It expires on Sunday night, so go now!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Free download: Soraia's "Damn Dirty Woman"
I've written extensively about Soraia, a great band from Philadelphia, and they are now offering a free download rehearsal of their song "Damn Dirty Woman" at this link.
It expires on Sunday night, so go now!
It expires on Sunday night, so go now!
Bon Jovi: Living For the Fight (Chicago 7/30/10 Live Review)
Bon Jovi: Living For the Fight
Chicago, IL-Soldier Field
July 30th, 2010
By Anthony Kuzminski
{Photo Credit}Writer's Note: *Special thanks to the friend who took care of me for this show, not asking for a single penny for the ticket or parking. Without this act of kindness, this review would not be possible as I couldn’t have afforded to go.
Two-hours into Bon Jovi’s sold-out concert Friday night at Soldier Field in Chicago, Jon Bon Jovi segued into the Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” in the middle of main set closer “Keep the Faith”. The Stones song was birthed at the beginning of one of the greatest run of albums ever in the history of rock n’ roll. Taking on the persona of the devil, Mick Jagger delivers a rhythmic tale of providing the listener with a history lesson of ravaging world events. Bon Jovi’s anthem from nearly two decades back is one of bewilderment. The narrator is coming to terms with those events the prodigal son turns the other cheek in the hopes of seeking emancipation, refinement of societies atrocities and above all, letting faith lead the way, This unpretentious and brilliant detour found Bon Jovi shedding a new light on the song, tying it together with the history of rock’s forefathers and delivering an utterly haunting moment. It was a testament to not just the performance but to their talents to maneuver a crowd to life. For 150-minutes on Friday night, Bon Jovi fought a bloody fight on the concert stage where they did their best to keep the 55,000 in attendance occupied. I’d be lying to you if I said it was a resounding success. It wasn’t a flawless show, but it didn’t stop Bon Jovi from trying their damndest.
Opening the show with “Blood on Blood” the crowd vociferously welcomed the band and when Jon Bon Jovi made his way to the stage in an uncomplicated fashion, he lifted his right fist and the audience bellowed their welcome but for the next several songs, despite the band sounding firm and laconic, the audience drifted in and out. “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Born To Be My Baby” were enjoyable while “Lost Highway” started slow but gained some force towards it conclusion. However, two new songs from The Circle, “We Weren’t Born To Follow” and “When We Were Beautiful” proved to be challenges for the crowd. The band delivered the songs stridently but only “Beautiful” (one of the best tracks the band has ever written) showed signs of life and this was due to Jon Bon Jovi’s ability to whip the crowd into an arm-waving sing-a-long towards the end. He did the same on the vapid “We Got It Going On”. I may despise the song, but even after its ending, Bon Jovi had the crowd singing the song back to him. Love it or hate it, it was an impressive display as to why this man and his band are the only band to do a fully fledged stadium tour in 2010 (U2’s was delayed and the Eagles wound up doing less than 10-shows).
The highlight of the show, unexpectedly, was the brief acoustic set on the circle. Richie Sambora joined Jon Bon Jovi and they mined “Diamond Ring” for a stunning performance many took notice of. This shouldn’t have been the right song for a stadium crowd, but it worked brilliantly. Sambora and Bon Jovi shared a microphone which found the crowd decorating the moment with just thousands of flashes from the audience to light them as their voices coalesced highlighting their potency as an indivisible duo. Bassist Hugh McDonald was on stage and steered Jon and Richie with his ever reliant bass in a moment of magnificence which spilled over into the next song, “I’ll Be There For You”. Once again, Sambora and Bon Jovi shared the microphone and it proved to be tender and ardent. The song has been shared and sung individually by both of these men, but their two voices melded as one and provided one of the evening’s highlights. The encore unveiled “Always” and gave Sambora a showcase for his best solo of the evening while allowing Jon Bon Jovi to flex his impressive pipes. Throughout the show, he sounded superb. The evening’s finale of “Livin’ On A Prayer” evoked the evening’s largest reaction and ended the show on an intense high point. Pure mayhem occurred and no one left their seat as they stretched their voices to the sky. Despite this exhilarating climax, one can’t help but be a tad disillusioned with the detached attitude of the crowd. Chicago crowds are among the best in the nation and Bon Jovi shows here take on a higher order. Their 2006 concert in Soldier Field was an exorcism of sorts for the crowd where from the opening note to the final bow, the band and crowd intertwined in a magnificent marriage of call and response.
The crowd and band never found that underlying connection until the encores, despite the band’s best efforts. Kid Rock injected a much needed jolt to the proceedings when he joined the band on-stage to deliver Bob Segar’s “Old Time Rock N’ Roll” in the middle of “Bad Medicine”. Rock’s 60-minute opening set was high on arm-waving, fist-pumping anthems. From covers by country artists, Ted Nugent, Sly and the Family Stone and a slew of his own hits, he entranced the crowd who were all in their seats when his set began. More than anything, he evokes a level of humility but wasn’t afraid to show off and show everyone why he has outlasted most of his late 90’s contemporaries. When he left the stage, he wasn’t just a son of Detroit, but an adopted son of Chicago. Returning to the stage during Bon Jovi’s set he jerked the crowd back onto the road. The massive hits (“It’s My Life”, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”, “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Livin’ On A Prayer”) stirred the crowd up quite well, but it was the other songs that never allowed the crowd to take flight. It should be noted, the band strove to make this happen, but the crowd fell flat. Despite some superb vocals By Bon Jovi on “Bed of Roses”, the crowd seemed disengaged and after brief applause at the opening chords of “Runaway” it veered into obscurity territory with most of the crowd aimless. Richie Sambora took over lead vocals for “Lay Your Hands On Me” and sadly it lacked the Sunday morning revival sentiment other tours have provided.
The biggest piece of criticism I have for the show was the set list. Despite being packed with many hits and being well performed, the audience reaction was sluggish at best throughout most of the show. During the wishy-washy “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, a strong sense of déjà vu took over. Eighteen of the twenty-three songs performed were done on the band’s 2008 visit in Chicago and three of the five that weren’t are housed on The Circle. This was the band’s fifteenth stop in Chicago over the last ten years and despite this, only “Diamond Ring” hadn’t been performed before (but was done on a radio broadcast on 101.9 in 2002). The pre-tour comments about dusting off songs from the first two records didn’t come to fruition and despite performances just last month of “Homebound Train”, “Let It Rock”, “Santa Fe”, “Damned”, “Dry County”, “Garageland”, “(It’s Hard) Letting You Go” none have been aired upon the band’s return to the US. Yet an exercise in futility like “Work For The Working Man” (which is the nadir of their career) has been performed nightly. A song like "I Believe" has a more sweeping reach and is more uplifting and serves the same purpose, so a rotating seequence of songs would help the flow and structure and may even heighten the awareness of certain songs from The Circle. The band has a vast and distinguished catalog and yet aside from the key hits, most of the 1984-1995 catalog has gone unaired. Artists owe it to themselves the crowd to deliver not just hits but to mine their catalog and dig out some treasures and you may be surprised at the reactions you get. A astonishing amount of fans have trekked to Chicago for these final North American shows and one hopes Jon Bon Jovi dramatically shakes things up for the second night for those attending. He told the Eric and Kathy show on 101.9 in April that he changes up 12-songs per night, so hopefully the repeat customers will see an entirely different show. Despite all of this and the arduous crowd, the band fought hard. I can quibble about superfluous and minute details, but the band whirled the crowd into a few dizzying spells. While it may not have had the same effect as the 2006 or 2008 shows, Bon Jovi got into the ring and went fifteen rounds. While it wasn’t a knock-out like previous Chicago performances, they went the full fifteen rounds. With some tweaking of the set list, a new crowd and a care free attitude on the final night of the North American tour, the second show could be the epic capper those traveling fans are hoping they see.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Writer's Note #2:
I won't be at the second show, but the fans I spoke to, these are the songs they are most dying to hear for possible inclusion at the second show:
"Let It Rock"
"Santa Fe"
"Damned"
"Get Ready"
"Tokyo Road"
"It's Hard Letting You Go"
"Never Say Goodbye"
"Dry County"
"I Believe"
"Edge of a Broken Heart" (we can all dream, can't we?)
The first 8 on the above list have all been performed at least once on this tour.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Album Review: J-Roddy Walston and the Business- 'J. Roddy Walston and the Business'
J-Roddy Walston and the Business
Album Review- ‘J. Roddy Walston and the Business’
(3.5 stars) ***1/2
By Anthony Kuzminski
Buy the album at Amazon and iTunes
J-Roddy Walston and the Business have been building a rabid following around the Northeast music scene and are best known for their orgasmic concert performances which leave you in a blissful magical state as the band burns down the house like few others can only dream of. Their just released self-titled debut album on Vagrant Records conjures up the same feeling of ecstasy as the band welcomes you into the world’s largest piano bar. To their credit, as buzz worthy as their live shows are, they handle the dual responsibilities of stage and studio stridently; this self-titled record is a testament to the rebellious spirit of rock n’ roll. Numerous comparisons have been thrown out at the group (most notably a barn-storming Jerry Lee Lewis) but I feel it’s a disservice to their talent which needs to be heard and seen to be believed. These aren’t mere mortals attempting to find their way to success, but a group who despite their youth hurdles the listener into the middle of a swirling hurricane with their exuberant bar-dancing jaunty anthems. The closest comparison I can conjure up is to imagine if Jerry Lee Lewis had collaborated with David Bowie on Hunky Dory, “Changes” would be a scorching wailing rocker with a vocal that teeters between damnation and deliverance.
