The setting on this dark and stormy night was the “Cup Complex” in Linden New Jersey where guitar shredder extraordinaire “Metal” Mike Chlasiak and his band “Painmuseum” held their CD Release party. The new CD entitled “Metal For Life” was the reason for us all gathering that night and at the organization of Rich and Toni of “Thatssometal.com” and Metal Mania, the evening was filled with fun conversation, cool giveaways, music and a helluva lot of beer drinking. Continue reading Painmuseum’s “Metal For Life” Listening Party (11/20/2004)→
Artist: Otep Venue: Knitting Factory NYC Opener: American Head Charge, Candiria, Blood Simple Label: Capitol Records Date: 2-25-2005
American Head Charge performed an electrifying set at their appearance at the Knitting Factory last night supporting their latest CD Release entitled “Feeder”. The band was the main opener for Otep and this combination was the perfect mix of quality songs as well as stage intensity. The Knitting Factory is a cool place to see a show, and according to the staff this well known Jazz club has been featuring the heavier music for some time. However, the tricky part is navigation and room. The stage is a little smaller than you would expect if you had a decent amount of equipment. This was painfully the case when AHC hit the stage. The band is 6 members strong, and not only had a full drum kit, but also a keyboard rig. The guys seemed to be almost tripping over one another, yet it did not get in the way of their performance at all. Playing what seemed to be just under an hour’ time, the group proved that their material is strong and will be interesting to see the future developments of the band. Continue reading Otep @ The Knitting Factory (2/25/2005)→
Artist: Amorphis Venue: B.B. King Blues Club – NYC Opener: Into Eternity, Beyond The Embrace Label: Nuclear Blast Records Date: 3-20-2005
Finnish legends Amorphis returned to New York City for one show to support their latest release entitled “Far From The Sun”. This release on Nuclear Blast Records finds the band with a new lead singer and an entirely different approach to their brand of metal. When one looks at band tour schedules, you will see that B.B. King Blues Club seems to be getting every single metal act that is on the road. It’s pretty interesting touring nowadays. I think I have been to this venue over a dozen times to cover shows and it does not seem to have a slow down yet. Always a good thing to have one venue at least you can trust to bring you the latest and greatest in Heavy Metal performances. Continue reading Amorphis @ B.B. King Blues Club (3/20/2005)→
Artist: Ozric Tentacles Venue: Bowery Ballroom – NYC Opener: Lotus Date: 3-19-2005 Label: Magna Carta Records
The Ozric Tentacles made a return to New York to play the comfortable venue called “Bowery Ballroom”, I was in attendance for this display of pure psychedelic rock and here are a few thoughts on it. For those that have never been to the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, you might enjoy the place for not only is there a good PA system but the setting for the venue is quite nice. Downstairs is the bar and lounge while upstairs (on ground level) is where the stage is. There is also an upstairs balcony where VIP and special guests might mingle. The room seems to hold about 500 people which is great for getting a closer vantage point to the Artist you are there to see. It holds true to the intimate gig. Continue reading Ozric Tentacles @ Bowery Ballroom (3/19/2005)→
Artist: KISSNation Venue: Tribeca Rock Club (New York, NY) Date: 7/26/2003 Label: Independent Tribute Artist
Although this particular concert had taken place a few months before I would become one of those online scribes that inform the world about music happenings on this side of the world, I wanted to share it with people because it was a pretty solid warm up to the whole idea when it came down to it. To those friends in the real world, my love for all things KISS is not something new and given the many interesting tributes to their musical body of work I decided to check out one of the more prominent ones to see what they were all about with some friends. The band was called KISSNation and I had met a few of their number at a book signing that Gene Simmons was doing not too long ago. They were walking around and dressed to the nines in character. The faux Gene stalked the avenue and flashed the occasional tongue while the drummer was decked out in his Eric Carr best. I liked that since it was much more different than those bands that only feature Peter. Their gig this evening would be at the Tribeca Rock Club, and while I thought I had seen some local friends perform at the space, I was not 100% certain. Continue reading KISS Nation @ Tribeca Rock Club (7/26/2003)→
