I knew Henry Rollins as the singer for Black Flag and Rollins Band but was also aware of the spoken word he had been doing for many years. I had never seen him in any capacity so it was a no brainer to grab tickets for when he decided to roll through San Diego on a Friday night. This was the first time I had been to the Observatory where seats were set up but it was also a rare instance that a presale actually yielded excellent tickets so Wayne and I had seats in the sixth row.
At 8 o’clock Rollins promptly trotted onto the stage that was bare save for a microphone stand. No backdrop, no notes, no water, no opener; just Henry Rollins. For roughly the next two hours and 15 minutes he never stopped talking. At 61 years of age he spoke of not having a moment to waste and based on the quick pace of his delivery and the fact that he never let up made you believe him. As he put it he was “rounding third base coming into home on the existential flatline.” He looked to be in great shape despite saying he only slept three to four hours a night and ate 1.5 meals a day with the .5 usually being a Power Bar but he did say he does not drink so that certainly helps. His topics ranged from Black Flag to Iggy Pop and the Stooges to traveling to a centerpiece story about a guy from Finland who breached his property and then broke into his house. All of his stories tied into the idea of leaving this century better than we came into it and I know I am definitely better off having seen Mr. Henry Rollins.
For the last official day of summer 2022 I did what I set out to do almost exactly a year to the day earlier: see Toadies again, since the original date fell victim to the tail end of the pandemic. Toadies were to play the entire Rubberneck album top to bottom in sequence but this was actually the second time I had the privilege of seeing Rubberneck in full as I caught the performance to celebrate the 20th anniversary at the Belly Up back in 2014. I cannot believe this was eight years ago but really can’t believe that means the album is now 28 years old!
The show time was listed as 6:30 pm so Bob and I figured the actual start time would be 7. We showed up right before that to make sure to catch The Reverend Horton Heat at the behest of my buddy Joe. The next thing you know four fellows wearing matching sleeveless red leather vests appeared onstage. I had heard of RHH but did not really know much about them or what they looked like although I was pretty sure this was not them. The singer immediately started saying something over and over again but I could not quite make it out. After a while we figured out he was saying “Draculas,” which ended up being the band name that they stylize as DRAKULAS. These guys definitely had heard The Stooges and The Ramones before as their punk rock ways resembled both of those bands. Very fast, energetic songs with a frontman that took his cues from Iggy as he wriggled about onstage and spat out amusing banter in between songs. Their music was not so much my cup of tea but they were entertaining.
I did not know what to expect from The Reverend Horton Heat, which made their performance that much better. RHH’s sound was a mixture of rockabilly, country, surf, punk, swing and big band. I do not think it an exaggeration to say that Jim Heath is the best guitar player I have seen in a really long time. He was an absolute beast while Jimbo Wallace held down the fort on the upright bass and Jonathan Jeter would have fit in nicely with a full-on punk band. To keep with the theme of the evening they played their entire 1994 album Liquor in the Front. This album was produced by Al Jourgensen from Ministry and Jim playfully ripped on Al for taking 10 days to play his slide guitar part on one of the tracks. They ended the set with a spot-on version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.” The interesting thing is that as I was researching something for this piece I learned that there is a 1925 American silent Western film serial called The Ace of Spades with a character named Jim Heath….
SETLIST: Big Sky, Baddest of the Bad, One Time for Me, Five-O Ford, In Your Wildest Dreams, Yeah, Right, Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’, I Could Get Used to It, Liquor, Beer and Wine, I Can’t Surf, Jezebel, Rockin’ Dog, The Entertainer, Ace of Spades
There is an excellent little documentary on YouTube called “Clark Vogeler’s “Dark Secrets – The Stories of Rubberneck.” I re-visted this before the show and noticed five different people in the documentary wearing a Reverend Horton Heat hat so it was nice to see them pay homage by having RHH open for them. “Little Sin” was a perfect opening song and we even got to hear an excellent new track called “The Charmer” before they were true to their word and played all of Rubberneck faithfully. “I Burn” was especially cool when they brought out the drummers from the opening bands to beef up the percussion. “I Put A Spell On You” was a fun way to come out for an encore as was more help from their friends for the closer “Rattler’s Revival.” Toadies never disappoint and this time was no exception.