Simple comforts and cheap thrills are abounding on “Don’t Break the Needle” which immediately brings out the spunk, sass and spiritual splendor of the album. Right from the opening notes, the piano keys fly off the piano, cymbals crash, vocals screech in a hot-blooded performance that is blatantly boisterous. “Pigs and Pearls” has a filthy groove with some svelte backing vocals and some sweet slide acoustic guitar. The swelling of chants and vocals in the back against a high-spirited back drop of instruments on “Full Growing Man” surprised me. I reached out to a connection of the band to ask who the chanting female vocalists were in the background only to be told there are none; it’s the glorious combustion of Gordon, Colmus, Davis and Walston delivering a wailing echo of home-grown rock. “Used to Did” features a bludgeoning vocal where Walston gleefully spits out the words against a wall of sound seeping desperation. “Brave Man’s Death” led by a melancholy organ finds the band intertwining their grooves into an amplification that’s bright and breezy with resolute and resilient lyrics.
The album’s second side takes hold with “Don’t Get Old” with an ardent backbeat by Colmus that verge on explosive while Walston’s vocal brings the song to a determined howling climax. Roddy’s vocals are a supple instrument as integral to the band as his piano. The reedy warmth of his voice and the rhythmic phrasing he uses is rare in rock as he is able to inflict explicit emotions with certain notes. He doesn’t merely sing, he uses his voice as an instrument to evoke emotions and manipulate you to grow closer to the melodies. “I Don’t Want To Hear It” features a chorus that is downright shimmering with an unyielding arrangement built on brawn that solidifies the song. Growing up in a religious household, Walston found himself torn between God and rock n’ roll and to this day, despite taking the road less traveled, he still speaks to that higher power seeking that solace we all need. “Use Your Language” may be drenched in bluesy-chords, but don’t let the disorderly noise blind you, it’s a prayer in disguise. For most of the record, the band is unleashed, ready to roar and determined to make their presence known. At ten songs, it’s lean and doesn’t overstay its welcome with added filler. It wheezes past you allowing you to digest it fully. In a swift swing, they clutch your senses and assault them with ten effervescent garage rock anthems. The inconspicuous aura adds to the album’s magnetism, but make no mistake, the respective instruments feel like the sum of something much larger and presented in a sturdy but unadorned mix. If you love your rock n’ roll primordial, and downright dirty, this record is for you.
J-Roddy Walston and the Business deliver a rock n’ roll revival that will bring you salvation. There’s a warm communal feeling to the proceedings. It feels like a family jam on back porches where beer flows and the grill is always hot. Guitarist Billy Gordan provides skuzzy riffage while drummer Steve Colmus and bassist Logan Davis fasten the core of the music so it never swerves off-course. It would be uncomplicated to use the word “virtuosity” but it wouldn’t do all four of them justice. Each cut is infused with supple sincerity allowing the indisputable nature of the material to gleam. This extends beyond mere musical talent but a forging desire to comprehend the vernacular of each individual member which materializes into a thundering and fierce yowls which are tuneful. This music and band is too rich, too genuine and too real to be denied. Some acts wear their influences on their sleeves to their detriment, but J-Roddy Walston and the Business embrace their influences while their hearts are on their sleeves.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Album Review- ‘J. Roddy Walston and the Business’
(3.5 stars) ***1/2
By Anthony Kuzminski
Buy the album at Amazon and iTunes
J-Roddy Walston and the Business have been building a rabid following around the Northeast music scene and are best known for their orgasmic concert performances which leave you in a blissful magical state as the band burns down the house like few others can only dream of. Their just released self-titled debut album on Vagrant Records conjures up the same feeling of ecstasy as the band welcomes you into the world’s largest piano bar. To their credit, as buzz worthy as their live shows are, they handle the dual responsibilities of stage and studio stridently; this self-titled record is a testament to the rebellious spirit of rock n’ roll. Numerous comparisons have been thrown out at the group (most notably a barn-storming Jerry Lee Lewis) but I feel it’s a disservice to their talent which needs to be heard and seen to be believed. These aren’t mere mortals attempting to find their way to success, but a group who despite their youth hurdles the listener into the middle of a swirling hurricane with their exuberant bar-dancing jaunty anthems. The closest comparison I can conjure up is to imagine if Jerry Lee Lewis had collaborated with David Bowie on Hunky Dory, “Changes” would be a scorching wailing rocker with a vocal that teeters between damnation and deliverance.
Simple comforts and cheap thrills are abounding on “Don’t Break the Needle” which immediately brings out the spunk, sass and spiritual splendor of the album. Right from the opening notes, the piano keys fly off the piano, cymbals crash, vocals screech in a hot-blooded performance that is blatantly boisterous. “Pigs and Pearls” has a filthy groove with some svelte backing vocals and some sweet slide acoustic guitar. The swelling of chants and vocals in the back against a high-spirited back drop of instruments on “Full Growing Man” surprised me. I reached out to a connection of the band to ask who the chanting female vocalists were in the background only to be told there are none; it’s the glorious combustion of Gordon, Colmus, Davis and Walston delivering a wailing echo of home-grown rock. “Used to Did” features a bludgeoning vocal where Walston gleefully spits out the words against a wall of sound seeping desperation. “Brave Man’s Death” led by a melancholy organ finds the band intertwining their grooves into an amplification that’s bright and breezy with resolute and resilient lyrics.
The album’s second side takes hold with “Don’t Get Old” with an ardent backbeat by Colmus that verge on explosive while Walston’s vocal brings the song to a determined howling climax. Roddy’s vocals are a supple instrument as integral to the band as his piano. The reedy warmth of his voice and the rhythmic phrasing he uses is rare in rock as he is able to inflict explicit emotions with certain notes. He doesn’t merely sing, he uses his voice as an instrument to evoke emotions and manipulate you to grow closer to the melodies. “I Don’t Want To Hear It” features a chorus that is downright shimmering with an unyielding arrangement built on brawn that solidifies the song. Growing up in a religious household, Walston found himself torn between God and rock n’ roll and to this day, despite taking the road less traveled, he still speaks to that higher power seeking that solace we all need. “Use Your Language” may be drenched in bluesy-chords, but don’t let the disorderly noise blind you, it’s a prayer in disguise. For most of the record, the band is unleashed, ready to roar and determined to make their presence known. At ten songs, it’s lean and doesn’t overstay its welcome with added filler. It wheezes past you allowing you to digest it fully. In a swift swing, they clutch your senses and assault them with ten effervescent garage rock anthems. The inconspicuous aura adds to the album’s magnetism, but make no mistake, the respective instruments feel like the sum of something much larger and presented in a sturdy but unadorned mix. If you love your rock n’ roll primordial, and downright dirty, this record is for you.
J-Roddy Walston and the Business deliver a rock n’ roll revival that will bring you salvation. There’s a warm communal feeling to the proceedings. It feels like a family jam on back porches where beer flows and the grill is always hot. Guitarist Billy Gordan provides skuzzy riffage while drummer Steve Colmus and bassist Logan Davis fasten the core of the music so it never swerves off-course. It would be uncomplicated to use the word “virtuosity” but it wouldn’t do all four of them justice. Each cut is infused with supple sincerity allowing the indisputable nature of the material to gleam. This extends beyond mere musical talent but a forging desire to comprehend the vernacular of each individual member which materializes into a thundering and fierce yowls which are tuneful. This music and band is too rich, too genuine and too real to be denied. Some acts wear their influences on their sleeves to their detriment, but J-Roddy Walston and the Business embrace their influences while their hearts are on their sleeves.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mister postman look and see If there's a letter in your bag for me
NOTE:
If you are being directed from the 'Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi' website what is below is NOT a review of the book but merely some immediate reflections upon skimming the book.
You can read the full review over at this link and it's the only link you should concern yourself with. Unless you feel the need to have these pictures, then I can't recommend it. Whether you feel the need to buy it or not is entirely your choice I'm merely trying to guide people as to whether or not it is worth your time and money.
xT
This was a very welcomed and unexpected surprise in my mailbox when I got home from work today...
I've only skimmed it and there are issues with dates, times and facts, but overall it's a memento of a time long ago that isn't documented all that well. Even when the band released a hard cover book last year, the 80's pictures were too few and far between. In my humble estimation, the band would have been better off buying the archives of Mark Weiss and releasing a book of his work. The pictures here aren't at the level of the talent of Weiss, but they weren't meant to be. They're more intimate, warm and show a band at the beginning of what would become an unforeseeable and unbelievable ride to the topper-most of the popper-most.
