"The Art of Noise Tour 2003", featuring NILE, NAPALM DEATH, DARK TRANQUILITY, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, and THE BERZERKER:
Friday Night January 24 th At The SF Pound, In San Francisco.
I drove up to the Pound last night, in high anticipation of a rare type of Tour, 5 solid bands, playing the Bay Area, on a Friday night. The conditions were perfect, a huge line twisted & turned, from the front door, along the side of the building, & curling back & forth through the parking lot. A diverse Bay Area Crowd, all waiting in an endless line. A good sign, Metal was in the air. This was not your typical crowd, it was an extreme crowd ready for some extreme music, tension was mounting. I slipped in through the side door, with none other than our own Stevie DiGiorgio, & our Testament Crew member Rob Lewis(thanks Heather). The opening Band Berzerker, from Australia(Guiness world record holders for fastest band on earth), ready to take the stage. First things first, to the bar for a beer, & then stake out some unclaimed ground to view the stage. Easier said than done. The place was packed & even the T-shirt booth, was in the Pounds backyard, space being at a premium.
We checked them out & happy to say, even the opening band,
was tight & full of energy. One of the best things about a good (rare) show in the Bay Area, is just visiting & mingleing, with old friends, & finding amoungst the crowd, some Bay Area music Veteran's(they can not hide in this venue). Here's the who's who, that I spotted & visited with through out the night. Now aside from the 5 bands(26 or so members), wondering around the venue. I found in the crowd & backstage:
Jason Newstead & his new band Voi Void(a real surprise)in tow, they hid the best, & stayed in the VIP room all night long.
Robb Flynn-Machine Head
Steve Esquivel & Snake-Skinlab
Craig Locicero-Forbidden, & Man Made God
Steve Smyth & Steve DiGiorgio-Testament/Dragonlord
Scott Sargent-Ex-Skinlab, Laaz Rockit
Tom Hunting-Exodus, Angel Witch
And many other close friends....................& music veteran's.
Now Strapping Young Lad(whom I have never seen), fronted by none other than Devin Townsend, he was in real good mood & made many jokes, & sexual obscenitries. Part Billy Milano, part Ted Nugent, is the best way to describe his stage bantering.
They were fast, they were furious, they were tight, Gene(one of the best drummers, period.) blazing through new light years of fills & pounding beats, all the while his warp drive kept his feet, blistering fast. Impressive to say the least, & very entertaining.
They played many songs from their new effort(SYL), due to hit stores, this Febuary 11th(they were selling a limited edition Tour EP, on CD. limited to 2,500 pressings), of course I picked it up, & had it signed by the boys.
After a couple more warm up beers, I was backstage visiting with one of my new favorite Swedish bands, Dark Tranquility.
I talked with Mikael(singer), about their latest CD(Damage Done),
& tour up coming tour plans. He said they would not be back to the states for some time(bummer). And they would be playing a short set(due to the number of bands). I told Anders(drummer),
they should be on their own headling tour, when they do return,
& he was pleased with my praise. Dark Tranquility was one of my main reasons why I had come to this show, & here I was bugging them, moments before they hit the stage. But you have to make the best of these moments, & I sure did. The Sweds all dressed in black, tattoo's showing, were all ready to go. Now aside from the sound (not being as full as I thought it should be), & their shorter set(which meant I could'nt hear every song from their new release). They Impressed, & the crowd showed their appreciation by pushing & back & forth, hands in the air, & some well timed violent movements abounded. But after a few beers, I pushed my way to the front(not something I normally do), & totally enjoyed them. I have to say that there singer is great, & worked the crowd perfectly, he smiled all the while, actually enjoying the interaction with the Sold Out crowd. The only thing lacking was their lack of time, but we all made the best of it.
Now, my main mission complete, & feeling buzzed, I felt the need to mingle & go backstage to the smokin section(Cally style).
I was'nt the only one feeling the need, that was for sure. During this time, I was visiting with Gene & Devin Townsend, & the guitar player from Nile(Karl, I think), what nice guys by the way.
And I took many photo's(some will appear on this TL site), & Gene & devin liked my live shots so much, they want some of them on their site as well. That makes my night..................
Now for Napalm death, they were brutal & fast, & the crowd expanded & contracted, through their set. I've seen them before a couple of times, I know what they are about, & they were also very good. For that type of style. Their new albums supposed to be very good by the way(I'm told). I will test drive it soon.
The evening was winding down, & low & behold the american band Nile from South Carolina, was headlining, this is my second time I have seen them this tour. I'm not into their albums, the little I've heard. But a good judge of their music is seeing them live, & they're serious Death Metal status shows. It was hard core watching them go, vocals are a little less friendly than I'm used to, but they are good musician's & they know their shit.
Guitars loud & obtrusive, drums a little clicky, but thats straight up Death Metal, & alot of people were into it thats for sure.
After pulling & dragging Stevie D, & Rob into my car, at almost 2:00 am, I decided there was only one thing left to do. Thats right go munch on some killer Mexican Food, right into the heart of the mission district. Off to a well known late night hangout(24th & mission St.), always a line out the door, & many city dwellers, of all types & sizes, & its open til 4:00 am, a definate plus. And the athentic Mexican(even tastes better after drinking) was awesome! Stevie D, said "I'm impressed" between filling his face, & drinking his beverage(Jarrito's). And that about sums up our night, I was very impressed & full, I had Drank, I had smoked, I had eaten, I had schoomzed & I had seen a great tour roll right through my hometown.........................Why can't their be more tours & shows of this caliber?
Of course I had to drive home & stevie D, had come full circle & decided it was nap time......he was out by the time we were hitting the Bay Bridge...........he deserved it, it was a long hard Metal Night, & we had survived its onslaught.........................
