American Carnage

For most "classic" metal enthusiasts, the 80s and early 90s was the pinnacle. The "Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax) were all top of the metal charts and playing for arena sized sold-out crowds. However it lives on today. Case in point, The American Carnage Tour! Metal icons Megadeth, Slayer and Testament are touring the states in support of new albums however are revisiting periods of time that made them monoliths of the genre.

I was able to witness the second leg of this monumental tour. And as a "Thank You" to all their rabid fans, a special production was in store. Megadeth took the stage and played their 1990 magnum opus "Rust In Peace" in its entirety! As a special bonus, Megadeth (aka Dave Mustaine) decided to bring back Jackson, Minnesota's own David Ellefson to the mix for the tour and likely an extended stay. Having helped Mustaine write "RIP" (the greatest metal album of all time) it was awe inspiring to see these guys play the album live... Flawlessly. Recently being named in Joel McIver's 2009 book "The Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time", Mustaine owned the performance. He can still shred like no other as he flexed his thrash chops throughout the show and proved why this moniker was christened upon him. To end their set, Megadeth played 'Trust' ("Cryptic Writings"), 'Headcrusher' ("Endgame"), 'A Tout Le Monde' ("Youthanasia"), 'Symphony Of Destruction' ("Countdown To Extinction") and closed with 'Peace Sells' ("Peace Sells... But Who's Buying") having Ellefson play his signature opening bass riff amongst the enthusiastic crowd. Following Megadeth's set, Slayer played their 1990 album "Seasons In The Abyss" with other classics including 'Raining Blood' and 'Angel Of Death' (from 1988's "Reign In Blood").


Long live Thrash!

An Evening With The Beast

On Sunday, July 18th 2010, I got the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands live for the first time. Needless to say, Iron Maiden did not disappoint. As my comrade who joined me at the show stated, "We can cross that one off the bucket list." Below is why this was such a memorable event.

Was it irony or destiny that while traveling to the show my odometer displayed the number of the beast? Regardless, I was ready for whatever the greatest metal act on the planet had to offer.


While never being a big draw in the United States, Iron Maiden has been a world wide phenomenon for the past 35 years. How good could these quinquagenarian metalheads be? Especially given the intense atmosphere at any metal show. I was crawling out of my skin in eager anticipation.

The concert was held at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater outside of Chicago. Upon arriving at the venue, we were quickly surrounded by people of all ages wearing denim, camouflage and black t-shirts. By the start of the show, we were a part of an 18,000 Maiden worshiping crowd. The stage was created to resemble an alien spaceship to go along with the release of Iron Maiden's 15th studio album "The Final Frontier" which is slated for a August 17th stateside release.


To kick things off, an Iron Maiden cover of UFO's 'Doctor Doctor' played over the sound system. Was the band indirectly speaking to me? Now I was sure it was destiny! As the lights dimmed and the song ended, music reminiscent of Richard Strauss' Sprach Zarathustra from 2001: A Space Odyssey chimed in. The crowds cheers were getting louder and louder when Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers suddenly blasted in with the opening song 'The Wicker Man' from 2000s "Brave New World". The place was erupting with excitement. The triple guitar threat was unreal and the sound was spot on. Bruce Dickinson ran out onstage and continued to rile up the already stoked crowd.

*Courtesy Village Voice

Even though the band has been around for 30+ years, it was great hearing this live as it was the first song that got me hooked on Iron Maiden just 10 years ago. The next tune, 'Ghost Of The Navigator' continued to highlight the guitar harmonies and the galloping bass sound of lead songwriter Steve Harris. Maiden then blasted into an oldie with 'Wrathchild' from their 1981 release "Killers". With this song the crowd was going ravenous!


Following a plug for the new album, Maiden played 'El Dorado', the first single from "The Final Frontier". Again, Steve Harris' bass was the driving force behind this throwback sounding tune. Nicko McBrain (such a fitting name for a heavy metal drummer) pummelled the hell out of his drums despite his age of 58. Already, the show and performance had me awestruck.

*Courtesy Village Voice

Following a few more songs from their two most recent albums, Bruce Dickinson took a break to talk to the crowd. The Maiden front man continued to talk about the recent loss of metals larger than life gentleman and one of rocks greatest singers, he was talking about non other than Ronnie James Dio. As Dickinson quoted "He did actually sing a lot of songs about the Devil, but there wasn't a bad fucking bone in his body". He then dedicated the next song, 'Blood Brothers' (again from "Brave New World") to his memory. This was a fitting tribute to the belated rock icon. The band continued the brilliant set with a few other newer tracks before ripping through some classics. The set ended with 'Fear Of The Dark' and 'Iron Maiden'. During 'Iron Maiden', an 8 foot alien rendition of Maiden's mascot Eddie came out on stage to terrorize the band.


For an encore, the band opened with 'The Number Of The Beast'. The crowd was amazing and the energy throughout the amphitheater was more than infectious. Amazingly, Bruce Dickinson continued to run back and forth throughout the stage and appeared as vitalized as the acne-riddled, pubescent fans he inspired 30 years ago. Band mates Steve Harris and Janick Gers also continued to rock with over the top, animated performances. Concert staple 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' was played next and continued to fire up the audience. I had long ago lost my voice but continued to sing along. The band closed the concert with 'Running Free' from their 1980 self titled album. We had most definitely received our money's worth.


