Octopus Overlords

Got tickets to Dead and Company in Palm Beach on my 25th wedding anniversary, but I'm not going with my wife. Going to be a guys night. She really doesn't care, which is probably how we've stayed happily married for so long.

Also going to see them in Mexico in January 2022 for a 5 night Dead festival. Looking forward to that one. Never thought I would be such a John Mayer fan boy or that he would fit in so smoothly with the Dead.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 2:20 pm Change of plans, as we may be heading down to Psycho Las Vegas that weekend instead. It's only a 5.5 hour drive, and I have a bunch of hotel points still sitting there, so it'd be pretty cheap. The lineup looks pretty good too, with a bunch of bands that have been on my list but I've never actually seen (Danzig, Watain, Mayhem, Full of Hell, MGLA, Repulsion, and Dying Fetus).

I still have to run it by Mrs. Skinypupy though, so we'll see what happens.

non-metal recommendations from that lineup: Dengue Fever, Zola Jesus, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, GZA

i have heard promising things about Black Sabbitch - apparently a _really good_ Sabbath cover band

Just saw where Modest Mouse was coming to the concert hall here and I like some of their songs. Looking at tickets...$119. uh. I don't like them that much.

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Jag wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 3:48 pm Got tickets to Dead and Company in Palm Beach on my 25th wedding anniversary, but I'm not going with my wife. Going to be a guys night. She really doesn't care, which is probably how we've stayed happily married for so long.

Also going to see them in Mexico in January 2022 for a 5 night Dead festival. Looking forward to that one. Never thought I would be such a John Mayer fan boy or that he would fit in so smoothly with the Dead.

Based on your post I tracked down one of their concerts, and Mayer is a perfect fit. He has the chops to fill in for Garcia without trying to make it all about him.

Hoodoo Gurus 2021 tour canceled in US due to COVID and Australian Gov not allowing foreign travel. Gonna have to wait another year to see them in Nashville.

Lassr wrote: ↑Sat May 29, 2021 8:17 pm Hoodoo Gurus 2021 tour canceled in US due to COVID and Australian Gov not allowing foreign travel. Gonna have to wait another year to see them in Nashville.

This is one of the reasons I haven't pulled the trigger on the Psycho Fest tickets yet. There's a bunch of Scandinavian bands on the bill, and there has been some chatter on various metal groups that there's no way they're actually going to be allowed to travel to the US.

It would still probably be worth it just to see the US bands, but missing out on Emperor, Watain, Mgla, Mayhem, and Satyricon would certainly take some of the shine off the event.

With me hitting a year of unemployment and my wife quitting her second job out of pure fatigue, we've been making a list of free things to do this summer. The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra is coming back starting the July 4 weekend. Not sure we'll tangle with the crowds that weekend, but the weekend of Juiy 23 they are doing Dvorak's New World Symphony -- always a favorite of mine because (1) ethnic ties (Czech) and (2) one of his grandsons was orchestra conductor at my high school and I played 2 years in that orchestra.

They announced the Hellfest 2022 lineup today, and it is the single most insane festival lineup I've ever seen in my life. I mean, just look at th...OMG HOLY SHIT. NIN, SKINNY PUPPY, MINISTRY, YOUTH CODE, KILLING JOKE ON THE SAME STAGE!!!



Seriously, this is batshit. I may need to see about getting to France next summer...

shocked that Al would ever agree to 'open' for Trent...

since this is Europe, there are some dream bills (would never expect to see The Exploited/Discharge or Carcass/Napalm Death sets over here). and of course some of those are funny - i don't see the Atari Teenage Riot, New Model Army and Godflesh fanbases exactly overlapping, for the most part (tho i would be fine with it). different music festival rules!

EDIT: Envy AND Mono on the same stage???

Just finished my first live shows in 18 months, at Psycho Las Vegas. It was weird being at a fest with solely US bands and attendees, but it was pretty great.

The biggest highlight was seeing Danzig for the first time, after listening to him for 30+ years. He puts on one hell of a show, for being a 66 year old goblin. Puts most of the younger bands to shame, honestly. It was a completely old-school set, playing Danzig II in its entirety plus a bunch from Danzig 3 and 4 (Dirty Black Summer, Bringer of Death, etc) and finishing, of course, with “Mother”. 17-year-old me was in heaven singing along.

Other highlights were Deafheaven, a last minute replacement when all the Euro bands had to drop. They were amazing, playing this weird sound what I can only describe as “happy black metal”. Amigo the Devil was also incredible, mixing solo acoustic with macabre storytelling and a healthy dose of humor. Down played the “Nola” album and while Phil is a Nazi asshole, he still has an iconic metal voice.

