Nine Inch Nails at the Oracle Arena

My vacation to Oklahoma, Houston and Dallas still had me buzzing for more Nine Inch Nails shows. I was sad that A Place To Bury Strangers weren't opening the California dates but was intrigued to see what Deerhunter had to offer.

Deerhunter had a trio of guitars that droned as they worked through a selection of tunes from Microcastle. Bradford Cox (Vocals/Guitars) was torturing his Fender Jazzmaster against the propelling bass notes of Josh Fauver. Whitney Petty (Guitars) had a Gibson hollowbody to add to the layers of guitar wash. I didn't catch any specific song titles but was interested in seeing them again at the Forum.



I think there is a correlation to Trent Reznor's anger and good Nine Inch Nails shows. Trent seemed to be extra edgy on this particular night throwing microphone stands and keyboards at the LCD screens. One could tell early on that this night was going to be fiery.



I also spotted the legendary Don Buchla roaming on the floor which quickly explained why a sweet Buchla 200e system was situated in Alessandro Cortini's keyboard rig. I didn't hear too much of the Buchla in the set except for "Letting You" which had some demonic filters running through the song.



"Vessel" and "The Warning" were stunning with lights carefully coordinated to the acid laced drum beats. There were no particular setlist surprises in the show but "Head Like A Hole" was particularly violent on this night. I also should mention "Ghosts 31" has climbed the ranks as one of my favorite tracks from Ghosts I-IV. The closing of their set with "In This Twilight" is flawless and serves as the visual highlight of the night. If you look closely, you can spot a trio of lights that serves as the logo for the "Lights In The Sky" tour momentarily before it flashes into darkness. Their second leg of the tour is coming and apparently will be updated. I am thinking about hitting the Sacramento and Las Vegas shows with the option of maybe taking another "vacation".

Xu Xu Fang and The Human Value at Spaceland

Xu Xu Fang and The Human Value teamed up for Club NME night at Spaceland. It wasn't the first time seeing this dynamic team up of bands as they had previously played together at the Viper Room in June. A waft of fog quietly started to build as the members of Xu Xu Fang took the stage.

Xu Xu Fang





It is extremely easy to get lost in a Xu Xu Fang performance. Their magical combination of ethereal keyboards, droning guitars, hard-driving drums and rapturous vocals wraps around your ears just like the fog that slowly rolls across the stage. The Mourning Son is one of the top psychedelic releases this year that finishes with the epic "Terra Scura".

Barbara Cohen (Vocals) walked on to the stage as the band had already started to find its groove. Jenna (Keyboards) was surrounded by a few keyboard controllers dialing up various watery patches and swirling Rhodes keyboards. I took some pictures identifying some Z. Vex Fuzz Factory pedals and a Wah Probe. I also spotted a red Fuzz Face that I suspect was modified by Death By Audio due to the old school knobs on the fuzz and volume controls. Xu Xu Fang recently covered The Cure "Fascination Street" on the stellar tribute album Perfect As Cats with such artists as Bat for Lashes, Kaki King and Tara Busch from Analog Suicide.


The Human Value




The Human Value have yet to fail me in putting on an energetic live show. Turu (Vocals) started the evening triggering various glitches from a miniature Korg Kaossilator before tearing into "Pleasant Town". Hiram Fleites (Guitars) filled Spaceland with his split signal running into a Ampeg Bass Cab and Fender guitar amp. The Human Value will soon release their album Push And Pull in the states with a special vinyl release that includes a few bonus tracks.

"Pretty Mouth" continued the fierce storm of noise as Turu banged on her stand alone drum and would occasionally drop to the floor. Turu recently started up Pretty Mouth records to sign a slew of bands they discovered in their stint out in the UK. The Human Value even worked through "All These Years" which is one of the bonus tracks from their album. "I Don't Care" closed out the evening in raucous fashion with stage looking like a whirlwind had made its rounds. The Human Value will be at the Eagle Rock Music Festival on Oct 4th at the Kingsize Labs stage so make sure to check them out.

Motorhead at the House of Blues Anaheim

If you were to make a shortlist of iconic heavy metal icons, Lemmy from Motorhead would most definetely be included on the list. I still remember watching the video for "Ace of Spades" on the old eighties music video show Night Flight on the USA network and being completely blown away. Motorhead was joined by Valient Thorr and Year Long Disaster for a cross country tour put together by Volcom.

Year Long Disaster






I enjoyed Year Long Disaster when they opened for The Cult at the Grove of Anaheim. Daniel Davies (Guitars/Vocals) was windmilling his Gibson goldtop Les Paul as he led the band through their sludgy rock anthems. "Leda Atomica" rambles like a true rock n' roll song should with its rollicking riffs and steady beats. "Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu" was a hard driving late night bruising juggernaut with heavy palm muted guitar riffs. Daniel has come along way since I saw him open for Helmet at the Viper Room in January of 2007.

His stage presence is galvanizing as he moves through an assortment of guitar windmills and crouched over searing guitar solos. I wasn't surprised to see they recently opened up for the Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl was impressed by their live show. Year Long Disaster recently contributed "Running Free" to an Iron Maiden tribute album that demonstrates Daniel can hit the high octaves. I am awaiting the release of their sophomore album.

