Black is the new black

In the course of a year there are many things that can change. Even things that are the same can be different. For example, I saw the band Black4 at SXSW 2014 by accident. Getting to a show early to make sure we would be able to see a friends band. We got there early enough to witness this rock n roll genius and fun that is Black4.

I wrote that review (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2014/04/piece-by-piece.html) and was lucky enough to be contacted by the band with gratitude (I don't do it for that, but it's damn nice). We had continual contact for the next year, joking around, and even helping them try to find some extra gigs for their upcoming return to SXSW for 2015 - to no avail, which is everyone else's loss.


Lucky for me and all who attended, Black4 got a return spot to perform at The Aquarium on Saturday for SXSW15. Even better is I happened to be downtown on the Thursday of SXSW15 at The Fader Fort. After some messaging back and forth and missing the mark, one of the guys in the band invited me to their rental spot to hang out for a bit. GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE! Hell Yes! I am not stupid, or maybe I am. I found their rental place off of Oltorf and Congress and walked around to the back where I heard laughing, clanking of glasses, and music blasting from a cell phone speaker.












There I was face to face with the members of Black4 and their entourage. It was a surreal and amazing moment. Meeting these guys casually was not just awesome enough, it was having the lead singer jump up out of his chair and giving my a huge hug and exclaiming to everyone, "Will Tompkins! HOLY SHIT! You ARE fucking real!" How funny that the internet brings people so close and into our lives, but it is only that moment you meet them face to face it is no longer virtual reality...it is reality.












I was, and am, so humbled having the opportunity to share some personal time with these guys. Share some drinks with them (Lonestar it was!), and even share meal (bbq it was). The words I write about my experiences at different venues seeing different bands I do for the love of Austin, and the hopes that some one out their reads a review and decides to see that band or go to that club. To be taken into the fold and treated like family was stunning. Some point in time I will probably write more about this evening.

Don't get me wrong, I hang out with lots of guys here in Austin, but it is always at shows. I can think of only one time I have been invited to someones home to hang out and drink (and man did I get FUUUUCCCKKKEDDDD UP - thanks to MC Overlord and the guys from Aimless Gun/Cody Bryan Band).

Back to the show, believe it or not, there is a performance review in here.

The Aquarium is located on 6th St, Austin, Texas. Right in the middle of the entertainment district. Just a few blocks off of Congress Ave. It is a long bar. As you walk in the door the stage is in the corner immediately to your right, and there is some seating to the left. Ahead of you is a long bar that runs the length of the right wall and in wall fish aquariums run the length of the left wall. In the back are the bathrooms and some stairs that take you to an upstairs area for hanging out as well. I don't think the stage is set up for night time musical performances because there was absolutely no stage lights...just a neon beer sign in the corner above the stage.

Doesn't matter. The band that was onstage before Black4 was GRABBER (https://www.facebook.com/grabberatx). By admission of their lead singer/guitar player, it was probably their 4th live performance. These guys were really good, with that hard Southern Hard Rock kind of sound. I really hate throwing out comparisons ('cause I know damn well this is not what you will hear, but I heard Molly Hatchet in their sound). They were loud, they were entertaining, and they were just damn good. I would not have a problem hanging out at a venue where these guys will be performing again.

Black4 (http://www.black4band.com) took the stage and proceeded to tear that place down. By the 3rd song the Aquarium was packed. There were people in there that seemed to show up for something else, were surprised at the energy and sound, then stayed for the whole performance. Yup! some folks weren't expecting this at the Aquarium on a Saturday night and left, too bad because Saturday night got slayed!



















With such a small stage the bass player and guitar player kept taking turns stepping off the stage and right into the crowd. The guitarist, Curtis, just kept is head down and commenced to punishing his guitar for the love of it. The bassist, Jason, now that was an entertaining and different sight. Being that he was on the corner of the stage next to the door, he would step off the stage and to the door, entertaining the hell out of the crowd outside.

