NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center

To all the uninitiated NAMM stands for the National Association of Music Merchants. They hold the music gear equivalent of Coachella with a 4 day music gear festival. After hitting the press room for some Krispy Kremes, the trumpets sounded and the gates to NAMM opened. My first stop was the Buchla booth. I was careful not to drool over the beautiful analog synths. If you have ever seen the Nine Inch Nails video for "The Hand That Feeds", Alessandro is tweaking a Buchla synthesizer. I included the video above to give you an idea of the crazy sounds it provides. I cruised by the VHT booth to tell them that Helmet was using their backline and that Page's VHT pitbull amp has a mean growl. My next visit was to the Korg booth to check out the new Kaoss Pad 3 and the new R3 Vocoder/Synthesizer. Some of the Kaoss pad improvements were the inclusion of a USB connection and an SD memory card slot to store your presets.They also had a new Korg 2007 Analog Collection with the Mono/Poly added to the arsenal of old school software synths. The Moog booth was impressive as they had more Moog Voyagers then Roger O'Donnell! The Gibson booth upstairs had an amazing SG Silverburst that looked as stunning as my Les Paul Custom Silverburst. There were a flock of people at the Fender booth which was showcasing the legendary Eddie Van Halen replica guitar that will be available in spring 2007. Boss had some cool branded emulators of amps in the form of a pedal(Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Amp, and a '59 Fender Bassman). Cruised by the Digidesign booth to see Los Lobos playing a short set and causing a large traffic jam. I went by Z.Vex effects campground and had the pleasure of talking to Zachary Vex. He was featuring the awesomely named "Box of Metal " distortion pedal. He also mentioned the Ringtone pedal had added a tap tempo function making even sicker sounding(in a good way). Also check out the video above featuring Scot from Audionova shredding. I later went to see Darker My Love play a fiery set at the Orange County Museum of Art.

Plug LA Awards at Little Radio

On a cold and frosty night, I headed down to Little Radio for the Plug LA awards show which featured Great Northern, Foreign Born, The Gray Kid, and Crash Plastic. After picking up an ice cream sandwich from the Ice Cream man, I was ready to check out the bands. Crash Plastic hailing from Lompoc, Ca hit the stage and played a decent set. Most appeared in their late teens and reminded me of the Vines. Kyle Reeves was playing a Guild SG shaped guitar which I haven't seen since the days of Soundgarden. Foreign Born was up next and played a dynamic set. They have a good sound that consists of an amalgamation of The Walkmen and Coldplay. I had seen them before open for Sparta at the Troubadour and thought they had a good sound. Ariel Rechtshaid was playing a sweet lefty Rickenbacker bass and providing backup vocals. As a small history lesson, I remember seeing Ariel back in the day while fronting the band The Hippos at the Troubadour. The Gray Kid was up next and was a one man wrecking crew spitting out lyrics with some interesting beats behind him. He even rigged up a telephone as a distortion box for his voice during one song. He didn't have much music gear but was sporting a sweet old school Air Jordan jacket. One song had a loop of some video game sound effects but I couldn't place it for the life of me. He had played earlier in the night at the Echo with Girl Talk, and Matt & Kim. Great Northern was up next and was very impressive. A very orchestral vibe with a dreamy landscape of cascading sounds. They reminded me at times of Nada Surf with female vocals mixed in. Ashley was playing the keys while Rachel was holding down the bass. Their full length album comes out in May 2007 but in the meantime you can check out their EP(Sleepy Epee) on Eenie Meanie Records.

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at the Glass House

Stephen Malkmus left the crowd wanting more after his perfomance at the El Rey theatre. Luckily I was in Pomona the next night to see Helmet, so I stopped by the Glass House record store and picked up a ticket for the Stephen Malkmus show at the Glass House. After an hour and a half of traffic, I arrived in Pomona at around 7:15. The doors had not opened yet so I took shelter from the cold at the record store. Some film students were interviewing concert attendees for their school project asking about how the music makes them "feel" and what do the lyrics mean. With song titles like "Pencil Rot", "Jo-Jo's Jacket" and "1% of 1" one does not pontificate that much about lyrics. I just know the music rocks and that Stephen is extremely clever and crafty with his songs. Anyways, Entrance opened the show again and fared significantly better this time. Guy Blakeslee had 3 guitars this time and no technical difficulties with his guitar. Since his music is very groove oriented, the set was much better because the band really stepped it up. His rendition of "Grim Reaper Blues" was especially good. I also noticed he was using a metal thumb pick to get an extra metallic/chimey sound to his guitar style. Paz Lenchantin was holding down the bass duties very well as usual. Their set seemed to go by much quicker than the prior show. Stephen sauntered on stage and proceeded to open with "Baby C'mon". He played a bunch of new songs with "Dragonfly Pie" standing out as well as "Pennywhistle Thunder". I was much closer to the stage and was able to see Stephen switch between his fingers and his pick with great ease. Stephen was more animated on stage as well, jumping around and going to the keyboards at the end of the set. He was also rocking a Z.Vex Fuzz Factory and a sweet Z.Vex Seek wah which is too radical to explain. Go to Z.Vex effects website and check out the video they have on it. I was glad to have made it to the show but I don't think it was sold out like the El Rey was. I was approached by at least 5 people at the El Rey show for my ticket. I was sad they didn't play 2 new songs that I had heard at the El Rey but the rendition of "It Kills" was extremely literal. I can not wait till this new album drops.

