| Friday 31st March
The postie has just delivered something tasty for the weekend. You've
gotta admire the attention to detail of Rock
Candy Records, a specialist re-issue label run by ex-journos Dante
Bonutto and Derek Oliver. Their albums are beautifully re-mastered
and lovingly packaged, with bonus tracks wherever possible. The latest
three albums to be afforded this treatment are Lita Ford's 'Lita'
(from 1988), 'Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Ram' by Ram Jam (of
'Black Betty' fame, first issued in 1978) and Stampede's sole studio
disc 'Hurricane Town' (1983). 'Lita' went straight into the Death
Deck and will probably remain there for some time.
It's the day of Judas Priest and the Scorpions' Teenage Cancer Trust
benefit at the Royal Albert Hall, and I'm gutted not to be able to
attend. Palace have a crunch home game against Watford, and having
paid for four season tickets this year I just can't afford to waste
that sort of money. No doubt it'll be a killer show, and of course
it's for an excellent cause so I've asked my good pal Malcolm Dome
to drop a tenner into the collection box on my behalf. A fantastic
quote from Rob Halford about the show has been posted at Rock
Detector "This will be the first time that a Harley Davidson
has trundled across the Royal Albert Hall stage! I'm absolutely certain
that when Queen Victoria had the place built for Prince Albert she
never imagined that in her wildest dreams!"
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Thursday 30th March
Was stuck at the PC in the office till gone 11pm last night,
and I'm so rammed with work that I've had to cancel my ticket for
tonight's Thin Lizzy's gig at Hammersmith. Even had to stall tomorrow's
plans to hook up with ex-FM men Pete Jupp and Steve Overland for a
preview of their new album as The Ladder. Being self-employed, I can't
complain about being this snowed-under. Gave the new Survivor album,
'Reach', a few spins as I typed. Gotta admit it had registered as
merely average on first hearing but there's no doubt that it's a bit
of a grower. Also gave Europe's 'Prisoners In Paradise' a good blasting;
that one is still a fuggin' classic.
Now here's something that definitely excites me for the future. Drummer's
Digest have confirmed the rumours that Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy
is putting together a side project with Mikael Åkerfeldt from
Opeth, and according to Portnoy there's also even talk of Steven Wilson
of Porcupine Tree becoming involved. But hang on a minute... a website
for drummers? Do they pay their roadies to read it out to 'em?!
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Monday 27th March
Dreadful news for Rose Tattoo fans. After a lengthy period
of illness, guitarist Pete Wells has died. Diagnosed with prostate
cancer in 2002, Wells sat out the band's last few visits to Europe.
Tragically, the growth became so widespread, not even surgery could
help. Now he's gone, aged just 58. As a major Tatts follower and somebody
who witnessed all the Aussie group's fantastic early shows at places
like the Marquee Club (even though Angry Anderson said: "You
look far too young" when I told him that last year!), my condolences
go to Pete's family, friends and band-mates. By way of a tribute,
I'll be posting my Classic Rock interview with Pete and Angry from
2001 as soon as time permits.
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Sunday 26th March
Yesterday's defeat at Derby County (yes, Derby fuggin' County)
made me pig-sick. It's the lottery of the play-offs for Palace now.
But good luck in the Premiership to CPFC legend Steve Coppell, whose
Reading side have reached the top tier for the first time in their
history. Given Eagles chairman Simon Jordan's false bravado about
demanding to be promoted as champions this year, I wonder if he's
now regretting sacking Coppell - or forcing him to resign, at least
- as the first thing he did when he bought Palace out of administration.
This supreme irony became obvious whilst watching the televised promotion
party scenes on Sky TV.
Still green with envy at Reading's good fortune (I admit it) and seething
at my own club's ineptitude, it was off to the Mean Fiddler to check
out a pair of reunited bands. I never really rated original Onslaught
singer Sy Keeler, but he and the new-look Bristolians (guitarist Alan
Jordan joining the newly-mohawked guitarist Nige Rockett and the All-Dwarf
Rhythm Section of bassist Jim Hinder and drummer Steve Grice) exceeded
my expectations. A brand new song called 'Destroyer Of Worlds' stood
its ground alongside 'Let There Be Death', 'Angels Of Death', 'Metal
Forces', 'Demoniac', 'Power From Hell' and they even included even
a song from the Steve Grimmett-fronted swansong 'In Search Of Sanity',
namely 'Shellshock'. Most of the crowd loved 'em.