The book is larger and nicer than I had imagined. It is hard cover and is well put together. Now about the racy pictures and the controversies alluded to in the press releases? In my opinion, the band doesn't have anything to worry about, but Bozzett does take you inside their world and even though it all ended badly for him, he does provide a fascinating look into their world.
As mentioned, I have only skimmed it and can't comment fully on the book until I take a deeper dive into it [go here for the full review and deeper dive], but was pleasantly surprised with the unique and one-of-a-kind pictures the book does have. Leave the controversy to the side and don't focus on it. The best parts are the beginnings and the sudden ascent to the top. Check back in coming weeks for a more detailed review.
The book can be found HERE
If you are being directed from the 'Sex, Drugs and Bon Jovi' website what is below is NOT a review of the book but merely some immediate reflections upon skimming the book.
You can read the full review over at this link and it's the only link you should concern yourself with. Unless you feel the need to have these pictures, then I can't recommend it. Whether you feel the need to buy it or not is entirely your choice I'm merely trying to guide people as to whether or not it is worth your time and money.
xT
This was a very welcomed and unexpected surprise in my mailbox when I got home from work today...
The book is larger and nicer than I had imagined. It is hard cover and is well put together. Now about the racy pictures and the controversies alluded to in the press releases? In my opinion, the band doesn't have anything to worry about, but Bozzett does take you inside their world and even though it all ended badly for him, he does provide a fascinating look into their world.
The book can be found HERE
Monday, July 26, 2010
Album Review: Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes -'Pills and Ammo'
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
‘Pills and Ammo’
Album Review
*** ½ (3.5 stars)
By Anthony Kuzminski
{Buy the album here or here}
Young starlets of today and they dress slutty, do near-naked poses for magazine covers and try to be as contentious as possible to work up the press. What they don’t grasp is that to ooze sexiness it’s not about what you wear or how you look in it, but how you carry yourself. It’s about attitude. Do you give off a whiff of sexiness or do you try and be sexy? You can’t teach someone to be arousing, you are or you aren’t. The amalgamation of blues and rock n’ roll is very much the same; bands can branch off and do one or the other but a true marriage of the two is increasingly thorny to pull off and when they try to fuse the two worlds, the results are often not disastrous but tedious. As of late, a slew of vintage rockers seem to be returning to their roots and creating records that give a tip-of-the-hat to the forefathers of rock n’ roll. They are attempting to mine the same purity with which everything else in the last fifty years has followed. However, what most don’t apprehend is just because you admire the music doesn’t mean you can cast it in your own mold. People like Eric Clapton are few and far between, most acts are very good at what they do, but when they step outside of their limits, it comes off as far reaching and incredulous. However, for some artists the necessary ingredients for a killer rock-blues-rhythm-folk record is already in their DNA. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes never had a platinum record or a major hit, but unlike other platinum acts attempting to conjure up the greatness of the past, Johnny and the Jukes do it naturally.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes is continually a feature of the Northeast club circuit and their status of elder statesmen of the Jersey shore is legendary. Their live shows are blistering sweat-inducing revivals that are steeped in old school rock n’ roll and their recorded output are damn consistent. If the band has had any obstacle over the last three decades, it’s surpassing the first three records produced by Steve Van Zandt. Ironically, the next truly classic record the group made was 1991’s Better Days also produced by Van Zandt and features appearances by both Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. In the nineteen-years since that record, the band has remained busy with a slew of archive releases (including the superb Jukebox box set), a continual presence on the road and the occasional new studio album. The best of the post Better Days releases was Messin’ with the Blues from 2000 but the band always proves to be unswerving. Just released is their latest record, Pills and Ammo written, recorded and mixed over a fifteen month period between 2009 and 2010. It should be stated that much of this was due to working around the schedule of the studio they recorded at, Sanctuary II, Jon Bon Jovi’s home studio which he lends out to the band when it’s not being used. Only the album’s final cut, “Thank You” wasn’t recorded there. In a last minute attempt to capture the vocal which seemed to elude them, Southside listened to the original demo at Jeff Kazee’s house and went to Kazee’s home studio and cut the vocal that wound up on the record. This off-the-cuff vision is what drove most of Pills and Ammo to completion. It doesn’t sound overworked and yet given enough attention to ensure the songs are fully fleshed out.
Pills and Ammo is an album full of simplistic strengths and highlights what a great rhythm, blues, soul and rock band truly is. When you hear some of these other acts attempt to forge new ground in the rock-blues template, you hear musicians attempting to capture lightning in a bottle and it comes off as a bunch of fans trying to imitate greatness. The mix, the aural aesthetic and the performances are all top-notch making it the best Southside Johnny record since 1991’s Better Days.Southside and long standing piano/keyboard player Jeff Kazee co-produced the record. Kazee leads the charge and is responsible for making the most strapping and strident Southside Johnny record to date. “Harder Than It Looks” instigates the guttural festivities with a blistering horn section, spacious acoustic and electric guitars and a magnanimous in-your-face production where the drums and bass can be felt. The horns seek shade in the corners while still finding their moment to shine and piano and organ fills that congeal for one downright awesome bluesy romp. Amidst this entire musical splendor it’s the band’s testimonial to surviving. If this was a new Rolling Stones song, the world would have just wet itself. “Cross That Line” features a tactile horn section, assaulting dueling Stonesy guitars and is escorted by a rollicking piano. “Woke Up This Morning” is grubby without being evasive. The way the fuzz harmonica and horns consummates into an unexpected bluesy masterwork. John Mellencamp’s guitarist Andy York (who faced off in a dual guitar attack on this record with longtime Jukes guitarist Bobby Bandiera) liberates a mean slide guitar strut evoking the greats who built Chess Records. “Lead Me On” is an unblinking reflection of love with the vintage Southside voice capturing the subtle vulnerability. Other singers probably spend weeks if not months trying to emulate something a tenth as persuasive and Southside makes it seem effortless.
“Heartbreak City” comes out of the gate roaring with chanting female voices, a spiraling guitar riff and an understated piano fills that flow into a bluesy stream of musical righteousness. “Strange Strange Feeling” is adroit in melancholy with a pensive vocal by Johnny and allusive organ and harmonica solo’s while a guitar plays along in the background; its little touches like this that make the record such a refined listening experience. The engineering and mixing throughout is tremendous as it balances the grittiness of rock n’ roll against authentic musicianship. The instruments are clear, mixed with great love and care. “Umbrella In My Drink” has a duet with Gary US Bonds that could be from a few decades back with a Big Easy horn section that drips with sweat accentuated by a feverish banjo. “One More Night To Rock” is straightforward in its assertiveness where the instruments are in unrelenting interlock in a vintage rhythm and blues rocker cut from the same cloth as Southside’s best work. “A Place Where I Can’t Be Found” is a Van Morrison style ballad while “Keep On Moving” is an old school 50’s rocker. Capping the record is the aforementioned “Thank You” proving to be the ideal ending to the record.
