"And I Raise My Head and Stare, Into the Eyes of a Stranger"

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"But the Legend Never Dies....."

What a night last night. After rising before 5.30am for work until 3.00pm, I then drove to Sydney to firstly watched "Motley Crue: The End" at George Street cinemas, before crossing the road to The Metro Theatre to finally see Symphony X live, in all their glory.

Their support, Melbourne's Black Majesty, were great. Very accomplished. Worth checking out.

Words fail me in describing how good Symphony X are. Their musicianship is amazing, band leader, composer and guitarist Michael Romeo is a freak, just ridiculously awesome. In a live setting, he just nails everything, and is almost impossible to take your eyes off. I expected him to be great - I was awestruck instead. And that's to take nothing away from the other guys - Michael Pinnella's duelling keyboards, Michael LePond's rumbling bass guitar and the brilliant Jason Rullo on drums are just superb, and the fact that they have been together for over 20 years is testament to their combined ability.
And then there is Russell Allen - by god the man can sing. I already knew that, but when he nails every single note live the way he does in the studio, then you cannot be anything but amazed at his prowess. High, low, soft, hard, heavy - it doesn't matter. And a great frontman, engaging the audience, having his spiels, and generally having a great time. Brilliant.

It was the last show of their Underworld World Tour. They played the entire Underworld album, and it sounded amazing. Russell told us the back story, and the band played it brilliantly. When, after playing "Run With the Devil", Russell began telling us how 'bad' the devil was, a guy standing dead in front of me yelled "The devil sucks!" Russell paused, and said, "Yes. You're right. And the fact that you said that while wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt makes it a thousand times cooler!" He then gave us the "Ah ah ahhhhhhhhAAAA!" from Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which caused much cheering, and demands to play the song. The band looked at each other, shrugged, and then off the cuff played it in its entirety - yes, Russell nailed every one of Robert Plant's screams. Awesome! And then at the end, when they asked if we wanted one more song, the crowd in unison called for "The Odyssey", the 23 minute monster from the album of the same name. Though they begged off doing it, Russell promised that they would return to Sydney, and play it on the next tour. We'll see, but that would be superb.

Highlights from the night for me were "Nevermore", "Without You", "In My Darkest Hour", "Run With the Devil", and the superb trilogy of "The Serpent's Kiss" and "Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)" from Paradise Lost, and the closing track from Underworld, "Legend". Before playing this song, Russell commented on how the fans of the heavy metal genre are all one family ("heavy metal is just a slice of the slice of the slice of the pie of word music"), and that it didn't matter what genre of heavy metal you loved, we are all a family (echoing the words of Bruce Dickinson at the Maiden gig this year). He then raised the metal salute, the metal flag, and said how this had been given to us by the great Ronnie James Dio, who should never be forgotten, as it was his music and his aura that bind us all together - thus leading into "Legend". Great stuff.

Living off three and a half hours sleep today at work, but it is totally worth it. One of the best gigs I've seen. I can only hope it isn't the last time they tour Australia.

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The Cure: Is This the Greatest Concert Ever?

The title is not a faecetious question. It is one that is posed when taking into account that my style of musical taste is predominatntly that of the heavy metal genre. And I have seen all of the greats of that genre too. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Dio, Helloween, Ozzy Osbourne, Gamma Ray, and that's just to name a few. I have seen them all at their peak, and I have seen them all in their glory. So the question I pose not only comes from the background of what I normally listen to, but also from having seen a hundred different bands and artists in a multitude of venues, big and small. It is a question that deserves an answer.

