The Heavy Metal Cowboy - A source for heavy music concert reviews in the DC/MD/VA Area (old) and NC (new) Includes Metal, Rock, Hard Rock, some Industrial and Electronic
Showing posts with label classic metal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classic metal. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2014
A Sound of Thunder / Benedictum / Leather Leone / Dark Sermon / Metanium / Darker Half @Empire 6/26/2014
I went to see Benedictum and more at Empire ($13), including 2 of my favourite local bands! There were a number of people I knew there- Renae, Gloomy William, Brian B, DAVE, RUBY, Gori y Omar, Ariel y Ilem, Yave, Mr. Nina, Bobbie, Sean, Henry, Martin, Alex T and Johnny, Sako and Greg, and METAL CHRIS (seemed like a bit of an odd show since he likes the heavier stuff!).
Friday, March 21, 2014
Destruction/ Krisiun/ Widow @Empire 3/20/2014
Went to see Destruction last night ($22) at Empire. I really had only heard of all of these bands in passing, checked out some yubtub videos and was pretty pumped (especially for Widow). Met up with Ariel, James, Matt (briefly), Chris Crazy-Wolf, Marie, Renee, Theresa, greekgirl, Brian B, Ruby, Gori y Omar, Jacinda, Kris, and Krysia (and maybe someone I missed?). It is always a little stressful being a social butterfly with 20% of the crowd!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Lamb of God/ Killswitch Engage/ Testament/ Huntress @ Fillmore Silver Spring 11/26/2013
I went to see the sold out last top of the tour for Lamb of God, Killswitch, Testament, and Huntress ($35) at the Fillmore. Even though this was a sold out show, I saw a ton of people there. They included Ariel y su Mujer, Jaime, Dwayne, Brenda y su hombre, Scott, DanPaytas, Victoria, Meghan, D'andre, Dorothy, Jen P, bridget, and Bill from work.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A Sound of Thunder @ Empire, March 31,2012
Went Jaxxpire to see local band A Sound of Thunder's (ASOT) album release party for their new album. Went with John and we got there a bit early (they threw in another band that I didn't know about, so my time estimates were thrown off). Saw some people there who went to PAGANFEST this past Thursday as well. Overall there were about 50 or so people there (about as much as Anvil's crowd...maybe more).
We heard the last 2 songs of Death Penalty's set- Josh (of ASOT) was playing guitar for them- maybe he is in that band too? Their guitar work was good and I could not dislike their cover of Paranoid.
A Cab Ride Home came on next and I was a bit underwhelmed. They did not seem to have the vocalist that they had last time, and he was underage. This part was hilarious cause he was shouting about drinking beer and holding one up during a song or 2... and he clearly had an 'X' on his hand (and had no wristband allowing drinks). They were not great- some decent guitar work, but the vocals were bad IMO. They did an OK cover of "Episode 666," citing the reason "Because In Flames won't play it anymore." Hilarious. They had a small crowd (10-15 people) on the rail moving decently. On their last song, about half their audience was invited on stage.
I got some CDs and a photo with ASOT at about this time. Josh recognized me (and my Rainbow shirt), so that was fun. They had a lot more merch this time (or it was displayed better?)- shirts, CDs, patches, etc.
Chopper Trike Rebels had a lot of Motorhead imagery (Motorhead-skull looking thing, inside a spade shape...), but sounded more like...Damageplan...of all bands. Some OK guitar work, but rather generic rumbling sound throughout. :/ There was not much of a crowd on the rail (maybe 6 people?) during their set...
FINALLY ASOT came on around 10:45 (a little bit late) and they sounded very good as the other times I've seen them. They played a lot of new stuff (to promote their new album, of course!), and I really have no complaints except that Nina (singer) needs to have some sort of different mixing on her vocals to make it crisper. The power is there and she has no trouble with being on key or anything like that- just would be nice (for me) to hear some crisper words. Josh shredded thru the whole set. The other guys sounded good too- solid rhythm section indeed.
photos forthcoming
SetLists
Death Penalty
Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
A Cab Ride Home
Sobriecide
Episode 666 (in Flames cover)
One Last Liver
Chopper Trike Rebels
Last Rites
Mirror
A Sound of Thunder
Tubular bells intro
Queen of Hell
Fight until the End
The Night Witch
Out of the Darkness
Guitar Solo (w/ Balls to walls , The Sentinel, 2 minutes to midnight...more)
The Day I Die
Calat Alhambra
Drum solo (DAMMIT...)
