concerts....who you seeing?

[YellowKing]

I've seen DMB several times. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, but my brother is so he's brought me along to a few. Even if you don't like their music, they are phenomenal musicians and live performers. I mean they've been touring for 30+ years, so they know how to put on a show.

[Rumpy]

Seeing Stanley Jordan at the Blues Alley in DC in April. Didn't know who this guy was until today. But wow, I'm sold.

[Skinypupy]

Round 6 of 70,000 Tons of Metal is in the books. Some minor drama aside (picked up an overly attached new friend that we couldn’t get rid of), we had a great time. Saw 37 sets over 4 days.

The best band - by a gorram mile - was Lord of the Lost. They were absolutely brilliant both times we saw them. Wind Rose (folk metal about dwarves) was a blast as well.

I did come to the realization that I am having concert fatigue. There’s just not many bands left that I’m terribly excited to see. Sometimes there’s one that will put on a particularly good show, but after 400+ shows, so many of them just feel like MOTS. Will probably scale back on concerts for a while this year.

Angra
Arion
Batushka
Blind Guardians
Crypta
Dalriada
Edinbridge
Einherjer (2)
Epica (2)
Fleshgod Apocalypse (2)
Grave Digger
I am the Night
Inhuman Condition
Kataklysm
Katatonia
Leaves Eyes
Lord of the Lost (2)
My Dying Bride
Nanowar of Steel
Omnium Gatherum
Saor (2)
Scar Symmetry
Serenity
Temperance
The Halo Effect
Threshold
Unleashed
Waltori
Warkings (2)
Wind Rose (2)

[hitbyambulance]

I also just bought tickets to see Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins/Rancid/Linda Lindas in August. I haven't seen Green Day since the Nimrod tour in '97, and the Smashing Pumpkins were my favorite band in the late 90s (saw them twice back in their prime). I'm going with my brother, and we're taking our kids (three boys ages 10-12)... should be a great time!

Seeing this tour in Portland at our soccer stadium. Really looking forward to it - I saw Green Day on the American Idiot tour but I've never seen Smashing Pumpkins. Green Day plan to play all of Dookie and American Idiot each night which is awesome.

I kinda hate Rancid so I'll probably stand in the food/merch line during their set.

I haven't seen Green Day since the Nimrod tour in '97, back when they were playing for crowds of only a couple thousand in small theaters. The Smashing Pumpkins were my first concert ever during the Infinite Sadness tour in '96, then saw them again in 2000. I haven't seen Rancid before and actually like their older stuff, so looking forward to that. I was on the fence about going, but as soon as GD announced doing those two albums in full it sealed the deal.

I'm going with my brother and we're taking our kids (three boys 9-12yo), so should be a great time!

i remember in early 94 being given Operation Ivy's self-titled, Rancid's self-titled and Green Day's "Kerplunk!" CDs by an acquaintance at my community college to borrow - all at the same time, lol.

saw The Linda Lindas are the first opening band for this concert (at least on the west coast) - if that's the case for the ones you are going to, don't miss them

[Isgrimnur]

LAMB OF GOD And MASTODON Announce North American Tour With Special Guest KERRY KING

The tour finds the two iconic bands join forces to celebrate the 20th anniversary of two seminal releases: LAMB OF GOD's biggest-selling album "Ashes Of The Wake" and MASTODON's acclaimed sophomore album "Leviathan", which were both released on August 31, 2004. Both bands will perform their respective albums in full. Special guests KERRY KING and MALEVOLENCE will support throughout the tour, with UNEARTH on select dates.

Kicking off on July 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas at the Texas Trust CU Theatre, the North American arena and amphitheater run will take them through the U.S. and Canada, culminating on the exact 20th anniversary of each album on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska at the Astro Amphitheater. The tour will notably make stops at iconic venues such as Denver, Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Los Angeles, California's Kia Forum.

