SuperGiant started the festivities whilst Neb & I were looking for parking. I had gotten a late start in the first place, and this was compounded by the ridiculous parking situation downtown (The Shins were playing the El Rey). From all accounts, SuperGiant really brought it, even in the face of a daunting 9:00 start time. So apologies all around for missing yer set, doods.

Seemless was up next. They had replaced Artimus Pyledriver on the tour and who I had really wanted to see, so that had me bummed. Also, the fact that the guitarist had been in Killswitch Engage did not fill me with hope, as I'm not particularly fond of Metalcore. Strangely, however, Seemless is completely unlike KSE; their sound is more of an updated Southern/Classic Hard Rock hybrid. They were tight and had good tone/skills, but the generic, tuneless vocals didn't really grab me. Seemless were not the most visually exciting group to watch (not a lot of movement besides the vocalist), but they gave a solid performance. My overall opinion of them might have been higher if Valient Thorr had not followed with one of the more explosive live sets I've ever seen. However…

Where to start with Valient Thorr? Twin White Mesa Boogie full stacks framed the stage, one topped with a Boogie Rectumfrier head, one with a Marshall JCM800. This was gonna be a loud one. Soundcheck over, one guitarist put forth the rhetorical question, "Uh, where's our singer?" Not to worry; in less than a minute, a hyperkinetic elf with a prodigious beer gut, wearing TIGHT jeans, white belt, and a pair of high red wrestling shoes took the stage (AUUUGH! My eyes!!). A red blazer, male pattern baldness pageboy haircut, and a bushy red beard completed his look - obviously, this must be the singer, thought I. Did I say singer? From the start of the set I could tell that his vocals weren't his strongest asset. Not a lot of range/melody here, either.

Didn't.

Matter.

This was a high energy rock and roll party, and the host was Valient Thorr himself. Like a chimerical creature comprised of equal parts Iggy Pop, Gibby Haynes, and Rob Tyner (with a bit of early Ted Nugent-style high speed ranting for good measure), he never stopped moving, despite having twisted his ankle while "warming up outside." As he manically ran in place and around the stage, exhorting the crowd with preacher-like gestures and shouting at the top of his lungs, it was impossible to question his conviction. He came to RAWK, dammit, and thankfully, no one tried to stop him. Seeing him peel off his jacket and shirt a few songs in was NOT a pretty sight, but it was impossible to look away for long.

His bandmates were also constantly on the move, striking some serious rock hero poses and generally rocking the fuck out, but all of their stage energy put together couldn't touch Valient. The man is a force of nature.

The music was in a similar vein as Seemless', but VT's double guitar attack provided a lot more depth. Trade-off solos, harmony leads, and varied chord inversions were their stock in trade. Solid, interlocked drums & bass completed the recipe, and the band transitioned seamlessly (heh) between Metal, southern/Classic Rock and Punk influenced sections. For an hour, they burned brightly as Mr. Thorr whipped the crowd into a frenzy, dancing and gyrating spastically on his injured ankle and jumping into the crowd occasionally, sweating profusely. On one of these forays, he managed to convince a good chunk of the audience to drop to one knee, arms outstretched toward The Valient One as they took his “Pledge of Rock.” Good times, lemme tell ya. These guys have been touring for 2 years straight, and it showed.

Fu Manchu had a hard act to follow, but they were clearly up to the task. Blasting through a too-short set stuffed with material off their earlier albums, with a few choice newer songs including We Must Obey & Sensei vs. Sensei” from the new one, fuzzed-out and louder than god, Scott Hill & crew delivered the goods. Bob Balch (who I sometimes STILL think of as “the new guy") has really grown into a monster of a guitarist. The pumped up riffs throbbed powerfully through the house, driven by drummer Scott Reeder and bassist Brad Davis. Scott Hill was playing his trademark Dan Armstrong Lucite guitar through – I think – an old Peavey PA head. His usual speak-singing vocals were in effect. Using inflection more than melody to provide vocal variety, he also had his mic stand set up like Lemmy of Motorhead: angled down towards his head from a few inches above. I don’t recall him ever doing this before, but while it may have allowed his throat to open up, it also gave him two good shots to the face when some of the pit crowd bounced into it. Ever the professional, Hill shrugged it off & played through it, but you could tell it had hurt.

Boogie Van, Saturn III, Grendel/Snowman, King of the Road – the songs kept coming in a blur: Mongoose, Eatin’ Dust… Fu Manchu wrapped it up in about 45-50 minutes, which is my only complaint about their set. Clearly, they gave it their all, but it was still too short, dammit.

I’ll cut ‘em some slack on that because after a few hit or miss albums, the Fu has triumphantly returned to form. I’d have felt sorry for most bands if they had to follow Valient Thorr, but the road-seasoned Fu Manchu not only pulled it off; they nailed it.

I poked my head backstage before leaving to compliment the band, and I said something like, “That mic to the face HAD to hurt,” to which Hill replied, “That’s why I’ve got (unintelligible)!” Whatever it was he said, he seemed pretty pleased with the set, and I don’t blame him at all.

I picked up the new CD on the way out. Good stuff.

I don’t blame him at all.

quote:

Originally posted by RacerX:
On one of these forays, he managed to convince a good chunk of the audience to drop to one knee, arms outstretched toward The Valient One as they took his “Pledge of Rock.”.

I was waiting for him to bust out the red Kool-Aid.

quote:

“That’s why I’ve got (unintelligible)!”

"veneers!"

Thanks for the cool review racerx!!!!

Fu Manchu has always been one of my favorite live bands. They always bring it. They hit you loud and hard. I have all of their records on vinyl. I was really psyched to see them play "Superbird" ... a song I've never seen them play live (i've seen them probably a dozen times)

quote:

I was waiting for him to bust out the red Kool-Aid.

hahahaha! that's funny

quote:

"veneers!"

AHA!

For anyone who wasn't there... THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bowt!!