There isn’t anything here that sounds dated or contemporary and therein is the charm of Pills and Ammo. The Jukes along with the help of some surreal guests verges on ridiculousness. Lisa Fischer, long time backing vocalist for the Rolling Stones and Tin Turner is here to flex her vocal acrobatics, Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live) executes the drums with gritty precision and the aforementioned Andy York provides some downright sick Mick Taylor guitar fills that hurdle out at you. You listen to an album like Pills and Ammo and you simply marvel at how remarkable it all is, as it captures the perfect fusion of skill and spirit highlighted by a lyrical theme is of endurance. Instead of looking back to the days of yesteryear, there is a defiant strength of survival with a keen eye on the future. In many ways, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, despite an ever revolving line-up, have stayed truest to the genealogy of rock ‘n roll than most other artists who make such claims. Southside Johnny’s Pills and Ammo doesn’t emulate anyone or anything, this music is tattooed into their DNA and flows as free as water down a river. What differentiates Pills and Ammo from other artists attempting the blues-rock template is that Southside and the Jukes aren’t trying to be something they’re not. Many of the rock-blues records from the past few years may be good, but make no mistake; most of those acts are merely students while Southside is a professor whose knowledge of the art form is engrained into his consciousness. Pills and Ammo is the sound of a master showing his students how it’s done.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
‘Pills and Ammo’
Album Review
*** ½ (3.5 stars)
By Anthony Kuzminski
{Buy the album here or here}
Young starlets of today and they dress slutty, do near-naked poses for magazine covers and try to be as contentious as possible to work up the press. What they don’t grasp is that to ooze sexiness it’s not about what you wear or how you look in it, but how you carry yourself. It’s about attitude. Do you give off a whiff of sexiness or do you try and be sexy? You can’t teach someone to be arousing, you are or you aren’t. The amalgamation of blues and rock n’ roll is very much the same; bands can branch off and do one or the other but a true marriage of the two is increasingly thorny to pull off and when they try to fuse the two worlds, the results are often not disastrous but tedious. As of late, a slew of vintage rockers seem to be returning to their roots and creating records that give a tip-of-the-hat to the forefathers of rock n’ roll. They are attempting to mine the same purity with which everything else in the last fifty years has followed. However, what most don’t apprehend is just because you admire the music doesn’t mean you can cast it in your own mold. People like Eric Clapton are few and far between, most acts are very good at what they do, but when they step outside of their limits, it comes off as far reaching and incredulous. However, for some artists the necessary ingredients for a killer rock-blues-rhythm-folk record is already in their DNA. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes never had a platinum record or a major hit, but unlike other platinum acts attempting to conjure up the greatness of the past, Johnny and the Jukes do it naturally.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes is continually a feature of the Northeast club circuit and their status of elder statesmen of the Jersey shore is legendary. Their live shows are blistering sweat-inducing revivals that are steeped in old school rock n’ roll and their recorded output are damn consistent. If the band has had any obstacle over the last three decades, it’s surpassing the first three records produced by Steve Van Zandt. Ironically, the next truly classic record the group made was 1991’s Better Days also produced by Van Zandt and features appearances by both Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. In the nineteen-years since that record, the band has remained busy with a slew of archive releases (including the superb Jukebox box set), a continual presence on the road and the occasional new studio album. The best of the post Better Days releases was Messin’ with the Blues from 2000 but the band always proves to be unswerving. Just released is their latest record, Pills and Ammo written, recorded and mixed over a fifteen month period between 2009 and 2010. It should be stated that much of this was due to working around the schedule of the studio they recorded at, Sanctuary II, Jon Bon Jovi’s home studio which he lends out to the band when it’s not being used. Only the album’s final cut, “Thank You” wasn’t recorded there. In a last minute attempt to capture the vocal which seemed to elude them, Southside listened to the original demo at Jeff Kazee’s house and went to Kazee’s home studio and cut the vocal that wound up on the record. This off-the-cuff vision is what drove most of Pills and Ammo to completion. It doesn’t sound overworked and yet given enough attention to ensure the songs are fully fleshed out.
Pills and Ammo is an album full of simplistic strengths and highlights what a great rhythm, blues, soul and rock band truly is. When you hear some of these other acts attempt to forge new ground in the rock-blues template, you hear musicians attempting to capture lightning in a bottle and it comes off as a bunch of fans trying to imitate greatness. The mix, the aural aesthetic and the performances are all top-notch making it the best Southside Johnny record since 1991’s Better Days.Southside and long standing piano/keyboard player Jeff Kazee co-produced the record. Kazee leads the charge and is responsible for making the most strapping and strident Southside Johnny record to date. “Harder Than It Looks” instigates the guttural festivities with a blistering horn section, spacious acoustic and electric guitars and a magnanimous in-your-face production where the drums and bass can be felt. The horns seek shade in the corners while still finding their moment to shine and piano and organ fills that congeal for one downright awesome bluesy romp. Amidst this entire musical splendor it’s the band’s testimonial to surviving. If this was a new Rolling Stones song, the world would have just wet itself. “Cross That Line” features a tactile horn section, assaulting dueling Stonesy guitars and is escorted by a rollicking piano. “Woke Up This Morning” is grubby without being evasive. The way the fuzz harmonica and horns consummates into an unexpected bluesy masterwork. John Mellencamp’s guitarist Andy York (who faced off in a dual guitar attack on this record with longtime Jukes guitarist Bobby Bandiera) liberates a mean slide guitar strut evoking the greats who built Chess Records. “Lead Me On” is an unblinking reflection of love with the vintage Southside voice capturing the subtle vulnerability. Other singers probably spend weeks if not months trying to emulate something a tenth as persuasive and Southside makes it seem effortless.
“Heartbreak City” comes out of the gate roaring with chanting female voices, a spiraling guitar riff and an understated piano fills that flow into a bluesy stream of musical righteousness. “Strange Strange Feeling” is adroit in melancholy with a pensive vocal by Johnny and allusive organ and harmonica solo’s while a guitar plays along in the background; its little touches like this that make the record such a refined listening experience. The engineering and mixing throughout is tremendous as it balances the grittiness of rock n’ roll against authentic musicianship. The instruments are clear, mixed with great love and care. “Umbrella In My Drink” has a duet with Gary US Bonds that could be from a few decades back with a Big Easy horn section that drips with sweat accentuated by a feverish banjo. “One More Night To Rock” is straightforward in its assertiveness where the instruments are in unrelenting interlock in a vintage rhythm and blues rocker cut from the same cloth as Southside’s best work. “A Place Where I Can’t Be Found” is a Van Morrison style ballad while “Keep On Moving” is an old school 50’s rocker. Capping the record is the aforementioned “Thank You” proving to be the ideal ending to the record.
There isn’t anything here that sounds dated or contemporary and therein is the charm of Pills and Ammo. The Jukes along with the help of some surreal guests verges on ridiculousness. Lisa Fischer, long time backing vocalist for the Rolling Stones and Tin Turner is here to flex her vocal acrobatics, Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live) executes the drums with gritty precision and the aforementioned Andy York provides some downright sick Mick Taylor guitar fills that hurdle out at you. You listen to an album like Pills and Ammo and you simply marvel at how remarkable it all is, as it captures the perfect fusion of skill and spirit highlighted by a lyrical theme is of endurance. Instead of looking back to the days of yesteryear, there is a defiant strength of survival with a keen eye on the future. In many ways, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, despite an ever revolving line-up, have stayed truest to the genealogy of rock ‘n roll than most other artists who make such claims. Southside Johnny’s Pills and Ammo doesn’t emulate anyone or anything, this music is tattooed into their DNA and flows as free as water down a river. What differentiates Pills and Ammo from other artists attempting the blues-rock template is that Southside and the Jukes aren’t trying to be something they’re not. Many of the rock-blues records from the past few years may be good, but make no mistake; most of those acts are merely students while Southside is a professor whose knowledge of the art form is engrained into his consciousness. Pills and Ammo is the sound of a master showing his students how it’s done.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Retro Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: An American Band (Chicago 7/2/08 Live Review)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: An American Band
Chicago, IL-United Center
July 2, 2008
By Anthony Kuzminski
In Cameron Crowe’s vastly underappreciated 2005 film Elizabethtown, the core characters viewpoints, thoughts and emotional discourse are aligned with music. This is a rare film where music is an even more vital component than the dialogue. There is a scene early in the film scored to the forgotten gem “It’ll All Work Out” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This brief moment may be the most crushing, affecting and heart wrenching scenes in recent memory. Later in the film after an all night marathon conversation between Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, they part ways in the early morning light and as Bloom rides down in his car, “Learning To Fly” emanates from the screen. At the United Center in Chicago on July 2, 2008 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed a spartan arrangement of the song with the melody performed sturdily on an acoustic by Petty while Benmont Tench added austere fills on his piano to this picturesque song. Besides the warm musical rendering, people connect to the lyric in a philosophical manner; it’s about the challenges we face in life expressed poetically by Petty and the Heartbreakers. The brilliancy of the song is that it manages to make the simple action of stepping into the ring a colossal triumph. Whether you win or lose is inconsequential, it’s that you’ve taken flight that matters. “Learning To Fly” is all about prevailing. As the song drew to a close and the band’s instruments slowly faded to the background, Petty stood front and center as the crowd took cue and allowed for their vocal chords to soar…”I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings…coming down is the hardest thing”. Albums live on forever and will be the lasting testament of an artists work for future generations, but it’s moments like this one that are so uniformly perfect that it wills the hair on the back of your neck to rise and provides one with an awe-inspiring feeling that is powerful as it is poignant and proved to be worth the price of the ticket alone. Despite some obstacles thrown their way, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have risen above it all and prevailed as a unit and this is why they’re one of the most important live bands on the road today.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers stop at the United Center in Chicago found a band completely in control of their craft. For over two-hours, the band surpassed my unrealistic expectations performing six songs I had never seen before and a few new and novel arrangements. Hitting the stage at 9:10pm, the band immediately surged into “Wreck Me”. They proved to be a well oiled machine as they immediately segued into “Listen To Her Heart” which featured five shaped boxes that hung over the stage turning into screens proving you can be inventive with your stage without being extreme. Far more dazzling than any stage prop was striking and precise shots of Steve Ferrone’s drums and the subtle rhythms dropped by bass player Ron Blair. As Petty put an acoustic around his neck and performed his definitive anthem “I Won’t Back Down”, you could hear the crowd cut through the vastness of the arena providing a moment that wasn’t just warm and intimate but resurrecting as well. The song is nearly two-decades old but this performance is as unyielding as it has ever been. The test of a truly great song is when it transcends time and proves to be forever timeless; “I Won’t Back Down” (and most of Petty’s catalog for that matter) is as timeless as they come.
