Faith No F’ing More @ The Palladium 11/30/2010

Posting with permission from Jerseydevil, here is his review of FNM! Thanks JD!

At the risk of ‘waxing poetic’ I cannot tell you how tremendous this show was last night. $20 tix available for tonight…if you can…GO! The band has never sounded better and bringing Trey Spruance instead of BSU Jim Martin was the right idea. Most of the set is later material that I don’t think Martin could have pulled off. They played enough of the ‘hits’ to please anyone but went pretty ‘off the page’ as far as their other choices. And maybe it’s because Patton has rarely performed live over the years but his VOICE…jayzus. To go from catterwauling to truly singing…amazing. Highlights…they opened to Peaches and Herbs Reunited…done straight, not for laughs and it was awesome. A snippet of poker face…and for me, one of the greatest FNM songs ever Just a Man…got emotional there folks…that song just has always hit me. Anyway, cannot recommend it highly enough, and I can only pray that this band decides to at least make another album. In the meanwhile I am going to be listening to a lot of FNM over the next few days.

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.

:Q:

More pics in the new Photo Gallery!

Stone Temple Pilots @ Nokia Theater 10/29/2010

As the title suggests, this is the first of a three part series of three shows in three weeks (PS – three is a magic number). Yes in my old age I’ve gone from three shows in three nights to three in three weeks. But still pretty good these days. And speaking of still good, holy shit STP! I’ll admit it was my first time seeing the 90s legends but to be fair I was never taken to a show as a teen and I didn’t have a job either. That said, I can’t believe Weiland has survived this long but I’m glad he did. It’s also rare for a band this old to still have an original lineup. Hearing the DeLeo brothers play together is just magic. Their style together is what all rock should sound like. Complimentary, not just the guitar and bass mimicking each other.

The set was a perfect mix of old and new. Not too many new songs and a whole lot of classics. We arrived at the show during Still Remains. By the time we made it to our seats they were on the slide-guitar classic Big Empty, which had the whole audience singing along. In fact, there weren’t many songs the crowd didn’t sing along with. This was one show where everyone was into it. Not your typical LA show, and it hurts me to say that, because I love this town but I’ve seen a lot of shit crowds in my day.

Highlight of the night was probably their Led Zeppelin cover of Dancing Days. I always thought their rendition paid proper tribute while still making it their own. Kind of like when they played Plush and everybody in the crowd sang in their own special way. Weiland could’ve let the audience sing the whole song and it still would’ve rocked. Still he put on one hell of a performance in his presumed sober state. Let’s hope he stays this way not only for his health but for the sake of music.

Special thanks to Princess Jen who pulled me from my deathbed for this show!

:Q: