Today MySpace Metal (that just sounds funny) premiered the new blessthefall video for “What’s Left Of Me” today. Full of brutal screaming, heavy guitar, and furious drumming I would have to say that they deserve to be featured on MySpace Metal. Check out the video below.
Their latest album Witness dropped on Fearless Records in October.
Seriously though…MySpace Metal???
blessthefall- What’s Left of Me
Blessthefall (NEW MUSIC VIDEO!) | MySpace Music Videos
So during this edition of Times Of Yore I wanted to talk about a band that is still around and is still putting out CDs. The band is without a doubt a mainstream act and many know them quite well. The band I speak of is Pennsylvania’s Bloodhound Gang (BHG). The comedic rap and rock mixing band has been a favorite of mine since the mid-nineties.
Sure everyone who knows the BHG is familiar with their hit tracks “Fire Water Burn” and “The Bad Touch”. Both tracks were hits all over the radio and basically helped the band achieve attention (well before Bam Margera included them in his fun). Where I am a fan of the albums that both songs appear on I actually would have to say that their debut full length album Use Your Fingers is my favorite.
Here is the part where I talk about that CD…
I found Use Your Fingers by pure accident. I was at a Half Price Books with my pal Mike one day just looking for stuff to buy. I remember I picked up a copy of the CD and just looked at it. There was a hot looking lady on the cover in small clothing eating a chicken leg that grabbed most of my attention. I looked at the rest of the CD and could not help but wonder to myself what in the hell I had in my hands. It looked like a punk rock CD of sorts and I decided it would be best to buy it before someone else did.
Without hesitation I purchased the CD but had to wait until I got home to listen to it seeing my car at the time lacked a CD player. I remember though the moment I hit the play button on my trusty Sony Walkman (that I still have to this day) that I became an instant fan. I had honestly not heard anything quite like it before. It was hip hop but punk rock with lyrics out of this world not to mention comedian Rip Taylor provided the introduction. Jimmy Pop, Evil Jared, Lupus, and Daddy Long Legs became heroes to my young ears.
I listened to the CD over and over and proclaimed them one of my favorite bands. I would sing along daily to songs like “Legend In My Spare Time” and the “Pretty When I’m Drunk” as well as their cover of “Kids In America” which I still prefer over any version to this day. I just loved the raunchiness of everything the band did from the clever lyrics and samples to the beats surrounding them. Within weeks I had a copy of their debut release Dingleberry Haze EP in my hands. I was a BHG fanatic.
Months later I saw a tiny add in Scene Magazine stating that the BHG was playing in town. I was convinced it was going to sell out so I went out and bought two tickets, one for me and the other for Mike. Boy was I in for a surprise…
I will never forget the night the Bloodhound Gang played the Grog Shop their first time. We got there early so the place was not that full but after time passed we started to notice that not a lot of people showed up to the show. Seriously there was like 8 people there including Mike and I…
The BHG took the stage and played like there was a full house. Mind you that show was years ago so I could not tell you the set at all but I do remember Jimmy Pop singing on the bar at one time. My other memory was when the band asked for volunteers to come up on stage for a contest. For whatever reason I kept my hand down but Mike raised his and they asked the kid with the mohawk (Mike) to come on stage. The game they played that night was a game of darts…on Evil Jared’s back. There were like 3 or 4 other people playing along and one by one they would throw a dart into the human dart board. Mike hit a bulls-eye.
I do not think the band was ready for that as the bulls-eye was drawn rather small on Evil Jared’s back but they still gave Mike a prize, a studded bracelet. I was jealous and honestly I still am. After the show the few of us who hung out got to talk to the band and joke around with them. They were super cool and even gave us some stickers and temporary tattoos.
That night was one I will never fully forget. Even if the outcome was horrible the BHG could care less and not even two years later they returned to the Grog Shop to a sold out crowd with Nerf Herder opening for them. I remember that night too especially when the band pulled me on stage to sing a couple verses from “Fire Water Burn”.
Almost 15 years later I still listen to Use Your Fingers and sing along as I did when I was just discovered them. I can not wait to see what they come up with next and even if they sell out the next venue they play in Cleveland I will always think back to the day when BHG played what seemed like more of a private show for me and my pal.
