The return of Hell

Slayer has had a few trips to Austin, Texas. With Fun Fun Fun Fest on a couple of trips and then going back more than a decade for their previous indoor exorcism of Austin.

The ACL Moody Theatre (http://acl-live.com) was the lucky spot to host the hell on earth that was EXODUS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, and SLAYER. I am unsure if there could have been a more acoustically perfect setting for this thrash fest.

The Moody Theater is, by far, one of the most gorgeous venues in Austin. It houses an astounding collection of music memorabilia from many different decades and genres. There is something to impress and WOW everyone. The greatest thing is there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. I should know, I have been at the top, on the left, the right, and on the floor.

EXODUS (http://exodusattack.com/site/) was the first onstage. Currently on tour supporting their newest release, 'Blood In, Blood Out', EXODUS mounted the stage with a vengeance. With Gary Holt doing double duty on this tour (playing with Slayer as well) it was a stunning performance. Steve Souza had the fans on the rail going nuts with his vocal antics and constant banter to have the audience get louder. Louder we did.

Although Exodus only had a small section of stage to work with, they masterfully did their set and played to the audience like the thrash masters they are. The sad side for me and you is this; I was there specifically to shoot photos of Exodus. Due to a camera malfunction, I got dick. Super pissed, shocked, and embarrassed this happened.

Suicidal Tendencies (http://www.suicidaltendencies.com) came up next. With what I thought seemed like the odd duck on this tour because of their California skater style of metal, turned out to be a thrill to watch. Suicidal Tendencies jumped into their performance with every single member of the bands revving up the audience every step of the way. The lead singer making sure to give the audience what they wanted by talking about their Texas connection in one of the bands guitarists.

The drummer couldn't even contain his enthusiasm. Coming out from behind his showpiece of a drum kit on several occasions. He would wind the crowd up even more with his chants of "S.T., S.T., S.T." The peak of the performance was splitting the crowd in half, down the middle, and having a 'death wall' collapse in on itself into a giant mosh pit. Thrilling, thrilling, thrilling. The whole performance was summed up by the guy in the seat next to me - "Holy Shit! How the fuck is Slayer gonna top that! "

I will admit my thoughts echoed my neighbors sentiment... What a dumb ass I am!

With the curtain up and spinning logos of Hell, this shit was on. Slayer (http://www.slayer.net/us/home) exploded onto the stage with the drop off the curtain and the flash of the lights. Upside down crosses hanging and the metal mulisha back drop in its glory, this is the pinnacle of thrash metal. The screaming vocals of Tom Araya, are distinct, unique, and unequivocally, chillingly beautiful to hear.

The technical expertise that Slayer had onstage blasting through their set was only matched by the sonic intensity that is Slayer music. Thrash at thrashes best. The floor was a constant, writhing mass of chaos. The visual effects where definitively seizure inducing. Between Kerry King and Gary Holt, it is no wonder my ears rang for 2 days.

The only pause in the hellish Chaos would be the very few times when Tom would step up to the mic to thank us for being there. This would only be the gasoline on the hellish fire that burned in every single one of us in the crowd. The roar of the crowd and insanity of the show peeked with the final song. With the drop of the final banner and exposing the most fitting tribute to former guitarist Jeff Hanneman - 'Angel of Death'! Slayer killed it.

Laters

Old Metal Heads don't die,

they just 'Rust in Peace'!

*PROOF* - Megadeth at The Moody Theater, Austin, Texas.

So here I am, back at The Moody Theater (http://acl-live.com/) again. What is that you say...you haven't been there yet? One of the finest music venues in Austin. An all purpose facility that meets the needs of EVERY genre of music. From Country to Rock, old and new, The Moody Theater is smile inducing. Don't wait to go see a musical performance of some great band here, go and check out there collection pf memorabilia and photo galleries! There are some Epic moments of music history sitting right there at 420 Willy Nelson Ave (HA!).

So The Moody is arranged like this...up a flight of stairs to the main entrance. This level is one story up and open to the street. Here you can find an nice outside bar, occasionally some eats, and merchandise from what ever is happening behind the closed doors. The doors on this level lead to the floor of the venue, General admission, standing room only, or seating. Just depends on the performance. 