SETLIST: Little Sin, No Deliverance, The Charmer, Jigsaw Girl, Mexican Hairless, Mister Love, Backslider, Possum Kingdom, Quitter, Away, I Come From the Water, Tyler, Happy Face, Velvet, I Burn, I Put a Spell on You, Push the Hand, Rattler’s Revival
Going to watch a band I’ve never heard of on a school night? Yep. I had not seen my buddy Calvin for a while so when he randomly text me to see if I would be willing to go with him to check out Foreign Air I said why the hell not? The show was at Soda Bar, which I had been to exactly once when I saw Local H for the first time back in 2013.
When we walked up, there were a few people out front and one of them turned out to be the opener Anna Shoemaker. She went on about 10 minutes after we got there and it was just her and a drummer. Anna explained that she was from Philadelphia and that she had never been to California then went on to sing, bounce around and even play a little guitar on her pop flavored brand of music. She was very talented and I could see her being very successful if given the right exposure. There was a lot of sound coming from the stage because the drummer kept triggering background music from a nearby laptop before each song, which was effing with me because it was very produced (and my gummy had kicked in) so it made it easier for her to sound good. This is not a knock on her at all but rather a complement to the drummer because if he were to mess up then the whole song would have fallen apart as the background track kept playing at the right pace.
Foreign Air was up next and Calvin had mentioned to me that he could not believe they were playing a place this small. This place is indeed small but was still a lot bigger than it needed to be for the 30 or so people that were in attendance. After witnessing this band I feel special to have been one of those 30 because they were great. They are listed as a duo (Jesse Clasen and Jacob Michael) but live it was these two plus a drummer. Jesse was posted up behind a keyboard/sampler rig while he played guitar and sang while Jacob switched from bass to keyboard/samples. When my Uber driver asked me what kind of music Foreign Air played it was hard to pinpoint but Billboard Magazine once described the music as “Transcendent Indie-Rock-Meets-Electronica with a penchant for forceful guitars and haunting vocals.” Let’s go with that. Jesse was a talker and relayed that despite releasing both an LP and EP in the last couple years that this was only their fifth show since those releases due to the pandemic. One thing I know for sure is that both these artists deserve more recognition and it would not surprise me in the least if at some point they get it.
“The Stadium Tour” was originally supposed to take place on 7/23/20 in San Diego but then that whole pandemic thing happened so it was rescheduled until 9/12/21…but then that whole pandemic thing was still kind of happening so it was rescheduled again for 8/28/22. The shitty part was that the first two dates were a Saturday and now that the concert was finally taking place it was on a Sunday but after holding onto tickets for over two years, I was just happy that the show was taking place at all. After Mack, Kyle, Bob and I met up with friends at a nearby bar for a couple of drinks we were ready to find our really good floor seats that I somehow managed to score all those many moons ago.
First up was Joan Jett, who I was excited to see since I had never seen her before. She is a badass pioneer woman who made her mark in an industry that surely made it challenging for her to do so. Just the fact that she took the opening slot with these other three all male groups says a lot about her. She gives off this “I don’t give a fuck” vibe and I love it. Sadly I did not get to see her entire performance but I did get to see her play a few of my favorites in “Crimson and Clover,” “I Love Rock N Roll” and “Bad Reputation.”
SETLIST: Victim of Circumstance, Cherry Bomb, Oh Woe Is Me, Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah), You Drive Me Wild, Fake Friends, Everyday People, Crimson & Clover, I Hate Myself For Loving You, (I’m Gonna) Run Away, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, Bad Reputation
It has been well documented that before Nirvana came along, I owned cassettes from exactly four bands and three of those bands were about to play in succession starting with Poison. My favorite Poison song “Look What the Cat Dragged In” is apparently their favorite song to open with as this is the song they also opened with the only other time I saw them about five years before this. The other highlights for me were “Talk Dirty to Me” and “Nothin’ But A Good Time.” A good time was had indeed but the next band up was the main reason I wanted to be there.