Kill That Bitch
Discovery
Murderous Horde
A Sound of Thunder
Blood Vomit
We heard the last 2 songs of Death Penalty's set- Josh (of ASOT) was playing guitar for them- maybe he is in that band too? Their guitar work was good and I could not dislike their cover of Paranoid.
A Cab Ride Home came on next and I was a bit underwhelmed. They did not seem to have the vocalist that they had last time, and he was underage. This part was hilarious cause he was shouting about drinking beer and holding one up during a song or 2... and he clearly had an 'X' on his hand (and had no wristband allowing drinks). They were not great- some decent guitar work, but the vocals were bad IMO. They did an OK cover of "Episode 666," citing the reason "Because In Flames won't play it anymore." Hilarious. They had a small crowd (10-15 people) on the rail moving decently. On their last song, about half their audience was invited on stage.
I got some CDs and a photo with ASOT at about this time. Josh recognized me (and my Rainbow shirt), so that was fun. They had a lot more merch this time (or it was displayed better?)- shirts, CDs, patches, etc.
Chopper Trike Rebels had a lot of Motorhead imagery (Motorhead-skull looking thing, inside a spade shape...), but sounded more like...Damageplan...of all bands. Some OK guitar work, but rather generic rumbling sound throughout. :/ There was not much of a crowd on the rail (maybe 6 people?) during their set...
FINALLY ASOT came on around 10:45 (a little bit late) and they sounded very good as the other times I've seen them. They played a lot of new stuff (to promote their new album, of course!), and I really have no complaints except that Nina (singer) needs to have some sort of different mixing on her vocals to make it crisper. The power is there and she has no trouble with being on key or anything like that- just would be nice (for me) to hear some crisper words. Josh shredded thru the whole set. The other guys sounded good too- solid rhythm section indeed.
photos forthcoming
SetLists
Death Penalty
Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
A Cab Ride Home
Sobriecide
Episode 666 (in Flames cover)
One Last Liver
Chopper Trike Rebels
Last Rites
Mirror
A Sound of Thunder
Tubular bells intro
Queen of Hell
Fight until the End
The Night Witch
Out of the Darkness
Guitar Solo (w/ Balls to walls , The Sentinel, 2 minutes to midnight...more)
The Day I Die
Calat Alhambra
Drum solo (DAMMIT...)
Kill That Bitch
Discovery
Murderous Horde
A Sound of Thunder
Blood Vomit
Friday, March 30, 2012
Paganfest @ Sonar 3/29/2012
Went with Milla, Ulrich, and Trigger to see Paganfest North America. This was the first stop on the tour. And the first time that Turisas has done/is doing a headling tour in North America. Pretty cool. Angie, one of Milla's friends from a bit ago, was also there. I recall saying something like "Angie, like the Rolling Stones song?" and "Steve, like Stevie Nicks...but different." Milla and Ulrich had Turisas facepaint. I might do some for Behemoth or 1349.
We parked near city hall (seemed same) and walked over. Actually was the easiest time I've had going to Sonar, somehow. When we got there some band was playing, I was thinking it was the last localish opener. It was actually the 2nd. We later learned for some reason everything was 1.5 hours late. That's right, we arrive around 8 and only one band has been on. It was a LONG night.
There were a lot of interesting people including
Second opener was Deranged Theory , they were alright, the vocalist was in a kilt and a wrestling type belt. He had a polearm, a sword, some God of War blades, and maybe a dagger at various points during their set. They kept on mentioning different video games (Castlevania, God of War, etc.)
So Huntress finally came on and I was pumped to hear them live. Their singer, Jill Janus aka DJ Tusedae aka Penelope Tuesdae, was def working her um...sexy angle. After 30 seconds into their set I was convinced that she had to be a stripper or something previously. She reminded me of a thinner, bustier Doro (not a bad thing). I liked their slightly thrashier more classic sound. Some sort of Wiccan or witch theme, and Jill drank some 'blood' at one point...that sloppily dripped down her mouth and onto her ample cleavage.
I got a photo with Huntress (but had not turned on the flash WTF) and then Arkona came on. They sounded alright, about as good as last time I saw them (with Kamelot), but maybe better since I was a bit more familiar with their songs. I still don't think their songs are really good to mosh to. They sound better on the album, but it is still nice seeing them live. <3 Russian chicks. The crowd was pretty receptive to them, despite some resistance to moshing (and a reported ignoring the request for a wall of death).