Last night I journeyed to Homebush in western Sydney to Qudos Bank Arena (and yes this has changed its name a million times over the years) to see The Cure. My wonderful wife Helen has been a fan of the band forever, and she infused in me an appreciation if not a love for their music. I have rarely in my life chosen to put on an album of The Cure, but whenever it has been put on by others I have always enjoyed it. Disintegration and Wish have always been my favourite two albums, but my enjoyment of their music isn't limited to those albums. I have always wanted to see them live, to see what they would be like, and Helen had always seemed to miss them when they toured Australia. On this occasion we both managed to be on the same page.
There was no support act, it was all The Cure. They came on stage at 8.10pm, and put on a display that I have some trouble explaining just how good it was. The band was just amazing, truly amazing. The rhythm section of drummer Jason Cooper and bass guitarist Simon Gallup drove the night along. Jason's drumming was perpetual motion, rolling along his drum kit like liquid, not missing a beat and keeping the whole band in check. The guttural distortion on Simon's bass guitar reverberated throughout the arena, even in the songs where you would not necessarily notice that instrument. It kept that bottom end solid. Keyboardist Roger O'Donnell was unobtrusive and effective, while guitarist Reeves Gabrels was terrific, with a lot of technical stuff that may have gone unnoticed by those keeping their attention firmly on the main man, but he was very impressive.
Trying to not sound obvious and overly gushing about Robert Smith is somewhat impossible. His voice remains positively awesome after all these years. His guitaring throughout remained terrific, but it is his vocals that are extraordinary. They soar, literally soar, when necessary, and as the face and voice of the band he is still doing an amazing job.

It is a different style of concert from anything I have ever been to before. The majority of the bands that i see are energetic, jumping around the stage, trying to pump up the crowd and get them involved and rollicking. With The Cure, there is minimal movement by the players throughout. Simon walked around the stage most of the time, but the others held their ground, happy to be where they were and play their instruments as they were expected. But they didn't need to. The show itself was amazing. The light show was like none that I had experienced before, and the screens behind the band, that changed for each song and the mood of each song, was brilliantly done.

And the show itself? Well, the band came on at 8.10pm, and finished at 11.20pm. That's right, over three hours of music, 36 of their greatest songs in all. What impressed me most about this, apart from the technically brilliant way the band played, and kept faithful to each song while giving each its live performance, was that there was no pause between songs, no talking or interaction with the crowd that wasn't the music, no agenda to put forth. Robert spoke three times during the night, for a total of about thirty words. It was all about the music, and it was just magnificent.
The crowd loved it. From the slow writhing of bodies during "Let's Go to Bed", to the unadultered joy of "Friday I'm in Love", "Just Like Heaven" and "The Lovecats", they had them in the palms of their hands. All of their hits were played, and just about every song you could consider was there.
I was blown away by some of the live versions of songs. "Pictures of You" swam in to the start of the night so wonderfully well, and was the first real intoxication with Robert vocals. "A Night Like This" was just amazing, and was a high point for me. With no sax to be found, this came as close to a rock song as this band could play, and the exchange of horn for guitar worked brilliantly. This was followed by "All I Want" which continued in this vein. "Primary" conatined all the energy that was to be expected. "Just Like Heaven" and "Disintegration" and "Fascination Street" were all that could have been hoped for. "Burn" was another that was a highlight for me, it sounded terrific. The final closure of "Close to Me", "Why Can't I Be You" and "Boys Don't Cry" was the wonderful final punctuation mark on what was an unbelievable concert experience. The final scene, where an obviously emotionally moved Robert Smith uttered those words "We'll see you again", were received by the fans by raising the roof in appreciation.

So what is the answer to my initial question? As I said earlier, I have seen a lot of my heroes and a lot of great gigs. Last night's performance was the equal of anything I have seen. I truly hope that I get the chance to see them again in the future.

Set List

1. Plainsong
2. Pictures of You
3. Closedown
4. High
5. A Night Like This
6. All I Want
7. Push
8. In Between Days
9. Primary
10. Like Cockatoos
11. The End of the World
12. Lovesong
13. Just Like Heaven
14. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
15. Want
16. The Hungry Ghost
17. One Hundred Years
18. Disintegration

Encore:

19. It Can Never Be the Same
20. Burn
21. A Forest

Encore 2:
22. Shake Dog Shake
23. Fascination Street
24. Never Enough
25. Wrong Number

Encore 3:
26. Lullaby
27. Hot Hot Hot!!!
28. Let's Go to Bed
29. Sleep When I'm Dead
30. Friday I'm in Love

Encore 4:
31. The Lovecats
32. The Caterpillar
33. The Walk
34. Close to Me
35. Why Can't I Be You?
36. Boys Don't Cry

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"Scream For Me Sydney!!!"

