Thrice at the House of Blues Anaheim

The first time I saw Thrice was at the House of Blues Anaheim when they opened for Face To Face. Thrice was touring in support of The Illusion of Safety and they demolished the stage. I distinctly remember at least half of the House of Blues empty out after Thrice's set. I was hooked.

Thrice has adapted their sound pulling in some other influences to broaden their sound instead of remaking the same record. The Alchemy Index is an ambitous effort as they penned songs with inspiration from the elements of Air, Earth, Fire and Water. I missed the first leg of Thrice's tour but was fortunate enough to catch this show at the House of Blues Anaheim.

Aushua





Thrice fans are known to be quite the devoted bunch and I was curious to see how Aushua's reverb drenched tunes would go over. Aushua's dynamics shined through the House of Blues soundsystem as I could better detect the nuances in their songs. "Reverberation" echoed loudly as the band gave a spirited performance. I often glanced at the audience to look for a reaction and most of the audience was listening attentively which I interpreted as a good sign. I still encourage you to pick up their EP No Harm Done as it is solid from start to finish. "Sister Saves" was glorious as always with the audience starting to stir and buzz as they closed their set. I am willing to bet Aushua will have a headlining slot at the House of Blues Anaheim one of these days.

Pelican





Pelican grabbed my attention a few years ago when they played a Taste of Chaos tour at the Long Beach Arena with the Deftones and Thrice. Pelican create dense driving metal inspired jams that ebb and flow. Pelican is touring behind their new album City Of Echoes, which I have yet to pick up but have been enjoying their tune "Dead Between The Walls" when I spotted it on Headbanger's Ball.

Circa Survive





I wasn't too familiar with Circa Survive but they put on an energetic show and a majority of the crowd seemed to enjoy them.

Thrice








I was intrigued by the three keyboard and piano stations set up on the stage for Thrice. This was a far cry from the time I was at their Chain Reaction show when they filmed the "Deadbolt" video. Thrice have tapped into their inner Radiohead with expansively experimental tunes and continue to mature. "Hold Fast Hope" was a fiery start to the evening as the pit behind me started to stir as I was taking some photos. Dustin Kensrue (Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards) has learned to preserve his vocal chords over the years by singing versus consistently screaming. Eddie Breckenridge (Bass) still plays a Gibson Grabber Bass that is immediately identifiable in the mix and is a vital part to the overall sound of Thrice.

"Digital Sea" was aquatic in its aural nature as Dustin visited his Korg Kaoss pad to alter the effects on his vocals. "Firebreather" simultaneously burned and seared at the same time as the members of Aushua rushed the stage for the sing along chorus. "The Messenger" delivered in spades as Teppei Teranishi (Guitars) thrashed along. Thrice sculpted a well thought out setlist as they transitioned to "Broken Lungs". The pit would later swirl when Thrice broke into "Motion Without Meaning" which caught me off guard but I was more than happy to sing along.

Thrice brought it down a notch with an acoustic rendition "Stare at The Sun" that had the crowd singing and clapping along. It was astonishing how everyone knew the lyrics as it was a testament to the devotion of their fanbase. "Come All You Weary" kept the crowd singing along as Teppei wailed on some blues based riffs. "All That's Left" sounded as urgent as ever with the band refusing to let up as they tore into "Silhouette" without pausing. "The Artist In The Ambulance" kicked things into another dimension as the crowd was still singing along at full volume. The multiple requests for "Deadbolt" throughout the night were finally silenced as band saved it for their encore. The audience stuck their hands in the air and rapidly pretended to be fretting their air guitars as Teppei came to the front of the stage. "Cold Cash and Colder Hearts" continued Thrice's frenzied pace. "The Earth Will Shake" was seismic in its rumble. Dustin mentioned that they were filming both nights at the House of Blues for a DVD release. They already have one copy sold.

The Presets at the El Rey Theatre

I have been a big fan of The Presets ever since I caught their Club NME show at Spaceland. I proceeded to see them catch them multiple times at the Echoplex as well as opening for the Rapture. Apocalypso is one of the strongest electronica releases of this year and their show at the El Rey was the first night of their tour supporting the new album.

Walter Meego





Walter Meego used a heavy dose of keyboards and live instrumentation to grab my attention at their show at the Echo opening up for Cut Copy. Repetitive laser blasts of synthesizers dominated the track of "Girls" from their debut album Voyager. Justin Sconza (Vocals/Keyboards) effectively used his falsetto to croon through their set with some of the highlights being "Keyhole" and "Forever". Andrew Bernhardt (Guitars) did some wild tapping on his Fender Stratocaster as the synthesizers formed the framework of their songs. "Lost" blew me away again with its gigantic bass line and swirling sound effects. Walter Meego sounded even better then I remembered and I will have to pick up their new album.

