Helmet at the Belly Up

It is difficult for me to believe that it has almost been twenty years since I first saw Helmet as they opened for Ministry with support from Sepultura at the then Universal Amphitheater in 1992. It was one of the first five concerts I attended and has left an indelible mark on my memory.

My first brush with Helmet was seeing their video for "Unsung" on Headbanger's Ball on MTV. It was heavy and fast. Page Hamilton immediately became a guitar hero of mine with his drop-d tuned ESP magenta Horizon guitar. Every time Helmet comes to town, I am sure to be there.

Ume

Ume by the way Austin immediately fired up the audience. Sporting a small army of Fender guitars, Lauren Larson was a fireball of energy crushing either her Fender Telecaster Deluxe or a Fender Mustang. Complementing her ferocious guitar lines was the crisp bass lines of her husband Eric Larson on a Fender Precision bass.

They made the most of their opening slot working through a number of songs from their debut album Phantoms. Ume is currently finishing up their tour opening for Helmet and the Toadies and have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help finance their next album. They supported my theory of always showing up early for the opening bands.

Helmet


There is no such thing as a bad Helmet show. This show would be my fifteenth time documenting their live exploits and it delivered just like all the times before. Having spent a good portion of the year touring across the east coast, Helmet were in top form and sounded razor sharp.

"Sinatra" was an intense option to start their set with its detuned crunch. Page Hamilton sounded just as vicious as that classic 1990 album Strap It On. Dave Case did a phenomenal job of dialing in his G&L bass into that characteristic Helmet thump.

Joining Hamilton on guitars is the reliable Dan Beeman who was thrashing on his Gibson Les Paul played through a Fryette amplifier. Kyle Wilkerson is now one of the longer standing members of Helmet mastering the rolling snare snaps and providing background vocals.

The setlist was quite varied touching on a lot of newer material from Seeing Eye Dog. The surprise of the night was hearing the rarely played "Speechless" from the Betty album. Other welcome songs were "FBLA II", "Tic" and "Birth Defect".

It was one of those shows that I found myself just enjoying the music and being lost in the waves of distortion and feedback. Helmet will continue to destroy towns into November. Make sure to catch them at House of Blues Sunset on Tuesday 10/22 and House of Blues Anaheim on Wednesday 10/23.


Helmet Setlist for the Belly Up (10/21/12)
"Sinatra"
"So Long"
"Exactly What You Wanted"
"Welcome To Algiers"
"White City"
"Bad Mood"
"FBLA II"
"Wilma's Rainbow"
"Speechless"
"In Person"
"Tic"
"Miserable"
"Enemies"
"Birth Defect"
"Milquetoast"
"Unsung"

The Raveonettes at the Belly Up

Check out my photos of The Raveonettes at the Belly Up over at Stereogum.

Dinosaur Jr. at the Belly Up

Check out my photos of Dinosaur Jr. at the Belly Up over at Stereogum.

Autolux at the Belly Up

Check out my photos of Autolux at the Belly Up over at Stereogum.

Midlake at the Belly Up

Check out my photos of Midlake at the Belly Up over at Stereogum.

St. Vincent at the Belly Up

Check out my photos of St. Vincent at the Belly Up over at Stereogum.

Sea Wolf at the Belly Up

Sea Wolf


I asked Alex Church when he was in Irving after this show when was he going to play again. Alex mentioned it would not be for a long time. It turned out he was prophetic as he would later form Sea Wolf.

Dios Malos


Dios (Malos) have been around for quite sometime with their hazy psychedelic rock. I remember seeing them open for Morrissey at the Wiltern when they were called Dios. Unfortunately, they were sued by Ronnie James Dio and had to change their name to Dios Malos. I think they should have changed their name to Rainbows.

Old Man Hands



Old Man Hands from San Diego played a handful of folk infused acoustic jams. They even managed to work an accordion, flute, violin and Rhodes keyboards into the songs. Old Man Hands is the main project of Gabriel Feenbergs who was playing in other bands before heading up his solo project. It was in the same vein as Iron and Wine and Sufjan Stevens. "Weight Of the Night" is the latest release by Old Man Hands.


Sea Wolf






Sea Wolf has been gaining momentum quite rapidly as of late. Sea Wolf was recently featured on KCRW as well as Spinner.com. The word is spreading quick that their album "Leaves In The River" is one of the catchier quiet albums of 2007. Alex Church (Vocals/Guitars) has a soothing voice that meshes well with the memorable melodies of keyboards and jangly acoustic guitars. I feel the secret weapon of Sea Wolf is Aniela Perry (Cello) who amplifies the soul of the songs with her cello playing. The cello enhances the cinematic element of Alex's storytelling lyrics. Sea Wolf had the crowd in the palm of their hand by the time they played their second song of their set "Winter Windows". The cello and keyboards all realize their space in the song as they nicely blend into the Alex's voice. Sea Wolf's songs vary nicely in their pace to make each song stand out. "The Cold, The Dark & The Silence" was next and could easily dominate the airwaves with its punchy acoustic lead riff and yearning cello. "Middle Distance Runner" also has single potential with its hypnotic fingerpicking acoustic guitars and rhythmic bass drum beat. Sea Wolf will be playing a few more dates to close out 2007 but look for them to break out in 2008.