My rainy day craft box

As unsatisfying as the concert at the Riot Room the night before was, it left me utterly unprepared for the sheer grandeur of the show I experienced the next night at Starlight Ampitheatre.

Starlight is a big outdoor theatre located next to the Kansas City Zoo. I've never really paid attention to it before, but it's got a huge stage that looks like a castle, comfortable seats, and lots of nice walking/standing room. I'm definitely going to be paying more attention to what's playing there after this.

Moving on to the show itself, in case you don't know, Jason Bonham is the son of late Zed Zeppeling drummer John Bonham and he plays drums for them whenever they reunite to perform live. So basically this was the closest I'm ever going to get to seeing Led Zeppelin live and I don't think Page, Plant, and Jones could do it any better. The band Bonham has put together is SPOT ON, to the point that if you close your eyes you can't tell it's not the original lineup. They played a slew of crowd-pleasing favorites like "Heartbreaker," "Ramble On," "Over the Hills and Far Away," and "What Is And What Should Never Be." But iconic songs like "Immigrant Song" and "Stairway to Heaven" were conspicuously absent...

Having become familiar with Heart through their soft rock hits of the 80's, they were a band I never imagined I would be paying to see live. But my God, Ann and Nancy Wilson can ROCK. Ann's huge, sexy voice has lost nothing with age and when she puts force behind it she makes "What About Love?" sound every bit as vicious as "Barracuda." They played songs from all of Heart's different eras and shifted flawlessly into each one. Nancy's solo acoustic cover of an Elton John song was pretty rad too.

If they'd stopped right there I would have been satisfied with having seen a stellar rock show but for the encore they took it up to a whole new level. Jason Bonham joined them on drums for a Led Zeppelin encore. "Immigrant Song" never sounded so good. Seriously, I think Robert Plant's job might be in danger. Remember that big sexy voice of Ann's I was talking about? When she moans the line "We are your overlords..." you will start looking over your shoulder for the Viking sword that will be the last thing you ever see.

After an ass-kicking and suitably epic rendition of "Kashmir" we all knew what was coming next. Remember Heart's performance of Stairway to Heaven that brought the surviving Led Zeppelin members to tears? They did it exactly like that again, right down to the black gospel choir. The video does NOT do it justice. I truly did not want that song to end.

Both bands together played about three hours. The crowd was predominantly older, with M. and I making up the bottom end of the younger portion. We did see a few people in their teens and early 20's, but not many. Overall women slightly outnumbered men. We saw several packs of cougars rocking their slutty teenager-appropriate rock concert outfits as hard as they could.

And you know what? That's okay. It was a great time with a great crowd of people who truly loved the music. You could tell these were people who grew up with these bands and were super eager to give them their due. Compared to the hooligans from the Riot Room I think I'll take a relaxed older crowd focused on a good time any day.

I don't think I have another concert to attend until October. Really hate these long dry spells, but they make the payoff that much more worthwhile.

A little over a week ago, M. and I took our first ever vacation together. We did so by not leaving our city and by having people visit us. "Staycation" really is a deceptive word though, sort of implying that you're sitting at home doing nothing. Instead, we felt like we had traveled to a faraway place and come back pleasantly worn out.

I actually started the vacation a day early and finished it a day late by going to a pair of concerts. The first one was Fear Factory/Hate Eternal/Kobra and the Lotus and the second one was Suffocation/Exhumed/Jungle Rot/Rings of Saturn/Adimirion the concerts deserve their own post but for now I'll just say they were epic and amazing, even if they both took place at a Kansas City bar that I love to hate.

Our vacation centered around our friends Katrina and Jason coming from Oregon to stay with us for several days. During their stay we introduced them to our favorite forms of local cuisine, and took them to the "must see" sights of Kansas City: Union Station, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, City Market, and the Kansas City Zoo. These are places that we actually don't ever go to because we're too busy living here, so for us it was an exploration of our own home and a chance to view it through the eyes of friends.

Katrina and Jason have been our online friends for many years but this was the first chance for all of us to meet in person. We all got along with each other very well and it seemed really natural just having us all together. On Saturday we were joined by another out-of-town friend, Pearl from Oklahoma. It was our first time meeting her face-to-face as well and Pearl fit in seamlessly with our group. On Saturday night we threw a party which several other friends showed up for. Having bought tons of fresh produce at City Market, Katrina barbecued them along with a variety of meats, and we all had a good time eating, drinking, watching funny Youtube videos, and going on tours of our haunted basement. Pearl stayed the night with us and on Sunday the five of us hit the zoo.

I can never get over how vast the Kansas City Zoo is and we were all dog tired by the end of it. I got a pretty impressive sunburn on my balding head. Pearl left for home and we had planned on having other guests that evening, but one by one they bailed so we cancelled Sunday night's gathering. This turned out o be good because I laid down intending to take an hour's nap, only to pass out until 2am.

