Few New Faces

So there was a few changes in some of the local bands over the summer.

Steve Brower replaced Joseph Smith as bassist for Blacktooth Brigade. Smith said that it just wasn't fun anymore, and it seemed to be a mutual departure. Brower has played many shows with BTB since coming in as the replacement, and has done an awesome job. The band as commented before that he can pick things up really easily, so he fit with the band.

Another change, that occurred closer to the end of summer was the pretty much firing of Adam Ray, the singer of Endless Aisle. I've only heard things from other people in the local scene, but it seemed that the band didn't think he was progressing enough. I don't know about all that, but what I do know is that Ray was a good screamer, and he was an awesome promoter for his band. I'm curious to see what will happen to the band, in terms of how many shows the book, etc, and to see who will replace Ray- let's hope they have some pipes.

As always check out the bands I talk about and Support your local scene.

Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament

August 19th never came... Until it was finally here. The Joe Louis was packed with metalheads in all ages and shapes, including the old guy with the beer belly who apparently couldn't decide what shirt to wear so he went without one and dripped his sweat on me all night.

Testament started the night off. The pit was going, but not really full force until the end of their set, which made getting up to the fence a whole lot easier. Their set was very fulfilling for all the people who came to see the show. The older people were talking about how they played the same type of shows when they were younger and the younger crowd, like me, were just excited to see them play.

Megadeth came on next. The floor filled up more and it was a lot harder to keep my place on the fence. A big portion of my bruises came from this set. Watching these guys was so fulfilling considering I've been listening to them non-stop on my iPod for the last 4 months, and a lot of times before that. Dave Mustaine may have some nerve damage but it didn't effect his voice through the set. Chris Broderick's solos were amazing, especially seeing them 10 feet away. During a song wee made eye contact during the solo and after that every solo we made eye contact and he threw his pick to me- which was a very girly moment for me... I blushed. The ended their set with two of their classics, "A Tout le Monde" and "Peace Sells."

When their set ended the pressure on my arms and ribs immediately started because everyone was trying to get closer for Slayer. My friend and I kept our spots but we were pushed a lot closer together. This was the set that made my arms look like a victim of domestic abuse and my ribs look like a tree fell on them.

Slayer was all they were cracked up to be live. I became a bigger fan after seeing them play and after experiencing the crowd and the level of excitement that came with the drop off the curtain. Their set was filled with songs from their new album and their classics, which was an amazing mix- not too much of either one. I caught one of their picks too, which was really cool- I did end up giving it to the guy next to me because he totally had a boner for them and I already had my Megadeth one. Slayer was definitely an intense set, not only did they play almost non-stop (even though it was pretty short compared to the other bands) but the crowd was way more aggressive. Having to throw elbows at the 40+ guy next to me, who threw elbows back and then asked "if I was gonna throw punches," and turned away and mumbled to himself when I said yes. And the girl, who when i threw an elbow to get the shirtless guy's elbow out of my spine, who said "It's a concert, if you can't handle it get seats," and I told her that I had been up front the whole night and she can shut up. She then gave me a bitchy look and asked if I actually told her to shut up and then mumbled "wanna fight," but trust me, she did not want to fight me right then. Maybe it's true what lame people say about Metal? That it makes you more aggressive.

The night was one of the greatest nights of my life. Seeing two classic Metal bands play 10 feet from me and walking away bruised and beaten... I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Not to mention I got the floor tickets for like $45 because I got them in April when I first heard the show. You can't lose with that!

August 18th= Night of Black Metal and Camo

Wednesday night at Mac's Bar was packed with good beer, bands and people. The line-up was enough for me to drive an hour up to Lansing to see these bands. Apparently I missed the memo that bands and fans alike were supposed to wear either camo pants or shorts because I was one of the few not decked in it.

Dark Empyre started off the night and as one of the bystanders said, you "have to look past the front man, but they are good." The front man/lead vocals, Lord Pyrosis (according to the band's Myspace) had his face painted all white with the eyes surrounded in black and branching off in different directions, and huge platform boots on. The singer goes with the music, however, because the other band members don't do the same thing it's kind of like he's trying to hard to sell the band as "hardcore." His voice is also a little whiny, like it shakes when he screams-sounding like the exorcist chick, but if you don't watch him then it's all good. During the set the band and fans kept yelling "Hail Satan," as does the band's t-shirts. At one point Lord Pyrosis said, "Hope there aren't any Christians," and the guitarist replied, "who else are wee gonna piss off." The band pulls through on their claim to being black/death/thrash metal with explosive bass, intricate drums, and guitarist's hands that just seem like a blur.

