When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight. It was listed as a dual headlining show with the bands switching who would play first. It just happened that we had Suede as the second band and I feel that, given how exciting Suede was, we saw them in the right order.
The first Suede album (or The London Suede, if you must) is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s glammy and trashy and catchy and wonderful. Brett Anderson’s voice is unique and magnificent and Bernard Butler’s guitar work was like nothing else at the time. When Butler left during the recording of their next album, it seemed like curtains for the band, but young guitarist Richard Oates stepped in and is a force unto himself. I still think of him as the new guy, even though he’s been in the band for over twenty years.
Suede broke up in 2003 and I guess I lost touch with them. But they reunited in 2010 and have been putting out new albums ever since. Although I wasn’t really aware of these records–they really fell off my radar. I had never seen Suede live (and they haven’t toured the States in something like twenty-five years). I looked at their European shows and saw that they were playing a lot of songs from the new album. But I hoped that they would throw a bone for the U.S. fans and play some oldies too.
The band came out and set up their first song, a lengthy instrumental opening. And then Brett Anderson slowly marched out. He shuffled and danced and was surprisingly goofy. I evidently didn’t know anything about Suede’s live show, because I wasn’t expecting anything like the way Anderson bounced around, crawled on the floor, and, yes, climbed into the audience and sang with us. It was awesome. Continue Reading »
[ATTENDED: November 19, 2022] Manic Street Preachers
When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight.
I saw the Manic Street Preachers 23 years ago. And while I haven’t kept up with their releases, I have listened from time to time. But their albums from the 1990s are some of my favorites of the era. And I have never seen Suede and their debut album is one of my favorite albums ever. They haven’t toured the US in about 25 years. I bought a pit ticket and was pretty psyched.
I was quite surprised to find out that it hadn’t sold very well. But the people around me were super into the show and knew every word to every song (which is more than I knew).
My favorite two MSP albums are Everything Must Go (1996) and This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours (1998) and they started off with a song from Truth, the roaring “You Stole the Sun from My Heart.” The followed it right up with “Everything Must Go.” I was so excited to find out that James Dean Bradfield still sounded amazing. He hit some great high notes and was full of power. Their touring musician (whose name I didn’t catch) added some nice deep backing vocals to the songs.
I was more or less in front of bassist Nicky Wire who was pretty chill–although he did wear a boa for one song. He used to wear dresses or skirts, but he was just wearing a MSP T-Shirt. He said a few things (he is known to be controversial), but I didn’t really understand anything he said. Continue Reading »
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 18, 2022] I Prevail / Pierce the Veil / Fit for a King / Stand Atlantic
My son has really been getting into Pierce the Veil lately. I didn’t know them, but I’ve really enjoyed what I heard from them. They haven’t toured in a long time, so when they announced this show (second on the bill), I grabbed us tickets.
I like the singer’s voice and that they seem to mix genres in interesting ways all within a heavy base.
But as the show drew closer, and I told my son that Pierce the Veil probably wasn’t going to play that long and that we’d have to sit through at least two other bands, possibly three others if we stayed until the end, we kind of agreed that maybe we didn’t need to go to this show. Especially since, assuredly, Pierce the Veil would tour as a headliners soon (which they have since done).
So I sold my tickets for a small profit and we stayed home. I mean honestly four bands is practically a festival.
I didn’t really know any of the other bands. I’d heard of I Prevail–they were supposed to tour with Ice Nine Kills
Here’s a hilarious review of the I Prevail album True Power from Sputnik Music
No one does it quite like I Prevail. There’s something to be said about a band capable of pleasing dudebro-core fans and “I-dig-Evanescence” mums alike. Unfortunately, the majority of that thing isn’t exactly positive. Everything I Prevail does is so predictable, so glossy, so vapid that it’s easy to see why they aren’t exactly revered. Simultaneously, everything I Prevail does is so predictable, so glossy, so listenable that it’s easy to see why the majority of their songs have accumulated well over ten million streams on Spotify. Three years after the highly successful and utterly disposable Trauma, metalcore’s most slippery boys have returned with the brand new full length True Power to please their legions of fans. …. While most elements of True Power are perfectly listenable (outside of every single rapped verse), there’s hardly a single original idea to be found on the record.
Other reviews are more positive.
Fir for a King is a metalcore band out of Texas. It seems like there’s either a ton of metalcore bands these days or the bands that I want to see keep getting paired with metalcore bands. They opened for Ice Nine Kills in Philly, but we ate cheesteaks and missed their set. Ice Nine Kills seems to be the common thread here, I guess.