Compensating for a 15-year silence, headliners Venom burst out of
the traps with four classic songs; 'Black Metal', 'Welcome To Hell',
'Bloodlust' and 'Die Hard'. Their sole survivor from the 1980s glory
years, bassist/growler Cronos then introduced an impressive newie
called 'Antechrist' from the 'Metal Black' comeback disc, following
it with 'The Evil One', from 1997's 'Cast In Stone'. Tying up a segment
of 'At War With Satan' with 'Countess Bathory' in medley form, then
roaring through 'The Seven Gates Of Hell', all was going according
to plan. But after another two new songs, 'Burn In Hell' and 'Metal
Black' itself, Venom shocked the Mean Fiddler by exiting after around
three-quarters of an hour. How ironic that after an encore of 'Witching
Hour' everyone was back on the Tottenham Court Road pavement by (ahem)
9.31pm.
So let's get this straight... 41 minutes of Onslaught and less than
an hour from Venom costs £17.50??!! In theory I'd agree with
Cronos' parting rant ("C'mon England, we invented this type of
music. Why have we let the Americans take over?"), but at least
most Yank acts know how to sell their wares and leave us happy. Yes,
it was hard to fault the very little music that was actually played
(okay, I was also lucky enough not to have paid), but such an exercise
in minimalism hardly represents value for mayhem.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 24th March
I'm nurturing a rather sore head. Last night, Mrs L and I
tubed it to Camden for a soiree to introduce Khoma, a Swedish band
that features ex-members of the highly rated Cult Of Luna, and their
rather good debut album 'Tsunami'. With glasses of wine hitting the
back of neck all too frequently and no evening meal before leaving
home, the mussus and I may possibly have over-indulged in Roadrunner
Records' hospitality. We didn't last till the end of the set, but
it was definitely above average... I think.
There have been more hilarious developments in the Guns N' Roses-Velvet
Revolver feud. Alan Niven, who managed GN'R between 1986 and 1991,
has posted an extraordinary statement at Metal
Sludge. Calling for a reunion of the band's 'Appetite For Destruction'
line-up, it slams singer Scott Weiland as "delusional" and
having "no discernable talent". Velvet Revolver are also
dismissed as "a thorough waste of a truly great guitar player
and terrific rhythm section", not to mention responsible for
an "entirely forgettable" output. Can't wait for Weiland's
response.
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Thursday
23rd March
In Flames rocked the Forum last night. With a clever light
show and enough pyro to do their name justice, the Swedes were little
short of sensational. Gotta admit, my fear was that they'd be upstaged
by Sepultura, a band that shouldn't really be supporting anyone at
this stage of their career. I've watched the Brazilians' rise (or
perhaps 'Arise') since their very first UK appearance opening for
Sodom at the Marquee. I rate much of the work they've done since Max
Cavalera left them after a 1996 gig in London and have a lot of respect
for current frontman Derrick Green. On last night's evidence, however,
they're running out of steam. Ex-Soulfly man Roy Mayorga was a
surprisingly good stand-in for the absent Igor Cavalera and the crowd
went apeshit to Refuse/Resist', 'Troops Of Doom', 'Beneath The Remains',
'Arise' and an encore of 'Roots' but their lack of patience for material
from the new album 'Dante XXI ('Convicted In Life', 'Buried Words')
was all too obvious.
The headliners seemed to have a bee in their bonnet about Trivium,
singer Anders Fridén demanding that two fans in the front row
remove their Trivs T-shirts and replace them with specially supplied
In Flames garments, and introducing the new track 'Vacuum' as "a
Trivium cover song". It seemed
rather petty, especially as with a mixture of oldies like 'Behind
Space and 'Moonshield' and such recent material as 'System', 'Trigger',
'Black And White', 'Crawl Through Knives', 'Take This Life' and a
thunderous 'Cloud Connected' the quintet had the Forum eating out
of their hands.