To top off the night of black metal, Mac's was (like always) playing some B-rate horror movie, but this one wasn't as good as Cannibal Holocaust. To draw my attention away from the movie it took Serpent Crown with it's three guitarists, but man did it work.

One thing that I found amusing was that every time somebody yelled the name of the band, or when the band introduced itself, it sounded like they were saying "Serpico." When I got over that little joke and the music started I soon forgot about everything else. The members of the band are a bit older than most of the bands around but the adage of "if it's too loud then you're too old" does NOT hold true for this group. Two of the members are also in Genocya which makes their job a lot harder- one of them was discussing how they need to start working out because the back-to-back gigs were hittin' em hard. Wednesday was also Serpent Crown's last show because the two members of Genocya were leaving SC so they could focus on Genocya. There song "Illusions of Sanity" is THE perfect pit song. It's fast, heart-pounding, finger-tapping, head-banging, rage out song.

The night only got better with each band performing. Nest up was Genocya, and even though their bassist and singer were recovering from Serpent Crown's set, they didn't let off one bit. "Frozen in Fear" was the perfect start off point. Thrash metal with a great Chug section where the bassist just killed it. The song got a nice pit going for a pretty packed bar, and by the way the pit formed and kept going you would've expected a bigger name band to be on the stage. If I were drag racing a 68' Camaro SS or about to get in a sweet fight scene from fight club, I would want this band playing. "Hatred in the Flesh" was one of my favorite songs of the night. The solo sounding guitar throughout the entire song gave it the classic Testament-era metal sound to it, and the bass drums are propelling the song and the chugging bassist is just making it feel like a train is coming right at you but you'll put a hand out and derail it. Another highlight of Genocya's set was their black metal cover of "Strutter." It was amazing. Not only was it a good cover of a classic song, but the faster pace of the metal version made the song even better.

GOATWHORE. Need I say more? the answer should be no, but for the people who don't know them or need to know more, I will say more. The pit alone represented exactly how the band plays music. A good amount of people jumped into the pit and were going hard, pushing people across the room, almost taking out the amps on stage, and were running full force into people. It's honestly hard to write about this band and their songs and do it justice because all I wrote in my notes for "In the Narrow Confines of Defilement" was "AHHHH! awesome." Having trouble finding the words to describe them, I played the songs for my friend Amanda who spends her time listening to Aerial Pink and Best Coast. She was thrashing around and said that she "wanted to throw up... but in the good way, like a metal way." That may be the best way to describe this song. Amanda also commented that "if you slow down Lady GaGa it sounds like GOATWHORE, like super satanic."

"Carving Out the Eyes of God," which was the single off their 2009 CD by the same name. Looking at the lyrics for this song makes the band even more impressive in my mind. The words they use are bigger than most of the words people use in English papers, and on top of that they can get these words out in a scream and a short amount of time. I urge everyone to look up these lyrics. The singer, Ben Falgoust II (who is also the singer of Solient Green) gave everyone permission to rip off the song from someone who has it, to put it on your computer and steal it, and to spend your money on some of the other bands that were playing." GOATWHORE also played a song from their first album, which is always a good move by any band because most fans always go to shows hoping that they "play their old shit." Their last song was "Apocalyptic Havoc." All I can say about that, is that it was SICK.

Another band played after GOATWHORE, but after their set I didn't want to hear anything else. I wanted that sound to be what was stuck in my head for the next few days. I feel bad missing them, Saviours, because they are playing this year's Ozzfest which is a pretty good indicator that they would have put on a great show.

This night was amazing, and I got to make my brother jealous because I was 10 feet away from GOATWHORE. And the next night I had floor tickets to see Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament. So I got two nights of great music.

Capital City Chaos

Saturday night was the Capital City Chaos show at The Loft in downtown Lansing. Seven local bands showed off their diversity, skills, and love for what they do.

The first band on stage was Shell Shock Brigade, which I actually didn't get to see. Adam Ray, singer of Endless Aisle and the one who put the show together, was saying that he was having problems with getting in touch with the band. When Ray did talk to SSB they were saying that they wanted to go on first because their rhythm guitarist might be quitting... So I wasn't in a rush to get over to the show to make sure to catch them.