“Even The Losers” burst to life in a way I never imagined possible while “Free Fallin’” was another sing-a-long moment for the crowd. Whenever I hear this song, I think about my Mom. The week Full Moon Fever was released in 1989, I found myself in Sound Warehouse and Fever was playing on the store system and my Mom asked me who it was because she liked it. I was shocked that the album was as melodic and marvelous as it was. The album was $6 on cassette and my Mom agreed to split it with me as long as I agreed to let her borrow it every once in a while. Over the next few years, whenever I was in the car with her, I knew I’d be able to listen to Full Moon Fever and it was something the two of us shared where we both related to that killer lyric “Gonna leave this world for a while” and it always elicited a laugh from my Mom on when she heard “Yer So Bad” with its grin inducing lyrics. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” always brings the crowd to its knees and this performance did just that with the crowd singing along to every word. What followed I don’t think anyone could have ever foreseen as Petty dug back a solid decade and pulled out a b-side, “Sweet William” from the “Room At The Top” European single and EP. The bluesy and bursting number was a surprise addition and a most welcomed one. I never knew of the song before tonight and I’ll be seeking it out now as a result.
Dipping further into his chest full of lost gems, “End of the Line” was a jangly and jolting. The never performed before Traveling Wilburys number found Heartbreaker Scott Thurston shining on the dual harmony vocals reminding us why the two Wilbury albums are so alluring and sundry. Despite having five legends switching off on lead vocals on the album, the Heartbreakers managed to bring this song to life with ease. Opener Steve Winwood, who earlier in the evening left many in the crowd with their mouths gaping at his prowess of the guitar on “Dear Mr. Fantasy” joined Petty and the Heartbreakers for two songs; “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Gimme Some Lovin’”. The soulful “Can’t Find My Way Home” featured stellar six string theatrics by Winwood but it was his angelic voice that soared to the heavens and left an indelible impression. “Gimme Some Lovin’” supercharged the crowd with a surging beat and potent tempo that has the whole arena quaking. “Saving Grace” was dressed up with full tilt boogie swagger that vastly improved on the album version. Guitarist Mike Campbell provided some stunning slide guitar on this one while Benmont Tench almost stole the show with a smoldering organ solo and a sweet and spastic piano jam. The onslaught triple guitar attack highlighted the sweet “Honey Bee”; a intoxicating song that will forever be enshrined in my memory bank because of Dave Grohl’s head banging theatrics behind the kit during the band’s 1994 performance on Saturday Night Live. The Full Moon Fever track “Face In The Crowd” was aired for the first time in almost two decades. This was a wise move because it appeases the die hard fans with a rarity and doesn’t alienate the casual fans because even though it’s a deep cut, it’s from his best selling album (it peaked at #46 on the chart). The simplistic chords of the song leave an indelible impression and I hope to see Petty take more chances with his catalog like this in the future. The vivid “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, the fist in the air psychedelia of “Don’t Come Around Here No More” and the sweltering and smoking “Refugee” were all nothing short of astonishing and brought the main set to a close. The crowd fed off the material like I’ve never seen at a Petty concert before; he didn’t have to work as hard as many other artists currently on the road. He let his varied catalog and the pacing of the set do most of the work for him. With every concert tour, Petty’s popularity appears to soar to new heights. Within five feet of me were people from the age of fourteen all the way to sixty-five and every other age in between. The diversity and vastness of ages within his audience is something none of his arena contemporaries can lay claim to.
The encore consisted of the ferocious “Runnin’ Down A Dream”, the celebratory Van Morrison cover of “Gloria” and the dizzying guitar army theatrics of “American Girl” which threw the audience into overdrive. As the lights adorned the crowd, every single person from the first row to the upper regions of the balcony joyously released their inner emotions providing a moment that wasn’t just mind-blowing and breathtaking, but sincere as well. The phoenix-like velocity of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performance raised the roof on the United Center delivering a knock-out. The entire crowd will be using this concert as a benchmark for judging shows going forward; they simply don’t get any better than this.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Chicago, IL-United Center
July 2, 2008
By Anthony Kuzminski
- Writer's Note: This is a fully edited review that only ran over at antiMusic. It's from Petty's 2008 summer tour.
In Cameron Crowe’s vastly underappreciated 2005 film Elizabethtown, the core characters viewpoints, thoughts and emotional discourse are aligned with music. This is a rare film where music is an even more vital component than the dialogue. There is a scene early in the film scored to the forgotten gem “It’ll All Work Out” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This brief moment may be the most crushing, affecting and heart wrenching scenes in recent memory. Later in the film after an all night marathon conversation between Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, they part ways in the early morning light and as Bloom rides down in his car, “Learning To Fly” emanates from the screen. At the United Center in Chicago on July 2, 2008 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed a spartan arrangement of the song with the melody performed sturdily on an acoustic by Petty while Benmont Tench added austere fills on his piano to this picturesque song. Besides the warm musical rendering, people connect to the lyric in a philosophical manner; it’s about the challenges we face in life expressed poetically by Petty and the Heartbreakers. The brilliancy of the song is that it manages to make the simple action of stepping into the ring a colossal triumph. Whether you win or lose is inconsequential, it’s that you’ve taken flight that matters. “Learning To Fly” is all about prevailing. As the song drew to a close and the band’s instruments slowly faded to the background, Petty stood front and center as the crowd took cue and allowed for their vocal chords to soar…”I’m learning to fly, but I ain’t got wings…coming down is the hardest thing”. Albums live on forever and will be the lasting testament of an artists work for future generations, but it’s moments like this one that are so uniformly perfect that it wills the hair on the back of your neck to rise and provides one with an awe-inspiring feeling that is powerful as it is poignant and proved to be worth the price of the ticket alone. Despite some obstacles thrown their way, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have risen above it all and prevailed as a unit and this is why they’re one of the most important live bands on the road today.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers stop at the United Center in Chicago found a band completely in control of their craft. For over two-hours, the band surpassed my unrealistic expectations performing six songs I had never seen before and a few new and novel arrangements. Hitting the stage at 9:10pm, the band immediately surged into “Wreck Me”. They proved to be a well oiled machine as they immediately segued into “Listen To Her Heart” which featured five shaped boxes that hung over the stage turning into screens proving you can be inventive with your stage without being extreme. Far more dazzling than any stage prop was striking and precise shots of Steve Ferrone’s drums and the subtle rhythms dropped by bass player Ron Blair. As Petty put an acoustic around his neck and performed his definitive anthem “I Won’t Back Down”, you could hear the crowd cut through the vastness of the arena providing a moment that wasn’t just warm and intimate but resurrecting as well. The song is nearly two-decades old but this performance is as unyielding as it has ever been. The test of a truly great song is when it transcends time and proves to be forever timeless; “I Won’t Back Down” (and most of Petty’s catalog for that matter) is as timeless as they come.
“Even The Losers” burst to life in a way I never imagined possible while “Free Fallin’” was another sing-a-long moment for the crowd. Whenever I hear this song, I think about my Mom. The week Full Moon Fever was released in 1989, I found myself in Sound Warehouse and Fever was playing on the store system and my Mom asked me who it was because she liked it. I was shocked that the album was as melodic and marvelous as it was. The album was $6 on cassette and my Mom agreed to split it with me as long as I agreed to let her borrow it every once in a while. Over the next few years, whenever I was in the car with her, I knew I’d be able to listen to Full Moon Fever and it was something the two of us shared where we both related to that killer lyric “Gonna leave this world for a while” and it always elicited a laugh from my Mom on when she heard “Yer So Bad” with its grin inducing lyrics. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” always brings the crowd to its knees and this performance did just that with the crowd singing along to every word. What followed I don’t think anyone could have ever foreseen as Petty dug back a solid decade and pulled out a b-side, “Sweet William” from the “Room At The Top” European single and EP. The bluesy and bursting number was a surprise addition and a most welcomed one. I never knew of the song before tonight and I’ll be seeking it out now as a result.
Dipping further into his chest full of lost gems, “End of the Line” was a jangly and jolting. The never performed before Traveling Wilburys number found Heartbreaker Scott Thurston shining on the dual harmony vocals reminding us why the two Wilbury albums are so alluring and sundry. Despite having five legends switching off on lead vocals on the album, the Heartbreakers managed to bring this song to life with ease. Opener Steve Winwood, who earlier in the evening left many in the crowd with their mouths gaping at his prowess of the guitar on “Dear Mr. Fantasy” joined Petty and the Heartbreakers for two songs; “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Gimme Some Lovin’”. The soulful “Can’t Find My Way Home” featured stellar six string theatrics by Winwood but it was his angelic voice that soared to the heavens and left an indelible impression. “Gimme Some Lovin’” supercharged the crowd with a surging beat and potent tempo that has the whole arena quaking. “Saving Grace” was dressed up with full tilt boogie swagger that vastly improved on the album version. Guitarist Mike Campbell provided some stunning slide guitar on this one while Benmont Tench almost stole the show with a smoldering organ solo and a sweet and spastic piano jam. The onslaught triple guitar attack highlighted the sweet “Honey Bee”; a intoxicating song that will forever be enshrined in my memory bank because of Dave Grohl’s head banging theatrics behind the kit during the band’s 1994 performance on Saturday Night Live. The Full Moon Fever track “Face In The Crowd” was aired for the first time in almost two decades. This was a wise move because it appeases the die hard fans with a rarity and doesn’t alienate the casual fans because even though it’s a deep cut, it’s from his best selling album (it peaked at #46 on the chart). The simplistic chords of the song leave an indelible impression and I hope to see Petty take more chances with his catalog like this in the future. The vivid “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, the fist in the air psychedelia of “Don’t Come Around Here No More” and the sweltering and smoking “Refugee” were all nothing short of astonishing and brought the main set to a close. The crowd fed off the material like I’ve never seen at a Petty concert before; he didn’t have to work as hard as many other artists currently on the road. He let his varied catalog and the pacing of the set do most of the work for him. With every concert tour, Petty’s popularity appears to soar to new heights. Within five feet of me were people from the age of fourteen all the way to sixty-five and every other age in between. The diversity and vastness of ages within his audience is something none of his arena contemporaries can lay claim to.
