The openers were a bit weird. Locrian is basically a doom/drone band. Kinda stuff I might listen to as background music, but wasn't that great for a concert environment. Worm Ouroboros was aight too. Again, pretty doomy, but wasnt bad.
Agalloch was great though. They had a few minor tech difficulties, but it was fixed quick, and didnt really affect anything. Played a good mix of older and new stuff including Of Stone, Wind and Pillor. Was def. awsome when they played Falling Snow too.
\m/
this is NOT my vid, but i found it on youtube... it's from the show.
3-26-11 - St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI - Volbeat
Of all Saturdays to decide to go to a show, this was probably the worst one I could have possibly picked. I worked from basically 8-4 for summer job training, so I definitely didn't have a boatload of energy when I jumped into the car to head to Detroit for this one. Once there, I had probably the worst pre-concert experience I have ever had outside a venue. Parking was a headache, the area is, for lack of a better term, sketchy, and it was freezing. Despite arriving a little after doors were supposed to open at 7, there was a line nearly stretching to the other side of the venue. After 20 minutes or so, I was let in and got a spot about 2-3 people back from the rail. The place was packed, far more packed than I would have ever expected for a band like Volbeat. I even heard one guy say it was sold out, which wouldn't have shocked me after seeing how little breathing room there was. The setup was pretty nice too, with just a open main floor area and a balcony that stretched nearly around the entire perimeter of the room. If only it were in a better area. Anyway, before long, the opening band took the stage.
Hourcast - I had never heard of this band before this show....and I hope to never hear of them again after seeing them. A hard rock band from Boston, these guys didn't bring anything exciting or original to the table at all. Not only did they not move the whole time during their whole set, but their music was bland and boring as all hell. There were no hooks or riffs to keep me interested, and I was not impressed with the vocalist's abilities and range at all. The crowd seemed to warm up to them more and more as their set went on, but I did not feel the same way. Soon enough, though, they left the stage and the misery was over. 3/10
The Damned Things - This supergroup, consisting of members of Anthrax, Every Time I Die, and Fall Out Boy, was the reason I ultimately decided to attend this concert, as I was not familiar with Volbeat at all. I listened to their debut album out of curiosity, and it sounds nothing like the bands that any of the members came from. It's a fun, loose classic rock album in the vein of Thin Lizzy with some Zeppelin influences thrown in for good measure. It impressed me enough to not only buy it, but buy a ticket to see Scott Ian and company jam out. As a big thrash metal fan in general, it was pretty awesome to see Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano walk out and start jamming, albeit not to the tunes I would have anticipated. All of the songs, with an exception or two, were up-tempo, in-your-face rockers, most of which consisted of either a catchy riff, a catchy chorus, or both. The earliest example of this came in Friday Night (Going Down In Flames), where Ian himself contributed the vocals in the chorus. The next song, Handbook For The Recently Deceased, featured a simple but driving riff led along by the vocals of Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley, who has a pretty nice clean tone that ETID fans might not get to hear as much. It sounded a little awkward at first, but once he got into the groove, you would never know that he was in a band like ETID. My favorite song of the set was, not surprisingly, my favorite song on the album, A Great Reckoning. The song sounds like it could have easily been written by Thin Lizzy, with their 70's sound echoed in the lead guitar. Not surprisingly, the dual guitar harmonies are incorporated very well during the solo section of the song and the chorus is brilliantly presented by Buckley. Similarly awesome hooks and riffs were presented in songs such as Black Heart and Bad Blood, with Caggiano and Joe Trohman handling the solo duties and Ian holding it down with the rhythm part. Slight breaks in the action were presented in Little Darling, the only song on the album that even hints at slowing down, and Fazer, a really off-the-wall punk band cover that was pretty cool, but didn't really fit into the set at all, to be honest. During that song, most of the crowd just stood there in confusion, only to resume yelling for Anthrax covers once they were through. The band pressed on, delivering two more rockers in Graverobber and their single from the album, We've Got A Situation Here, before leaving the stage. Despite there not being much room at all for the band to operate, they made the most of it, with Ian going full-out during every song and Buckley jumping around a bit as well. They couldn't move around the stage much, but the energy was definitely there and it was appreciated by the huge crowd. Overall, they were a very fun band to listen to and watch, which seemed like the whole purpose of the group. They are enjoying making this music, and while I would love to see Anthrax and Every Time I Die live soon enough, I definitely would not mind catching The Damned Things again. 8/10
Setlist:
Ironiclast Friday Night (Going Down In Flames) Handbook For The Recently Deceased A Great Reckoning Black Heart Little Darling Bad Blood Fazer (Quicksand cover) Graverobber We've Got A Situation Here
