Return Of The Dreads Tour

It's been too long. About 10 years since I last saw Rob Zombie.  The first time I had ever seen Rob Zombie was a one off show in at the Long Beach convention center in Long Beach, CA known as 'Priest Feast'. It consisted of Rob Zombie, Anthrax and Judas Priest. There should be a little written about that show in my 'Dan Goes To Judas Priest Concerts' post.

Priest Feast was on the floor of an indoor arena -- now here I was on lawn at Irvine Meadows amphitheater in Irvine, CA for round two with Rob Zombie. July 24th, 2016 I was once again faced with the hippie/cowboy/filmmaker/zombie that is Rob Zombie. First and foremost let me emphasize his work as a filmmaker, as this facet of Rob Zombie makes his show's unique. Known for his films ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ and ‘The Devil’s Rejects, as well as directing two movies in the ‘Halloween’ franchise. He is no slouch in the film industry, so naturally that's heavily incorporated in his live concert performance. It's like having a music video playing in the background. Interesting note, this was the first concert ever in which I witnessed a movie trailer in the middle of it. The trailer was for his recently released film titled '31'; check out the trailer here.

Rob Zombie, not only a successful film director,  he is also someone who's been around in the music industry for a long time now. Naturally he comes in with an impressive crew; Ginger Fish joined on drums, and John 5 alongside on guitar for this show. Marilyn Manson fans should be excited here, as Ginger Fish is a prolific contributor to early Manson albums, and John 5 has had the privilege of working alongside acts like David Lee Roth, Paul Stanley, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. Rob Zombie controls the stage, and excites the audience --this show was so full of energy, the bands demanded it out of us. Rob Zombie pounded out hit after hit, not only his solo work but digging into material back when he was with White Zombie. He also played my favorite track off of his last album Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown.  The sound was great, not just for Zombie’s set but for the whole night in general. Although I did find it interesting that Rob Zombie spoke through his vocal effects; they usually get turned off when the artist is talking to the audience, but he had a crazy layering affect the whole night. It sounded fine, it was just unusual, then again... so was the movie trailer.

The great thing about this concert was not only getting to re-visit Rob Zombie, but also seeing KoЯn for a third time now. Compared to the first two times I saw KoЯn, this time was special in the way that it was them headlining with just one other group, In This Moment. The other two times I saw KoЯn were at festivals, leaving for a slightly condensed set. Rob Zombie's performance was unique in this way too, being that I had only seen him in a bit of a festival setting.

For this night, just having these two giants KoЯn and Rob Zombie together the bands had control over the energy of the audience in a special way, it was more focused. At large festivals you get a lot of grouping.  It can sometimes lead to a lack of unity at a concert. I've been to concerts with hodge podge lineups. But KoЯn and Rob Zombie really fit together. Similar to when I saw Kiss and Motley Crue, or Judas Priest with Heaven and Hell.

This was my  first time seeing KoЯn since they had stopped celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first self titled album 'KoЯn'. I don't want to even begin to complain about seeing them play that album in full TWICE. It was nice to see a "normal" KoЯn show with a cavalcade of hits throughout their entire catalogue. Well, for any "old-school" KoЯn fans, fear not, they played a great deal of older classics. Getting hit with tracks like;  Got The Life, Twist, Blind, Y'all Want A Single, Right now. Again with that audience energy, it was fun to sing along with a chorus of fans, again with that audience energy.

Seeing them play the first album is heavy. Jonathan Davis let out a lot of childhood anger and frustration out on that album. Performing the song Daddy, which he couldn't handle performing live for nearly two decades. But this night, he felt more like the multi platinum recording artist. Because when life hands you lemons, you pick up a mic and you scream into it. Jon was very talkative throughout the night, and very interactive with the audience. At one point all of their children came out onto the stage and danced around for a few songs!

I'm glad I got to see this show, and I'm glad I have at least one more show lined up for Irvine Meadows this summer, because after this season... Poof! it's gone. That's right, the Irvine Company wants to pave over my dreams and put up residential and multi family apartment communities. Just what we need, more people, less music... wrong. Let's just hope what I've read is true, and we get a brand new amphitheater at the great park. My closest outdoor amphitheater is about to become another 20 minutes away, sad panda.

The Who

May 25th 2016, I was acquainted with The Seeker, met the Pinball Wizard, and was reminded it's only teenage wasteland. (Notice that "teenage wasteland" wasnt capitalized? Congratulations, your parents loved you!)

My parents loved me and thanks to that they shared good music with me. Fortunately, they have good taste. If it wasn't for my parents you probably wouldn't be reading these words and this probably wouldn't be a blog. So yeah!

What can I say? I do want to say that Pete Townshend tore the roof off the place; so thanks for that. It was worth the wait guys. I may have purchased my tickets nearly back in 2014, but I'd have gladly waited longer. Fortunately, I didn't have too wait a moment longer. And before I knew it I was a beer and a cocktail in and I was ready to sit down to a promising show.

Before I know it I'm being taken back in time "whoooooooooooo are you? Who, who, who, who." Then I was reminded that this was their 50th anniversary, so it appeared that Pete had A LOT to say. Roger sort of just chimed in. Pete was a cheeky English person, that's for sure. He insulted the audience a couple times and then acknowledged his man boobs. Stating that "I think men get tired of not having what they want all the time, so they start to grow their own". Laughing out loud Pete.

But sitting there I was easily reminded who I was seeing. Who, indeed. So many songs that you grow up with. Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Squeeze Box, Won't Get Fooled Again, Eminence Front. These guys played at Woodstock, man.