_
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Tuesday 21st March
Bouncebackability's
back... and not a moment too soon! Last night's away win for Palace
at promotion rivals Leeds was a magnificent achievement. The increasingly
important Jobi McAnuff notched the goal that silenced Elland Road,
claiming sweet revenge for the match at Selhurst. If we can play as
well for the rest of the season, anything might happen. And how hilarious
that Flatnose Bruce's relegation-bound Blues were spanked 0-7 in the
FA Cup Quarter Finals by Liverpool. After the disgusting way he walked
out on his contract with CPFC, maybe there is such a thing as karma
after all.
p.s. Talking of bouncebackability, the Guestbook
has at last risen from the dead!
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Monday 20th March
It had been 15 years since the Edgar Broughton Band's last
tour, so after savouring a plethora of recently re-issued product
I reckoned I'd better check 'em out. It was a wise move. Even on a
chilling Sunday night, the 100 Club was pretty stuffed with inquisitive
punters. Initially a power-trio of guitarist/vocalist Edgar Broughton,
his drumming bother Steve and bassist Arthur Grant, the 2006 line-up
has been expanded by a second guitarist and keyboard player. But as
you'd expect, it's namesake Edgar's idiosyncratic vocals, fluent soloing
and eerily crazed between-song banter that fascinate. A mixture of
standards and unheard material was largely unintroduced, but 'Speak
Down The Wires', a lyrically revised 'Homes Fit For Heroes', 'For
Doctor Spock', 'Out Demons Out' and 'Love In The Rain' (the latter
performed as a three-piece) all suggested that the EBB's mixture of
space-tinged progressive rock, pychedelia, dirty blues and politically
charged imagery remains musically effective and socially revelant.
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Sunday
19th March
Palace's habit of giving away goals needlessly is really
starting to bug me. Yesterday, against a drab Ipswich team, we conceded
a stupid own goal and later our so-called 'defence' stood back to
allow Matthew Richards to cross for the visitors' second equaliser,
then failed to break down a 10-man side for the last goal. Unfortunately,
it's another season in the Fizzy Pop League for the Eagles next year....
but at least we won't be playing Scumwall or Shiteon & Homo Albion,
who both suffered their own damaging (and quite hilarious) results
yesterday.
BTW, just rediscovered a bizarre cutting that I'd kept from last week's
Daily Star. Apparently, the music collections of us Brits "are
now bigger than ever, with the average music fan owning a whopping
164 CDs". Men are "the biggest spenders, with an average
of 21 more albums than women in their collection". You can say
that again, as Mrs L would wearily confirm. It would be impossible
to whittle down my prized collection to just 164 albums if somebody
asked; I've probably got that many by Status Quo and Uriah Heep alone.
Does that make me a saddo? Don't even answer that...
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Saturday 18th March
Yesterday
morning I made the trip to enemy territory, footie-speaking at least,
for an extremely pleasaurable interview with Gary Moore, who lives
in that unmentionable cess-pit on the South Coast that starts with
the letter 'B' and ends with 'N'. Spotting my Crystal Palace scarf
as I exited the cab, he said: "I hope you won't be wearing that
in the town centre afterwards, you might end up in trouble."
Seems that the guitar legend almost got caught up the victory celebrations
after our fine away win last November. Of course the colours stayed
on as I wandered round the record shops after our chat. Nobody said
a word. With the Al**on staring down the barrel of relegation, why
would they risk the embarassment?
The evening involved a trip to the Royal Standard in Walthamstow,
a venue I used to frequent in my youth. My old mates Chariot were
the headliners, delivering their reliably robust brand of entertainment
with all the usual zeal. And with Martin Ball, the old deejay from
the Marquee Cub on the decks, it felt like a bit of a timewarp - in
a nice way.
I was also heartily impressed by Messiah,
a young band from Harrow who opened the show. When I say 'young' I
mean frighteningly fresh-faced. Heard a whisper that Tony Platt, of
AC/DC, Uriah Heep, Gary Moore and Foreigner fame, is rather keen to
produce 'em. Apparently there was also a person from SPV Records checking
them out. The six-piece's demo doesn't really do their pomp-laden
brand of hard rock a great deal of justice, but Messiah are definitely
one to watch.
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Friday
17th March
Avenged Sevenfold's major label debut 'City Of Evil' might
have been among the best albums of 2005, but the Californian quintet's
gig at the Forum last night wasn't the religious experience I'd hoped
for. Sorry to gripe on about this subject yet again, but the sound
was so dreadful for the first three numbers that I almost left early.
