Late last summer when I went to see Reba Meyers play a solo show, the direct support band that evening really caught my ears. It was one of those moments when you hear a band you know nothing about and it just makes sense. That band was Melted Bodies and I just got the chance to see them again and good golly were they just as awesome.
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As Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards and Kellii Scott took the stage to a roaring applause inside the very intimate Zebulon, the room with the high ceilings suddenly became a full of individual space capsules as each person was ejected into the wonderful world that is the band, Failure. Not many bands can create such an individual feeling amongst a sea of a couple hundred people but, Failure can. For the next hour and a half, this beyond influential and inspirational trio hit every note, melody, chord and rhythm with such a a visceral intensity that sent chills and joy through us all. While it has been a minute since Failure has been on stage, and one for me to see them as well, this evening showed why they are one of the best to ever do it.
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Wow! Seriously, Wow! I have to say this show was beyond awesome. There are some bands out there that just have the right recipe for putting on a show that leaves you feeling great, inspired and ready to take on anything and Linkin Park is definitely one of those bands. This show in Los Angeles as part of their From Zero World Tour, was outstanding. Last year around this time, I went to their return show at The Forum and that one too was something special. And just like that show, it was full of so many people smiling, singing along, sharing in the joy of getting to see Linkin Park do what they do best.
At 9:05pm, the screens around the venue turned dark and a 10 minute countdown appeared, when the clock hit zero, it was on! Colin, Joe, Dave, Alex, Emily and Mike all took the stage and blasted off with the heaviest version of “Somewhere I Belong,” I’ve ever heard. I didn’t realize how good of an opener that song really is. From there it was just an onslaught of banger after banger with “Crawling,” “Up From The Bottom,” Lying From You (which is one of my all time favorite LP songs),” and “The Emptiness Machine.” Talk about a way to open a set. Those 5 songs not only set the night on fire but, the crowd participation on each of those songs was astounding, especially on “Crawling” and “Lying From You.” After that, it went into so many other great gems LP has including 2 songs from the very underrated and very awesome A Thousand Suns, “Waiting For The End (another of my all time favorite LP songs)” and “The Catalyst.” The From Zero songs really were on fire like “Two Faced,” “Overflow,” “Stained,” “Over Each Other” but, even more so on the live debut of “Unshatter,” “Heavy Is The Crown” and “I Gave You Everything I Have.” The latter of which was a real highlight for me. The explosive nature of that song ferocious. Other fun songs like “Lost” from the Meteora 20 release sounded great. It started with just Mike and Emily then it hit the gas pedal for the second chorus and was simply divine. When they played “Numb” they started the song off in a very fantastic fashion by speeding it up to make it more of a “punk” sounding song. I so want to hear it in full like that! During “In The End” the crowd participation was almost deafening. I love a good concert sing along and this one might have taken the cake this year. Of course when they played “Faint” and “Papercut” I was through the roof. Those 2 songs are in my top 5 LP songs of all time. I absolutely love those songs. The video for “Faint” is one of my all time favorites too. During the set too there were a couple of solo moments where Joe Hahn showed off his scratching skills. I forgot how damn good he is at that. Reminded me a bit of seeing them back in the Hybrid Theory era and how they would do that. Also, Mike had his solo moment with “When They Come For Me/Remember The Name” during part of that Mike likes to throw in a different rap verse from other songs and this evening he pulled out part of “High Voltage” which was pretty awesome. Closing out the night was the always fun “Bleed It Out” which also during the bridge they threw in part of “A Place For My Head” and then it was over.
If you have ever been a doubter of Linkin Park, seeing them live will change that. I had a long history of writing the band off but, I’m really glad I went back to listen and rediscover them. Having Emily and Colin in the band now has not only breathed new life into the band but, given all of us fans a reason to look forward to the future. Emily is a force of nature all on her own and these songs go even harder than before. That’s not a knock on Chester at all. Chester was great too but, with Emily it feels like the older songs are taken to new heights and the new songs are so damn good. Honestly this show and night was genuinely everything you’d want it to be. The production of the stage show was superb. It felt very immersive and intimate even though there wasn’t an empty seat or place to stand in the whole arena.
I took my daughter with me to the show as well and she had such an amazing time. She’s a huge LP fan and to see her smile, be happy and singing along was the cherry on top. Getting to share music with my daughter, friends and all of you is what makes this all fun. Seriously, if you haven’t heard From Zero, give it a listen. And the next time Linkin Park comes through town, GO!!! I know I will!
