The Pretty Reckless/Evanescence – The Palladium – Oct 19th – Dallas, TX
Ok so if you have been reading my blog or any even the occasional entry, you know that I’m completely in love with Taylor Momsen and believe it or not her band the Pretty Reckless kicks total ass. To give you a brief recap earlier in Feb of this year I just happened to be working with a band at the House of Blues when someone told me that Taylor Momsen was upstairs and that she was about to perform in a band that I didn’t even know she had. My plan was to just peek in a for sec, drool over her another sec and then leave. I stayed not only because she looked so goddamn hot but her band really kicked ass. I hate that shit like when Keanu Reeves decides to be in a band and its sold out with gawking girls that could give a shit about the music and just state at him and swear the music was good. This was not one of those situations, this was the real deal and I was blown away. (you can read about that experience here)
Ok so fast forward 8 months later, now by this time, I now know all the songs and I’m ready to rawk. I had written a lengthy review of the record for a magazine (which you can read here) and was completely invested in the music and had been looking forward to the show for a while now.
A few things entered the picture that threatened to comprise the evening a little bit. First of all I was having transportation problems, and was gonna have to take the train out to Dallas for the show and leave before the headliner even came on if I wanted to be able to get home. Thankfully I don’t give two shits about Evanesence, but its pretty sad that I was willing to take a train out to Dallas just so I could see Taylor strut her stuff, what a creep.
Another thing was that on the way there, this girl whom I haven’t spoken to in awhile called me with a bunch of her depressing weird dysfunctional drama. I tried to shrug it off but she really got to me and I had her words in my ears for most of the night.
None of that shit mattered when Taylor and the band took the stage, not only had her stage presence/confidence tripled since Feb, somehow so had her hotness:
I mean can you even deal with this???? – No one in the history of rock and roll has been this perfect, this stupyfyingly hot, she is simply sex incarnate. Even crazier is this, ok we all have cute girls on TV we have celebrity crushes on, but did Mila Kunis or Katie Holmes go on to be the ultimate rock slut of your dreams? No, and her Taylor was all that and more and right here in front of us like a dream come true. I’ll take even further by putting this to you – What’s hotter a girl who dresses slutty, or a girl who is interested and inspired to be as sleazy and nasty and slutty and the law will allow and trying to push the envelop even further? and she’s only 18!!!
The set was plagued with sound problems, but her voice was still in top form and she sounded great. And look at the pics, its like she’s inspired to come up with exciting ways to be as slutty as possible to torture us.
Setlist:
Since You’re Gone
Zombie
Miss Nothing
Just Tonight
Goin’ Down
My Medicine
Like a Stone (Audioslave cover)
Make Me Wanna Die
Factory Girl
After the show and before Evanescence was coming on, I went outside to have a smoke, though I loathe this band, I still was gonna watch at least one song of theirs to give them a chance and to have more of an informed opinion. Regardless if they sucked or not, I still had that looming transportation problem of having to get back to the train station before I found myself stranded in Dallas.
While I was out there smoking I saw this girl that I had been seeing all night. I noticed her because she was wearing the smallest and shortest pair of short shorts I’ve ever seen, that was accentuated by that she wasn’t exactly a small girl. She looked a little ridiculous, but she still kinda owned it and looked pretty good.
Anyway, she was standing in a circle with a some other girls when one of them, a 40-ish looking gal of the white trash variety, approaches me with the proposition/charity case of me buying a beer for short-shorts girl who was now introduced to me as Sassy – you can’t make this stuff up.
I obliged regardless of the length of her shorts, and now the potential to hang out with Sassy and the gang all night was prevalent, but how would I get home?.
That’s when I pulled a coup de grace to see if their was any real interest, by telling Sassy that:
a) We can dance and drink all night
but…
b) I don’t have a ride home, so if you will give me a lift, I will provide the drinks
She passed it off on to the older gal and who gave it a thumbs down, so now I was still headed back to the train station, but now this time minus a five dollar bill and girl in super short-shorts named Sassy.
But I did stick around for one Evanescence song, and I one thing I will say is that I was little moved by how passionate the fans are. When the singer Amy Lee came out, the place went batshit and she actually seemed like a pretty decent performer.
..but alas even if I had a car there I’m not sure how much longer I would have stayed. Once you have seen Taylor, what else is there?
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Anthrax/Testament/Death Angel – Southside Music Hall – Oct 28th – Dallas, TX
So coming off the biggest show of the band’s career last month at Yankee Stadium that I’m proud to say I was present for (that entry is here) – timed simultaneously with the release of Worship Music their first in 8 years, and the first with singer Joey Belladonna in 21 years, that is such a strong comeback that it stands amongst the best records they have ever done. No small feat for a band that’s essentially been in pieces for the last 15 years. To come back this strong and this hard and super legit is a true miracle that has been a pleasure to witness.
So after all the hoopla surrounding the Big Four they are now on their own tour to support the record, bringing along fellow Thrash Metal heavyweights Testament and Death Angel along with them.
However, I would be lying if I didn’t mention that tonight was Game 7 of the World Series,and after last night’s game (see above) I was praying for tonight that we become world champs for the first time. They were blasting the game on about 12 screens in every direction and what a setting it would be to celebrate than at an Anthrax show.