Synyster Gates and Zachy Vengeance are a formidable guitar unit, and
the flamboyant potency of songs like 'Burn It Down' and 'Trashed And
Scattered' is as obvious as the band's charisma, but something definitely
seemed to be amiss with M Shadows' voice. If, as is being mooted,
Avenged Sevenfold are metal's great white hopes then they must do
considerably better than playing for just 50 minutes - including a
cover of Pantera's 'Walk' - before walking off. We got two classy
encore numbers ('Strength Of The World' and 'Bat Country'), but a
schoolteacher marking this performance would use the words "must
try harder" in big red letters.
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Thursday 16th March
Until
last night I hadn't seen what Trivium could do on a big stage, my
sole live experience of them being at shows in relatively small venues
like the Garage and the Barfly. So I'm pleased to report that their
Metallica-meets-Maiden raunch translates well into larger-proportioned
environs, boding well for their support on Maiden's upcoming UK tour
and another spot at the Download Festival. After a somewhat lumpen
opening set from God Forbid, the US foursome romped through 70 minutes
of rampant though sometimes suprisingly commercial metal. Known by
now for jamming-out covers of their favourite bands during their encores,
last night we got Maiden's 'The Trooper' as usual, plus 'Seek And
Destroy' by Metallica and Megadeth's 'Symphony Of Destruction', plus
infinitely the less expected Van Halen classic 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout
Love' and 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen. Great fun, but can't
help thinking it'll become an albatross before too long.
BTW, thanks to my pal Darren Edwards of Eagle Rock records for pointing
out that this website recently
made the pages of Kerrang!, a bit of a shock as the last time
my name appeared in that magazine Kurt Cobain was probably still a
Sammy Hagar fan!
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Tuesday 14th March
I've a rather sore head following Palace's televised 3-1
away triumph over Stoke City last night. I'm pretty sure that we'll
make the play-offs now, but that habit of giving away silly goals
is still rather worrying.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday 13th March
Yesterday
was a lotta fun. Under the cover of pretending it was for their benefit,
I took the kids to Catford's Broadway Theatre for a stage performance
of Rentaghost,
the cult children's show that first aired on the BBC way back in 1976.
As a trip down memory lane it was hugely enjoyable; not even the regrettable
presence of deejay Danny Baker - a vile Scumwall fan of the lowest
kind - and his own brood further along the row could remove the polish
from this memorable occasion. Alas, the re-make didn't feature Dobbin
the original show's celebrated pantomime horse, and we only heard
Joe Pasquale's dismembodied voice in the role of a talking statue,
but Joseph Wicks' sterling performance as the jovial jester Timothy
Claypole had adults and tots alike rolling in the aisles.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday 11th March
How times flies. Until last night's trip to Shepherds Bush
Empire, I'd not crossed paths with Jethro Tull for almost seven years.
The tube home was full of fans griping about the band having overlooked
their favourite songs, but Ian Anderson and company were in darned
fine form all the same. Tull played for more than two hours, including
all of their classic 1971 album 'Aqualung', plus 'Life Is A Long Song',
'Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day', 'Living In The Past',
'Bourée', 'Cross Eyed Mary' (the latter once covered by Iron
Maiden), 'Budapest' and more. There were several classical interludes,
mostly featuring special guest Lucia
Micarelli, a Julliard-educated 22-year-old whose violin playing
was as chillingly beautiful as her physical attributes. Personally
speaking, however, I'd rather have heard Tull's own 'Thick As A Brick'
than the band and Micarelli's somewhat cheesy stabs at 'Bohemian Rhapsody'
and Zeppelin's 'Kashmir', or indeed Martin Barre's snoozeworthy guitar
workout 'French Correction'. Minor niggles aside, though, Tull have
still got it.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday 10th March
Nurse, please find a surgeon to sew up my aching sides...
this is so funny. Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland has issued
a stinging response to W Axl Rose's recent allegations regarding Slash
and Duff McKagan's "ever changing - and false - stories regarding
the formation of the band and its history", and the "complete
betrayal across the board of [Slash's] alleged friendship and business
relationship." Branding Axl a "fat, botox-faced, wig-wearin'
fuck", Weiland retaliates: "Get in the ring. Go to the gym,
motherfucker, or if you prefer, get a new wig. Shame on you! How dare
you call our bass player 'spineless?' We toured our album over a year
and a half. How many shows have you played over the last ten years?