Hillside Barrier was up next. They were keeping the crowd engaged in a tame tapping along to the beat sort of way, but they never really grabbed the majority of the crowd. There were a few fans up front by the stage, but my guess is that they were friends of the band- which still counts, don't get me wrong, but it's important for a band to suck in new listeners. At one point the people started getting really into it because they played one of Slayer's new songs, "World Painted Blood." It may not have been an original but the execution of the song was definitely worthy of The Loft's reaction.

A great follow up to Hillside Barrier was Black Hearts Now Sing. Like the band before them, and the bands after, the small group of dedicated fans was right in front of the stage, fueling the band and showing them that what they're doing matters and is paying off. "Decipher" was my favorite song the band played. It was just a song that the band and venue could rage out to, and what's better is that the music and technicality of playing made it hard NOT to get into it. BHNS's drummer, Sam Groves, provides back-up vocals throughout the performance, which is always a cool thing to see considering that very few drummers sing too. The band's set ended one song early when the guitarist was having technical difficulties, but their point was made... They can pull their weight in shows, rage out, and the crowd enjoys them.

On a side note, I've realized that a black t-shirt, shorts, and black Adidas is the uniform for most of the bands in the Lansing metal scene. Although there were jeans thrown into the mix, and the shoes weren't always Adidas, someone can tell when one of the guys is in the band.

Next up was One Without Reason, who showed another side to metal. The vocals, combining Richy Nix and Chester Bennington, added a unique style to this rap metal... but unlike other nu-metal/rap metal bands, the singer also screams. The band describes their influences from progressive metal to alternative rock with a hip hop appeal, according to their Facebook page. During their set I overheard the term "homeboy rock" used to describe OWR, which is an adequate description, but not in the negative sense some might take it. This "homeboy rock" feel was epitomized during "Asleep at the wheel." Starting off with a more Kid Rock rock sound, and once again not in the negative way, the band then segued into the heavier metal style that continued throughout the set. The people were definitely digging it, and I would love to have the play a bonfire one night. Some of the people front and center gave off the white trash vibe to "homeboy rock," rocking the socks with flip flops, wife-beaters, and large cargo shorts that hung down to mid-calf. But all in all this was a great band to throw into the mix, and a great style of metal to hear for the first time. "The Trash Can Song" was a gripping way to end the set, and left people wanting more- which is the point of performing in the first place. The song followed the style of the rest of the performance but then, at the end, Aaron (singer, and no last name was posted on the band's pages) used a bashed up trash can for percussion and it was a version of "Stomp" that I would actually go see.

After the ingenuity of the trash can drums at the end of OWR's set, the next band, As They Sleep was a let down. This Detroit based metal band, signed to Solid State Records, put on a great performance. Watching them is a treat, all members of the band are loving what they are doing and thrashing around and the power stances are in effect, but sadly the music didn't stack up to the people. This band clearly has talent, but for me there was something... just off, almost as if they were trying to be death metal but the music didn't match, or they were thrash but the vocals didn't go. It's kind of hard to explain, but I urge you to check them out anyway (just like all the bands I talk about) and make up your own mind. ATS experienced some technical difficulties which the singer, Aaron Bridgewater, said gives him "much more time to say stupid shit." Their song "Revelations" was a lot better as far as music goes, it seems that the conflicting styles kind of disappeared during this song, but a lot of people went outside to E. Michigan Ave during the set. The rest of the songs set aside, the point where I lost interest for this band was when they performed their cover of "Walk the Line," and yes, i mean the Johnny Cash song in case you can't believe it. I don't know if I need to explain more on this but I will. Covering Johnny Cash in a heavy metal way automatically rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Covers are tricky, especially when you're changing the initial sound, and screaming one of Cash's most famous songs doesn't give the crowd the chance to enjoy the song. In my book, I would leave this one out of the set list next time.

Endless Aisle hit the stage in the true fashion, by coming on strong right from the get-go and getting the audience pumped. This is my second time seeing EA, and both shows were a blast. With heart-pounding guitar and drums, it's hard not to find yourself headbanging along. At one point Adam Ray, the singer, had a child-like longing stare towards bassist Greg Maher, with his toes pointed inward and a cute grin on his face, it showed a vulnerability in this hardcore band, and it's always nice to see them humanized and not just performing.

