Static-X was touring for the excellent album Shadow Zone that had just come out less than two months before this show. Marcus and I went to this one with his brother and you guessed it – were drinking. Maybe that is why I don’t remember much from this show other than it rocked and the guys in Static-X were taking shots on the stage.
This was a special Paranormal Party because it actually took place on Halloween and Halloween is hardly ever on a Friday. The band this year was Powerman 5000 who I had just gotten to see about four months earlier. One cool thing about the Crystal Ballroom is the band plays in a corner on a stage that is not very elevated so you can go right in front of them. It feels a lot like seeing a band in a small club, which just enhances the energy of the entire place that much more. Long story short my buddy Marcus and I were pretty drunk and had a blast. Every member of Powerman 5000 was in costume. I don’t remember what we were dressed up as but Marcus ended up pissing into a cup in front of the stage right before they came on because he did not want to work his way back to the front. It sounds cool until you realize he dropped said cup full of piss and everyone on the floor was now sliding around in it. If that’s not Rock N’ Roll then I don’t know what is.
This was my eighth time seeing Deftones but first time since the release of their self-titled album that had come out in May of this year. I think they toured every day of the year and just kept coming back to the Pacific Northwest because they ran out of places to play otherwise…I believe this was also only my second time to the famed Paramount Theatre, a fantastic intimate venue in the heart of Seattle. Lucinda and I drove up to meet Marvin and somehow missed Clutch opening up the show. I had seen them twice before so I got over it, especially since Deftones ended up playing for a solid two hours. We had seats on the balcony, which meant we left the show dry unlike all the people down in the pit (not that it mattered because I am sure it was raining in Seattle). I was a little jealous of the people below because the selection of songs made me want to move more than I was able to with a seat behind me. I remember when they came back out for the “encore” Chino commented how they had made the album Adrenaline down the street and then they proceeded to tear through nearly the whole damn thing. Overall one of the more polished times I have seen Deftones.
SETLIST: Minerva, Bloody Cape, Be Quiet and Drive, MX, My Own Summer (Shove It), Feiticeira, Bored, Needles and Pins, Korea, Digital Bath, Battle-Axe, Mascara, Around the Fur, Hexagram, Headup, Change (In the House of Flies), 7 Words, Fireal, Engine No. 9, Nosebleed, Root, Lifter, Minus Blindfold, Knife Party
So the real reason I went to this show was for the opening band Cold. My buddy Roscoe had turned me onto them some time before this with the album 13 Ways To Bleed On Stage. I guess the third time is a charm because I had intended to see them two other times that summer on Endfest and Lollapalooza but they were a no-show both times. Cold released the album Year of the Spider back in May, which just confirmed to me that this was a band I enjoyed. As for the actual concert they stuck to the more straight ahead rocking numbers. Lucinda must not have been at this show with me because I have memories of being in the floor section and with her being all of 5 foot 2 I was generally relegated to the balcony when she was with me.
Evanescence was a pleasant surprise. They had released their debut album Fallen in March of this year and were enjoying a moment due to their song “Bring Me To Life.” It was always refreshing to see a rock band being fronted by a female because there not many good ones I knew about at the time. Amy Lee had an amazingly powerful voice, was a great piano player and was easy on the eyes. The combination of her vocals, piano and crunchy guitars just worked.
This was the first time Lollapalooza had hit the road since 1997 (the time Tool melted my brain) and would be the last time it was a touring festival before making Grant Park in Chicago its permanent annual home. This would also be my second and last time to White River Amphitheatre. I went to this show with Earl, Marvin and Ben. I remember getting drunk before getting even more drunk (someone was feeding me whiskey after many beers). At some point we ran into Shane from Loudermilk and talked to him for a little since he played hockey with Marvin and Ben.
The first band I remember wanting to check out was 30 Seconds to Mars. Someone burned me a copy of the first album and I thought it was pretty good. I was curious to see if Jared Leto was the real deal or not and much to my surprise they were really good. They had a unique style both visually and musically. I remember seeing Kings of Leon on that stage in passing because they looked like they were straight out of 1975. This was many years before they gained super popularity.
This was the second time within two months that I missed the band Cold (Endfest). They were slated to be a part of Lollapalooza and dropped out at the last minute for some reason, so the first band playing that I was really there to see was A Perfect Circle. They were about to release their second album less than a month later and the lineup now had James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins on guitar and Jeordie White (Twiggy) from Marilyn Manson on bass. Maynard was now comfortable embracing his role as front man from the back of the stage as he played the first song or two shadow dancing from behind a curtain. At this point I am certain Marvin basically just walked into the floor section (the beginning of a long history of walking into things for free) while the rest of us watched from the lawn.
Incubus played next and were still touring for the album Morning View. This was the fifth time I saw them but nothing stands out in my memory about this performance (maybe the whiskey?).
Up after that was Audioslave, which I was also excited to see. This band was a no-brainer since I love both Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine. Chris Cornell kicks ass as a singer and Tom Morello is a guitar wizard. They rocked through almost all songs on the debut album and had the crowd whipped into a frenzy. I also remember a moment when Maynard came out to duet with Chris Cornell for a song.