Valient Thorr






I quickly regretted missing prior Valient Thorr live shows after the first few minutes of their chaotic set. It was fast, frantic and frenzied fusion of punk and metal anthems. Valient Himself (Vocals) was whipping his hair around as he immediately jumped down into the pit to get the crowd more into the show. Valient Thorr recently released IMMORTALIZER which does its best in harnessing the lightning in a bottle energy of a Valient Thorr live show.

"No Holds Barred" lived up to its namesake as a mosh pit broke out at the House of Blues Anaheim. Eidan Thorr and Voiden Thorr mounted a double Gibson Les Paul assault on the crowd powered by their Marshall stacks. Valient Himself even ripped into an impromptu version of "The Heat Is On" by Glenn Frey to a quizzical crowd. I couldn't help but laugh and cheer them on. Valient Thorr continue to tour all four corners of the Earth as they stop by the Detroit Bar on October 26 with Tweakbird. I will be adding that show to my calender soon.

Motorhead





Motorhead is one of the classic heavy metal bands. I could have just heard "Ace of Spades" and been completely satisfied. Lemmy (Bass/Vocals) is the original king of the Rickenbacker bass and its earth shattering tones. The volume at Motorhead concerts has to be illegal. I overheard the stage manager mentioning the decibel level would top 135 and most rock concerts are 110. I would have used two sets of earplugs if I could.

Mikkey Dee (Drums) was perched high above the audience on his drum riser as he sent down deafening drum beats to the crowd. Phil Campbell (Guitars) fought hard to have his guitars turned up as loud as the bass and drums. Motorhead is supporting their new album Motorizer which is classic unwavering old school metal. "Rock Out" was reminiscent of the Probot song "Shake Your Blood" but retained that classic Motorhead sound. There wasn't a ton of guitar pedals or special effects. It was a tried and true heavy metal concert played expertly at maximum volume. I was disappointed that I didn't hear "Eat The Rich" but it was hard to complain after hearing "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill" back to back for an encore.

Nine Inch Nails at the Forum

Check out my review of Nine Inch Nails for the OC Weekly here. The pictorial slideshow is here.

Polvo at the Echoplex

It was ironic that Battles was blaring over the Echoplex soundsystem prior to the arrival of Polvo onstage. The resurgence of weird time signatures and alternate tunings was something Polvo touched on with some of their albums from the early 1990s. It was a no brainer to check them out with the solid line up of The Drones and Trans Am.

The Drones




The Drones hailing from Australia banged and clawed their way through a fiery guitar dominated set. Gareth Liddiard (Vocals/Guitars) reminded me of Adam Franklin from Swervedriver with his frequent tremolo arm abuse on his Fender Jaguar. Gareth recklessly strummed his guitar without a pick and would carefully finger pick some notes to vary his guitar tones. Gareth also got some points for bending the string behind the nut for a gigantic dive bombing sound during the set.

Havilah is the fourth offering from The Drones released by ATP recordings. The fragmented jangle of "The Minotaur" stopped and started methodically as the Drones had the volume on the amps dialed to 10. "Shark Fin Blues" unfolded like a short story augmented by more overdriven finger picked roaring guitars. Dan Luscombe (Guitars) broke his string early in the set but adeptly restrung his guitar in between the songs. The Drones will be heading across the states opening for Built To Spill and The Meat Puppets.


Trans Am




I am ashamed to admit I forgot who Trans Am were until I saw their gear being set up. I quickly remembered I saw them at the Nokia Theater with Tool in December of 2007. The Echoplex quickly filled up as the front barrier was heavily occupied. Trans Am methodically attacked the audience with slicing beats and haunting keyboard riffs from their Nord and Roland keyboards.

Sebastian Thomson (Drums) was rocking a Run DMC like gold chain while pummeling his drum kit. Philip Manley (Guitars/Bass/Keyboards) was the multi tasking all night switching between a Rickenbacker Bass, Gibson Les Paul and his Roland keyboard. Nathan Means (Bass/Keyboards) was dialing up some vocoder magic while eating a bag of Lays chips, as the band played some selections from their album Sex Change on Thrill Jockey records. They played mostly instrumental songs that touched on math metal and tortured synthesizer jams. It was better seeing them up close to feel the rapid fire bass drum beats and frantic guitar riffs. I also spotted The Movies on the side of the stage cheering them on.


Polvo






Polvo shouldn't need an introduction if you played guitar in the early nineties. Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina they tailored a distinct guitar sound with such musical contemporaries as Superchunk and Sonic Youth. While largely trying to eschew the tag of "math rock", their use of complex time signatures and use of dissonance would lead you to think otherwise.

Ash Bowie (Guitars/Vocals) strapped on Guild guitar and started to strategically noodle as he started in on a new tune "Mega". Ash had a small arsenal of guitar pedals at his disposal including a Boss Octave, MXR Distortion III and some intriguing Carl Martin pedals (Boost Kick/Heavy Drive). Dave Brylawski (Guitars) never put down his Fender thinline telecaster as he forged his own sonic territory throughout the evening.

"Enemy Insects" from Shapes had a loosened vibe compared to the mounting tension in the recorded version. Polvo really started to hit their stride by tackling "Feather of Forgiveness" with its push and pull dynamic. The members of Polvo were locked in frequently looking at each other for visual cues for time changes. Brian Quast (Drums) covered the flute portion of "Fast Canoe" as the band came back for an encore. "Tragic Carpet Ride" from Celebrate The New Dark Age capped their hour and twenty minute set. I don't think Ash or Dave played more than a handful of "normal" guitar chords. It reminded me that I should explore more alternate tunings and new chords.