SLAYER, MOTORHEAD, ANTHRAX ROCK MAYHEM

Yesterday, I went to Rockstar Energy Drink's Mayhem Festival at the Toyota Pavilion in Scranton (!), PA. It was my first time going to see this particular tour. Mayhem has been going on for five years and I've never really felt the need to check it out, but this year's lineup was too good to pass up: Slayer, Motorhead and Anthrax. It was headlined by Slipknot.

Slayer played right before Slipknot, and it reminded me a little of the first time I saw Slayer, especially since they have not changed much at all in the decades between then and now. The first time I saw them was in 1987 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey.  They were on a multi-band bill headlined by W.A.S.P.  Now, W.A.S.P. was cool and had all this theatrical stuff going on, but they couldn't compete with Slayer's intensity. In fact, a lot of people left before W.A.S.P., and many more who stayed just threw stuff at the band.

It's not an exact metaphor: Slipknot was the clear headliner last night, respected and loved by pretty much the entire crowd. But, like W.A.S.P., they had a lot of visual stuff going on, other than the obvious (their costumes and masks). Clown's percussion riser was going up and down, other members were jumping on it, there was lots of pyro, it was a real spectacle.  They look awesome and sound great.  But in my mind, it's really tough to follow up Slayer.  Last time I saw Slayer was with Metallica at the "Summer Sanitarium" tour -- Metallica are good enough to pull it off. I also saw them on the Ozzfest. The Deftones went on after them, and with all due respect, I felt they were out of their league.

I only stayed for the first few songs of Slipknot - Scranton is far away, and due to traffic it took us more than four hours to get there. But from what I saw, they were tight.  There aren't that many songs that stand out to me, but I was impressed.

Slayer knock me out every time.  Their intensity and focus is just amazing. Even with a fill-in guitarist -- Gary Holt from Exodus subbing for Jeff Hanneman while he recovers from a spider bite that almost killed him -- they are just unreal.  Holt and Kerry King are a tight guitar team, Dave Lombardo sets the gold standard for metal drummers and Tom Araya still bellows with the same fury he did two decades ago.  Before Slayer took the stage, an AC/DC mix played over the P.A. which I thought was fitting.  They sound nothing alike, but like AC/DC, Slayer ignore and outlast all trends, never compromise, and never let their fans down.  If I had one request for Slayer, it would be to do their cover of Black Sabbath's "Hand Of Doom." Other than that, there's no way to improve on what they do. And anyway, how can I complain when they did “Disciple,” “War Ensemble,” “Mandatory Suicide,” “Seasons In The Abyss,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “Angel Of Death” and for their encore, “South Of Heaven” and “Raining Blood.”

In my mind, Motorhead were the headliners.  Of course, when they tour on their own, they don't play venues nearly as big as the Toyota Pavilion, but that's a shame. Like the aforementioned almighty AC/DC, they are oblivious to the trends that they will outlive, and they have a formula that works for them. Like The Velvet Underground, they've influenced so many bands, a very disproportionate amount compared to their record sales.  But Lemmy accepts it.  He's like a metal Willie Nelson, always on the road. Sometimes playing big places, sometimes small holes in the wall, if people are going to pay to show up, he'll blow their minds.  I thought their set was a bit too short, I still heard a lot of classics including "Bomber," "Damage Case," "The Chase Is Better Than The Catch," "The One To Sing The Blues," "Killed By Death" and "Ace Of Spades."I would have dug "Orgasmatron," but as Lemmy himself noted, they had no say in their set time. Honestly, I was just glad to see them playing for such a huge crowd.  They could probably have filled the joint with metal and punk bands who wouldn't exist without them.

