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

Going Costal

Skrewface, October Rage, Bobaflex, and Royal Bliss: Live Music In Austin has reached the gulf coast and Corpus Christi, Texas.

Theo's (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Theos-Billiards/199220250112750?sk=timeline) is located in a shopping center just off of Weber and Holly, next to the H.E.B. When you walk in the doors of Theo's you see the merchandise area off to your right. Beyond that is the bar with a wide variety of drinks to keep the clientele comfortable. To the left you have the stage with tables, chairs, and the soundboard set in front of it. There is enough room for any patrons who want to get up close and personal with the bands. Off to the back of the bar are the pool tables, a smoking patio, and the bathrooms.

The performances put on by the bands this evening, was by no means affected by the small crowd turn out. They played a show as if they were playing for 10,000 people in a stadium and they had a great time doing it.

Skrewface (https://www.facebook.com/SkrewfaceBand/info)is a high energy band. In their performance, Skrewface was continually dedicating songs to the other bands. From standing on speakers, to the interactions with each other on stage, Skrewface kept the show alive. Unfortunately, being that Theo’s is a billiards hall, there wasn’t a lot of crowd participation. You could definitely see the patrons enjoyed the music.

Next up was October Rage (http://www.octoberrage.com). A band from Australia on tour with Bobaflex and Royal Bliss. The October Rage set wasn’t really any different from the first band. High energy, constant activity, and a thrill for being there. With most of the patrons shooting pool, it was a challenge being in the slight crowd that was strictly there to rock! But ROCK we did, October Rage did kick it well.

Following October Rage was Bobaflex (http://www.theofficialbobaflex.com/home). Now here was a change in activity. Shaun and Martin McCoy would switch off between each other playing guitar and doing vocals. Bobaflex had a very crowd friendly performance. Standing on a ledge at the front of the stage and being right there in front for those in the crowd.

After Bobaflex finished their set I sat and spoke with a few members of the band. Funny thing is, out of all the things we could have possibly talked about, the topic of discussion was the weather. These guys are down to earth. It's not just about sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll on the bus. There are plenty more of things these guys are about.

Royal Bliss (http://www.royalbliss.com/index) was the final band. For this band there was more crowd involvement. No just patrons of the bar, but from the other bands as well. It was terribly exciting when everyone in the crowd and onstage was so involved in the performance. 

The final song Royal Bliss played was “I was drunk”. They were joined on stage by both Bobaflex and October Rage to finish off the show with this epic trio finale.

 
October Rage, Bobaflex, and Royal Bliss are on the Rock Avengers Tour together. And it's wonderful  that they act as though they are one big family hanging out together. This is good for all in attendance.

written by: Stephen Christopher
edited by: William Tompkins

Laters

Editors note - I was bummed that this tour missed Austin. Glad that I had a correspondent ready to go in the area.

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