The Presets






I have never seen the El Rey Theatre more packed in my life. It was crowded at Digitalism but on this night I would guess the fire marshall would have cringed. The Presets were relentless in their aural assault on the audience. They opened with "Talk Like That" from their new album Apocalypso and the crowd was dancing immediately as a good majority of the audience knew the song. When I mentioned relentless, I meant it as the song morphed into the driving bass bleeps of "Down Down Down" as Julian Hamilton (Vocals/Synthesizers) improvised a miniature synth solo in the middle of the song. It was another blast from their album Beams as "Girl (You Chew My Mind Up)" blared over the speaker system. Kim Moyes (Drums/Synthesizers) had a sweet moon logo adorned on his drum kit as his arms flailed away at the drum kit. The songs from the new album sounded magnificent as they ran through "A New Sky" and "Eucalpytus". The classic sample from Pet Shop Boys immediately tipped me off that they would tear into "Are You The One?". "The Girl and The Sea" took on a new appearance as it was a distant cousin to the amazing Cut Copy remix on their Re-sets EP. A singular piano note crushed against a throbbing programed synthesizer line sounded divine as "This Boy's In Love" pulsated throughout the room. "Anywhere" sounded reminiscent of Depeche Mode Black Celebration era as the crowd started to clap along. "My People" was an absolute show stopper as The Presets had the crowd in the palm of their hand. My pictures unfortunately did not do justice to their performance so I leave you with the video above. This show will be in the top 5 of concerts attended this year.

The Presets setlist at the El Rey on May 20th 2008
"Talk Like That"
"Down Down Down"
"Girl (You Chew My Mind Up)"
"Eucalpytus"
"A New Sky"
"Yippiyo-Ay"
"Are You The One?"
"Together"
"Aeons"
"The Girl and The Sea"
"Steamworks"
"This Boy's In Love"
"Kicking and Screaming"
"My People"
"Anywhere"
"I Go Hard, I Go Home"

Rogue Wave at the Samueli Theater

The Off Center concert series rolled on at the Samueli Theater in Costa Mesa with the duel line up of Rogue Wave and Voxhaul Broadcast. I have covered a few of the shows at the Samueli Theater like The Walkmen, Cold War Kids. I last caught up with Rogue Wave at the Belly Up and heard they put together a great set at Coachella.

Voxhaul Broadcast




I unfortunately missed Voxhaul Broadcast's residency at Spaceland but was impressed with them when I saw them at the Silverlake Lounge. Voxhaul Broadcast came through loud and clear as their brand of urgent soul infused rock stirred the audience. Phillip Munsey (Bass) rocked out once again with his dominant bass thumping tone that was surrounded by the dueling guitars of David Dennis (Vocals/Guitars) and Anthony Aguilar (Guitars). Their set went by very quickly and it reminded me that I need to see them again as they have considerably honed their live show. Check out their latest release Rotten Apples on Retone records which is available on itunes.

Rogue Wave






A feedback of noise tricked me as Rogue Wave sculpted the noise into the chords of "Sewn Up" from their first album Out Of The Shadows."Every Moment" was turned into a hard driving rock tune Pat Spurgeon (Drums) did some extra cymbal smashing to punctuate the song. Rogue Wave had just returned from a European tour and now is gearing up for another tour across the country with Death Cab For Cutie. "Like I Needed" was introduced as a song about an incident in a supermarket as Gram LeBron (Guitars) cranked out the jangly chords as Zach Rogue (Vocals/Guitars) sang "These aren't The Droids You're Looking For" as a wink to the movie Star Wars. The rollicking riff of "Medicine Ball" quickly inspired a crowd participation in the form of clapping along. "Christians In Black" had a bittersweet tunefulness to the song as Zach quietly plucked out the notes. I was surprised to hear "Eyes" as Zach mentioned they had not played the song in awhile at the Belly Up show. "Chicago X 12" took on a new form with pedal steel interlaced with the intoxicating melodies. An assortment of keyboard blips and beeps rounded out the sounds of "Bird On A Wire" as I was internally debating whether this was my favorite show from Rogue Wave. "Lake Michigan" garnered the largest round of cheers from the appreciative crowd. Zach emerged by himself for a stunning encore of "Ghost". The night was brought to a show stopping close with a cover of Neil Young's "Birds". I may have to go to Santa Barbara to see them with Death Cab For Cutie.

Cut Copy at the Echoplex

Cut Copy stopped by the Echo a few months ago as they gave fans a sneak peak of songs from their new album In Ghost Colours. It was definitely one of the hottest shows of all year. Could Cut Copy repeat their scintillating performance? I hauled cross town after the Kooks show at the Wiltern to find out.