My new favorite site for snarky review, Sputnik Music says
On one hand, I marvel at the technical competence and musicianship of this band. I know that as a drummer I am not, and never will be, as good as Trey Celaya. The musician in me, knowing I am nowhere near as capable as these guys, finds it hard to be objective. What right do I have to judge or be critical? I am not the one spending years writing the songs, going on tour, or releasing the albums. I sure couldn’t write it myself. I’m not the “man in the arena” so to speak.
On the other hand, as I continue writing reviews and taking a more methodical or academic approach to listening to music, it’s very difficult to dismiss the shortcomings and drawbacks of this record. Furthermore, I am a consumer, and it is an unfortunate reality that one of the surest ways to lose customers in an industry as competitive or cutthroat as music is to fail to routinely provide an improved product.
Herein lies the problem with The Hell We Create: By itself, the album is passable, acceptable, adequate, or whatever other adjective you want to use for something that is perfectly alright. Unfortunately, next to Dark Skies, those descriptions could just as easily be swapped for words such as mediocre or middling, second-rate or passé. So while it is marginally better than The Path, it is not anywhere close to the quality it could or should be, and Fit For A King’s struggle to settle on where they are going musically greatly overshadows any forward progress they might be making.
I rather like the catchy parts of the songs.
Stand Atlantic are an Australian pop-punk band that seems to have embraced a more metal sound on their newest album. Their first two albums are pretty widely varied. They are no doubt playing up their heavier side for this tour. But I think I like some of their other stuff better.
[DID NOT ATTEND: October 11, 2022] Will Sheff / mmeadows
Will Sheff is the main voice behind Okkervil River, a band that I like but who I don’t know all that well. I’d like to have seen Okkervil River, although I don’t know if there’s really all that much difference between a Will Sheff and an Okkervil River (he played several Okkervil songs).
But I’m guessing that they are a band that at this time I don’t know well enough to travel all that far for.
This was the third time this year that mmeadows was opening for a show that I wound up not going to. Wither I really need to see them OR they are cursing me into not going to shows.
Their music is pretty interesting. Rough Trade publishing describes them this way:
Longtime collaborators Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green come together for the first time as a duo in mmeadows. The band’s distinct sound is informed by their deep musical backgrounds: Kristin is a current member of indie royalty Dirty Projectors, while Cole has worked directly with Beyoncé on two albums, ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Four.’ Drawing from their disparate influences, mmeadows sees two people connect in what Paste Magazine calls a sonically “singular” way.
Vocal-focused pop songwriting is the heartbeat of mmeadows, who liberally use found sounds and esoteric vintage instruments in their productions and performances. The band released their first EP, Who Do You Think You Are?, in April 2020.
Perhaps a but too poppy for me, but I’ll bet they’re fun live.
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 17, 2022] I Fight Dragons / MC Lars / Schaffer The Darklord
This show was moved from Milkboy to Silk City pretty close to showtime. I’ve never been to Silk City, so I don’t know much about it. Bu I assume it’s pretty small.
I have wanted to see MC Lars for a couple of years now and the shows keep conflicting with something else.
This show had two of the Four-Eyed Horsemen show that I wanted to go to back in 2021.
But I hadn’t heard of I Fight Dragons. They are an American chiptune-based rock band from Chicago. Their music is a combination of rock with chiptune, featuring electronic sounds made using Nintendo Game Boys and Nintendo Entertainment Systems.
If you have never seen I Fight Dragons live, their sound is chiptune-based, which I think (in some ways) sells them short as musicians, because that sounds like they rely on video games to make their music. Every single one of the guys is incredibly talented musically, and just like any good performer, these self-proclaimed geeks use those clips to make their songs – and performances – more interesting.
I rather wish I had gone, although I think I’d like to see MC Lars as a headliner. But I Fight Dragons sound pretty cool. Continue Reading »
When Mercyful Fate announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. They were one of my favorite metal bands back in high school. I listened to their two albums constantly. My friend Joe and I used to jam to them, learning how to play fast metal.
They basically broke up in 1985 and lead singer King Diamond went solo. He was the main focus of the band for me, so I followed his career for an album or two then gave up on the whole thing.
I had no idea they’d reunited in the 90s and released a bunch of albums.
But after their 1999 album Mercyful Fate went on hiatus again. And now, here they were back together after 23 years. Well, sort of together again. The new lineup features two of the five original dudes. The King of course and original guitarist Hank Shermann. Then there are some dudes who joined them for the mid 90s reunion drummer Bjarne T. Holm and guitarist Mike Wead. The final piece was supposed to be Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera, but he was off playing with Armored Saint. So they found Becky Baldwin, who has been on a dozen albums by bands I don’t know. But she totally kicked ass on stage and frankly it was nice to have a female presence on stage.