The encore consisted of the ferocious “Runnin’ Down A Dream”, the celebratory Van Morrison cover of “Gloria” and the dizzying guitar army theatrics of “American Girl” which threw the audience into overdrive. As the lights adorned the crowd, every single person from the first row to the upper regions of the balcony joyously released their inner emotions providing a moment that wasn’t just mind-blowing and breathtaking, but sincere as well. The phoenix-like velocity of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performance raised the roof on the United Center delivering a knock-out. The entire crowd will be using this concert as a benchmark for judging shows going forward; they simply don’t get any better than this.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
Retro Concert Review: Butch Walker 11/14/2005 -Chicago
Butch Walker: The Last of the Great Rock Stars
The Metro - November 14, 2005 - Chicago, IL
By Anthony Kuzminski
Writer's Note: I'm attempting to get all my old reviews up on the blog; the good, the bad and the embarrassing. Here's one from late 2005 as Butch Walker was winding down his Letters tour. One of the final shows was at the Metro here in Chicago and I was there to catch it. xT
- Read all Butch Walker reviews/posts HERE
If you're as lost as I am
-"Lights Out"
In the “here today, gone tomorrow” pop culture, artists live in a vacuum that sucks them through the celebrity machine so quickly, they get spit out before they have even been digested. If an artist is lucky, they break through with their debut album, get a song on the radio and hastily record a follow up. All too often their next album is a letdown and more times than not, they lose their record dealperformance at a time without diving into the deep end of the celebrity pool. Ani Difranco made her career this way by playing street corners, coffee houses, small clubs, big clubs and eventually theaters. It took her a solid decade to build her following, but when she did, she had a career and more importantly, she had credibility. Most recently, Butch Walker has walked down a similar path. I have seen this industry veteran give his all over the last eighteen months in every one of his performances and he’s gone from a act with a small devoted fan base to a cult act with a rabid following.
The true revelations of the evening were the covers Butch pulled out of his back pocket. An audible was called early in the set in honor of Butch’s birthday with the genuine and animated “The Kids Are Alright”. Butch welcomed a member of the crowd up on stage for the Bowie classic, “Let’s Dance” and from out of nowhere in the first encore, he slowly began to strum and perform “Laid” from the brilliant, yet forgotten, English band James. Being a die hard James fan, this caught me completely off guard. These are the moments I love about concerts, where you are genuinely astonished to the extent that you want to see this artist again, just in the hopes they will leave you in a state of disbelief. Even if you don’t travel to see an artist or even see them only once every few years, you hope to walk away from each show with a feeling of individuality, that you saw something no other city will see. I have walked away from each of Butch’s six performances knowing and feeling I beheld something few others will see. Artists willing to take risks nightly and reward crowds with something indisputably unforgettable stand the best chance at having repeat customers. I am thankful Butch is conscious of this and puts his idiosyncratic imprint on each show.
For the final number Butch pulled out a new tune, “When Canyons Ruled” and ensued the crowd was not left in the cold during it. He began a sing a long which had the males singing one part and the females another. The crowd was completely lost in the moment, then one by one, Butch’s band descended off stage until there was no one left except the 1,100 patrons of the Metro and one Mr. Butch Walker. Alone and by himself, just as he had been eighteen-months previously at the Abbey Pub I’m sure Butch was patting himself on the back as he had come full circle. Since that small club gig eighteen months earlier, Butch’s Chicago audience has increased three-fold and the believers and hardcore devotees have only grown more devoted. As I watched the euphoric crowd (with the house lights shining down on them) continue to sing, Butch slowly made his way off stage. He was brought out one last time by his band and the openers, where they descended a birthday cake upon him. However, when the stage emptied for the final time I realized there is a strong possibility this may be one of the last times I witness Butch in a setting this intimate, as his talent and exuberant personality can not go unnoticed forever and the next album may very well break him into the mainstream.
Whether he continues to play clubs or arenas, I know I’ll be there, because every time you pay to see a Butch Walker concert, I know I will be witnessing an artist who will gives his all and leave one feeling like you saw something distinctive and true to not only your heart, but his as well.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Concert Review: The Big Four Cinema Simulcast: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax
The Big Four Cinema Simulcast: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax
Sofia, Bulgaria-June 22, 2010
By Anthony Kuzminski
Over the last three decades, we have seen a flurry of musical genres come and go only to become retro, resurrected and ultimately redeemed. At the end of the day, heavy metal thrives and survives. Metal has never been the most popular genre of music, but because of this it continues to live on in that space between obscurity and the mainstream. Metal music wasn’t made for the masses, but because of the truths and glaring injustices of the world, it will always have a home as long as the world continues to produce disaffected youth, the latter of which never seems to go out of style. Despite the hundreds (if not thousands) of subgenres within metal, virtually all of them stand up and give a tip of the hat to what is known as “The Big Four”; Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. These four groups put America on the metal map. Before “The Big Four”, Europe was ground zero for metal. However, with the emergence of these four bands in the early 1980’s, they set (and continue to set) the template for virtually all metal bands in one form or another much the same way the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Who set the template for all rock bands that followed them. They’ve all had their fair shake of bad luck, drama and turbulence no one could imagine or have foreseen, but beneath it all these four acts continue to play live to this very day.
When the rumors began last year of a Big Four tour, it seemed too good to be true, however in this instance; it was true, but only over in Europe. For the first time in their careers, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax would share the same stage over a series of shows in June 2010. While we still wait for other parts of the world to relish in the epic grandeur of these four acts together, we were treated to an almost full feast on cinema screens recently. Broadcast across cinemas which reached over 100,000 people worldwide, the show gave us our first glimpse of what proved to be a unbelievable and rare look at all of the Godfathers of thrash metal. The full broadcast to cinemas was over 4 ½ hours and included interviews with the members and even a tribute to the late and great Ronnie James Dio. While the show was edited for broadcast, we saw approximately eighty-percent of the show. At well over four-hours, this was a metal fans wet dream come true. What makes this convergence of these four bands on one stage is that during their initial rise to fame during the 1980’s and 1990’s, they inspired and urged one another on in ways no motivational speaker ever could. Their four histories are intertwined tightly that effectively every metal act on the planet has one of the four in their DNA. While none of the Big Four have any of their original line-ups, they managed to embrace and uncover that rare spirit when they were finding their musical footing. For those whose histories go back a few decades with each of these bands or who has seen them at their commercial peaks in the late ‘80’s or early ‘90’s, I am not sure what kind of reaction they will give, but for someone who followed all four bands closely, yet never managed to see them during their initial beginnings, this was quite the sight to see. Imagine getting all of the artists who recorded at Sun Studio’s in the 1950’s and having them reunite in the early 1980’s. Elvis may have left the building, but the Big Four are still here and delivered a forceful show with hammering gut-thrusting rock. Heavy metal is about two things; fighting the status quo and the live show. There’s a silver lining of truthfulness in the music which regardless of what you think of it, it will always be relevant.
ANTHRAX
Anthrax inaugurated the show with a ravaging “Caught in a Mosh”. Over the next 45-minutes, Anthrax held their own and proved to be a driving force that hasn’t fought their last fight. In the last five years alone, they have technically had four singers. This is Joey Belladonna’s second go round as vocalist for the band since the one-off reunion in 2005-06. However, when Belladonna hit the stage he was ready and willing to give his all. It’s been almost two decades since he initially parted with Anthrax, but he proved to be in raw, primal and fine form. As much as John Bush is admired and loved, one forgets how integral Belladonna was to the rise of Anthrax and how damn good he still is. Watching “Antisocial” we’re reminded that this is the Anthrax that ruled and roared. While their output may be the least consistent of these four acts, there’s no mistake in having them on this bill. On this particular number, the Bulgaria crowd proved maniacal as they chanted the title (“Antisocial”) over and over again. “Got the Time” and “Madhouse” were showcases for the hypnotic bass of Frank Bello which maneuvers around the songs in a cat and mouse game flexing his prowess and giving Anthrax’s song that extra spunk that gave them a unique place in the world of metal. The Iron Maiden influenced “Indians”, with its svelte guitars is driven by the drumming of Charlie Benante seemed to be the moment where everything fell into place. Anthrax spread their seed and made sure that just because they were first out of the gate they weren’t going to go easy on the crowd. You never would have known that they weren’t the headliners. One of metal’s intricate beauties is the fact that each performer on a given bill is integral to the overall experience and Anthrax made their presence known with a raucous roar.