This was the first show for most of these bands in 18 months, and while there were a few where it showed (Khemmis was dissapointingly bad), most of them brought a ton of energy.

Mask mandates were in force, with pretty good compliance, all things considered. Got a bit lax the last day (in which I drifted even further to the back corners of the venues), but it was a fantastic time overall.

Full list of bands I caught:

- Toke (pretty decent stoner metal)
- Khemmis (love these guys, but they were…not great)
- Goatwhore (another last minute replacement that tore the roof off)
- Obituary (always great)
- Paul Cauthen (some country dude I sat through while waiting for someone else. Meh.)
- The Sword (really solid)
- Mastodon (never been able to get into them, too much wankery for me)
- Curl Up and Die (some screamo band, maybe the worst show of the weekend)
- Profanatica (absolutely killed it with some brutal death metal. The most packed show of the weekend.)
- Deafheaven (amazing)
- Primitive Man (funeral doom is tough to pull off live, but they were great)
- Danzig (dude still has it…and then some)
- Vitriol (middling death metal)
- Midnight (fun Motorhead-ish metal)
- Amigo the Devil (wildly entertaining. I actually skipped Exodus’ set to stay and watch him, something I didn’t expect at all.)
- Immolation (pretty standard death metal; but their drummer was terrible. Couldn’t keep a double bass kick rhythm to save his life.)
- Down (Anselmo sucks, but they sounded good.)
- Weedeater (another good stoner metal band)
- Full of Hell (holy shit, these dudes are nutso)

Live music is good for the blackened soul.

We saw Train a couple of weeks ago which was a lot of fun. They are a great live band, and did not only their greatest hits but a few really good covers (Led Zeppelin "Goin' to California, The Band "The Weight," CS&N "Love the One You're With"). It was their first concert in 2 years, so they were really pumped as was the crowd. Awesome brand new venue right on the river, and they have $4 beer! Apparently their new guitarist is from my hometown, which is why they chose this as their first tour stop.

We had lawn seats and it's a smaller venue (7,200 capacity), so we were able to find a location that was fairly well social distanced. However, the bottlenecks getting in and out were definitely a bit nerve-wracking and masking was non-existent. While we had a great time, my wife and I agreed we wouldn't be going back until LiveNation enforces their vaccination policy in October.

I bought tickets last week to see the Foo Fighters at a new amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT on 9/17. I know they'll put on a great show, but it should be especially cool because it's an unusually small venue for them...only 5,700 people in a covered outdoor setting. They have a GA area near the stage, but we opted for close seats; still not ready to pack in with a crowd of screaming people with COVID floating around. The Foos are requiring everyone to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test within 48 hours of the show though, a nice move for all their shows before the Livenation mandate takes effect. I'm really looking forward to live music again!

was going to see The Residents on Friday night, but they cancelled the entire US tour except for the California shows

Ghost is touring this winter with Volbeat and Twin Temple (who are amazing).

Will have to see what the mask/vaccine requirements are, but I’d really love to see them again.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:49 pm They announced the Hellfest 2022 lineup today, and it is the single most insane festival lineup I've ever seen in my life. I mean, just look at th...OMG HOLY SHIT. NIN, SKINNY PUPPY, MINISTRY, YOUTH CODE, KILLING JOKE ON THE SAME STAGE!!!



Seriously, this is batshit. I may need to see about getting to France next summer...

Late to the party on replying to this, but that Main Stage 2 lineup is very much a European metal festival lineup. SO MANY random power metal bands (Gloryhammer! Nightwish! Sabaton! Helloween with Michael Kiske back in the fold!).

I wonder if DragonForce will get Fred Leclerq to play with them again for that show since Kreator and DragonForce share a stage one day.

pr0ner wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:06 pm Late to the party on replying to this, but that Main Stage 2 lineup is very much a European metal festival lineup. SO MANY random power metal bands (Gloryhammer! Nightwish! Sabaton! Helloween with Michael Kiske back in the fold!).

I wouldn't count on Gloryhammer being there. They're in some shit right now, to put it mildly.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:10 pm

pr0ner wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:06 pm Late to the party on replying to this, but that Main Stage 2 lineup is very much a European metal festival lineup. SO MANY random power metal bands (Gloryhammer! Nightwish! Sabaton! Helloween with Michael Kiske back in the fold!).

I wouldn't count on Gloryhammer being there. They're in some shit right now, to put it mildly.

Oh. Oh my.

pr0ner wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:14 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:10 pm

pr0ner wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:06 pm Late to the party on replying to this, but that Main Stage 2 lineup is very much a European metal festival lineup. SO MANY random power metal bands (Gloryhammer! Nightwish! Sabaton! Helloween with Michael Kiske back in the fold!).

