Red-Green Blue-Yellow

It has a meaning. This means something to about 3 million people per year. It also means "Up and coming Kings of Austin Pop Punk scene!"

If you haven't had the opportunity to see the band Colorblind (https://www.facebook.com/Colorblindtx/), it is another must see band. Colorblind is comprised of brothers Tyler (drums) and Travis (vocals) and Nicholas and Justin on bass and guitar. Colorblind has this completely polished sound, with a pretty cool backing track, their shows are electric and very exciting. The vocals by Travis are stunning and perfect for their style of music. The fans they have are loyal and bring even more excitement to the performance. It may also be because of frontman Travis, as far as I could make out, from all the screaming girls.

I have seen the band a couple of times. Once at The Dirty Dog and then again at Come and Take It Live. Here is an interesting reflection of their performances.


The show at The Dirty Dog was a pretty packed house. Colorblind was towards the end of the bill that night, before the headliner. It was a great performance with tons of energy from the band and it was felt through the crowd. As I stood and enjoyed their set I was able to over hear some of the remarks around me....Yeah! It seems like the headliner that night was in awe of the performance by Colorblind.

















Move forward several months and Colorblind is on the opening side of a national tour show at Come and Take It Live. The first two or three bands up were cool. Not anything I would give blog time to. BUT Colorblind came on...I will tell you what, where there was almost no crowd all of a sudden swelled to a large crowd in front of the stage. It's just a truth for you to ponder on the band and the fans. Even better is when they launched into their hit song, 'Parting Words' (https://youtu.be/MaIC5L_h6x8) the crowd just went off.  BE WARNED - the video in no way evokes their live show performance...but it is simply a great song!

Follow the links to find the band for upcoming performances. Go see them and then meet them and say hi. Watch the video or go find the song on your favorite streaming service and put Colorblind in your rotation.



Laters

The Greatest land of all...BEERLAND!

On one of my many trips through downtown Austin I have never stopped in to check out Beerland (http://www.beerlandtexas.com/), this time i did.  Although there have been plenty of shows there and I have seen many friends attend events there, I simply had not stopped in.

Beerland is located in the entertainment district of down town Austin, TX. On the corner of Red River and 7th St, surrounded by a tiny little, black, wrought iron fence, Beerland is very unassuming outside. A small patio area for smokers and those wanting to step out of the club in between bands. You enter the door and immediately head down to what feels and looks like a basement level club. The bar is to your left as you enter and to the back left corner are the bathrooms. Dead ahead of you is the small stage with the giant BEERLAND logo on the back wall. This is the epitome of that garage/basement style club. That dark, low slung ceilinged club adds to the vibe and style of music.

Pulling up a quick seat at the bar My wife, her friend, and myself take in the scene. Apparently this evenings entry got you into Beerland and the club next door for two stages of fun and constant music. 

While the ladies started on some adult beverages I hopped next door to quickly catch Lions and Tigers (https://www.facebook.com/LionsTigersTX/) onstage. What a great band and surprise. Lions and Tigers are from Austin, TX so you will be able to catch them around town after reading this post. It was a very good set of music. Currently promoting their new EP, Lions and Tigers had an energy filled set with great vocals and guitar work. I believe this evening included a loan in guitarist doing lead while the lead singer did rhythm and some solo work. Although it was an energy filled set it was not an overly energetic type of sound that made the crowd go nuts. Easy enough to move around and see all of the upturned faces watching the band and absorbing their vibe and brand of pop/punk music. Lions and Tigers are definitely on my list to share with you again and hopefully run into again around town to get a bigger, better feel for what they can do.

Back to Beerland, although this was not the band I was there to see and shoot, Forever Starts Today (https://www.foreverstartstoday.net/home) was taking the stage. My shock, thrill, and excitement just couldn't be contained. I saw this group a year or so ago at another venue and here is a shining example of my love for the Austin music scene. I was thoroughly impressed when I saw them the first time realizing they were packed full of potential. With the lead vocals and charisma of Christina Murphy, to the amazing guitar work and enthusiastic bass player, Forever Starts Today is positioning themselves, in Austin, to make that leap into the national spotlight. This performance didn't let down either. Having to throw some elbows to keep my spot down in front of the stage and snapping photos, was only intensified with leaving the font of the stage, stepping back and taking in their performance with the rest of the crowd screaming and singing along.  Enjoying it to the extent of making sure I got a CD prior to the bands departure at the urging of my wife. (now to just get a signed tour poster for the wall at Tom-Cruz Studios would be very cool!) Leaving that performance with my wife exclaiming how much she loved Forever Starts Today and enjoyed Christina's voice, pretty much sealed the deal to take my wife to another performance next chance we get. You should too!