Code: Select all

Jul. 19 - Grand Prairie, TX @ Texas Trust CU Theatre
Jul. 20 - Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Jul 21 - Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
Jul. 23 - Jacksonville, FL @ Daily's Place
Jul. 24 - Orlando, FL @ Orlando Amphitheater
Jul. 25 - Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Jul. 27 - Raleigh, NC @ The Red Hat Amphitheater
Jul. 28 - Richmond, VA @ Virgin Credit Union LIVE!
Jul. 30 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Jul. 31 - London, ON @ Budweiser Gardens
Aug. 01 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Aug. 03 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Aug. 04 - Manchester, NH @ SNHU Arena
Aug. 06 - Bangor, ME @ Maine Savings Amphitheater
Aug. 08 - Reading, PA @ Santander Arena **
Aug. 09 - Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion **
Aug. 10 - Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill **
Aug. 13 - Moorhead, MN @ Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater
Aug. 15 - Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
Aug. 16 - Penticton, BC @ South Okanagan Events Centre
Aug. 17 - Kent, WA @ accesso ShoWare Center
Aug. 18 - Portland, OR @ Theatre of the Clouds
Aug. 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
Aug. 23 - Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
Aug. 24 - Rio Rancho NM @ Rio Rancho Events Center
Aug. 25 - El Paso, TX @ El Paso County Coliseum
Aug. 27 - Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair
Aug. 29 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug. 31 - Omaha, NE @ The Astro Amphitheater

**No MALEVOLENCE; support from KERRY KING and UNEARTH

[Isgrimnur]

[Brian]

We saw a triple bill show at a smallish, local venue (The Admiral) on Saturday.
The two openers were Glyph and ElvenKing with the headliner being Alestorm.

Glyph is a new band, this being their first tour, but I liked their energy and sound.
The premise of the band is a little silly, they are from another planet and crashed on Earth, but no sillier than pirate based metal like Alestorm.
I intend to pick up their first album sometime this week.

Here's a taste:


The second act, ElvenKing is from a bit closer than Glyph, as they hail from Italy.
They've been around for more than a decade but I'd never heard of them before.
Theirs if more of a folk metal sound which I dig but, being the second act is tough cuz by that point, everybody just wanted to get to Alestorm.



Finally, Alestorm. They put on a high-energy, fun party atmosphere show. If you want to get your pirate on, these are the guys for you. Songs about drinking, sailing boats, sea battles, and hangovers were the order of the day. With songs from 1741 (The Battle of Cartegena), to Drink, P.A.R.T.Y., to the cover of Hangover, and even their evening ender, Fucked With An Anchor, these guys put on a fun, never to be taken seriously, show.





This one is age restricted so...

[Skinypupy]

Finally, Alestorm. They put on a high-energy, fun party atmosphere show.

Alestorm is a really fun live band. Unfortunately, they're also a bunch of racist, misogynist dickbags. Their douchebag behavior is legendary on the 70K cruise, with a whole host of women speaking out publicly about what massive assholes they are.

While I really like both Alestorm and Gloryhammer's music, they're one of the very few bands that I refuse to support because of their off-the-stage behavior.

[Brian]

Yeah, I was aware of the history and it's unfortunate but this one's been on my list for quite a while.
It's one of those art vs artist kind of things.
I mean, I still sometimes eat Nestle chocolate, I still (very rarely) eat at Chik-Fil-A and, on this one particular night, I went to an Alestorm concert.
It doesn't make what they did right but...I still wanted to see them live at least once.

[Skinypupy]

I still wanted to see them live at least once.

Understandable, as they do put on a hell of a show.

[GnomeGlimmer]

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

[Skinypupy]

Aw, thanks!

[Skinypupy]

Gary Numan and Frontline Assembly did a one-off show in SLC without Ministry last night.

Numan was absolutely brilliant. I have no idea how that man moves like that at 66 years old, but he had the entire venue absolutely entranced for 90+ minutes. It was a really great mix of old and new songs, his supporting cast was really sharp, and he just put on a wildly entertaining show. He has, quite unexpectedly, become one of my favorite live performers. It is always kinda funny to see the segment of the crowd who only knows him from "Cars" and figures they're going to see an 80's "one hit wonder" band, not realizing what Numan has been up to in the intervening years. Heard one older dude on the way out say "I thought he was new wave...what the hell was all that?"

Frontline Assembly continued their trend of being either absolutely fantastic or downright dreadful, unfortunately on the bottom end of the spectrum this time. Not sure if it's because they're at the tail end of a long tour or if he was just having a bad day, but Bill seemed to be having a really off night. He just sort of slowly shuffled around, bitched about the mic after every song (it sounded fine to us but apparently was having some issues on his end), and it was very obvious to everyone in the building that he had no interest in being there. He cut their set short after about 6 songs and just sort of stomped off the stage. They sounded fine, but the overall performance was just really disappointing. I've seen them 4 times now, two of which were fantastic and two of which were a complete mess.

Lastly, Wednesday night shows get harder and harder the older I get. It wasn't a high-energy mosh-pit type of show and I didn't get home terribly late (around 11:30), but I absolutely feel like I got hit by a truck this morning. Glad it was only two bands for this show...there's no way I could have made it through a third last night.