Anthrax is probably the band on the bill who I have spent the most time listening to. In high school, they were one of my metal favorites, and I listened to them more than Slayer or Motorhead. I haven't seen them in years: since they reunited with former singer Joey Belladonna.  I was skeptical about them allowing Joey back in the band, but as I wrote last year, their reunion album Worship Music is really good, and Joey sounds great, and also contemporary.  He still is an excellent singer, but isn't sounding like he wishes he was in Journey or Kansas. I used to feel like he didn't fit in, I don't feel that way anymore. Whatever crap has gone down between the members, I think they're over it.  I think they appreciate that they get to play metal year after year all over the world, even if it isn't quite on Slayer's level.  Instead of playing on the main stage, Anthrax headlined the second stage, which was a smart choice.  They might have played to some empty seats on the main stage, but on the second stage, mosh pits erupted everywhere the minute they hit the stage to "Caught In A Mosh." It was a great set, but just too short.  They left out "Bring The Noise," which is one of my favorite things they've ever done, but it was probably smart: I don't know that that crowd would have been into hearing a hip-hop classic. I also would have loved to hear something from the John Bush era, like "Only" or "Room For One More," but they didn't have enough time.  I was glad to hear "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't." That song always feels like Scott Ian's credo: I don't think he's a very technical guitarist, but he makes some of my favorite noises from a guitar. He's like a metal Johnny Ramone. I'm glad they're still fighting.  It was a bummer that his co-founder/co-leader/drummer Charlie Benante wasn't there: he's recovering from a minor hand injury, apparently.  Jason Bittner from Shadows Fall did a great job in his place.

I didn't see any other bands (I caught a bit of Asking Alexandria, which was OK), but I do have to mention one amazing aspect of the festival that doesn't get much press, which is a shame: their "Metal Of Honor" initiative to support our veterans. "Metal Of Honor" goes beyond lip service. (Note: I covered the event for CBS Philly, and the next paragraph is pretty much the same thing I wrote there. All the previous stuff here is a totally different take than what I wrote for CBS).  Besides encouraging fans to text $5 donations to support the troops, a "Metal Of Honor" tent featured a Chamber of Commerce "Hiring Our Heroes" representative to provide attending veterans with information on upcoming Veteran Employment Fairs in the area.  Additionally, all military personnel were allowed early entry to the shows, and they all received a "Metal Of Honor" wristband, along with information on the various charities supporting veteran causes. Concertgoers were encouraged to thank vets wearing the wristbands.  There was also a raffle.  The winner -- Sean May from Operation: Iraqi Freedom -- was honored on the main stage between the Motorhead and Slayer performances. The audience cheered for May as strongly as their did for their favorite bands. He deserved it, too.  My only criticism?  Promote the "Metal Of Honor" more. Not just honoring a guy, but helping our troops when they get home and involving citizens in that effort. Also, they should put the photos of each "Metal Of Honor" recipient on their website, with info about where he or she served, rank, etc.

IN PRAISE OF CARE BEARS ON FIRE

Tonight's episode of True Blood is titled "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." During the credits, we didn't hear the original Tears For Fears song: instead, it was the Care Bears On Fire cover from their Girls Like It Loud EP.

I don't know the status of the band, I do know that when they recorded the aforementioned EP and the LP Get Over It! they were freshmen in high school.  I think they're seniors now.  I don't know the status of the band at the moment. Of course, the members might just be thinking about school and not promo tours, photo shoots and all the other stuff that goes with being in a working band.

I hope they're still together though - and they're at least active enough to have tweeted about tonight's True Blood.

They're a great band, and one I wish more people knew about. They set a great example for high schoolers (not just girls) with their super catchy, great and funny songs like "Barbie Eat A Sandwich," "ATM" and especially "Everybody Else."

I'm hoping to have a quote from the women in the band for the True Blood story that I'm writing for CBS Local.  I'll tweet it out, so if you're interested and you don't follow me already, I'm @NoExpiration on Twitter.

BLACK SABBATH - THE "REUNION"

Black Sabbath has just hit the stage at Lollapalooza. As I wrote in a piece for my day job, the irony here is rich.  In the '90s, Sharon Osbourne pitched Ozzy Osbourne to Lollapalooza (when it was a summer tour), and as legend has it, they laughed at her. So she went and founded Ozzfest. The Lollapalooza tour soon died out, and Ozzfest thrived for years.  Classic Sharon Osbourne. She doesn't mess around.

In Ozzfest's first year as a national tour, Ozzy reunited with Black Sabbath, and played one set with them, and one with his solo group. Sabbath, however, only had 3 of their 4 members: it was Ozzy, guitarist/leader Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, along with drummer Mike Bordin (of Faith No More, at the time he was Ozzy's drummer). Drummer Bill Ward wasn't invited.  I remember interviewing him that summer; he said he didn't know why he wasn't included. Two years later, the Sabs toured on Ozzfest again, and this time, Bill was there.

