Week of Streetlight Manefesto

     This week I am going to be doing a fond farewell to a well loved ska band going out with a bang on their farewell tour. This week I am going to be doing a concert review of Streetlight Manifesto's final tour.

     The show was at Wooly's in Des Moines on June 24th. They had two openers Empty Orchestra and Rodeo Ruby Love. One of which was a ska band and one was not. Ive noticed that ska bands have a tendency to do that, bring a famous ska bands or two-three, and a non ska band. Usually as the first opener. Which begs the question why? Very few people go to ska shows not knowing anything about ska. It's usually a very solid core group of ska fanatics that attend theses shows. So why not just all ska bands. Also the first band usually isn't very good. I say this as a ska expert. I have been to quite a few ska shows. There was nothing wrong with Empty Orchestra but the weren't anything special either. Which is fine for an opener, they don't need to be special, but why no horns. Rodeo Ruby Love came out and gave the crowd what they wanted to hear, good old fashioned ska music. They were very good for a band so new to the genre. By new to the genre I mean not from the 90's. I couldn't find a set-list for them but they have three CD's out and they played for at least 30 minutes with material from all three albums.

     Lets talk about the factors that led up to the The End of the Beginning tour and the scrapped new album. On August 22, 2012 the announced that their new album would be called The Hands That Thieve. It was originally set to be released on November 6, 2012, but was pushed back to January 2013. On February 1st 2013 Victory Records their label was to announce the release date but didn't follow through. On February 15, it was announced by Victory Records that the album would be released on April 30, 2013. An acoustic version of the album was to be released by Toh Kay on the same date as the The Hand That Thieves. That's when things all went to hell. Victory Records withheld all copies of The Hands That Thieve from both Streetlight Manifesto and those that had pre ordered the album elwhere, and barred Streetlight Manifesto from releasing the Toh Kay album. The band called for a boycott of all merchandise and music purchased from Victory Records. As for the touring they are doing one final tour till the end of the year and then just doing festivals and one off show dates. They said they are not breaking up. The album was leaked on the internet another big fu to Victory Records.

     Ive been to a lot of shows, but shows are all different especially ska shows. There are some things that make them special. If done correctly ska shows can be both a workout and some of the most fun shows you will ever go to. Streetlight's show was no exception. I hate to say that  if you ignore the mosh pits you won't have as much fun because it's a strange statement, but at ska shows it's true. They have their own special dance for ska shows called skanking. I will link a video bellow. People in the ska pits do this dance in combination with massive amounts of jumping and bouncing off each other. This is a huge workout if done for the whole show. You don't have to do this to have fun but if you are able to do it safely I would recommend trying it once.
                                                                      How to Skank

     At around ten Streetlight took the stage and the crowd exploded, rushing in every direction to get as close to the stage as possible. The mosh pits opened up and band played like there was no tomorrow, which there won't be at the end of the year. At one point near the end of the show the singer said this is most likely that last time we will ever perform in your fine city, and the crowd responded by going bat shit crazy. Streetlight Manifesto is one the last great ska bands, that tour frequently at least. They will be sorely missed. They show was high energy straight to the end. They fired out 15 songs including songs from their new some what abandoned record. They even told us where on the internet the album could be found. So if you like ska, go see Streetlight Manifesto before they disappear for good. Screw you Victory Records.

Week of Queens of the Stone Age and Black Sabbath

     This week is going to be a big one, two of the years biggest rock albums by far. I usually only do one album a week, but this week I just couldn't do that. Both of these are just too important. So here we go, this week I will be reviewing Queens of the Stone Age-...Like Clockwork and Black Sabbath- 13. We will start with Queens of the Stone Age their album came out first after all.

     Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert California that formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Lead Guitarist, Lead Singer, and band leader Josh Homme, Guitarist Tony Van Leeuwn, Bassist Michael Shuman, Keyboardist Dean Fertita, and Drummer Jon Theodore. However the band has had several lineup changes over the years. They were formed after the dissolution of Josh Homme's previous band Kyuss in 1995. The project was originally titled Gamma Ray but they had to change the name so another band with the same name wouldn't sue. The bands first live appearance was at OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington. Followed by the bands first EP Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age. The bands debut album Queens of the Stone Age was released in 1998. The band released their second album Rated R in 2000. This album had the breakout hit "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" which featured Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, and got them an opening spot at Ozzfest in 2000. In 2001 former Nirvana member and lead Foo Fighter Dave Grohl joined and the band put out Songs for the Deaf in 2002. That album got  the band huge critical success. The bands forth album Lullabies to Paralyze came out in 2005. Era Vulgaris came out in late 2007. Following Era Vulgaris Queens of the Stone Age went on hiatus, reissued their first album and toured. As well as being a part of the super group Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.

     This album has been a nightmare of waiting for fans of Queens of the Stone Age. The album has been in production since early 2009, a lot of things derailed the album process. Josh's previous band Kyuss reformed as Kyuss Lives! and played a tour. They wanted to record a new album as Kyuss Lives, but changed their plan and tried to record as Kyuss. This resulted in a lawsuit that took quite a lot of Josh's time since he owns the rights. As well as what would be called epic writers block by Josh himself. The production of the album didn't actually begin until 2012. The hype for the record is some of the craziest Ive ever seen. Josh said that it would be the best rock album of the year and features a whole slew of famous musicians collaborating on the album. Including: Dave Grohl on drums, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys, Elton John, Nick Oliveri on back up vocals, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, and Mark Lanegan. The most inspiring thing that leads to the creative process of this album was that Josh Homme was legally declared dead on the operating table after going in for knee surgery. So this a very personal story type of record.
                                          Here is No Ones Know- Queens of the Stone Age.

          This album was inspired by Josh's near death experience and his incapacitation following the surgery. He was unable to get up for forth months following the operation, and had a deep realization about the things that mattered to him: mortality, friendship, love, and faith. The writing process was very different on this album. It took a lot longer than the normal writing process for most Queens of the Stone Age records. Which is why the album was titled like clockwork because of the large amount of time it was taking to finish the album. Not to mention a reunion of the Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf line up. This line up makes a huge difference on this album, leaving it sounding nothing like Era Vulgaris. Which is a good thing, not to diss it, but this album stands leaps and bounds above it. It has so much more emotional depth and real feeling being written in to each song. Its a very dark, bluesier album, and it features his normal stoner rock with pop sounds mixed in.
                                            My God is the Sun- Queens of the Stone Age

      The album opener "Keep Your Eyes Peeled" features guest vocals from Jake Shears and drives the point home about what kind of album this is going to be. A dark, intricately laid out, blues album, it takes blues to a new level for the catchy opener. "I Sat by the Ocean" drops the blues completely and leaves Josh in Morning about a girl that left him.  It's a driving rock song that opens up on the chorus. "The Vampyre of Time and Memory" slows things down quite a bit to become the best example of a near death experience in a song. It's beautiful and one of the best song on here. "If I had a Tail" features Alex Turner, Mark Lanegan, and Nick Oliveri. This song really shows off Josh's creative lyric writing and some of the best back up vocals ever from the featured musicians. It is one of my favorites on the album. "My God is the Sun" is the lead single off the album and is one of the hardest rocking tracks on here. The guitars duel each other through the powerful chorus and it sucks you in. "Kalopsia" features Trent Reznor and starts off as a ballad before exploding into a jamming rock song. It really brings the strange that we are use to with Queens of the Stone Age. "Fairweather Friends" features Elton John and was co-written by Mark Lanegan. Even though it's a heavy rock song it really uses Elton's piano playing to drive the song. "Smooth Sailing" takes the cake as my absolute favorite song on the record. It's is a dark, dirty song, something that might resemble an Alice in Chains song. "I Appear Missing" is a six minute long epic describing Josh's feelings about hiding from life and avoiding problems. The closer "...Like Clockwork" features James LaVelle and Charlie May, who also helped write the song. It's a slow song that builds to a huge climax at the end, and shows some of Josh's best lyrics ever.
                                               ...Like Clockwork the whole album live!