All the while the drummer sat tucked in the corner killing it and flinging sweat everywhere. and there, There in front, Bryan, belted out the vocals in the most vicious and fun way. Smiling at the crowd like some kind of barker from a side show carnival, Bryan held no bones to entertain the crowd. Tales of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll between songs, and a wicked voice to carry them music right through your eardrums.

It is not just a pleasure meeting these guys, but a rockgasm watching and listening to their performance. I was lucky enough to catch one of the songs from that evenings performance, check it out here (https://youtu.be/CpV3_qv9meM).











Best wishes and healing speed to the guitarist Curtis, as I write this he is currently recovering from a motorcycle accident that left him hospitalized. He is on the mend and recovering, but best wishes to you Curtis!



































Laters

A very metal bachelor party

My last weekend as a bachelor and I get the call from INsite Austin Magazine (http://insiteaustin.blogspot.com/) editor, Sean Claes, to join him for a band review he was invited to do.

We jumped in his car and on the way to the show the conversation rolls around to me...as it should, HA! We realize that this particular Saturday was my last Saturday as a single man. The following Friday (03/13/15) I was to be married to Ms. Cruz, and damn well looking forward to it!

The first stop was to The Dirty Dog (https://dirtydogbar.com/). As you well know, one of my favorite spots to catch music in Austin on 6th St. The band on the review bill was none other than Southern Front. Now, at first I didn't realize it, but I had seen and reviewed them (http://livemusicinaustin.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-battle-weary-war-torn-wretched-few.html). I actually didn't snap to this fact until after the first band had finished insulting our ears and sense of what a decent performance should be. I saw the lead singer to Southern Front setting up. As Sean and I went to the stage to say 'Hi!', it was then I realized she they were.

Lets talk about The Dirty Dog real quick. It is located right in the heart of the entertainment district, on 6th St., just a few blocks West of IH 35. The club is home to  some nice street side seating with large windows to people watch.  A very large U shaped bar in the middle and a long bar on the right hand side towards the back. Plenty of room on the floor in front of a decent size stage for enjoying any type of performance. Rock, Metal, Americana, Pop, Latin, Hip Hop, I have seen it all there and enjoyed it the bar each and every time.

The first band of the evening was Momentous (http://momentousband.bandcamp.com/v). They were not! It was a two piece, guitar and drummer. No vocals but lots of balls. The drummer was located towards the front of the stage, but facing stage right...wtf. The guitarist just ran back an forth on the stage, as near as I could tell, masturbating with his guitar. I can say that because it was not really in the realm of playing.

The drummer was another story. He was actually quite amazing. And I mean, shockingly, surprising, holy crap! kind of awesome. But he was just as disturbing as the guitar player. Not only was he sitting sideways and playing towards a wall, he just seemed to stare off into the distance and just spent the whole performance counting. BUT HE WAS FREAKING AMAZING. Like, technical, fast, and just great. I think the crowd stood in somewhat confused silence as they performed. The only cheers seemed to come from friends or family that were in the crowd.

Southern Front (http://www.southernfrontmetal.com/) was up next. Damn fine performance. The crowd had built up and pushed forward ready for the start of this. Southern Front is metal in the best sense of the genre. Just guitar grinding, drum and bass pounding, lead singer screaming in your face metal. If this is what you cam to see, you got it. The crowd loved it I will tell you this, first time I saw Southern Front, the lead singer scared the hell outta me as a super intense guy. After meeting him and saying hello pre performance, it was a totally different perspective. Still extremely intense, but it was way more enjoyable and fun watching the show and enjoying it in it's entirety this time.

You have to get out and see and enjoy Southern Front soon. From the looks of the press it seems like some of Austin's local metal is getting great attention.

photos of the show are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seanclaes/sets/72157650838839339

courtesy of Sean Claes from INsite Austin magazine.

Coming soon is the story of the The Dirty Dog and the 10th anniversary on 6th St Austin, Texas.


