I attended two concerts in San Francisco last night: Manowar and Dark Tranquility. The reason I was able to see both is because the "Evening with Manowar" show was slated to start at 8:00 pm and I had read the other thread on the forum re their show being only 90 minutes. Manowar came on late--8:20 and played for approx 100 minutes. I was then able to drive to the other venue and see the full DT show. I don't often rant in writing, but I am compelled to do so now by my ever increasing sense of offense and my inability to just "let it go."
I will be 50 years old in 3 months. I have been a metalhead for 40 years give or take. How many hundreds of shows have I seen since my first in 1978? How many bands have I met in that time? God only knows.
I remember when Manowar's first album, Battle Hymns, came out and I found it at Tower Records and bought it on the basis of its cover, which promised the type of aggressive fist-pumping/headbanging/ass-kicking metal my 18 year old man-child attitude craved. It delivered big time. I loved those first albums. I did, however, lose touch with Manowar over the years as a stalwart favorite, though I heard each new album as it came out, etc. I also, like every metalhead, was always aware of Manowar's huge status in Europe, etc., their rare US appearances, and their "willing to die for metal" attitude, "we love our Manowarriors" mantra and "death to false metal" platitude. I never did get to see them live, however. All of a sudden, they were announced to play San Francisco--my home away from home concert city. Unfortunately, it conflicted with the previously announced Dark Tranquility show I had intended to go to. I love DT live. I saw their first US performance (opening for Killswitch Engage, Sentenced and In Flames) in 2001 and have seen every San Francisco show since. Ahhhh! What to do? The answer was simple enough and I knew it. I had never seen Manowar and I had to see them at least once. They're Manowar for Christ's sake. I resigned myself to missing DT and went on with life.
Fast forward to Nathan's thread on this forum about his Manowar experience earlier this year--and the responses from others that followed. A 90 minute show (at best) with a lot of trash talking and bullshit from Joey? And everyone paid $100 for that? You're fucking kidding me. After bitching and moaning about the issue with my co-concertspiritor, Mel, I accepted the "limitation" of the Manowar show. In truth, there was a part of me that was happy about it because it seemed clear that I could see both Manowar and DT without missing any of either band's show. In some way, it was like God knew just what I wanted and delivered it on a platter.
Fast forward again to show night. Arrived at the venue for Manowar. After the obligatory search by security, we were all advised personally that there would be no video/photo taking of any type during the show, including with cell phones. Personally, I don't take a lot of photos during a show and never take any video. I was actually looking forward to being able to watch a show without every other person's phone blocking my view as they held it over their head to make sure that their shitty vibrating film with the worst sound imaginable was better than what I was able to experience because of them. However, I was struck by the message this no photo policy conveyed and its clear fuck you to the fans. I then went to the merch area to get my coveted tour shirt for what would probably be the one and only Manowar show I would get to see. Gene Simmons would have blushed in embarrassment at the merch area. In addition to numerous different T-shirts ($40), a polo shirt ($45), various long sleeve shirts ($70), there were Manowar notebooks, travel mugs, water bottles, caps, flags, baby wear, patches, condoms--yes, Manowar condoms--and a Costco isle's worth of every conceivable piece of Manowar ware you could ask--or not--for. Oh, and they were out of the ONE actual tour shirt except for smalls. This is America. not that there aren't any guys who wear smalls; its just that if you put your 100 average American guys in a room, maybe one or two of them will wear a small--and the other 98-99 guys will eat him/them because we are just that hungry.
