06.06.07

Concert Review – Clutch at the Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA – 05/24/07

Posted in Music Reviews at 4:46 pm

Some bands never cease to amaze me, and Clutch is one of them. I will be honest and say that during their May 24th concert at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, CA, I was actually disappointed with the performance. Something wasn’t right. Neil Fallon did not seem to have the energy that he had when he came to Austin last year and tore Emo’s down. It is only after the concert when I learned new respect for the band. I was told that lead singer Neil Fallon had strep throat earlier on tour, and had to cancel a few shows before this one.

Now here’s what gets me: Even with a sick Fallon, Clutch still blows nearly every other band in the world off the stage. It is apparent that they have been playing together forever, and when one man goes down, the rest pick up the slack. I should never need to be reminded again how great of a drummer Jean-Paul Gaster is. It was also a pleasure to see Eric Oblander of Five Horse Johnson on stage with the harmonica as well. While Fallon sounded great, he still needed longer breaks, and these guys plugged the holes effortlessly. I’m proud to be a fan of Clutch – we waited for them to come, and they showed up when other bands would have canceled the entire rest of the tour. Not Clutch.

Due to the illness/recovery, the setlist was abbreviated. In true Clutch style, I will simply copy it off of the actual setlist:

1. Promoter
2. Never be Moved
3. Progress
4. Player
5. Animal Farm
6. Slow Hole
7. Regulator
8. King of Az
9. Mice and Gods
10. Devil and Me
11. Gotro
12. Big 1
13. PRF
14. W. Ferry
15. Cypress
16. E.Worry

The Roxy Theatre was a nice venue, I enjoyed the low stage and vibes of the room, and the sound quality was above average. As far as the crowd goes, everyone I spoke with was from the Midwest or East Coast. Clutch isn’t your typical Los Angeles style of music, and I sometimes wonder if this band should even go anywhere west of Central Standard Time. These people out here just don’t get the working-class mentality of a band like Clutch, which could explain why the show didn’t sell out.

And since you all enjoy rants on opening bands, let me tell you that you will get none complaining about Year Long Disaster. These guys were quite a talented, technical three-piece, and I’d love to see them open again.

So if you were at this show and wanted to hear more old stuff – come back next time. Neil will be healthy, the setlist will be longer and with an encore, and they’ll play a bit of everything. But with Clutch, we’ll take whatever we can get, and odds are, it’ll still be one of the best shows you’ve ever seen.

For a full photo album of this show, click here. You can also check out Clutch’s latest album, From Beale Street to Oblivion, here

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03.19.07

Guest Writer Brian – Music Review: Dark Tranquillity – Fiction

Posted in Guest Writers, Music Reviews at 9:49 pm

Tonight I’ve decided to post the first of a few different rants from my friend, Brian. We often discuss music and sports via e-mail, along with the usual conversations about Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Before we get to the review, here’s some background. Dark Tranquillity is a melodic death metal band hailing from the death metal capital of the world, Gothenburg, Sweden. Soon they are releasing their 8th studio album, Fiction, and like many other albums, it has leaked onto the net.

And now, for Brian’s take on this album:

I’ve tried hard to like it, but it’s the same exact thing as their last 3 cds. I’ve listened to it 3 times in the past week, and nobody home. I’m just not getting it. This band couldn’t write a hook if their lives depended on it. They are the masters of forgettable songs, I can listen to these songs 50 times in a row and not remember anything about them.

They just play it way too safe for me. They really need to mix it up and try and expand on their sound. They are the opposite of a sell out thats for certain. You know exactly what you are going to get with a Dark Tranqullity record. I feel exhausted after listening to them, 60+ minutes of music that I have tried my best to ‘get’ but I just don’t. Maybe Im getting old, but there has to be some hook to a song. Something has to make me want to come back.

For some reason, I really want to like that band. I keep buying their cds, I keep hoping their songs will click, but they just never do. At some point, I have to accept the fact that they are a boring heavy metal band. Nice guys, true to their art, hard working,etc, but at the end of the day, boring. Too much work for me. I shouldn’t have to work to like something when there is music like Blackfield II out that knocks you on your ass from the very first note.

The Gallery, The Minds I, Projector, they all had hooks, all of sudden they released Haven and it was all over, since that cd, every song has sounded exactly the same.

And there you have it. Thanks Brian!