Helmet at the Casbah

Round 2 of Helmet was held at the Casbah in San Diego. The first round of Helmet consisted of a sharp jab to the face. The second round of Helmet was a body blow. San Diego represented well as the place was 75% full when Totimoshi hit the stage. Since the Casbah is a small club/bar, Totimoshi seemed a bit more relaxed and in their element. They played a solid set and the sound was mixed well. Meg Castellanos was using a Big Muff Distortion Pedal, and a Boss Super Phaser to augment her sweet Rickenbacker bass that I had mentioned in the previous review. I will go thru Tony's guitar setup when I go to the Troubadour shows. The Casbah was packed when Helmet hit the stage and started off with a blistering rendition of "Give It". I have to admit I cheated and looked at the setlist prior to the show and was stoked to find "I Know" as that is one of my favorite songs. They added "Wilma's Rainbow", "Blacktop", "Unsung", and "In the Meantime" as well to the setlist. Page had a bit of extra fire tonight and was really belting it out on the vocals. I was on the side of the stage and the volume was killer. I managed to check out Jimmy Thompson's guitar setup as he was using an ESP guitar with a VHT head/cab. His pedals include a Line 6 Modulation pedal, MXR Custom Audio Electronics Boost, and a Line 6 Delay pedal. He used the MXR pedal for the feedback opening of "Enemies". The crowd erupted into a pit during "Milquetoast" and was moshing afterwards throughout the night. The rendition of "Milquetoast" had an extended outro as they kept crushing the closing riff. Kyle Stevenson's drumming was impressive as he pounded the skins all night. Overall an excellent show with the only complaint being I have to wait two weeks till I see them again.

Delta Spirit and The Colour at the Detroit Bar

This turned out to be an interesting night. After being stuck in 2 hours of Los Angeles traffic and paying $20 for Staples center parking, I was ready to see some hockey. After sitting down 18 rows from center ice at the Los Angeles Kings game, a series of unfortunate events unfolded and I was forced to exit early. My mother used to tell me that you make lemonade if you are given a bunch of lemons. I guess mom was right because I had the epiphany to check out the Delta Spirit and The Colour at the Detroit bar for their residency every Monday this month. I rolled into the Detroit Bar as The Sparrow Love Crew hit the stage. They happen to be an old "skool" rap crew with interesting beats and positive rhymes. The only rap shows I have been to usually involve festivals so I really don't know how they measure up. The DJ was going crazy scratching records like it was the eighties again. The Delta Spirit were up next and the Detroit Bar was the most packed I have ever seen. Where were all these people when Asobi Sesku and Darker my Love played? The Delta Spirit played a great blues rock set with lots of clapping and foot stomping. The piano player even came out and played trashcan for the song ironically named "Trash". They had a great overall sound using some Gibson hollowbody guitars and Fender Deville amps. The Colour stormed the stage with a similar blues rock sound that comes off slightly more polished. I remember seeing them a long time ago open for Dustin Kensrue(Thrice) at the Knitting Factory and have to admit they have come a long way since then. Apparently they have lost one of their guitarists lately but still managed to have a good sound. Wyatt, the lead singer has a lot of Jim Morrison stage moves and a vocal style similar to John Fogerty at times. Some of the highlights from their set included "Save Yourself", and "Devil's Gotta Hold". Their new album comes out in February so check it out. Both bands are playing the Spaceland residency on Thursday as well so you have no excuse not to miss these upcoming bands.