Showtme. Let me make clear: Manowar put on a great show. It was a Manowar show. It was loud--the bass drum hits and low bass notes from Joey were like chiropractic manipulation as my spine, shoulder blades, hips, etc., vibrated back to pristine position. Eric's vocals were just that good--how he still hits those high screams and carries them forever and can then sing at all much less clearly and completely in tune is one of the medical mysteries of the world. Karl's guitar was a frenzy of shred and power chords. Joey's bass playing was perfect for the songs. However, every song had a 5 minute "power end" where Karl would hit a power chord as Joey bottomed out his bass to feedback. Getting that for one or two songs is understandable. Getting it for 75% of 14 songs is a waste of time that could have been used for 2-3 more songs. Then there was the coup de grace, Joey's rant. Nathan hit it on the head and I don't want to go over again here. In a nut shell: Manowar is the greatest; we deserve the money you paid for this show; you should be happy to pay us a lot of money for your tickets; we paid a lot of money for our curtains, projector and big-ass-speaker amps; this venue is a piece of shit; etc. He specifically told us it was a sold-out show. What??? I've been to this venue a hundred times. This is nowhere close to sold out. For fuck's sake, you've closed off the ENTIRETY of the wrap around balcony where a couple hundred people could be. Even the floor area wasn't packed. I've been here when its sold out and this ain't it. Period. Then it was the "all other bands are shit", you don't get the shit you get with your "$20 bands", etc., etc.--lets just take a big heaping steaming shit on every other band that there has ever been because they aren't Manowar. Finally, it was the wail against "false metal." Everything but Manowar is false metal and anyone who dares to listen to anything but Manowar really should be killed like the pussies they are.
At the end of the show, the band was gone like the wind. They played a film after the "live portion" ended so that people wouldn't leave the venue while they were escaping into the night. Moreover, i have a friend who goes hours early to every show he sees to be there when the band's bus pulls up so he can get pictures, signings, etc.--yes, Dan, I mean you. He gets EVERYTHING signed and photos with the bands EVERY time. And I mean EVERY FUCKING TIME. Not this time, however. He got to the venue around noon. Never saw the band. The bus pulled up one car behind his and he never saw the band at all.
So, let me recap. Manowar: proclaims that the fans are everything and they live for the fans. Fans, fans, fans. Did I say Fans? However, no pictures/vidoes of any kind to be taken by the fans; no meet and greet possibilities for those obsessives (of which i am often one) who get there early or stay late and hang by the bus, etc; excessively priced merch and embarrassingly crass merch (not to mention the lack of the one fucking required peice of merch: the tour shirt!!); a short show at 3-4 times the cost of the same length show; the band telling us we should be glad we paid the big bucks for this 100 minute show of which probably 25-30 minutes or more was not "music" but extended monotonous endings, movies, rants, etc.; the band lying to the fans about the cost of things and the sold-out nature of the show; and belittling all other bands (which we like to love) in every conceivable way.
Next: Dark Tranquility. Got to the venue just as they were starting their first song. For 90 minutes, DT just ran through the songs with little banter. But they kicked serious ass the entire 90 minutes. Sound and mix were perfect. The packed crowd was moshing, headbanging, etc. However, as opposed to the distanced detachment Manowar showed their fans, DT was what I want from a metal band. They were fans who connected with fans. For 90 minutes, there was a parade of people that jumped on stage from the front, hugged vocalist Stanne, made the metal sign (horns) and various "metal" faces and gestures and then dove off the stage into the frenzied crowd. Swear to God, there had to be a minimum of 50 stage dives during the show. With each person who climbed on stage, Stanne smiled at them, hugged them, let them take "selfies" with their cameras with him right there on stage, let them "rock out " for a few seconds before they dove back into the crowd. At one point, a boy of maybe 8-10 years old came on stage and Stanne was the perfect host for this kid before he went back to his dad in the crowd. Stanne himself ended up falling back into the crowd on 3 different occasions and be carried by crowd before depositing him back on the stage. The band never missed a beat. The whole show was a "community" of the band and the crowd. Anything went so long as it was respectful and band and crowd melded into one. Within 15 minutes of the show ending, the band members came into the venue and hung out with whoever wanted to talk with them, get pictures with them, have them sign things, etc. Yea, i was one of those fanboys and I got my pics with each band member and had them sign photos I had printed from the internet that I have already hung in my office. More than that, we talked. Just talked. Not necessarily about metal--though some of it certainly was--but we talked about their travels, their families and life on the road away from them so much. They were in no hurry. So long as the bus didn't have to leave for the 12 hour trip to Las Vegas yet, the band was happy to drink beer and spend time with whoever cared to spend time with them.