All these years later, Lollapalooza has reinvented itself as an annual weekend festival in Chicago, and this year, Sabbath headline along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White and the Black Keys. And again,  sadly, Bill won't be there - this time Sabbath are using Ozzy's current drummer, Tommy Clufetos.  I saw Tommy in Ozzy's band about a year and a half ago and I noted that he was a monster on drums. He's perfect for the band, if Bill can't be there.

I've followed the band, and their drama, a lot over the past few years.  As I've mentioned in the past, I wrote the liner notes for The Black Box, the box set that collects all their albums from the Ozzy era.  And I was interviewed for the Sabbath doc that aired on the Biography Channel. I guess all I can say is that Ozzy, Tony and Geezer with Tommy can do a great Sabbath set, but it's just sad that they can't make it work out with Bill.

Of all bands, Black Sabbath should realize that life is finite.  Ronnie James Dio, the guy who originally replaced Ozzy (and with whom Tony and Geezer toured and recorded with as Heaven & Hell in recent years) recently succumbed to cancer. Tony himself recently finished chemo and radiation therapy, and happily, things went well.   But these guys know: they don't have decades ahead of them to work things out.  I interviewed Geezer after Sabbath left the stage the year of the first Ozzfest, and I asked him how the reunion happened:  he just said they were "too old" for squabbling.  

In my interview with Geezer for the box set, he told me that if the band never played another gig, he'd be ok with it. They had done a few reunion tours (with Bill), and they were all friends again. If that was "it," he'd be cool with that.  As a fan, I felt the same way. I thought it was cool that Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill showed up together for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, even though they didn't perform (Metallica performed for them).  That would have been a perfect end to the story.  So, no matter how great they are tonight (they're currently trending on twitter, I'm guessing they're doing well), if this is it for them, their story ends on a sour note. So I hope that in 2013, they work this CRAP out with Bill and do a few last shows.

All of that said, none of this take away from their legacy: they are one of the best bands of all time, and one of the most influential.  I'm glad that at least the Lollapalooza people have finally caught up.

HELMET AT WEBSTER HALL

photo credit: Brian Ives (really!)

It's been years - well over a decade, actually - since I've gone to see Helmet in concert.  I haven't seen them since Page Hamilton reactivated the band in 2004, five years after he dissolved the band.  I was curious if they'd be as powerful today as they were back then.  And when I say "they," I mean Page and anyone who he hires.  Helmet is no more (or less) a band than Nine Inch Nails, which is an observation, not a criticism.

Like Trent Reznor, Page Hamilton hires really great musicians who play as if they are full members of the band, who played on the classic records.  And as a result, seeing Helmet is still really powerful, just like it was in the '90s.

I first experienced Helmet at the Roseland Ballroom in 1992, with the release of their classic Meantime. They opened for Faith No More (it was a mind-blowing show). They were this weird combination of Zeppelin-esque power with Fugazi-esque post-hardcore.  They sounded like a bullet: sleek, hard, fast, with no adornment. They didn't dress like rock stars: they didn't dress like anyone you'd notice.  "Grunge" bands from Seattle are often credited/blamed for moving away from looking like "rock stars," but generally speaking, you'd notice if a guy from Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Nirvana walked by you in 1992. They didn't look like they were in Poison, but you knew they didn't work on Wall Street!  The guys from Helmet, on the other hand, looked like anyone you'd see at a bar, or at a baseball game.  If you walked by them, you might not even notice them, which I think was part of the idea:  the only time they wanted you to notice them was when they were on the stage. The thing is, their music was so brutal and hard, that even though they looked conservative, they were way less accessible musically than the alternative rock bands of the era.  They influenced a lot of the bands who I really like (including Rage Against The Machine, Pantera and Tool) and many that I don't (KoRn and all their brethren).  Their music really resonated with me: it was metal but without any of the unnecessary stuff (long hair, misogyny, drum solos). To me, they symbolized getting past all the b.s. in life. That's just my interpretation, but they really resonated with me, and of course I loved (and love) the music.