SETLIST: Look What the Cat Dragged In, Ride the Wind, Talk Dirty to Me, Your Mama Don’t Dance, Fallen Angel, Unskinny Bop, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Nothin’ But A Good Time
When I think of Motley Crue I evoke imagery of sleazy, decadent rock ‘n’ roll but at their best I also think of them as one of the heaviest “hair metal” bands. After having only seen them play exactly one song over 17 years before this I was ready to actually see them. They did not disappoint as this is a band that was built to play stadiums. Vince Neil’s crazy voice still had that unique timbre and even though he only sang in spurts the two extremely attractive backup singers filled in the gaps for him, Tommy Lee seemed to be fully healed from his broken ribs that he recently dealt with, Nikki Sixx’s trademark presence cast a dark shadow over the performance (in a good way) and Mick Mars looked like an angel of death killing it on the guitar as always. I forgot to mention that I dressed up like Nikki Sixx for this concert so that definitely made things interesting in general with many people bugging me for pictures and generally harassing me. “Shout at the Devil,” “Looks That Kill,” Dr. Feelgood,” “Same Ol’ Situation,” “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Kickstart My Heart” made me feel like I was 15 years old alone in my bedroom again. The best adults are the ones that refuse to completely let go of their childhood. It was nice to be part of a crowd that all seemed to feel the same way.
SETLIST: Wild Side, Shout at the Devil, Too Fast for Love, Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Sanits of Los Angeles, Live Wire, Looks That Kill, The Dirt (Est. 1981), Rock and Roll, Part 2/Smokin’ in the Boys Room/White Punks on Dope/Helter Skelter/Anarchy in the U.K., Home Sweet Home, Dr. Feelgood, Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.), Girls, Girls, Girls, Primal Scream, Kickstart My Heart
Def Leppard was probably my favorite band growing up so it was fitting that they closed out this show even though I thought Motley Crue should have been the headliner. Once Def Leppard got into it I realized that they were probably more built for the masses than Motley Crue after all. These guys are true professionals. This was the third time I had the privilege of seeing these Brits and after all these years they still looked like they actually enjoy what they do. I know I certainly enjoyed watching/feeling/listening to what they still do so well.
SETLIST: Take What You Want, Let It Go, Animal, Foolin’, Armageddon It, Kick, Love Bites, Promises, This Guitar, Two Steps Behind, Rocket, Bringin’ On the Heartbreak, Switch 625, Hysteria, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Rock of Ages, Photograph
Another show that never was. I had no idea who Oliver Tree was until Larry excitedly educated me. After watching the brilliantly funny videos with good music it was a no-brainer to buy tickets to see him when he came through San Diego.
Fast forward to a couple of hours before showtime and I decided to hop onto Facebook to see if I could find out what time he was playing since I could give a fuck about Smash Mouth and did not know the other acts on the bill. This is when I found the message below saying the show was cancelled. Knowing this guy to be a sarcastic joker of sorts it was prudent to make sure the show was legitimately cancelled, which turned out to be a joke in and of itself. Usually if a show is cancelled or rescheduled the ticket provider sends an email to let people know. Showclix did no such thing. Researching online was also a dead end as the only thing I found was a Reddit forum with a bunch of other people that did not know what the fuck was going on. Finally I called Petco Park and much to my surprise got a live person on the phone who confirmed the show was indeed cancelled. I can only imagine how many people actually went down to Petco Park before figuring out the show was cancelled. Way to go Showclix! OT I hope you get well soon.
America is a band that was never in my face growing up but always seemed to be there in the background or coming through the AM airwaves. As I got older I realized a handful of their songs were living in my subconscious because I liked the songs enough to keep them around. Humphreys By The Bay is an intimate gem of an outdoor concert venue that only holds 1400 people located on Shelter Island off the San Diego Bay. Friday night concerts are rare enough, but going with my lady to see a band I have never seen at a venue I had never seen a concert at made this all the more special.