In the past month or so I attended two of the craziest shows I have been to in quite some time. This year I have seen a lot of different genres of music live and really nothing was that out of hand to the point where I left almost laughing at the insanity of the performance of both band and crowd. The last two shows though that I attended at the Grog Shop, not only did I leave satisfied with the show, but also was just blown away at the insanity created during it.
A few weeks back I was invited to see longtime hardcore act Converge play a small show with special guests High On Fire and Keelhaul. Converge and High On Fire were taking a break from the [adult swim] sponsored Mastodon / Dethklok tour. As much as I wish Mastodon and Dethklok made a stop as well in Cleveland I knew that Converge and High On Fire would play longer sets at the smaller venue.
Keelhaul, a local metal band, played a great, mostly instrumental, set to small but growing crowd. I was pleased to see these old school (to me) Clevelanders take stage and deliver some solid sludge metal. At times they were heavy and out of control while other times formulated into a Clutch like jam the whole crowd appreciated. They were solid and really into their performance and I am glad I got there in time to see them.
I saw High On Fire previously over the summer at Bonnaroo so I was already aware that they would put out a sick performance. The band rocked from the moment they took the stage until their final song. Playing for just over 45 minutes I enjoyed seeing a good metal set and was even treated to a new track from their upcoming release. Lead singer Mike Pike admitted that they had not played a small venue in a while and perhaps that is why they all seemed so pumped to play that night.
High On Fire Setlist:
Fury Whip
Blood from Zion
Devilution
Eyes and Teeth
Turk
Commeth Down Hessian
Waste of Tiamat
Frost Hammer
Rumors of War
Sadly some people actually left once High On Fire was done. Why? Who knows…their loss.
Now where do I begin with Converge? I have to admit that I missed them all of the previous times they came through Cleveland for whatever reason so this was my first taste at live Converge. All I have to say about their set is this…WOW. They played a huge array of tracks including a couple of their newest album Axe To Fall which was recently released through Epitaph Records.
For a band that has been around for 17 years they are just as incredible as ever. I have never seen anyone like lead singer Jacob scream so hard into a mic. The fans were eating it up with the hardcore kids flailing about carelessly just enjoying themselves.
As a seasoned concert goer I stay away from the pit. I am old and get tired quickly. I can not do roundhouses with grace nor do I want to jump on top of other fans in attempts of getting the mic pushed in my face for a chance to recite a lyric. Now if I were younger you can bet your ass I would have been jumping around and kicking and singing through the set just like many of the younger fans did. It was incredible. These kids were true fans pushing out every lyric of every song with ease. I could only look at the kids and think back to the days when I did stuff like that.
Converge played songs old and new and just tore it up. It was one of the better shows I have been to all year. Hardcore is not dead by any means and Converge is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Converge Setlist:
Plagues
No Heroes
Bare My Teeth
Reap What You Sow
Cutter
Worms Will Feed
Axe to Fall
Eagles Become Vultures
The Broken Vow
Drop Out
Hope Street
Bitter and Then Some
Last Light
Dark Horse
Heartache
Hellbound
Concubine
A few weeks later one of my favorite UK bands invaded Cleveland once again. There was no way in hell I was going to miss this show. Sadly a lot of my friends punked out but my pal Josh and I trucked up the the Grog Shop on a Sunday night in hopes of a great show featuring none other than Gallows.
Local openers Wreak Havoc and Above This Fire were both decent openers. I have heard of each act and have seen their names posted around Cleveland for some time now yet never checked either out. Their fans were all about both sets as they jumped on top of each other and kicked and danced around the pit. I do need to note one particular instance of the night though that cracked me up during Above This Fire…
There was a younger fan, a female fan, who was a little shorter than the rest. She stood her ground at the front of the stage with a mean pissed off look that honestly resembles mine. Every once in a while she would take a lap around the pit and push people around and clearly was just into the set doing her thing, being hardcore. For whatever reason during one of the rounds she decided to go into the crowd and punch me straight in the kidney. On purpose or not, I was laughing too hard to feel the pain… Don’t worry, I did not retaliate.
This was my third time seeing Gallows live and there is a reason for that…they own. Frank Carter and crew put on a killer performance and the kids were jumping and kicking and screaming their hearts out. I thought for sure Carter was going to take the mic into the pit and sing in the crowd as he has done previously but this time he planted his feet on stage.