I wouldn't count on Gloryhammer being there. They're in some shit right now, to put it mildly.

Oh. Oh my.

FWIW, this was hardly surprising. Bowes - for all his musicianship - has long been known as a douchenozzle of epic proportions. When his bands were announced for the 70K cruise, there were multiple posts on the 70K boards from female cruisers warning others to stay far, far away from him.

Sucks, as both Alestorm and Gloryhammer were really fun bands to see live.

Well, that's weird.

Ministry's "Industrial Strength Tour" has been postponed a couple times now, but was supposed to kick off in the fall with Helmet and Frontline Assembly as support. It got bumped again today (to March 2022), but now FLA and Helmet have been replaced with Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity.

This was apparently all news to FLA, who posted on FB that the first they heard about this change is when the new dates were posted this morning. They weren't surprised that it got postponed, but were completely blindsided by getting booted off the bill.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 24, 2021 1:28 pm Well, that's weird.

Ministry's "Industrial Strength Tour" has been postponed a couple times now, but was supposed to kick off in the fall with Helmet and Frontline Assembly as support. It got bumped again today (to March 2022), but now FLA and Helmet have been replaced with Melvins and Corrosion of Conformity.

This was apparently all news to FLA, who posted on FB that the first they heard about this change is when the new dates were posted this morning. They weren't surprised that it got postponed, but were completely blindsided by getting booted off the bill.

Al should think about getting all the former and current openers on the same bill and make a fest out of it:

Corrosion of Conformity
Melvins
Helmet
KMFDM
Frontline Assembly
Ministry

(i have a _lot_ of Melvins-and-related-side-project albums, and it's still not close to everything they've released, over the past few decades)

i could have gone to see Algiers last night at a tiny venue down the road, but indoor shows still make me nervous.

Welp, the remainder of Judas Priest's tour with Sabaton has been postponed, as JP guitarist Richie Faulkner was hospitalized with a major heart issue.

Guess there goes my first post-Covid concert.

Cirque du Soleil: Ovo in February.

Lassr wrote: ↑Sat May 29, 2021 8:17 pm Hoodoo Gurus 2021 tour canceled in US due to COVID and Australian Gov not allowing foreign travel. Gonna have to wait another year to see them in Nashville.

Hoodoo Gurus 2022 tour also canceled. Sigh.

So far the past 2 months I saw Boz Scaggs and Foreigner. Although, Foreigner is basically a cover band now, none of the original members performed. They were good but...

Judas Priest rescheduled the rest of their US tour. Unfortunately for me, the opener has changed from Sabaton to Queensryche, but I may still go.

Iron Maiden announced a new tour with both Trivium and Within Temptation as openers. That's quite the lineup.

pr0ner wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 5:37 pm Judas Priest rescheduled the rest of their US tour. Unfortunately for me, the opener has changed from Sabaton to Queensryche, but I may still go.

Iron Maiden announced a new tour with both Trivium and Within Temptation as openers. That's quite the lineup.

I have tickets to see Bruce Dickinson on his spoken word tour in February.
That should be an interesting night, as I'm sure that man has alot of tales to tell.

if you still have any old band/concert t-shirts, check online for prices - they've gone up crazy amounts in the past decade. even ones super worn down with holes in them are worth something (saw a really beat Danzig 'first album' shirt last week priced at $60). i have an Alice Cooper "The Nightmare Returns 1986" tour shirt that i regularly see online going for anywhere around $200-$340. (the oldest one i have is a Police "Synchronicity Tour 83" one that is pretty faded)

and Iron Maiden does seem to be one of the more highly valued bands

Huh, I never would have thought. I no longer have any concert shirts, all turned to rags long ago (mostly, I "incredible Hulked" out them them -- I pretty much doubled in size since my concert going prime). I think I only ever bought them when I was in high school -- by college, I was lucky to be able to afford the ticket, let alone a t-shirt that cost just as much. The prestige factor was a lot lower, too.

Some of the cooler ones I had was Gary Numan (The Pleasure Principle tour), Bob Seger (Against the Wind), The Who (whatever the first tour after Moon died was called), ZZ Top (Deguello). I mostly liked shirts that were other than the traditional black -- the ZZ Top one was red featuring yellow "Cheap Sun Glasses".

I have a metric shit-ton of metal band shirts (it’s basically my entire casual wardrobe) and I’ve bought most of them at shows, but very few that actually list the specific concert or tour.

I generally don’t like any shirts that have dates on them. I’ve always found them a bit weird to wear a few years removed from the event.

