The members of The Answer, one of the newer faces in the rock world, hail from Northern Ireland and are no strangers to performing with some of the most storied bands in music - Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, and Deep Purple are just a few of the bands with whom The Answer has shared a stage. The Answer supported AC/DC on their Black Ice Tour and I had the honor of seeing them perform in Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center on October 21st 2009.
The Answer started off their set with a guitar solo from Paul Mahon, after which they launched into “Tonight,” a song that highlights the bands strong command of dynamics. It is one of their new from their most recent album Everyday Demons. From start to finish, bassist Michael Waters and drummer James Heatly provided a high energy rhythm section that kept the music driving. Frontman Cormac Neeson kept everyone in the audience involved throughout the performance, and even gave the members of the crowd one of the greatest compliments rock n’ roll fans can receive…telling them that they could drink and party on par with the Irish (and coming from an Irishmen no less!).
Other highpoints included songs like “Demon Eyes”, “Comfort Zone”, and “Preachen’”. A band that is strong and appears to only be getting stronger with time, The Answer played an all around powerful 45 minute set that was received positively from the fans (not to mention the dude next to me with the Irish Flag - just another one in the growing fan base for The Answer here in the States). Any fans of bands that play good old fashioned rock n’ roll should look into picking up some of The Answer’s music. Even those who don’t associate much with rock should give them a listen; the passion and intensity from this band not only shows that they will go far on their own terms, but the variety within their material makes it a good addition to anyone’s music library.
-Kevin Ryan
Monday, December 7, 2009
Concert Review - All Shall Perish, Born of Osiris, and After the Burial
The under 21 entrance was curtained in a thick air of cigarette smoke as younger fans and twenty-somethings alike packed into Allentown’s Crocodile Rock for the eastern leg of the Night of the Living Shred Tour featuring co-headliners All Shall Perish, Born of Osiris, and After the Burial. The Oakland area metal outfit All Shall Perish entered the city of Allentown having toured for some time, both at home and abroad, and looked to run off the high energy acts which they followed. In an interview with the band before their set, lead singer Eddie Hermida expressed his excitement over performing with up and coming deathcore acts Born of Osiris and After the Burial, this being their second tour with the latter.
Minneapolis Sumerian signees After the Burial started the night off for the series of co-headliners with a full and breathtakingly heavy set. Their eight string guitars chugged through old favorites and new favorites alike, performed with new singer Anthony Notarmaso. This was Notarmaso’s first nationwide tour with After the Burial after the release of their reissued, rerecorded 2008 LP Rareform. Notarmaso proved himself to be tour ready, never missing a note and in some cases, performing better than ATB’s previously recorded material. When asked about Notarmaso, Hermida passed down his approval in WXVU’s preconcert interview and hinted at a switch from 7 strings to 8 strings for their next album.
Fellow Sumerian deathcore artists Born of Osiris, based out of Chicago, would provide the most energy next to the closing act. Their schizophrenic brand of hardcore led to a great amount of activity in the pit, but also to some very confused headbangers trying to keep up with timing and tempo changes. On most tracks in their set, Born of Osiris slowed down the tempo just enough to make for a tighter show but it did not go unnoticed. Instead of the frantic blasting in Brace Legs or the complex guitar work in Abstract Art, their sound was a bit lazy; wanting to break out into full force thrash, but restricted by efforts to keep their live show together. Despite the tempo change, fans still erupted with the opening note of each familiar The New Reign track. Favorites on the night include “Open Arms to Damnation” and closer “Bow Down”; each containing a moment of mic-reaching, sing-along intensity as the entire GA section sandwiched towards the stage to be closer to the source of the excitement.
Finally, after a short wait, All Shall Perish made their way to the stage and proceeded to pound out an hour long set that appeased new and old fans in the crowd. After almost five hours of hard-hitting acts, the crowd looked rejuvenated as All Shall Perish ran through a setlist that included their two best of the night “Eradication” and cowbell thumping closer “Wage Slaves” off of 2006’s The Price of Existence. The band sounded tight throughout the night playing songs from both of their most recent albums including Awaken the Dreamers. The drumming of Matt Kuykendall was masterful as always as he provided the backbone for All Shall Perish on tracks such as “Better Living Through Catastrophe” and even gave private lessons before the show. During our preconcert interview, Hermida reacted to a question about the Oakland metal scene. Happy to get the opportunity to talk about the area in which they call home and came into their own as a band, Hermida reflected on the glory days of Metallica and thriving metal clubs throughout the Bay Area. However, according to Hermida, the Oakland scene has declined greatly in the recent past and has become a shadow of its thrash-metal prime. But judging from their live show and the music backing it, All Shall Perish is doing their best to restore the Bay Area’s once lustrous metal reputation.
