For the millionth time seeing Wayne, I got to spend the night with birthday girl Jaelythe and Edweirdo. But this show was different than all the others. It was the first tour of Wayne Static as a solo artist. He has said he wanted to make an album with no compromise and Pighammer is the result.
Now the drummers and guitarists have come and gone, but the other piece of the Static-X puzzle that had remained constant was Tony Campos on bass. I feel that he has always been as much of a part of the band as Wayne has and not seeing him on the stage that night was a little heartbreaking. Still, the vibe of a Static-X show remained. The band is different but the crowd is not. We all came back to support Wayne.
The set consisted mostly of classic Static-X tracks with something played from every studio release . Only Assassins of Youth and Static Killer were played from the new Pighammer album. The Only made it’s way back to the setlist after not being played for a few tours. Between songs Wayne still called for shots brought out by his fully clothed wife, Tera Wray. She was also out dancing with her girlfriends during songs.
This tour and album are Wayne Static’s way of declaring himself King of Evil Disco. If you were ever a fan of Static-X, do yourself a favor and check out the Pighammer album.
I hadn’t seen Rammstein since 2001 at the Pledge of Allegiance Tour so I was really excited to see them. They had been banned from the United States for nearly a decade and you could feel the excitement as we waited in line to be let in to the venue. I don’t think I have ever waited so long to see a band at the Jimmy Kimmel show as I did that day. We even got to hear the sound check.
The band was introduced by Jimmy Kimmel and they opened with their classic “Du Hast” complete with massive displays of open flames and fireworks. You could feel the heat from the flames even though I wasn’t that close to the stage! Till Lindemann had some crazy flamethrower gun that he used to set a roadie on fire during their performance of “Du Hast”.
I think it was the first time ever that a band has had pyrotechnics on the Jimmy Kimmel show and it was awesome. The band was GREAT!
Set List
1. Du Hast
2. Feuer Frei
3. Sonne
4. Keine Lust
5. Ich Will
Oh, and in case you are wondering the roadie is okay.
With a night off between opening for Rammstein, Combichrist gave the fans a special treat headlining The Galaxy in Santa Ana. And they weren’t alone. Brandan Schieppati from Bleeding Through came out to sing his part in Follow the Trail of Blood. Gen from Genitorturers made her cameo for Kickstart the Fight. For the encore, Sin Quirin of one of the opening bands (The Great Americon) finished off the show.
Speaking of Genitorturers, Combichrist introduced their new guitar player Abbey Nex who has been in Genitorturers and most recently Psyclon Nine. He fits in the band well and I hope they start recording future albums with guitar on them (live drums too for that matter). I just hope they don’t follow the path of Psyclon Nine and try to go full metal. With Andy you’ll never know.
At this point I think I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen Combichrist. The live show just keeps getting better. Because of this, I make every effort to see them play whenever they come to town, even if they’re opening for Tiger Army…
:Q:
Setlist:
1. Shut Up and Swallow
2. Just Like Me
3. Follow the Trail of Blood
4. Tonight I Woke to the Rain of Blood
5. Electrohead
6. Throat Full of Glass
7. Get Your Body Beat
8. Blut Royale
9. Deathbed
10. Scarred
11. Fuckmachine
12. I Want Your Blood
13. Slave to Machine
encore
14. Fuck That Shit
15. Never Surrender
16. Kickstart the Fight
17. What the Fuck is Wrong With You?
The masters of electronica have returned to Los Angeles, sadly in support of Linkin Park. I won’t be holding that against them as long as they come out with a new album this year and return with a headlining tour of their own. As you could imagine, the audience was mixed between Prodigy fans, Linkin Park fans, and their parents. Even though it was a Linkin Park show, I did meet a lot of cool people that night.
Their set was basically a shorter version of their Palladium set, missing standout tracks such as Voodoo People and Their Law. Still they put on an amazing show with nine tracks (ten if you count Omen Reprise) and no encore. I’m still waiting to hear live versions of some AONO tracks…
Highlight of the night had to have been the Zero Bullshit during Smack My Bitch Up. Yes it is something you usually see at a Slipknot show, as they did come up with the name, but Staples represented well that night. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you must Youtube that shit right now!
The Birthday Massacre @ House of Blues Anaheim 11/14/2010
First of all, if you came here looking to read about the antics of the Black Veiled Brides, you came to the wrong place. I don’t have time for those losers. Second, sorry for another long delay in writing. It sucks when you don’t have internet at home…
The tour is in support of the newly released album Pins & Needles, an album that has taken it’s time to grow on me. Initially it didn’t grab me right away as Walking With Strangers did but hearing these songs live for the second time helped. The Birthday Massacre opened with the first track from the new album, In The Dark. Even though it’s new, the fans were already singing along as if they’ve known the lyrics forever. Chibi and the boys did a total of six new tracks, including my favorite from the album Midnight. Overall it was a good mix of old and new without missing a lot of favorites. One song I wish they would drop from the set though is To Die For. Not cause it’s a bad song, but because of the lyrical content hitting too close to home.
