I must be getting to old for going to huge outdoor shows like Ozzfest. I don't know if it is being out in the heat all day, or what, but I was more than relieved when I found out about an Off-fest day right in my own hometown, where Ozzfest was not playing. Really, besides from JUDAS PRIEST and SLAYER, who came to Houston a few short weeks later, I was looking forward to seeing LACUNA COIL and SUPERJOINT RITUAL the most.
Fast forward to the night of Off-fest, which took place at venue called the International Ballroom, which is a short five minutes from my house. This is a strange venue, as it is a converted warehouse of some type. It is actually not the worst place to view a concert, as the acoustics are not overly bouncing off the wall, but it really does lack that small club feel to it. Attending the show was myself, my girl, and her 12 year old niece, whom we have converted to a metal head at an early age. She has become a LACUNA COIL junkie, and was overly excited for this show. Once we actually got inside the venue, I was excited as all hell to see the opening band being VEHEMENCE. It was a total surprise for me, and was just happy to be able to enjoy most of their set. VEHEMENCE was as tight as ever, and I think, won over the crowd, who for the most part, had never heard of them before. They are the future of death metal, and I am proud to be a part of this.
Next up on the bill was DEVIL DRIVER. I will admit it right here and now, Devil Driver is not my favorite band. Sure, they can be heavy at times, but their brand of "death metal" can get too nu-metal for my tastes, which in all truthfulness has to do with vocalist, Dez Fafara, coming from COAL CHAMBER. They do tend to put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into their performance, but it just falls flat to these ears.
LACUNA COIL were set to come on next, so we actually got a good spot up close to the stage. I think a lot of the people were there to see this band close up as their popularity has started to reach mind blowing states. Hell, even a national chain like Target is promoting the hell out of them, and even playing them on their TV screens. Strange occurrences for a band that is so below the radar for the general populace. LACUNA COIL were more than obliged to give their fans what they were wanting, a show full of their gothic tinged metal. With the dual vocals of Christina Scabbia, and Andrea Ferro, it is no wonder that they have sold 100,000 copies of their last album, and have become one of the biggest sellers in Century Media history. The fans were crazy for them, and the band was able to play a much longer set due to their position this night. I had heard during most of their Ozzfest appearances, they were forced to play early in the morning. LACUNA COIL were tight, and played everything that I had wanted to hear from that night. Special thanks to bassist, Marco, for making a young girl very happy, and very star struck. He went out of his way to talk to her as she was buying some merchandise, and even posed for a picture. Headliners, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, were finally ready to trample the stage. They came out with a mission in mind, to play a hell of a set to the couple of hundred rabid fans that paid to see them. SUPERJOINT RITUAL has always had a huge cult following down here in the south, and it wasn't until recently that they started to become the household name that they are now. For those not in the know, and how the hell could you not know; SUPERJOINT RITUALconsists of former PANTERA front man Phil Anselmo, in all his punk rock gruffness. Also in the band are musicians that have played in such bands as THE DEMONSEEDS, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and yes, HANK WILLIAMS III, wth the actual member being HANK WILLIAMS III himself. This is quite an eclectic lineup, and really helps bring uniqueness to their sound. They were in top form that particular night, despite the not so great acoustics of the International Ballroom, or I-Ball as we call it down here. You could hear every note perfectly from the middle part of the club near the stage, but anytime you get anywhere close to either side of the room and it all goes to somewhat inaudible noise. But that didn't matter, asSUPERJOINT RITUAL played hard and fast. Phil Anselmo was his usual self, ranting and raving between songs on stage, but you have to expect that from him, since he has been doing that for as many years as I can remember. His most memorable line of the evening was, "I don't have to fucking be doing this, as I have enough fucking money. I'm doing it for the music". Phil sure does cuss a fucking lot, though. They flew through a set featuring all their best songs, including "Waiting For A Turning Point", and "Fuck Your Enemy". The crowd was fucking nuts for them, and were chanting almost between every song, "Superjoint. Superjoint. Superjoint.", and the band responded by adding their own musical touch to their own chant. They are definitely a live band to be reckoned with, and if you haven't had the chance to discover them for yourselves yet, rush out and pick up a live DVD from SUPERJOINT RITUAL, and prepare for some beer drinking hell raising good times.