Alestorm creeped on around... 11 I think. They came on to some amazing 8bit version of Wenches and Mead. The crowd got a bit more rowdy here. They sounded really good, but their setlist order was kind of odd- it didn't flow as well as last time (again, with Kamelot). I would have rather heard "HUNTMASTER" or "Captain Morgan's Revenge" instead of "Midget Saw," but it was nice to hear that live (hadn't been played before live here). I enjoyed their set the best of the night.
Finally, Turisas came on at like 12:30. Yeah, it was a ridiculously late night- so late that it felt like a Jaxx show. They sounded really good, but a combination of factors (tired, anxious about work, anxious about car, violins lulling factors, not THAT familiar with their songs) had me a bit underwhelmed. The violin parts sounded beautiful, especially when it was their solos. However, I really was in the mood for something less epic and more um...brutal maybe. Too many strings and synth strings too late. Epic is a good word to describe Turisas and their grandiose vision (reminded me of Rhapsody, but less narration). The songs I did recognize sounded good, but just lacked a bit of umph, IMO. They were very professional and tight (and all in facepaint :3 ), which I totes appreciated. The frontman was talking about Pabst blue ribbon and we all booed when he joked about judging Baltimore by this beer. I really wanted to hear Rasputin :(
Picture wise I realized I didn't get any of Arkona somehow. I got a bunch of Huntress (tho I coulda used a damn flash...). Alestorm's ones came out blurry and unusable. And then my phone died right when Turisas came on. Like what happened at damn Iced Earth.
Overall, this was probably my second 'worst' concert of the year so far. First worst being Deicide, so far. But I still enjoyed it for the most part. Just the whole lateness thing killed a lot of enjoyment X_X,
ALSO EX DEO was supposed to be on this tour, but they were not, for some reason :/
Facepaint hyjinx
Huntress photos
me and Huntres
Setlists
Deranged Theory
Huntress
Arkona
Alestorm
Turisas
We parked near city hall (seemed same) and walked over. Actually was the easiest time I've had going to Sonar, somehow. When we got there some band was playing, I was thinking it was the last localish opener. It was actually the 2nd. We later learned for some reason everything was 1.5 hours late. That's right, we arrive around 8 and only one band has been on. It was a LONG night.
There were a lot of interesting people including
- People in Turisas facepaint
- really fat guy with bunny ears
- girl in white booty shorts getting groped by the guy she was with
- someone with some sort of spear
- kilted people
- various armoured people (including a dude in chain mail
- some chick with a short sword
- some guy with a batman tattoo on his chest and some DIRTY ass sweatpants with stains
Second opener was Deranged Theory , they were alright, the vocalist was in a kilt and a wrestling type belt. He had a polearm, a sword, some God of War blades, and maybe a dagger at various points during their set. They kept on mentioning different video games (Castlevania, God of War, etc.)
So Huntress finally came on and I was pumped to hear them live. Their singer, Jill Janus aka DJ Tusedae aka Penelope Tuesdae, was def working her um...sexy angle. After 30 seconds into their set I was convinced that she had to be a stripper or something previously. She reminded me of a thinner, bustier Doro (not a bad thing). I liked their slightly thrashier more classic sound. Some sort of Wiccan or witch theme, and Jill drank some 'blood' at one point...that sloppily dripped down her mouth and onto her ample cleavage.
I got a photo with Huntress (but had not turned on the flash WTF) and then Arkona came on. They sounded alright, about as good as last time I saw them (with Kamelot), but maybe better since I was a bit more familiar with their songs. I still don't think their songs are really good to mosh to. They sound better on the album, but it is still nice seeing them live. <3 Russian chicks. The crowd was pretty receptive to them, despite some resistance to moshing (and a reported ignoring the request for a wall of death).
Alestorm creeped on around... 11 I think. They came on to some amazing 8bit version of Wenches and Mead. The crowd got a bit more rowdy here. They sounded really good, but their setlist order was kind of odd- it didn't flow as well as last time (again, with Kamelot). I would have rather heard "HUNTMASTER" or "Captain Morgan's Revenge" instead of "Midget Saw," but it was nice to hear that live (hadn't been played before live here). I enjoyed their set the best of the night.