Volbeat - Gee, I wonder what band these guys from Denmark look up to. As the stage was being set up for Volbeat to come on, I noticed something about the mix playing over the PA: It was all Metallica songs. All different eras of Metallica too, with songs from Master of Puppets to Load to Death Magnetic all playing before the lights dimmed and the band took the stage to thunderous applause and constant "VOLBEAT! VOLBEAT!" cheers from one guy on the rail who probably had one too many beers. Anyway, back to the Metallica worship: their lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Michael Poulsen, was pretty much the Denmarkian reincarnation of James Hetfield on this night. Not only did he have a Metallica Death Magnetic guitar strap, his hair was slicked back like James', his facial hair was like Hetfield's, and he constantly tried to get the crowd going, "HEY! HEY! HEY!" when he wasn't playing. The comparison was strikingly similar. Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing at all, because he was very effective at getting the crowd going and constantly moving. It was just a tad eerie. Anyway, the music wasn't quite as close to Metallica worship as I would have expected. In fact, they have a very unique sound all their own and a wide array of songs, both of which they showcased on this night. The obvious highlights for me were the three songs I knew prior to the show. First up was Heaven Nor Hell, a very simple song mainly led by Poulsen's vocals with a catchy chorus and a couple of little tempo changes thrown in to keep the song interesting. The second one they played that I knew was Still Counting, which they played near the back end of their set. The intro is probably one of the catchiest I've ever heard, and the first verse is so fun to sing along with. Without warning, the song goes from light-hearted to heavy, where you can kind of hear some Metallica in there somewhere. The contrast is great, and coupled with the huge amount of crowd participation in that song, it was probably the best song that night. The third one they played that I knew came a couple songs later, and it was Fallen. Like Heaven Nor Hell, it's a simple song, but the lyrics and especially the chorus are easy to sing along to, not to mention it's a good reprieve from their heavier stuff. Along with those songs I know, the songs I didn't know all had a lot to offer and most of them were impossible to not headbang to. The first example of this came in the awesome Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood, with the song mirroring the speed and reckless abandon of its title and Poulsen letting out a Hetfield-like "ah!" at the end of the line, "Guitar gangsters and cadillac bloooooooood." The song We was the only song to feature an acoustic intro, but it soon picked up into a nice gallop with a sing-along part at the end of the chorus. The Mirror and the Ripper is filled with catchy riffs and tempo changes from fast and driving to a more mid-tempo groove and back again, all with Poulsen's voice laid over top. The best part of the set, however, came at the end, with the band's last three songs. First up was Thanks, and the band invited up 4 guys and 4 girls on stage to sing the song with them. It ended up being about 8 girls and 4 guys, and every one of them was drunk off their asses, so it was pretty entertaining to watch, to say the least. One woman, who probably wasn't any younger than 30, was showing herself off the whole time on stage. It was hilarious. Once that spectacle was over, the band went into their own version of I Only Want To Be With You. I've never heard the original, but it fit in perfectly with all of the other songs in their set. Finally, the band closed with Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza, another heavy and fun song with catchy lyrics. Once they were done, they jammed for a good minute or so, throwing in a couple of classic riffs, including the infamous Raining Blood riff, then bid farewell. Their performance, despite the Metallica worship, was incredibly fun to watch, and their music stands on its own nicely, with a nice mix of heaviness, hooks, and powerful vocals. This was their first show in Detroit. With any luck, it will not be their last. 9.5/10
Setlist:
The Human Instrument Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood Heaven nor Hell A Moment Forever / Hallelujah Goat Radio Girl The Mirror and the Ripper Sad Man's Tongue Mary Ann's Place 16 Dollars Mr. & Mrs. Ness We Still Counting Who They Are Fallen Thanks (With Fans on Stage) I Only Want to Be with You (Dusty Springfield cover) Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
When I saw them, I knew one song prior to the show..."Still Counting". I had a blast that night.
This is the setlist from that night:
The Human Instrument Radio Girl Sad Man's Tongue Hallelujah Goat Mary Ann's Place Fallen I Only Want to Be with You (Dusty Springfield cover) Boa [JDM] Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza Rebel Monster Caroline Leaving Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood River Queen Encore: Angelfuck (Misfits cover) The Garden's Tale Still Counting
When I saw them, I knew one song prior to the show..."Still Counting". I had a blast that night.
This is the setlist from that night:
The Human Instrument Radio Girl Sad Man's Tongue Hallelujah Goat Mary Ann's Place Fallen I Only Want to Be with You (Dusty Springfield cover) Boa [JDM] Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza Rebel Monster Caroline Leaving Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood River Queen Encore: Angelfuck (Misfits cover) The Garden's Tale Still Counting
I thought you said they played Last Caress......Angelfuck is 20,000 times more awesome
TUPAC IS DEAD/THE LEGEND IS GONE/THEY SAYIN TUPAC'S BACK?/DEM NIGGAS WRONG
When I saw them, I knew one song prior to the show..."Still Counting". I had a blast that night.