Last night I took Josh to his first gig, to see the mighty Iron Maiden. It is impossible to describe how good they still are. Professional, energetic, ridiculously talented. There is no band to compare to their excellence. I'm glad Josh got to see them live, he hasn't stopped talking about it since. Only 8 years old, but he'll remember it forever.
I sat listening to the final song, Wasted Years, and thought about the fact that the album Somewhere In Time was released 30 years ago this year. I remember especially walking to double Games in Year 11 with my tape player, as we all sang this at the top of our lungs, our whole futures ahead of us.
Never in a million years would I have imagined that I could be sitting at an Iron Maiden concert thirty years later, singing that same song with my son. Perhaps life is almost complete after all.
\m/ \m/

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"In the Streets on Halloween, There's Something Going On!"

I headed for Sydney this afternoon to see Helloween in concert at the Metro Theatre. After many people had initially shown their interest in attending, it ended up being only me and Bono - again - who made the night. No real surprise I guess in this day and age... but anyway...

Bono met me at Cheers on George Street - $6 pints! That was a win! - where we stayed until 9.00pm, before heading up to the Metro. We didn't see the first support, but watched Lord do their stuff as the second support.

Helloween came on after 10.00pm, and were brilliant. Just brilliant. Everythig sounded great, but songs such as "Waiting for the Thunder" and "Russian Roule" were two of the best, that came across as some of the best, so much better than the studio versions. The band even carried on when Sascha's guitar and microphone died, meaning that both "Where the Rain Grows" and "Lost in America" were played without him, leaving Andi Deris to comment "For the first time ever, a song written for two guitars, played with one!".

I had to run for the train or risk waiting for four hours for the next one, but managed to do so after a quick leak in the park next to Central.

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"Drifting on an Endless Sea, On Our Way to Nowhere"

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Alice in Chains Just Awesome at Sidewaves

This evening I took Helen to the lovely Enmore Theatre to see the Sidewaves show for Alice in Chains.

We headed up from home just before 5.00pm and arrived at our parking at about 6.20pm. We walked up to Enmore Road, and found a mexican place called El Cuervo Cantina. They had $4.50 margeritas which Helen found to her liking, and also had Chimichanga for the first time with beans, which looked pretty god. However, it was not as good as my beef fajitas - HOT beef fajitas too, they really brought the spice. Great stuff.

Walking Papers

We arrived at the Enmore just after Walking Papers started their set. They had a great sound, and it was great to see Duff McKagan again. The drummer was good, but his kit was amazing, just a fabulous sound he got from it. I'd love to have had a go on it.

Down

Down was on next, and while they were not overly to Helen's taste (she appreciated the guitarists - and they were good - but she couldn't come to the vocals) they sounded 100% better than the last time I saw them when they supported Heaven & Hell on their tour to Australia. Phil Anselmo's ego still ruled the show, but his band was terrific.

End of Down gig, with roadie's and kids all taking over the instruments.

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Alice in Chains were amazing, carrying on from their gig on Sunday. Their sound was just incredible. Mike Inez and Sean Kinney were as solid and sensational as always. William DuVall' s vocals soared, while Jerry Cantrell was superb. His guitaring is still such a highlight.
All of the songs off the latest album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here sounded so much better live, but Helen remarked on how they just lack that spark that the older material has. They don't have the same vocal harmonies as the they did when Layne Staley was co-writing the songs, and they lack his unique vocal abilities. They sound great, but they don't have that affinity with the old material. It's not meant to be a criticism, just an observation. But when you hear songs like "Man in the Box" and "Rooster" and "No Excuses" and "Down in a Hole" and "Would?"... well... it was amazing. "Rooster" and "No Excuses" brought tears to my eyes again, just thinking of the waste it was when Layne died so young. Madness.

Oh, and of course, there was the standard meeting-up with Dale Clark after the gig had finished. It is almost uncanny how we always seem to find each other during a gig, even if we haven't shown up together.

Helen and I don't get to go to see bands together very often, so this was a great night.

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Soundwave Festival 2014

 

Today I was off to my second Soundwave Festival, this time as a lone wolf. Well, it wasn't going to be that way, but my erstwhile companion Bono, who on hundreds of occasions has failed to show to events for a multitude of reasons, once again managed to find a way to miss out on an event. This time it was his back giving out on him once again. Oh well. Onward we go.

