Metallica Livestream 12/17/21

For many reasons that we do not need to get into here I missed seeing Metallica’s two headlining sets at Aftershock in October. Then I almost purchased the pay-per-view Triller Fight Club event in November just for the Metallica livestream portion but decided against it because I ended up having something else going that night. As such it was a more than welcome sight to see that Metallica would be broadcasting both of their weekend performances from San Francisco to celebrate 40 years together. Even better is the fact that these livestreams would be free since I already subscribe to Amazon Prime!

A video of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” quickly morphed into a Metallica video montage before the band ripped through “Hit the Lights.” After this the band spanned their entire discography for this 16 song set and the band was firing on all cylinders throughout. “Orion” was a highlight for me as I had not ever seen this played live. “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman” were notably missing from this set so these will certainly be played during Part II on Sunday but what else will they play?

SETLIST: Hit the Lights, Creeping Death, Trapped Under Ice, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion, The Shortest Straw, One, Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters, King Nothing, Fixxxer, Breadfan, No Leaf Clover, Frantic, The Day That Never Comes, Spit Out the Bone

Jerry Cantrell Livestream 12/1/21

The purpose of this stream was to celebrate a new album Jerry Cantrell released on October 29th called Brighten that I had no idea existed until I received an email about the stream. Despite my last experience with a livestream facilitated by Moment House I bought the stream anyhow.

Jeff Garlin moderated the show/stream, which was random because I had been recently working my way through all seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm where he plays Jeff Greene. Apparently him and Jerry are buddies that play fantasy football together.

Essentially after a little banter with Jeff, the seven piece band played five excellent songs that I was completely unfamiliar with (Atone, Brighten, Siren Song, Prism of Doubt, Black Hearts and Evil Done) then it was Q&A time with Jeff Garlin. After five audience members were able to ask Jerry a question about anything the band played “No Excuses” and that was that. An hour and 20 minutes total with only six songs to show for it but hey this is Jerry fucking Cantrell so zero complaints over here.

Seether Livestream 11/11/21

Seether: 20 years, 20 songs? When I agreed to purchase this stream I was under the impression that I would be seeing Seether perform 20 songs. Based on the comments in the sidebar I was not alone. The promo said, “On November 11, we’ll have 3 different digital performances of this filmed show at 3 different time zones…” I thought this to mean it would be the same stream starting a three different times depending on your location. What is really meant is there were three edits, each including ten of the twenty tracks played live in concert instead of just streaming the whole two hour performance. The move is baffling because I would have gladly paid a little more to watch the whole thing and I am sure many that purchased the stream felt the same way. It was a letdown for sure but at least the ten songs that were played kicked ass, especially “Fake It” and “Remedy.”

SETLIST: Gasoline, Fine Again, Fake It, Rise Above This, Nobody Praying for Me, Dangerous, Words Are Weapons, Same Damn Life, Country Song, Remedy

Slipknot Livestream 11/5/21

The older I get the harder I become to impress but Slipknot can always be counted on to “bring it.” This was a show I was tempted to go to HelL.A. for but then the reality hit that Slipknot was the only band on the bill I gave two shits about so paying $23 to watch from the comfort of my own home in a robe drinking my own beer was decidedly a nice consolation prize.

The overall steam quality was top notch. There were nice aerial drone shots of Banc of California Stadium throughout, which was a cool vantage point to see after just watching Guns N’ Roses there a few months back. Mixing the sound from nine different people is probably hard enough normally let alone for a stream but everything was in perfect balance.

The stream/concert began with the soundscape “Insert Coin” that starts the album We Are Not Your Kind then the band took the stage and ripped right into “Unsainted” without missing a beat. They went on to play for a total of an hour and 44 minutes with a little something from all their albums and even debuted the first performance of a brand new song called “The Chapeltown Rag” that I had no idea existed. It was cool to see “Nero Forte” but the chorus sounded weird because someone else was singing the crazy part.