This is the setlist from that night:
The Human Instrument Radio Girl Sad Man's Tongue Hallelujah Goat Mary Ann's Place Fallen I Only Want to Be with You (Dusty Springfield cover) Boa [JDM] Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza Rebel Monster Caroline Leaving Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood River Queen Encore: Angelfuck (Misfits cover) The Garden's Tale Still Counting
I thought you said they played Last Caress......Angelfuck is 20,000 times more awesome
Comments
Of all Saturdays to decide to go to a show, this was probably the worst one I could have possibly picked. I worked from basically 8-4 for summer job training, so I definitely didn't have a boatload of energy when I jumped into the car to head to Detroit for this one. Once there, I had probably the worst pre-concert experience I have ever had outside a venue. Parking was a headache, the area is, for lack of a better term, sketchy, and it was freezing. Despite arriving a little after doors were supposed to open at 7, there was a line nearly stretching to the other side of the venue. After 20 minutes or so, I was let in and got a spot about 2-3 people back from the rail. The place was packed, far more packed than I would have ever expected for a band like Volbeat. I even heard one guy say it was sold out, which wouldn't have shocked me after seeing how little breathing room there was. The setup was pretty nice too, with just a open main floor area and a balcony that stretched nearly around the entire perimeter of the room. If only it were in a better area. Anyway, before long, the opening band took the stage.
Hourcast - I had never heard of this band before this show....and I hope to never hear of them again after seeing them. A hard rock band from Boston, these guys didn't bring anything exciting or original to the table at all. Not only did they not move the whole time during their whole set, but their music was bland and boring as all hell. There were no hooks or riffs to keep me interested, and I was not impressed with the vocalist's abilities and range at all. The crowd seemed to warm up to them more and more as their set went on, but I did not feel the same way. Soon enough, though, they left the stage and the misery was over. 3/10
The Damned Things - This supergroup, consisting of members of Anthrax, Every Time I Die, and Fall Out Boy, was the reason I ultimately decided to attend this concert, as I was not familiar with Volbeat at all. I listened to their debut album out of curiosity, and it sounds nothing like the bands that any of the members came from. It's a fun, loose classic rock album in the vein of Thin Lizzy with some Zeppelin influences thrown in for good measure. It impressed me enough to not only buy it, but buy a ticket to see Scott Ian and company jam out. As a big thrash metal fan in general, it was pretty awesome to see Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano walk out and start jamming, albeit not to the tunes I would have anticipated. All of the songs, with an exception or two, were up-tempo, in-your-face rockers, most of which consisted of either a catchy riff, a catchy chorus, or both. The earliest example of this came in Friday Night (Going Down In Flames), where Ian himself contributed the vocals in the chorus. The next song, Handbook For The Recently Deceased, featured a simple but driving riff led along by the vocals of Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley, who has a pretty nice clean tone that ETID fans might not get to hear as much. It sounded a little awkward at first, but once he got into the groove, you would never know that he was in a band like ETID. My favorite song of the set was, not surprisingly, my favorite song on the album, A Great Reckoning. The song sounds like it could have easily been written by Thin Lizzy, with their 70's sound echoed in the lead guitar. Not surprisingly, the dual guitar harmonies are incorporated very well during the solo section of the song and the chorus is brilliantly presented by Buckley. Similarly awesome hooks and riffs were presented in songs such as Black Heart and Bad Blood, with Caggiano and Joe Trohman handling the solo duties and Ian holding it down with the rhythm part. Slight breaks in the action were presented in Little Darling, the only song on the album that even hints at slowing down, and Fazer, a really off-the-wall punk band cover that was pretty cool, but didn't really fit into the set at all, to be honest. During that song, most of the crowd just stood there in confusion, only to resume yelling for Anthrax covers once they were through. The band pressed on, delivering two more rockers in Graverobber and their single from the album, We've Got A Situation Here, before leaving the stage. Despite there not being much room at all for the band to operate, they made the most of it, with Ian going full-out during every song and Buckley jumping around a bit as well. They couldn't move around the stage much, but the energy was definitely there and it was appreciated by the huge crowd. Overall, they were a very fun band to listen to and watch, which seemed like the whole purpose of the group. They are enjoying making this music, and while I would love to see Anthrax and Every Time I Die live soon enough, I definitely would not mind catching The Damned Things again. 8/10
Setlist:
Ironiclast
Friday Night (Going Down In Flames)
Handbook For The Recently Deceased
A Great Reckoning
Black Heart
Little Darling
Bad Blood
Fazer (Quicksand cover)
Graverobber
We've Got A Situation Here
Setlist:
The Human Instrument
Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
Heaven nor Hell
A Moment Forever / Hallelujah Goat
Radio Girl
The Mirror and the Ripper
Sad Man's Tongue
Mary Ann's Place
16 Dollars
Mr. & Mrs. Ness
We
Still Counting
Who They Are
Fallen
Thanks (With Fans on Stage)
I Only Want to Be with You (Dusty Springfield cover)
Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
Summary?
This is the setlist from that night:
The Human Instrument
Radio Girl
Sad Man's Tongue
Hallelujah Goat
Mary Ann's Place
Fallen
I Only Want to Be with You
(Dusty Springfield cover)
Boa [JDM]
Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
Rebel Monster
Caroline Leaving
Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
River Queen
Encore:
Angelfuck
(Misfits cover)
The Garden's Tale
Still Counting
Hourcast bad, The Damned Things and Volbeat good. Go see them. They are a lot of fun and their stuff is catchy as hell.