-Brendan Bianowicz
Minneapolis Sumerian signees After the Burial started the night off for the series of co-headliners with a full and breathtakingly heavy set. Their eight string guitars chugged through old favorites and new favorites alike, performed with new singer Anthony Notarmaso. This was Notarmaso’s first nationwide tour with After the Burial after the release of their reissued, rerecorded 2008 LP Rareform. Notarmaso proved himself to be tour ready, never missing a note and in some cases, performing better than ATB’s previously recorded material. When asked about Notarmaso, Hermida passed down his approval in WXVU’s preconcert interview and hinted at a switch from 7 strings to 8 strings for their next album.
Fellow Sumerian deathcore artists Born of Osiris, based out of Chicago, would provide the most energy next to the closing act. Their schizophrenic brand of hardcore led to a great amount of activity in the pit, but also to some very confused headbangers trying to keep up with timing and tempo changes. On most tracks in their set, Born of Osiris slowed down the tempo just enough to make for a tighter show but it did not go unnoticed. Instead of the frantic blasting in Brace Legs or the complex guitar work in Abstract Art, their sound was a bit lazy; wanting to break out into full force thrash, but restricted by efforts to keep their live show together. Despite the tempo change, fans still erupted with the opening note of each familiar The New Reign track. Favorites on the night include “Open Arms to Damnation” and closer “Bow Down”; each containing a moment of mic-reaching, sing-along intensity as the entire GA section sandwiched towards the stage to be closer to the source of the excitement.
Finally, after a short wait, All Shall Perish made their way to the stage and proceeded to pound out an hour long set that appeased new and old fans in the crowd. After almost five hours of hard-hitting acts, the crowd looked rejuvenated as All Shall Perish ran through a setlist that included their two best of the night “Eradication” and cowbell thumping closer “Wage Slaves” off of 2006’s The Price of Existence. The band sounded tight throughout the night playing songs from both of their most recent albums including Awaken the Dreamers. The drumming of Matt Kuykendall was masterful as always as he provided the backbone for All Shall Perish on tracks such as “Better Living Through Catastrophe” and even gave private lessons before the show. During our preconcert interview, Hermida reacted to a question about the Oakland metal scene. Happy to get the opportunity to talk about the area in which they call home and came into their own as a band, Hermida reflected on the glory days of Metallica and thriving metal clubs throughout the Bay Area. However, according to Hermida, the Oakland scene has declined greatly in the recent past and has become a shadow of its thrash-metal prime. But judging from their live show and the music backing it, All Shall Perish is doing their best to restore the Bay Area’s once lustrous metal reputation.
-Brendan Bianowicz
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Let Them Eat Lil' Wayne's Head!
This isn't just your average Lil' Wayne birthday cake. This cake was a gift from Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger to their 14-year-old daughter Ireland, who I really hope is a Lil' Wayne fan.
If you don't have strong ankles and good health insurance, you shouldn't even think about licking on this cake. If this cake is anything like the real Lil' Wayne, swallowing a little of its cream will knock you up in a few seconds flat.
And I'm guessing "Happy Birthday, Rude Little Pig" didn't fit on that heart.
Source: Rosebud Cakes via Gawker
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Kings of Leon - East Ruthorford, NJ 10/12/09
Check out my review of the Kings of Leon concert back in September courtesy of "The Villanovan"....
Kings of Leon Deliver Royal Performance
- Yergs
Kings of Leon Deliver Royal Performance
- Yergs
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Concert Review: Blink-182 Rocks the Susquehanna Bank Center
Whatever musicians you listen to these days, if you grew up in suburban America in the late ‘90s, that dreamland of strip malls and awkward high school dances, chances are you grew up on bands like San Diego punk rockers Blink-182. In an age when many bands are knockoffs of bands that themselves were influenced by this trio, it’s refreshing not just to see Blink, but, in Weezer and Taking Back Sunday, two bands who have been at the forefront of their rock sub-genres for almost two decades. Weezer, TBS and the newly-reunited Blink were all on display on August 27 at the Susquehanna Bank Center just across the river from Philly.
After playing a sold-out show at the Electric Factory this past June, Taking Back Sunday returned to play third-string on the Blink comeback tour. Despite a sea of mostly empty green seats – comeback tours always come with a sea of tailgaters, no matter who opens – Adam Lazzara and his Long Island boys were not fazed, playing 40 minutes of mostly hit songs, sprinkled in with some new cuts from their latest record, “New Again.” Little of the banter from their June show carried over, though, likely because of their limited stage time. But a highlight, as it always is at TBS shows, was the band’s performance of their biggest pre-major label hit, “Cute Without the ‘E,’” which the band dedicated to the “fans who have been with us since the beginning.”
In true Weezer style, Rivers Cuomo and his boys hit the stage in matching white jumpsuits, though the oversize “W” that is a staple of their backdrop was unable to attend this show. Rivers, always a true showman, implored the crowd to reach a crescendo on one of the band’s most singable hits, “Perfect Situation.” He also wowed the audience with “magic” when he played the drums, then the bass, then the guitar, all at the same time, to play the chill-out song “Island in the Sun” all by himself. Even audiophiles who understand how a “loop” works were impressed – Rivers played each instrument at the perfect tempo on the first try.
