Concert Review: Gwar, Kylesa, Ghoul, Legacy of Disorder

Well, I survived again.  I went to see Gwar this past Sunday, and was in the mosh pit for almost the entire show, not just Gwar.  The doors opened at 630pm, and the concert started at about 715.

First up was a band called Legacy of Disorder.  They are a metal band from New Zealand that have a really good heavy sound.  They're a four-piece band with a singer, guitar, bass and drums.  They were good, but as an opening band, not many people were getting to into them.  Which is a shame, as I see a lot of potential in them.

Second band playing was a death metal band called Ghoul.  These guys are from Oakland, California.  As a four piece band, they have an incredible sound.  With names like Cremator, Digestor, Dissector, and Fermentor, they have hoods covering their faces, growling lyrics, and a rather impressive stage show.  Actually, their stage show looked like a cheap imitation of Gwar (see earlier posts or later in this one), but it was really entertaining.  Like Gwar, they squirted "blood" (basically just colored water that comes out in the wash or in the shower) into the audience, have foam-latex characters that wander out on stage to be "killed", and a decent amount of in-character interaction with the crowd.  A lot of voodoo overtones are in their music and stage show, with Baron Samedi as a song and a character on stage.

The third band, I'm sorry to say, didn't really belong.  Kylesa is more of a mix of psycedelic, progressive, and just plain weird rock.  They are a five piece band, with two of them being on drums.  The lead singer had some weird hand-shaking wiggly-wobbly thing that made me think of drugged out dream sequences from low-budget movies.  They didn't have that bad of a sound...but each song sounded basically the same.  The band didn't interact with the crowd at all, except to say "our last song of the evening is...".  Overall, I'd give this band a 3 out of 10.  Not good for a metal show at all.

Finally, Gwar came on.  This is the second leg of a long tour.  The main tour was put on hold for a bit when the lead guitarist, Flattus Maximus (Cory Smoot) died in his sleep on the tour bus due to a coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease, and they decided to continue as a four-piece band and dedicate the rest of the tour to him and his family.  Instead of replacing him with the same character, Flattus, they retired him, saying that the character returned to their home planet (confused? Read their "history" on their website...link is on their name above).
On this tour, the story is that Gwar bought the deed to Death's castle, and they're checking it out.  Long time whipping boy, Bonesnapper the cave troll, brought them a house-warming present: Snookie from Jersey Shore.  Gwar proceeded to enthusiastically dismember her (it's all fake, remember!).  Turns out that "Death" is actually one of their main enemies, Sawborg Destructo, and he's hidden the World Maggot in the basement to try to eat Gwar.  They also had a run-in with the janitor of the Castle of Death.
As for the tribute to Cory Smoot...it was really pretty touching.  After the last song was played, the stage went dark, and the house lights stayed dark.  Suddenly, a spotlight shone on Cory's guitar that was now sitting in it's guitar stand on stage.  Frank Sinatra crooning "My Way" came over the speakers, and the audience started singing along, holding their lit lighters in the air.  After the entire song played through, no-one really moved or said anything for several minutes, until the house lights finally came on.

If the rest of the bands were at a volume level of nine...Gwar upped it to about fourteen.  I stared off just to the right of center stage, two people back.  With the wave motion of the crowd, I soon found myself to the extreme right, up against the rail that separates the crowd from security and the stage.  I got knocked down, into a plastic garbage can, was helped up, knocked down, was helped up, crushed against the wall and rail, and generally felt like a ping-pong ball.  Right now, I feel like I went through the entire Biggest Loser exercise program during the two hour Gwar set-list.  My legs and feet feel like jelly from the constant moving, pushing, bracing; I have a rather nice bruise on my side, and my arms feel wobbly from pushing back against the crowd.

 

As I said, I got right up front, which is (technically) one of the safer places to be in a Gwar pit.  And because I was there, I got hit full on whenever they sprayed the "blood" around.
Yeah, it was fun.

Before:

After:

Will I go to Gwar again?  Of course.  Will I get in the pit again?  Might.