The what-should-now-be-obvious issue I have with Manowar? "False Metal." My understanding and experience with metal, i.e., the metal community, is that while we don't necessarily like the same kinds of metal or even necessarily get along all of the time in every way, metal is about the connection we have as society's somewhat misfits. Its a commonality we all share as to an attitude and a way of approaching and dealing with things. A certain individualistic bend we have to doing things our way regardless of the social norms or how we are looked at by "the adults in the room." Whether it be tattoos (of which I have none), long hair (of which I have none and never have), piercings (of which I have none) and/or black shirts (of which I have too many to count), we are our own people and we have a certain respect for our own kind, even if they really don't see eye to eye with us on what type of metal, clothes, etc. we like. We accept--sometimes begrudgingly--our brethren.
"False metal" is posers. People who pretend to be "metal" but aren't. They pretend to be metal for status, to be "cool", to fit in (with people who don't fit in), etc. So I look at the shows I saw last night and i can't help but be pissed to the gills because I cannot escape the conclusion that Manowar is the definition of False metal. They are detached and clearly uncaring about their fans. They aren't really "one of us" and they don't even want to be one of us. They think themselves better than us. We are there to serve them and they don't appreciate us for what we give them and how the burden of their existence and success has been borne by us--their fans. I'm not saying that Manowar doesn't make great music or put on a great show, etc. It was, for the most part, a great show. However, two songs into Dark Tranquility I felt more "at home" than I did at any time during Manowar's set. And its not just Dark Tranquility. 99% of the bands I see--and I see a lot of bands (as i know a lot of you out there do as well)--are the nicest, most appreciative, coolest, etc., people in the world. For some people, this is seen at PPUSA as all the bands hangout in the lobby to talk with you; drink in the Courtyard with their arms around you partying with you, etc. That is what a lot of us see numerous times every year as we go from show to show to show. Hey, I don't expect Manowar to invite us all over for dinner at their houses, but I do want and expect them to respect their fans and treat them accordingly. Their failure to do is false metal, indeed. Just my opinion....
I will be 50 years old in 3 months. I have been a metalhead for 40 years give or take. How many hundreds of shows have I seen since my first in 1978? How many bands have I met in that time? God only knows.
I remember when Manowar's first album, Battle Hymns, came out and I found it at Tower Records and bought it on the basis of its cover, which promised the type of aggressive fist-pumping/headbanging/ass-kicking metal my 18 year old man-child attitude craved. It delivered big time. I loved those first albums. I did, however, lose touch with Manowar over the years as a stalwart favorite, though I heard each new album as it came out, etc. I also, like every metalhead, was always aware of Manowar's huge status in Europe, etc., their rare US appearances, and their "willing to die for metal" attitude, "we love our Manowarriors" mantra and "death to false metal" platitude. I never did get to see them live, however. All of a sudden, they were announced to play San Francisco--my home away from home concert city. Unfortunately, it conflicted with the previously announced Dark Tranquility show I had intended to go to. I love DT live. I saw their first US performance (opening for Killswitch Engage, Sentenced and In Flames) in 2001 and have seen every San Francisco show since. Ahhhh! What to do? The answer was simple enough and I knew it. I had never seen Manowar and I had to see them at least once. They're Manowar for Christ's sake. I resigned myself to missing DT and went on with life.
Fast forward to Nathan's thread on this forum about his Manowar experience earlier this year--and the responses from others that followed. A 90 minute show (at best) with a lot of trash talking and bullshit from Joey? And everyone paid $100 for that? You're fucking kidding me. After bitching and moaning about the issue with my co-concertspiritor, Mel, I accepted the "limitation" of the Manowar show. In truth, there was a part of me that was happy about it because it seemed clear that I could see both Manowar and DT without missing any of either band's show. In some way, it was like God knew just what I wanted and delivered it on a platter.