After we secured last minute hard tickets from Craigslist we made our way to Point Loma to grab sushi and drinks then had a beer at nearby Eppig Brewing before we walked over to the venue. This my friends was the Alaska Cruise of concerts (average age 70+), which came as no surprise since this band reached its commercial zenith in the 70’s. Since the venue is right next to the water there is a community of people “in the know” that roll up to the side of the venue in canoes, paddle boards and other small floating objects to watch shows for free. Speaking of watching for free, I found it amusing that a guy who asked me if I had an extra ticket as I was coming into the venue was in the beer line behind me 10 minutes later after he accomplished his mission. I gave him props and was delighted to realize my buddy Marvin will definitely still be doing this when we are this age.
Jack Tempchin was the opener and I am ashamed to admit that I had no idea who he was before this moment. It was just him and an acoustic guitar and not long into his set I learned that he actually wrote the Eagles songs “Already Gone” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling” that he performed. Apparently he is a very accomplished songwriter that has been hiding in the shadows writing songs for others that have become hits.
America’s tour was originally slated for 2020 to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary before that thing happened. I knew that America probably had songs that I did not even realize I liked and was happily proven right when they came out and played “Tin Man” first. The whole evening was a learning experience as I also learned they hold the record for number of times a band has played at Humphreys (thirty something). Finally I learned that George Martin of Beatles fame produced the band for years after the Beatles broke up and as such they treated us to a rocking version of “Eleanor Rigby!” They also did a great cover of “California Dreamin’” that they apparently charted with back in 1979.
Overall Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and their very capable backup band sounded fantastic. They gave me a night to remember with “Tin Man,” “You Can Do Magic,” “Ventura Highway,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Sister Golden Hair” and “ A Horse With No name.”
SETLIST: Tin Man, You Can Do Magic, Don’t Cross the River, Daisy Jane, Riverside, I Need You, Here, Ventura Highway, Driving, Eleanor Rigby, Cornwall Blank/Hollywood, Survival, The Border, Greenhouse, Woman Tonight, Only In Your Heart, California Dreamin’, Lonely People, Sandman, Sister Golden Hair, A Horse With No Name
This show had been on my radar ever since I learned about it but I figured it may be hard to get others to join in so held off on pulling the trigger since I knew it would not sell out and I could always pick up a cheap lawn ticket at the last minute. Enter Larry: he purchased four tickets to take the whole family then decided to be in Greece on show day so sold me the lot for $120. Bob and Kyle were supposed to join for the rare Saturday concert but had to back out so that left just Wayne and I plus two extra tickets that I had to dump on StubHub and probably still have not been paid for.
By the time we entered the cookie cutter amphitheater we had missed Ho99o9 and Cypress Hill had just taken the stage. We were supposed to be in the Lawn section but when we walked in there was no one guarding the 300 level so we just walked into that section and made ourselves at home in a couple empty seats, where we would end up staying for the remainder of the show. There was no Sen Dog as he apparently was dealing with the aftermath of a medial procedure. Considering they were down a key member and sandwiched in between a couple heavy metal bands they performed admirably. It certainly helped that every song they played was a banger.
This was my eighth time seeing Slipknot but I had not seen them since Aftershock, which was almost three years prior to this. My first thought as the stage curtain disappeared was that they have not changed their stage setup for years but that thought quickly disappeared as I was getting pummeled with “Disasterpiece.” The songs and performance were as fierce as ever. Thankfully they are still putting out excellent new music that excites me. As the show went on I could not help but wonder why Mick’s hair is perpetually wet and just then he emptied a water bottle on his head. Speaking of hair I also noticed that Jim does way more exaggerated hair twirls than I remember him doing. This was Wayne’s first time seeing Slipknot and he just kept saying “This is dope!” Dope indeed. For my money the 1-2-3 punch of “Vermillion,” “Duality” and “Spit It Out” would have been worth it alone but then at the end of the show Corey Taylor announced the greatest encore of all as he promised new Slipknot music in a month…
SETLIST: Disasterpiece, Wait and Bleed, All Out Life, Sulfur, Before I Forget, The Chapeltown Rag, Dead Memories, Unsainted, The Heretic Anthem, Psychosocial, The Devil in I, Snuff, Vermillion, Duality, Spit It Out, People = Shit, Surfacing
After over a two year delay (show was originally scheduled for 4/13/20) the day had finally arrived for me to see Pearl Jam for only the second time ever, which still blows my mind with as many shows I go to plus the fact that I grew up in Washington state, but to be fair there was this weird unspoken childish thing back in the day that if you liked Nirvana you could not also like Pearl Jam. My second Pearl Jam sighting was pale in comparison to my buddy PM who held onto our tickets that he purchased through the Ten Club to see Pearl Jam for the 51st time!