Celtic music mixed with.....

I don't know what people's music preference is, but there's been a bit of a surge of celtic music sprinkled into other forms lately.  For instance, Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys are pretty much classified as punk, but with so much celtic influence and instrumentation that they've carved a niche called "celtic punk".  Click  here for the video of Dropkick Murphys song called Going Out in Style. 
Punk music probably has the best sound to put to celtic music, but heavy metal hasn't been lacking for it either.  There's a group called Eluveitie that has put out a couple albums.  Click here  for their video for Thousandfold.

The symphony orchestra playing with Metallica seemed to tone down the "heavy metal" sound of Metallica, yet it still sounded fantastic.  In contrast, I think the celtic music with punk and metal actually enhances the sound of the music, making it richer, instead of softening it.

Concert review: Gwar

Yeah, I went to see Gwar last week.  My hearing is finally back to normal.  Mostly.  Gwar's new album, Bloody Pit of Horror, doesn't come out until November 9th...but that doesn't stop them from touring to promote it.  This is the second year of their 25th Anniversary, and it was well worth the cash for the ticket.
The first band, Mobile Deathcamp, is a band from Toledo here in Ohio.  For a three person band, they have a very full sound, awesome lyrics (from what I could understand), and great guitar riffs.  Of course, the lead guitarist used to be the bassist for Gwar (Beefcake the Mighty), so there's great talent there.  They opened for Gwar last time they toured, and will hopefully headline sometime soon.
The second band, Infernaeon from Florida, was everything a death metal band can be: shredding riffs, pounding bass, and growling vocals.  They were very good, and I hope to see them again next time they come through.  They're a five piece band, and they were rather cramped on the small Newport stage, but they did great with such a small space.
The third band, The Casualties, would seem to be the odd-group out.  Hailing from New York City, they are a punk band, complete with spikey hair.  At first, I wasn't that impressed with them, but they really grew on me.  I don't really know how to describe it, other than punk.  Again, this is a band I'm really wanting to see again.
Now we get to the headliner: Gwar.  This band, if you haven't heard of them, is all about politically incorrectness.  They don't care who they offend, anything is open.  For a complete "history" of the band, you can go here: http://www.gwar.net/mythos .  They have characters come out on stage, and everyone is done up in latex and rubber costumes, including the band.  The concert I attended started out simple enough.  They're promoting the new album, Bloody Pit of Horror with the first single, "Zombies, March".  Keeping that in mind, you'll understand why when the lights went out in the Newport Concert Hall, the song "Thriller" by Michael Jackson started playing.  Two zombies came out on stage, followed shortly by the band. 
Now, I should mention at this point that any characters, and occasionally the lead singer, come on stage trailing hoses.  When a character is "killed", "blood" squirts from the neck or body.  This is a water soluable solution tinged either red or green, depending on who/what gets "killed". 
Ok, back to the concert.  Oderus Urungus, the lead singer, came out with his sword and "decapitated" the zombies, thus starting the actual concert.  Also "killed" was Sarah Palin, and Lady Ga-Ga (Oderus called her Lady Gay-Ga), and a recurring character, Bonesnapper the troll (he had the green blood).
The last Gwar concert I went to, I went in the mosh pit for about 3 minutes, and got hit in the face, resulting in a bloody nose.  This time, I must confess, I was in the pit from the very beginning.  I got hit with the "blood" spray from everything that was "killed", and the "blood" cannon.  Most true fans wear white t-shirts, and show off the "bloody" shirt with pride.  However, I learned from my mistake last year: even though I dried it first, it still came clean in the wash.  This time, I don't think I'm gonna wash it.  I'm gonna keep it for next time.
To be in a Gwar mosh pit is to literally court injury.  So many people are bunched up together, pushing around so the entire mob sways from side to side and front to back in massive waves.  It's hot, humid, and VERY VERY close.  So close that, if people were naked, it would be considered...kinky.  THAT close.  However, Gwar fans are some of the best sports around, and go out of their way to help people back up if someone falls down.  And Gwar is definately NOT just for guys, there were plenty of women there, including a lady that was about 50 years old attending her first Gwar show.
Needless to say, I've had my adrenalin/death-thrill for a while.  At least until next year.

