Darby’s Last Stand – Remembering the night
June 25, 2010
December 3, 1980. First of all, do you know how much you bleed when you're smashed in the head with a bottle in the slam pit of the Germs reunion show? The correct answer is: a lot — enough so that the blood soaks your shirt and sloshes into your shoes and causes the cute chica a couple of feet away to start screaming until her boyfriend or whatever suggests that maybe you should have your wound attended to. At which point, you're ... "Dude, the Germs!"
Because it's been almost a year since they played their last real gig, at the Fleetwood down in Redondo Beach, and that one was more like a cage match than a show >>> Read More HERE
GBH – DPI – Outernational – Hard Pipe Hitters – at Area 702 Skatepark – Las Vegas, NV
June 24, 2010
This may be one of the coolest places to have a gig at which brings us to 702 skatepark in Las Vegas. Inside the front part of the venue is a skateboard shop, then when you go through the curtains there were skate ramps all over and you start to think how can they have a concert in here. After the kids were done skateboarding they turned the ramps on end rolled them out of the way and set up a barricade in front of the stage and BAM -a concert venue with an instant transformation.
The show started early as the shows at 702 are all ages shows and must be done by a certain time because of curfew. The first band up was local boys Hard Pipe Hitters. Unfortunately their bass player bailed out on them and they had a stand in for him, so all things considered they put on a pretty good show. I think once they obtain a regular bass player these guys will be tight, but the crowd liked them alot.
Next up from San Diego was DPI "Drunkin Punkin Idiots". The crowd was satrting to come in a little at a time by this point. And theses guys played some hardcore Punk Rock, Lead singer pulled his shirt over his head like CornHolio from Beavis and Butthead. They were non stop raging Punks from beginning to end, great opening band to get the crowd ready for GBH.
Now comes Outernational from New York, with There were very eclectic sound, Punk, with some rock sound a bit of a MIX of everything. The crowd of Punks were still anticipating the arrival of GBH. but received Outernational very well.
Now the band everyone was waiting for GBH!! The last time I saw them was many years ago, and they still can rock the house! In between belting out their classic Punk anthems they played songs off their new CD "PISS AND PERFUME" that is out now on Hellcat Records. Their new tunes are just as hard core as their earlier stuff.
Colin gave praise to this kid who was in a wheelchair and was right in the middle of THE PIT!!! This kid was tearing up the floor getting his chair on 1 wheel doing wheelies and still keeping up with the fast pace SLAM PIT!!! Once the music started the whole floor turned into a nice slamming vortex pit. It was absolutely amazing to watch.
In closing GBH tore it up, and we certainly look forward to covering shows from at Area 702 Skatepark in the future, there are some great shows coming up and we plan to cover as many of them as we can.
Bob Mandoki
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter
More photos of the show can be seen HERE
Check out more coverage of the stops GBH made out west:
- GBH – Outernationals – D.A.D.T. – UESP – at Jerry’s Pizza – Bakersfield, CA
- GBH – Outernational – Bomb Pops – at the Music Box – Hollywood, CA
Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
Robb Blake – Ain’t Got No Soul
June 24, 2010
Robb Blake plays music that would generally fit into the Ska category, but he adds some eclectic influences. Overall this works out pretty well and keeps the music interesting, but the addition of Metal breakdowns and growls may be a bit over ambitious and make it a little harder to get through some of the songs that otherwise carry a pretty decent beat and have some solid hooks. Surely there is an audience for this stuff. People who are into music that experiments with melding unlikely influences would likely enjoy Robb Blake quite a bit.
Band MySpace: www.myspace.com/robbblake1
-Ditch
Big Wheel Asst. Editor
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Gary Numan announces – The Pleasure Principle Tour 2010 – Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the landmark 1979 record
June 24, 2010
To celebrate the recent re-issue and 30th anniversary of his classic album The Pleasure Principle, Gary Numan has announced he will come to North America this fall on tour. On The Pleasure Principle 2010 Tour, the modern music icon will perform in its entirety the album that climbed into the Top 20 on the U.S. charts 30 years ago propelled by his unforgettable Top 10 single “Cars.” The shows will feature material spanning across Numan’s career, including tracks from his forthcoming album Splinter which he's currently working on in the U.K.
Numan last toured America in 2006 in support of his Jagged album and was set to appear at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival this past April, but had to cancel due to the volcanic eruptions in Iceland blocking air traffic. For his 2010 fall tour starting in mid-October, fans will be able to catch him in 15 markets including Orlando, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Emilie Autumn will join Numan as the support act in Philadelphia and New York City, with others to be announced for the other cities.
The Pleasure Principle made Gary Numan a huge international solo star upon its release in 1979. Given the soft rock and disco-dominated music scene in America at the end of the decade, the disc pioneered electronic pop music on a new, worldwide scale built around icy synthesizers without guitars or conventional song structures (“Cars” doesn't even have a chorus). The disc’s impact was crystallized in the U.S. when Numan performed “Cars” and “Praying To The Aliens” an audience of 40 million people on Saturday Night Live. The music from The Pleasure Principle gave birth to new musical movements in the States over the next decade, including hip-hop, industrial and techno.
As NME recently noted, “every hip-hop production titan ever--notably Dr. Dre--has nicked the opening beats from the track ‘Films.’ The likes of Timbaland and The Neptunes' minimal pop--featuring exquisitely produced drums and simplistic synthlines--are currently heralded as futuristic genius in the 21st century; The Pleasure Principle shows that Gary Numan was doing the same thing 30 years previously. His influence on hip-hop, while rarely recognized, is enormous. His influence on electronic music in general is unparalleled.”
When GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan covered “Films” from The Pleasure Principle last year, he was actually taking hip-hop back to its roots as the track features one of the original break beats, also included as part of the hugely influential Ultimate Breaks & Beats series. In industrial music, both Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson have name checked Numan as a significant influence, with the former currently performing the track “Metal” on his tour. “After hearing 'Cars,' I knew I wanted to make music with synthesizers,” says Reznor. “The Pleasure Principle is great because it's so cold sounding.”
Techno pioneers ranging from Carl Craig to Juan Atkins and Richie Hawtin were also grabbed by this strange, futuristic music, creating a relationship between Numan and dance music that has spawned the likes of the Basement Jaxx's “Where's Your Head At” (samples “M.E.” from The Pleasure Principle) and the “Cars”-mutating “Koochy” by Armand Van Helden. As the newly reformed Devo recently commented, The Pleasure Principle is “so original and cool and groundbreaking and in a way classic. Like, it still sounds great today…like nothing sounds like that today.”
www.numan.co.uk or www.myspace.com/garynuman
Catch Gary Numan on The Pleasure Principle 2010 Tour this fall:
|
DATE |
|
CITY |
VENUE |
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Sun |
10/17 |
|
The Firestone |
|
Mon |
10/18 |
|
Masquerade |
|
Wed |
10/20 |
|
Black Cat |
|
Thu |
10/21 |
|
Trocadero w/ Emilie Autumn |
|
Fri |
10/22 |
|
|
|
Sat |
10/23 |
|
Nokia Theatre w/Emilie Autumn |
|
Sun |
10/24 |
|
Opera House |
|
Mon |
10/25 |
|
Majestic Theater |
|
Tue |
10/26 |
|
Metro |
|
Thu |
10/28 |
|
Gothic Theatre |
|
Sun |
10/31 |
|
Neumos |
|
Mon |
11/1 |
|
Roseland Theatre |
|
Tue |
11/2 |
|
Fillmore |
|
Wed |
11/3 |
|
El Rey |
|
Thu |
11/4 |
|
El Rey |
The Brains – Zombie Nation
June 23, 2010
The Brains have a completely generic Psychobilly aesthetic, but in reality their music is much more original than their art work or appearance would lead you to believe. Make no mistake- this is definitely Psycho stuff and it even has some guest appearances from members of Mad Sin, but the Brains do manage to make the sound their own. There's a bit of Motorhead mixed in with the guitar riffs and the vocals are much cleaner and straight forward than most bands doing the Psychobilly thing. The lyrics do stick to the standard Horror Punk themes, but overall this album was a pleasant surprise.
Band MySpace: www.myspace.com/thebrains
-Ditch
Big Wheel Asst. Editor
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Gogol Bordello – at The Mayan Theater – Los Angeles, CA
June 22, 2010
There are times when you see a band perform live and you instantly want everyone you know to share the experience. Not just your friends but your older relatives who tell you that music meant something in years past. Not just them but your younger cousins who think that a live show needs to involve a bunch of hired dancers and headset microphones. You even want your co-workers there so they can see there is more to life on weeknights than reality television.
Gogol Bordello is such a band. Ever since the first time I had heard them, I knew they had to be a stunning live experience. Then several of my friends and relatives started to report back to me. They told me I simply had to witness the power of Gogol Bordello. The problem was the last few times that Gogol Bordello had played Los Angeles, it had been for various festivals. If I was going to see this band, I wanted to see them in a smaller setting. Luckily, this time around, they were playing the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles. This was my chance.
The show began when singer and guitarist, Eugene Hütz, bounced onto the stage completely alone. He started strumming his guitar and as he played and sang, the rest of the band slowly joined him on stage. At this point the whole crowd jumped in unison and didn't stop until it was over. (Three songs in, my camera broke) Hütz has my vote for one of the greatest frontmen of today. He hardly stopped moving.
There is a certain style of playing live that I am in love with. I love when bands play relentlessly. I love when there are very few stops. When the first song ends, the next song begins instantaneously. The Ramones invented it and called it, "Blitzkrieg Bop." The Dwarves subscribe to this method. Gogol Bordello does it too.
The difference is that there is a lot more going on with Gogol Bordello than just guitar and drums. There is a percussionist who also sort of acts as a hype man and sometimes a dub style MC. There is a second female percussionist who sometimes offers backing vocals. There is the ever present sound of a violin and an accordion. It is the most punk rock I have ever heard either instrument sound.
At times, the whole spectacle reminded me of the end of rousing drunken wedding reception. It may have been the fact that violinist, Sergey Ryabtsev, sort of looks like the uncle of any of my childhood friends. He often stole the show whether he was playing "Tribal Connection", plucking the strings along to a slow quiet number or doing the mighty wail at the peak of the hit song, "Start Wearing Purple"
The band ended their set with a medley that constantly came back to the song, "Undestructible," The crowd would not leave until they were given more. Gogol Bordello made us all wait a while but no one was moving. Finally, Hütz took the stage. Once again, he was completely alone. He played a beautiful melody on his acoustic guitar and led the audience into a sing-a-long tribute to "Alcohol".
The encore was just as insane as the rest of the set. During the last song, Hütz, would entertain one side of the stage while the other six members (everyone but the drummer) of Gogol Bordello ran to the other side. Then they'd switch sides back and forth.
When they finished their encore, everyone wanted more but no one could move. No one had a voice to scream, "One more." Everyone at the Mayan was totally spent. Two hours of Gogol Bordello is an intense cardio workout.
I'll end this review by saying what everyone has been saying to me for the past few years, you HAVE to see this band live.
-Joe Dana-
Go HERE to see all the latest show reviews
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