If that wasn't enough for the couple of performances I just took in, then how about Thieves (http://thievestx.com/) coming in to steal the rest of the night - SORRY, I had to do it!



At the urging (and ultimately the arrangement) to take in this evenings performance, a neighbor to Tom-Cruz Studios bragged about this band as his cousin was the bass player. Well... he didn't need to brag. The performance of Thieves stood on its own. Had I been lucky enough to purposefully see my friends in the previous band and hang out to see Thieves would have been an epic coup. Instead it was wonderful coincidence to catch my friends opening for Thieves.  The performance was polished and searing. With their VERY familiar brand of Pop/punk alternative rock, Thieves is on par with, and better than, many you hear on the radio today. As for the performance, getting to the stage and stealing the few shots I got from Thieves before being pummeled by an enthusiastic crowd is one thing. The proof of how much these guys are loved was in their performance and was enjoyed more when I couldn't even make it to my seat. The crowd was jumping and screaming through the entire set.



Meeting the bass player after the show was nice. Telling him how much I enjoyed the show and like their sound was great. Even better was to tell him my daughter will be thrilled to see them the next time Thieves does another show here in Austin. He grinned, and as I took a disc he told me "You should give that to your daughter!" uhhm...NO! Daddy's keeping this one for himself. She can get her own when I take her to see Thieves live for herself. See you there!






 Laters

It was a Midnight Drive

Lucky Lounge (http://www.theluckylounge.com/) on a Thursday night in Austin, Texas. Like I have said and will continue to preach...there is always something to do, music to experience, and fun to be had in Austin ANY day of the week. Tourist or local, come join the fun in our great city.

Located on 5th St just off of Congress, the Lucky Lounge is just that...a lounge. A long shotgun style venue. You walk in the front door with a small seating area in the front and then a long hallway that leads to the main body of the club. As you walk down the hallway the bathrooms are on the right and a area for merch on the left. When you enter the main room it is a little over double the width of the hallway with a long bar on the right, a raised VIP seating area up, behind the bar on the far right. To the left are some small two seat, hi-top tables lining the left wall to the stage, which is at the very end of the long room. Right in front of the stage is a small area to stand/dance for a show, with a sofa and some more seating to the left. It is a lounge.

As I walked in I was hearing a very sweet voice and an acoustic guitar. Kayla Way

 (https://www.facebook.com/KaylaWay/) was onstage doing her thing. Kayla had a few folks in the crowd for an early Thursday evening, even a local guitar celebrity was taking in and enjoying her sound. Kayla's sound is ALMOST what you would expect from that singer/songwriter sound, BUT there was something a little different about her. A wonderful smile, a good stage presence and the interaction with the crowd. Kayla Way's originals are perfect and fun for an early evening and when she did a cover, she owned it she did'nt karaoke it! The crowd grew towards the end of her set and this is where her sound changed ever so slightly...more edgy. It seemed like she was ready to drop the current sound and timid girl demeanor for a just rock out moment on us with one of her newer songs. 

I did speak with her briefly after her set and am happy to say she has an EP coming out very soon (possible beginning of the new year). Kayla proudly told me that everyone can expect this to be a little more rock and roll then her previous venture. I look forward to it and you should look forward to seeing Kayla Way around town.

Next up was Todd Pate 

(https://soundcloud.com/todd-pate-1). Nothing like traveling with your own fan club. There were definitely a few more people here than with the prior performer and they were all cheering on Todd and his pretty cool guitar skills. This was another singer/songwriter performance. It was not that Todd was unique with his voice, his songs were original and his singing voice was strong. The crowd loved what he was doing. The previously mentioned local guitar hero and I where really stunned at what Todd did with his guitar. Not just playing acoustic, but using a whole damn peddle board for effcts. It sounded great, but different enough to garner our collective attention. I cant's say if this is just big balls doing this, or just genius, but it was impressive enough. Although I am not sure if Todd is local, look him up anyway.