Friday Night January 24 th At The SF Pound, In San Francisco.
I drove up to the Pound last night, in high anticipation of a rare type of Tour, 5 solid bands, playing the Bay Area, on a Friday night. The conditions were perfect, a huge line twisted & turned, from the front door, along the side of the building, & curling back & forth through the parking lot. A diverse Bay Area Crowd, all waiting in an endless line. A good sign, Metal was in the air. This was not your typical crowd, it was an extreme crowd ready for some extreme music, tension was mounting. I slipped in through the side door, with none other than our own Stevie DiGiorgio, & our Testament Crew member Rob Lewis(thanks Heather). The opening Band Berzerker, from Australia(Guiness world record holders for fastest band on earth), ready to take the stage. First things first, to the bar for a beer, & then stake out some unclaimed ground to view the stage. Easier said than done. The place was packed & even the T-shirt booth, was in the Pounds backyard, space being at a premium.
We checked them out & happy to say, even the opening band,
was tight & full of energy. One of the best things about a good (rare) show in the Bay Area, is just visiting & mingleing, with old friends, & finding amoungst the crowd, some Bay Area music Veteran's(they can not hide in this venue). Here's the who's who, that I spotted & visited with through out the night. Now aside from the 5 bands(26 or so members), wondering around the venue. I found in the crowd & backstage:
Jason Newstead & his new band Voi Void(a real surprise)in tow, they hid the best, & stayed in the VIP room all night long.
Robb Flynn-Machine Head
Steve Esquivel & Snake-Skinlab
Craig Locicero-Forbidden, & Man Made God
Steve Smyth & Steve DiGiorgio-Testament/Dragonlord
Scott Sargent-Ex-Skinlab, Laaz Rockit
Tom Hunting-Exodus, Angel Witch
And many other close friends....................& music veteran's.
Now Strapping Young Lad(whom I have never seen), fronted by none other than Devin Townsend, he was in real good mood & made many jokes, & sexual obscenitries. Part Billy Milano, part Ted Nugent, is the best way to describe his stage bantering.
They were fast, they were furious, they were tight, Gene(one of the best drummers, period.) blazing through new light years of fills & pounding beats, all the while his warp drive kept his feet, blistering fast. Impressive to say the least, & very entertaining.
They played many songs from their new effort(SYL), due to hit stores, this Febuary 11th(they were selling a limited edition Tour EP, on CD. limited to 2,500 pressings), of course I picked it up, & had it signed by the boys.
After a couple more warm up beers, I was backstage visiting with one of my new favorite Swedish bands, Dark Tranquility.
I talked with Mikael(singer), about their latest CD(Damage Done),
& tour up coming tour plans. He said they would not be back to the states for some time(bummer). And they would be playing a short set(due to the number of bands). I told Anders(drummer),
they should be on their own headling tour, when they do return,
& he was pleased with my praise. Dark Tranquility was one of my main reasons why I had come to this show, & here I was bugging them, moments before they hit the stage. But you have to make the best of these moments, & I sure did. The Sweds all dressed in black, tattoo's showing, were all ready to go. Now aside from the sound (not being as full as I thought it should be), & their shorter set(which meant I could'nt hear every song from their new release). They Impressed, & the crowd showed their appreciation by pushing & back & forth, hands in the air, & some well timed violent movements abounded. But after a few beers, I pushed my way to the front(not something I normally do), & totally enjoyed them. I have to say that there singer is great, & worked the crowd perfectly, he smiled all the while, actually enjoying the interaction with the Sold Out crowd. The only thing lacking was their lack of time, but we all made the best of it.
Now, my main mission complete, & feeling buzzed, I felt the need to mingle & go backstage to the smokin section(Cally style).
I was'nt the only one feeling the need, that was for sure. During this time, I was visiting with Gene & Devin Townsend, & the guitar player from Nile(Karl, I think), what nice guys by the way.
And I took many photo's(some will appear on this TL site), & Gene & devin liked my live shots so much, they want some of them on their site as well. That makes my night..................
Now for Napalm death, they were brutal & fast, & the crowd expanded & contracted, through their set. I've seen them before a couple of times, I know what they are about, & they were also very good. For that type of style. Their new albums supposed to be very good by the way(I'm told). I will test drive it soon.
The evening was winding down, & low & behold the american band Nile from South Carolina, was headlining, this is my second time I have seen them this tour. I'm not into their albums, the little I've heard. But a good judge of their music is seeing them live, & they're serious Death Metal status shows. It was hard core watching them go, vocals are a little less friendly than I'm used to, but they are good musician's & they know their shit.
Guitars loud & obtrusive, drums a little clicky, but thats straight up Death Metal, & alot of people were into it thats for sure.
After pulling & dragging Stevie D, & Rob into my car, at almost 2:00 am, I decided there was only one thing left to do. Thats right go munch on some killer Mexican Food, right into the heart of the mission district. Off to a well known late night hangout(24th & mission St.), always a line out the door, & many city dwellers, of all types & sizes, & its open til 4:00 am, a definate plus. And the athentic Mexican(even tastes better after drinking) was awesome! Stevie D, said "I'm impressed" between filling his face, & drinking his beverage(Jarrito's). And that about sums up our night, I was very impressed & full, I had Drank, I had smoked, I had eaten, I had schoomzed & I had seen a great tour roll right through my hometown.........................Why can't their be more tours & shows of this caliber?
Of course I had to drive home & stevie D, had come full circle & decided it was nap time......he was out by the time we were hitting the Bay Bridge...........he deserved it, it was a long hard Metal Night, & we had survived its onslaught.........................
