Meshuggah at the House of Blues Las Vegas

It still seemed like a dream when I woke up the next morning after seeing Meshuggah at the Wiltern.
I was still sore from shooting a ton of pictures and being knocked around by an errant crowd surfer. In didn't take long to remember that I had hastily booked a flight and hotel for another dose of Meshuggah at the House of Blues Vegas, since it was their tour finale. The one thing my cancer has reaffirmed is that you need to enjoy life as much as possible.

Intronaut


Seeing Intronaut again solidified my appreciation for their technical madness. While they had home court advantage when they played the Wiltern, Intronaut had plenty of heavy artillery in their sonic assault to blast the audience to pieces. It is always interesting to see bands win over audiences and Intronaut successfully pulled it off. Intronaut's album Habitual Levitations comes out March 16 and I will be picking up a copy.

Animals As Leaders


The chants of Meshuggah immediately subsided when eight-string guitar wizards Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes started to chug on their custom Ibanez guitars. Animals As Leaders soon stirred up the mosh pit as they ripped through selections from their album, Weightless. While I've detailed in prior reviews how impressive it is to see Abasi and Reyes shred in tandem, it would be a mistake not to mention how drummer Matt Garstka is the bridge that unites them. Garstka's drumming is nothing short of phenomenal as he pounds out complex polyrhythms with ease. In retrospect, this tour could go down in the history books just like the Tool/Meshuggah shows back in 2001.

Meshuggah


Shooting Meshuggah at the Wiltern was challenging to say the least. Another bonus aspect of flying to Las Vegas to see Meshuggah is that I knew I could shoot in the photo pit and potentially could get much better shots. The stage at House of Blues Las Vegas is super high which turned out to be advantageous with the extreme back lighting. If I positioned myself properly and set my camera appropriately, I could get some decent shots.

While the energy from the crowd did not match Los Angeles, those in attendance were still amped up upon hearing the ear drum dusting trio of "Swarm", "Combustion" and "Transfixion". Understanding the technical precision of each Meshuggah song, I wasn't expecting a different setlist.

Luckily, my brother and I managed to procure a spot behind the soundboard and take in their visual and auditory bombast. Tosin from Animals As Leaders was a few spots from us playing air guitar throughout their set. "Do Not Look Down" and "I Am Colossus" rumbled with unbridled ferocity. I still feel their latest album Koloss didn't get the proper acknowledgment it deserved and hearing those songs live reconfirmed their power and my sentiment.

My neck would hurt after "Bleed" as you can't help but attempt to head bang along to the insane beat. While they omitted "New Millennium Cyanide Christ", "Straws Pulled At Random" and "Dancers To A Discordant System" still brought down the house. I can only hope Meshuggah come back sooner than their usual three year intervals. Also, check out Premiere Guitar's rig rundown with their awesome guitar technician Kent here!


Setlist:
01 Swarm
02 Combustion
03 Transfixion
04 obZen
05 Behind the Sun
06 Do Not Look Down
07 The Hurt That Finds You First
08 I Am Colossus
09 Mind's Mirrors
10 In Death - Is Life
11 In Death - Is Death
12 Shed
13 Bleed
14 Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion
15 Straws Pulled At Random
16 Dancers To A Discordant System

Last Shot: Helplessness Blues at a Fleet Foxes Concert

Check out my second Last Shot column about my battle with Stage IV colon cancer over at OC Weekly.

Meshuggah at the Wiltern

Brutal. Punishing. Unrelenting. Powerful. These are just some adjectives that come to mind when describing a Meshuggah show. I can remember listening to the first couple of notes of their 1998 masterpiece, Chaosphere, at a Tower Records listening station and immediately taking it to the counter for purchase. My next move was to call my brother and tell him I found the heaviest band on the planet. Because they are based in Sweden, I find it is always imperative to catch Meshuggah when they come to town.

Intronaut


Intronaut and Meshuggah can both boast that they have opened for Tool. Intronaut fall into a more sludgy doom instrumental type of metal, and their compositions went over well with the guitar-nerd audience. Intronaut are preparing to release their new album Habitual Levitations. Pick scrapes, squealing guitar harmonics, earth rumbling bass and an intense laser light show easily won over the crowd. Their set seemed to go by in minutes. I will definitely take a closer look at their new album.

Animals As Leaders


Animals As Leaders boggled my mind when I was fortunate enough to see them open for Thrice at the House of Blues Anaheim and the Observatory. When I talked to frontman Tosin Abasi at NAMM, I sensed his excitement about touring with Meshuggah as they are direct influences. It is no coincidence that they also play eight-string Ibanez guitars. While Meshuggah fans are known for their staunch loyalty, it only took a few ear ripping notes from Abasi and fellow guitarist Javier Reyes to win over the audience. The reaction by the crowd was borderline voracious as fists shot in the air and the mosh pit swelled. Animals As Leaders put on an exceptional show which had the members of the band all smiling, knowing they had amassed a large swath of fans.

Meshuggah


Meshuggah was easily the most difficult show I've ever had to photograph. Their lighting guy deserves an award for creating a blitzkrieg of a light show timed perfectly with the band's methodical, complex beats. The plethora of red lighting and backlit silhouettes were a nightmare to shoot, but helped create the perfect visual complement to their auditory ambush.

Immediately, I was jealous seeing that Frederik Thordendal had a brand new, custom hybrid of a Gibson Thunderbird and Explorer Ibanez eight-string guitar. Mårten Hagström was shredding on his custom Ibanez M8M guitar as the band pummeled the audience by opening with "Swarm." The crowd immediately went nuts. I was kicked from behind by a falling crowd surfer who jumped from the second tier onto the walkway ramp down to the pit where I was shooting.