Leather Leaf (http://www.leatherleafrockband.com/) was the dramatic turn for the evening. Jumping from acoustic singer/songwriter to a metal band was pretty harsh. It was also pretty damn fun. Leather Leaf does the rock/metal thing with a female lead, Melissa Madnezz (https://www.facebook.com/melissaklopf). This woman barks out the songs like a champ, commanding every single song brilliantly. It's as if Ozzy and Grace Slick had a love child and lucky for us, she is the singer of Leather Leaf! Leather Leaf's performance was half and half covers and originals. Doing their originals like they were platinum hits and doing the covers like they were their own, it was definitely a pleasure to be in the crowd for this performance. Even more so watching some of the younger folks in the crowd taking it in, singing the choruses, and moving to the beats. It was definitely smile inducing.

The Midnight Drive  (https://www.facebook.com/themidnightdrive/) was up for the headline spot of the evening. This is where my invitation came from for this night of new music.

I have always told folks about the great thing about Austin music. The bands go out to see and support each other. You never know who you will see on stage, and you NEVER know who you are going to be sitting with and talking to in the crowd. More than once I have experienced and heard the story of others hanging out in a venue, talking with someone, and then they interrupt the conversation by saying "Hey! It was nice talking to you, but I have to go. My band is up next." Leaving me/you/the unsuspecting tourist to think "WTF!!! Who was I just sitting with and talking to?" Yes, I knew I was sitting with the absolutely beautiful, smiling, and newly married wife of The Midnight Drive's drummer, BUT I had NO idea who the dark, beautiful, mysteriously silent and shy young lady was that kept coming to our table. It was moments before show time when the drummer brought her to the table and introduced her as the lead singer of The Midnight Drive....palm to the forehead moment for me. 

The Midnight Drive is a band that does some amazingly fun music. Danceable, catchy songs, great melodic drifts with some interesting guitar work going on underneath it all. The crowd was totally on their feet for the entire performance. Having a good time and cheering along, even if they didn't know the words, like myself. Although I stay away from comparisons as a personal decision. I would rather you go and catch it and make up your own mind, but I am happy to give you a genre for a band. The Midnight Drive has done an amazing job of creating something all their own...PopPunk goes Surfer! 

The Midnight Drive does their sound well, the crowd is in on the secret, you should be too.

Laters  

PostApocolypticAngryPopPunk

I received a call to check out several bands down at The Lucky Lounge (http://www.theluckylounge.com/) on 5th St in Austin, Tx.

The Lucky Lounge is a shotgun type of set up. When you enter the club street side you are in a very small lounge. Tonight it was the pre staging area for band equipment due to the number of bands performing. Once you step in from the entry way you are looking down a long hallway and see the stage at the opposite end of the club. As you walk down the hallway the bathrooms are to the right and the stairs to go up to the VIP are on your left.




Once you walked down the hallway the club itself opens into a slightly wider version of the hallway. Hi-top tables along the wall to your left the bar on the right and a raised viewing area above the bar, against the right wall.

This particular event was an all ages show and the venue had a very decent crowd. The crowd was definitively mixed from the under age to the older parents of those, and all ages in between. Everyone was smiling talking and enjoying the music. Down in front of the stage though, that is where the fun was.

Although I was running a little late I still caught the last 3 songs of the first band up, Gold Steps  (https://www.facebook.com/Goldstepsatx/). Fronted by female vocals, this band unquestionable had that Pop-Punk sound. It was fun, energetic and the crowd was enjoying it. Although there was no stage diving or mosh pit happening, Gold Steps had the attention of everyone, including myself. Gold Steps hails from Austin, Tx and most definitely is a good band to check out if you get a chance. With that comfortable sound that seems familiar, Gold Steps will have no problem with pulling a crowd soon enough.

Next up was Forever Starts Today (http://www.foreverstartstoday.net/). I love their name and if you are familiar with lots of the Scream-O, Pop-Punk bands you can appreciate this name as being pretty kick ass. The nice thing is that FST has the talent and sound to back up the name. FST is fronted be female vocals. This young woman was very energetic and had the crowd wound up by the second song. The crowd was jumping along and following the lead singers every breath and word. FST was some pretty powerful stuff. With a brief, emotional moment from the lead singer dedicating the show to a recently passed fan, it seemed very evident this young front woman can control a crowd.

