5 posts tagged “slayer”
No, I have not started "Rockin' with Dokken". But I did go see Don Dokken with Queensryche last week, only because Ground Control needed a writer. You can read my thoughts of the show below. And for the record, I was listening to Slayer when Dokken ruled the Hair Metal Nation.
Walking out with his only bandmate for this all-acoustic set (guitarist Kelly Keeling), the first thing I noticed about Don Dokken was his head, which appeared to be full of fake hair. I think it was at about this point that I decided I needed to stop being so cynical, or else I was going to be in for a very long evening. After a quick run to the bar for another beer I returned to the floor just in time to hear Don and Kelly start their set with "Into The Fire," off the Tooth and Nail record. Now I was never really a Dokken fan, but I always thought this song was kind of catchy. What caught my ear about it tonight however, was the guitar work of Kelly Keeling. Having previous played with Alice Cooper, The Michael Schenker Group, and The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kelly was playing a 12-string tonight, and he was pretty damn incredible. I was really amazed at how fast his fingers were moving up and down the fretboard, and he really added a new sound to the entire set. Don was also playing guitar (six-string) and although he was playing primarily the rhythm, he was really holding his own up there. I had no idea he was a guitar player as well. Dokken and Keeling worked very well together, and complimented each other quite nicely.
What also caught me off guard about me about Donny Dokken was his voice, which was still able to deliver the hooks and harmony of the Dokken sound. Running through approximately ten Dokken classics, including "Breaking the Chains," "Dream Warriors," "Just Got Lucky," "Alone Again" and "In My Dreams," Dokken had the elderly hair-metal crowd lapping it all up, and I think I even saw someone’s dentures fly out of their mouth while they were head banging to an acoustic version of "It's not Love." Don could do no wrong as far as the crowd was concerned, and they were all laughing hysterically at all his inane jokes and observations about Bret Michaels, and how people in San Francisco smoke so much pot. (I'm sorry Don, but the hippie / Grateful Dead references are beyond played out) As for me, I will say that I think Don Dokken is a talented musician and a very good songwriter, but his music was never my thing, nor was his set tonight. Dokken never was and never will be metal.
Luckly tonight there was some entertainment between bands. During this tour Queensryche has been holding a contest to find local vocalists to sing on their next record. So between bands they brought out a couple of local winners do to their best rendition of Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights," which they have recorded and released on their latest album Take Cover, which as you may have guessed is an album of cover songs. Brandon Raye, who fronts both an Iron Maiden and Judas Priest tribute band was up first and delivered a fucking smoking version of the song and, although he barley beat out the other guy (whose name I can't remember) blew him of the stage as far as I'm concerned. Raye would return later in the evening to sing “Neon Knights” again, this time with Queensryche themselves.
As I was waiting for Queensryche to hit the stage I decided to walk upstairs to grab another beer and say hello to a friend who was DJing the show and while doing so I started to notice a few more "Denim and Leather" types that I'm accustomed to see at shows, and I took it as a good sign. The lights then dimmed and the crowd roared, so I quickly made my way back downstairs.
Opening the set with "Burning Man" off of Q2K album, Geoff Tate and company were all about energy tonight, and it was obvious tonight's set was going to be action packed. With some additional floor-mounted lighting rigs and their logo on the backdrop, Queensryche kept the stage set-up somewhat simple and concentrated on the music. Although it appeared that Mr. Tate had packed on a few pounds since the last time I saw them, which was at the Cow Palace opening for Metallica on the …And Justice For All tour back around Feb of 89 or so, he was still moving around and was swinging his mic stand around like the old days, almost hitting the photographer whose pictures you see with this review. Guitarists Mike Stone (who stood out from the rest of the band with his construction helmet and ear protection) and Michael Wilton traded the stage-left and stage-right positions a bit and were meeting up at the middle of the stage every so often for some blistering guitar work. The rhythm section of bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield keep things tight, and the chains draped around Rockenfield's kit brought back memories of when I was really into Queensryche, which was so long ago that I actually had hair. Speaking of the old days, it was nice to hear a rocking version of "NM 156" from The Warning and "The Killing Words" and "Gonna Get Close To You," both of off Rage For Order. The 'Ryche seemed to be spanning their entire career tonight, and hearing these old tunes I couldn't help but think of my High School days when I use to listen to them. Mixed in with the older stuff was newer material like "I'm American," "Hostage" and "Bridge." Although Tate did get a bit too preachy with his dialog between these songs, the crowd seemed agree with his opinion on the current state of the country, and cheered his every word.
After a pretty cool version of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine," complete with Tate on saxophone, (a perfect song for them to cover in my opinion), the 'Ryche delivered a few more classics including "Another Rainy Night” and "Jet City Woman," "Eyes Of A Stranger" and "Last Time In Paris." Brandon Raye then returned to the stage and once again he and the band tore threw Sabbath's "Neon Knights." Raye was owning the stage up there, and it was very cool of Tate to stand at the back of the stage and let Raye do his thing, even if it meant that he was stealing a bit of the band’s thunder. After the song Raye seemed to linger on stage, ready to sing another song, and although I was really hoping he would stay, Tate wasn't having it, and kindly gestured for him to leave the stage. A killer version of "The Lady Wore Black" from their first EP(!) followed, and had the pumped-up crowd headbanging and playing air guitar like there was no tomorrow. The show was then brought to a close with the epic "Empire."