 

I drove up surrounded by a galaxy of music from my iPod, singing and banging without a care in the world. There is a lot that can be said for driving on your lonesome in the car, and being able to play your own music at your own volume without having to compromise either.

I arrived inside the Homebush setting before 10.30am, and immediately went to the beer tent to grab my first beer of the day. I can honestly say that it was the best way to start the day, and it barely touched the sides.I grabbed a second, and walked around the whole setup to familiarise myself with where all of the stages were, and how long it would take to get from one to the other. Then it was time to head to Stage 4 for the first band on my list for the day.

The first band of the day at 11.00am was Amon Amarth, a band I had flirted with for one album back in 2008 (Deceiver of the Gods) and had not taken to, and thus had left alone until this day. However, the great thing about Soundwave is seeing so many bands live, and getting a better handle on what they are like. I was also greeted by the visage of Steve Holz who had also ventured to theis stage early for the festivities.
Amon Amarth was on so early as they had brought their Viking Ship stage set to Australia, and they needed the time to put it together. And the band was - fabulous! The band itself was terrific, the duelling guitars just brilliant, and the vocals were so much better than I remembered from my short stint listening to them on CD. By halfway through the set, I found myself wondering how I had missed this when I tried them out. No doubt my mood wasn't set for death metal at the time. I was very impressed by the end of the set, at which time I tweeted:

Wow. @AmonAmarthBand fucking killing it @soundwavefest pic.twitter.com/7tVk2mdPSu
— Bill Peters (@westkiama) February 23, 2014

Will struggle to find a better band today than @AmonAmarthBand you guys have a new disciple. @soundwavefest
— Bill Peters (@westkiama) February 23, 2014

Amon Amarth - Father of the Wolf

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From here I had to make a couple of stops. Firstly it was time for a toilet break. Secondly it was up to the Utopia Records tent to purchase a cap (yes, amazingly as it sounds in this day and age, I actually forgot to bring a hat with me. Thankfully I had suncream on to get me through that first couple of hours) and a stubby holder (yep, forgot that too). As always, Utopia was able to satisfy my needs in this respect.

Thirdly, it was time for another beer, as I then headed down to Stage 6 to check out half of the set by August Burns Red. I have never pursued these guys, but Kearo highly recommended them, so I thought I's better give them a shot. Opinion? Yeah, they weren't bad, but their sound was swirling in the cavernous shed, so I probably didn't get the best impression. Next time perhaps.

Terrible photo of August Burns Red, but at least I was there...

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From here it was back to Stage 4 to get in a little Five Finger Death Punch, a band I had only heard recently in my trawling of Soundwave acts to see who I should go and see. In the process I managed to get through all of their albums, and found a lot of it to be terrific stuff. This was backed up by their performance here as well. An excellent set, with Life Me Up a highlight for me.

Five Finger Death Punch - Full Set

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Next up on Stage 4 was The Black Dahlia Murder. Now most of their stuff that I have heard has been just a little extreme in the vocal department for my tastes, and though i did enjoy their set, it didn't change my opinion that it would be difficult for me to get into their music on a full time basis. Still, it was good to see them, to hear them in that live setting.

 

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Steve and I watched most of this from our vantage point up as close to Stage 4 as we could get, as we awaited the beginning of Testament. I have been waiting the better part of 30 years to see Testament live, not just after their awesome early albums like The Legacy and Practice What You Preach and Souls of Black and Low, but also recent albums The Formation of Damnation and Dark Roots of Earth.      

And they did not disappoint. What a show. Fantastic set list, led brilliantly by Chuck Billy, as well as the twin guitar gods Alex Skolnick and Eric Petersen. Great to see Steve DiGiorgio back on bass guitar, he looked to be having a ball throughout the gig. And Gene Hoglan was just awesome on the drums, great to see the legend there as well. It was great to hear "Rise Up" and "Into the Pit" especially, and would really loved to have heard much more. If only I could get to that Sidewave on Wednesday! Brilliant set.

