Them Crooked Vultures at the Wiltern Theatre

As 2009 winds down and "Best of" lists start to appear across the internet, Them Crooked Vultures should be perched high upon those lists. If you could enter the equation of John Paul Jones + Josh Homme + Dave Grohl into a calculator, the calculator would and should explode. This combination exploded in real life on stage at the Wiltern, as they celebrated the release of their magnificent eponymous debut album.

Mini Mansions




I didn't hear who was opening the West coast dates for Them Crooked Vultures but quickly surmised it would be Mini Mansions since they opened up the East Coast dates. I previously saw Mini Mansions twice when they opened for Autolux at the Detroit Bar and enjoyed their '70s flavored psychedelic pop.

I was busy shooting the first three songs but did enjoy "Majik Marker". As a reminder, it is Michael Shuman from Queens of the Stone Age playing drums, guitars and vocals. Tyler Parkford shares the vocal duties while laying down the haunting piano chords while Zach Dawes switches between drums and bass. They have an 8 song EP that you can get here.

Them Crooked Vultures



The cheers from the capacity crowd at the Wiltern were deafening when the members of Them Crooked Vultures emerged from the shadows. The sonic boom you may have heard last night was the introduction to the sludgy "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I".

It was hard not to take my eyes of John Paul Jones who was playing a custom bizarre bass made by Manson basses. I recognized the contraption since it has a Korg Kaoss Pad installed in the body just like Matt Bellamy from Muse. John was creating some out of this world alien screams with the help of a slide.

"Dead End Friends" could have been a lost "A-side" from the Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for The Deaf with its boozy start and stop swagger. Speaking of booze, "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" sounded like a full on bar room brawl with thunderous drumming courtesy of Dave Grohl. One must really see Dave drum live in order to fully appreciate how hard he slams his drums. I am surprised the drum kit was still standing at the conclusion of their set.




The howling metallic guitar screams of "Scumbag Blues" punctuated the marching drum beat and stomping bass line. I have attended many shows at the Wiltern and this by far was the loudest. "Elephants" starts a little bluesy but quickly devolves into a runaway freight train before the brakes are applied for a groovy coasting pace.

While formal introductions didn't necessarily need to be made, Josh introduced the band. It was appropriate that John Paul Jones got the loudest ovation with Josh quipping "He's my favorite too". Dave Grohl demonstrated his drum mastery again with the walloping intro of "New Fang".

I was surprised to see Josh play a Fender Telecaster during some of the songs as he did for "Reptiles" as Dave Grohl assisted on background vocals. "Gunman" just plain rips with its memorable face melting riff and hi-hat crush. I could easily take a full album of "Gunman" type songs.




John Paul Jones took a turn on the organ for "Caligulove" while Josh and Alain Johannes attacked your eardrums with their massive guitar riffs. Josh's vocals were soaked in delay and reverb for the hallucinogenic "Spinning with Daffodils". The encore seemed took on an extended jam session vibe as they deconstructed "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up". At the conclusion of their set, I know Them Crooked Vultures will be placed high on my year end lists of memorable concerts.

Them Crooked Vultures Setlist at the Wiltern (11/17/09)
"No One Loves Me & Neither Do I"
"Dead End Friends"
"Mind Eraser, No Chaser"
"Scumbag Blues"
"Elephants"
"Highway One"
"New Fang"
"Reptiles"
"Gunman"
"Bandoliers"
"Interlude with Ludes"
"Caligulove"
"Spinning in Daffodils"
"Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Wake Up"

Ticket Giveaway for The Fiery Furnaces at the El Rey Theatre

Peter, Bjorn & John also playing Club Nokia this Saturday.

This upcoming Saturday is jam packed with options. I don't know which show to choose.

Options include:
Friendly Fires/The xx at the Henry Fonda Theater (Will The xx live up to the hype?)
Peter, Bjorn and John at Club Nokia. (PB&J always put on a good show)
Pablove Benefit at the Avalon (BRMC, Band of Horses, Tom Morello, Sea Wolf)
Thanksgiving Jam at the Detroit Bar (Walter Schreifels of Quicksand!, HR of Bad Brains)

I will add to your dilemma by offering a pair of tickets to Fiery Furnaces who are playing with Cryptacize and Dent May at the El Rey. You can also retweet my post on Twitter for an extra entry. Contest closed. Thanks to all who entered.

The Cribs at the Roxy Theatre

Check out my photos of The Cribs with Johnny Marr at the Roxy Theatre over on Stereogum.