      The crazy thing about this album is the emotional depth in the stories it tell through the lyrics and songs. You have to remember that this is all stuff that happened to Josh during the darkest and hardest moments in his life. He does his best singing and songwriting of his career on this album. The album was one of the most hyped albums I can remember, and it features so many amazing musicians that it's incredible the way it comes out. It feels like an intimate up close look into the mind of a depressed musician. It's dark it's beautiful and it rocks. You almost forget that it has so many featured artists on it. I still can't believe this is the band that wrote Era Vulgaris.
Recommended Songs: The Vampyre of Time and Memory, If I Had a Tail, Fairweather Friends, and Smooth Sailing.

5/5 Stars

      Black Sabbath are an English Rock band from Birmingham formed in 1968. The band originally consisted of Guitarist Tony Iommi, Bassist Geezer Butler, Singer Ozzy Osbourne, and Drummer Bill Ward. The band was originally called Earth up until 1969 when they had to change the name. They based it off of Boris Karloff's film Black Sabbath. They signed to Vertigo Records in 1969 and only had two days to record their debut album. Black Sabbath came out in 1970. Quickly followed by Paranoid in 1971, it has been called one of the most important metal records of all time. Jumping right back in the studio again they released Master of Reality in 1971 and Volume 4 in 1972. This is when fatigue and drug addiction really started to take effect on the band. After this Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage quickly followed. The next two albums really felt the effect of drug abuse as they didn't do half as well as the ones before, and in 1979 Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath for being a drunken mess.
     

     

      In 1979 former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio joined sabbath as Ozzy's replacement. The band was reinvigorated and inspired coming out with two very strong albums in a row Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. A couple of years later Bill Ward quit missing Ozzy and being drunk 24/7, replaced by Vinny Appice. For Born again in 1984 Dio left and was replaced by Deep Purple's Ian Gillian. Geezer Butler quit the band went on hiatus before putting out Seventh Star which was really a Tony solo album. The next three albums The Eternal Idol, Headless Cross, and Tyr all felt like Tony just keeping the band barely alive. Then Dehumanizer was here with Geezer Butler and Dio joining the band again for just one album. The next two albums Cross Purposes and Forbidden saw Tony and Geezer bringing back former vocalist Tony Martin. Then there was the Ozzfest reunion phase. The band originally reformed with Ozzy at the helm to co headline 1997's Ozzfest, Mike Bordin filled in for Bill Ward. Bill did rejoin the original line up eventually to tour and release the double live album reunion. The band occasionally reformed to play Ozzfest's and even tried to record an album in 2001 with Rick Rubin but it didn't come to. The band went their separate ways until 2011 when they announced the reunion and new album that would be 13.
                                                           Black Sabbath- God Is Dead?

           The band announced plans for a full Reunion, new album, and world tour. However when you're Black Sabbath drama is only a second away. Tony Iommi was diagnosed with cancer, Bill Ward refused to be involved unless his contract was changed, which never happened and he bowed out, and Ozzy suffered a relapse, but they trucked on anyway. They brought back Rick Rubin on as producer and began what would be 13. They had to bring in Rage Against the Machines drummer Brad Wilk to play drums. This is a painful restart for the band and a fun one to listen to for us. They work through all of their pain by channeling it through their music. Rick Rubin works miracles with the band and brings them back to their classic dark bluesy sound. They still keep their trademark doom sound especially from Tony Iommi's guitar, Ozzy voice sounds great for its age and his hard life, and Geezer  brings the heavy bass lines and writes some seriously dark and intense lyrics. The fact that this album came to exist at all is a miracle. It's been since 1979's Never Say Die! that the band put out a studio album with Ozzy on vocals, and it really does deliver. The band followed Rick Rubin's advice to pick up Brad Wilk and to go back to their very first album's sound and it all just comes together and clicks.
                                                   Black Sabbath- End of the Beginning