From the outside terrace you go up some more stairs that lead you to the upper two levels. The upper two levels are where the aforementioned memorabilia and art is. These levels are indoors so no freezing or sweating your tush off. There are bars on both of the upper levels and there is NOT a bad seat in this house!

Megadeth hauled into Austin with Nonpoint and Fear Factory leading off the set.

Nonpoint (http://www.nonpoint.com/) was most assuredly ON POINT! I had never heard them before, but the slowly filtering in audience received a hellified treat when Nonpoint took the stage. A quick grind of guitar, the  house lights went down, hands went up and BOOM! Nonpoint was there. The audience absolutely thrilled at the non stop performance afforded by this group of guys. Not sure if the drums were set sideways because there was no room for Nonpoint as an opener, or that's their thing. It was an odd set up to say the least. That is my observation and has nothing to do with the kick ass performance Austin received. Hopefully, with the warm reception Nonpoint received from us, they will be back again. 

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Fear Factory (http://fearfactory.com/) was up next. With a larger, still filtering in crowd, they tried to bring the pain. It seemed odd to me from both the front of the house shooting photos and back of the house observing, something was off. Fear Factory was in the house, but the performance seemed a little lack luster. The larger crowd enjoyed the performance, but it was not the energy the smaller crowd had for the first band up. The guitarist and bassist were putting all their sweat and energy out there, but with a drummer (who visibly looked bored through the set) and a lead singer who felt like he wasn't all there...it was kind of a bummer. The crowd cheered. It was good, but just wasn't as energetic as expected. 

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Megadeth (http://www.megadeth.com/)...U N B E L I E V A B L E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The title for this blog is both a tribute to the band and a tribute to the fans. As it may be for any band of  great significance, the fans are devoted, will grow up, grow older, and will always support THEIR band. And so it is for Megadeth fans, but REMEMBER and think of this, these are not just fans of Heavy Metal music as it was born in the 80's...these are MEGADETH fans. One and all and the same!   

This was an exciting performance. From the first chords through the grinding favorites...this was a visceral experience. The sound, the lights, the images on the screens, and the audience being one giant mass of voices and flailing limbs. What a great fucking show! Dave Mustaine is NOT the wild and crazy front man. He has that unmistakable growl of a voice. Is that really singing, or is he just telling us stories in his own melodic way! I think so. Even now writing this and think about it, makes my pulse start to race. Absolutely no doubt the crowd took in every bit of that performance like we could walk out of there, die, and it was all good and all worth it! It was! 

I have said there is not a bad seat in the house at The Moody Theater, but you know what, I feel bad for any bastard that was not on the floor for this!

Laters

 

Summerland w/Everclear

Back at the Moody Theater (http://acl-live.com) on the hottest day of 2013 yet, for another show. With The Moody Theater now doing tours of their gorgeous facility, you have to take a moment and go absorb some of the amazing music memorabilia that is on display. I am glad they are doing this and you will be too.

What a great day and place for the Summerland Tour 2013. The brain child of Art Alexakis (from Everclear) featuring some if the best alternative rock band of the early '90's. Sponge, Filter, Live, and of course Everclear, all made up the bill. All of the bands were not only monsters in their time, but currently are in the process of doing new things, including a new album or two, so this tour makes sense on multiple levels. Another great thing about a tour like this is the experience, you get the non stop hit songs and energy from all of theses band and the music just seems to be non stop. With very little time between sets, you barely have time to go pee, much less grab a drink before the next band is up on it again. Alex was the epitome of a great host and MC, introducing each band along with an explanation and what the upcoming band meant to him and Everclear.

Sponge (http://spongetheband.com) was first up for the evening. After being introduced by Alex, as the band who taught Everclear how to be gentlemen on the road, Sponge proceeded to light up the audience. The lead singer was sporting the biggest damn rope chain I have ever seen and the guitarist and bass player where just having a great time. Although the house wasn't packed when Sponge launched into their set. Those in attendance got every drop of energy these guys had to offer! Wrapping up with their hit song 'Plowed', it was exactly what you wanted.