Overall Rating: A
Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy
Linkin Park Set List:
01) Somewhere I Belong
02) Crawling
03) Up From The Bottom
04) Lying From You
05) The Emptiness Machine
06) The Catalyst
07) Burn It Down
08) Stained
09) Where’d You Go (Fort Minor Cover)
10) Waiting For The End
11) Castle Of Glass
12) Two Faced
13) Joe Hahn Solo
14) When They Come For Me/Remember The Name (High Voltage Verse)
15) I Gave You Everything I Have
16) One Step Closer
17) Lost
18) Unshatter (Live Debut)
19) What I’ve Done
20) Overflow
21) Numb
22) Over Each Other
23) In The End
24) Faint
ENCORE:
25) Papercut
26) Heavy Is The Crown
27) Bleed It Out (with A Place For My Head verse)
PHOTOS:
For well over 30 years now, Meshuggah have long been one of the heaviest and most visceral auditory bands to see live and hear on a record. The gents in Meshuggah have long cemented themselves in the lore of heavy music and then some. Their influence on countless bands alone is astronomical. I can remember back to about 1998/1999 when I first heard Meshuggah. At first I was completely perplexed by them and how the hell they were pulling this off. Then fast forward to about 2001/2002 and Tool put out Lateralus and took Meshuggah out as their opener. That show was what really made me a believer. Also, I still to this day, don’t know how Tool was able to go on night after night as Meshuggah would rip those audiences apart!
This nice spring night in April at the Forum was a night for a grand celebration of not just heavy music but to show that Meshuggah is at the top of the musical food chain for good reason. I must say having soft jams play before the onslaught began was a nice touch especially walking out to “Careless Whisper.” From that point as the stage was dark and shadowy figures appeared and then… “Broken Cog” from Immutable kicks things off with one hell of a bang. Then a barrage of absolute beatdown songs “Violent Sleep Of Reason,” “Rational Gaze (one of my all time favorites),” and “Combustion.” Throughout the set the lights really brought the songs to life in a whole other way kind of like how a kaleidoscope looks on the inside. Other choice cuts for the evening included “Lethargica,” “Swarm,” and of course the classic “Future Breed Machine.” For the encore, “Bleed” was right out of the gate after a moment of pause. From the get go, the audience was completely sucked into the world of Meshuggah. The sheer volume that was permeating through The Forum was another thing all on it’s own. I kept looking up and around and saw the roof shaking a bit and then even outside, the rumble was making the security guards shake their head in disbelief. Put it this way, this was a LOUD show and it should be! The way that Jens Kidman, Tomas Haake, Fredrik Thordendal, Marten Hagstrom, and Dirk Lovgren are so precise is another show to watch all on their own .
Also playing this evening were Carcass (who we missed- thanks LA traffic on a Wednesday) and Cannibal Corpse. Cannibal I did get to see. It’s been since 2001/2002 since I last saw Cannibal and they are still badass and awesome. I was having quite the fun time watching them deliver a brutal set. I forgot how technical they are as a band and the tone those guys have is quite unique to them. You can hear others try to cop that one but, it’s not quite right. The head banging too, that was a sight to see. My neck was sore just from watching them head bang onstage especially Corpsegrinder. That guy really is the champ. Their set although short was another one that was chock full of classics and some other choice cuts. My buddy and podcast co-host Justin, is a big Cannibal fan so the enjoyment he was having was quite fun!
This was a great show. Meshuggah absolutely brought it and delivered a set and show that I hope is released as a live album. What a great show. It’s quite the heavy tour. I will say, it does feel like it’s missing that one direct support band to really put it over. Don’t get me wrong this lineup is great, it just felt like there should have been 1 more band to really up the energy and blow the roof literally off The Forum.