We arrived just in time to grab a couple beverages and make our way to the seats before Ed came out and treated the early attendees to a solo acoustic performance of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart” before introducing Josh Klinghoffer as the opening act then disappearing. Klinghoffer played some dissonant type stuff and had an unexpected higher pitched singing voice that absolutely nailed “Take My Breath Away” from the Top Gun soundtrack. He also introduced me to the baritone guitar, which is downright embarrassing for someone who also plays guitar (though not even 1% of how good this guy plays).
Our seats were good because we were near the soundboard but not as good as I would have expected the Ten Club to dole out to a longtime member. They were definitely better than the last time I saw Pearl Jam at this exact same venue since this time I was actually in front of the band instead of sitting behind them like last time. In fact the stark stage setup was identical to that other time in 2006 with only minimal lights, two screens to show action from the stage and people sitting behind the stage (they also turned around and played one song to the people back there just like last time). This is a band that does not need anything but the power of song and I am fairly certain the electricity from the crowd would have been enough to power the electronics in the building. Many of the band members have a San Diego connection which made this opening night of the tour that much more special not only for the crowd but surely the band themselves as well. Ed took time to point out his mother, his guitar teacher and Bill Walton in the crowd, which now makes for two shows I have been to with Bill Walton!
The once new album Gigaton was now two years old but 2/3 of it was so seamlessly integrated into their set that it felt like an old friend, especially “Superblood Wolfmoon” that would not be out of place on one of the first albums. “Porch” was the last song played before the encore break and what Mike McCready did during that song was nothing short of obscene in the best of ways. He is so much of a BEAST that even after they came back from the break Ed said, “He looks a little sunburned but that was just his face next to the amp that was shooting out flames.” Classic. Just like the bottle of wine Ed downed during the show and playing “Alive” as the closer, which felt like it had a little more meaning after these last couple years.
SETLIST: Oceans, Retrograde, Never Destination, Corduroy, Dance of the Clairvoyants, Amongst the Waves, Even Flow, Who Ever Said, Quick Escape, Long Road, Given to Fly, Superblood Wolfmoon, Daughter, Seven O’Clock, Jeremy, Porch, Lightning Bolt, Better Man, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, River Cross, Footsteps, Once, Alive
After being rescheduled numerous times due to the pandemic it was finally time to actually see this concert! The delay actually ended up being favorable as neither Melvins or Corrosion of Conformity were originally scheduled to be the openers. Bob and I arrived with just enough time to grab a brew and make our way in front of the sound guy before Corrosion of Conformity come out on stage. My first thought was that House of Blues is always smaller than I remember and my second thought was surprise that COC was opening but in reality Melvins have a much larger discography.
COC handled their business as usual. If a member of one of the other bands on the tour with you (Paul D’Amour) is caught watching from the wings for most of your set then you must be doing something right. As I watched COC I realized that we actually saw COC with Ministry back at Danzig’s “Blackest of the Black” festival about five years before this. I particularly enjoyed “Shake Like You” from their set and wanted to love “Clean My Wounds” but they went into excessive noodling mode for their closer.
