Sevendust w/Drowning Pool @ House of Blues Sunset 3/10/10

Drowning Pool is a band that I had never seen live and that I’ve loved since the release of their 2001 album Sinner.

I have to say that DP are fighters.  After the tragic death of frontman Dave Williams in 2002 and after Jason Jones left the band they bounced back with a new vocalist Ryan McCombs, former frontman of Soil.  He sounds amazing.

I got to enjoy 37 Stitches, Feel Like I Do and Tear Away which McCombs dedicated to Williams, finishing with Bodies their smash hit off their first album.

Georgia’s SEVENDUST performed next. The House of Blues-Sunset is the perfect place to unleash their metal onslaught.  This was the first time I’ve seen this band so I was really excited to see them.

The bond between the band and the audience was evident as lead singer Lajon Witherspoon was very friendly with the crowd all night.  He was constantly interacting with the crowd, especially those upfront.  The band connected with the crowd more than most bands I’ve seen.  Or perhaps it was because I made it to the front of the pit due to my height.  Sorry Q for leaving you behind but had to take advantage of the situation.

Whether it was John Connolly or Vince Hornsby singling out someone from the crowd to give them a pick or Morgan Rose personally picking out someone in the crowd to throw a drum stick, it was clear Sevendust was there to please the crowd.

They played a series of songs from the launch of their career to some of the more recent, plus a couple of amazing covers – Masters of Puppets and Walk.

The highlight for me came when Lajon introduced Angel’s Son, a tribute to Lynn Straight, the singer of the band Snot, who died in a car crash.

They performed some fan favorites like Driven, Black, Face to Face and Unraveling.  The raw energy of the show was sick!!! I highly recommend Sevendust live.  You can’t call yourself a true hard rock/metal fan until you’ve seen them rip the stage up!!

*Thanks to my friend Q I got a pick.  Not before he got his hand stepped on by a girl.

[Don’t worry, I made the bitch cry. – Q]

Zyner

Panicspace @ The Viper Room 3/8/10

Well I’ve known Mike (bass) and Jason (drums) pretty much since the beginning of time. But this is not going to be about how I taught Jason how to play or how I saved Mike from a burning car at Descanso. This is about the first time I got to see their new band and also my first time at the Viper Room. For the record, I am not the bouncer there…

My initial thought on Panicspace was that they had a Radiohead sound, more of the rockin stuff than the not so rockin. Well, I haven’t heard anything past OK Computer (but who has? [no offense]). Later I found out that Radiohead was indeed a big influence on the guys. The sound at the Viper Room complimented them well, as do the two guitarists, one not outplaying the other. The chemistry between Mike (bass) and Jason (drums) goes way beyond their days of The Undetermined and the rest of the band seem like a great fit with them. The singer has great presence but does not overshadow or take attention from the band.

The Viper Room is a great place for any local band to play. It’s not too big or not too small and again, the sound in there is rockin. It’s awesome when you can feel the bass and drums.

Check out Panicspace on Myspace

:Q: