Combichrist @ The Glass House 6/16/09

I thought Peter Murphy said goth was extinct? Well it seemed to be the exact opposite that night at The Glass House, a venue where one should not throw stones. But as Demetri Martin once said, “How about no throwing stones regardless of housing situation?” Anyways, ramble on…

Marzinay and I missed Dismantled, the first band on the bill. (PS – thanks for taking the pics!) We got in just in time to see Aesthetic Perfection. The whole band showed great energy and definitely warmed us up for what was going to come. The crowd showed their respect by starting the mosh pit before the set ended. They said they would be performing in LA again in November. I will be there.

Up next was Julien-K, which started as a side project by Amir and Ryan from Orgy. To me they sounded like a mix between KMFDM and Apoptygma Berzerk, which isn’t a bad thing. For sure they did not sound like Orgy 2.0. Like Aesthetic Perfection, they kept the energy going and certainly did not kill the mood. They seem to already have a pretty big following as most of the crowd already knew their lyrics.

Finally the main event was about to begin. No Dust and Bones this time, although some of us in the crowd were already singing it. Those who have seen the last two Combichrist tours know what I’m talking about…

Andy and the crew came out at full force opening with All Pain Is Gone. Up next was Today I Woke to the Rain of Blood which kept us jumping to the beat. At this point I decided it was time to make my way into the pit. I forced my way from the right side of the floor to the middle just in time for the start of I Want Your Blood. The pit was pretty much nonstop for the whole night, as was the awesomeness of the band. Joe Letz is becoming one of my favorite drummers and Trevor makes them a lot more fun to watch than from when Kourtney Klein was on percussion.

One of the things I was thinking about at the last couple of shows is I’ve seemed to be focusing on what songs the band didn’t play instead of what they did play. But that wasn’t the case this time with Combichrist as they rolled out all the favorites. Maybe because it’s their 2nd tour this year and they have a better feel for what the crowd wants.

The rest of the set (not in this order) went like this: This Is My Rifle, Electrohead, Get Out of My Head, Fuck That Shit, Get Your Body Beat, Blut Royale (dedicated to the other bands on the tour), Sent to Destroy, Shut Up and Swallow, Deathbed. Then the encore consisted of This Shit Will Fcuk You Up and What the Fuck is Wrong With You.

So after my 5th time seeing Combichrist, they once again hath fucketh this shiteth upeth!

:Q:

Peter Murphy @ HOB Sunset 6/10/09

Yes according to Peter Murphy, the Father of Goth, goth is extinct. Perhaps this is why the 2009 tour has been dubbed the “Secret Covers Tour.” Peter Murphy follows the trend of distinct voices recording an album of covers, which is soon to be released.

Murphy started the show by rocking the house with some new tunes, then went into an old favorite Fall With Your Knife which had the whole crowd singing along. In fact, that probably is my favorite PM song of all time. Up next was the first of the “secret covers”. You may have heard this track played in a new commercial by Chase Bank. It’s PM’s cover of Instant Karma, which I’m embarassed to say was a duet with a singer that I don’t know the name of. Also played was PM’s rendition of NIN’s Hurt. No doubt that touring with NIN influenced this track. Other tracks I remember were Deep Ocean Vast Sea, Dragnet Drag, and an old Bauhaus favorite Passion of Lovers.

Halfway during the set, PM told the crowd why it is that he hardly interviews… “You expect my voice to be low and deep like this… but I actually have a really high voice. It’s rather embarassing. This is why I don’t do interviews.”

The double encore began with PM lying on the floor singing Bowie’s Space Oddity. Then Strange Kind of Love to which he began singing the lyrics to Bela Lugosi’s Dead as the song was ending. The music of Strange Kind of Love have an amazing flow to the lyrics of Bela Lugosi’s Dead. The band ended the night by rocking out to She’s In Parties and ending with the Joy Division’s Transmission.

I was hoping for the night to never end, especially since he hadn’t played many old favorites such as Cuts You Up, All Night Long, Gliding Like a Whale, Keep Me From Harm, etc etc… I didn’t think you could see Peter Murphy without hearing All Night Long, but Transmission definitely made up for that.

:Q:

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, June 5, 2009

The Orange County punk rock band, The Offspring rocked Friday night.  They played loud, fast and hard to what seemed to be a sold out venue.  They opened with “Stuff is Messed Up” (which isn’t really what he sings) and blasted through about an hour and a half of the radio hits, their classics, “Bad Habit,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?,” and “Gone Away” for which a piano was rolled out on stage and Dexter played solo.  That was amazing; he has still got a strong set of pipes!  Noodles jammed on guitar!  He also had the occasional shout out to his home town, “There’s a reason why I live in Orange County, and it’s because they are the sexiest people in the whole world!”

They even delighted the crowd with the kinda dorky but still entertaining “Intermission.”  On the big screen they had a hotdog dancing with an intermission sign and on stage they had someone on a unicycle juggling balls as well as someone throwing huge beach balls into the crowd.

I think the concert would have been better if I would have been in the mosh-pit. Oh, and what’s a concert at Irvine without the fire pits on the lawn that I don’t think were ever put out.  I think the concert was great from pit to lawn!!!

I do have to point out that The Offspring’s fan following is from one extreme to another.  I kid you not, I saw a woman in her late 50’s rocking out to them and just a few seats away a boy that must have been at least 10 years old.  I had my friend tell me that would be me when I get to my late 50’s, and you know what, she is probably right. J

And for those of you that might be interested I’ve added the set list.

The Offspring Set List:

1.                  Stuff is Messed Up

2.         Bad Habit

3.         You’re Gonna Go Far Kid

4.         Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)

5.         Walla Walla

6.         Have You Ever

7.         Starring at the Sun

8.         Gone Away (Dexter on Piano)

9.         Kristy, Are You Doing Okay

10.       Got to it Away

11.             Half Truism

12.       Why Don’t You Get a Job?

Intermission

13.       Americana