[Isgrimnur]

School-night shows demand at least a half-day PTO the next day, if not a full day.

[Lassr]

Seeing The Steve Miller Band in May.

Got tickets to see the Hoodoo Gurus again in Nashville later this year.
Went last year and met the owner of Lawrenceburg Bourbon Co.
Bought some bourbon from him and he signed it.
Meeting up with him again this year in Nashville for the concert.



That is not me reflected in the bottle. My friend took the picture of the bottle.

[YellowKing]

Saw The Wallflowers tonight. This was purely a nostalgia show - I had Bringing Down the Horse and Breach that I listened to a lot when my wife and I were dating but didn't keep up with them after those. It was kind of a full circle experience of being able to see the band we started our relationship with.

As I mentioned earlier, our local amphitheater is a small 1000 seat venue right on the lake so it's very intimate and always a fun time. Literally not a bad seat in the house, and you're free to walk right up to the stage and hang out if you want.

It was a fun show, though aside from One Headlight and 6th Avenue Heartache they largely shied away from their early stuff. Probably the highlight of the night were the numerous covers they did, including Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic," a tribute to Dickey Betts with "Ramblin' Man," Cat Stevens' "Wild World" and a couple of Tom Petty tunes. Nothing earth-shattering but it was a great spring evening underneath an almost full moon just having a good time with 1000 other folks under the stars.

[hitbyambulance]

Gary Numan and Frontline Assembly did a one-off show in SLC without Ministry last night.

Numan was absolutely brilliant. I have no idea how that man moves like that at 66 years old, but he had the entire venue absolutely entranced for 90+ minutes. It was a really great mix of old and new songs, his supporting cast was really sharp, and he just put on a wildly entertaining show. He has, quite unexpectedly, become one of my favorite live performers. It is always kinda funny to see the segment of the crowd who only knows him from "Cars" and figures they're going to see an 80's "one hit wonder" band, not realizing what Numan has been up to in the intervening years. Heard one older dude on the way out say "I thought he was new wave...what the hell was all that?"

i really wish Numan would change up the setlists more - he's been doing more or less the same one for the past half decade, with the same 2-3 tracks off _The Pleasure Principle_ and the same 2 tracks from _Replicas_ and the rest of the set are more or less the same songs from the same 'newer' albums.. i've skipped the last two tours because of this.

i would instantly go again - and probably pay a premium for - if he would do, say, a 'forgotten years' set of 1980s tracks (from _Telekon_, _Dance_, _I, Assassin_, _Warriors_, Berzerker_, etc*) that he rarely or never performs live anymore.

* and if you don't know these albums, go check them out. he was in a fairly adventurous and experimental mode in the early 80s that is a completely different sound from the samey Nine Inch Nails-alike sonics he's been using for the past two decades+. unfortunately, all the albums he released on his own NUMA label from the mid-80s to the mid-90s are all out of print. i've been trying to track down a CD copy of _Berzerker_ that's not $60+ for a while now)

[Skinypupy]

Man, good folk metal shows are just the best.

We hit the Wind Rose show last night instead of the Amon Amarth/Cannibal Corpse/Obituary bill. That's a choice I probably never would have made 10 years ago, but it turned out to definitely be the correct one. Wind Rose was an absolute blast.

They play incredibly silly and earnest "dwarven folk metal" with tons of bouncy songs about drinking ale, fighting dragons, hating elves, and - of course - mining. The entre place was filled to capacity with inflatable pickaxes and swords, dwarf helmets, ridiculous fake (and real) beards, row pits, and a shitload of people just dancing around having a damn good time. It was so much fun, even if it's going to make today a bugger because I have to conduct meetings all day with absolutely no voice. Worth it.

Didn't get any video last night, but this was from when we saw them on the cruise back in February. Thankfully, there were no f-ing crowd surfers (the plague of any concert) last night.

[Zarathud]

Now I'm going around the house singing "Diggy Diggy Hole" to the confusion of my wife. I'm going to have to clip it for one of my morning wake-up alarms. Thanks, Skinypupy.

My oldest daughter keeps telling me the Yogcast did it better years ago. Sigh.

[LordMortis]

argh. So, it's take many on going to see my first concert 2019 or maybe longer. Okkerville River, June 4th. Only they changed the parameters of my surgery on the 17th of this month. Before they said, no PT I'd be up and livng normally quickly after surgery. Now they say, tendon and muscle will be torn and PT and limitations from scratch. sigh. I will go out again! Some day!!!