Finally, Turisas came on at like 12:30. Yeah, it was a ridiculously late night- so late that it felt like a Jaxx show. They sounded really good, but a combination of factors (tired, anxious about work, anxious about car, violins lulling factors, not THAT familiar with their songs) had me a bit underwhelmed. The violin parts sounded beautiful, especially when it was their solos. However, I really was in the mood for something less epic and more um...brutal maybe. Too many strings and synth strings too late. Epic is a good word to describe Turisas and their grandiose vision (reminded me of Rhapsody, but less narration). The songs I did recognize sounded good, but just lacked a bit of umph, IMO. They were very professional and tight (and all in facepaint :3 ), which I totes appreciated. The frontman was talking about Pabst blue ribbon and we all booed when he joked about judging Baltimore by this beer. I really wanted to hear Rasputin :(
Picture wise I realized I didn't get any of Arkona somehow. I got a bunch of Huntress (tho I coulda used a damn flash...). Alestorm's ones came out blurry and unusable. And then my phone died right when Turisas came on. Like what happened at damn Iced Earth.
Overall, this was probably my second 'worst' concert of the year so far. First worst being Deicide, so far. But I still enjoyed it for the most part. Just the whole lateness thing killed a lot of enjoyment X_X,
ALSO EX DEO was supposed to be on this tour, but they were not, for some reason :/
Facepaint hyjinx
Huntress photos
me and Huntres
Setlists
Deranged Theory
- song about the Headless horseman
- song about Darksiders
- song about Castelvania
- song that sounded like Powerslave
- song about God of War ("Abandoned by god"?)
Huntress
- ?
- ?
- Aradia
- Spelleater
- 8 of Swords
Arkona
- Pokrovy Nebesnogo Startsa
- Goi, Rode, Goi
- Yarilo
- Stenku Na Stenku
- ?
- ?
Alestorm
- 8bit intro
- Shipwrecked
- Wenches and Mead
- Sunken Norweigen
- Nancy the Tavern Wench
- Back Thru Time
- Keelhauled
- Midget Saw
- Rum
Turisas
- Intro
- The March of the Varangian Guard
- Take the Day
- To Holmgard and Beyond
- Violin Break
- The Dnieper Rapids
- One More
- The Great Escape
- Violin interlude 2
- Five Hundred and One
- Rex Regi Rebellis (Finnish version)
- Hunting Pirates
- Stand Up and Fight
- Battle Metal
Van Halen @ Verizon Center March 28, 2012
Went to see Van Halen last night with my buddy Tony and his dad. We heard a bit of Kool and The Gang play, but did not watch. No setlist for them, but assuming they played their hits.
Shirts: cover of new album, some meh looking tour shirts, a cool pinup girl one, nothing really remarkable besides that particular one tho
There were a TON of people there. I'd not been to Verizon/MCI/whatever the hell it is called since WWE was still WWF and Stone Cold came back. A sea of constantly moving people (except by the merch and drink booths, those were packed) and so many people scalping tickets. We had some drinks and made our way up to the 205 section where our seats were.
The lights went down at about 9PM and they played until about 10:46PM. The band sounded GREAT, and it def was worth every penny. Some switch ups from the setlists I've seen posted, but pretty much the same. Dave (of course) flubbed the lyrics on more than a few songs, but his energetic antics, constant smile, and overall showmanship (jumps, kicks, splits, ridiculous gyrations) made up for it. Eddie and crew played flawlessly and were tight. Eddie himself was effortlessly making that guitar talk.
"I'll Wait" sounded extra good, I was surprised. Drum solo was zzz for me, I'd taken a piss break earlier mistakenly. "Blood and Fire" should have been swapped out for any other song. "Hang 'Em High" was a great addition
Before "Ice Cream Man" Dave was alone on the stage with an acoustic guitar and the screen (titantron?) showed footage of him and his dog... herding sheep. Apparently he does that on his off time, he was speaking about some sort of competition. So bizarre.
Van Halen Photos
Vna Halen Photos II
Setlist
Shirts: cover of new album, some meh looking tour shirts, a cool pinup girl one, nothing really remarkable besides that particular one tho
There were a TON of people there. I'd not been to Verizon/MCI/whatever the hell it is called since WWE was still WWF and Stone Cold came back. A sea of constantly moving people (except by the merch and drink booths, those were packed) and so many people scalping tickets. We had some drinks and made our way up to the 205 section where our seats were.