I don’t know if it is from constant touring or what but Carter just looked tired and not himself. He sang on point but lacked the overzealous attitude I usually am humored by. He is usually outspoken and just a bad ass but this time around he seemed tame. Even the crowd did not seem as insane as when I saw them at the Warped Tour. During the Gallow’s cover of Black Flag‘s “Nervous Breakdown” I thought for sure the Grog Shop was going to be one giant circle put but it did not even make it past the pillars in the center of the venue.
On occasion Carter dipped in the front row while singing but never stepped foot in the pit until the last song. Covering songs on both albums it even seemed as if they could have played a little longer but before I knew it Carter announced it was the last song and busted into “Orchestra Of Wolves”.
During that last song he let the fans take over singing duties as he jumped in the crowd and pushed himself to the back of the pit where I was standing. After a few moments the sweaty skinny hardcore Englishman thwarted back in the pit and back on stage. Once the song was done that was it. No encore, show over, and I loved it.
Sadly I was not paying a lot of attention to the set because I had one too many PBR‘s during the show. If anyone knows of the set the Gallows slammed out that night let me know and I will gladly post it.
As I finish this blog up tonight it was brought to my attention that the Gallows jumped off the AFI tour due to illness in the band. Perhaps that is why Carter and crew did not seem nearly as energetic. Direct from their website they stated:
We will not be appearing on the remaining 5 dates with AFI we were scheduled to play. This is due to members of the band being very sick & we need some urgent rest. We’re very sorry to anyone who bought tickets to see us on these shows, we will be back soon!
Rest up Gallows.
I may be getting up there in age but I can tell you that I had a blast at both shows even if I stood at the base of the put and did not move at all. Crossing my arms and nodding my head is my way of approval these days and I can tell you I did a lot of that at both shows I attended.
It’s that time of the year again everyone. The time to give gifts…of Bonnaroo tickets!!!
Matt over at Addicted To Vinyl promised me that there would be a golden Bonnaroo ticket in my stocking this Jesus Day 2009 but I am not too sure if I believe him. He also ensured me that he would never ever ever ever ever go with me and Rad-Am again to a crazy festival like that again. 2 days was just too much (yes folks, it is a 4 day festival – Matt I still love you…haha)
Luckily for me if I decide to go for my third venture I can pre-order a ticket for myself at the Bonnaroo website starting on November 27th 12pm EST. General admission tickets will be available again on a payment plan for 5 easy payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees or a pair of VIP tickets for 5 payments of $285.00 plus applicable fees through the holiday pre-sale that lasts until December 31st. Visit the Bonnaroo Payment Plan page for more information on the payment plan.
The 9th Annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has been confirmed for the weekend of June 10- 13, 2010. The four-day music and camping festival will once again be held at the Great Stage Park otherwise known as the huge 700-acre farm in Manchester, TN that the huge festival takes place on.
The artist line-up has yet to be determined but I am pretty confident that it will be amazing as always. Again, I am not sure if I am going yet but I said that last year and once I saw the line-up I had my mind set on going. I had the time of my life and saw some amazing performaces. No regrets at all.
Here’s a great video created by Shadow Machine (Robot Chicken, Moral Orel) in honor of the Bonnaroo pre-sale featuring folk artist Gary Chardonnay for your visual entertainment.
I completely forgot that I pre-ordered the Bonnaroo 2009 Live DVD and should be getting it soon. I was able to pre-order it when I bought my 2009 Bonnaroo tickets. For $15 you can own a copy too.
Reason 576 why Austin, TX is a cool city… Fun Fun Fun Fest. I am jealous I was not there. Really jealous… Seriously look at this line up!
I’ve been to festivals that had good line ups in my time but it seems as if Fun Fun Fun Fest takes the cake. They have some special means of attracting some of the more obscure bands for a weekend of awesome and I only wish something like this could happen in my area.
I took a few moments tonight to look for some fan shot footage. Here is what I found:
Face To Face was there. They told everyone they were back…
The Jesus Lizard proved that age does not matter…and that chubby is sexy (to some)…
Then there was the Pharcyde…
Danzig. Need I say more???
Then there was Yeasayer…
All of the previous bands I would have loved to have seen but nothing would have made me happier than seeing the Gorilla Biscuits live…
Yeah, I am jealous. I know there was a ton more awesome shows there but I need to stop watching online videos before I sink into a musical depression.
Maybe next year I will hit up Fun Fun Fun Fest. Just maybe.