My only gripes were only to do with how poorly a venue can be set up. With a ceiling so high, you think I'd be able to see their only set piece, but nope. Two giant speakers hung between me and the giant monitor. And it was a really well put together video feed, from what I could see. It was just them rocking out in front of a mega huge monitor. I could have used more lighting and glits. But they still did deliver a massive set.

These guys are in their 70s giving 100%. As the years continue to roll on we lose the opportunity to see the great performers of the 60s and 70s. If you get the opportunity to check out a classic rock band, don't hesitate. Make it happen.

The End: Or Is It?

Well, it has happened before - and it will happen again - another band has said goodbye.  Since I last posted on this blog, two bands have said goodbye to me: Mötley Crüe and, most recently, Black Sabbath.

At these times, we always have to wonder if it is truly the end. Let's look at the first concert, Mötley Crüe. This show was at the Honda Center in Anaheim on December 22nd, 2015. Alice Cooper opened up the evening with his typical array of dancers, props, and, above all else, awesome music. This was my fourth time seeing Alice, and I'm always so stoked to be there for him. I will always tip my hat to Alice Cooper for meeting expectations. If you ever go to an Alice Cooper show, be ready to get excited. It's all going to be there: snakes, dancers, severed heads, top hats, make up, and classic rock. They will have it all. And despite getting up there in age, Alice fortunately wasn't the artist saying goodbye to me that night.  I'm grateful, and I hope to see him as many times as possible.  After his set was my fourth and final time seeing Mötley Crüe...supposedly.

The thing about Mötley Crüe is that they are all still relatively young. It's hard to believe that in another ten years, they won't be missing their Mötley Crüe salary. Sure, most of the members of Mötley Crüe have had decent solo careers. But Mick Mars, Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, and Nikki Sixx are all nothing - if not first and foremost - members of Mötley Crüe. How will they live without Mötley Crüe, and how are we going to live without Mötley Crüe? I've grown fond of seeing them live; they really bring it all with explosions, girls girls girls, and rock n' roll. 

However, I'm not sure if the last tour was big enough. It didn't seem to be taken to that next level. They still were able to show the audience a very good time and put on a good show, but it was not really any different from seeing them before. Although this time, they did have explosions that were unlike anything I have ever heard in my life. This was my 103rd concert, and I had never been faced with such loud explosions. When I'm eighty years old and can't hear anymore, it won't be because of the loud guitar and pounding drums. No, it will be because of those god damn explosions. 

You may wonder why I sound so doubtful that this is the end of Mötley Crüe. Let's just say that I have seen a handful of bands on their "Final Tour", only to see them again later. It's a money thing; it's profitable to allude to it being one's last show. I'm sure there are other factors, but I'd have to imagine it's mostly a financial game. 

I'm going to have to leave the Mötley Crüe section on the short and sweet side, because I've got a monster of a show headed your way: Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath is currently on their "The End" world tour. Black Sabbath has decided to power down after decades of heavy metal. It almost feels like they created heavy metal, and they are going to take it with them when they leave. I am far less skeptical of this being the end for Black Sabbath. This is mainly because Tony Iommi has been in questionable health for quite sometime. Also, after this tour Ozzy plans on recording a solo album and going on a solo world tour. If you add up the years that  it will take Ozzy to do his solo thing, it's obvious that there will be no time for Sabbath to have the opportunity to ripple through this tiny world of ours again.

Let's throw out another number: five. Yes, this was my fifth time seeing Black Sabbath. The first two times were while the band was being fronted by the dearly missed Ronnie James Dio. If only I knew that that would be the last time I'd be in his audience before he passed. Anyways, I'm almost 100% certain that I will be seeing Sabbath again in a few months from now, when they play at the Hollywood Bowl.  You may or may not know that Black Sabbath is a very important band in my life. I've written two posts that you should probably read, which might help you to understand the magnitude of my love for Black Sabbath, as well as the man who almost feels like my best friend, Ozzy Osbourne. 

The show, which was on February 11th, 2016, was a part of their "The End" tour at The Forum in Inglewood. Accompanied by my friend, Shannon, we embarked on a journey to see the band that started it all and bring our memories to a satisfying end.  Black Sabbath filled that venue with hit after hit, reminding us who they are and what they stand for. I felt like they were schooling us on music, and having a good time doing it. Tony, Geezer, and Ozzy all appeared to be having such a good time. I'll say it once and I'll say it a million times: Ozzy is one of the most captivating front men of all time. He's always having a good time, and he makes sure that the audience is having an even better time.  He amped up the audience, yelling "I can't fucking year you, c'mon!" and they roared. When Ozzy tells you to do something, you had better fucking do it! Goodness, my amount of "fucks" have really soared in this paragraph. I'm serious about my Black Sabbath.

Again, I don't know if this tour truly felt like the end. I'll admit that it had a bit more to it than your average Sabbath concert.  Black Sabbath is really all about the music, and their set is usually minimalistic - which is completely fine, because they absolutely murder the audience with their amazing sound. But this time around, they had a magnificent screen they were performing in front of. This screen gave the people in the nose bleed seats a brilliant close-up view of the action, with stunning visuals to go along with it.

To the real Black Sabbath fans reading this, yes, Bill Ward was very missed, as he was the last two times that I saw Ozzy front Sabbath.  For the newer Sabbath fans: Bill Ward is their drummer, and is still very much alive. But for very complicated and unfair reasons, he did not participate in wrapping up with the band that he had helped to start. It may have been the end for Inglewood, but it's not the end for me and it's not the end for this blog. So here's to sometime in September.

Photos pulled from The OC Register and Billboard.