Some of my favorite moments:

  • “The Heretic Anthem”  – this song is a flat out ripper that pumps me up every single time I hear it
  • “The Devil In I” – had a really trippy intro
  • “Vermillion” – one of my favorite Slipknot songs of all time
  • Spit It Out – another that gets me every time

SETLIST: Unsainted, Disasterpiece, Nero Forte, Before I Forget, The Heretic Anthem, Psychosocial, The Devil In I, The Chapeltown Rag, Wait and Bleed, Vermillion, All Out Life, Duality, Spit It Out, People = Shit, (sic), Surfacing

Smokey Robinson 8/21/21

Three concerts in a week? Not bad. And what a diverse week of concerts they were. I did not ever picture myself seeing Smokey Robinson in concert but after the completion of the $85 million Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and the inaugural concert season that came along with it here I was. After Ingrid and I had walked past the Shell one afternoon we decided to check out who was slated to play there. Once we learned Smokey was going to be in the joint I decided to surprise Ingrid with tickets because why the hell not?

The Shell was built to be the summer home for the San Diego Symphony and the first ever event was only two weeks prior to this so it was pretty cool to have seen a concert during the venue’s infancy. There were concerts on this beautiful piece of land behind the convention center prior to the Shell but it was known as the Embarcadero and not half as cool. I once saw Radiohead there and had tickets for a White Stripes show that never happened.

After some sake, beer and sushi at Sushi Deli 3 we were ready. The first thing I noticed upon arrival were the nice built in benches just outside the venue for folks that wanted to hear the music but not pay for a seat. We had seen these benches when we initially walked by the venue but did not know how it would look/be regulated during an event.

After grabbling a full bottle of champagne (!) and a beer we grabbed our seats on the perfectly graded seating area. There is literally “not a bad seat in the house” but then again the venue only holds a maximum of 10,000 people. Smokey came out in a silver suit flanked by a full band and two female backup singers and proceeded to kill it for the next hour and a half. It was mind blowing and inspiring that an 81 year old could still perform at a level that high but clearly the guy has taken care of himself because he looks like 60 years old tops. I suspected this would be a show where I would know way more songs than I thought I knew and I was correct in my suspicions. Subconscious is a wonderful thing. It was especially cool to hear him do some famous Motown songs after learning he played a part in writing some of those hits. The impression he did of his good friend Stevie Wonder had the crowd rolling and the grand finale of “Crusin’“ replete with a lot of crowd participation and fireworks was also something that I will look back on fondly for the rest of my days.

Guns N’ Roses 8/19/21

It had been nearly five years to the day since my first and only time seeing Guns N’ Roses. Quite frankly I am in shock they are still going strong with touring but I guess that eventual retirement is not going to pay for itself. Keith and I long ago realized the fleeting nature of being able to see one of your all-time favorite bands and made the decision to make the trek to L.A. on a “school night.”

Banc of California stadium is a soccer stadium adjacent to USC’s campus that neither of us had ever been to. It only holds 22,000 people, which is a relatively small place for a band that was regularly playing places three times this size in its heyday. I do not know if it was due to the type of crowd GNR attracts or the fact that USC is in a sketchy area but there was a noticeable police presence. By the time we made our way in from our hotel in Koreatown with a faulty air conditioner and fire alarm opener Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie’s son) was finishing up his last song. I was a little bummed that we missed him but I was also a little buzzed by this time. We tried to find our proper seats but nobody that worked there could point us in the right direction. They did not know where our seats were, only that our seats were not wherever they were. The problem was our seats were in “Field Club A” but every section just had a number associated with it. Very confusing to say the least and to this day I still do not know where our actual seats were supposed to be. After a failed attempt at getting onto the floor we just posted up at some empty seats at the end of one of the rows.