The lights went down at about 9PM and they played until about 10:46PM. The band sounded GREAT, and it def was worth every penny. Some switch ups from the setlists I've seen posted, but pretty much the same. Dave (of course) flubbed the lyrics on more than a few songs, but his energetic antics, constant smile, and overall showmanship (jumps, kicks, splits, ridiculous gyrations) made up for it. Eddie and crew played flawlessly and were tight. Eddie himself was effortlessly making that guitar talk.
"I'll Wait" sounded extra good, I was surprised. Drum solo was zzz for me, I'd taken a piss break earlier mistakenly. "Blood and Fire" should have been swapped out for any other song. "Hang 'Em High" was a great addition
Before "Ice Cream Man" Dave was alone on the stage with an acoustic guitar and the screen (titantron?) showed footage of him and his dog... herding sheep. Apparently he does that on his off time, he was speaking about some sort of competition. So bizarre.
Van Halen Photos
Vna Halen Photos II
Setlist
- Unchained
- Running w/ The Devil
- She's the woman
- Full Bug
- Tattoo
- Everybody wants some
- Somebody Get Me a Doctor
- Chinatown (I took a Piss Break here)
- Jamie's Crying
- Pretty woman
- Drum solo/ piss break
- You really Got Me
- Blood 'n fire
- Dance the night away
- I'll wait ( Dave forgot the words and said so)
- Hot for Teacher
- Women in love
- Hang em high
- Beautiful girls
- Sheeps and Dog interlude (wtf)
- Ice cream Man
- Panama
- Eddie solo (w/ Eruption,cathedral,etc.)
- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
- Jump
Iced Earth @ 930 Club 3/13/2012
Went w/ Milla to see Iced Earth play 930 club with Warbringer. We got there a little after Warbringer came on, so whatever they played for the first 10 or so minutes I don't know. Saw Dorothy and that Scott guy there. There was a pretty smallish crowd, the bottom of the 930 Club would be pretty full if the scattered people on the balcony came down, but not so full that people would be packed like sardines. A poor turnout, these guys really should be more popular :/ The crowd had a lot of older looking chaps, but a good number of younger people too. This was not a mosh heavy crowd. The merch looked alright, I didn't see anything that struck my fancy tho.
Warbringer sounded decent. But since I am not that familiar with Warbringer, having only their new album they sounded a bit generic thrashy. Not bad, but not OMFG let me get this album! They played a couple songs before the frontman asked why no one was moshing? Moshing commenced in a small group after that. I wonder if he didn't say anything if any pits would have broken out. This
They played Long Live Rock n Roll on the PA between the sets, possibly cause someone saw my Rainbow shirt (or so I'd like to think?).
Iced Earth came on...and my phone died/would not let me take photos beyond the one I got of them. They sounded GREAT though. The first few songs sounded perfect- it was marvelous. After that it got a bit looser, but still sounded great. Highlights for me were 'Days of Rage' Iced Earth played BURNING TIMES as a bonus (didn't see that on any other setlists for this tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Warbringer photos
Iced Earth photos
SETLISTS
Warbringer
Iced Earth
Warbringer sounded decent. But since I am not that familiar with Warbringer, having only their new album they sounded a bit generic thrashy. Not bad, but not OMFG let me get this album! They played a couple songs before the frontman asked why no one was moshing? Moshing commenced in a small group after that. I wonder if he didn't say anything if any pits would have broken out. This
They played Long Live Rock n Roll on the PA between the sets, possibly cause someone saw my Rainbow shirt (or so I'd like to think?).
Iced Earth came on...and my phone died/would not let me take photos beyond the one I got of them. They sounded GREAT though. The first few songs sounded perfect- it was marvelous. After that it got a bit looser, but still sounded great. Highlights for me were 'Days of Rage' Iced Earth played BURNING TIMES as a bonus (didn't see that on any other setlists for this tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Warbringer photos
Iced Earth photos
SETLISTS
Warbringer
- (?missed anything before )
- Shoot to kill
- Future ages gone
- Shattered Like Glass
- Demonic Ecstasy
- (an Old one?)
- Total war
- Senseless life
- Living in a whirlwind
- Combat shock
Iced Earth
- Dystopia
- Angel's Holocaust
- Slave to the Dark
- V
- Stand Alone
- When the Night Falls
- Dark City
- Damien
- Anthem
- Declaration Day
- Days of Rage
- Watching Over Me
- Dante's Inferno
- Iced Earth
- BURNING TIMES
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