Evil C.
Fast forward to the night of Off-fest, which took place at venue called the International Ballroom, which is a short five minutes from my house. This is a strange venue, as it is a converted warehouse of some type. It is actually not the worst place to view a concert, as the acoustics are not overly bouncing off the wall, but it really does lack that small club feel to it. Attending the show was myself, my girl, and her 12 year old niece, whom we have converted to a metal head at an early age. She has become a LACUNA COIL junkie, and was overly excited for this show. Once we actually got inside the venue, I was excited as all hell to see the opening band being VEHEMENCE. It was a total surprise for me, and was just happy to be able to enjoy most of their set. VEHEMENCE was as tight as ever, and I think, won over the crowd, who for the most part, had never heard of them before. They are the future of death metal, and I am proud to be a part of this.
Next up on the bill was DEVIL DRIVER. I will admit it right here and now, Devil Driver is not my favorite band. Sure, they can be heavy at times, but their brand of "death metal" can get too nu-metal for my tastes, which in all truthfulness has to do with vocalist, Dez Fafara, coming from COAL CHAMBER. They do tend to put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into their performance, but it just falls flat to these ears.
LACUNA COIL were set to come on next, so we actually got a good spot up close to the stage. I think a lot of the people were there to see this band close up as their popularity has started to reach mind blowing states. Hell, even a national chain like Target is promoting the hell out of them, and even playing them on their TV screens. Strange occurrences for a band that is so below the radar for the general populace. LACUNA COIL were more than obliged to give their fans what they were wanting, a show full of their gothic tinged metal. With the dual vocals of Christina Scabbia, and Andrea Ferro, it is no wonder that they have sold 100,000 copies of their last album, and have become one of the biggest sellers in Century Media history. The fans were crazy for them, and the band was able to play a much longer set due to their position this night. I had heard during most of their Ozzfest appearances, they were forced to play early in the morning. LACUNA COIL were tight, and played everything that I had wanted to hear from that night. Special thanks to bassist, Marco, for making a young girl very happy, and very star struck. He went out of his way to talk to her as she was buying some merchandise, and even posed for a picture. Headliners, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, were finally ready to trample the stage. They came out with a mission in mind, to play a hell of a set to the couple of hundred rabid fans that paid to see them. SUPERJOINT RITUAL has always had a huge cult following down here in the south, and it wasn't until recently that they started to become the household name that they are now. For those not in the know, and how the hell could you not know; SUPERJOINT RITUALconsists of former PANTERA front man Phil Anselmo, in all his punk rock gruffness. Also in the band are musicians that have played in such bands as THE DEMONSEEDS, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and yes, HANK WILLIAMS III, wth the actual member being HANK WILLIAMS III himself. This is quite an eclectic lineup, and really helps bring uniqueness to their sound. They were in top form that particular night, despite the not so great acoustics of the International Ballroom, or I-Ball as we call it down here. You could hear every note perfectly from the middle part of the club near the stage, but anytime you get anywhere close to either side of the room and it all goes to somewhat inaudible noise. But that didn't matter, asSUPERJOINT RITUAL played hard and fast. Phil Anselmo was his usual self, ranting and raving between songs on stage, but you have to expect that from him, since he has been doing that for as many years as I can remember. His most memorable line of the evening was, "I don't have to fucking be doing this, as I have enough fucking money. I'm doing it for the music". Phil sure does cuss a fucking lot, though. They flew through a set featuring all their best songs, including "Waiting For A Turning Point", and "Fuck Your Enemy". The crowd was fucking nuts for them, and were chanting almost between every song, "Superjoint. Superjoint. Superjoint.", and the band responded by adding their own musical touch to their own chant. They are definitely a live band to be reckoned with, and if you haven't had the chance to discover them for yourselves yet, rush out and pick up a live DVD from SUPERJOINT RITUAL, and prepare for some beer drinking hell raising good times.
Evil C.