MEGADETH
Megadeth is currently touring in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Rust in Peace but there’s a far more important activity within the Megadeth camp; the return of Dave Ellefson on bass. His departure in 2002 was a shocking divorce I am not sure anyone was ever comfortable with. The Mustaine/Ellefson partnership is the equivalent to the Hetfield/Ulrich relationship in Metallica. One balances the other while simultaneously egging them on to reach their furthest potential. Ellefson’s bass is integral to Megadeth’s sound; the thick bottom aesthetic of his rhythm is the foundation everything else is laid upon. As Megadeth went through a revolving door or drummers and guitarists over their career, Ellefson was the one constant that kept Mustaine on the path. With him missing, there was a void in Megadeth and despite creating some good albums, the void was undeniable. With him back on stage with his vigorous five-string bass, all seemed right in the world of Megadeth.
“Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” was a tremendous opener followed immediately by the reverberating “Hangar 18”. “Headcrusher” had a fixated guitar battle between Mustaine and Chris Broderick while “In My Darkest Hour” featured the intensity Mustaine is known for. It’s one of the genre’s preeminent moments as he dug into his psyche and found a way to deal with indescribable pain and wrote what I believe to be his greatest achievement as a songwriter and in concert it features spiraling emotions which can be reflected in the fiery guitar work. Megadeths’s brand of speed/thrash metal almost makes Anthrax look like a punk band; vociferous guitars, virtuosic solo’s and rich tunes spoken from first person narratives in many of the songs making them that much more influential. Mustaine’s sinister vocals evoke apocalyptic feelings of despair as if he’s being channeled from below. Megadeth’s set was plagued by rain, but it didn’t stop them from unleashing some venomous riffs and Mustaine showed everyone why he’s one of the best six-string shredders on the planet. “Symphony of Destruction” had lashing riffs amidst a laborious rhythm section that thumps along with the guitar melodies. The perfunctory “Peace Sells” culminated their nearly 50-minute set in a splendid manner. With the partnership of Ellefson and Mustaine back in place things can only go up from here for them.
SLAYER
Ironically, the most dominant, consistent and reliable and most beloved (worshipped, venerated, applauded-you name the adjective it suits them) speed metal band on the planet is one I’m not as familiar with as I should be. Growing up Slayer scared me. There’s no other way to explain it. Forget the image of the devoted fan base, it’s hard to even hear Slayer and not feel as if Judgment Day isn’t around the corner but happening right at that very second. However, with time, I find myself going back to Reign in Blood and South of Heaven and revere in the lyrics. Embracing doomsday views of the world in a brutal no-nonsense manner, Slayer is an act that can’t be ignored or denied. Their style is undeniable and they don’t just bring heady topics to the forefront, but wallop you over your skull with them.
As a red light lingered on the stage, the four members took to the stage and surged into “World Painted Blood” with gusto. “War Ensemble”, “Hate Worldwide” and “Seasons in the Abyss” found the band speeding through with some intellectually menacing drum fills by the colossal Dave Lombardo. Lombardo has an intense relationship with the band going back to the beginning but watching him on the screen you realize he’s not just an integral ingredient but a vital and irreplaceable key to Slayer. Like John Bonham, Neil Peart or Charlie Watts, the respective bands wouldn’t be the same without the rhythm keepers in the back. “Angel of Death” solidified that the band never lost a step. While the other three bands have flirted with melody in the context of thrash, Slayer has always been about demonic rage emulated by the bone-crushing guitar chords, Lombardo’s solvent drumming and Araya’s socially charged vocals. Slayer has never shied away from controversial topics and because they’ve never hidden themselves behind a corporation, their authenticity has remained intact. Unsullied, the fans across the globe have never gone through a period of disillusionment around their music. The brutal brashness spins the problems of the world on their head. They stayed the thrash metal course and as a result, have stayed true not just to themselves but to their fans as well, demonstrated by the fervent reaction of the Bulgaria crowd. Their loyalty of devotion of their fans is unmatched by possibly anyone in any genre. For guys who believed in their crafts, never took the road most traveled and created a vista where their catalog remains unsullied. “South of Heaven” found the band tapping into the unspoken and unfurling despair of life while “Raining Blood” found the crowd in a roit-like moshes which the English language can’t serve it justice. When they concluded their set you sat back and wondered how anything could top that.
METALLICA
Metallica isn’t just one of the biggest bands in the world of metal, but the world, period. The dominance they have on a global scale can only be matched by U2 and the Rolling Stones. Metallica performs in many territories the aforementioned acts have been to only once or twice, whereas Metallica goes everywhere on every tour. The only other acts whose worldwide pull in these territories that is as strong is Iron Maiden and both of their overriding influences is staggering. I wasn’t expecting Metallica to hit the stage with a detonation or even a response as vociferous as the aforementioned three but Lars Ulrich’s machine-gun opening to “Creeping Death” put any doubts I had to bed. Within minutes they reminded everyone why they’re the reigning kings of the metal world. Instead of taking their headline status lightly, the band drove home a tight performance where all four members were interlocked mentally and musically. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Cyanide” were cast against the backdrop of a crowd so unreservedly caught up in the band, it was ridiculous not to be overtaken by the moment of it all. For “Fade to Black”, James Hetfield was towards the back of the stage performing the opening of the song on an actual acoustic guitar. The solemn intensity, especially in Hetfield’s delivery of the lyrics, was a performance I hadn’t expected to see, bursting with emotions in a ghostly vocal. “One” is a tale of torment that is as vital as ever and the pyrotechnic performance didn’t disappoint but the convergence of the band and the audience is what takes this are FM epic to heights few can achieve. Most remarkable was the grandeur of “Master of Puppets” where even nearly 25-years later the band still delivers thunderbolts of electricity on the nearly 9-minute song verging between cacophonous menace and delicate magnificence. Here is an album that barely cracked the Top-40, it contained no hit singles and hardly received any airplay and yet it cemented their legacy in the thrash world while selling consistently and eventually racking up 6-million in sales. It was the first step into a much bigger world I’m not even sure they could have foreseen. To this day, on any list of essential metal albums, this is always in the Top-5, consider it the Revolver of the metal world.
During the encore, almost every member of the Big Four converged on the stage for the Diamond Head cover of “Am I Evil”. Despite being a tad rough around the edges it was still a one-of-a-kind moment unlikely to be repeated. Seeing most of the Big Four on one stage jamming along was quite a sight to see. Capping the simulcast was a pair of songs taking us back to where it all began, “Hit the Lights” and “Seek and Destroy”, the former being the first officially released Metallica song. The unbridled insurgency of Hetfield and Ulrich’s paths crossing made all of this feasible and based on these performances; they seem as heady as ever. The encore showed them flex their muscle bringing it all back to ground zero, because in the garage was where it all began. The thrash styling’s of the Big Four was a catalyst for discontented youth to unleash your anger and aggression, the music has become something else; a life force of unimaginative power.
The big screen vastness was epic. While it can’t replace the feeling of being there in person, the broadcast was a treat to see and executed with grace. The overall look and sound for an event that was most likely mixed on the fly is rather staggering. I’ve seen DVD’s with months of post-production that don’t look or sound as good as this cinema broadcast did. When the inevitable DVD hits store shelves, this will be a no-brainer as to whether or not you should pick it up. While it’s easy to think of this as a purely nostalgic ride, but it isn’t. Heavy metal is an art form that doesn’t hold the key to a fountain of youth, but it holds the key to our soul. The darkness, the fight, the determination and the urging of demons from within is something that should never be forgotten. We may move on to music with more finesse, or spread our taste buds out to different forms of music, but it’s this music from within that reminds us of who we were, but it also re-lights to fire within whenever the songs are heard. Genres and styles may come and go but the Big Four are forever.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Sofia, Bulgaria-June 22, 2010
By Anthony Kuzminski
Over the last three decades, we have seen a flurry of musical genres come and go only to become retro, resurrected and ultimately redeemed. At the end of the day, heavy metal thrives and survives. Metal has never been the most popular genre of music, but because of this it continues to live on in that space between obscurity and the mainstream. Metal music wasn’t made for the masses, but because of the truths and glaring injustices of the world, it will always have a home as long as the world continues to produce disaffected youth, the latter of which never seems to go out of style. Despite the hundreds (if not thousands) of subgenres within metal, virtually all of them stand up and give a tip of the hat to what is known as “The Big Four”; Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. These four groups put America on the metal map. Before “The Big Four”, Europe was ground zero for metal. However, with the emergence of these four bands in the early 1980’s, they set (and continue to set) the template for virtually all metal bands in one form or another much the same way the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Who set the template for all rock bands that followed them. They’ve all had their fair shake of bad luck, drama and turbulence no one could imagine or have foreseen, but beneath it all these four acts continue to play live to this very day.