By Monday it was time for our friends to return home. We bid them farewell at the airport and M. and I came home where I grilled some more meat and veggies before heading off to that night's Suffocation concert. We both agreed at the end of our vacation that it had felt like we had gone away and come back, so many new and interesting things had happened. It was a great time and we can't wait to return the favor and visit our friends in Oregon.

The only bad part was that I got sick halfway through and have been sick ever since. The cold and sore throat didn't really slow me down during the vacation itself, but in the last few days it's developed into a vicious cough and persistent runny nose. Yuck. Needless to say, this hasn't made my reacclimating to work any easier. But I do feel better for the time away and am getting back to life with a renewed sense of motivation and purpose.

Since Orion appears to be such a big hit with the ladies, (who knew?) here is more of him from the same night.





Now remember not to fight over the hulking black metal teddy bear. There is more than enough of him to go around.

Tonight megiloth and I caught the Decibel Magazine tour headlined by Behemoth. This was one of the more exotic metal shows I've been to in a while in that every single band represented a different metal genre.

First up we got some no-frills classic heavy metal from In Solitude. These nice young men dress like they're in Accept or Judas Priest and it's 1981. Lots of leather vests, studded wristbands, and classy, cherry-finish Gibson guitars. Then there's the vocalist who I suspect may be a zombie. Let's just say he looked unhealthy and of dubious personal hygiene and leave it at that. He also wore what I thought at first was some kind of boa or scarf but which actually turned out to be a fox pelt. Possibly more than the pelt. I think there may have still been bones and organs in there. Anyway, their recording has very rudimentary production and I thought their sound had a bigger "umph" to it live. The singer's vocals are kind of odd though and they couldn't ever seem to get them just right in the live mix. He was enunciating clearly but his voice still came out like he was mumbling. Maybe not his fault. Still a pleasant band to start the night with. megiloth described them as "Mercyful Fate meets Tesla" and I think that's a fair descriptor.

Next up were The Devil's Blood whom I would classify as pagan metal. I had never heard them before tonight and had no idea what to expect. When they came out and did their sound check they looked like a bunch of dorks from a 90's alternative band and the riffs they played did nothing to downplay this. One of the guitarists even had what looked like some kind of 60's surf rock guitar. Then they left the stage and came back as completely different people. Shirtless and covered head to toe in what I hope was fake blood, they proceeded to tear into some very hypnotic, very primal sounding metal. They were then joined on stage by their vocalist: a very charismatic high priestess/earth mother type woman. She stood almost motionless for the band's entire set, barefoot and with her arms upraised and fixing everyone in the room with the most intense STARE. Afterward I felt like I had been initiated into something and like I should strip naked, go into the woods, and kill a wild animal with my bare hands and teeth.

The only band I've ever heard that I can really comapre The Devil's Blood to is the 60's/70's death rock band Coven. They've got the sound and definitely have the vibe. I'd say I want to see them again but I'm afraid of what I might do...

Third up were straight-up black metal band Watain. I may not know what a Watain is, but I know fellow lovers of the dark and theatrical when I see them and these Swedes more than qualify. They had the longest set-up time of any band. Every time I thought the roadies were done they'd bring out another five foot tall inverted iron cross, or another totemic array of animal bones, or another length of metal chains to hang. Finally Watain came skulking out under layers of armor, ripped fabric, and corpse paint like they'd just robbed a thrift store in Mordor and they just went completely insane. Believe it or not, their music is actually quite beautiful and melodic in places and their lyrics can be quite introspective. There was one song in particular where the singer was speaking about the darkness between the stars that I found really haunting. Black metal constantly walks a razor-thin line between scary and silly. Watain are one of the few bands I've found that are never in danger of falling to the silly side despite setting themselves up with every possible opportunity to do so.

Finally the headliners and the band I had most wanted to see, Behemoth, took the stage. Extreme metal just doesn't get better than this. Nergal, the lead vocalist, is a controversial public figure in his native Poland thanks to his persistent trolling of that country's religious establishment and he was no less on-message tonight. You can tell he's playing a character when he takes the stage, but he's so intensely committed to it that you get as into it as he does. He also looks extremely good for having just gone through a near-fatal battle with leukemia only a few months ago. Also, if you watch the video in the link above, you'll notice him wearing a crazy Magneto/Galactus/Batman helmet in the later half of the video. He actually wore it tonight at the concert. I respect the hell out of any man who can beat leukemia, piss off the religious establishment, and be the goddamn Batman all at the same time. Unrelated: Behemoth's bassist Orion is a huge, musclebound ogre of a man. This guy is so big and so ripped that if Peter Steele were still alive and had to fight him I... I'm not sure Peter would win! I know, it seems impossible but I'm telling you, this guy walks down the street and Japanese businessmen run away screaming. I think Orion may be the reason why Watain have so many cattle bones to decorate their stage with. He ate the cows whole. You'd think him standing side-by-side with a frail, skeletal scarecrow like Nergal would be funny but it's not. You just wonder which one needs the nourishment from your pale, soft body more and is going to fight you harder to take it from you.

