The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy at the Henry Fonda Theater

The Mountain Goats stopped by the Henry Fonda Theater in support of their latest album The Life of the World To Come. I was primarily interested in checking in with Final Fantasy who are gearing up for the release their upcoming album Heartland.

Final Fantasy





It has been awhile since I last caught a show by Final Fantasy. I quickly remembered how impressive they were when I saw Final Fantasy open for Bloc Party in March of 2007. Owen Pallett (Violin/Keyboards/Vocals) is astonishing to watch as he effortlessly samples and loops his violin for vividly colorful soundscapes. I would love to see him collaborate with Andrew Bird and Jon Brion as the Monsters of Loop.

"Flare Gun" was one of the new tunes Owen unveiled off Heartland. "Midnight Directives" was another jaw dropping new tune. A person from the audience requested "Ultimatum" to which Owen happily obliged and went back to the piano to display his masterful skills on yet another instrument. Final Fantasy's set came to a close with a griping version of "The Dream of Win and Regine". Owen definitely had his supporters in the audience as a few people departed at the conclusion of his set.

The Mountain Goats






I wasn't too familiar with The Mountain Goats but understand they have their own devout following. Ironically, John Darnielle (Vocals/Guitars) turned to specific bible passages for inspiration for the new album. I stayed for a couple of songs cause I was exhausted from attending my seven show in a row. I heard Owen came back out to assist on a few songs which makes me wish I had the energy to stay.

The Big Pink at the El Rey Theatre

The Big Pink easily made one of my favorite albums of 2009 along with The Horrors and A Place To Bury Strangers. The El Rey Theatre had slowly filled to capacity to see the US debut of The Big Pink with support from Crystal Antlers and IO Echo.

IO Echo




IO Echo continually impress with their live performances. They have come so far from the first time I saw them back in August 2007. They most recently had the honor of opening for the final Nine Inch Nails show at the Wiltern. On this night, they rolled out three new songs "Chelsea Smile", "Poison Apple", and "The Leaving Kind (William)".

"Poison Apple" was a dark and moody tune accentuated by the plumes of smoke on stage. IO (Vocals) seemed cramped on stage, so she took her vocals up the the ceiling when she climbed the scaffolding on the side of the stage. "She's So Heavy" and "Addicted" were performed as tightly as ever with the final closer being "Doorway". I really think its time they release these songs as a proper full length album.

Crystal Antlers





Crystal Antlers manage to have different line-ups every time I catch their shows. Two guitarists, then one guitarist, and most recently a new keyboard player. The one consistent factor is that Damian Edwards (Percussion) is still the most entertaining bongo player on the scene with his drum stick twirls mid beat.

Crystal Antlers worked through most of their debut album Tentacles. I have to commend Johnny Bell (Bass, Vocals) for crushing his Fender Telecaster bass too hard as he snapped his "E" string. Johnny wins the prize for the quickest restring job in a live concert setting all year. I hope the downsizing of their label Touch & Go won't impact the release of any future albums.

The Big Pink






The wait seemed to take forever. Suddenly, the curtains drew and the loud smack down drum beat and shrieking guitars of "Too Young To Love" blasted the audience. Blinding strobe lights and chest rattling bass immediately gave the impression that The Big Pink were going for a darker almost industrial vibe.

Robbie Furze (Vocals/Guitars) had some insanely modified Fender guitars (one Telecaster and one Mustang) and a slew of pedals that I couldn't make out from my vantage point. Milo Cordell (Synthesizers/Programming) had a full table of pedals to accompany his laptop and keyboard controller.

The chirping synthesizer squeals of "Frisk" funneled into a drone of guitar feedback while Leopold Ross (Bass) hammered away on his Gibson Thunderbird bass. I give credit to Leopold for pulling double duty having shredded with his Gibson SG earlier in the evening with IO Echo.

"Velvet" had a more tactile sensation as the bass and drums overpowered Robbie's crooning vocals but the crowd up front rhythmically pulsed to the beat. I couldn't quite discern the hooky synthesizer swells "At War With The Sun" but did hear Robbie's cutting distorted guitars.

Robbie did thank the crowd for waiting so long since they were having some technical difficulties. I had heard that they had lost some of their samples/patches on their laptop and had to recreate a lot of sounds prior to the show which had to have been extremely nerve wracking. This could possibly explain the minimalist versions of some of their songs.

The ice cold guitar lines of "Crystal Visions" was propelled by the throbbing electronic pulses of synthetic bass. "Count Backwards from Ten", "Tonight" and "These Arms" closed out their main set. I assume they might have lost the samples for the highly synthesizer processed "Golden Pendulum" which was omitted from the setlist.

People immediately started bouncing up and down upon hearing the drum shuffle of "Dominos" that unravels into its sexy synth hook. The volume seemed to be a tad bit higher during the song as you could feel the kick drum. I expect it to be pretty crazy when they play the Detroit Bar tonight.

The Big Pink Setlist at the El Rey Theatre (11/18/09)
"Too Young To Love"
"Frisk"
"Velvet"
"At War With The Sun"
"Crystal Visions"
"Count Backwards To Ten"
"Tonight"
"These Arms of Mine"
"Dominos"

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"