Just like the last time I saw GNR they opened with “It’s So Easy” and that was just fine by me. The funny thing is that whenever I play Appetite For Destruction I always skip over “Welcome to the Jungle” and start there too.  The 1-2 punch of “Mr. Brownstone” was pure ecstasy but nothing compared to the later 1-2 punch of “You’re Crazy” and “Rocket Queen.” Seeing Axl sing Velvet Revolver’s “Slither” was cool but just was not the same as seeing Scott Weiland do it. Everyone gives Axl shit about becoming “Fat Axl” but at this show another entity was born: “Hat Axl.” Once they were done playing one of my all time favorites, “Double Talkin’ Jive” Axl put on a hat and shifted into another gear. Other highlights for me were the epic “Civil War” and just the way Slash stretched out on the songs in general. The way he played Link Wray’s “Rumble” and an epic 10 minute-ish solo would have been enough to cement his place on the Mt. Rushmore of guitarists. At one point Duff took over lead vocals for a gritty but spot on version of the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Keyboardist Dizzy Reed from the height of their fame even made an appearance at one point.

All in all this was not a band phoning it in to collect a payday. This was a band that seemed hell bent on reminding the world how great they still are and having a good time doing it. Mission accomplished.

SETLIST: It’s So Easy, Mr. Brownstone, Chinese Democracy, Slither, Double Talkin’ Jive, Welcome to the Jungle (with Link Wray’s “Rumble” for intro), Better, Estranged, Live and Let Die, You’re Crazy, Rocket Queen, You Could Be Mine, I Wanna Be Your Dog, Absurd, Civil War, Sweet Child O’Mine, November Rain, Wichita Lineman, Patience, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Nightrain, Madagascar, Don’t Cry, The Seeker, Paradise City

Cypress Hill 8/14/21

Live music again at last! This was the first time I had seen Cypress Hill in 17 years but more importantly was my first in-person concert since March 12th of 2020. Anyone who has been paying attention knows this is probably the longest I have ever gone between concerts since I first started blowing out my eardrums so many years ago.

As a bonus this just happened to be the rare Saturday concert and at a venue not too far from my place. I mentioned this show to others but nobody gave me a solid yes so I convinced Ingrid to go with me but we waited until the last minute to buy tickets since the concert was not sold out. Ingrid’s cousin Shawn was at the show but actually had decent seats so we thought it was a lost cause to try to find her since our last-minute “cheap” seats were all the way “stage left” and pretty high up.  

Our seats were not the only high thing because by the time we got inside and to the front of the beer line the gummies I had taken in the Uber ride over started to take hold, which meant it was time to find our seats. Once we got to our seats we realized other people had decided to make themselves at home in them. Since the concert was not sold out this was not a big deal as there were plenty of open seats for us to slide into. By the time this went down we caught the last couple songs of opener Atmosphere.

Between bands we ended up meeting up with Shawn and followed her to her section where there were two open seats right next to her with our name on them, which ended up being in the first row right behind the sound guy so we could not have asked for better seats. I kept waiting for someone to come kick us out of the seats but nobody ever did!

Cypress Hill still has it. They definitely lead by example when it comes to smoking the reefer and the crowd gladly followed suit by creating a giant marijuana cloud over the venue just like every other time I have seen them. I got a chuckle out of the fact this was the same venue that happened to be the only time I ever got caught with a doobie and now here everyone was openly smoking the now legal cheeba. At one point Cypress Hill brought a giant inflatable king onstage as the centerpiece of their decorum. This occasion also featured a live drummer and at one point B-Real joined in. I don’t remember the entire setlist but I do remember them playing “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” “When the Shit Goes Down,” “Hand On the Glock,” How I Could Just Kill A Man,” “A to the K” and “Insane In The Brain.”

Down Livestream 8/13/21

Thankfully I did not have any prior plans for this Friday the 13th because I only learned about this stream two hours beforehand courtesy of Joe. I would have been in on a rebroadcast even if I were not available the first time around because when a rock titan like Philip H. Alselmo performs live in your living room you attend, especially when it’s only $13. It had been almost a year to the day since the last Down stream, which also happened to be the first full-blown stream I was witness to after the pandemic began. It seems Down is on the cutting edge of technology because this was also the first of all the streams I watched that was actually a live show being broadcast in real time.

