Bad Religion at the House of Blues Anaheim

Bad Religion continue to slay on a nightly basis at various House of Blues locations during their informal residency spanning the months of March and April. Bad Religion is celebrating their thirty year anniversary in which I caught their first show at the House of Blues Anaheim for OC Weekly. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to check in with them one more time.

The Darlings





The Darlings by the way of Redondo Beach dispatched their brand of back alley knife fight punk to warm up the crowd. Buddy Harris (Vocals,Guitars) looked eerily like a young Mike Ness with his suspenders and slicked back hair while rocking out on his Gibson Les Paul.

Running through an assortment of songs from their self-titled debut EP, The Darlings really stirred up the crowd with their Operation Ivy cover "The Crowd". One of their tracks "What Lies Below" has been featured on the Anaheim Ducks telecast which has to be some good exposure for the band.

Jughead's Revenge





Since it was April Fool's, I thought the billing of Jughead's Revenge was a joke. I remember seeing them in a legion hall in Northern California opening up for Face to Face almost ten years ago. While I thought they broke up, it turns out they have reunited to play occasional shows.

They knew the audience wasn't too familiar with their work but were very grateful to thank Bad Religion for giving them one of their first gigs nearly ten years ago. The only song I vaguely recognized was "Domino" from their Just Joined album. It get crazier in that you can download for free their whole catalog off their website. You can't beat free these days.

Bad Religion






It is difficult not to get excited when you see full three pages of setlist being taped to the ground by a Bad Religion roadie. One thing I did immediately notice was that a microphone stand and Brett Gurewitz's Diezel amplifier setup were both missing. Apparently, Brett is sitting out some of the shows to helm the mastering of the live recordings of the earlier shows.

The extra stage space seemed to expand the range of Greg Graffin's feverish pacing and clear the runway for Greg Hetson's multiple guitar jumps. The setlist started identical with the triple pronged attack of "Do What You Want", "Sinister Rouge" and "American Jesus" but quickly deviated when they dialed back the clock for "Atomic Garden" which immediately vindicated my reasons for attending more than one show.

Bad Religion did revisit the same trio of "Leave Mine To Me", "Germs of Perfection" and "Them & Us" but then went off the chart for a collage of different songs. Since I interviewed Brian Baker for my collage radio station during the The Grey Race tour, I have a soft spot for the album and was excited to hear "Come Join Us".

"Suffer","Recipe For Hate" and "No Control" were phenomenal and while I missed the extra guitars of Gurewitz, it seemed that Hetson and Baker stepped up their game and volume. Graffin hilariously went into one of his diatribes about how the old days weren't really that good which had Jay Bentley cracking up. It was clear Bad Religion still are having fun on stage and the multiple sold out nights confirm the fans are having fun as well.

"Dearly Beloved", "Atheist Peace", "Only Gonna Die" kept the fans swirling in the pit and coming over the front rail. The new song they debuted at the other show "Resist-Stance" rocked as hard as I remembered and will likely be in heavy rotation on KROQ when it is officially released. KROQ staples "Infected", "Sorrow" and "Los Angeles Is Burning" capped their thirty song set which magically coincides with their thirty years of existence. You have one more chance to catch them with The Vandals at the House of Blues Anaheim on 4/15.

Megadeth at the Hollywood Palladium

A massively packed and sold out Hollywood Palladium set the stage for a grand celebration of the 20th anniversary of Megadeth's seminal album Rust in Peace. In case you missed it, the video cameras were rolling to capture the chaos on and off the stage.

Exodus






San Francisco thrash titans Exodus inflicted punishment often and early. Megadeth fans are known to be extremely fervent but Exodus satiated their blood thirst with lightening fast guitars and a pounding bass drum assault. The underlying theme of the evening was important albums in their respective catalogs.

Exodus naturally tackled their 1984 classic debut album Bonded in Blood. It was impressive to see the number of crowd surfers and moshing during an opening band's set. Rob Dukes (vocals) even managed to coordinate a "wall of death" by dividing the crowd in half and had them charge into each other at his cue. Definitely one of the more impressive sets for an opening band this year.

Testament






Continuing the biblical band name theme, Testament easily picked up where Exodus left off. Chuck Billy is literally and figuratively a beast on vocals with his towering presence and furious air guitar riffs on his microphone stand. I was slightly disappointed that original shredding guitarist Alex Skolnick was unavailable to tour with the band, but Glen Drover suitably filled in on guitars.

Testament was rifling through their classic debut album The Legacy. One of the highlights of their set was watching former Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph bash on his double bass drum kit. Eric Peterson was throwing up the devil horns when he wasn't throwing down some sick lead guitars on his signature custom Dean Old Skull V that sounded as demonic as it looked. The crowd devoured their set and still was hungry for more.