Fast forward again to show night. Arrived at the venue for Manowar. After the obligatory search by security, we were all advised personally that there would be no video/photo taking of any type during the show, including with cell phones. Personally, I don't take a lot of photos during a show and never take any video. I was actually looking forward to being able to watch a show without every other person's phone blocking my view as they held it over their head to make sure that their shitty vibrating film with the worst sound imaginable was better than what I was able to experience because of them. However, I was struck by the message this no photo policy conveyed and its clear fuck you to the fans. I then went to the merch area to get my coveted tour shirt for what would probably be the one and only Manowar show I would get to see. Gene Simmons would have blushed in embarrassment at the merch area. In addition to numerous different T-shirts ($40), a polo shirt ($45), various long sleeve shirts ($70), there were Manowar notebooks, travel mugs, water bottles, caps, flags, baby wear, patches, condoms--yes, Manowar condoms--and a Costco isle's worth of every conceivable piece of Manowar ware you could ask--or not--for. Oh, and they were out of the ONE actual tour shirt except for smalls. This is America. not that there aren't any guys who wear smalls; its just that if you put your 100 average American guys in a room, maybe one or two of them will wear a small--and the other 98-99 guys will eat him/them because we are just that hungry.
Showtme. Let me make clear: Manowar put on a great show. It was a Manowar show. It was loud--the bass drum hits and low bass notes from Joey were like chiropractic manipulation as my spine, shoulder blades, hips, etc., vibrated back to pristine position. Eric's vocals were just that good--how he still hits those high screams and carries them forever and can then sing at all much less clearly and completely in tune is one of the medical mysteries of the world. Karl's guitar was a frenzy of shred and power chords. Joey's bass playing was perfect for the songs. However, every song had a 5 minute "power end" where Karl would hit a power chord as Joey bottomed out his bass to feedback. Getting that for one or two songs is understandable. Getting it for 75% of 14 songs is a waste of time that could have been used for 2-3 more songs. Then there was the coup de grace, Joey's rant. Nathan hit it on the head and I don't want to go over again here. In a nut shell: Manowar is the greatest; we deserve the money you paid for this show; you should be happy to pay us a lot of money for your tickets; we paid a lot of money for our curtains, projector and big-ass-speaker amps; this venue is a piece of shit; etc. He specifically told us it was a sold-out show. What??? I've been to this venue a hundred times. This is nowhere close to sold out. For fuck's sake, you've closed off the ENTIRETY of the wrap around balcony where a couple hundred people could be. Even the floor area wasn't packed. I've been here when its sold out and this ain't it. Period. Then it was the "all other bands are shit", you don't get the shit you get with your "$20 bands", etc., etc.--lets just take a big heaping steaming shit on every other band that there has ever been because they aren't Manowar. Finally, it was the wail against "false metal." Everything but Manowar is false metal and anyone who dares to listen to anything but Manowar really should be killed like the pussies they are.
At the end of the show, the band was gone like the wind. They played a film after the "live portion" ended so that people wouldn't leave the venue while they were escaping into the night. Moreover, i have a friend who goes hours early to every show he sees to be there when the band's bus pulls up so he can get pictures, signings, etc.--yes, Dan, I mean you. He gets EVERYTHING signed and photos with the bands EVERY time. And I mean EVERY FUCKING TIME. Not this time, however. He got to the venue around noon. Never saw the band. The bus pulled up one car behind his and he never saw the band at all.
So, let me recap. Manowar: proclaims that the fans are everything and they live for the fans. Fans, fans, fans. Did I say Fans? However, no pictures/vidoes of any kind to be taken by the fans; no meet and greet possibilities for those obsessives (of which i am often one) who get there early or stay late and hang by the bus, etc; excessively priced merch and embarrassingly crass merch (not to mention the lack of the one fucking required peice of merch: the tour shirt!!); a short show at 3-4 times the cost of the same length show; the band telling us we should be glad we paid the big bucks for this 100 minute show of which probably 25-30 minutes or more was not "music" but extended monotonous endings, movies, rants, etc.; the band lying to the fans about the cost of things and the sold-out nature of the show; and belittling all other bands (which we like to love) in every conceivable way.