Jane’s Addiction closed the show. I am not a huge Jane’s fan but like a handful of their songs. This was the first time I got to see them and I remember thinking how comfortable they looked onstage. Perry Farrell was in a crazy looking suit and Dave Navarro looked the part of a rock star wearing a boa and sunglasses with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
This was the first time Ozzfest was held at the White River Amphitheatre instead of the Gorge. This venue opened about a month before this show so I think the promoters were trying to drive business to it. The promoters probably figured that a large majority of the people who went to concerts at the Gorge were from Seattle anyway so why not move the concert closer to Seattle. The problem is that there is no comparing to the Gorge, especially with a cookie-cutter amphitheatre such as this. I went with my cousin Earl who at the time lived nearby in Renton.
Before they were on my radar Chevelle played the Ozzfest I attended the previous summer, but because they were not on my radar this was my first time actually seeing them. All it took for me to like this band was to hear “The Red” one time from the Wonder What’s Next album that they were touring behind. I remember being highly impressed that it was just three guys on a stark stage rocking out.
Disturbed was still touring for the album Believe and continued where they left off the last time I had seen them with Korn. I believe it was during Disturbed’s set that people up in the lawn section where I was at began throwing water bottles toward the stage for no apparent reason. The bottles got nowhere near the stage and were hitting people that were closer to the stage downhill. It was fucked up but it was probably more fucked up when I started laughing uncontrollably when the people downhill started throwing the bottles back (uphill). Poor people with better seats…
This was the fourth time I had the pleasure of seeing Marilyn Manson. They were touring for The Golden Age of Grotesque that had been released just a few months prior to this show. Both the album and performance gave a heavy nod to 30’s vaudeville and burlesque mixed in with the usual Manson stage antics. Sadly this would be the last time I would see the band with John 5.
Marilyn Manson is a tough act to follow but Korn held their own. Much better than the last time I had seen them with Disturbed. They were still touring for Untouchables but were much tighter this time. I also remember walking through an exhibit that Jonathan Davis had set up in a trailer earlier in the day. The exhibit was basically a freak show with many serial killer artifacts.
I would tell you I remember Ozzy at this show but I really have zero recollection of seeing him here. I know we stayed for the entire show but my mind is drawing a blank. As previously stated I am not all that into solo Ozzy versus Black Sabbath so this does not entirely surprise me.
I know I went to this show with Jason but I cannot remember if Lucinda drove up with me from Portland for this or not. Endfest was an annual festival put on by the Seattle radio station 107.7 The End. I made to trek to see four bands. I ended up seeing three…Powerman 5000 was the first band playing that I wanted to see and they played the second stage. I had been a fan since the album Tonight the Stars Revolt! but never got the chance to see them until this concert, which was about a month after they released the album Transform. They played their set with a lot of enthusiasm and I remember thinking that they should have been playing the main stage but I guess that would have created too much of a challenge to change gear between each band. Cold was supposed to be the first band on the main stage but right before Powerman took the stage someone from the radio station informed us that Cold would not be playing because the bassist broke his hand. That meant the next band up was Staind. I had seen Staind four times prior to this but I was still excited to see them again because they had just released a new album called 14 Shades of Grey about a month earlier. Closing out the show with no shortage of pyrotechnics was Godsmack. They were touring for their album Faceless that had been released just a couple months prior to this show. Although I had seen Godsmack three times prior to this, it was the first time I saw them with their new drummer Shannon Larkin. This band was made for the big stage and took full advantage of their headlining slot, tearing through the hits and deeper cuts that I do not normally get much of at a show like this.
This was the second time I was lucky enough to see Ministry and it came the day after my 25th birthday. This tour was deemed the “FornicaTour” in support of the album Animositisomina that had come out about a month before this concert. I was able to get a really good spot on the balcony upstairs that was as close to the stage as possible. Mind you the Roseland is not a very big place to begin with so I was happy as a Filth Pig in shit. Like how I did that? Anyways what I remember most is Ministry having a female drummer, which to this day I do not think I have seen in another band as heavy as Ministry. The setlist they chose for this night just kept coming like punches to the face but instead of feeling beat up at the end of the night I felt like I needed to go wash my jeans.
SETLIST: Animosity, Unsung, Piss, Dead Guy, Filth Pig, Bad Blood, Psalm 69, Crumbs, Supermanic Soul, Reload, N.W.O., Just One Fix, Hero, Thieves, Jesus Built My Hotrod, Breathe, Stigmata, The Light Pours Out of Me
Seether was at Ozzfest 2012 but I do not remember seeing them. They either were not yet on my radar or they were playing the second stage at a time when another band I wanted to see was playing the main stage. I do remember the song “Fine Again” was the song that made me take notice of them. That lead me to their debut album Disclaimer that had come out exactly one week before the Ozzfest performance in question and almost exactly five months before this show. Nothing in my memory particular sticks out about this show (mind you part of the subtitle of this blog is Fuzzy Recollections) but I know I was there and they rocked all of the first album because those songs were all they had to choose from at the time.