      The album opens with "End of the Beginning" a song about a cyborg clone, and it sets the tone for what is to come on the rest of the album. Which is a hell of a bluesy metal ride. The lead single "God Is Dead" is an almost 9 minute epic about whether god exists. This song is amazing it brings us back to the days of early sabbath. This is the song that helps you realize that this isn't just a reunion album but a real record with things to say and real metal to blast out. "Loner" is a straight forward doom sounding, old school sabbath song, nothing new and I like it that way. "Zeitgeist" is more of a trippy song going back to the psychedelic era. "Age of Reason" really kicks it into a groove that drives through the whole song. "Live Forever" is another song that shows Tony and Geezer really just blasting it out together like they have been doing all their lives, because they have. "Damaged Soul" is an old school blues metal song. The whole album has a blues feel to it like their first record, but this song brings out the blues a lot more. It has a killer guitar solo in the middle of the song. "Dear Father" takes you on a journey through different rhythms and buildups throughout the seven minutes. The song has a lot of change ups and it's nice to have some songs that don't groove the whole time. "Methademic" brings the dark evil sounding ballad up for some fresh air, just kidding. It starts slow before exploding into one of the heaviest songs on the album. "Peace of Mind" slows down the pace without cranking down the volume. It feels like a Black Sabbath death march song, because that's really what it is. The albums closer "Pariah" is one of the most versatile songs on the album. There are some moments where it is quiet like a ballad and others where it explodes into some of best riffs on the album.
                                                            Black Sabbath-Zeitgeist

     Black Sabbath's 13 has a lot of things to overcome to even exist, getting all the band, or at least most of it together for the first time in 30+ years. Also it is a reunion album, and reunion albums are often plagued with bands fading and not living up to the past records and only disappointing fans after the long wait. The album suffered from all of the bad things happening to it during the writing process. I mean come on, Tony wrote the album while going through cancer treatment! They channel all the pain and write through it with their music. Then there is Rick Rubin, I said earlier he should be praised for guiding the band's sound, but he should also be criticized for the way he mixed the album itself. The sound sometimes becomes crushed by distortion, a similar problem that happened when he produced Metallica's Death Magnetic. It does occasionally bring the sound of the songs down a little. All that being said this album really pulls through and delivers one hell of an album. After all these years they've still got it, standing the test of time the way the best metal does. It's not as good as the classic stuff, but is it really fair to expect it to be?
Recommended Songs: God Is Dead, Zeitgeist, Damaged Soul, and Methademic

4/5 Stars

Week of The Rolling Stones

      The Rolling Stones are aside from The Beatles the most famous group of musicians that have ever lived. I never had the chance to see them and I never thought I would. When they announced their 50th anniversary tour I had to get in on it. That was until I saw the ticket prices, cheapest tickets were 125 and those sold out before the Ticketmaster on sale date. That left 240, 450, 640, and the tongue pit for an outrageous 1200 dollars. Then all I could think was damn I may have missed my last chance to see the legendary Rolling Stones. Then they announced that they would be releasing a small amount of 85 dollar anti scalping tickets. I was on it. I had class when they were on sale, didn't matter I got on my computer during class and secured my self the pair of tickets. It was finally happening. I was going to see The Rolling Stone on June 3rd at the Chicago United Center.

 

     Finally it was the night of the show and all that was left for discussion was how would they compare to their former selves. My mom was going with me to the show and she was a die hard fan who had seen them live several times before. We were wondering at their age if they could still do the songs justice, or perform like they used too. The other question I had was who was going  to be the special guest that came on stage with The Rolling Stones tonight. The two previous nights in Chicago it had been Taj Mahal the first night and Sheryl Crow the second night. I keep wondering who could it be? Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, or etc (insert awesome musician here). The set list also interested me. I knew they would play the biggest hits every night, but I wanted to know if they would throw in some deep cuts for the old school fans, some covers. Which lesser hits would be played they have so many they can't play them all every night. 

