The Prodigy @ Staples Center 2/23/2011

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!

:Q:

Setlist

1. Breathe
2. Omen
3. Poison
4. Thunder
5. Firestarter
6. Run With The Wolves
7. Omen Reprise
8. Invaders Must Die
9. Take Me To The Hospital
10. Smack My Bitch Up

Photo Gallery

Combichrist @ The Music Box 11/7/2010

Disclaimer: This review may piss you out.

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…

Um, unless your name is Robert…

:Q:

VNV Nation @ The Glasshouse 4/12/2010

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.

:Q:

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.

:Q:

Noisuf-X @ Das Bunker 7/10/09

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.

:Q:

5/27/09 @ The Palladium

The Prodigy is the law. You can’t break the law. Destructo and Glitch Mob know this but they still managed to warm up the crowd to a decent level. I thought it was weird that they didn’t have a break between the 2 DJ sets, but whatever. On to the main event…

The Prodigy opened with World’s On Fire from the new record Invaders Must Die. They came out relentlessly and never let up. The crowd gave it all back jumping, moshing and singing along all night. The band hardly breaked between songs and the energy just kept going. Playing guitar/bass for the band was Rob Holliday, who has also been a member of Marilyn Manson’s band. They also had a live drummer but I don’t know who it is. Other tracks played from the new album were the amazing track Omen, Run With the Wolves, Take Me to the Hospital, Warrior’s Dance and of course the title track. We were also treated to Comanche from the bonus disc The Lost Beats EP, which they used to end their set pre-encore. Old favorites of the night included Their Law, Breathe, Poison, Firestarter, Voodoo People, Diesel Power, Smack My Bitch Up and Out of Space, which was the last track of the night.

Surprisingly (maybe) none of the tracks from Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned were played. I would’ve loved to hear Girls or Spitfire. I also wanted to hear Funky Shit, but since they had to fit in all those new songs, of course some old tracks would have to be cut.

Zyner got to see the show from the front row and not only got some amazing pictures, but Maxim’s wristband as well! Yes she washed it… I was in the pit of course

This was the 1st time seeing the band for both of us and hopefully not the last. Liam, Keith and Maxim delivered and delivered hard.

:Q: