Portland's Red Fang blew into town last night and maimed a few eardrums with their sweet sweet rock and roll music. Here is a video of their new song "Wires", which is currently streaming on their MySpace page. More about the show and more videos to come, but for now my Red Fang-over is currently in full swing. Making it impossible to get any work done, while my naive co-workers remain baffled by my unusually sunny Monday morning demeanor. Should I share my secret?
Showing posts with label Funhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funhouse. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
0 [LIVE REVIEW] Captured! By Robots / BlöödHag / Stovokor @ Funhouse
Words and Videos by Nik Christofferson
Sometimes sci-fi Geekdom is a fun place to venture. As was the case back on April 9th at the Funhouse, where probably the greatest collection of geek bands ever assembled battled in out for shtick of the decade. In the process, a Klingon warrior death metal band defended their honor, we said farewell to long-running “Edu-Core” kings BlöödHag, and helped celebrate 10 years of the Chucky Cheeses on acid sideshow that is Captured! By Robots.
Stovokor aka the NW’s only Klingon death metal band drove up from Portland, Oregon to open the show, and immediately had some choice words for the humans in the audience, making it abundantly clear that today was a good day to die (“Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam”). Klingons definitely cannot play instruments better than humans, but that didn’t stop them from making skull stew and slinging as many Klingon insults as they could during the time they held the stage. Hab SoSlI' Quch!
Though not a popular decision as far as their fans are concerned, BlöödHag still made the choice to hang it up after 15 years of immortalizing sci-fi authors through death metal, and this marked their final show. Seattle’s own long time pro-literacy metal heads ripped through two minute bloodbath after two minute bloodbath, choosing to retrace their catalog of sci-fi author themed tunes in alphabetical order. You better believe Issac Isamov, Jules Verne, Anne McCaffery, and Ray Bradbury made the final setlist, but it also featured a couple never before and never again played additions as well. Throughout the 40 minute set, neck-tied hellbeast Jake Stratton's vocals were furious and guttural beyond belief, while Jeff McNulty threw down the forever vicious riffs that have since 1995, built BlöödHag’s reputation as far more than some novelty act. Even though J.B. Stratton, Dr. J.M. McNulty, Sir Zachery Orgel, and Ambassador Brent Carpenter pelted the packed house with shitty garage sale sci-fi novels for the last time, their legacy as one of Seattle’s most well-read and indisputably brutal metal bands maintains intact. This time I avoided a novel upside the head unlike my previous BlöödHag experience. Kind of a bummer though because it would have been nice to go home with a keepsake. RIP BlöödHag (1995-2010).
The evening’s headliners were non-other than Captured! By Robots. If you aren’t familiar with the C!BR story, the basic premise claims that the human JBOT attempted to create his own band out of robots. Instead of following him, they revolted, and now force him to travel the world with them, performing music. A simple ploy, but the actual experience is so much more. Jay Vance aka JBOT is a certifiable genius, controlling the packed stage of three robots (two evil bug eyed drummers, and a bass player reminiscent of Short Circuit’s Johnny 5), two stuffed apes, and three headless horn players all via his self-made robotics remote control called the “Motherfucker Board (MFB)". It’s quite a show, one that not only contains a musically gratifying blend of punk rock and metal, but also features an unbelievably entertaining storyline and amazingly well-timed banter between JBOT and all members of the robot band. C!BR is geekery at its highest level, and some might even go as far as to even call it wizardry (me), but one thing's for sure you must see to believe.
Stovokor aka the NW’s only Klingon death metal band drove up from Portland, Oregon to open the show, and immediately had some choice words for the humans in the audience, making it abundantly clear that today was a good day to die (“Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam”). Klingons definitely cannot play instruments better than humans, but that didn’t stop them from making skull stew and slinging as many Klingon insults as they could during the time they held the stage. Hab SoSlI' Quch!