photo credit: Brian Ives 

So, how was tonight's show?   Like I said, powerful.  It wasn't a "greatest hits" show.  Page noted that Helmet did a 20th anniversary tour for Meantime already; he also joked that at his age - 52 - he has to choose between sex and taking a nap.  The message being that he isn't playing all of the Meantime songs, and that he wasn't going to play a marathon set (the show was a co-headlining concert with The Toadies, and Hamilton also noted that there was a strict curfew, because Webster Hall is actually a disco). I wasn't super familiar with all of the songs that they played, truth be told.  Meantime and the follow-up, 1994's betty are two of my favorite albums of the '90s but I've not spent as much time with the rest of their discography.  The thing is, Helmet songs have such a great groove, and so much force, that I can enjoy them without knowing them by heart.  That said, I was bummed that they didn't play "Biscuits For Smut" and "Unsung." But some of my other favorites were in the setlist, including "Exactly What You Wanted," "In The Meantime," "Milquetoast" and "Wilma's Rainbow" were all amazing. And just as awesome as I remembered them.  Of course, I've never stopped listening to the band's recordings, which are among the most brutal albums in my collection. In a good way.

I didn't stay for the Toadies - but at my age, I have to choose between rocking and going to bed on time (and plus, I wanted to catch the Olympics!).  No disrespect to the band, but after Helmet, I figured it'd just be anti-climatic to me.

TRUE BLOOD SEASON 5: THE MUSIC

First off, I'm happy to announce "30 on 30," a challenge that some of my colleagues and I issued to ourselves: we're attempting a post a day to our blogs through the month of August.  I'm particularly "out of shape" (although I write a few posts at my day job every day, so it's not like I haven't been writing at all). I'm looking forward to it.

Last year, I posted about how much I enjoyed the music on True Blood, even as I thought season 4 was a total letdown. I even mentioned Music Supervisor Gary Callamar by name.  So, it's been one of the very fun parts of my new job that I've been writing a series of weekly posts on CBS Local websites that covers the music of True Blood. And I get to talk to Mr. Callamar himself!

This year has had some great music moments, both for the soundtrack and in the context of the show.  Here's a brief synopsis:

The season premiere, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" had some great moments, but none topped Jessica and Jason rocking out to The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" on Guitar Hero.  The episode's title track was a new take on the song by My Morning Jacket, which worked quite well.

"Authority Always Wins" featured a very cool and very different cover of John Mellencamp's "The Authority Song" by a rockabilly artist who I never heard of, Bosco Delrey, who I'd never heard of.  Actually writing this reminded me that I have to check him out, so I just downloaded another one of his songs, "Wild One," on iTunes.

"We'll Meet Again" features the World War II hit as covered by the great Los Lobos, a great musical moment.  The funniest music moment, however, was Sookie lying on her couch, drunk, singing "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)."

"Let's Boot And Rally" features a brand new song written for the episode, penned by Mr. Calamar himself.  Nice work if you can get it!  Read the story about it here. It is a duet between Iggy Pop and Best Coast singer Bethany Costentino. An interesting combination: I personally would love to see someone pair Iggy up with Kills singer Allison Mosshart, who would have been amazing on this song. You can buy "Let's Boot And Rally" on iTunes now (but Mr. Calamar told me the next True Blood soundtrack wouldn't come out until season six).

The episode called "In The Beginning" featured a song by the same name by an artist named K'naan. But the best music moment featured a karaoke version of "You Light Up My Life" that has to be seen to be believed.

The latest episode, "Somebody That I Used To Know," had an interesting music twist.  The episode originally planned to use the very odd smash of the same name by Goyte.  But as the song got more popular - and has been used on American Idol, The Voice and Glee - it got a little too popular for True Blood. They ended up not using it, instead opting for a song with the same name by the late Elliott Smith.  I think they made the right choice.  As unusual as Goyte's song is, it would have been a bit too obvious for True Blood at this point (I actually thought there'd be a cover by an unlikely artist).  But the best song in the episode was Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'" which was used during a particularly steamy scene.

I'm looking forward to the music from the rest of the season.  Also, I should mention that I ended my last True Blood post hoping that season five would make up for season four.  I'm glad to say that I think  it has, and then some: this season has been pretty great.  I really dig The Authority.

By the way, I'm not going to use my CBS stories as launching points for all of my posts this month.  Tomorrow I plan on writing a review of Helmet's show at Webster Hall. I haven't seen them in years, and I'm wondering if they'll be as great as I remember.

LOS LOBOS AT BROOKLYN BOWL - EXCELLENT

First off, I apologize to everyone, I haven't been very disciplined with No Expiration lately.  I've gone to a bunch of shows, but I usually write less opinionated reviews for my day job at CBS Local Digital.