The overall sound at the Wiltern was phenomenal. It was astounding to hear each instrument clearly in the mix. The agonizing thing about watching Meshuggah is that every member is a technical marvel on his instrument. My eyes would rapidly switch between Thordendal and Hagström to see where one would be playing on the neck of the guitar. Tomas Haake was a beast on the drums. It is no wonder that Danny Carey from Tool has been spotted at every Meshuggah show that I've attended.

After a brutalizing version of "obZen," "Do Not Look Down" and "I Am Colossus," Meshuggah gave the audience a slight reprieve with "In Death - Is Life" and "In Death - Is Death." "Bleed" is one of my favorite Meshuggah songs and ironically I listen to the song every time the nurse starts an IV for my chemotherapy to help take my mind off the pain.

The crush of "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion" and "Straws Pulled At Random" had me plotting how I would probably go home and book a flight to see them in Las Vegas. "New Millennium Cyanide Christ" was an unexpected bonus with its skull-pulverizing riff. There is more to this evening that I will eventually detail in a future column in OC Weekly. But this was a special night that I will never forget.

Setlist:
01 Swarm
02 Combustion
03 Transfixion
04 obZen
05 Behind the Sun
06 Do Not Look Down
07 The Hurt That Finds You First
08 I Am Colossus
09 Mind's Mirrors
10 In Death - Is Life
11 In Death - Is Death
12 Shed
13 Bleed
14 Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion
15 Straws Pulled At Random
16 New Millennium Cyanide Christ
17 Dancers To A Discordant System

Morrissey at Staples Center

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My review is also over at OC Weekly.

Last Shot: My new column for OC Weekly about colon cancer

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Morrissey at the Balboa Theatre

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Fonda Theatre

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Marilyn Manson at the Grove of Anaheim

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Tomahawk at the Mayan Theatre

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Tomahawk at the Observatory

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Soundgarden at the Wiltern

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Quicksand at the House of Blues San Diego

One of my all time favorite bands has to be Quicksand. Their albums Slip and Manic Compression came out at a impressionable time in my life and has remained in constant rotation for nearly twenty years now. As I've gone through some medical problems for the last two years, I still find myself dialing up Quicksand to help me get through the difficult times.

 

I was truly amazed to see them reunite at the Glass House in June 2012 and beyond excited to see them get a top billing at FYF Festival. The only bright spot of 2013 has been that I catching them at the Fonda Theatre for Stereogum and at the Glass House for OC Weekly. Although I wasn't feeling particularly well, I made the trek to San Diego to catch their final date in California.  It was a show that I will never forget.



With only two albums, I didn't expect Quicksand to switch up their setlist too drastically. Armed with his Fender Jaguar bass, Sergio Vega tore into the familiar bass groove of "Omission". Walter Schreifels emerged from the shadows with a white Fender Telecaster to slam out the power chords while Thomas Capone had his familiar Les Paul gold top for their crushing guitar assault. It was impressive to hear the audience chant the lyrics to "Unfulfilled" and "Head To Wall" as my three songs in the photo pit seemly went by in seconds.



Sporting a different shirt from the Smiths compared to the Fonda show, Vega bounced around the stage as he anchored the concrete heaviness of "Fazer". I still vividly remember seeing that video on MTV Headbanger's ball and running down to the Wherehouse and purchasing the album the next day. Kids these days will never understand that feeling. Alan Cage was pounded on his kit for the steamrolling "Too Official" which is drenched with slashing drop-d power chords.



The great thing about this reunion is that all the original members are involved and that there is still a great deal of inherent musical chemistry between all the members. I spotted numerous smiles on stage as they spotted the huge mosh pit viciously swirling in the center of the floor. Vega's bass barrage continued on "Freezing Process" as it dictates the direction of the song. Schreifels sounded phenomenal throughout the evening as he blasted into the furious barking vocals of "Lie And Wait".




Time flew by as they whipped through "Divorce" and "Slip" before crushing one of my favorite tracks from Manic Compression "Thorn In My Side" with its rapidly descending bass groove. Capone summoned up some bursts of guitar feedback for "Dine Alone" and I found myself forgetting about how sick I had felt earlier in the day and was glad I toughed it out to see them once again. "How Soon Is Now?" was flawless and still remains one of my favorite covers of The Smiths.



I was amazed to hear "Skinny (It's Overflowing)" as Quicksand resurrected the song at the Glass House to my delight. Schreifels had thanked the crowd stating how much fun he has had during this reunion and apologized for not coming back sooner. "Can Opener" closed out their set and ended my unforgettable run of Quicksand shows. Quicksand was recently nominated for a Revolver Golden God Award for comeback of the year and I implore you to cast as many votes for Quicksand as possible here. Thank you Quicksand and I hope to see you again soon.

 Setlist:
"Omission"
"Unfulfilled"
"Head To Wall"
"Fazer"
"Too Official"
"Freezing Process"
"Brown Gargantuan"
"Lie And Wait"
"Delusional"
"Divorce"
"Slip"
"Thorn In My Side"
"Blister"
"Dine Alone"
"How Soon Is Now?"
"Shovel"
"Landmine Spring"
"Skinny (It's Overflowing)"
"Can Opener"

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Check out my photos of Quicksand at the Glass House over at OC Weekly.

My review is also over at OC Weekly.

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