     We got to the arena around 7:30 and the show started at 8. Apparently there was no opener. The stage resembled a giant pair of lips with a tongue that served as the standing room only pit. The 85 dollar anti-scalping tickets were kind of like a lottery. The tickets were in pairs and could be anywhere in the arena. We figured out we ended up with with what could have been 400 dollar tickets. The band didn't actually come on until 9pm. Maybe they should have had an opener. They started off with a video of celebrities and famous people talking about the importance of The Rolling Stones and their music. Before the band came blasting out to "Get Off of My Cloud". They brought everything in their arsenal to the show: Back up soul singers, saxophones, a children's choir, former band members, a special guest (I'll get to that in a second), outfit changes, giant video screens, and Mick Jagger's classic swagger. The man can still dance and sing as it turns out. The rest of the band didn't disappoint either. They played extremely loud for a band their age. 

     Following "Get Off of My Cloud", they went into "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" accompanied with videos of classic blues musicians playing on the monitors. Followed by "Paint It Black" and "Gimme Shelter". "Gimme Shelter" was the best song of the entire night. Mick Jagger accompanied by a soul singer blasted out a absolutely mind blowing duet that sent shivers down my spine. There was a web polling among fans to pick the next song witch ended up being "Sway". Followed by "Live With Me", "As Tears Go By", and "Emotional Rescue". "As Tears Go By" ended up being the special guest appearance song. Taylor Swift came out to sing on the duet. "Doom and Gloom", and "One More Shot" were next as the two new songs written for GRRR. These were not quite up to snuff as Mick read off a teleprompter for "Doom and Gloom".  "Honky Tonk Women", "You Got the Silver", "Before They Make Me Run" came next. Band introductions came after "Honky Tonk Women", and Keith Richards took over lead vocals on "You Got the Silver" and "Before They Make Me Run". Next was "Midnight Rambler", "Miss You", and "Start Me Up". Former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor joined them for "Midnight Rambler". The last six songs were all hits: "Tumbling Dice", "Brown Sugar", "Sympathy for the Devil", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".  "You Can't Always Get What You want saw the Roosevelt University Conservatory Chorus join the band, and Mick Taylor came back out to join the band for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". 

      The main band is the same as always with Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards on Guitar and back up vocals, Ronnie Wood on Lead guitar, and Charlie Watts on drums. Mick Jagger must have changed his outfit at least five times thought the night. His dance moves are as good as ever. "Midnight Rambler" was one of the best songs of the night lasting upwards of ten minutes long. There were moments where the instruments were so loud that it drowned out Mick a little, but he did a very good job of compensating for it. Taylor Swift's guest spot on the show bothered me for a lot of reasons. First of which, they could have gotten so many better people, and secondly she was not very good. Ronnie Wood took over lead guitar for most of the night. Which makes me wonder if it was because Keith was looking so much less energetic then he used to be. The only other criticism was that he should learn the new songs and back away from the mic when singing falsetto. Otherwise it was an amazing concert. They still play very well and played all of the songs I wanted to hear. The videos used to accompany the songs were totally rock and roll. Even for old guys they can still rock. They played for more then two hours, and played hit after hit all night. If this was their last hurrah, I'm glad I got the chance to see them. It was well worth it.

The Rolling Stones Live- Sympathy For the Devil

Week of Alice in Chains

With tons of great albums coming out every week I have to be picky on which ones I review for a weekly blog. However I think this album falls under almost everyone's most important albums of the year list. This week I will be reviewing Alice In Chains- The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.

     Alice in Chains are an American band from Seattle, Washington in 1987. The original line up consisted of songwriter and lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell, Lead singer Layne Staley, Bassist Mike Star, and Drummer Sean Kinney. Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell first met as struggling musicians while working at the Music Bank rehearsal studios. They became roommates living in a performance space, they were performing as Alice N' Chains to avoid the bondage criticism. The band broke up to form a funk band where they met Sean Kinney and Mike Star. The funk band fell apart and the went back to Jerry Cantrell's other band, changing names a bunch of times before going back to using Alice In Chains. Local promoter Randy Hauser became aware of the band at a concert, and offered to pay for the demo recordings. However the day before the band was due to record the demo, police shut down the studio during the biggest pot bust in the state's history. The Tree house Tapes fnally found their way to Columbia Records. The band released their first EP We Die Young in 1990. The band released their debut album Facelift in 1990. "Man in the Box" rocketed them to huge success giving them openings for Iggy Pop, Van Halen, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. After the release of an acoustic EP Sap, the band released their second album Dirt in 1992. This album went quadruple platinum since it's release.