"How many people in this crowd are Richard Bernstein'd right now? Okay... 4 people," said Ray. This ongoing joke, that Blacktooth Brigade started, has permeated into the shows. It's hard to explain what the joke is about, but pretty much being "Richard Bernstein'd" means being really wasted. Their song, "Clutch," had a nice slow start to it, but then broke into the hard hitting jam thrash that explains EA's style.

Sadly, Blacktooth Brigade was the last band up and started their set at about 1:30 am. For some reason the music began at 9 pm, even though seven bands had to play. BTB got a horrible spot in the line-up and most people had left by the time they went on... but the band put on their blacktooth grins and rocked The Loft until the security guard stopped their set and started forcing people to leave. Saturday at The Loft was the last stop on Blacktooth's Lansing Circuit tour and getting their time cut short was a bad note, but the intimacy of the crowd allowed everyone to have an amazing time. This was my eighth BTB show, but the first show I've seen with their new bassist, Steve Brower, and it was not a disappointment. There was no difference between the old and new bass parts, which is important. And I think once the band becomes more integrated, we can expect some cool things coming from BTB. Ray made a guest appearance and accompanied Clint Cox on vocals. You couldn't really hear Ray in the crowd, but that might have been better. I saw them pair up once before and the two singers just have very different styles of singing which makes for a weird combination. This time though it seemed to work, but Ray was also missing some of the words and staying quiet due to the fact that he was a little "Bernstein'd." The close group of friends that made up the crowd for BTB's set was loving every second of it, and it didn't matter to them that they've heard the band play a bunch of times, the music and the people mixed well... maybe next time Blacktooth will get a better slot and pick up some new fans, which would be well deserved.

Ray says that he hopes to do the Capital City Chaos twice a year, and with the support of the fans who in turn support the local scene, I think it will be possible... And I hope that it does happen.

Reunion Shows, More Then Just For the Band

Last Saturday I joined a full house at The Loft in Lansing for a Powerface reunion show. And there I realized how powerful reunion shows are. It's more than just a chance for the band to pull out their instruments, get together and play again... it's also for the fans.

Powerface was part of the 1990 graduating class of Holt High School. Therefore, the crowd was filled with a bunch of drunk cougars, drunk cougars' husbands, and a bunch of 25+ fans. The fans jammed to their favorite songs from their adolescent years.

Although the band was pumped to play a show again and had the friends-from-high-school relationship with the crowd, the show proved to be about more than just the music. The crowd was singing along to every song, but clearly the earlier years (The Method) of the band were their favorites, as singer, Jeremy Keinitz observed. Not only were the lyrics know after about 15 years, but the members of the crowd kept reliving the memories of high school, shows, and more importantly, the shows Powerface played at the old Small Planet, which is now closed.

Powerface had not performed in the last six years, but you wouldn't be able to tell from their it's-like-riding-a-bike attitude and execution. The complete 90s style nu-metal/rap metal band retained the loyalty of their high school fans as well as gained a few from the younger crowd that showed up too, most likely to see the other bands. Keinitz, Elijah White (guitar) and Jeremy Schopp (bass) are part of Coal Mine Canary, which also played that night. And Chris Doerr (drums) plays in Seizure Lake, also a guest that night, and Steve Nygard is part of Purgatory Grove, another local Lansing metal band.

Even though Powerface is the pure 90s type metal fused with rap, they are not a band that should stay in the 90s. Seeing this band made me regret the fact that I graduated in 2007 and the fact that I grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. To have this band play during my teenage years would have totally changed my interest in music- bringing me into metal way sooner than I actually was.

Listening to the people at the show talk about "back in the day," and how the band interacted with them and made their own comments about the good old days made me realize just how important reunion shows are for people. They give everyone a chance to relive those days that they regret are in the past and give them a chance to get back to the life most of them have left behind.

Get Him to the Greek

So I went and saw "Get Him to the Greek" and I actually went and saw it the next night too. It was a surprisingly good movie, not only was it funny (if you don't mind ad-lib) but it had a good plot. the point of the movie and the resolution was never shoved down your throat, by the end of the movie you felt a certain way, but you weren't told to feel that way.

