Pettyfest at the El Rey Theatre

Check out my photos of Pettyfest at the El Rey Theatre over at Stereogum.

Eagles of Death Metal at the Henry Fonda Theater

Check out my photos of Eagles of Death Metal at the Henry Fonda Theater over at Stereogum.

I also caught the Eagles of Death Metal at the Grove in Anaheim in September of 2008.

Eagles of Death Metal and The Hives at the Grove of Anaheim

I think the picture above of Jessie "The Devil" Hughes (Vocals/Guitars) is a good summation of how I would rate this particular show. It was too much rock for one hand. The dynamic combination of The Hives and Eagles of Death Metal touched on almost every single rock concert cliche as they demolished the Grove of Anaheim.

The Willowz

The Willowz had a large contingent of family members in the audience since they hail from Anaheim. Chautauqua is their latest release on Dim Mak records and is filled with hard driving fuzzy guitar rock. William-Lewis Mclaren (Guitars) and Jessica Anne Reynoza (Bass) were staunch Fender supporters with their Mustang guitar and bass, respectively.

Richie James Follin (Vocals/Guitar) seemed to be having a good time on stage throwing water bottles out into the crowd and would later throw out colored skulls. The Willowz mined the same sonic vein as The White Stripes and Kings of Leon. "Dead Ears" was the song that specifically recalled Jack White's vocal delivery. They also mixed up their sound with some organ sounds from their Nord Electro 2.

Eagles of Death Metal





If you can't have fun at an Eagles of Death Metal concert then something is wrong with you. I thought the Eagles of Death Metal almost stole the show at the OC Fair when they opened for Queens of the Stone Age. The Eagles of Death Metal are gearing up for the release of their new album Heart On that is due out on October 21.

Eagles of Death Metal quickly had the audience shaking their hips with the gyrating gem "Don't Speak (I Came to Make A Bang)". Josh Homme was absent from the drum kit, but Joey Castillo (Drums) showed he could chew gum and play drums at the same time. "Kiss The Devil" had Jessie working both ends of the stage, as the smile on his face was as wide as his mustache. The lo-fi guitar roar of "Bad Drama Mama" was intoxicating as Jessie was wailing on his shiny Yamaha custom guitar.

Dave Catching (Guitar) had his Gibson Flying "V" backing up Jessie's slashing guitar chords to round out the sound. Joey worked a little bit of cowbell into "English Girls" that garnered the requisite chants of "More Cowbell" from the crowd. The slow cooking intro to "Wannabe In LA" demonstrated a nice change of pace before unfurling into a fuzzy octave screaming solo. "I Want You So Hard (Boys Bad News)" and "Speaking In Tongues" brought the house down as they had all the ladies screaming for more and all the guys hoisting their beers in approval. The Eagles absolutely soared high on this particular night.

The Hives





The Hives had to bring their "A" game in order to equal the energy from the Eagles of Death Metal. The Black and White Album is the latest album from the Hives and features the same break neck paced tunes laced with rapid fire drumming and pulsating power chords. I was tempted to pick up one of their shirts that listed the names of all the band members in a style like fellow countrymen Peter, Bjorn & John.

A large red sign emblazoned with The Hives lit up as they appeared on stage. "Hey Little World" was faster and ferocious live as the Hives ripped through the song. It was difficult to photograph Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (Vocals) as he was running frantically across the stage. The Hives looked and sounded sharp as they were decked out in their matching black suits. I would also like to point out they had custom Hiwatt gear that had each of their names on the speaker cabinets.

"Main Offender" reminded me that I need to dust off my skills on Rock Band as Nicholaus Arson (Guitars) was destroying his Fender Telecaster. Chris Dangerous (Drums) upped the ante by turning in a smoking performance on the drums literally and figuratively as a cigarette dangled from his lips. I was stoked they played "Outsmarted" as it barely clocked in over 2 minutes. One of the funnier moments of the show was when the entire band literally froze in place for a couple of minutes before tearing back into the song. "Hate To Say I Told You So" and "Tick Tick Boom" closed out the evening on a high note as the Hives took a bow. I think the Hives covered every single power chord in the book.

Queens of the Stone Age at the OC Fair

The Queens of The Stone Age self titled debut album is a classic. I bought it when it first came out on Loose Groove records which was run by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam fame. I have seen Queens of The Stone Age numerous times back in the day at the Troubadour and have witnessed their ascension to a seasoned rock outfit. I didn't think Lullabies to Paralyze was a strong effort from them. Era Vulgaris is a better step in the right direction but ultimately I think the loss of Nick Oliveri has had an impact on the band.





The Eagles of Death Metal know how to rock. The Eagles play a brand of sleazy garage rock slathered with innuendos and oozing with the sexy. Dave Catching(Guitars) was doing his best rock poses with his Gibson Flying V but Jessie Hughes (Vocals/Guitars) was the pulling all the limelight along with the crowd's attention to himself. Jessie would swagger across the stage coaxing the audience to get up and dance as they kicked down some serious rock n' roll tunes. Some of the highlights from their set included "Cherry Cola", "I Only Want You" and "Stuck In The Metal". Jessie and the rest of the band took a bow at the end of the show and in between songs I could hear Jessie let out some screams of excitement because he was rocking out so hard and the crowd was eating up all of it.




Queens of The Stone Age came out of the gate limping. I mean that literally in relation to Josh Homme's(Vocals/Guitars) knee problems as he shuffled out with the help a cane. Queens stole the show at the KROQ Weenie Roast this year, but didn't seem as tight compared to that prior show. It probably was due to the sound mix which was uneven throughout the night and the overall volume of the show was low. Queens need to be heard loud and clear. "Battery Acid" was extremely caustic as Michael Shuman (Bass) dominated his Gibson Grabber bass and turned that song instantly to one of my favorites off the new album. The set felt very short clocking in at barely over an hour. They should have played for at least an hour and a half but it could have been due to the Orange County curfew or the fact that Josh probably shouldn't be up there in the first place with his knee and all. Josh showed off some of his improvisational skills with the incorporation of the Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone"  into the break down of "The Feel Good Hit of the Summer". Troy Van Leeuwen (Guitars) was business as usual rocking out in his suit and hovering over his keyboards at times. He used to play in Failure in case you forgot. I look forward to seeing them in Las Vegas at the Vegoose Festival.


Queens Of The Stone Age setlist at the Pacific Amphitheatre for the OC Fair (7/22/07)
"Monsters In The Parasol"
"Burn The Witch"
"Misfit Love"
"In My Head"
"Do It Again"
"Feel Good Hit Of The Summer"
"Sick,Sick,Sick"
"Go With The Flow"
"Into The Hollow"
"Make It Wit Chu"
"Little Sister"
"Battery Acid"
"3's & 7's"
"No One Knows"
"Song For The Dead"