Although I have never really been a fan of Dokken and haven't listened to Queensryche in well over twenty years, I was pretty glad I was able to check this show out. Don Dokken was pure comedy, while Queensryche was up there doing their thing and sounded great, while at the same time making their fans happy. For that I say, "Kudos to Them."
A few years ago, when I found out that there was a documentary on the 80's Thrash Metal scene being made, I couldn't help to get excited. I immediately dug through what was left of my "physical" memories of that time and submitted them for use in the film. Music was my life in High School, {and 20 yrs later pretty much still is to a certain degree} and it was all metal and all punk all the time. My friends and I would drive to the city at least twice a week to either go record shopping at The Record Vault or go see a show. Over the years we saw every thrash band you could think of, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed, Anthrax, Testament, Trouble, Exciter, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Kreator, Motorhead, Mercyful Fate, etc. The list could go on and on. Living in the Bay Area made that time even more special to us since the whole scene literally unfolded right in front of our eyes.
With all that being said, as I sat through the screening of Get Thrashed on Saturday night, I couldn't help but flashback to that period in my life. Yeah, it may have run on just a bit too long, and would have been just fine without any reference to "Nu Metal", but all in all the film hit the nail square on the fucking head. Director/ Producer Rick Ernst did an amazing job assembling footage of the bands of that era and really captured the vibe and spirit of those days. Lots of great concert footage, as well as interviews with Steve "Zetro" Souza, Harold O, Ron Quintana, members of Death Angel, Slayer, and a very funny Bobby Blitz of Overkill. And although San Francisco was ground zero for Thrash Metal, there was also very thorough coverage of both the L.A. and New York scenes. Other highlights for me included:
- Plenty of screen time for both Suicidal Tendancies and DRI. Both may have started out as "punk" bands, but they pretty much invented the crossover sound and made it acceptable for punk kids to like metal, and metal kids to like punk. Both bands also seemed to be curiously absent absent from a few "punk" documentaries that were made recently. They were too important to be left out.
- Dave Mustaine. I've always had a soft spot for the guy. Yeah he may have cleaned up and found someone to pray to, but I've always felt he stuck to his guns and did things on his own terms. I loved how arrogant he was, and how he mentioned his unmistakable influence on 3 of the 5 big thrash bands.
- Vio-lence. Without a doubt my favorite local band during that era. They would open up for just about any big band that came through, and often had the crowd more worked up than the headliner. I still remember the show with Voivod, and bassist Dean Dell tearing up his knee. Their music was heavier than everyone else's, and it was cool to see them get some props.
I could go on and on about the things I like about this movie, but I think you pretty much get the idea. For me, Get Thrashed was a very nice way to re-open a book I finished and put down many years ago. If you a old metalhead like myself, or just curious about those days, I highly recommend you go see it when it comes to your town!
Audio: Share a song you can't help but sing along to.
Last night I drove up to Sacramento to see Slayer. Now I don't really listen to Slayer all that often anymore, and after seeing them many times in their prime in the Eighties, I really did not need to, nor want to see them again. So why did I drive 90 miles away to see them you ask? Well, to take pictures. I obtained a photo pass for the show, with the understanding that it might only get me access to shoot the first band, Unearth. {Who, by the way, really suck}. I thought I would take a chance and go anyways, and hope for the best. After taking some very lack-luster photos of a very lack-luster Unearth, I learned that I was not cleared to shoot Slayer. I was pretty bummed, but since I was smack in the middle of Sacramento, I made the most of the situation. I grabbed a beer and walked around and just checked out the crowd. It took me about 30 seconds to realize this was not a "normal" metal-show crowd. The metal kidz were very few and far between. In thier place was without a doubt the most white-trash, inbred, tweeker, scumbag crowd I have ever seen in one place. These people were seriously fucked up. It was like the guards from San Quentin said "Hey, instead of a few hours in the yard today, we are all going to take a field trip to Sacramento to drink beer and see SLAYER!" It was so funny yet so disturbing. Think Gummo. Now I will say that Slayer always did manage to draw a bit of a differant crowd, but my how times have changed! Anyways, once Slayer hit the stage I went upstairs and managed to sneak a few shots. I also learned that Slayer really doesn't do it for me anymore. Although I did enjoy hearing Die By The Sword. For a more complete review, check out Umlaut. Oh, and I talked to the guy below and invited him to join VOX. I hope he posts soon.
Is it Slayer week here at Vox? First 7734 posts their recent performance on The Henry Rollins Show, then Buckaroo posts a picture of quite possibly the best graffiti ever. So in keeping with the theme {and bringing more metal to Vox} I dug up an old ticket stub. Hard to believe it was 20 years ago! Even still, I remember the show like it happened last night. The "pit" during "Angel Of Death" was FUCKING EPIC! Shows like this just don't happen anymore! Or maybe I'm just getting old. Little did I know then that I would be getting married to my wonderful wife 15 years later, to the day.