This next band is/was the reason I love going out to check out live music in Austin. Something new and exciting. A band or a performance that provides you that "Holy Shit!" moment. Chernobyl, The Secret (http://chernobylthesecret.bigcartel.com/). The whole performance, from start to finish was just pure bad ass. The lead singer was just energy. Living the music, being the music, performing the music, energy. The audience new it and felt it. That pent up rage just exploding throughout the crowd. Chernobyl the Secret was just adrenaline fueled mayhem and everyone was in on it. The photos here and what the band have are just lucky shots between me getting pummeled and trying to save my camera. Didn't matter though, I loved Chernobyl the Secret  just as much as the crowd did.

Drown The Coward (https://www.facebook.com/DrownTheCoward/) mounted the stage next and just kept the crowd going. Their sound wasn't as dark as the previous band, but Drown the Coward was just as hard hitting. Drown the Coward had another front man who was a beast with the vocals. The performance was just the perfect amount of creative rage and energy to keep the crowd pulsing around and forming another circle pit in the small space.

From Temple, Texas came Isonomist (https://www.facebook.com/isonomist/). Supporting their recently released CD, these guys were just a little different sound of crazy then the previous two bands. Isonomist was very technical and had what seemed to be a tuned down sound. The front man towered over the crowd with command and the band roared through their set. Realizing how good this set was made me wonder how much more the crowd could take. Isonomist just plowed through their set and with the vocals and guitars, and just pounded the shit out of the crowd... it was accepted with sweaty, smiling faces.

And then there was the king, Call Me King (http://wearecmk.com/). The final band of the evening. Hailing all the was from Austin. They proudly announced to the crowd this was the last home show as they were about to hit the road on tour. Well, if I thought everyone was wore out, Call Me King fueled the crowd with their announcement and then lit the match. Everybody was jumping on command of the lead singer.

With the most surprising vocal harmonies of the evening, I hope this part of this Call Me King's performance didn't escape the notice of the young crowd. Call Me King was the most electric performance of the evening. It was the fill between fun and energetic, and fast and crazy. Call Me King was in the right spot to end the evening.


Laters

5 days wasted

although I was invited to hang out. Some how the fact that I am NOT a rockstar, I do not sing in a band, play drums in a band, or play lead guitar, did not escape me. I seriously wanted to spend time with my friends from Chicago, but alas, work and family over rode the freelance will to go balls out. Instead I lived vicariously through the band Black4. For 5 glorious days of them recording in one of Austins newest studios (SkyAcre Labs - although I think The Spank Bank sounds cooler) and then watching them travel around Austin and enjoying our city. All while killing their livers...NICE!

To Bryan (Audrey), Brian, and Curtis...Thanks for making yourselves at home in Austin. We were happy you were here. Me personally, I can't wait to take my wife to Chicago and return the favor.

The Hole in the Wall (http://www.holeinthewallaustin.com/) on Guadalupe has been a mainstay and local college hang out in Austin, Texas for as long as I can remember. Punk, hip hop, rock...this place has seen it all. But alas, it seems it may have seen the end times as well. With developers doing their job to make a buck on the backs of the common man, it appears it may be going down for the count.

Located right where Dean Keeton dead ends into Guadalupe. If you miss it, it's cause you crashed into it. When you walk in the front door it opens to a small, dimly lit lounge are with a bar immediately on your right. Walking a little farther in you go past the bathrooms on your right, down some steps, and there you are by the stage. 

The stage is immediately on your right as you go down the steps and is located in the corner of the room. Housing a bar along the back wall in front of you and a pool table they have impossibly wedged in between the stage and the bar. There is an exit door to the back left, just in front of the bar that leads out to a very nice patio area.

Tonight was a list of 4 bands. With amazing tight set times, it kicked off just after 9:30 with Positive Disturbance (https://www.facebook.com/positivedisturbance). With their live hiphop stylings, Positive Disturbence was a nice, mellow way to open the evening. Easily in the top Five bands that has the balls to do hiphop with that jazzy type flair and do it live. The lyrics flowed well, the harmonies were dead on, and the lead guitar player was damn hot at what he was doing. It is impossible to not compare them to a couple of Austins great, live hiphop bands, and no doubt The GodFather of live hiphop music in Austin, MC Overlord, would be proud to share the stage with these cats. The place had a good crowd and all were grooving to the jams.

Hit By A Car hit the stage next (HA! - I made a funny). The one night only, reunion show, showed the ever growing crowed why this trio killed it back at the turn of the millennium. It was definitive, it was loud, and it was about as punk as it can be. Hit By A Car blasted through their set like there wasn't a stop sign in their way!