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03.11.07

Concert Review – Blackfield – The Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA

Posted in Music Reviews at 8:05 pm

Note: Talia has sent me pictures! I am including some of my favorites here. Click here for the entire slideshow.

Last night, I had the honor of seeing one of Blackfield‘s seven US concerts on their tour to promote Blackfield II (reviewed at this earlier blog post). The sold-out show at the Knitting Factory, a small venue on the edge of the Hollywood Blvd. strip, was fetching tickets for up to 4 times face value. Led by Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen, Blackfield lived up to the excitement on the street, perhaps more.

John Wesley played the opening act, a one-man band. Wesley’s music consists of whiny love song tripe, so you can safely assume that I did not enjoy it. The guitar chops were sloppy, the vocals nothing special. However, the song Thanksgiving Day was touching. A local Hollywood B-actress/singer came on stage to provide some heinous backup vocals.

Although I was largely unimpressed with this opening act, it sure beat the hell out of the typical Hate Eternal shit opening band that I have to deal with at metal shows…

A half hour later, Blackfield drummer Tomer Z stormed the stage, and began an extended intro to Blackfield II’s intro track, Once. Right away I knew the sound setup was going to be incredible – and it was. The rest of the band came on, and went right into Once. Here’s the setlist:

1. Once
2. Miss U
3. Blackfield
4. Christenings
5. The Hole In Me
6. 1,000 People
7. Pain
8. Aviv Geffen solo – Glow, which led into…
9. Geffen/Wilson duet – Thank You (Alanis Morisette cover from Wilson’s Cover Version I)
10. Epidemic
11. Some Day
12. Open Mind
13. My Gift of Silence
14. Where is My Love
15. End of the World

Encore:

16. Hello
    …which led back into the Once drum intro…
17. Once
18. Cloudy Now

The surprises there were the playing of an incredible Alanis Morisette – Thank You cover and Once twice^[1]. During the second version of Once, Blackfield wratcheted up the intensity. I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and I’ve never seen a band play the same song twice. In this case, I loved it. The setlist is also well-balanced between Blackfield and Blackfield II songs.

The best performances of the night were Blackfield, Pain, Epidemic, and the second playing of Once.

As I stated, the acoustics were absolutely perfect. On top of that, Wilson’s live vocals are more hoarse than in the studio – and it sounded incredible. I wish he’d utilize this on albums rather than hide it. Equally impressive, Aviv’s vocals are identical to that of his studio voice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone do that before. As a metal fan, I must say that Wilson’s rare screams were extraoridinary, but Geffen should leave his one scream at home.

80 minutes of beautiful music and I had a blast. Now some more personal comments:

• The Knitting Factory side stage: A touch too small for this show. Only three shows in the US means you should book something with more than 250 capacity. Perhaps the main stage at 500 capacity would have been better. Well-stocked bar (had an Arrogant Bastard on draught). The venue being on Hollywood Blvd. meant that I had to pay $10 to park and deal with Hollywood morons and wanna-bes. Not my typical concert venture.
• Seffy Efrat – Lamest bassist ever. Dude, you are a bass guitarist, quit dancing and waddling around the stage. Take off that lame-ass tie, go stand in the corner, look mysteriously silent, and play your damned piece. Yes, you are good, but there are a thousand good bass guitarists. There is only ONE Steven Wilson. So quit upstaging him during his guitar solo. Douchebag.
• Tomer Z – I’ve never seen a drummer have so much fun playing. His facial expressions were hilarious. Every big hit on the symbols came with a goldfish-like gulp of air. It’s funny because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t realize that he’s doing it.
• Aviv Geffen – I coulda done without the glitter on your eyelids…
• Daniel Salomon Eran Mittelman – Flawless keyboards. Great job!

At this point, I want to conclude with two things, which most of you will probably disagree with:

1. Blackfield is better than Porcupine Tree
2. Blackfield II is better than Blackfield I, and the songs were much better live too.

An incredible night, one of the best shows I’ve been to! Good luck to all of you going to the Chicago and New York shows!

^[1]I just picked up on the irony there, nice

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01.28.07

Music Review – Blackfield – Blackfield II

Posted in Music Reviews at 12:09 pm

In England, there lives a man who writes, performs, and produces some of the most beautiful music in this world. And practically nobody will ever even hear it.