I’m happy to say that I finally got to meet The Bloody Lumberjack (TBL?) after seeing him at so many concerts, mostly in the moshpit. Actually, it’s always been in the moshpit now that I think about it. Also it was nice meeting The Spooky Vegan and Mr. 1996. You guys are all metal.
The Birthday Massacre has never disappointed me in the several times I’ve seen them and this night was no exception.
Or you might say congrats on an excellent adventure. Bakal arrived on the scene shortly before Aesthetic Perfection took the stage. The three man group led by Daniel Graves was all about energy as usual. Their set consisted mostly of tracks from A Violent Emotion, which is such a good album they could play the whole thing in it’s entirety for their set and I wouldn’t mind. We also got a taste of the new single The Devil’s In The Details.
Dust ‘n Bones, Dust ‘n Bones… When you hear those words, it’s a sign of awesomeness about to ensue. Combichrist came out to an instrumental to get the crowd hyped up. We were also treated to a huge surprise with Wes Borland joining them on guitar, which made it essentially the same lineup as when they opened for Tiger Army at the Wiltern. Word on the street says he will be playing with the band when they open for Rammstein at MSG! If only I could get to NY…
Andy appeared and they ripped into a powerful new track Just Like Me. Up next was another new track, Follow the Trail of Blood, in which Brandon from Bleeding Through joined in as he does on the album. And it was only fitting that after following a trail of blood we woke to a rain of blood. As usual the Electroheads were pumped to hear the old songs. Most of the new album was played, but it was still a good mix of old and new.
The double encore started with Scarred, the only track played from Today We Are All Demons. The band went backstage after finishing Fuck That Shit, but we knew it wasn’t over and the crowd began chanting “THIS SHIT! THIS SHIT! THIS SHIT WILL FUCK YOU UP!” Sure enough Combichrist came back with the crowd favorite This Shit Will Fcuk You Up. The show ended with another “fuck” song, the title track from What The Fuck Is Wrong With You.
But before the show ended I managed to score a stick from Trevor! I noticed all night he would do this move where first he throws a stick into the crowd, then jumps up on his drums and bangs away on the cymbal with the other stick. So one of those times he threw the stick right into the pit. I saw it fly right in the middle of everyone and I ran in there to pick it up off the floor. That’s the third stick for my collection!
But wait, there’s more! When the lights came on, we saw Bill MF Moseley hanging out on the side of the floor! Vince gave him the horns and he gave back the thumbs. Fucking awesome.
And even after all that, the awesomeness continued…
So I got to see Korn at Jimmy Kimmel. We actually got to go in the “green room”. This was a first. It’s nice to have contacts. (Thanks to Lisa and J.Z.) I honestly thought I was going to walk into a bright green room with a few chairs to sit on. Well, I was surprised it was not like that at all. The walls weren’t that bright green that I imagined. They had a bar full of beer and wine and a table of food. The room had plenty of comfortable seating and two large TVs mounted on the wall. Connected to that room was a game room with a pool table and video games. We got to see a couple of members from Korn (Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu – Bass and Ray Luzier – Drums) in that room. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t take pictures but nonetheless very excited to be there.
Right before Korn went on stage my friend and I went outside to the designated area for the people that have green room access wrist bands and waited in anticipation for the band. The band did their first single from their upcoming album, Oildale followed by another new song, Let the Guilt Go. Their fans, including myself really enjoyed the new songs. Korn couldn’t leave their fans without playing just two songs so we got to hear, Freak on a Leash, Coming Undone and Twisted Transistor. I think I might have left a couple of songs out, sorry, blame it on the beer and wine!!!
I can’t wait to see Korn at the Mayhem Festival on July 10, 2010. They absolutely ROCKED, they are definitely HERE TO STAY!!!
Sometimes you’ll go to a show and just wish it would never end. Last night was one of those shows. This was probably my 5th time seeing VNV (losing count). Zyner thinks they’ve replaced Static-X as my “band I will always see when they come to town.” Yeah just about. Static-X is on hiatus anyway…
The band opened with Tomorrow Never Comes, off the new album Of Faith, Power, and Glory, a hard, fast track to get the crowd pumped early. Speaking of the crowd, despite the size of The Glasshouse, this was one of the best audiences I’ve been a part of to see not only VNV, but any band. We were singing along with every track and not one person wasn’t dancing. As Ronan said on stage, the audience is half of the show. He was amazed at how many people came out, especially on a Monday night in the Inland Empire.