SETLIST: Bottom Feeder (El que come abajo), Paranoid Opioid, Shake Like You, Diablo Blvd., Senor Limpio, Vote With A Bullet, Wiseblood, Albatross, Who’s Got the Fire, Clean My Wounds
Melvins are always a treat and this showing was no exception. Buzz has full on adopted the “pissed off Wizard” look and this plays nicely with the brand of music they embrace. “Queen” was ferocious and my favorite on their setlist but it was also cool to see Roy Mayorga come out and do simultaneous drumming with Dale Crover for “Hooch” and “Honey Bucket.” It was hard not to notice the difference in sound quality between COC and Melvins and that got me thinking about how at most concerts the actual sound quality is progressively better with each band on the bill.
SETLIST: The Kicking Machine, It’s Shoved, Anaconda, Queen, Charlie, Billy Fish, Civilized Worm, Never Say You’re Sorry, Evil New War God, Hooch, Honey Bucket, The Bit
Ministry was the original draw for this show and by the end of the night it would be crystal clear why they were the headliner. The tour was originally supposed to be celebrating the 30th birthday of The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste but they also cranked out a new album in Moral Hygiene during the pandemic. Ministry had a chain link fence placed at the very front of the stage, which created a very strange dynamic between the band and the crowd. Were they in a cage or were we? What can I say? I have seen Ministry many times and they always find ways to surprise me. On this night they were LOUD AS FUCK and went deep into the catalog. The Setlist was five oldies to the face followed by two Pailhead songs then another five to the face before three from Moral Hygiene for the encore. The crowd went ape shit the entire show and during “The Missing” I actually went missing to Bob when I got swept up in the “toilet bowl” effect of the mosh pit. The next thing I know I was only four rows from the stage, where I would stay for the rest of concert. It was so much more calm up there versus back by the mixer where I originally was.
SETLIST: Breathe, The Missing, Deity, Stigmata, Supernaut, Don’t Stand In Line, Man Should Surrender, Burning Inside, N.W.O., Just One Fix, Thieves, So What, Alert Level, Good Trouble, Search and Destroy
The Darkness were originally set to stop in San Diego on 4/24/20 to promote the Easter Is Cancelled album but that whole pandemic thing happened…so in a way this was a make-up date for that show. It sucked the original show was cancelled but the fact that they were playing at one of my favorite places to see a concert in San Diego, they now had an even newer album less than four months old to promote (Motorheart) and this was the first date of the tour more than made it up for the delay. I had only seen them one other time back in 2015 so what was two more years anyway?
Bob and I entered the venue in time to see most of opening set from The Dead Deads, a no-frills band of three ladies that rocked. The super snarling guitar tone didn’t hurt anything as far as I’m concerned.
For whatever reason this show was not overly crowded so after the Dead Deads, Bob and I posted up fairly close to the stage right in the center and had plenty of breathing room. The Darkness were simply fantastic. These guys ARE rock and roll – the look, the swagger, the chops. Though I was bummed they only played one song from the Easter Is Cancelled album that I grew very fond of I have to respect the fact that they went full steam ahead with four tracks from the newer album. Even more impressively they ended up playing seven of the 10 songs from their debut Permission to Land.
Bob made the comment that every song felt like a grand finale and I think that is part of what makes this band so special. They are built to rock large stadiums but put in the same effort even for a smaller venue like this. Justin Hawkins and his three full costume changes (if you can call his last outfit of hat and undies an outfit) kept jumping off the drum riser at the end of nearly every song but I was never prepared to take the perfect picture of him doing so while doing the splits ala vintage Steven Tyler or David Lee Roth. Rock ‘N’ Roll is supposed to be dangerous and loud but these guys remind you that when the right band comes along it can also be a hell of a lot of fun.
SETLIST: Welcome Tae Glasgae, One Way Ticket, Growing On Me, Motorheart, Open Fire, Sticky Situations, Givin’ Up, It’s Love Jim, Black Shuck, Heart Explodes, Friday Night, Love Is Only A Feeling, Japanese Prisoner Of Love, Solid Gold, Barbarian, Get Your Hands Off My Woman, I Believe In A Thing Called Love