The Raveonettes at the Henry Fonda Theatre

Check out my photos of The Raveonettes and Crocodiles at the Henry Fonda Theatre over at Stereogum.

Slipknot at the Hollywood Palladium

It would have been divine intervention to make this my 666th post but unfortunately, Slipknot barely missed the mark. The nine man outfit of Slipknot destroyed when I saw them at the Key Club many years ago prior to their slot on Ozzfest,which propelled them to top of the Heavy Metal chain. I previously caught the madness of Slipknot in March at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario.

Vision of Disorder





It is really difficult to open for Slipknot. I don't care how fast or how hard you play. The biggest cheers you are going to get is by saying "Are you ready for Slipknot?" and "We have one more song left". Vision of Disorder definitely tried their best with metallic brand of New York hardcore. I don't remember seeing these guys back in the mid-nineties but apparently they had a decent sized cult following.

Slipknot







A 3 song limit to photograph a band with 9 members just isn't fair. So much chaos is unfolding on the stage that it is difficult not to get some sort of crazy Slipknot shot. Slipknot doesn't pull an punches by opening with some older material to get the crowd going by gouging out "Eyeless" and the bruising riffs of "Wait and Bleed".

Slipknot dives into thrash punk territory with the brutally repetitive "Get This" with the Clown jumping off his drum riser and making his way through the crowd to incite some more chaos. "Before I Forget" was another unrelenting attack on the senses as Jim Root (Guitars) was crushing riff after riff on his custom artist signature Fender Telecaster. Mick Thompson was keeping up the accelerated riffing pace with his own custom artist signature Ibanez guitar.

Slipknot would finally visit their new material by uncorking the odorous "Sulfur" from their latest album All Hope is Gone. The new material kept coming with "Dead Memories" which somehow reminded me of old Metallica. A return to thrash occurred with the raucous "Psychosocial". The main set came to a crushing end with "Duality and "People=Shit".

A churning rendition of "Snuff" kicked off their encore. "Spit It Out" had the tried and true request for all members of the crowd to sit down on the ground and jump up simultaneously on Corey's vocal cue. I have seen this throughout out the years and admit it looks cool from the sidelines but I think they would have let this go by now.

One other notable event was that long time Heavy Metal concert photographer Neil Zlozower was shooting the show in the photo pit and Shawn Crahan took the camera from him and snapped some pictures of Neil which was pretty hilarious. I don't think I would have given my camera to any member of Slipknot, so I commend Neil on his bravery.

Slipknot setlist at the Hollywood Palladium (10/29/09)
"(Sic)"
"Eyeless"
"Wait and Bleed"
"Get This"
"Before I Forget"
"Sulfur"
"The Blister Exists"
"Dead Memories"
"Disasterpiece"
"Vermillion"
"Psychosocial"
"Duality"
"People=Shit"
"Snuff"
"Surfacing"
"Spit It Out"

Ticket Giveaway for The Big Pink, Crystal Antlers and IO Echo at the El Rey Theatre

Crystal Antlers

IO Echo

It is time to reward my loyal readers with a special ticket giveaway for the upcoming The Big Pink, Crystal Antlers and IO Echo show at the El Rey on Wednesday November 18th.

One of my favorite albums from this year is The Big Pink's A Brief History of Love. Frosty synthesizers with chilled guitars perfectly melt with Robbie Furze's vocals. While most folks are praising the ultra catchy "Dominoes" and the moody "Velvet", I would like to direct your attention to "At War With The Sun" and "Golden Pendulum".

The Big Pink are currently finishing up a batch of dates over in the UK, opening for Muse. To make things even more enticing, the bill also has beloved Long Beach heroes Crystal Antlers and fresh from opening the final Nine Inch Nails show, IO Echo.

The contest is closed. Thanks to all who entered.

The Raveonettes at the Detroit Bar

Check out my review of The Raveonettes at the Detroit Bar on OC Weekly.

Backwards Clock Society at the Echoplex

Check out my photos of Backwards Clock Society with Billy Corgan at the Echoplex over on Stereogum.

Check out the archives for prior Billy Corgan endeavors.

Mum at the Yost Theatre

Check out my review of Mum at the Yost Theatre over at OC Weekly.

Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre

Check out my photos of Julian Casablancas at the Downtown Palace Theatre on Stereogum.

Pixies Night 2 at the Hollywood Palladium

Check out my photos of the second night of Pixies at the Hollywood Palladium on OC Weekly.