Overall Rating: A
Review and Photos By: Brian Lacy
Meshuggah Set List:
01) Broken Cog
02) Violent Sleep Of Reason
03) Rational Gaze
04) Combustion
05) Kaleidoscope
06) God He Sees In Mirrors
07) Lethargica
08) Born In Dissonance
09) Dancers To A Discordant System
10) Swarm
11) Future Breed Machine
ENCORE
12) Bleed
13) Demiurge
Cannibal Corpse Set List:
01) Scourge Of Iron
02) Blood Bind
03) Inhumane Harvest
04) Evisceration Plague
05) Death Walking Terror
06) Unleashing The Bloodthirsty
07) Summoned For Sacrifice
08) I Cum Blood
09) Stripped, Raped and Strangled
10) Hammer Smashed Face
Meshuggah Photos:
Cannibal Corpse Photos:
Growing up in Southern California, especially in the surrounding Los Angeles area, there has always been venues with storied histories. For example the famous Sunset Strip and The Whisky A Go-Go, Roxy, Viper Room and Rainbow. There was also a venue in the San Fernando Valley that had a very storied history as well. So many bands that you love today got their start, honed their craft and rocked the stage at the famous Cobalt Cafe. For years The Cobalt Cafe would become a sort of right of passage when being in a band no matter how big or small. It was an all ages venue that put on shows every night and provided a place for everyone to enjoy live music no matter the genre. However in, 2014 the Cobalt closed due but, in July of 2021 the Cobalt returned in a new fashion and a reignited fire to give up and coming bands a place to play. The Cobalt Presents now does shows on a constant basis around the LA area (Corbin Bowl, Hotel Ziggy, The Last Call, The Whisky A Go Go, Transplants Brewing and more) bringing in great bands and putting on superb shows.
The other night was no exception as The Cobalt kicked off 2023 with one hell of a bang at Corbin Bowl. The night was eclectic and featured varied bands from ska/punk, punk, skate punk, doom metal, thrash metal, and pop punk. The whole night and band after band was exceptional. The flow of the styles of the bands made it even more fun as the energy level kept rising with each band that took the stage. The place was packed and the familiar faces from back in the days of the old Cobalt were there as well, making it all come full circle.
There are certain bands that when they come through town you have to go see live. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen them or if it’s your first time, it’s imperative that you be there. Especially when you have a tour line up as special as Neurosis, Converge and Amenra. I’ve had the great pleasure of seeing Neurosis and Converge many times before, and now I finally got the chance to see Amen Ra. Tour packages like this are not only astonishing but they leave those in attendance in a state of awe and some inspired to create. There is a reason why all three of these bands have reached the “legendary” status. Their live shows, songs/albums, and general approach to their fans makes it all worth while.
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One thing that I truly enjoy is getting to see a band in a club atmosphere. There is something really special about the intimacy of it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big band or an up and coming band, club shows will always be some of the best shows a band will play. Last night I ventured out to the Viper Room to check out two bands that I’ve been wanting to see, Cane Hill and Valor & Vengeance and they both didn’t disappoint.
Valor and Vengeance took the stage before Cane Hill and delivered a very mood setting performance. Their intensity and prowess on stage really draws the audience in and definitely gets the head banging. The bands frontman Adam Ryan is a beast, not only does he have that intimidating yet really nice guy factor, the guy can down right sing and scream with the best of them. The dual guitar attack of Tyler Morgan and Mike Muenzer shines when the heavy kicks in along with the more melodic nature of the songs. Bassist Paul Perry and drummer Josh Fresia are beyond locked in and deliver a pummeling rhythm live. Songs like “Devil’s Highway” and “Sinking Further” really stood out during their set. In a previous post about the band I said “I like to think of Valor and Vengeance as sounding like Avenged Sevenfold if the latter had balls and didn’t suck.” I stand by that description but I’d like to add that they are definitely way better than Avenged. Check out Valor and Vengeance when they are playing at a town near you!
The other reason I was out last night was to check out Cane Hill. I’ll admit I wasn’t too familiar with them until about a week ago but, when I heard their new album Too Far Gone, I knew I had to go see them. Their sound and style is reminiscent of early Slipknot (first 2 albums) with a bit of a metalcore and industrial vibe. This 4 piece from New Orleans really laid it out for all the fans in attendance. You can tell that these guys believe in their music and are in it for the love of music. The entire band are beyond tight and know how to deliver a show. Singer Elijah Witt has one hell of a set of pipes. I wasn’t sure how he’d be able to pull off certain songs live but he did and I genuinely think his voice sounded better live. Especially on songs like “It Follows,” “Erased,” “10 Cents,” and “Ugly Model Mannequin.” Guitarist James Barnett has one hell of a tone and is resonated extremely well inside the Viper Room. Bassist Ryan Henriquez and drummer Devin Clark are blistering as a rhythm section. Cane Hill is one of the best newer bands I’ve heard in a long time. Their album Too Far Gone is one of my favorites of 2018 and it’s only March. Do yourself a favor and check them out and go see them live, you won’t be disappointed.
Cane Hill- Too Far Gone:
Valor and Vengeance- Devil’s Highway:
Valor and Vengeance- Sinking Further:
Review and Photos (granted they are kinda crappy) by: Brian Lacy