Helmet at the Glass House

After getting back from the Stephen Malkmus show at 1:30, I proceeded to sleep for a few hours and then wake up in time to do the OC half marathon. I always run with my ipod shuffle and It was only fitting that it contains a ton of Helmet songs. I first saw Helmet way back in the day on the stellar Ministry, Helmet, and Sepultura tour in 1992 at the Universal Amphitheatre. I have always been a huge fan and I don't think Page Hamilton can do anything wrong in my book. Totimoshi hailing from Oakland, California opened up the show with their groove heavy rock in the vein of Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Melvins. Meg Castellanos was sporting a Rickenbacker Bass to keep the low end extremely low and rumbly. Page Hamilton produced their lastest offering and has picked them to open on prior tours. They had a good sound and I will see them many more times as they open for all the upcoming Helmet shows. Page stormed the stage and the rocking commenced. The setlist was fantastic and some songs were switched out due to fan requests. "Give It" and "FBLA" were played instead of "Enemies" and "Exactly What You Wanted" which was fine by me. Page was still using his trusty old ESP that you can see in the classic "Unsung" video. His amp setup consisted of two VHT pitbulls. It was interesting that when Page was singing and not playing guitar the venue volume lowered a few hundred decibels. Show highlights included "Ironhead", "In the Meantime", "Milquetoast","Tic", and pretty much every song he played!! He has a completely new band and had just finished a stint on the Warped tour as well as a mini opening stint for GNR. I managed to talk to Page prior to the show and he is a very cool guy. I forgot to ask him how many times he has played Guitar Hero as "Unsung" is featured on the video game though. I highly recommend you check out one of the upcoming Troubadour shows as you will not be let down.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at the El Rey Theatre

I made it to the El Rey Theatre just in time to greet Stephen Malkmus with a "What's going on?" as he walked in behind me to the venue. I had turned around expecting to see my friend but saw Stephen instead and was caught way off guard. What do you say to the man who has written so many classic songs that were the soundtrack to my college years? I made my way thru the crowd and started to have flashbacks of the Knife show as the temperature in the El Rey was steadily climbing. Entrance was on the stage and rocking out. Entrance is an interesting group composed of Paz Lenchantin(A Perfect Circle, Zwan) on bass, Guy Blakeslee on a flipped over right handed Fender Mustang singing lead vocals, and Derek James on the skins. Their sound was a psychedlic '60s rock/folk vibe with sprinkles of fuzz. You could not help but think about comparisions with Jimi Hendrix due to the sound and the lefty guitar. He did have some technical problems as his high E guitar string broke and he asked the crowd if they had a spare. Paz and Derek played a bass and drum groove in the meantime. After seeing a two hour set from My Morning Jacket, I was expecting an hour and a half set from Stephen Malkmus at the most. I was wrong as the band played for 2 hours! I did enjoy his last album Face The Truth but I still think his first solo album was more accessible as well as Pig Lib. With the addition of Janet Weiss(Sleater Kinney/Quasi) on drums, the new songs were amazing!! One song featured Stephen rocking the bass with good proficiency! Some the highlights included "Jo-Jo's Jacket","Vanessa from Queens","Animal Midnight", "Dark Wave" and "Pencil Rot". One of the new songs "Saga" was the closest sounding Pavement type song that I heard since the disbandment of Pavement. Steven Malkmus was switching between a sweet goldtop Gibson with P-90 Soapbar pickups and a Fender Jazzmaster. His amp setup involved an Orange head with cab and a Matchless amp for clean tones. This show was so good I decided to brave the traffic on Friday after work to see him at the Glass House. If you have any love for the genius of Steven Malkmus, you will be there on Friday. You will be a bigger believer after you hear the new stuff!

My Morning Jacket at the House Of Blues in Anaheim

Due to my involvement with Tiger Woods Golf on XBOX 360, I was unable to catch Elvis Perkins open the show. But I am sure glad I got to see Jim James and crew rock the House of Blues! The House of Blues was packed to the gills by the time they came on and they proceeded to play a blistering two hour set. I had heard they dazzled a lot of people at Coachella and my friend was saying I would probably enjoy their set. Jim James(Lead Singer/Guitarist) has to be the coolest guy to wear Uggs. He makes up for wearing Uggs with 2 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifiers and a sweet Gibson flying V with a mirrored pickguard. Throughout the night Jim was busting out the capo all over his fretboard which is something you don't see that often. The keyboardist Bo Koster did an excellent job adding spacy layers and soft keys throughout the night. It was not overpowering but added an excellent layer to the already strong songs. I have all of My Morning Jacket's CD's but I strongly recommend you check out their live DVD Okonokos to get the real experience. The House of Blues is also known for it strict no camera policy but I managed to sneak a few photos in. It was a shame because the lights were setup nicely and the band was rocking out all night. I also would have gotten more pictures of the stage setup which involved a forest background and a small stuffed bear rocking a poncho! After the encore, the guitar tech put his blinking Mickey Mouse Fantasia hat on the bear which was hiliarious. It was funny to actually see smoke clouds in the House of Blues and to see the security guards jump on top of the bars and shine their flashlights of people to signal their staff to kick people out. Even after the encore, people stayed in their spots hoping the band would come back out again until the curtain finally closed. They played the Wiltern the next night and debated about going again but realized that Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks would put on an equally impressive show.