Black4 (http://black4band.com/) came all the way down from Chicago to have their sound permiate the every loving, ever living walls of The Hole In The Wall. In town to record some tracks for their upcoming album, Black4 used us as a practice mat for the musical assualt that is...well basically...Black4. This is how Rock-n- roll used to be and still should be. Not punk, not hardcore, not metal...just good old fashioned Rock and Roll.

This is what your daddy listened to and loved in the 70's and early 80's. Tight sound, but gritty and harsh. Shredding vocals that make you want to sing along at the top of your lungs, and lyrics you can hear and understand, amongst the kick you in your fucking balls sound! The crowd had swelled and it was fun watching folks throw their hands in the air.

SkyAcre (http://skyacremusic.com/) was the headliner. The hosts of the evening came out and did their thing well. The crowd was at capacity for this set. Blending the lines between that Black4 style of rock n roll I talked about and the Hit By A Car punk sound, SkyAcre is a smart blend. It was actually very cool watching those in the house break their necks to SkyAcre, and then smoothly drink a beer. The thing to watch out for with SkyAcre, is an amazing thing. How the hell does a 3 piece drop the big sound like these guys? Just watch'em!


Laters

bachelor party weekend pt 2

Just having realized that my last Saturday as a bachelor was gonna spent with INsite Austin Magazine editor Sean Claes and long time, live rock video enthusiast, and documentor of all things metal and awesome in Austin - Dave "Dave TeeVee" Prewitt, I might as well review some shows.

We went down to the Red Eyed Fly on Red River in Austin, Texas. Pretty much in the heart of the entertainment district. There were 2 bands performing on their nifty outside stage this nice evening.

As you walk in the Red Eyed Fly (http://redeyedfly.com/events/) there is a wall that immediately greats you upon stepping in the entrance. As you walk around it to either side you discover a very decent sized bar area. Lots of tables and seating and a long bar on the wall to your right. As you walk through the club to the back, the bathrooms are to your right also. Out back is where the magic happens. A large stone area with a stage set directly in front of you and another bar to your right. It either stays very cool out here in the fall and winter time or humid as hell the other 11 months of the year, as the bar backs up to Waller Creek.

The first band on stage was Austins own Burn Ban (https://www.facebook.com/burnbanatx). A local 2 piece punk band with all the balls needed to make you believe. Although the crowd was ridiculously small for a Saturday night, I can tell you it had nothing to do with the band. Burn Ban was fun. You couldn't see the drummer but you could hear him. The vocalist/guitarist was definitely running the show. Nothing flashy about these guys...except for the singers socks. This is punk as punk should be and sometimes is. Short 2 minute songs. Fast paced, loud, and harsh. With lyrical content the may or may not e something to laugh at (e.g. - their song 'Suck My Dick' is not what you think it is about....or is it?).

The second band we saw was Whiskey of the Damned (https://www.facebook.com/WhiskeyoftheDamned), and Damned fine these guys were! I would have so loved to seen this performance on St Patrick's Day with a crowd of 2000 drunken revelers enjoying the performance. They are an Irish band from Wisconsin(?), Celtic Rock for real though. This was another one of those shocker performances you dream about. When it was over you looked around and realized that the hundreds or thousands that should have been in attendance just missed out on something they will never aurally be able to experience again.

Whiskey of the Damned was about as kick ass and fun as you can get. A touring band that Austin got lucky enough to have stop here, and sad enough because a promoter fucked them over. It was fun, it was entertaining, it was a down in the crowd experience. If you have ever been to a St. Patrick's Day celebration with one of THOSE fun rock bands everyone seems to love and enjoy....they wish they could be as great as Whiskey of the Damned. I usually like to talk about how much fun the audience had at a show. Seeing as the crowd was made up of their roadie, some wives or girlfriends, the bar staff, and some riff-raff that writes about music...you will just have to settle for my experience.

THEY WERE GREAT! The drummer came out and played drums on an empty keg. They rotated guitarist/drummer/singer/bassist. They were all over the place in the most fun and chaotic fashion. And it all circled around some absolutely great music.

Sorry everyone missed this. Look them up and I will see you at the show next time they hit Austin.















Laters

FFF Fest Day 2 pt. II

Return of the King!
Here is the second part of the FFF Fest 2014 from guest writer Jay Longoria!

