“The Bastard Tracks”. B-Sides. The meat of the record. Songs not usually on the live set. Deep cuts. Tracks the diehard fans know.
Death Angel created this web stream to dig “deep into [their] catalog to perform older favorites, newer classics and songs that have never been performed live before” with multiple interview segments containing the stories behind the songs and “a glimpse into the collective minds and souls of Death Angel.”
Lloyd’s hair is shorter than this now. Either way, meeeooowwww.
The first time I heard Dennis Lloyd’s single, “Nevermind,” I was intrigued. I started hearing the song a lot on satellite radio, and on the music channel I turn my TV to when I’m in the kitchen. A month or so ago, Lloyd’s name came up on my radar: he was coming through the Bay on tour. I requested to cover the show and quickly forgot about it. I didn’t find out that I had a ticket until the day before the show. The next day, I realized I only knew that one song, so I spent several hours listening to Spotify’s This is Dennis Lloyd playlist. Unfortunately, I wasn’t into it. I’m a girl of my word, though, so I headed to Great American Music Hall on Thursday in hopes that Lloyd live would change my mind.
This is the new synth party in town — and it’s as aggressive as it is danceable
Adrien Grousset of Carpenter Brut
An intriguing new in heavy electronic music is a genre known as “dark synthwave”, and numerous artists that fall under its umbrella have been snarling their way into existence. It brings along the sounds of retro analog synths, thundering snares, and wildly vibrant guitars, possessed of a vibe reminiscent of action movies and old-school video games; a colleague of mine referred to it as “French musicians playing the best music for driving 100MPH in 80s cars”, and it’s a rather apt description. Players like Perturbator and Gost have made their way into the Bay Area in recent months, and closing out the month of March was Carpenter Brut, the one-man-masterpiece of one Franck Hueso (or “Frank B. Carpenter” as his live moniker) that mashes up the ideas of John Carpenter’s action/horror films with a blast of furious guitars and drums to drive the music at a fevered pace.
I woke up in utter disbelief this morning. We’ve had a lot of music legends pass away in the last year, but nothing prepared me for the passing of Prince. The man was simply eternally youthful and filled with boundless energy. Less than six months ago, Prince played a 38-song set at Oracle Arena that got out around midnight, followed by another 18-song set at 3am at the Great American Music Hall — a feat that much younger musicians cannot accomplish.
No, the F-Line isn’t supposed to be this close to the MUNI bus.
Post-Election Day we have a panoply of excellent concerts coming to The Bay Area this week. Shows of all kinds. We have shows that are avenging! And dance-y! Secretive! And lemony! Metal! And even including the magic of public transportation.
It’s wonderful that there are so many kinds of shows ’round here and so many buses to take you to them.
There was a point in my life where The Mars Volta were, in my opinion, the most interesting thing in rock. Those first three full length records, De-Loused In The Comatorium, Frances The Mute, and Amputechture were all in heavy rotation while I moved from my early to mid 20’s. These records were the perfect balance of heavy and creative. Insane records filled with intensity that drew from influences as wide ranging as Fania All Stars, Pink Floyd, Fugazi, and Stockhausen. Delicious albums that I listened to almost daily. Before long, however, it felt like the band kept losing the plot. The records seemed stale, and the live shows also seemed to like some of the “Oomph!” of their earlier sets. When they decided to close up that chapter, it made sense to me. Both Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala found themselves exploring music apart from each other, and made for some awfully compelling records.
The year that they parted ways was 2012. Now, a mere two years later, Cedric & Omar quietly started putting out new material on the web. Under the name “Antemasque.” These were some great, concise tracks. So, the moment they announced a tour, I decided it was worth my while to see if they’ve really re-inspired themselves.
I have a bit of a weird history with The Antlers. Not, like, personally. It’s just that one of their (arguably) best albums, Hospice, was something I found when I was in the depths of a deep depression. I won’t ever forget how much it tore up my heart to listen to “Bear” for the first time and how heartbreaking those lyrics were. Tonight, I entered Great American Music Hall, but found myself back in that darkened apartment, whiskey in hand, tears soaking my face.
Back in March of 2014, the massive art-metal juggernaut known as Tool rumbled through the Bay Area, gracing its residents with a set of shows once again at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Those who were wise enough to arrive early for the show might have had a chance to watch the real surprise of the night: the recently-reformed Los Angeles trio of Failure, bringing their expert musicianship and crushing brand of alt-space-rock back into the fold for a set of short but powerful sets. Continuing the connection, Failure made a reappearance for Tool singer Maynard James Keenan’s 50th birthday celebration, with all three members offering both their own songs and contributions to the sprawling evening of music that took place each night. With a healthy amount of new exposure under their belt, Failure is coming back on the road for their own headlining tour, this time with zero accompaniment — an Evening With, two sets, and a furious chunk of tunes across their three records to throw into the mix. If their show at the Great American Music Hall was any indication, this is one reunion that isn’t fading any time soon: Failure are back and as sonically potent as ever before.