Only went to one concert and have the shirt from it. Its a RATT shirt from Jan or Feb 1987. Queensrÿche opened for them and Id never heard of them. My shirt is dry rotted and ragged . Cant wear or wash it. But got the memories.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:24 pm I generally don’t like any shirts that have dates on them. I’ve always found them a bit weird to wear a few years removed from the event.

Now I do have shirts from local festivals that include a lot of obscure band names on the back, and the date of the event. I got these shirts by entering me and the kids in the 2 mile walk - 4 mile run event. We walked. And it came with tokens for the concurrent craft beer festival, which was nice.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:24 pm I have a metric shit-ton of metal band shirts (it’s basically my entire casual wardrobe) and I’ve bought most of them at shows, but very few that actually list the specific concert or tour.

I generally don’t like any shirts that have dates on them. I’ve always found them a bit weird to wear a few years removed from the event.

band/album promo shirts are even more valuable than the concert ones in most cases, i believe.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:24 pm I have a metric shit-ton of metal band shirts (it’s basically my entire casual wardrobe) and I’ve bought most of them at shows, but very few that actually list the specific concert or tour.

I generally don’t like any shirts that have dates on them. I’ve always found them a bit weird to wear a few years removed from the event.

I liked advertising the event. The inflated cost of the shirt was only justifiable because of the memory it associated with.

No one would want any of my old Shirts. I wore the hell out of them. I still have bunches of them somewhere, unworn in decades. I don't know why. One day I'll have purge of all of the things and that purge will contain many clothes I can no longer dream of fitting in to.

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:02 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:24 pm I have a metric shit-ton of metal band shirts (it’s basically my entire casual wardrobe) and I’ve bought most of them at shows, but very few that actually list the specific concert or tour.

I generally don’t like any shirts that have dates on them. I’ve always found them a bit weird to wear a few years removed from the event.

band/album promo shirts are even more valuable than the concert ones in most cases, i believe.

Are people buying these to actually wear? Or just as collectors items?

Maybe I'm just oversensitive, I just can't get past the general "ick" factor of wearing a t-shirt that someone else has been sweating into.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:09 pm Are people buying these to actually wear? Or just as collectors items?

a very good question and i do not know

Maybe I'm just oversensitive, I just can't get past the general "ick" factor of wearing a t-shirt that someone else has been sweating into.

you may be surprised by the number of people who aren't bothered by that (myself included - i have purchased numerous band t-shirts secondhand, years ago). you just wash it before you wear it, no big deal. and do NOT put them in the dryer, but rather drip dry. the dryer will wear out the shirts waaay faster.

My 17 year old and I might be spending a weekend in Vegas...

I'm still debating whether to go to the Ghost show on the 31st. I really, really want to see them again but the COVID numbers are just ridiculous. And since it's Utah, COVID apparently doesn't exist and I'm sure no one will be bothering with any masking precautions once they get in the door.

They're also splitting the bill with Volbeat (who I don't really like), so I may just skip it.

Exodor wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:42 pm

My 17 year old and I might be spending a weekend in Vegas...

20 year generational nostalgia activation... right on time

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:58 pm 20 year generational nostalgia activation... right on time

Hey, an actual concert report!

We strapped on the N95 masks and hit the Ghost/Volbeat/Twin Temple show last night. Twin Temple was awesome, although they only got to play about 5-6 songs. Their singer has an absolutely mesmerizing voice, even when singing about satanic orgies.

Volbeat was meh. I wasn't terribly familiar with them coming in, and I think I can safely continue ignoring them. Thought my friend had an apt description, that they sound like U2 mixed with Metallica run through a Nickleback filter. Dull radio rock, mostly. They were entertaining for the first few songs (mostly because of their big video screens with cool graphics), but by the time they hit the 1 hour 20 minute mark, I was more than ready for them to be done.

Ghost was fantastic, as usual. They played an awesome 16-song set which included a couple tracks off the upcoming album that were catchy as hell. The Nameless Ghouls have all changed outfits, and now have gas masks instead of the silver ghoul masks (which felt appropriate). I liked the previous costumes better, tbh. Of the three times I've seen them (at the same venue), this was the first time the sound quality wasn't great. They had the bass way too high, which made everything else a little tough to hear. For some reason, it was also a little tough to understand Papa's banter between songs, which is typically a highlight of the show. I'm sure he thought the crowd was dead, but we mostly just had no idea wtf he was saying. All in all, their show was great, but was definitely the weakest of the three I've seen.

Getting home at midnight and back up for work at 5:30 suuuuuuucked this morning. I'm going to have to seriously reconsider weekday concerts at this point in my life.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 10:37 am back up for work at 5:30

That is why you fail. I'm a firm believer in post-concert PTO.