I think, and he sat slumped over in front of the main stage. Soon Goz returned the favor and Victoria was all over me. “Do you like little Puerto Ricans,” she asked. “Okay,” was the best I could come up with in return. We stayed for an hour, hailed a cab and called it a night. When we hit the sheets at 3:00, the gas wars began. I believe Goz was “pooting” until daylight, but I can’t be certain as I know I fell asleep almost immediately.
Friday, September 15
It was 9:00am when all of our colons needed to be evacuated. While I was sure the aroma in the room couldn’t get any more foul after last night’s gascapades, off goes Matt into the can, followed by Goz. I held my own after that, but with no ventilation in the tiny bathroom I was close to gagging. This, coupled with a sore neck in desperate need of a chiropractor along with remembering how I had gotten blown off by Heather at the show, I was feeling a tad bit miserable. I grabbed my big bottle of medication and hoped for the best.
We showered off the stench and headed out the door to, what else, fill up our guts again. Next to the Heartland Brewery we hit yesterday was a BBQ joint they owned called Spanky’s, and it was some damn good grub! I could’ve eaten their pulled pork sandwiches all day long if I hadn’t felt so bloated from the buckets of beer we drank yesterday.
Next on the agenda was another bar Goz had on his list. This one was called Barcade located in Brooklyn. It sounded like a cool concept – a classic `80’s video arcade offering beer on tap. We had so much success last night with people helping us locate bars in Brooklyn, this couldn’t be any worse. We took the subway and made the lengthy trek down a street full of vacant buildings and closed up shops. The address Barcade was supposedly located in was locked up tight and there was no signage on the outside of the building whatsoever [in the days that followed, Goz found out that it was, in fact, the correct building, but their sign is spraypainted on the sidewalk out front...not to mention that it doesn’t even open until 5:00]. On top of that, it was still raining, only harder than yesterday. Even though we had nothing else earmarked for the afternoon, it was still a drag.
I voted to get some rest before the show on the return trip to the hotel. While they laughed at me yesterday for mentioning it, Goz and Matt also slept like babies until it was, you guessed it, time to eat again. By this time it was pouring outside.
I’ve loved the Mexican food chain Chevy’s since getting sloshed on their incredible watermelon margaritas in California with my buddy Kit during our freelance DVD jaunts. You need two hands to pick these suckers up, and they do not skimp on the liquor either. Three massive plates of food arrived after we mowed though two complimentary baskets of tortilla chips and salsa, each with a pile of beans. We all looked at each other and prepared ourselves for another late night of outbursts.
There was much more buzzing about outside B.B. King’s here on Friday. As we made our way inside, I had hoped that the email Goz sent the Century Media rep via his phone had jogged her memory about passes for us tonight. Again, nothing. Had I done something to piss her off? I was peeved, but let it pass for now as we were all very interested in checking out Sahg who had just walked onstage.
Sahg opened their 30-minute set of crushing doom with “The Executioner Undead”, one of the many standout tracks from their debut CD. From there, they showcased “Rivers Running Dry”, “The Alchemist” and “Godless Faith”. They also payed homage to one of their major influences by covering the Pentagram classic “Live Free and Burn”. The band was tight, the sound was great, and it seemed that the small-ish 7:00 crowd was quite into it after hearing the first song and getting a feel for what Sahg’s all about. The three of us hope that they’ll be back for a full blown tour very soon.
After their set I noticed my CM rep was actually here schmoozing it up with a few folks, all of whom were covered in cool, brown & green Monotheist fabric passes. I kept a cool head and chit-chatted for a bit until Dan Lilker busted in on our conversation...whereupon she promptly escorted him backstage. Wow...super burn! If I'm not mistaken, didn't Lilker record a song with S.O.D. entitled “Celtic Frosted Flakes”?!?
My friends tried calming me down and led me to the bar for another beer, when directly in front of us stood classic and classy Frost drummer Reed St. Mark. “REED!!!” I screeched. He was noticeably taken aback, but once I introduced myself and mentioned the magazine, he recalled the interview we did back in `94 and we spoke for a few minutes. I was in a good mood again after that...until 1349 began playing, that is.
Soon it was Frost time once again. The place was packed by their 9:00 start time. I took my place this night a few rows from the guardrail directly in front of Tom. I heard someone yell “Mike!” really loud and I turned around to see Ryan ‘Choppy’ Travis & his buddy Rich from Massachusetts thrash metal band Post Mortem. The poor bastards walked all the way from Chinatown to the club, but made it just in time.
I’d describe tonight’s performance as seeing a great movie for the second time. The anticipation was gone and I could concentrate more on the show than flipping out. Of the two set lists the band is touring with, this is the preferred one with the inclusion of the more powerful “Return to the Eve” & “Inner Sanctum” in exchange for last night’s “Sorrows…” & “Mesmerized”. The energy flowed throughout the entire evening, with Tom describing the audience as “quite rowdy”; the pit was moving, there were a few moments of crowd surfing and the band was a lot more charged by it all.
After the incredible display we witnessed, I gave my rep one last ditch effort before we took off, but I was still completely cold-shouldered. Whatever. A good time was had by all, and we’re all looking forward to The Palladium invasion on November 5th.
After working up a major thirst during the show, and while chatting with fellow fans outside the venue after it, we decided it was time to quench said thirst. Since the Heartland Brewery was hearby, and their Imperial IPA was quite tasty, we decided to stop there again. We arrived just in time for last call, so we quizzed the bartender (who was from the Worcester, MA area as well) about where we should go. She recommended St. Andrews, which was a short walk from the brewery.
St. Andrews was a perfect suggestion, as they had a fine selection of beers and also serve food late night. After MANY pints of ale and a shot or two of Jager, last call had come and it was time for the 3 married guys to stop Matt & Rich from hitting on any more chicks. We stumbled into one final hole in the wall owned by a guy who used to be one of Muhammad Ali’s trainers. It was clear that we had hit rock bottom on all counts with Rich making the moves on what was best described as “Mark Fields with a vagina.” I recall leaving a McDonald’s after that to see Goz staggering into the side of a building. Going back to the cramped hotel room was long overdue. I'm just glad nobody ended up barfing.
Saturday, September 16
If you’ve read this far, kudos to you. I’ll spare you the details of the journey home, but will leave you with the best line of the entire weekend from Goz: “I love New York. Where else can you spend $100 for hamburgers & a beer at fucking Applebee’s?”
A -Mike Baronas (w/ Goz)
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