Megadeth






Before the days of listening to bands on Myspace or on the radio, my brother and I used to purchase albums on the basis of album covers. If it looked cool and evil, it met the requirements and was purchased. Killing Is My Business...and Business is Good! met the above requirements and found its way into our cassette decks for many months.

We followed Megadeth for a number of years purchasing both Peace Sells..But Who's Buying? and So Far,So Good...So What! on vinyl. The watershed moment in Megadeth's career was the release of Rust in Peace. When I caught Megadeth at the Long Beach arena during Gigantour in 2008, I stated that Holy Wars..The Punishment Due was one of the top five metal riffs ever.

Even more enticing than the prospect of Megadeth playing the entire Rust in Peace album was that original bassist Dave Ellefson had ended his bitter feud with lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine and returned to the lineup. "Skin O' My Teeth" immediately reignited the circle pits as Megadeth set the place on fire.

Since the performance was being the filmed, the stage lighting was magnificent and would frequently change colors while being synchronized with the driving beats. The only downside was that the thirty other photographers in pit would probably agree the high quality of light. The stop and start riffing of "In My Darkest Hour" was circa 1988 and seeing both Mustaine and Ellefson on stage rocking out together like the old days brought forth a wave of nostalgia.

The veritable highlight of the set was the back to back beatdown of "Holy Wars..The Punishment Due" and "Hangar 18" as the band dived head first into Rust In Peace. It seemed like only seconds had passed when they finished up the closing track "Rust In Peace...Polaris". Megadeth revisited their latest album, Endgame by working through "The Right To Go Insane", and "Headcrusher".

While I was holding out that they would play "Wake Up Dead", "Symphony of Destruction", "Peace Sells" and a reprise of "Holy Wars" closed out their main set. I would have probably picked up this DVD if I didn't photograph and attend the show, but I anxiously await its release date and will let you know when it hits the streets.

The Morning Benders at the Detroit Bar

It is hard to believe that I have managed to catch The Morning Benders almost twelve times dating back to November 2007. The amount of musical growth from each gig attended was impressive. When I last saw them in January 2009 at the Detroit Bar, they had completely retooled all their songs from their superb debut album Talking Through Tin Cans.

When I interviewed lead singer and guitarist Chris Chu in May of 2008, Chris mentioned he wasn't interested in making the same album twice. This becomes very apparent with the release of their stellar sophomore album Big Echo. The packed Detroit Bar was evidence that other folks were interested in checking out their new tunes.

Miniature Tigers




Miniature Tigers had some major support at this show as it seems all their parents made it up to the front row to cheer for their respective children. Unveiling a handful of songs from their upcoming album, Miniature tigers worked through a ten song set infused with bits of different musical genres.

"Gold Skull" had lead singer Charlie Brand jump into the crowd for an informal dance party. I also gave Miniature Tigers points for switching up musical assignments as Algernon Quashie and Rick Schaier were trading back and forth between drums and guitars. My attempts to snap a picture of the setlist was thwarted due to the fact it was on Brand's cell phone. Gotta love technology.

Morning Benders





The line up for the The Morning Benders has evolved once more as Chris Chu is now joined by his brother Jon on guitar. The dense ghostly reverb of "Stitches" slowly built via the combined guitar powers of Chris and Jon. Chris was using a Hofner hollowbody guitar and passed along his Fender Telecaster to his brother.

The howls from crowd after the first song seemed to genuinely surprise Chris as the Detroit Bar wasn't nearly as full and vocal when they played less than a year ago. Ambient noises gave way to the percussive chugging chords of "Promises" with wavering vocals by Chris. The crowd even sang along to "la-da-da-da" vocal hook as Julian Harmon quietly tapped on his drums.

I was extremely envious of Tim Or's black Rickenbacker bass that sounded as beautiful as it looked. Rick Schaier from Miniature Tigers assisted the Morning Benders by adding some keyboards to round out their mix. "Cold War" seemed to warm up the crowd with its dance inspiring guitar chords and the sticky sweet vocal coos.

The hard driving bass line and thumping drums of "Hand Me Downs" were the main ingredients of song vividly colored by dispatches of reverb delayed guitars. Lighters and cell phones illuminated the Detroit Bar during "Mason Jar" as Schaier even got into the act with a lighter of his own while playing the keyboards. "All Day Day Light" shone exceptionally bright with its foot tapping beat and hollow reverb guitars.

The last sing along of the night was the best, as "Excuses" inspired the usually stoic Detroit Bar crowd to join Chris's harmonious vocal parts. It was not too surprising that they avoided their older material but it was impressive that they covered most of their new album. I will catch them again when they open for Broken Bells in a few months.