Oh, that's right - you bailed out on your long-awaited comeback tour.
We're talking about a frightened little man who once thought he was
king, but this king without his court is nothing but a memory of the
asshole he once was."
Scott, will you please say what you mean and get off the friggin'
fence?
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Thursday 9th March
Wow - I've just been thoroughly blown away by 'The Adversary',
a solo debut from Emperor's vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn. An ambitious
cross-pollination of black metal, progressive and symphonic-based
hard rock styles, overlain with Rush and King Diamond influences,
it's destined to stay superglued in the Ling Towers death deck for
a while after its April 10 release date. Also in the same sphere of
music, a promo of the sixth Satyricon album has just dropped onto
the mat. Can it really be more than four years since I went to Oslo
to interview the duo for their last release, the brilliant 'Volcano'?
Due via Roadrunner on April 24, the oddly titled 'Now, Diabolical'
picks up right where its illustrious predecessor left off. Just two
spins so far and I'm hooked.
_
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Wednesday 8th March
Maybe
I should just move my bed into the Underworld and be done with it?
Last night it was back to Camden again for Evergrey's debut headline
appearance in London. The Swedish prog-metallers have supported various
bands before (including Dream Theater's James LaBrie) but I'd never
crossed paths with 'em or really listened to their records with any
great interest. The forthcoming 'Monday Morning Apocalypse' album
is likely to be the quintet's best shot at crossover success, but
sad to say while their 90-minute show left the chaps from Rocker's
Digest almost soiling their undergarments with ecstasy, for me
they were workmanlike and devoid of any real star quality. Evergrey
are definitely a group that you need to be familiar with before leaping
into the deep end, and the gradual seeping away of what had been a
fairly large crowd confirmed the foolhardiness of saving their two
best tracks, 'A Touch Of Blessing' and 'The Masterplan', until the
encores.
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Tuesday 7th March
Iron Maiden's British tour dates were announced overnight.
They're playing eight shows in December, the last of which being a
return to London's cavernous Earls Court on the 22nd. Having been
spoiled rotten by seeing them at Hammersmith last year, the choice
of venue is more than a tad disappointing. But Maiden in an oversized
aircraft hanger is better than no Maiden at all. And Trivium as a
support act... cool.
Like any other footie fan, I'm hardly surprised that relegation certainties
Sunderland have given manager Mick McCarthy the bullet - but their
timing's pretty strange. Until now I've disliked McCarthy for two
key reasons; firstly he's a dour, tedious northerner, and secondly
he once managed Scumwall. But my, hasn't he behaved with dignity this
year? McCarthy had wanted to try to get the club promoted again next
season, but took his dismissal on the chin. "It [the sacking]
has happened," he told Sky Sports. "That's all I'm going
to say. I'm not going to dash away [from here] all aggressive and
horrible, I'll leave you with a smile." Are you listening Jose
'Bad Loser' Mourinho??!!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 5th March
I won't dwell on yesterday's game. A distinctly average looking
Leeds scored their first goal against the run of play (or did Gabor
Kiraly give it them as a consequence of bad positioning?), after which
Palace's confidence evaporated and Leeds nabbed a second - then there
was no way back. Although I'd forgotten what a cynical, dirty, time-wasting
side Leeds are, I still hope they're promoted automatically instead
of Sheffield United and that utter wankbag N**l W***ock.
Downing my post-game sorrows, I bussed across to New Cross to see
former Little Angels singer Toby Jepson. With its wide-ranging clientele
of libido-charged students, besuited rentboys and assorted freaks
- my friend Mark quite rightly stated that he and I seemed to be the
only two people in the place not fucked out of our minds on drugs
- the Amersham Arms was a surreal venue. Support came from the Dean
Howard Project, featuring the former T'Pau guitarist of the same name.
Howard's 'Volume One' album is rather tasty, but stripped of its special
guests (Jepson, Ian Gillan and Thunder's Danny Bowes) much of its
lustre vanished. The same couldn't be said of Jepson, who added a
few extra solo songs ('Unwind', 'Inside Out') to the nucleus of the
set he played at Hammersmith with Thunder last month. Toby releases
a new album in November. Regarding my reservations of his former band...
you know what, maybe I was a little harsh? His current group play
fantastically well and I'm glad he's back on the scene.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
4th March
I admit, I'd had my worries about last night's John Wetton
& Geoffrey Downes gig at the Mean Fiddler. Wetton has had much-publicised
alcohol problems - reportedly a thing of the past - and Asia's future
(both immediate and long-term) is now of course clouded with uncertainty.
