|
Kreator - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, California
I hadn’t really listened to them before, and I wasn’t aware of their modern reputation, of being ‘one of those’ nuclear blast bands. Iron Reagan opened, both bands played with fury, and the crowd went off. I was surprised to see Kreator playing such a small venue, the big room can only fit a few hundred people. The circle pits didn’t stop, and later on in Kreator’s set, there was even a wall of death. There were teenagers and drunken forty-somethings knocking each other over, and picking each other up. At one point, I saw something on the floor. I thought it was a shoe, like a sneaker or slipper. It was a black Vibram sole, like from a boot. It had gotten ripped off, in the pit. The last song was “pleasure to kill.”
High on Fire - The UC theater, Berkeley, California
One of my favorite bands headlining, Matt Pike wasn’t drinking, and he and the rest put on a kickass 2 hour set, with great songs from all over their discography. They also had an improvisation, as an intro, to the song “Baghdad.” Power Trip played right before them, and they fucking ruled. It was raining hard that night, and there were actually puddles, on parts of the highway. In bigger cities, I always park far away, to save money. I was soaked in rain, when I went inside, and I hardly sweated, while running around in the pit for hours, high on infernal marijuana. The show ended at 12:30, I got home around 2:00, and, compelled by the riff power, figured out how to play the intro, and main riffs to “snakes for the divine.”
Black Sabbath - San José Sharks hockey stadium
Expensive, but worth it. I went with friends, we had all never seen them before, and it was the last chance. Assigned stadium seating isn’t cool, but, it was Black Sabbath, so that made up for it. Ozzy Osbourne did the “alright maybe, if you really want it, we could do one more song” thing, and they closed with paranoid, although the majority of the crowd was chanting sweet leaf. They played all the classics of the first four albums, which is insane, because what other band has normies and metal elitists united, in liking the same albums?
Weedeater - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, California
The first band Mountain Tamer, told the crowd that they didn’t have merch, but would appreciate gas money donations. When playing their first, instrumental song, a skateboarder went up to the stage, and put a joint in their mouths, to give them all some. When Weedeater got on, Dixie Dave Collins was fucking hammered. He had a bottle of bourbon in front of him, he put his middle finger in it, like a cork, picked it up, flipped off the crowd, then pulled it off, not spilling any bourbon, and drank from it, in between songs. He also had a salt shaker, on his amp, and was making a circle around himself. His vocals were more intelligible than when he talked to the audience.
Tengger Cavalry - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, California
There was some perpetually moshing group, of drunk shirtless dudes, they weren’t being asshole jocks, or anything, they were actually amusing. One was in a kilt, and telling everyone how he’d being drinking, on the way there, while the designated driver drove, and another was well over 6’ tall, and fat and heavy. He was drenched in sweat, it was a hot summer night, so people’s palms slipped, when trying to push him, I gave him a few good shoves though. One of the opening bands was some prog, and had a double necked, extended range guitar, and bass. This group sat down, in the middle of the pit, and made like they were rowing a ship, during one of their songs.
Tengger Cavalry had just come out with their sellout album, but they played just one or two songs from it, and it was mostly the good, old school songs, in Chinese. It was a tiny space, and I got to meet them. They put on a great live show, despite the decline in recorded output.
Also, some dude, in a Carly Rae Jepsen shirt, was moshing hard, defying your expectations.
Dying Fetus - The Ritz, San José, California
This band is what got me into metal, back in high school. Of course, non stop pit, and stage diving and crowd surfing. Some bouncer was splashing water on us, from the stage(he was too scared to leave the stage, the other ones, had to, to kick someone out for fighting), we yelled at him, that that made moshing less safe, because of slipping hazards, and that splashing higher malt content beer is preferable, for traction reasons. I sang along to the “...with my weed, I smoke everyday...” part, in “skull fucked,” and I shouted along, because I know all the words, to “kill your mother/rape your dog.(known them since high school, when I told people, “actually this band is very smart, because they have lyrics about social criticism, check out this song)” Bought a tour shirt, which I wear to work, to this day. There were some other, let’s say “interesting” options, at the merch table, too edgy for me though.
Church of Misery - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, California
Last show before quarantine. Wizard Rifle played some crazy avant-garde noises, Black Wizard gave us some double guitar heroics, Church of Misery delivered the filth. They all wore the official band uniform, of bell bottom pants, and true old school, obscure band shirts. Tatsu Mikami had his bass slung low, with the body down around his ankles. They played their best material, and had the good taste, not to make reference to Ed Kemper, when they played the song about him, as they were only a few miles, from where he did most of his murders. What’s that you say? You can’t make a pit, to 70s hard rock? Well guess what, we did, riff madness and reefer madness commanded us.
|
FAQ
Search 
Register
Login
) and a killer setlist meant a damn memorable night, far better than the other times i saw them. I felt absolutely satisfied!