Laters

The Battle weary, War torn, Wretched few

Back home at the Dirty Dog (https://dirtydogbar.com/) on 6th St in Austin, Texas. If you must travel to 6th St to get that Austin downtown vibe, you really should make this a stop. If it is a music night with a touring band (or bands) you may have to pay a steep cover to get in. However, there are plenty of nights during the week which allow you to just stroll in, sit in the dirty photo booth and take some scandalous shots. Most nights you can get lucky and listen to some local music at no charge, watch some sports on the many TVs or sit at the bar and have a good, old fashioned conversation with a real, down to earth bartender.

The layout of the Dirty Dog is pretty simple. Walk into the door to a street side lounge area, complete with a pole. The large "U" shaped bar curves around from the street side lounge area to the stage area on the opposite side. The Stage is a fairly decent size with an impressive sound system. Towards the back as you continue throughout the bar are the bathrooms to the left and another bar to the right.

This particular night featured 3 touring bands on the 'Winters Warriors' Tour - War of Ages, Wretched, and Battlecross. The show was kicked off by 2 local Texas bands, Imminent Descent - from  San Antonio, Texas and Southern Front as the hometown boys from Austin, Texas.

Imminent Descent (http://www.imminentdescent.com/) from San Antonio, jumped right into their set with an energy and excitement that the already large crowd ate up. Putting out their originals and a lot of energy, this 5 piece did a masterful job at reigning in the restless crowd and entertaining the crap out of us. With good, solid music, and performance, this band could make a nice little comfortable spot for themselves out of the San Antonio metal scene. The stage has been set by others before them, and the ever growing popularity of one particular burning band, Imminent Descent needs only a little fine tuning to push on through. The crowd seemed to agree as these guys wrapped up their short set. My only cringe worthy moment was the lead singer trying to hit some of the squealing high notes....dude not your forte...don't do it. Trick us and use one of the lead guitars to fill in that register as you go for it.

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Southern Front (http://www.southernfrontmetal.com/) was scary impressive. This band is fronted by a rather large and aggressive looking lead singer. Now he may be nice in person, but he was all business up onstage. Southern Front definitely played for the hometown crowd and played it up for the hometown crowd as well! As I stood to the side of the stage taking in the raving mosh pit that started, someone in the crowd behind me commented "Holy shit, these guys are fucking Awesome! This is why I came here." Hometown love and support in the house for sure. And it was a great performance. The crowd had grown larger and was definitely hungry for this as they ate this performance up. The lead singer did a very respectable job in thanking the headliners for the spot, the promoter, and the venue. This is definitely appreciated to hear a band working this hard onstage as an opener be so very grateful.

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War of Ages (http://warofagesmetal.com/) was my shocker and surprise of the evening. This was not who brought me out to the show this evening, but this is who made me very happy I came out to rock out. War of Ages crossed over ever so slightly into the electronic medium, but had no bones about smashing our eardrums with the vocals and guitars. They got my blood pumping and had me screaming "Fuck yeah!" with everyone else in the crowd. War of Ages brought out a stunning live performance with all the bad-assery and gut-you-like-a-fish power that is what every metal fan wants and EVERY DAMN PARENT is scared of. Bravo for the Winter Warriors tour knocking it out of the park...and this was just the start.

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Wretched (https://www.facebook.com/wretchednc/timeline) had some tough stage shoes to fill after that prior performance. The problem is that Wretched didn't just fill those shoes, they blew them out. What seems like a fairly benign group of guys onstage turned out to be a raging, cannibal when they started their set. With the lead singer shedding his shirt and pounding the audience with his ferocious vocals to the lead guitarist letting down his dreads and appearing like some type of beast trying with tentacles trying to rip your face off, Wretched was definitely feeding on the audiences energy and screams. At one point during the performance there was no safe place to stand in front of the stage, as the mosh pit became a writhing mass of limbs. Get to damn close and you get pulled in and pummeled just like the music and performance of Wretched. I was satisfied for now I am blessed with a 'Cranial Infesstation' of their music and performance in my head. That which I had missed at Mayhem 2014, had been redeemed.