NOFX, Strike Anywhere, Love Equals Death, Dead to Me at the House of Blues Anaheim

Remember when you listened to KROQ back in the day that all they used to play was the Offspring. Well, I hear that still is the case but times have changed slightly and emo now dominates the airwaves on KROQ. It has been awhile since I have attended a punk rock show. I used to be a regular punker back in the nineties. NOFX was the band I probably saw the most after Strung Out. They always put on a great show that is entertaining and funny. NOFX has been in the punk rock game for twenty plus years now and have not changed since I saw them back in the day. Fat Mike is actually a lot skinnier now and El Hefe still busts out the trumpet. Dead To Me was up first and played a standard punk rock set with the obligatory insults/taunts for the audience members. The bass player was sporting a cool Run DMC shirt and sharing the vocal duties with the rhythm guitarist. They reminded me a tiny bit of Down By Law in terms of melody which is a huge compliment since Down By Law rules. Love Equals Death was up next and brought a ton of energy with them to the stage. They fought hard to get the crowd involved and the bassist even jumped down into the pit and moshed with everyone. The guitarist even busted out a few solos which you rarely see at a punk rock show. One guitar solo involved two handed tapping on the fretboard Eddie Van Halen style! They reminded me a bit of early AFI in terms of their anthemic songs and vocal style. Strike Anywhere came with the similar if not greater energy to the stage and had faster songs to go with it. "Hollywood Cemetary" was a standout track and both guitarists did a good job power chording their way through the set. Mosh activity in the pit was very high throughout their whole set. All three bands will be stopping by the Chain Reaction in Anaheim on January 7th so if want to get your punk rock on... stop by. NOFX came on and then abruptly stopped when someone spit on Fat Mike. It is a shame not everyone knows their concert etiquette. Spitting is not allowed at concerts. If it was Axl Rose on stage, the show would have ended. They regrouped and went into the epic "The Decline" for about 10 plus minutes. Then the hits came with "Bob" , "Linoleum", "The Brews", "Franco-Unamerican", "Don't Call Me White", "Eat The Meek", "Murder The Government", and "Bottles To The Ground". I heard El Hefe say that "Pharmacist's Daughter" was next but Fat Mike said that the song was too dificult to play and they switched to something else. I was depressed because this is the 2nd best song about Pharmacists after Hot Rod Circuit's "The Pharmacist". Another highlight was Greg Hetson from Bad Religion came out and jammed with NOFX covering "We're Only Going to Die". Fat Mike was thumping his Danelectro Bass and Eric was wailing on his ESP Les Paul cut guitar, while El Hefe was still sporting the Telecaster. Pictured above are a few of the shirts that NOFX had for sale. I particulary enjoyed the yellow baseball '80s shirt that reminded me that El Hefe was one of the kids in the Bad News Bears movie. Overall, a good show that reminded me of the Warped Tour days and that I should catch some more punk shows.

Autolux, Dead Meadow, Bloodcatlove at Little Radio

Lots of options for the ringing in the New Year but I made the right choice. I caught some flack for originally suggesting the Killers at Paramount studios backlot, but at $150... most friends scoffed. Little Radio came along and advertised Autolux, Dead Meadow, and Bloodcatlove for the riduculously low price of $20.00.... and an open bar!! Seeing that I had to work the next day, I offered my services as the designated driver and trucked a load of friends out to a stellar New Year's bash. I haven't made it to any Little Radio events before as I have had show conflicts in the past. Little Radio is a great warehouse in Los Angeles that runs an indie rock blogzine that happens to distribute electric cars as well. People were ready to party as the bar line was 10 deep early in the night and got worse as the night progressed. Dead Meadow opened up the festivities and played a smoking psychedelic fuzzed out set. They happen to rock the Orange Amps and Rickenbacker Bass like Wolfmother... so you get an idea of what they sound like. The drummer was summoning John Bonham with his seemingly larger than life drum kit and his thunderous beats. I was disappointed I missed them at the Troubadour a few weeks back as I was in San Diego for the FM 94.9 show. Autolux was up next and rang in the New Year with a loud sonic boom. I have seen Autolux multiple times when they opened for Nine Inch Nails on the With Teeth tour and was impressed. It seems like everyone likes Autolux because I have read that Maynard from Tool, Trent from Nine Inch Nails, and Brandon from Incubus hyping the Autolux machine. Greg from Autolux had an amazing guitar setup. He was running a VHT amp along with a Fender amp and a bevy of pedals that included some Moog effects, Line 6 Modulation, and a Digitech Whammy Pedal. He had 3 volume pedals that he was tap dancing on throughout the set. Some of the stand out songs in the set included, "Capital Kind of Strain", and "Plantlife". It is safe to say they have one of the more anticipated albums of 2007. I foresee a high billing for them at Coachella. Unfortunately my friends alcohol levels were increasing so I departed before Bloodcatlove. They are playing the residency at Boardner's every Wednesday this month so I hope to make it to a show. Check out more photos from the party at Littleradio.com as taken by my friend Timothy Norris. So begins the 2007 chapter of Amateur Chemist on a really good note.