[SpiderRelax]

Just done with Incubus and All Time Low!

[Jeff V]

Numan was absolutely brilliant. I have no idea how that man moves like that at 66 years old, but he had the entire venue absolutely entranced for 90+ minutes. It was a really great mix of old and new songs, his supporting cast was really sharp, and he just put on a wildly entertaining show. He has, quite unexpectedly, become one of my favorite live performers. It is always kinda funny to see the segment of the crowd who only knows him from "Cars" and figures they're going to see an 80's "one hit wonder" band, not realizing what Numan has been up to in the intervening years. Heard one older dude on the way out say "I thought he was new wave...what the hell was all that?"

I saw him on one of the shows recorded for his Living Ornaments live album (79-80) when he was a young 20 something. Then saw him 25 years later, when he moved from electronica to some sort of industrial goth. In both instances he was a fabulous showman, very mesmerizing. I watched a few poorly-mixed concert videos recently on YouTube, hoping to find something of better quality.

[Sudy]

Seeing Blind Guardian tonight.

Night Demon opened. Pretty generic, but quite enjoyable!

[hitbyambulance]

$25 Ticketbastard week: https://www.livenation.com/promotion/concertweek

have to admit, i did get at $25 ticket to Iron Maiden at Tacoma Dome

[Skinypupy]

There isn't an extreme metal band in the last 40 years who doesn't owe a huge debt of gratitude to Death. Chuck Schuldiner and his rotating cast of metalheads paved the way for every death metal band that has followed and have a massive, outsized influence over the genre as a whole.

Unfortunately, when Chuck died from cancer in 1999 and the rest of the crew all went their separate ways to create other awesome metal, Death pretty much, well, died. There simply wasn't anyone who felt like they could step into Chuck's shoes and keep it moving forward. So I figured they were a band that I would simply have to just wish that I'd seen back in the day.

Last year, three of the surviving members (Gene Hoglan, Steve DiGiorgio, and Bobby Koelble) put together "Death To All", a Death tribute band. I was initially quite skeptical, but when they added Max Phelps (ex-Cynic) as the lead I was sold. Max is an absolutely incredible musician who both looks and sounds almost eerily like Schuldiner.

Saw them last night, and it was truly an amazing experience. They did a 2-hour "greatest hits" set that included pretty much every Death track I could have ever wanted to hear. They sounded amazingly tight as they blasted through incredibly technical death metal, which is a testament to just how talented these musicians really are. Watching Hoglan on drums was a special treat, as he has always been one of my absolute favorites (seeing "Crystal Mountain" live was just...sublime). While they can never replace the original band and Schuldiner's singular metal genius, this was a really, really damn good effort that was wildly entertaining. In short, I think Chuck would have approved.



On a side note, I came to the realization (not for the first time) that about 70-80% of death metal bands really just sound like absolute garbage live. It takes a truly special group of musicians and sound people to make death or black metal bands sound even remotely good in a live setting. Cryptopsy was the opener last night. I like Cryptopsy ("None Too Vile" is a bonafide genre classic) and you could tell they were trying really hard, but they just sounded like hammered shit. It was disappointing, but is sadly something I've realized is at least a 50/50 chance any time you go to a metal show.

[Sudy]

Glad you had a good time! They played two shows here but I've never gotten into Death so it wasn't really on my radar.

I really wanted to see Archspire but unfortunately I had a commitment on that date.

I'm considering Pallbearer, and Panopticon's coming to town, but I haven't listened too deep into either band's catalogue.

Judas Priest's coming to Niagara Falls and that would be a major bucket list show for me, but it's too far for me to realistically travel.

[Skinypupy]

I'm considering Pallbearer,

Their first three albums were absolutely incredible, but the last two have been somewhere between simply boring and flat-out awful. Their release last month is currently the front runner for my most disappointing album of the year.

They’re also not a great live band, tbh. You wouldn’t be missing much

Panopticon's coming to town,

I haven’t seen him live, but I adore his take on black metal. Would definitely check that one out.

[Jeff V]

Better than Ezra is playing a local fest on Saturday night, but I have to take MiL to the airport and will miss it. I saw them open for Big Audio Dynamite several eons ago.

On Sunday, a local Beatles band, American English is playing. An old high school friend plays keyboards for them, and I'll try to introduce him to my son, who is doing well with his piano lessons.

[hitbyambulance]

The Damned are playing tomorrow and i am seeing them _yet again_, but this is the first time with Rat Scabies back in the lineup after, what, 30 years or whatever

EDIT: setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-damn ... bce80.html

closing the final encore with that MC5 track worked well!