Pixies at the Hollywood Palladium

Check out my photos of Pixies at the Hollywood Palladium over at Stereogum.

Devo at the Henry Fonda Theater

Check out my photos of Devo at the Henry Fonda Theater over at Stereogum.

Vampire Weekend at the Art Theatre in Long Beach

Check out my review of Vampire Weekend over at OC Weekly. The photos are up on Stereogum.

Rob Zombie at the Grove of Anaheim

Check out my review of Rob Zombie at the Grove of Anaheim on OC Weekly. My photo slideshow is also on OC Weekly.

Dirty Projectors at the Jensen Rec Center

Check out my photos of Dirty Projectors at the Jensen Rec Center over at Stereogum.

Motorhead at Club Nokia

It was a night full of rock and surprises at Club Nokia. Heavy Metal legends Motorhead topped a stacked bill with support from Chelsea Girls, Nashville Pussy, Reverend Horton Heat and a surprise appearance from Tenacious D.

Motorhead is touring in support of their latest effort Motorizer. It was a night that I wished I brought my flight deck headphones instead of earplugs as they couldn't handle the deafening sound of a full volume Motorhead show.

Chelsea Girls






Chelsea Girls got the riffs that kill and the looks to match. Super groups seem to be the popping up everywhere these days but the Chelsea Girls put a special twist on the notion as an all female Heavy Metal cover band.

The culprits of this Motley Crue include the statuesque Corey Parks on bass, powerhouse drumming of Samantha Maloney, the flashy guitar fretwork of Allison Robertson and the siren vocals of Tuesdae. Their unabashed love for metal and rock was evident as they kicked things of with "Dirty Deeds".

Winning over a Motorhead audience is no easy task but the Chelsea girls were up to the challenge by instigating the headbanging with their version of Danzig's "Mother". One can never go wrong by covering the classic "Holy Diver" by Dio replete with metal horns held high in the air by the crowd.

The highlight of their set was Allison slaying on Metallica's "Master Of Puppets". Samantha Maloney channeled Tommy Lee for the drum fills of "Live Wire" to conclude their set. I might have to check out their set again when they visit the Roxy on 11/21 and 12/19.

Nashville Pussy





Nashville Pussy brought their southern fried metal to the masses with the twin Gibson guitar attack of Blaine Cartwright (Vocals/Guitars) and Ruyter Sighs (Guitars). They recently released From Hell to Texas but I was unfamiliar with most of the songs they played.

Reverend Horton Heat






Reverend Horton Heat rules. The fact he has his own Gretsch Guitar should provide enough evidence. Laughin' and Cryin' with The Reverend Horton Heat came out this past September and is chock full of blazing guitar runs and foot stomping ditties.

Reverend went through some of his older material on this night such as "Now Right Now" and "I'm Mad" along with a few cuts from the new album like "Drinkin' and Smokin' Cigarettes" and "Ain't No Saguaro in Texas".

If you aren't converted by the Reverend's fanatical guitar playing, then Jimbo Wallace (Bass) will tame you with his slap happy upright bass playing. Reverend Horton Heat relentlessly tour and you should at least see them live once in your lifetime, especially if you play guitar.

Tenacious D





A mysteriously buff roadie roamed the stage prior to Motorhead. Upon closer examination, it was Jack Black in his Brutal Legend outfit. Kyle Gass (Guitar/Vocals) emerged from the sidelines with an acoustic guitar as they pulled off the humorously charged song about life as a "Roadie". I regret not catching their full set at Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco earlier this year.

Motorhead






Motorhead takes no prisoners. Motorhead makes most of their living by relentlessly touring and winning over fans in each city they destroy. I spotted teenagers and little kids in the crowd being escorted by their parents so that they could experience a true Heavy Metal show.

Lemmy Kilmister (Bass/Vocals) is a living legend and is Heavy Metal's answer to Keith Richards. Armed with his iconic Rickenbacker bass, Lemmy thrashed and clawed his way through a eighteen song set. Motorhead doesn't need to release any more albums since they have already cemented a place in Heavy Metal history but recently offered up the album Motorizer.

My ears screamed in pain as Motorhead tore into "Iron Fist". I quickly reminded that I previously lost a little bit of my hearing when I caught Motorhead at the House of Blues Anaheim in September 2008. The Club Nokia show featured a similar setlist as the House of Blues Anaheim right down to the crushing encores of "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill". When people ask me, "How was Motorhead?". I often reply, "What did you say?".