Met some cool people at this show. Normally at concerts I talk to no one, no one talks to me, and that's the way I like it. But friendly people just kept coming up to me and starting conversations and in a move that is completely unlike me, I really enjoyed it. Two guys who drove over from Springfield, MO struck up a conversation with the two of us as we waited for the show to start and just handed us CD's of their bands, no charge. I got to listen to them a little bit on the drive back from Megiloth's house and they are incredibly good, as in way better than I'm used to unsigned bands sounding. So that was a pleasant surprise.

Great music I paid money to see and great music that was just given to me to keep for free. I don't think you're going to find a better deal at a metal show or any other kind of show. I'll call it a win for sure.

This is who I'll be seeing tonight along with a few other exciting bands.


Tomorrow, by contrast, will suck. I have to get up early in the morning to go do five hours of standardized patient work at KU Med Center immediately followed by an eight hour shift at my regular job :/

My parents finally have a sump pump installed in their basement, replacing the old gravity drain that was the source of so much trouble. I haven't been over there to look but apparently the plumber crews (who have been over there for days on end,) had to jackhammer up a bunch of the concrete. Hopefully the pump will help my folks rest easier and avoid any future floods until they can finally get out of there.

Last night I went with megiloth and thanis_bloodsto to see Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel at the Midland theatre. These are three of the royalty of thrash metal and believe it or not, I had never seen any of them live until tonight. They each did a hell of a job. I was expecting Anthrax to be fun but just okay since they had one album a absolutely loved and several that were just alright to me, and I haven't really gotten into their newer stuff. To my surprise they really put on an amazing show! This was in spite of their guitarist Scott Ian being out due to a sudden illness. Fortunately, all the guitarists from the other two bands took turns filling his spot, each one playing about 3 songs each. Joey Belladonna (Anthrax's singer) kept apologizing for the situation but it really created a fun atmosphere with all the bands helping out.

Of the three acts Testament was definitely the LOUDEST. They are one act where you know for sure you have just seen a METAL band. They were the one I most wanted to see and they did not disappoint.

Working backwards, that brings me to Death Angel. They are an extremely hard-working band, touring constantly, and been around just as long as the other two, yet they've never managed to work their way up to main event status. I cannot figure out why because they deliver tight, intricate songs that are as brutal as they are beautiful. They've been through KC several times this year and missed them each time until now and I am really regretting it.

The disappointing aspect of the concert for me was that each band had at least two songs I really wanted to hear live and NONE of them played ANY of them! They all somehow managed to play every other big song the had except the ones I most wanted. I expect that from a band every now and then. But three in a row? Come on.

Good show overall and also it was at the Midland Theatre which as I always love to point out was built at the end of the 19th century and as a result is filled with statues and gold paint and motherfucking carved gods and angels and shit. Perfect place to hold a metal show. Every metal show needs to be in a place like that.

Next concert will be Children of Bodom/Eluviete a week from Monday and it will be at the much more austere setting of the Granada in Lawrence KS. Not as pretty as the Midland but I'll manage.

Last night I got to experience another treat in my ongoing binge of concerts. I don't know the proper genre classification for Beats Antique and am too lazy to look it up so I will just call them what I always have, which is "bellydance music." Led by the diminutive yet fearsome Zoe Jakes who is one of the most amazing bellydancers I've ever seen live, they put on a seriously mindbending show.

( Concert and context... )

Such sights come with a price. It was after 2 am by the time we left the concert hall. After taking our friend home and dealing finishing the car issues from earlier in the day it was almost 4 am by the time we got home. Did I mention I had to be at work by 7 am this morning? Yeah, today was a rough day at work during which no fucks were given. I got off work, treated myself to a hot fudge sundae from Sonic, got home, and passed right the fuck out. I did not dream, I was so tired. Was it worth it and would I do it again? Hell yeah. Next weekend I get back into the metal mindset with my Viking metal heroes Amon (fucking) Amarth(!) I don't know if they've ever seen Zoe in her antlered goddess costume, but I think they would approve.

Although technically I did enjoy an entire day of live music at Irish fest this year, the last actual heavy metal concert I attended was three years ago. Last night I put that right.

( Cut if you're not interested in heavy metal, which somehow has come to be everyone who actually still reads this. )

As if I don't have enough on my plate, Amon Amarth is playing Lawrence on April 16th. Definitely can't miss that. But first is next week and next week is Motorhead!

Last night was a rare treat. ysathora and I got to see one of our favorite bands, Nightwish in concert.

( Concert adventures, in case you care. )

April 14th - Type O Negative, The Granada, Lawrence, KS
April 30th - Lacuna Coil, The Beaumont Club, KC MO
May 22nd - Dimmu Borgir, The Beaumont Club, KC MO

And I will miss NONE of them for I am Serpentor and THIS I COMMAND!