Video footage of The Rockstar Mayhem Festival from Altitude TV. Airbourne picture by me!
Video footage of The Rockstar Mayhem Festival from Altitude TV. Airbourne picture by me!
Spent all day Saturday at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. Black Tide, Machine Head, and Mastodon all kicked ass, but it was Airbourne who stole the entire show! More pictures and review coming soon. And much thanx to a friend who hooked me up with the All Access Pass!
You can also read this review and see more of my pictures over at Ground Control Magazine.
People generally seem to have a pretty strong reaction to Ted Nugent, and judging by the mustache and mullet-sporting crowd who were hoisting their Bud Lights and blurting out their battle cries of "Nuuuge!" well before Uncle Ted even hit the stage, the show at The Fillmore was going to be no exception.
As he stormed the stage and proceeded to launch into an absolutely blistering rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” I knew it was going to be one hell of a show. Backed by ex-Dokken drummer Mick Brown and former Wendy O. Williams bassist Greg Smith, The Nuge and company delivered an almost two-hour-long set fueled by energy, showmanship, and most importantly, guitar. Ted is a first-class bad ass on his Gibson Byrdland, and as he literally ran from one end of the stage to the other while singing and delivering smoking versions of old classics including "Wango Tango," "Stormtroopin'," "Free For All," "Weekend Warriors" and "Dog Eat Dog" it was hard to believe that the guy is just six months shy of his 60th birthday.
In between all these classics, Uncle Ted continued to please the crowd by not only insulting a security person in front of the stage, but also by referring to himself as "the spirit of James Brown," constantly calling San Francisco "San Francisky" and telling a few off-color jokes that he said the audience was too scared to laugh at. Love his "shtick" or hate it, I applaud the man for at least having the balls to be himself up there. Speaking of being himself, the stage, which was flanked with an American and California flag, a machine gun, a cow skull and a huge back drop which depicted him as Uncle Sam, could not have screamed Ted Nugent any louder.
Getting back to the music here, Ted and his band performed a few smokin' covers as well, including soul classics "Soul Man" and "Baby Please Don't Go," both of which made a solid argument to his proclamation that he was "the ghost of Bo Diddley." Although these songs showed off his "funky" side as well as his hometown bluesy roots, it was the staples the crowd came to hear, and by the time he gave them what they wanted with "Cat Scratch Fever," (Yes, Ted, that might just be the best guitar riff ever) and "Stranglehold," they could hardly contain themselves.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better and that The Nuge had left the building, he returned for an almost epic version of "Great White Buffalo," complete with an Indian headdress and the flaming arrow shot into the guitar. It was the perfect ending to a damn near perfect set.
You can also see this over at Ground Control Magazine. More of my pictures here.
Kicking off the festivities were the one and only Melvins, who played nothing but songs from their Mangled Demos, originally released in 1983. With Buzz on guitar and vox, Dale Crover on bass and original drummer Mike Dillard behind the kit, the band tore through ten songs in about twenty-five minutes. Favorites of mine from their set would have to include both "Snake Appeal" and "I Don't Know." This little blast from the past was a side to The Melvins that you don't often get to see live, and I was pretty stoked to have witnessed it. And although they were the perfect opener for this show, it would not be the last we would see from Buzz and company.
As the beer continued to flow and the excitement continued to build, San Jose's Los Olvidados hit the stage and proceeded to deliver an awesome set of "old school" skate-punk at its finest. Watching this band it was hard to believe that they first hit the punk rock scene over twenty-five years ago. Guitarist Mike Fox was a fucking bad ass, and his riffs combined with the vocals of Mike Voss were totally reminiscence of bands like The Faction, J.F.A. and Black Flag. The band couldn't have been any tighter as they showed the kids in the crowd what punk rock was like back in their parents' days, and as I was standing there listening to "Something New" and "Bang Bang Your Dead" I couldn't help but flash back to the days of my youth in suburbia on my Sims Screamer.
Hardly giving the meatheads in the "pit" (which was MUCH different at the punk rock shows of my youth) a chance to catch their breath, Drunk Injuns came out and picked up right where Los Olividados left off. Despite their Indian Ghost Warrior spirit masks, I couldn't help but notice that this band looked and sounded a lot like the previous band on stage (wink wink, nudge nudge). At any rate Drunk Injuns—along with a pretty stoked looking kid who couldn't have been more than ten years old—delivered yet another set of classic punk rock, and by the time they finished their set the stage had been set for the main event of the evening.
As he and his new band, The Axis Of Evildoers, hit the stage it took all of two minutes for me to realize that Jello still has the same energy, charisma, and voice as he did when I saw him fronting the Dead Kennedys at The Mabuhay Gardens over twenty years earlier. Watching him up there all I could think was that I hope I am like him when I am 50 years old (which is only 10 short years away).
As for his new band, The Axis Of Evildoers, they were quite simply amazing. Although guitarist Ralph Spight (Victims Family) and drummer John Weiss (Sharkbait) were both kicking some serious ass, it was the bass of Billy Gould (Faith No More) that really blew me away. It was pretty damn thunderous, and gave the band a bit of a "metal" sound. Together the foursome ripped through about a half a dozen or so new songs, all of which sounded just as good, if not better, than any DK song from yesteryear. I believe song titles included "Three Strikes" and "Panicland." I am really looking forward to hearing more from this band.
Just as the evening was seeming to reach a climax, Buzz re-appeared on stage with surprise guest Adam Jones of Tool, and this new "band" proceeded to kick the crowd's ass with Jelvins, Lard and DK classics. Although "Forkboy" (dedicated to S.F. mayor Gavin Newsom) was hands down my personal favorite song of the evening, it was smokin' versions of "California Über Alles" and "Holiday In Cambodia" that had the place going fucking nuts. And as a shirtless Jello dove into the crowd, I realized that being "punk rock" isn't about age, it's about spirit, and Jello has more of it than anyone half his age.
Spent all day yesterday drinking beer and taking pictures at The Vans Warped Tour. A big thanx to a friend who hooked me up with V.I.P. which enabled me to shoot As I Lay Dying from the stage! A ton more pictures and review to follow!
Photographed Ted Nugent last night. More pictures and a review of the show coming soon!
I've probably been to at least 30 shows so far this year, but last night may have been my favorite so far. Punk legend Jello Biafra celebrating his 50th birthday with his new band Jello Biafra And The Axis Of Evildoers, along with The Melvins, Drunk Injuns, and Los Olvidados. It was an amazing show! More pictures and full review coming soon!
The Grannies put on a blisterin' set at The Haight Street Fair yesterday! More pictures posted soon!
I photographed The Cool Kids for Ground Control Magazine last night. Not really my thing, but those crazy kidz seemed to love them!