That man’s name is Steven Wilson.

Heavily influenced by Pink Floyd, Wilson has been producing music for over 20 years. His most popular works are with Porcupine Tree, Wilson’s progressive rock band. Porcupine Tree’s latest albums have come under more influence from the realm of metal; his blending of the two genres is wonderfully unique.

Despite my love for Porcupine Tree, I prefer Wilson’s side-project, Blackfield. In Blackfield, Wilson teams up with Aviv Geffen to create a more pop-oriented style of progressive music, and the tandem’s chemistry is immediately addictive.

Before I continue, I’d like you to go to my MySpace page and listen to the Blackfield MP3 on the playlist (it is currently on the top on auto-play). This is the intro song to Blackfield II.

In February of 2007, Blackfield will release their second album, Blackfield II, three years after their original self-titled album. After just a few listens to this 42 minute long masterpiece, I can already guarantee that this will be in the Top 5 of 2007.

While I was in high school, I listened to a lot of Swedish death metal (I still do). But my brother once asked me, “What do you listen to when you want to chill out?” It took me nearly a decade to find the respond to that question, Nick, and the answer is Blackfield.

Blackfield II might have a bit of pop in it, but the underlying tones are melodically depressing. Wilson’s time-tested methodologies of contemplation and evaluation conjure fantastic mood music. However dark the album may get, though, I cannot allow Blackfield to do anything but make me happier. I find it greatly satisfying knowing that there’s music so atmospherically beautiful out there, and that I have discovered it, never to let it go. (Note: on the left is an image of the cover of the original Blackfield album)

The album gets better and better with every listen. At times I feel that I have disserviced Blackfield by putting the track “Once” all alone on my MySpace playlist. This album can’t be broken down into songs – one of Wilson’s greatest strengths is his ability to make an entire album flow together as if it’s one epic song, only to shift like subtle changes of seasons.

The blend of smooth vocals, electric guitars, and keyboards provide a great foundation for a rollercoaster of an album. Every song has its ups and downs, and I find it impossible to get bored with it. I do, however, get lost in this album in ways that I don’t experience too often. Before I know it, I’ve been sitting here for 42 minutes doing absolutely nothing and the only thing I can remember is that I was listening to some really damned good music.

Whether you’re a metalhead looking for an afternoon chill album or a mellow user of psychedelic drugs, I urge you to listen as well. The album will be available in the states in March of 2007, and in Europe in February. It can be found here at amazon.com, and be sure to check out the video preview of Blackfield II on blackfield.org.

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12.28.06

My Top 15 Albums of 2006

Posted in Music Reviews at 1:17 am

Happy Holidays from MikeRoberto.com!

Each year, my friend Brian and I share our Top 15 albums of the year. Brian is a much more intense music aficionado than I am, so he often finds the good stuff all throughout the year. I always find a way to piss him off by putting an album that he doesn’t like much into my Top 5. This year is no different:

1. Iron Maiden – A Matter of Life and Death

   The Gods of metal put out yet another amazing album. I can’t believe it, they find a way to change and stay the same all at once, and are rocking out while their peers are all in nursing homes. These guys are still firing on all cylinders, and that’s unbelievable, just like this album.

2. Agalloch – Ashes Against the Grain

   There’s no denying it: I cannot stop listening to Agalloch. This atmospheric, doom metal band out of Portland simply stuns me. Falling Snow (track 2) and Not Unlike the Waves (track 5) put me into a trance.

   Not too many people have this album rated so high. Brian has it at 20. This is one band where we don’t agree much at all.

3. David Gilmour – On An Island

   I’m not a Pink Floyd fan, but this album makes me want to go check their stuff out now. This kind of music doesn’t come by every day, so I was very happy to get hooked on it earlier this year. Much slower than the above stuff.

4. Green Carnation – The Acoustic Verses

   Another slow one, but it’s obviously up here for a reason. Green Carnation used to be a pretty intense band, but they did not separate themselves from the pack like they do with their slower music. Beautiful acoustic tunes inside, I wish this album was longer. This is Brian’s clear #1 pick.

5. Amon Amarth – When Oden on Our Side

   Whoa, where in the hell did this one come from? This album whips! It’s melodic, it’s death, and it doesn’t sound like the same old Amon Amarth that we’ve heard from the previous 3 albums. I’m hooked. The last song might be the best ending of any album of the year. This album is war.