After Fred Armisen's set was done, I still had quite a while before the next band on my list, Sick of it All, was playing. So I wandered around for a bit, checking out some bands I'd never heard of on the Orange and Black stages. 

On the Orange stage was a band called 

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (http://thepainsofbeingpureatheart.com). All the guys in this band looked like various clones of myself at age 15 [HA!], especially the bass player. They played a style of indie garage rock that sounded reminiscent of Nineties alternative music, like Superchunk or Toad the Wet Sprocket. It wasn't really my thing, but they played well enough and seemed very earnest about their music.

I soon found myself back over by the Black stage passing the time by watching a band called Black Lips (http://black-lips.com) Despite the goth-sounding name, these guys played hard garage rock that had more bluster to it than what was going on over at the Orange stage. That said, they never played anything that quite drew too much of my attention. I'll be honest and say that by this point in the day, I was starting to feel like I'd seen and heard enough indie rock and was really wanting to hasten the evening forward to the main event.

Of course, there was still one group yet to play before that and I was actually semi-curious to see them. This would be Sick of it All, (http://www.sickofitall.com) the quintessential stalwart NYC hardcore punk band.

Apparently, they'd been asked by the organizers of FFF Fest to play a set exclusively sticking to material off two specific albums, Blood, Sweat, and No Tears and Scratch the Surface. Though they seemed semi-disappointed at not being able to play their newer material, Sick of it All still went at it full throttle!  They played with an energy that belied their age, and gave the crowd a lesson in truly old school hardcore punk flavored with a distinctly New York City attitude.  Even though I was really only familiar with one of their songs, "Step Down", (off Scratch the Surface) I enjoyed their set. It was a nice warm up to the moment that many in the crowd, myself included, had been waiting for all evening!!!

(Sick of it All. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get a quality pic of these guys.)

What could it possibly be??

(King Diamond unleashes a live show like no other.)

Yes, after a long hiatus, King Diamond (http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com/site/) had returned for a full U.S. tour with the last stop being tonight at Fun Fun Fun Fest.  And, as promised, King had a rare treat for us: his full, no-holds-barred, stage show. Normally reserved for large European music festivals, but as you can see from the pictures, it was enormous stage props, custom lighting, and interchanging backdrops for the revelers this night.  The initial set up made it appear as if the band was performing at the rusty iron gates of a dilapidated haunted mansion.  It was, to put it frankly, BAD-FUCKING-ASS!! 

King Diamond opened the set with "The Candle" off the first album, Fatal Portrait, and the crowd went absolutely nuts. King, of course, made a dramatic entrance at the top of the catwalk above the drums and coolly glided down the staircase, with his human bone microphone in hand. I have to say, his voice sounded better than ever, as he effortlessly pulled off verse after verse in his signature high falsetto. 

     

The set included a variety of selections off of the band's extensive discography. Highlights included "Welcome Home", complete with an actor dressed as King's evil, decrepit Grandma. "Nightime in Budapest", with an actress costumed as a living doll. "The Eye", "The Family Ghost", and the crowd-pleaser, "Halloween".  My only wish was that they'd played "Mansion In the Darkness" from Abigail, but I couldn't really complain [and it seemed the crowd didn't mind either].

Theatricality was always a King Diamond specia

lty, and he did not disappoint. Going so far as to include a genuine magic trick in the show. It involved placing his Grandma inside a coffin, wheeled onstage by a surgeon and a priest. King then dropped a glowing cinder into the coffin and commanded the sides to drop, revealing the incinerated skeleton of Grandma within. For comedic effect, the surgeon checked the skeleton with his stethoscope and shook his head, while the priest made the sign of the cross over it. 

  The band was on point, rolling through each song flawlessly. King's lead guitarist and songwriting collaborator, Andy Laroque showed why he is one of the best in the biz, throwing smooth phrases and machine gun-picked lead lines, as required.

    

All good (or evil as it were) things must come to an end, and after two encores, the King Diamond finally signed off. King was a class act, staying onstage to graciously thank each section of the crowd for their praise and enthusiasm.  I had read in several pre-tour interviews that King had promised this tour and show would be something fans would never forget, I can say he definitely delivered on that! This was a truly fantastic concert. It will go down as one of the most memorable live performances by any band that I've ever seen and a was one hell of finishing touch on Fun Fun Fun Fest!

Written by:

Jay Longoria

Edited by:

William Tompkins

Laters