Then they went into a couple old tracks like Joy, Darkangel, and Further before going into another new track Sentinal (yes it’s spelled that way on the cd). The place really got moving when they played Chrome and of course Illusion meant lighters out. I can’t remember the order of the rest of the tracks, but I do know they did three encores! The first featured Ronan on the keyboard playing the touching track From My Hands while one of the other keyboard players had his camera aimed at the crowd. The second they did classic tracks Standing and Legion, which Ronan said if you didn’t know these songs then you REALLY needed to catch up. Finally they ended the night with the uber industrial anthem Beloved and the soccer anthem Perpetual.
If you haven’t seen VNV Nation, they really are a must see band. Their interaction with the audience is unlike any other bands I’ve seen. If you’ve ever went to a show where the singer just talks and talks and you wish he would just play the next damn song *cough* Rob Zombie, then VNV is the exact opposite. They really make you feel like you are a part of the show.
So you’ve probably been wondering if we’re still around, or still alive even. Well since Qmungous survived last night’s brush with death, I figured I’d give some kind of an update.
2k9 gave us some amazing shows, especially near the end. So amazing that I think I may have burned myself out. A sign of old age? Yes I am turning 30 this year… But since that car did NOT kill me, the old age thing will no longer be an excuse. It’s time to kick some ass. Coming soon: Killswitch Engage, Devildriver, Bon MF Jovi. It doesn’t get anymore metal than that.
As for the end of 2k9, here’s a quick rundown (since we failed to keep updating).
Lacuna Coil @ HOB Sunset – One of the loudest audiences I’ve ever heard. The new album kicks ass.
Cruefest 2 @ San Manuel – QMUNGOUS ON FIRE. Nuff said.
Journey @ San Manuel – Another solid performance from the greatest thing to come from Manila since Sarsi.
Depeche Mode @ The Pond – Took the wife for her bday, even though it fell on my bday… But DM can never do you WRONG.
Project Pitchfork @ The Knitting Factory – Disappointing set for Psyclon Nine. Nero’s mic went out in the 3rd song. But I caught a stick from Jon Siren! Pitchfork came out and showed why they are so damn legendary. Second best dance party of the year.
Static-X @ HOB Anaslime – Metal returns to Anaheim and it almost seemed like a homecoming for Static-X, since some of their most memorable shows have been at this venue. Glad to see Disney came to their senses. The new album sounds MUCH better live.
Def Leppard @ San Manuel – Poison opened and it was Nothing But a Good Time. Def Leppard were not to be outdone and they rocked the sellout crowd.
AC/DC @ The Pond – LOUDEST SHOW EVER! Thanks to my son for the tix! Every part of that show just felt legendary. As we were walking to the arena, we knew it was going to be a most metal night.
Trivium @ The Glass House – These guys are the real deal. Since Static-X may be taking a break, Trivium may be my new “go to” band.
Children of Bodom @ The Glass House – Awesome venue for the finnish metal band. Do yourself a favor and ALWAYS come out to see Bodom.
Combichrist @ The Wiltern – So technically they opened for Tiger Army, but I walked out after Combichrist performed. Probably the 1st time I ever did that. Wes Borland joined the band for this set and it’s what I always wanted Combichrist to sound like. I hope they have him play again, or maybe even join the band for an album.
Slipknot @ The Palladium – Halloween week started off with a bang! I’m surprised the Palladium was still standing after this show.
Skinny Puppy @ The Glass House – Summer was good to the Glass House. I highly recommend checking out the openers of that night, Sonic Death Rabbit. They are something to behold. Skinny Puppy is another band that everyone must experience. In fact, I’m gonna put on Worlock right now…
Rob Zombie @ The Palladium – Halloween night! I can’t think of a better way to spend Halloween than with Rob MF Zombie. Seems like it’s taking forever for the new album to come out, but the songs he played were moshworthy.
KISS @ Staples – The last show of the year! Ended 2k9 with a fuckin bang. The hottest band in the world proved that they still have an army.
Whew, great summer that flowed right into Rocktober. Keep checking back, cause FromPitToLawn.com lives.
No this isn’t the VNV review, it was the night I went back to a goth club after a long hiatus. The Fangster wanted to check it out and I wanted to see Noisuf-X play. Win-win situation. This night of course was their debut in the US. Based on the crowd reaction, I would say that it’s safe to assume that they will be back. The two piece group (keyboard and electronic drums) had the whole club moving from front to back. Not one person was just standing around. Along with the club hits Hit Me Hard and Krach Bumm, they also played some new tracks which were just simply dansetastic. Can’t wait to see them come back to LA. The Fangster and I had a blast.