The icing on the cake was Lars Ulrich's big screen appearance. If you are a fan of Metallica, and like most fans, dislike Lars, then you will thoroughly enjoy the scenes where he is present. He plays himself and in turn gets made fun of multiple times in the movie. The best quote, and don't worry, you will still laugh when you here it, was when Russell Brand's character, Aldous, visits is ex Jackie Q. Lars walks out and Aldous says hello to Lars and then says "yeah... enter sandman," accompanied by a little hand flick/wave thing. I lost it. Then when Lars interrupts again, Aldous says," Why don't you go sue Napster again you Danish twat." This was just very clever and it was an original way to make fun of him.

Throughout the movie, Jason Segel's songs for Infant Sorrow, or Aldous, added the very funny lyrics and genuine songs to the movie. If you remember "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the song "Inside of you" makes a comeback in this film. The funny lyrics of the songs and the clever humor of the script made this movie thoroughly enjoyable. And anything that makes fun of Lars is cool with me.

Uli's Haus of Rock, June 12th

ULI ULI ULI. OI OI OI! A night at Uli's Haus of Rock in Lansing is a great place to spend a night with friends and listen to some great local bands play. Or just listen to the jukebox that plays Metallica more than any Top 40 stuff. Uli's is decked out in Harley Davidson signs, "Bikes, Broads and Beer" signs, and even has a pool table, if you need to occupy yourself with some other activity besides 7and7s. The only downside is the fake smoke machine, which would be cool except the vents aren't set up correctly, if at all, and the place kind of fills up with it, but they use it sparingly.

Blacktooth Brigade started off the night, which was weird for me considering I've seen 8 of their shows and have talked about the shows I haven't seen, and they always go last. Them playing first gave the crowd time to enjoy the set, instead of the mostly empty floor when they start at 1 am. They guys of BTB rocked out in their usual style with heavy metal music and beer on stage. People were jumping and headbanging along with the whole set and even shouting out requests. They never did play my request for "Freebird" though. They started the set with their newer songs and ended it with "Hate Red." BTB started the night on a good foot, but it may have been too good. None of the other bands were really on the same level- talent wise yes, crowd reaction/involvement, no.

Next on stage was Carpal Tunnel and to be honest I spent more time outside and talking to people, but I didn't feel like I missed anything. The musicianship of the band was good, the lyrics hit hard, but I just didn't have that connection with them. One thing I did enjoy, and enjoy with any band, is that the sound of the singer's voice does not match his appearance. I was surprised when I saw that the deep growling was coming from a 5'5/6" guy dressed in a wife-beater and shorts. People were into it the band but didn't have that level of intensity with it as they did with BTB, but it's not like they sucked or anything.

Purgatory grove followed up with a crowd that definitely had some die hard fans in it- and I'm assuming they are all close friends, which most of the crowd was to at least one of the bands. This band won points with me because they had song that was a tribute to Dio, who was a huge influence to the singer growing up, as he said during the show. "The Last Goodbye" had some Dio influenced lyrics and lyrical melodies that accompanied the metal music very well. Another point was added when they played "In Gods We Trust," which was preceded by "everyone thinks their religion is right. And we can't tell them otherwise until it's too late. During their last song Entertainment Tonight, or some show like that, was playing a piece on Gary Coleman- which was just really weird to look up and see his face, then his wife who looks like she's 15, and then his parents crying, and I'm glad I couldn't hear it.

Last but certainly not least in the stage presence category was a World on Strike. Bass, guitar, drums, and a turntable equipped with vocal effects was this bands m.o. And the miners' lights they wore on their heads was definitely something I didn't expect to see. In fact Eric Wolfe of BTB said that he was going to go mine with them after the show. The whole set was very trippy, and I was very glad I wasn't under the influence of any hallucinogens. The singer looked like bme.com's mod blog logo (look it up) and the vocal effects were a weird twist to this metal band. The crowd had cleared out a little bit, being that they were last some people had left, some had gone to roll a joint, and many were just sitting outside- the whole set up seemed to be a little much for most of the people, who are more "let's just play/listen" rather than make this a production.

Overall Uli's Haus of Rock Saturday night was full of bikers, broads and beer... and everyone was lovin it. To prove how good the night was I now sound like an 80-year-old man because I lost my voice... and I may have broken my finger but that wasn't related to the show, it just happened later in the night/morning.