For those who have not seen an Iron Maiden show, regardless of being a fan, their performance and stage presence is second to none. After being a part of this concert, there is no question why the band has continued to be one of the best metal bands and live acts in the world. Should they tour North America again, I will be in attendance along with my little metalhead who has been in training since the day we met!



Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" Tour 2010 - Chicago set list:

-The Wicker Man
-Ghost Of The Navigator
-Wrathchild
-El Dorado
-Dance Of Death
-The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
-These Colours Don't Run
-Blood Brothers
-Wildest Dreams
-No More Lies
-Brave New World
-Fear Of The Dark
-Iron Maiden

Encore:
-The Number of the Beast
-Hallowed Be Thy Name
-Running Free

God Bless metal, Dio and Iron Maiden!

Up The Irons!
\M/ \M/

Get Yer Bone On!

On Friday, March 12th, I got the opportunity (again) to see the best funk/jazz/rock band in New Orleans, Bonerama. This trombone quartet (now trio) played at the Orpheum theatre in Sioux Falls, SD. After seeing them live in New Orleans at the world famous Tipitina's and at an outdoor music festival in Michigan, this was quite the change in venue. For those who have never been to the Orpheum in SF, it is a nice concert hall with plush seats, balcony seating and plenty of blue hairs; more on that in a moment. Bonerama was brought to Sioux Falls by the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society as a part of their concert series. Upon entering the venue, one couldn't help but notice many of the spectators dressed to the nines and appeared ready for a evening of sophisticated, elegant, contemporary music. Unfortunately, Bonerama are non of those. The band was introduced by the master of ceremonies, who ended with "typically the doors close following the start of the concert, however, tonight the doors will remain open and people should feel free to frequent the concessions for drinks", one has to wonder if this was changed upon request of the band. The lights dimmed and the band took stage. Within seconds, the band was greeted by piercing whistles, frantic clapping and hollering from the balcony, specifically row 6, seats 5 through 10 (those occupied by none other than myself, my wife and our rowdy compatriots). In retrospect, I cannot help but think the septuagenarians sitting directly in front of us lost a little urine upon this greeting and throughout the concerts entirety due to our raucous escapades. Bonerama started with a slow ballad the three trombonists played in harmony. Following this, they blasted into a 7 minute tribute to The Meters. This song was brilliant and truly let the funk out! They continued to rock the house with their staple songs "Shake Your Rugalator", "Baronne", "Mr. Go" and a killer rendition of Led Zep's "Ocean." During the show, they gave props to the people in the balcony (we are going to take credit for that one). To close, Bonerama played a encore medley which included "When The Saints Go Marching In", and by that time the crowd was entirely into their trademark groove. Bonerama plays one of the best shows you will get an opportunity to see. Do yourself a favor and check them out next time you are in Nahlans. Bone up!

Wilco Rocks

I am admittedly not a huge fan of Wilco (the Album) just yet, but that doesn't mean they don't still put on one of the best live shows around. I had the great fortune of seeing them again last night here in Portland. They brought their usual high-energy show with an excellent mix of their catalog, with lots of Tweety-isms sprinkled in between songs. I always hate it when their show is over and I always look forward to the next one.

Stereogum had a blurb on it today with a video clip of the first song of the encore, Neil Young's "Broken Arrow"

Dirty Projectors

The Dirty Projectors' album Bitte Orca has been one of my favorites so far this year and has spent considerable time in my rotation. Their music is unconventional, but in a very satisfying way. It's challenging, but not challenging like med school and residency, where you're exhausted, frustrated and confused when it's over. It's more of a challenge like finishing the NYT crossword; you put some work into it and at times it may seem like you're not getting anywhere, but if you stay with it and see it through, it all comes together so perfectly in the end. Their vocal efforts are comprised by Dave Longstreth, the lead singer, and three female singers Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle. They make great use of flowing harmonies, but also create dissonant sounds at times, part of the challenge, but also part of the reward. In a similar way, they'll take a straight-forward song structure and bust it apart with an abrupt change in the time signature. Anyway, they came to town last night and I got a chance to see them at the Aladdin Theater. Their show did not disappoint. Before seeing them, I really liked about half the songs or so on the latest album and anticipated hearing those. What I didn't anticipate was that the songs I'd previously just overlooked took on a whole new life seeing them live. It's like the gaps in the record were completely filled in. For me, Bitte Orca is now a 9 track masterpiece. Useful Chamber was one song that really paid off last night. The way it builds to the chorus and then lays back on those slightly dissonant voices before building again to finish it out took me by surprise. The other song that surprised me was Remade Horizon. The ladies have a vocal solo later in the song where they employ a technique called "hocketing" which was used in 13th and 14th century vocal music and is basically the sharing of a melody by multiple people. It's amazing. I've posted a link to a video of Dave and the ladies demonstrating it. It drags on, so you might want to skip toward the end. At any rate, seeing and hearing them perform it live is incredible. I think it would even impress the likes of Mike Patton and Reggie Watts. If you do watch the video, Dave also plays a sample of them hocketing with a guitar melody, which is also awesome.