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Battlecross (http://battlecrossmetal.com/) capped off the night with a wicked performance. With the lead singer cursing Austin and Texas for our bullshit winter weather (it was shorts weather on 12/05/14 in Austin, Texas - and he was just kidding around), Battlecross launched into a stunning performance. Like I said earlier, this is such a well rounded and amazing line-up, it is beyond worth going to see...it's worth living, hearing, and doing it twice if you have the chance! The lead singer changed right before our very eyes. As the music started he became this shrieking like a banshee wrapped in a demonic growl that no one this evening had done before him. The entire band took center stage throughout this performance. Although there was a lead singer, everyone (save for the drummer locked beyond the massive kit) took turns being the front man and it was just mind blowing. Battlecross, ran through their set with such ease and commanded the audience so well, we were all stunned to see the performance end. And happy so that we could breathe.

Thanks to Anthony form Come and Take it Productions

Lena at Victory Records

Adam from Wretched - for taking a few moments to talk with me

and Ben and the staff of the Dirty Dog for hosting, yet again, another kick ass night.

Laters

Good time Memories

The Dirty Dog (https://www.facebook.com/Dirty6th) on 6th Street, Austin, Texas is nearing it's 10th Anniversary.  I can see big things on the horizon and I can't wait, and all you need to do is keep your eyes open.

The Dirty Dog is more than just and 'Extreme Sports Bar', it is a destination for local music.  From Rap to rock, Death metal to local singer/songwriter sounds, it can all be found on this stage most nights. From free shows to touring shows with a cover, it is never short on a good time here at the Dirty Dog.

The bar itself is set up for a small local crowd to a hella packed house. In the fun entry there are a few arcade games and even a pole that I have seen used more than once. There is a very large 'U' shaped bar for service all the way around. The stage is optimally located for a small local crowd all the way up to a rowdy mosh pit crowd. The bathrooms to the back behind the stage and another bar to the right.

Tonight was a rock night with local band Ayleanne (http://www.ayleanne.com). Coming onstage with little hurrah, just the crunch of the guitars and 'whoosh' we were taken away. Although I don't like to describe a  band or their music,  because that's not what you hear or what 'they' think. Here is the short take on these guys. The music had a definitive late 90's rock sound. I won't name any of they really good bands that came out at that time, but pick your favorite and Ayleanne will probably compare.

Yes, Ayleanne is current, modern and exciting. The lead singer's vocals were freaking spot on and controlled. The proof of the cool little set these guys pulled off was in the crowd. Eyes on them, conversation down, and heads forward. Yup, everyone was paying attention. The only voices I heard were in-between songs. I kept hearing my girlfriend and her friend excited about how awesome Ayleanne was, how they loved the sound, and the memories the band evoked. Seemed liked the crowd agreed.

All said and done here, I will dl or buy a hard  copy of their album and look forward to running into their set again.


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Memory of a Melody (http://www.memoryofamelody.com) set up, did a quick sound check and then launched into their set. San Antoino Music Award winners for Band of the Year, not only came out ready to rock, but knew how to play to an audience. The Austin crowd swelled and pushed forward for these rockers. It was a pleasure to be around a band that not only rocked this hard, but played to the crowd - for the crowd.

























Here is proof of a band just pouring out everything they have onstage...the drummer busted his snare. Talk about giving it all at a show, Yup! Thanks to the guys from Ayleanne, the night was saved and the show carried on. This was all good for me and everyone in attendance.  Lead singer Mario, big smile and all, allowed the crowd to wish him and an audience a member Happy Birthday. Besides the S H O R T delay for the snare and the happy delay for wishes, this was a non stop set.

With remote control lighting and effects on stage, it was a show as much as it was a live performance. No doubt the Band of the Year title is earned here. C'mon...there were women in the Austin crowd yelling at Memory of a Melody they wanted to hear "Things that make you Scream!" Definitely a crowd pleaser and I look forward to making that short drive down IH-35 to see Memory of a Melody on their home turf with a rowdy hometown crowd!

Laters