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GWAR was just hilarious. Some technical hitches saw them start some 20 minutes late, and we saw the band wandering around trying to fix the problems before they had donned their character suits which was pretty funny. Then when they started, it was on. So much fake blood, spraying out over the front fifteen rows of people (while Steve and I had positioned ourselves perfectly that none of it reached us, by about two rows). I'm not sure I could ever actually sit down and listen to their albums, but the show was funny, and the musicianship was good. When they brought out the Tony Abbott mannequin and then cut off his head when he 'cancelled' the show, the crowd went wild.

 

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From here there was a bit of a shuffle, as we had been on our feet for about five hours by now, so while hearing a bit of the Volbeat show that had started on Stage 4A, I got myself a kebab (which was fine, but they wouldn't give me both BBQ and chilli sauce, and it was about half the size of a normal kebab, and cost over ten bucks, as well as a 300mL Coke for $5!!!), and we then took the chance to sit down in the shade, and hear a bit of Panic! At The Disco coming from Stage 3. Now there is a band that has taken on the emo craze, and yet there was something about them that I didn't mind at all. If only time had allowed a longer hearing than two songs.

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Once we had eaten, Steve bade farewell, off to find his other bands for the day. I returned to Stage 4 and watched the end of the Volbeat set (not bad - Rob Caggiano still has it, even though he has left Anthrax) and to get my first sighting of Trivium live. Nope, I wasn't disappointed, except for the fact that I would have liked to have heard more. Their setlist covered their career, and they were impressive, even through some sound issues, similar to what Killswitch Engage had faced last year.

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From here I moved into the main stage for the first (and only) time of the day. I was beat, and found a good seating position to rest my weary legs. Alice in Chains came on at 5.00pm, and were spectacular. It was great to hear all the great songs again, and William DuVall's vocals soared in the stadium gig. After 20 minutes of resting I hopped up and made my way back in closer to the stage, where the sound was even more impressive. The band was just terrific, and I left this hour gig not only satisfied, but eager for the Sidewaves I was attending in two days time.

Alice in Chains - Man in the Box

 

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Now I had a date with destiny, another band that I had waited since my mid-teens to see live, and it was about to come true. Stiff Little Fingers were on the bill over on Stage 7, and I got there a little early to make sure I was up near the front. When I arrived, there was maybe 50 people there, but by the time they came on stage, there was closer to 400. And they were just brilliant. They played all of their hits, they played new songs, they didn't muck around between songs to make sure they got as much in as possible, and it was LOUD! I was just stoked to be there. Brilliant. If I could have watched them again I would have. It was a dream fulfilled, and despite the excellent sets and bands during the day, this was the number one moment for me at Soundwave 2014.

What more was there left for the day? I could have ventured back to the metal stage down at Stage 4, where Devildriver and Mastadon were set to finish the night, but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to hang around that long. I did move down to Stage 3, where I caught the second half of the set by Soil, and they weren't bad. Not someone I would likely follow up on, but they were enjoyable enough, and had good banter with their crowd. I then watched the first two songs of Rob Zombie's set, at which time I convinced myself that nothing was going to match what I had already seen, and so I headed back to the car and headed home. Being a Sunday night also encouraged this, and getting home at 9.15pm on a worknight turned out to be the best move.

I had a great day, and again saw some great bands. I do think that if I do it again next year that i will take some time off - absolutely the Monday, and maybe a couple of other days in which to go to Sidewaves shows without having to worry about getting up for work the following days. We'll see...

When Bands Forget Who Their Real Employers Are

It's pretty obvious that with all of the bullshit that is going on over the Soundwave Festival that takes place over the next week or so throughout Australia, that there are bands out there that have forgotten who it is that makes them who they are, and also makes them the well-off musicians that they are. Ego takes over, and there is no doubt there are some massive ego's out there in this industry.

There is always more than one side to every story, but really, how hard is it to remember that no matter what petty differences and arguments may occur between band and promoter or band management and promoter, bands only survive on the goodwill and support of their fans. And if you piss your fans off, then you pretty much shoot yourself in the foot.