     Alice in Chains have quite the history. So much so that they get two whole paragraphs dedicated to it. Following the release of Dirt and it's word tour, the band ended up back in the studio with acoustic guitars and created the EP Jar of Flies in 1993, and ended up with a new bassist Mike Inez. Soon after this singer Layne Staley entered rehab for heroin addiction. The band had planned a tour in 1994 but had to cancel it and put the band on hiatus when Layne Staley began using heroin again. While Alice in Chains were inactive during 1995 Layne Staley joined the grunge super group Mad Season. The group only had one album Above. In April 1995 Alice in Chains entered the Bad Animals Studio in Seattle with producer Toby Wright. Alice in Chains was released on November 7, 1995, and had been certified double platinum with four lead singles: "Grind", "Again", "Over Now", and "Heaven Beside You". No official tour followed this album but they performed a few shows opening for the KISS original lineup reunion. The band never disbanded singer Layne Staley just became a recluse never leaving the house and on April 19th, 2002 he was found dead in his condo. He had died from a combination of cocaine and heroin overdose. After a few reunion shows Willian DuVall became the official new lead singer and the band put out Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009. That leads us to The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
                                                      Alice in Chains- Man in a Box

           

     The label of Reunion album is a title that even the best bands and most dedicated fans cringe at, because everyone knows this is a label to be nervous for. Will they be the same band as before? That time has passed now for Alice in Chains, and finally the drama around that time is over. The band is back at it with grimy, dirty, grunge just like we like it. Alice is a dirty girl after all. Sorry I couldn't help myself. This album is true to everything classic and new Alice in Chains fans loved about the band. It has the harmonies, the grimy guitar licks, the powerful choruses, drawn out pounding base lines, and the dark emotional lyrics we have come to love from them. They even go as far as to expand on their usual sound on this album. The acoustic tracks or ballads for some are a few of the best tracks on the album. This album just has a very open life force of it's own, unlike Black Gives Way to Blue. That was a good record, but this one is a true Alice in Chains return to form.   

Alice in Chains- Stone

 

     The album's opener "Hollow" literally explodes into existence with huge grinding guitar and haunting choruses. This song is awesome, a huge hit on the album. "Pretty Done" keeps up the grinding guitar, tight harmonies, and big choruses but packs a little less punch while still remaining interesting. "Stone" kicks things off where "Hollow" left off driving home huge choruses. This is another huge song, DuVall kicks in the Alice in Chains signature snarl big time here. "Voices" is my 2nd favorite track on the album. They really know how to rock the slower songs too. This is a very strong ballad. "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is a solid song, it doesn't really break new ground but it keeps the album going on a good note. "Lab Monkey" is one of the darker more grimy songs on the album. "Low Ceiling" is a little softer song but it still brings the signature punch and doesn't quite go ballad on us. "Breath on a Window" is one of the darker grimier songs really showing off DuVall on lead vocals. "Scalpel" is a very strong acoustically driven balled. Like I said they can rock the ballads too. "Phantom Limb" is my favorite song on here, it's a seven minute long jam and it rocks. "Hung on a Hook" features Jerry Cantrell on lead vocals and brings new flavor to it. "Choke" slows things back down again to end the alum on an acoustic jam. 

Alice in Chains- Hollow

 

      This album alternates between slow ballads and heavy rockers and they know how to bring both of them. This album really shows that William DuVall has really earned his rank as the new lead vocalist. Black Gives Way To Blue was not a fluke. Layne Staley will never be replaced, but I think he would like the direction the band is going. I would recommend this album to any grunge or hard rock fan. 

Recommended Songs: Hollow, Stone, Voices, and Phantom Limb.

4.5/5 Stars