Radar Brothers at Spaceland

Radar Brothers celebrated the release of their latest album The Illustrated Garden on Merge Records with a release party at Spaceland. While Pitchfork usually lambasts most Los Angeles bands, they finally got it right designating the album with a score of 7.0.







Spaceland had filled in nicely by the time the Radar Brothers took the stage close to 11pm. The soft patter of drums by Stevie Treichel lead into the launch of "Dear Headlights". Jim Putnam delicately strummed his Ibanez guitar while adding his sun soaked vocals.

The Radar Brothers have expanded from a three piece to include Dan Iead on guitars (formerly of The Broken West) and Brian Cleary on keyboards (formerly of the Movies) which nicely expands their overall sound. Cleary added some extra keyboard pop to the beginning of "Quarry" as Putnam and Iead added woozy guitars.

Be Hussey consistently anchored the bass all night while adding extra harmonies to various songs. The '60s easy going vibe of "Horses Warriors" is aurally intoxicating with such nuances as a little cowbell to keep the track stuck in your head. "Chickens" shined with its sing along harmonies and ringing guitars.

Sonic similarities between older slow Pavement songs ran across my mind during "And The Birds". I think it could be due to the tones and jangle of the guitars. "Rainbow" is the uptempo number on the album with its galloping beat and bubbly keyboards coming to the surface of the song.

The Radar Brothers did dip into their extensive back catalog tackling such tracks as "Shifty Lies", "On the Line" and "Rock Of The Lake" before closing the evening with a knockout version of my favorite track off the album "Xmas Lights". For those not going to Coachella, catch the Radar Brothers at the Echo Curio on Saturday April 17th. They also will be playing the Walking Sleep residency at the Echo on Monday April 26th. I hope to see everyone there.

Metric at the Hollywood Palladium

Metric continue to tirelessly tour behind their excellent release Fantasies making a fourth stop in Los Angeles after selling out the Wiltern, opening for Phoenix at the Greek Theater, and a quick appearance at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. Even though they are originally from Toronto, it felt like a homecoming appearance as they filled the Hollywood Palladium with adoring fans.

Nico Vega





Engaging the crowd early were Nico Vega who riled the audience up with their sultry three piece rock assault. Aja Volkman hit the stage like the Tasmanian devil with whirling animated movements while handling vocal duties. Rich Koehler was extremely busy on his guitar, expanding the sounds in order to fill the lack of space due to the absence of a bass player.

"So So Fresh" and "Gravity" were some of the dynamic songs in their set which featured Aja precariously walking along the front row rail. While Nico Vega didn't have much time on stage, they definitely made the most of it. It would be more interesting to see them in a small club with their own fanbase.

Codeine Velvet Club





Anyone remember the Fratellis? Codeine Velvet Club is the latest project that involves lead singer and guitarist Jon Lawler who also fronts The Fratellis. Lawler joined forces with the silky vocals of Lou Hickey to form a '60s James Bond stylized rock troupe.

I was unfamiliar with their songs but did enjoy their cover of Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter". They lamented that they had to return to the frozen temperatures of Scotland but thanked the crowd for attentively listening. Their self-titled debut album came out in December of 2009 on Island records.

Metric






Wobbly stabs of theremin by guitarist James Shaw signaled the start of "Twilight Galaxy" as Emily Haines was stationed behind her Sequential circuits Pro-One keyboard hammering out the bass synth line. Metric have long perfected their live shows in that they breathe even more life into their songs led by the firecracker that is Emily Haines.

While she commands a lot of attention, Metric is definitely a band that functions as a solid unit. If Haines grabs her cordless microphone to work the front of the stage, Shaw or bassist Josh Winstead will fill in on keyboards while drummer Joules Scott-Key holds down the beat. The slashing guitars and urgent bass line of "Satellite Mind" nicely contrasted with Haines sugary sweet longing vocals.

Haines literally came up to the front of the stage during "Front Row" emphatically waving her arms and dancing along. The hollow electronic percussion slowly built up to the swelling anthemic chorus of "Help I'm Alive" with Haines thumping her fist over her heart singing "beating like a hammer". "Empty", "Collect Call" and "Gold Guns Girls" kept the energy level at maximum which nearly overloaded during "Gimme Sympathy".

It is hard not to think that they are reaching for playing larger venues with such anthems like "Stadium Love" which effectively closed out their main set. "Monster Hospital" and a surprising acoustic crowd sing along rendition of "Combat Baby" capped their two song encore. Metric is currently finishing up a tour of Canada before doing some more dates across the United States and wrapping up their tour in Europe.