I have bought and own every album Megadeth has ever released, the first half of their discography in more than one format. I have their DVDs and their VHS videos before that. I have the great ones, as well as the crap ones such as Risk and the recent Super Collider. I have suffered from other Megadeth last-minute tour pull-outs of Australia, most famously the day before I was to see them for the first time on the "So Far So Good... So What!" tour in 1988. One fricken day before, they cancelled. Then they cancelled again on the "Countdown to Extinction" tour. Any published excuses? No. Just live with it Australia, Dave isn't coming and isn't saying why.
Now, I have been lucky enough to see Megadeth five times. Others have not. There will be kids out there who were pumped to see a legend act such as Megadeth for the first time. And now they won't. Apparently (but not confirmed) because the promoter wouldn't apologise.

Apologise for what? Because he put Newsted on as Megadeth's support for their Sidewaves show when they were not on an 'agreed' list of 'suitable' support acts? Because the promoter then took Newsted off the support slot, and then said it was because the band's management asked him to do it? Because the promoter put the band in shit for saying what actually happened, and not just covering it up?
Ask the fans - do they give a fuck? Do they care about how it may appear as a slight on Mustaine? No. They just want to see the band play.
But no, Mustaine's ego cannot sustain being seen to be the bad guy in this, when plainly he is as culpable as anyone else involved. So, what does he do? Well, he picks up his ball, and goes home. Announces on Facebook and Twitter that...

Due to circumstances beyond its control, unfortunately Megadeth has to cancel their Australian dates. https://t.co/4I4pIujHv1
— Megadeth (@Megadeth) February 9, 2014

That's it. No explanation, no sorry, no fucking nothing. Then, on his personal Facebook page, another post, simply saying...

Then, from all appearances, despite desperate pleas from the promoter and fans alike, not another word has come from the Megadeth camp. It has just been wiped from their existence.

Well, thanks Dave. I'll be honest, and admit Megadeth was not even in the top ten bands I wanted to see at Soundwave. I have seen them before, and their latest album is not particularly good. If they had clashed with a few other bands, I would have chosen the other bands. However, what this has shown is that fans finish second to ego with him. I won't be spending anymore of my hard earned cash on anything to do with Megadeth again. Probably, he couldn't care less. But that's MY protest.

Hardcore Superstar also decided to play hardball over their timeslot.

And why did this occur? Well...

.@Chameleon_Halo HCSS said they would not get on the plane unless they were on after 4pm as their stature demanded!
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 19, 2014

So - don't worry about the fans. If we can't play after 4.00pm, we aren't coming.
What a bunch of pricks. Don't come then. Ignore your Australian fan base, who only want to SEE YOU PLAY, COULDN'T GIVE A RATS ARSE IF IT WAS 3.00AM OR 11.00PM. If I WAS a fan, I would also be putting a ban on spending any more money on you. As it turns out, because I won't see you, you have also lost any chance you may have had of me 'discovering' you, and then buying up back catalogues of stuff. Oh well. Enjoy sitting at home doing sweet F.A when you could have been playing music for your fans. Idiots.

Stone Temple Pilots and Sevendust also called early halts to their Soundwave odyssey, at the time giving 'legitimate' reasons, though rumours have since leaked that there reasons for not coming was to do with money, or what they deemed to be the lack of it. Fine. If that is the truth, then that is a matter to stay between the parties involved. Then Whitechapel cancelled, citing the 'death of a close family member'. Another bust, but what can you do? Apparently, as many fans have decided, let's blame the promoter again.

Now we have this last little story, where a strange, unexplanatory post comes up on Jason Newsted's Facebook page yesterday afternoon.

Which again was news to the promoter.

Trying to find Newsted and figure out what is going on. The band's equipment just arrived in Brisbane so not sure what's up.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 19, 2014

Without knowing what the hell is going on (this is now 24 hours after this post), IF this is another pull out because of time slot...

@AussieKop I told him 2 days ago we'll amend set time if necessary, so it cn't be about that.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) February 19, 2014

... then, even though I have bought his EP and his album off iTunes, I will again not be supporting him any further in his career. And let's face it, after the Echobrain debacle, he is lucky I am supporting him at all!!!

No matter what, I can't wait for Soundwave on Sunday. Alice in Chains, Testament, Trivium, Stiff Little Fingers, just to name a few, are bands I can't wait to see. Egotistical bands that obviously couldn't give a flying fuck about their fans be damned. This is a super day, and I'm going to have a blast!