The start of “Nola Town Throwdown” was Phil coming on to say they were pushing the show back by 30 minutes because it was taking longer than anticipated to get people in the door due to COVID protocol. A couple music videos were shown followed by a funny segment called “What’s Up With DOWN by Dave Hill” where comedian Dave Hill interviewed the members of Down with unorthodox questions. After this segment was a tribute to Hollis Murphy, singer of Fat Stupid Ugly People, that passed.

The opener was Dave Hill, who came out telling jokes and ripping on an SG look alike. The jokes were funny enough but nothing compared to his guitar playing. The term “ripping” does not do Dave’s guitar playing justice as the dude just flat out shred.

Down was everything I had hoped for and everything I have come to expect from this level of professional musician. Though I am sure the overall sound was better in the actual venue, I had not heard Phil sing this well for awhile. On top of this you could easily tell he loved being on stage again, especially in front of a hometown crowd. The setlist was heavy on songs from NOLA, which was just fine by me, but they also dove into a couple deeper tracks from Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow. I would have liked to hear at least a couple tracks from the fantastic Down IV EP’s but like Mick Jagger said, “you can’t always get what you want.” What I got was an hour and a half of seeing Down live from a distance and a very funny moment when Pepper came up to Phil and let him know that he had to take a piss then disappeared for a few minutes before coming back to tear up the final song of the night “Bury Me In Smoke.”

SETLIST: Lysergik Funeral Procession, Hail the Leaf, Lifer, N.O.D., The Seed, Ghosts Along the Mississippi, Rehab, Losing All, New Orleans Is A Dying Whore, Pillars of Eternity, Swan Song, Eyes of the South, Stone the Crow, Bury Me in Smoke

Anthrax Livestream 7/16/21

I received an email from Bandsintown alerting me of this career spanning “XL” stream to commemorate Anthrax being a band for 40 years. This is no small feat as the only other bands that immediately come to mind when I think of longevity in rock and roll are the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith. Pretty good company to be keeping. 

Thankfully Anthrax allowed re-broadcasts of the two hour and 12 minute stream until July 25th because I was unable to watch during the original broadcast due to being out of town. I am a bigger fan of the John Bush era Anthrax so the considerable material with original singer Joey Belladonna is hit or miss for me. One thing is certain: Anthrax still rocks. The stream was basically just them rocking out from a sound stage somewhere interspersed with footage from various rock luminaries saying how much they respect Anthrax. The highlight for me was “Got the Time” but until this stream I had no idea this was originally a Joe Jackson song! “Bring the Noise” was also pretty cool because they had Chuck D come do his part. 

SETLIST: Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t, Madhouse, Caught in a Mosh, Metal Thrashing Mad, Got the Time, I Am the Law, Keep it in the Family, Lone Justice, The Devil You Know, Be All, End All, Now It’s Dark, Antisocial, In the End, Medusa, Evil Twin, Indians, A Skeleton in the Closet, Aftershock, Blood Eagle Wings, Bring the Noise, A.I.R., Among the Living, Breathing Lightning, Protest and Survive, Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)

Staind Livestream 5/8/21

This stream celebrated the 20th anniversary of the album Break The Cycle by having the band play the entire album front to back from a soundstage somewhere. This was another produced stream that combined the performance with interviews to give some context on what was happening with the band when the album was made, giving the stream a mini-documentary feel. Staind has never disappointed me throughout the many times I have seen them live and this was no exception. Aaron Lewis’ relative lack of physical movement during his performances are always more than offset by the nuances of his vocal performances and not being surrounded by a bunch of screaming sweaty rockers just helped me appreciate those nuances even more. Mike Mushok’s flawless guitar tone and note for note reproduction of the songs was impressive as was the rhythm section of bassist Johnny April and drummer Sal Giancarelli. My favorites on the album “Can’t Believe,” “Suffer” and “For You” were my favorites to hear on the stream but perhaps my favorite moment of the stream was unexpectedly a beautifully acoustic version of “Epiphany” performed solo by Aaron Lewis. In a musical landscape where bands come and go so often it is nice to be 20 years on and have this band and these songs still holding their own.