Next: Dark Tranquility. Got to the venue just as they were starting their first song. For 90 minutes, DT just ran through the songs with little banter. But they kicked serious ass the entire 90 minutes. Sound and mix were perfect. The packed crowd was moshing, headbanging, etc. However, as opposed to the distanced detachment Manowar showed their fans, DT was what I want from a metal band. They were fans who connected with fans. For 90 minutes, there was a parade of people that jumped on stage from the front, hugged vocalist Stanne, made the metal sign (horns) and various "metal" faces and gestures and then dove off the stage into the frenzied crowd. Swear to God, there had to be a minimum of 50 stage dives during the show. With each person who climbed on stage, Stanne smiled at them, hugged them, let them take "selfies" with their cameras with him right there on stage, let them "rock out " for a few seconds before they dove back into the crowd. At one point, a boy of maybe 8-10 years old came on stage and Stanne was the perfect host for this kid before he went back to his dad in the crowd. Stanne himself ended up falling back into the crowd on 3 different occasions and be carried by crowd before depositing him back on the stage. The band never missed a beat. The whole show was a "community" of the band and the crowd. Anything went so long as it was respectful and band and crowd melded into one. Within 15 minutes of the show ending, the band members came into the venue and hung out with whoever wanted to talk with them, get pictures with them, have them sign things, etc. Yea, i was one of those fanboys and I got my pics with each band member and had them sign photos I had printed from the internet that I have already hung in my office. More than that, we talked. Just talked. Not necessarily about metal--though some of it certainly was--but we talked about their travels, their families and life on the road away from them so much. They were in no hurry. So long as the bus didn't have to leave for the 12 hour trip to Las Vegas yet, the band was happy to drink beer and spend time with whoever cared to spend time with them.
The what-should-now-be-obvious issue I have with Manowar? "False Metal." My understanding and experience with metal, i.e., the metal community, is that while we don't necessarily like the same kinds of metal or even necessarily get along all of the time in every way, metal is about the connection we have as society's somewhat misfits. Its a commonality we all share as to an attitude and a way of approaching and dealing with things. A certain individualistic bend we have to doing things our way regardless of the social norms or how we are looked at by "the adults in the room." Whether it be tattoos (of which I have none), long hair (of which I have none and never have), piercings (of which I have none) and/or black shirts (of which I have too many to count), we are our own people and we have a certain respect for our own kind, even if they really don't see eye to eye with us on what type of metal, clothes, etc. we like. We accept--sometimes begrudgingly--our brethren.
"False metal" is posers. People who pretend to be "metal" but aren't. They pretend to be metal for status, to be "cool", to fit in (with people who don't fit in), etc. So I look at the shows I saw last night and i can't help but be pissed to the gills because I cannot escape the conclusion that Manowar is the definition of False metal. They are detached and clearly uncaring about their fans. They aren't really "one of us" and they don't even want to be one of us. They think themselves better than us. We are there to serve them and they don't appreciate us for what we give them and how the burden of their existence and success has been borne by us--their fans. I'm not saying that Manowar doesn't make great music or put on a great show, etc. It was, for the most part, a great show. However, two songs into Dark Tranquility I felt more "at home" than I did at any time during Manowar's set. And its not just Dark Tranquility. 99% of the bands I see--and I see a lot of bands (as i know a lot of you out there do as well)--are the nicest, most appreciative, coolest, etc., people in the world. For some people, this is seen at PPUSA as all the bands hangout in the lobby to talk with you; drink in the Courtyard with their arms around you partying with you, etc. That is what a lot of us see numerous times every year as we go from show to show to show. Hey, I don't expect Manowar to invite us all over for dinner at their houses, but I do want and expect them to respect their fans and treat them accordingly. Their failure to do is false metal, indeed. Just my opinion....