When the rumors began last year of a Big Four tour, it seemed too good to be true, however in this instance; it was true, but only over in Europe. For the first time in their careers, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax would share the same stage over a series of shows in June 2010. While we still wait for other parts of the world to relish in the epic grandeur of these four acts together, we were treated to an almost full feast on cinema screens recently. Broadcast across cinemas which reached over 100,000 people worldwide, the show gave us our first glimpse of what proved to be a unbelievable and rare look at all of the Godfathers of thrash metal. The full broadcast to cinemas was over 4 ½ hours and included interviews with the members and even a tribute to the late and great Ronnie James Dio. While the show was edited for broadcast, we saw approximately eighty-percent of the show. At well over four-hours, this was a metal fans wet dream come true. What makes this convergence of these four bands on one stage is that during their initial rise to fame during the 1980’s and 1990’s, they inspired and urged one another on in ways no motivational speaker ever could. Their four histories are intertwined tightly that effectively every metal act on the planet has one of the four in their DNA. While none of the Big Four have any of their original line-ups, they managed to embrace and uncover that rare spirit when they were finding their musical footing. For those whose histories go back a few decades with each of these bands or who has seen them at their commercial peaks in the late ‘80’s or early ‘90’s, I am not sure what kind of reaction they will give, but for someone who followed all four bands closely, yet never managed to see them during their initial beginnings, this was quite the sight to see. Imagine getting all of the artists who recorded at Sun Studio’s in the 1950’s and having them reunite in the early 1980’s. Elvis may have left the building, but the Big Four are still here and delivered a forceful show with hammering gut-thrusting rock. Heavy metal is about two things; fighting the status quo and the live show. There’s a silver lining of truthfulness in the music which regardless of what you think of it, it will always be relevant.
ANTHRAX
MEGADETH
“Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” was a tremendous opener followed immediately by the reverberating “Hangar 18”. “Headcrusher” had a fixated guitar battle between Mustaine and Chris Broderick while “In My Darkest Hour” featured the intensity Mustaine is known for. It’s one of the genre’s preeminent moments as he dug into his psyche and found a way to deal with indescribable pain and wrote what I believe to be his greatest achievement as a songwriter and in concert it features spiraling emotions which can be reflected in the fiery guitar work. Megadeths’s brand of speed/thrash metal almost makes Anthrax look like a punk band; vociferous guitars, virtuosic solo’s and rich tunes spoken from first person narratives in many of the songs making them that much more influential. Mustaine’s sinister vocals evoke apocalyptic feelings of despair as if he’s being channeled from below. Megadeth’s set was plagued by rain, but it didn’t stop them from unleashing some venomous riffs and Mustaine showed everyone why he’s one of the best six-string shredders on the planet. “Symphony of Destruction” had lashing riffs amidst a laborious rhythm section that thumps along with the guitar melodies. The perfunctory “Peace Sells” culminated their nearly 50-minute set in a splendid manner. With the partnership of Ellefson and Mustaine back in place things can only go up from here for them.
Ironically, the most dominant, consistent and reliable and most beloved (worshipped, venerated, applauded-you name the adjective it suits them) speed metal band on the planet is one I’m not as familiar with as I should be. Growing up Slayer scared me. There’s no other way to explain it. Forget the image of the devoted fan base, it’s hard to even hear Slayer and not feel as if Judgment Day isn’t around the corner but happening right at that very second. However, with time, I find myself going back to Reign in Blood and South of Heaven and revere in the lyrics. Embracing doomsday views of the world in a brutal no-nonsense manner, Slayer is an act that can’t be ignored or denied. Their style is undeniable and they don’t just bring heady topics to the forefront, but wallop you over your skull with them.
As a red light lingered on the stage, the four members took to the stage and surged into “World Painted Blood” with gusto. “War Ensemble”, “Hate Worldwide” and “Seasons in the Abyss” found the band speeding through with some intellectually menacing drum fills by the colossal Dave Lombardo. Lombardo has an intense relationship with the band going back to the beginning but watching him on the screen you realize he’s not just an integral ingredient but a vital and irreplaceable key to Slayer. Like John Bonham, Neil Peart or Charlie Watts, the respective bands wouldn’t be the same without the rhythm keepers in the back. “Angel of Death” solidified that the band never lost a step. While the other three bands have flirted with melody in the context of thrash, Slayer has always been about demonic rage emulated by the bone-crushing guitar chords, Lombardo’s solvent drumming and Araya’s socially charged vocals. Slayer has never shied away from controversial topics and because they’ve never hidden themselves behind a corporation, their authenticity has remained intact. Unsullied, the fans across the globe have never gone through a period of disillusionment around their music. The brutal brashness spins the problems of the world on their head. They stayed the thrash metal course and as a result, have stayed true not just to themselves but to their fans as well, demonstrated by the fervent reaction of the Bulgaria crowd. Their loyalty of devotion of their fans is unmatched by possibly anyone in any genre. For guys who believed in their crafts, never took the road most traveled and created a vista where their catalog remains unsullied. “South of Heaven” found the band tapping into the unspoken and unfurling despair of life while “Raining Blood” found the crowd in a roit-like moshes which the English language can’t serve it justice. When they concluded their set you sat back and wondered how anything could top that.
Metallica isn’t just one of the biggest bands in the world of metal, but the world, period. The dominance they have on a global scale can only be matched by U2 and the Rolling Stones. Metallica performs in many territories the aforementioned acts have been to only once or twice, whereas Metallica goes everywhere on every tour. The only other acts whose worldwide pull in these territories that is as strong is Iron Maiden and both of their overriding influences is staggering. I wasn’t expecting Metallica to hit the stage with a detonation or even a response as vociferous as the aforementioned three but Lars Ulrich’s machine-gun opening to “Creeping Death” put any doubts I had to bed. Within minutes they reminded everyone why they’re the reigning kings of the metal world. Instead of taking their headline status lightly, the band drove home a tight performance where all four members were interlocked mentally and musically. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Cyanide” were cast against the backdrop of a crowd so unreservedly caught up in the band, it was ridiculous not to be overtaken by the moment of it all. For “Fade to Black”, James Hetfield was towards the back of the stage performing the opening of the song on an actual acoustic guitar. The solemn intensity, especially in Hetfield’s delivery of the lyrics, was a performance I hadn’t expected to see, bursting with emotions in a ghostly vocal. “One” is a tale of torment that is as vital as ever and the pyrotechnic performance didn’t disappoint but the convergence of the band and the audience is what takes this are FM epic to heights few can achieve. Most remarkable was the grandeur of “Master of Puppets” where even nearly 25-years later the band still delivers thunderbolts of electricity on the nearly 9-minute song verging between cacophonous menace and delicate magnificence. Here is an album that barely cracked the Top-40, it contained no hit singles and hardly received any airplay and yet it cemented their legacy in the thrash world while selling consistently and eventually racking up 6-million in sales. It was the first step into a much bigger world I’m not even sure they could have foreseen. To this day, on any list of essential metal albums, this is always in the Top-5, consider it the Revolver of the metal world.
During the encore, almost every member of the Big Four converged on the stage for the Diamond Head cover of “Am I Evil”. Despite being a tad rough around the edges it was still a one-of-a-kind moment unlikely to be repeated. Seeing most of the Big Four on one stage jamming along was quite a sight to see. Capping the simulcast was a pair of songs taking us back to where it all began, “Hit the Lights” and “Seek and Destroy”, the former being the first officially released Metallica song. The unbridled insurgency of Hetfield and Ulrich’s paths crossing made all of this feasible and based on these performances; they seem as heady as ever. The encore showed them flex their muscle bringing it all back to ground zero, because in the garage was where it all began. The thrash styling’s of the Big Four was a catalyst for discontented youth to unleash your anger and aggression, the music has become something else; a life force of unimaginative power.
The big screen vastness was epic. While it can’t replace the feeling of being there in person, the broadcast was a treat to see and executed with grace. The overall look and sound for an event that was most likely mixed on the fly is rather staggering. I’ve seen DVD’s with months of post-production that don’t look or sound as good as this cinema broadcast did. When the inevitable DVD hits store shelves, this will be a no-brainer as to whether or not you should pick it up. While it’s easy to think of this as a purely nostalgic ride, but it isn’t. Heavy metal is an art form that doesn’t hold the key to a fountain of youth, but it holds the key to our soul. The darkness, the fight, the determination and the urging of demons from within is something that should never be forgotten. We may move on to music with more finesse, or spread our taste buds out to different forms of music, but it’s this music from within that reminds us of who we were, but it also re-lights to fire within whenever the songs are heard. Genres and styles may come and go but the Big Four are forever.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
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