Classixx



I strolled into the Echoplex as Classixx was polishing off their set. Classixx were formerly known as Young Americans but had to switch their name to avoid a pack of litigious lawyers. The crowd at the Echoplex had already swarmed the front of the stage but I could see they had a lot of synthesizer gear on stage along with their Apple laptop with pulsating beats blaring over the speakers. I could have sworn they had a Future Retro Revolution synthesizer module on their workbench but it was fairly dark. I missed most of their set but was intrigued enough to catch them again.

Cut Copy





My crystal ball seems to be working fairly well these days as I mentioned in my review of Cut Copy at the Echo that they could have easily sold out the Echoplex. It didn't take too long for the show to sell out as the Echoplex was completely packed with fans who may have missed the Echo show. Cut Copy just finished wrapping up their U.S. tour with the Black Kids and added one final Los Angeles show before they returned down under.

"Out There On The Ice" from In Ghost Colours ignited the dance party as the sugary synthesizers compelled the audience to move. Dan Whitford (Vocals/Guitars/Synthesizers) had his Dave Smith synthesizer scorching as he frequently modulated the pitch wheel. The dance party had officially begun as Cut Copy was in high gear. "Lights & Music" continued to whip the crowd into a frenzy as Tim Hoey (Guitars/Synthesizers) played the sinewy guitar line. The saxophone sample was massively huge during "Hearts On Fire" as the show was quickly eclipsing the energy of the Echo show. If you didn't have a drink in your hand, you were probably dancing to "Far Away" as the beat is irresistible. The night was perfectly capped with "Time Stands Still" as the party revelers emptied out of the steamy Echoplex.

I wanted to go to the afterparty with that featured DJ sets from KIM from The Presets, Cut Copy, and DJ Kid Lightning but thought that two shows in one night was enough. The Presets were also playing the next night at the El Rey so I needed to conserve what little energy I had left. I hear rumors that Cut Copy will be back soon.

The Cure at the Shrine Auditorium

Check out my review of The Cure at the Shrine Auditorium for OC Weekly here. The slideshow of pictures from Santa Barbara is here.

Iron Maiden at Irvine Meadows(Verizon Wireless)

My Heavy Metal worshipping brother checks in with a guest show review from the second night of Iron Maiden at Irvine Meadows(Verizon Wireless). My brother's first record was Destroyer from KISS in case you were wondering. His report follows below.

Lauren Harris, Steve Harris' daughter, opened up the show both nights. Gives "Bring your daughter to the slaughter" a whole new meaning.

Anthrax


I was really excited about seeing Anthrax both nights, as I still remember picking up my Spreading the Disease at Middle Earth records in Downey, CA. They broke in their new singer Dan Nelson with his first arena shows, and boy did they deliver. He seemed to fit in with the band very naturally as his vocals blended in seamlessly. The setlist was definitely a best of and was repeated both nights. Scott Ian (Guitars) also made a reference to Guitar Hero for "Madhouse" as it is featured in the omnipresent video game.

Anthrax setlist for May 30 and May 31st
"Indians"
"Got the Time"
"Caught in a Mosh"
"Madhouse"
"Anti-Social"
"Room for One More"
"Safe Home"
"Only"
"I am the Law"

Iron Maiden




I couldn't wait to see Iron Maiden though, being a bass player myself, it was like going to Mecca. I also was unable to attend the Long Beach Arena Powerslave tour, so this was a close to a consolation prize as possible (Live after Death DVD doesn't count). One thing about a Maiden show is the T-shirts. They had at least 15-20 different styles available and at $40 each, I decided to look only. The show started off with "Aces High", "Two Minutes to Midnight", then shifted to "Revelations" and "The Trooper" off of Piece of Mind. Bruce did don a British Army uniform similar in style to the cover of "The Trooper" single. "Wasted Years" and "The Number of the Beast" followed, with a sneeze by Adrian Smith (Guitars) preventing a start to "Can I Play with Madness?". Bruce started laughing uncontrollably and needed time to recover.






The time transport back to the '80s continued as midway through one of their songs, a gal stared to disrobe and continued to remove her shirt completely. The kid next to me was with his parents and the mom shielded his eyes so he wouldn't see. The show had the usual beach balls bouncing around and Bruce running from side to side. Maiden played tight as usual and sounded incredible. Eddie had two showings with the first being the Mummy version circa the Powerslave tour that comes through the Eddie Pharoah headpiece that splits into two pieces. The second showing was as the Somewhere in Time Eddie that walked around the stage with the band.

Iron Maiden Setlist for May 30th and May 31st
"Aces High"
"Two Minutes to Midnight"
"Revelations"
"The Trooper"
"Wasted Years"
"The Number of the Beast"
"Can I Play with Madness?"
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
"Powerslave"
"Heaven Can Wait"
"Run to the Hills"
"Fear of the Dark"
"Iron Maiden"
"Moonchild"
"The Clairvoyant"
"Hallowed Be Thy Name"