But the show truly belonged to the headliners, Blink-182. Kicking off their 21-song set with the “Enema of the State” cut “Dumpweed,” they set the tone for a fast-paced set, jumping from one song to another in quick succession. Much of their set was comprised of songs released after the TRL crowd was introduced to pixellation in the “What’s My Age Again?” video, but much more notable was the onstage chemistry readily apparent between Mark and Tom, who just a year ago were still not on speaking terms. In a sign that the co-frontmen (thankfully) have not grown up, genitalia and your-mother jokes were on the menu, as well as the humiliation of all the boyfriends in the crowd, when Tom announced, “your girlfriends like us more than they like you!” Ah, just like we remembered them.
While their backdrop LED setup was far from spectacular, and while much of their act was more vanilla than one might expect from a “reunion tour”, the beginning of their encore more than made up for their seemingly humdrum set. Drummer Travis Barker was the first to reappear, strapped into his throne as the riser lifted five feet, ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet above the stage. Then, it began to swing back and forth like a giant playground swing. Unfazed and probably energized by this, Travis played a drum solo like no other, defying gravity and certain nausea as he swung back and forth, spinning vertically like a pinwheel as he stared down at the stage and ten second laters, up at the sky, as the band, in its encore, finally broke into its roots, playing “Josie” from “Dude Ranch” and “Carousel” from “Buddha”, before closing the epic night with “Dammit,” a song that had the whole pit flailing every which way.
It was an epic night, filled with bands that have helped shape the direction of alternative rock over the last 15 years. Though Blink did not play any new songs – they were concerned about anything new surfacing on YouTube – we can only imagine how well received anything they make will be when it is at long last released to the masses. Until then, we all have photos of Tom mooning the crowd and Travis doing flips to hold us over. And that’s more than just a consolation prize.
After playing a sold-out show at the Electric Factory this past June, Taking Back Sunday returned to play third-string on the Blink comeback tour. Despite a sea of mostly empty green seats – comeback tours always come with a sea of tailgaters, no matter who opens – Adam Lazzara and his Long Island boys were not fazed, playing 40 minutes of mostly hit songs, sprinkled in with some new cuts from their latest record, “New Again.” Little of the banter from their June show carried over, though, likely because of their limited stage time. But a highlight, as it always is at TBS shows, was the band’s performance of their biggest pre-major label hit, “Cute Without the ‘E,’” which the band dedicated to the “fans who have been with us since the beginning.”
In true Weezer style, Rivers Cuomo and his boys hit the stage in matching white jumpsuits, though the oversize “W” that is a staple of their backdrop was unable to attend this show. Rivers, always a true showman, implored the crowd to reach a crescendo on one of the band’s most singable hits, “Perfect Situation.” He also wowed the audience with “magic” when he played the drums, then the bass, then the guitar, all at the same time, to play the chill-out song “Island in the Sun” all by himself. Even audiophiles who understand how a “loop” works were impressed – Rivers played each instrument at the perfect tempo on the first try.
But the show truly belonged to the headliners, Blink-182. Kicking off their 21-song set with the “Enema of the State” cut “Dumpweed,” they set the tone for a fast-paced set, jumping from one song to another in quick succession. Much of their set was comprised of songs released after the TRL crowd was introduced to pixellation in the “What’s My Age Again?” video, but much more notable was the onstage chemistry readily apparent between Mark and Tom, who just a year ago were still not on speaking terms. In a sign that the co-frontmen (thankfully) have not grown up, genitalia and your-mother jokes were on the menu, as well as the humiliation of all the boyfriends in the crowd, when Tom announced, “your girlfriends like us more than they like you!” Ah, just like we remembered them.
While their backdrop LED setup was far from spectacular, and while much of their act was more vanilla than one might expect from a “reunion tour”, the beginning of their encore more than made up for their seemingly humdrum set. Drummer Travis Barker was the first to reappear, strapped into his throne as the riser lifted five feet, ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet above the stage. Then, it began to swing back and forth like a giant playground swing. Unfazed and probably energized by this, Travis played a drum solo like no other, defying gravity and certain nausea as he swung back and forth, spinning vertically like a pinwheel as he stared down at the stage and ten second laters, up at the sky, as the band, in its encore, finally broke into its roots, playing “Josie” from “Dude Ranch” and “Carousel” from “Buddha”, before closing the epic night with “Dammit,” a song that had the whole pit flailing every which way.
It was an epic night, filled with bands that have helped shape the direction of alternative rock over the last 15 years. Though Blink did not play any new songs – they were concerned about anything new surfacing on YouTube – we can only imagine how well received anything they make will be when it is at long last released to the masses. Until then, we all have photos of Tom mooning the crowd and Travis doing flips to hold us over. And that’s more than just a consolation prize.
Kitty gets stuck in stairs
link: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2009/july/29/stair_cat.aspx
photo:
photo:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
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