After Kreator was gone, we all rushed the stage and waited. There was some turmoil as a big dude seemed to be lurking and lurching at the women in the audience. I anticipated trouble, but none was had. And then people started pushing . Really hard. Because the pit was being formed. So I was far from where I started but still plenty close enough.
As with Kreator, I thought that the sound was too loud. But that compliant is more for the fidelity of the music than the actual volume. It felt like the music was very crackly and I actually thought it sounded better with earplugs in. I also thought it was very un-Mercyful Fate like to play lead guitar in a baseball hat and sunglasses, but such is Hank Shermann’s deal I guess.
But honestly who cared as long as the music sounded good and that King Diamond could still do his magic.
They opened with “The Oath” and I was immediately transported back to 1985. The riffs were spot on and, amazingly King Diamond sounded just as unholy and insane as always.
The stood at the top of the stage–there was a balcony over the drum riser with stairs leading to the stage–in front of a “marble” room. He wore a giant horned mask and a red robe. And of course his face was painted white. And he had his femur bone/cross/microphone. The song started, the recognizable riff blasting through the speakers, and the King’s unholy falsetto soaring through the crowd: “I deny Jesus Christ.”
Yup, the giant floating upside down cross and goat’s head pentagram weren’t the only thing Satanic about this meeting. It was followed by a song from their debut EP, “A Corpse Without Soul.”
I wasn’t really sure how many people liked Mercyful Fate. I mean, I know they are hugely influential (Metallica covered them after all), but who knew if that translated into actual fans. But not only were there a lot of people there, most of them seemed to know all the words.
They played a new song, but I didn’t really care all that much about it. I haven’t listened to anything past 1985 by them and doubt that I will. It seemed to be a historical, rather than a Satanic song. Between these three songs, it had been over twenty minutes already!
By this time, the King had gone up to the room and removed his horns. He came back with the crown that he wears for most of the show.
And then they moved onto a song from Melissa. It quickly became clear that I know Melissa a bit better than Oath, because every note of “Curse of the Pharaohs” was instantly familiar. King Diamond hit those insanely high notes of the chorus with no trouble. It was almost shocking how short the song is when compared t o the others.
King Diamond was pretty fun and funny throughout the show. He invited us to “A Dangerous Meeting.” They followed that up with “Doomed by the Living Dead,” another deep cut that shows a really catchy chorus.
I was pretty delighted that this tour was pretty much all classic songs–no 90s songs at all. I wouldn’t exactly say hit after hit, but for a fan of those two records it felt like hit after hit.
Then it was on to a whole bunch of songs from Melissa. They played pretty much all of the album (skipping “Into the Coven” and “At the Sound of the Demon Bell”).
The King climbed up to his room as Hank and Mike played the opening guitar riff and solo of “Melissa.” King came out and knelt in front of the pentagram as he crooned the opening words. I’ve listened to this song so much, I knew everything that was coming. It was pretty awesome.
They followed it with the remarkably short “Black Funeral” and then the album opener “Evil” which I swear EVERYONE sang along to (except the high notes, thankfully).
The final song of the set was “Come to the Sabbath” (which he of course invited us to).
I knew they were playing “Satan’s Fall” on this tour and I was unreasonably excited to hear it. I didn’t know if there was anything else I especially wanted to hear. “Nuns Have No Fun” would have been a hilarious addition, but I didn’t expect it. And quite frankly, I was happy for the show to be relatively short.
So after an encore break, the band came out and began the epic journey. It was crazy hearing that riff, hearing that voice (even if I had no idea what the words actually were), and feeling everyone moshing and slamming and singing around me. If I had been 15, it would have been the greatest moment of my life, I’m sure.
The song was epic and they finished it and we all went crazy.
Then the band gathered near the front of the stage and it was very funny to see King Diamond smiling and waving to people.
There were actually some dudes shouting “one more song” as if a) you could top “Satan’s Fall” and b) you could actually tell King Diamond what to do.
Markit Aneight posted a full video of the show
The Oath Ø
A Corpse Without Soul ¥
The Jackal of Salzburg [new]
Curse of the Pharaohs ϖ
A Dangerous Meeting Ø
Doomed by the Living Dead ¥
Melissa ϖ
Black Funeral ϖ
Evil ϖ
Come to the Sabbath Ø
encore
Satan’s Fall ϖ
new song 2022 Ø Don’t Break the Oath (1984)
ϖ Melissa (1983) ¥ Mercyful Fate EP (1982)
When Mercyful Fate announced their first U.S. tour in 23 years, I immediately grabbed a ticket. I didn’t care who the opening bands were. The fact that it was billed as a kind of double bill with Kreator was no big deal. And we had support from Midnight, whom I’d never heard of.