[AWS260]

Just got out of The Raveonettes. It's their first U.S. tour in a decade, and I think I missed the last one because my kid was small, which means the last time I saw them was... 2007?

Everyone looks a little older (especially me), but their music hasn't aged a day. Just a great show.

[Jeff V]

Better than Ezra is playing a local fest on Saturday night, but I have to take MiL to the airport and will miss it. I saw them open for Big Audio Dynamite several eons ago.

On Sunday, a local Beatles band, American English is playing. An old high school friend plays keyboards for them, and I'll try to introduce him to my son, who is doing well with his piano lessons.

Went to the American English concert, it was canceled half way though because possible severe weather in the area.

We had a brief sprinkle.

[Skinypupy]

Gwar touring with Dark Funeral, Cancer Bats, and Squid Pisser this fall.

While I don't really like their music very much, I feel like I need to go see Gwar just to add them to the "bands I've seen" list. Seeing Dark Funeral again would definitely be a plus.

[Sudy]

I'm considering Pallbearer,

Their first three albums were absolutely incredible, but the last two have been somewhere between simply boring and flat-out awful. Their release last month is currently the front runner for my most disappointing album of the year.

They’re also not a great live band, tbh. You wouldn’t be missing much

Thanks, I always appreciate your reviews and advice!

I still kind of want to go because I don't get many opportunities to see doom. I've been listening to the concert set lists, but every time I catch myself thinking "wow, that's catchy" it's one of their old songs or a REZN track. I'm starting to find the grooves after a few listens, but considering the new album is literally half of their set list I'm not extra motivated. It's still pretty warm this weekend and part of the subway is closed.

But this riff is so good I'm giving thought to attending just to see REZN perform it:

[Skinypupy]

I've been listening to the concert set lists, but every time I catch myself thinking "wow, that's catchy" it's one of their old songs or a REZN track.

Just checked the Pallbearer setlist for this tour and yeah...that's entirely missable. They don't have a ton of stage presence to begin with, and that boring set might put you to sleep.

But this riff is so good I'm giving thought to attending just to see REZN perform it:

I hadn't listened to REZN before, that's a damn good tune. That ending is heavy and is very similar to what Pallbearer used to sound like, actually.

[AWS260]

This afternoon I went to a very small backyard concert by Shannon Lay. She is so talented - amazing voice, richly emotional songs. It was pretty wonderful. This was my favorite song that she played:

[Xmann]

Gwar touring with Dark Funeral, Cancer Bats, and Squid Pisser this fall.

While I don't really like their music very much, I feel like I need to go see Gwar just to add them to the "bands I've seen" list. Seeing Dark Funeral again would definitely be a plus.

The problem is they are not nearly the live band they were when Dave Brockie was alive. Not a fan of their music really, but back in the day they were such a fun experience to see live. I saw them last year at a festival and i honestly was a little embarrassed for them, knowing what they used to be.

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

[Daehawk]

Cant turn on the radio without hearing about Def Leppard, Journey, and The Steve Miller Band playing up in Nashville July 20th.

Bet that will be quiet a show with those three booked.

[Skinypupy]

Gwar touring with Dark Funeral, Cancer Bats, and Squid Pisser this fall.

While I don't really like their music very much, I feel like I need to go see Gwar just to add them to the "bands I've seen" list. Seeing Dark Funeral again would definitely be a plus.

The problem is they are not nearly the live band they were when Dave Brockie was alive. Not a fan of their music really, but back in the day they were such a fun experience to see live. I saw them last year at a festival and i honestly was a little embarrassed for them, knowing what they used to be.

Sent from my SM-S911U1 using Tapatalk

I’ve heard that from a few different people now.

I’d mostly just be going for Dark Funeral anyways, and would stick around for GWAR just out of sheer curiosity.

[hitbyambulance]

upcoming Hatebreed '30th anniversary tour' but i don't care about that - Carcass is opening! along with Crypta (two ex-members of Nervosa)

[Jeff V]

Saw the Grant Park Symphony play one of my personal favorites: Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Any piece of music that can piss off Stalin is fine by me.

I might get out to go see BEAT this fall. An interesting lineup of Adrian Belew and Tony Levin (King Crimson), Steve Vai (Spinal Tap and others, also owns a couple of restaurants in Naperville), and Danny Carey (Tool). Their set is apparently 1980's era King Crimson. Driving to NW Indiana is the biggest drawback.