Sadly, when I arrived it was already the 3rd inning and we were losing 3-2 and their was a chill in the air that we would not recover.
Death Angel
If their was a Big 5,6.7, of Thrash Metal it would be arguably be Exodus, Testament, and Death Angel – all from the Bay Area. Death Angel is one of the original Thrash bands that I’ve never seen, who were opening the show along with Testament. They broke up in 1991 when their drummer was nearly killed in a bus accident. They reformed with the drummer but not with crucial member, guitarist Gus Pepa like 10 years later, ironically to perform at a benefit for Testament singer Chuck Billy and the magic was there enough to keep on trucking. . From then till the night of this show they lost several more key members, now down to just the original singer and rhythm guitar player.
I only knew one of the songs that was the only song they played from the only Death Angel album that I ever owned, their first one The Ultra-Violence.
I had once again met up with Ryan to pick up where we left off at the Judas Priest show to rock the fuck out. He, like the faithful student of Metal that he is has kept up with this lineup’s latest releases and knew the material. The set was too short, but I was glad I finally got to see some version of this band.
Setlist:
I Chose The Sky
Evil Priest
Claws In So Deep
Relentless Revolution
Seemingly Endless Time
Thrown To The Wolves
Testament
Testament is band that I absolutely loved when I was 13-14, I loved that whole Bay Area thrash sound and I was super into Exodus that led me to these guys. However for some reason they don’t visit Texas very often and because of that I actually didn’t attend my first Testament concert until 2004, 17 years after I bought their first album with my allowance. And now I’m only seeing them again for the first time since.
They were really awesome, and I enjoyed this show and the setting of this performance ever more than I did that first time 8 years ago. This was also one of the last shows featuring drummer Paul Bostaph. Ryan and I were in full on rock-the-fuck-out mode, and having a great time, despite the Cardinals 2 run 5th inning creating an insurmountable lead.
Setlist:
The Preacher
The New Order
The Persecuted Won’t Forget
Envy Life
Over the Wall
Souls of Black
Into the Pit
Electric Crown
Henchmen Ride
More Than Meets the Eye
D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days in Darkness
Disciples of the Watch
Anthrax
I’m sure the band was keeping close watch on the game as well, not just as the known sports fans that they are, but because they know what a freaking a party this will turn into if we win, potentially making this the show of the tour. Sensing defeat, they started the show in the 9th inning as a distraction from the heartbreak and so people wouldn’t have time to dwell on the loss.
I put baseball aside for the moment and I had Anthrax in front of me kicking serious ass to take my mind off of it for the next two hours, and it was the perfect consolation prize. Three of our fave thrash bands in one night? Ryan and I were downright absurd with our rawking that some people in proximity were watching us instead of watching the band haha. This is the first Anthrax show that I have seen with Joey Belladonna since he returned to the band that wasn’t part of some festival where they had to play an abbreviated set, finally a full set with Joey!
Still not the longest set in the world, with only 14 songs including the encore that was mostly covers. One being specific to the long relationship that Anthrax has had with local legends Pantera, by combining their own N.F.L. with This Love.
I saw another Joey I hadn’t seen in many years, an old buddy of mine who was distracted by mine and Ryan’s unbelievable rock power, and recognized us, so we grabbed him and pulled him into our circle of unparalleled rockdom. This was a really fun show and despite the Rangers losing, a really fun night.
Setlist:
Earth on Hell
Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t
Caught in a Mosh
Madhouse
Antisocial
Got The Time
I’m Alive
The Devil You Know
Indians
In the End
Be All, End All
Encore:
Efilnikufesin/This Love (Pantera cover)
I Am The Law/Refuse/Resist (Sepultura cover)
Metal Thrashing Mad
Epilogue – Ok so above in the Judas Priest section where I’m discussing the baffling dysfunction of the editor of that magazine that is out of his mind and was pulling that bullshit on me and I had to set him straight? – Well tonight was what he thought was going to be his smirking revenge. I had been working with Anthrax all year and had just done a major blitz with the Yankee Stadium juggernaut last month. This asshole calls the Anthrax organization to say that I’m not coming so that when I get to Will Call, I’ll have egg on my face – Can you imagine a 50 year old man behaving this way?
And he succeeded at first, because when I got to Will Call, sure enough my stuff wasn’t there, so I called their rep (I had also missed a call from her earlier and now I knew why) and that’s when I got to hear the whole story. I didn’t want to involve her, but I told her that I was never not coming and she said that’s why she called me to verify. She was furious that he would try to pull some bullshit like this and he only succeeded in pissing off the wrong people.
I had Harvey, Charlie Benante’s drum roadie, take this picture (below) of me and I sent it to that screwball editor that only simply said:
“Nice try motherfucker”
(Side Note – Dane Wolf who was working the tour who usually works with Forbidden wasn’t here because a few days prior to this show he literally got his skull fractured in Colorado (where else?) in an unsolicited attack – you can read about it here)
Hope you have enjoyed one of the longest, controversial and more serious-minded posts I have made yet. Stay tuned for the next entry where I finally document and conquer the Fun Fun Fun fest in Austin, TX –
Photos –
Roy Turner
Elizabeth Lavin
Jon Gitchoff
Mike Insuaste
Amanda Hernandez
Ian Whitlen
Harvey Melt