Music review: The Puppet Master--King Diamond

    For my first CD review, I'm going to do a CD by King Diamond.  If you don't know who King Diamond is, I'm not going to give his entire illustrious career; you can go to http://www.covenworldwide.org  for that.

     King Diamond is the consummate horror story writer and teller, probably one of the best since H.P. Lovecraft.  Few writers have made me squirm and shudder like they do.  In an interview at http://metalisrael.com/2005/10/48/exclusive-king-diamond-interview-part-1/, King Diamond states that he writes all of the lyrics and most of the music for his albums.  His primary focus in his solo career seem to be concept album: CDs that tell a story and each song is a part of that story...much like an opera.
     His lyrics are splendidly written, and with such a detail that leaves no doubt as to what's going on in the story.  The songs and the whole story that the songs tell wouldn't be out of place on a dark and stormy night when the power goes out.
     This brings us to the album to be reviewed: The Puppet Master.  The setting is in Budapest in the 18th Century.  The first song, Midnight, gives a hint of what's to come.  The main character is reflecting on what has happened.  Something about a cellar, a show...and blood.
     Now, I'm not going to go song by song detailing what the story is about as some reviewers might.  There are plenty of places online where you can find the lyrics and get the story that way.  To me, it takes a lot out of the story if I do that.  I'd much rather hear the story with the music.  However, I will tell you that the main premise of the album is that the story is coming from the point of view of a puppet that's been given eternal life.
     Darkly melodic seems to be the standard for all King Diamond albums, and this is certainly no exception.  With the addition of Livia Zita singing on three of the songs, it brings an even deeper harmony to what's normally just King singing.  In fact, she plays the part of his love on the album, Victoria.  King Diamond has such a vocal range that he probably could have been an opera singer if he tried just a little.  True, some of the high notes that were prevalent on the album Abigail just aren't here on The Puppet Master, but the addition of Livia more than makes up for it.
     All in all, The Puppet Master is my favorite King Diamond album.  Rich in story, melody and harmony, this album really has a depth that's missing in most music today.  He has a passion about his music that, while most artists try to match it, few actually make it.
     My rating: 9 feathers out of 10

Musical background

Before I launch into my first music review posting, I'd like to share with you my musical background.  I started listening to music at a very young age, but my first memories are back when AM radio actually played music.  Today, it would be called "Easy Listening": John Denver, Barry Manilow...things like that. 
I don't exactly know how I started getting into "Rock", but I remember listening to Yes, Tears for Fears, and Motley Crue (Theater of Pain era) on the local rock station.  This was when I was in about 5th or 6th grade.  At that time, I started playing violin, then upright bass through school. 
I was in the junior high and high school orchestras, along with the Seattle Little, Junior, and Youth Symphonies.  I also picked up the bass guitar in high school and was in the school jazz band.  In late junior high and into high school is when I really got into rock: Guns n' Roses, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc.  I was still in the symphonies, orchestra and jazz band, but had moved away from ONLY listening to that music.  In late high school, I also joined a local chamber group and an operetta company for a couple seasons.
I auditioned for, and was accepted into the Navy School of Music after high school.  Problem was, I had to learn how to play the tuba and march in a band...neither of which I had done before.  I didn't learn it well enough or fast enough, so was dropped from there and went to an A-6 squadron (but that's for another post).
In the 20 years since graduating, my musical library has grown to damn-near 1000 CDs, and I'm proud of the fact that I have every musical genre represented: country, rock, classical, metal, easy listening, rap, jazz/swing, gospel...the list goes on.
My ultimate favorite musical genre is metal, and I'll review a good chunk of albums from that category.  However, I will also throw in some classical, world, jazz, and others in once in a while for flavor...and so that no-one gets bored from just one thing.