6. Hammers of Misfortune – The Locust Years

   Remember my blog entry ranting about A Confederacy of Dunces? Well, 90% of that book was read while listening to this album. Weird books deserve weird music. Hammers of Misfortune is just bizarre, and I love everything they do.

   They also put on one of the best concerts I’ve been to, despite there only being 7 of us in attendance at the Grog Shop in Cleveland.

7. Wolfmother – Wolfmother

   Rock with attitude is back! These Ozzies actually deserve the fame they’re getting. Good for them, it’s good music. My myspace page has a track of them (Woman) on my little playlist there.

8. Strapping Young Lad – The New Black

   Devin Townsend put out two albums this year (this one and Synchestra with the Devin Townsend Band), and once again, he spreads himself far too thin. I’d almost given up on SYL, but this album really is good. They’re not just trying to play super fast, they’re actually making music! It’s just not as innovative as the above albums. Their remake of Far Beyond Metal is insane.

9. Amorphis – Eclipse

   After the egg they laid in their last album, Amorphis got a new singer, and the music is really quite catchy. I have no complaints about it except it might be too simple.

10. Leaves’ Eyes – Legend Land EP

    If you’ve seen my Last.fm page, you’d know that Leaves’ Eyes is one of my favorites. The music on this is great, but I’m just not big on EPs. I want full-length albums to absorb completely. I look forward to their next album, especially after seeing them live.

11. The Quill – In Triumph

    Another rocker! This is a pretty heavy album, but not so much that I consider it metal. I guess Deep Purple could come to mind. Either way, it grooves, and it’s good. Cool cover, as you can see to the right.

12. Wolverine – Still

    Some great tracks on this one, but this album just wasn’t piece together right for me. Right when it’s getting momentum, they completely destroy it. The good tracks are great, the bad ones are downright aggravating. Sleepy Town (track 5) is a hit though.

13. Peeping Tom – Peeping Tom

    Mike Patton’s triumphant return was in my rotation for quite a bit, but then it completely fell off the face of the planet for me. It’s cool, it’s different, but I’m just never in the mood for it anymore. If you liked Mr. Bungle (or any of Patton’s other side projects for that matter), you’ll LOVE this.

14. Supersuckers – Paid EP

    This band was a great rock find by Brian. If you like Wolfmother, Hellacopters, or Clutch, you might as well check this out. They definitely don’t suck. Check out their album The Evil Powers of Rock and Roll.

15. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways

    Wow. Just wow. I never was a Cash fan, but this is an album of a man pouring out his dying heart and soul into lyrics. The music is put together wonderfully post-mortem. The reason it’s low on this list is because I only started listening to it in the past couple of weeks.

Honorable Mentions – Evergrey – Monday Morning Apocalypse (starts good, ends horribly boring), Katatonia – The Great Cold Distance (no hooks for me this time, I need more listens), Blind Guardian – A Twist in the Myth (fun the first time, then I get really, really tired of it)

Worst Album of the Year – In Flames – Come Clarity.
Nu FlaymeZ is at it again with their crappy new style. Once upon a time, there was a band that created an album named Colony. And the kids listening to this lame ass shit don’t even know about it.

Biggest disappointment of the year – Lacuna Coil – Karmacode, by a long shot. I can’t believe anyone allowed this piece of shit to leave the studio. What in the hell are they trying to do? I can’t even explain it, except for “it sucks”.

I also disappoint in Devin Townsend Band – Synchestra, and Raunchy (I really love Confusion Bay, but that’s it with them).

I’m not sure where to put Haunted except that I never want to listen to it. I’d rather pop in Amon Amarth.

Obligatory “Stuff I forgot to listen to” list – Slayer, Mastodon, Lamb of God, Mercenary, Meat Loaf. I assume all of the albums on this list are off of the list for a reason.

Slayer, Mastodon, and Lamb of God are always the same crap recycled over and over. I didn’t like it much last year, I don’t like it much this year.

Overall, 2006 was a good musical year for me. At first glance, it seemed weak, but then the list just kept growing and growing in depth.

And yes, there is more slow stuff than usual. My tastes are opening, and I am no longer just digging death metal, power metal, and progressive music. 2007 will hopefully start off with a bang – Porcupine Tree’s recording is done.

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