The Los Lobos show at Brooklyn Bowl took place a few weeks ago, but right afterwards -- funny enough -- I went to Mexico.  So I'm trying to catch up.

Los Lobos was actually one of the few bands still playing that I had never seen and wanted to.  I have missed them at least 20 times, so I'm glad I finally caught them - and they were great.

They opened with a set of traditional Mexican songs on acoustic guitars which was great.  It's amazing that they can go from that to putting on electric guitars and rocking.

I sense that their fans gravitate to a certain albums:  Kiko, Will The Wolf Survive? and Colossal Head.  And some of the songs from those eras got pretty great reactions from the crowd: "Kiko," "Will The Wolf Survive?" "Don't Worry Baby" and "Mas Y Mas" were some of the biggest crowd pleasers.

The other big crowd pleasers, unsurprisingly, were covers: Sonny Boy Williamson's "One Way Out" (which they do in the style of The Allman Brothers Band's cover) and The Grateful Dead's "Bertha," which they covered for a Dead tribute album a few decades ago.  I'm sure they got tired of doing "La Bamba" a long time ago.

I went without expectations of hearing any specific eras, but I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play songs from their most recent album, 2010's Tin Can Trust, one of my favorite albums of that year.

But really, I was just happy to finally see them perform and they didn't disappoint.  I would definitely go again. Here's hoping that'll be soon!

FISHBONE AT BROOKLYN BOWL : RED HOT!

Angelo Moore/ photo credit: Maria Ives 

I saw Fishbone at the Brooklyn Bowl Sunday night, they were amazing.  I think that this is the first time I've reviewed one of their shows for No Expiration, because I haven't seen them in concert since I started this blog, years ago. What was I thinking?

Well, I was thinking that with only half of the original lineup left - singer/sax player/theramin-ist Angelo Moore, bassist Norwood Fisher and trumpet player/singer Dirty Walter Kibby II - well, it might not be as good as it was in the early '90s.

That reasoning works for most bands, but not all: The Allman Brothers Band only have half of their original lineup and they're incredible live as well. Turns out, it's the same for Fishbone. Like the Allmans, they have some great musicians rounding out their lineup: guitarist Rocky George used to be in Suicidal Tendencies and is a great addition to the band. Another great addition is Jay Armant, the trombone player.

On Sunday night, Fishbone played as if they had something to prove, and maybe they did: maybe they want to let people who haven't seen them in a while (like me) know that they are still great live.

Norwood Fisher/ photo credit: Maria Ives

They were. They played lots of classics: "I Wish I Had A Date," "Another Generation," "Everyday Sunshine," "Ma and Pa," "Bonin' In The Boneyard," "Question Of Life," "Lyin' Ass Bitch," "Skankin' To The Beat," "Party At Ground Zero," "Give It Up," "Sunless Saturday" and their covers of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" and Sublime's "Date Rape." The new members played each song like it was *their* song.

It wasn't just about the past though, they also played some songs from their Crazy Glue EP, which came out last year: the title track, "DUI Friday" and "Gittin' In That Ass" all made the setlist.  I don't know if everyone there knew those songs - but they were into it when the band played them.

I have to say this: Angelo Moore is one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. I'm glad that he and Norwood have stuck together for so long: they remind me of Anthony Keidis and Flea, and I think they are just as talented.  It's crazy to me that this band never got bigger than they did.

Walter Kibby / photo credit: Maria Ives

The mosh pit was swarming all night and there was a great energy: Norwood told the audience that they were taking him back to the days that Fishbone played The Ritz... the venue they played when they were the hottest band in the land, circa Truth and Soul.

I had a blast at the show: I definitely enjoyed the earlier songs more, but the new ones were cool also.  I haven't loved the albums they've done since Give A Monkey A Brain, but the Crazy Glue songs were definitely rocking, and I bought the EP while I was there.

 A few nights before the show, I watched Everyday Sunshine, the excellent Fishbone documentary. I never really knew the band's inside story, and having learned a bit more about them, I wonder if they could ever reunite for new music or a tour. No disrespect to the current band, who were amazing.  But I'd love to see the original lineup one more time.  But even if that doesn't happen, I'll definitely check out Angelo, Norwood, Walt and the rest of the guys next time they come to town.