Backed by John Mitchell of Kino/Arena on guitar and Steve Christey
on drums, this could almost have been viewed as a dress rehearsal
for Asia's classic line-up reunion. Certainly it answered several
outstanding questions marks. For instance...
1) Would Wetton actually show up and leave the bottle at home? Box
ticked. Firmly so. His voice hadn't sounded this good in a very long
time, and it was great to hear him perform 'The Smile Has Left Your
Eyes' with Geoff again after all these years. He also seemed to be
having fun. Speaking of which...
2) Does the chemistry between John and Geoff remain? Undoubtedly so.
Primarily here to promote 'Icon', the album that really got them working
together again, 'Hey Josephine', 'Let Me Go' and 'Meet Me At Midnight'
were among the best songs of the night. Oddly, they also chose to
include 'We Move As One', the song they wrote for Abba's Agnetha Fältskog.
3) If Wetton and Downes do reunite as planned with Howe and Palmer,
would it work? It's a toughie, but halfway through a quite brilliant
version of 'Open Your Eyes' I realised the answer is a categorical
'yes'. The set also included 'The Heat Goes On', 'Only Time Will Tell',
'Voice Of America', 'Days Like These', 'Don't Cry', 'Go', 'Sole Survivor'
and 'Heat Of The Moment'.
4) In this media conscious age, have the pair taken on a wardrobe
assistant? Alas, no. Not at all. John's straining belt was responsible
for almost as many quiet titters as Geoff's hilarious black and white
zebra-print strides. This is something we've learned to live with
by now.
5) On a far more serious note, after the Asia reunion is done and
dusted what fate awaits Downes? Wetton will revive his solo career,
Howe head back to Planet Yes and Palmer to his Island In The Sun.
That's something only Geoffrey can answer; he's made his bed and must
now lie in it come what may.
The best comment of the whole evening came from behind me during the
early stages of the show. When Wetton asked: "Who's come a long
way tonight?", Scarborough, Norwich and Shepherds Bush were among
the audience's replies, though sage-like somebody replied: "You
have, John." They were so right.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
2nd March
Well,
England managed to beat Uruguay last night, though as we've come to
expect by now they made desperately hard work of it. A quite unbelievable
shot from Omar Pouso had given the vistors a shock lead, but Peter
Crouch's header and an injury time shot from Joe Cole finally gave
Sven's men the reward that their domination deserved. Oh, and the
hapless Darren Bent?! Anyone care to tell me what that's all about?
Purr-leassssse!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 1st March
Jesus.
After our cricketers' calamitous performance in Parkistan, the opening
day of England's First Test match against India saw stand-in captain
Flintoff winning the toss and electing to bat on a flat, run-friendly
wicket. By the end of play a precarious 246-7 was reached. Those halycon
days of Ashes triumph now seem a distant memory.
Still with pleasant recollections, last night I renewed my live acquaintance
with Sick Of It All, an excellent group that I first witnessed back
on 1994's 'Scratch The Surface' tour. Now into their 20th year, the
New Yorkers still tear up the room like no other. As well as slipping
in tasters from the forthcoming 'Death To Tyrants' album, they added
a new twist to a form of moshing known as 'the Braveheart'. Basically,
Lou Koller splits the crowd down the middle and gives the command
for both sides to charge at each other. Only last night, "because
everyone and their grandmother" has copied the trick, SOIA attempted
a 'doubledecker Braveheart' - fans mounted on piggyback... a helluva
sight. Special guests from Virginia, Municipal Waste tore through
a surprisingly effective 35 minutes of (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek
thrash, though their singer's resemblance to that porksome fella from
the TV show Lost was kinda distracting. UK sludgers Mistress had set
things off impressively, but the evening's other band - Boston's The
Unseen - were just a little too hardcore-by-numbers for me.
Anyway, with England's World Cup warm-up against Uruguay just a few
hours away, I'm off to start drinking...
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