Alex reappeared on stage, gave some quick props to Sponge and then introduced Filter (http://www.officialfilter.com) as the band that taught Everclear how to be ROCKSTARS on the road. It was the same formula for Filter here, hard and fast. Knocking through their songs with hardly any chatter except for a little story about 'Take A Picture'. Before their final song, the lead singer of Filter thanked Austin,  professed his love for Austin, and asked if Filter came back to headline their own tour, would we let them do it again? Hell yes! 'Hey man nice shot' ended the set appropriately.

For the last intro of the night before his turn up Alex, with a "holy shit, I just saw their set list and its nothing but hit songs", brought out LIVE (http://www.freaks4live.com) AND THEIR SET WAS JUST THAT....LIVE! The quote from Mariza about this set was simply this, 'Oh my God that was the best performance of the night!' Just doing one hit song onto of the next was almost

overwhelming. Clean, sharp, and pretty damn powerful. Their was a quick apology from the lead singer about being sick, but that wasn't felt on the audience side of the music. Playing 'Lakini's juice' very early in the set, then shortly thereafter rolling into 'Lightning crashes', was nothing when 'Selling the drama' ended having a montage of almost everyone on stage from the tour.

Out strolled the lead guitarist from LIVE, after thanking Alex for the tour he introduced Everclear (http://everclearonline.com/home.html). Coming out on stage and having the amps cranked to #11, Everclear just did everything they could to throttle our ears. It was undoubtedly the most energetic and powerful set of the evening. Hearkening back to their roots and almost having that punk feel to the music, Everclear jumped into one of my favorites early on, 'Heroine girl'...it was fucking awesome to see and hear that song live! Just bad ass! A few songs later out came 'Father of mine' as his tribute to single moms everywhere.  It just powered on from there. 

Can't wait to see what gets cooked up for Summerland '14. Enjoy the photos'til then.

Laters

The Moody Theatre got R.E.K.'d

Wow! What a hot December night. No, REALLY, it was a hot ass Christmas show with Robert Earl Keen (REK). The temperature outside was pretty warm for December and inside ACL Live at The Moody Theatre ( http://www.acl-live.com ) it was smokin' hot.

Have you been to a show at The Moody Theatre yet? Whether or not you live in Austin, this really needs to be a musical destination for you.  On this evening, with the breeze blowing, we met a couple that had made the trip from San Antonio, Texas to see REK. It was their first time to enjoy a live music performance at The Moody Theater. I was happy to direct them to the upper levels to check out the photos and memorabilia that The Moody Theatre proudly houses. This is something I highly recommend for everyone to go check out when you are here in Austin.

In fact, as I sit here writing this, I can't think of any place better in Austin for a music memorabilia facility or museum, than The Moody Theatre. I think they should expand the collection and once you see it you will agree.

On this night Robert Earl Keen (http://www.robertearlkeen.com) made his return to Austin, and it was my second opportunity to see his performance since his CD release party for 'Ready for Confetti' (http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Confetti-Robert-Earl-Keen/dp/B0058U80IG). Talk about putting on a show! This man really knows how to do a Christmas party. With the stage decorated like a great Christmas wonderland (trailer included) and the band dressed in full character, they were ready to have fun! You know if the band is dressed up like characters you wouldn't believe, The King Robert Earl, the Sheik, a couple of elves, Ebenezer, and a special appearance by none other than Santa himself, it is going to be a great show.

So King R.E.K. hit the stage with the whole cast of characters and started with tunes from the new album. This is the first time I was on the floor and Oh what a great place to be. The energy the crowd delivered was pretty damn stunning on the floor and with R.E.K. orchestrating the event...EVERYONE was singing, clapping, and dancing. Hell, I even busted out a little two-step with my honey during the evening. It was so much fun with all of the great music the band delivered, you couldn't help but get carried away. Old tunes and new, it was a non-stop evening filled with laughter, smiles, and great music.

The set this night was far from normal and I am very glad that R.E.K. made a liar out of me. With the placement of his epic "The Road goes on forever" nowhere near the end of the set, but just a few songs in, and the crowd was swept away into the story.

and with a Robert Earl Keen show....the party never ends!









Laters