I wanted to arrive late enough that I wouldn’t be too far back but also with hope that I didn’t have to sit through too much of Kreator.
I missed Midnight entirely–they sound like a band I would have enjoyed back in high school (solid Metal Blade music).
I had heard of Kreator, (they’ve been around since 1985, after all) but I really didn’t know anything about them. Apparently they are quite legendary in the metal world. Wikipedia even says
Pleasure to Kill is widely considered a landmark thrash metal classic, along with Master of Puppets by Metallica, Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? by Megadeth, Reign in Blood by Slayer, Eternal Devastation by Destruction and Darkness Descends by Dark Angel, all released in 1986.
But I’m guessing that since I didn’t get into this album back in the 80s, I never would. I found the whole show, of which I saw about six or seven songs, too loud (so I’m too old). And kind of samey. Continue Reading »
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 12, 2022] Darlingside / Caitlin Canty
Ten years ago I was driving past the New Hope Winery, a place I didn’t even know had live music, and I skidded to a halt–literally. Thurston Moore was playing there. WHAT?
New Hope is closer than anywhere for me. How did I not know about this? Who else plays here? Well, mostly, Dar Williams plays there (a lot) and then a ton of cover bands. But I keep an eye on theoir mailing list for the occasional amazing band they might sneak in there.
Like Darlingside! What? How great would it be to see them in this teeny venue and here them make jokes about wine and New Hope. I bought tickets immediately.
And then we wound up scheduling a fall vacation to Salem Massachusetts and we would be heading home on this date. And who the hell wants to go to a concert after driving all day from Salem to New Jersey? Not us, that’s for sure. So, we missed Darlingside twice in a few days.
Please don’t let it be another ten years before there’s someone else I want to see there.
Caitlin Canty is an American singer/songwriter whose music carves a line through folk, blues, and country ballads. Raised in small-town Vermont, the daughter of a school teacher and a house painter, Canty earned her degree in biology in the Berkshires and subsequently moved to New York City.Her voice was called “casually devastating” by the San Francisco Chronicle and NPR Music describes her songs as having a “haunting urgency.”
I’ve since listened to her sing a few songs with Darlingside and her voice melds very nicely with theirs. Her solo stuff is quiet lovely as well.
[DID NOT ATTEND: November 12, 2022] Alvvays / Slow Pulp
Back in 2017, my wife and I saw Alvvays for the second time (first headline show). And I wrote
But holy cow were we surprised that they sold out! (And good for them).
I had no idea that people even knew that much about them. But the sold out crowd were huge fans as people were singing along left and right.
And yet here they were again playing Franklin Music Hall, the largest small venue in Philly. So evidently they have a huge fan base.
I hadn’t listened much to the new album, but I figured they were bond to put on a good show.
The problem was that we already had tickets to see Darlingside at a super intimate venue. It was hard to give up those tickets!
But then we wound up going on vacation and weren’t able to go to anything that evening at all.
Slow Pulp is a funny name. Especially if (like to me) it sounds like your band is just a slower version of the band Pulp, which they are not. Rather, they are kind of a slow version of Alvvays. They are slow and introspective. Seems like a good (if maybe dull?) fit.
I found out about Starcrawler in 2018, a few months after they played their first Philly show at Johnny Brenda’s. They had also played the Non-Commvention a few months later, which where I decided I really wanted to see them live.
Their stage show was supposed to be insane with lead singer Arrow de Wilde being a force to be reckoned with (who seemed to always end up bloody–fake or otherwise). I was super excited to see them open for The Distillers in 2019, but Brody Dalle hurt her back during warm up and the show was cancelled a few minutes before the show started. Later Distillers shows had other opening acts.
They played a show in 2019 at Boot & Saddle, but I had other plans for that night. Then they were supposed to open for Red Fang in 2021, but that show was cancelled. So, basically, I’ve been wanting to see them for a pretty long time.
I actually don’t know a lot of their songs. I absolutely love two of them, but as for the rest, I was there more for the spectacle than the actual songs. I was concerned that the 2022 Starcrawler would be different from the 2018 version. And, well, it was. This version of the band is all dressed up in tuxedos. Not a drop of blood to be seen. Continue Reading »
When this tour was announced I practically screamed with delight. It was listed as a dual headlining show with the bands switching who would play first. It just happened that we had Suede as the second band and I feel that, given how exciting Suede was, we saw them in the right order.
I Just Read About That... 