Though not a popular decision as far as their fans are concerned, BlöödHag still made the choice to hang it up after 15 years of immortalizing sci-fi authors through death metal, and this marked their final show. Seattle’s own long time pro-literacy metal heads ripped through two minute bloodbath after two minute bloodbath, choosing to retrace their catalog of sci-fi author themed tunes in alphabetical order. You better believe Issac Isamov, Jules Verne, Anne McCaffery, and Ray Bradbury made the final setlist, but it also featured a couple never before and never again played additions as well. Throughout the 40 minute set, neck-tied hellbeast Jake Stratton's vocals were furious and guttural beyond belief, while Jeff McNulty threw down the forever vicious riffs that have since 1995, built BlöödHag’s reputation as far more than some novelty act. Even though J.B. Stratton, Dr. J.M. McNulty, Sir Zachery Orgel, and Ambassador Brent Carpenter pelted the packed house with shitty garage sale sci-fi novels for the last time, their legacy as one of Seattle’s most well-read and indisputably brutal metal bands maintains intact. This time I avoided a novel upside the head unlike my previous BlöödHag experience. Kind of a bummer though because it would have been nice to go home with a keepsake. RIP BlöödHag (1995-2010).
The evening’s headliners were non-other than Captured! By Robots. If you aren’t familiar with the C!BR story, the basic premise claims that the human JBOT attempted to create his own band out of robots. Instead of following him, they revolted, and now force him to travel the world with them, performing music. A simple ploy, but the actual experience is so much more. Jay Vance aka JBOT is a certifiable genius, controlling the packed stage of three robots (two evil bug eyed drummers, and a bass player reminiscent of Short Circuit’s Johnny 5), two stuffed apes, and three headless horn players all via his self-made robotics remote control called the “Motherfucker Board (MFB)". It’s quite a show, one that not only contains a musically gratifying blend of punk rock and metal, but also features an unbelievably entertaining storyline and amazingly well-timed banter between JBOT and all members of the robot band. C!BR is geekery at its highest level, and some might even go as far as to even call it wizardry (me), but one thing's for sure you must see to believe.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
0 [VIDEOS] Weedeater / Black Tusk / The Gates of Slumber @ Funhouse
Words and Videos by Nik Christofferson
There’s nothing like a killer metal show to start the week off right, as was the case with the Monday night Weedeater headlined sludge and doom fest which rolled into town back on March 29th. The Nine Toe Tour as it was humorously named following Weedeater bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins’ digit obliterating shotgun accident, also included a stellar supporting cast including Georgia swamp rats Black Tusk, Doom peddlers The Gates of Slumber, and brutalists Struck by Lightning.
Having blown it and showed up too late to catch Struck by Lightning, Indiana’s The Gates of Slumber were first up. The Gates of Slumber have certainly spent some considerable time studying at the Trouble institute of the doomed or perhaps Pentagram University as well. Gates’ many years of paying homage to doom metal’s pioneers have resulted in a text-book sound that in fact is no way shape or form repetitive or boring. Actually, “Hymns of Blood and Thunder” was one of the better metal records of 2009, and on this night the trio showed why.
With bands like Mastodon, Baroness, and Kylesa all hailing from the Peach State, standing out in the Georgian metal scene seems like an uphill battle. Power trio Black Tusk, while making their Seattle debut, seemed primed to stake their claim as a new Georgian force to be reckoned with in 2010. The new material builds on and crushes anything they have done in the past, and should turn some heads as soon as “Taste of Sin” hits streets May 25th.
Weedeater unfortunately lived up to their well deserved reputation of blowing fuses wherever they go. On this particular occasion they had blown their forth fuse right about the time 1am hit, meaning I couldn’t stick around any longer to see if they were even able to get off the ground. Bummer.
There’s nothing like a killer metal show to start the week off right, as was the case with the Monday night Weedeater headlined sludge and doom fest which rolled into town back on March 29th. The Nine Toe Tour as it was humorously named following Weedeater bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins’ digit obliterating shotgun accident, also included a stellar supporting cast including Georgia swamp rats Black Tusk, Doom peddlers The Gates of Slumber, and brutalists Struck by Lightning.
Having blown it and showed up too late to catch Struck by Lightning, Indiana’s The Gates of Slumber were first up. The Gates of Slumber have certainly spent some considerable time studying at the Trouble institute of the doomed or perhaps Pentagram University as well. Gates’ many years of paying homage to doom metal’s pioneers have resulted in a text-book sound that in fact is no way shape or form repetitive or boring. Actually, “Hymns of Blood and Thunder” was one of the better metal records of 2009, and on this night the trio showed why.
With bands like Mastodon, Baroness, and Kylesa all hailing from the Peach State, standing out in the Georgian metal scene seems like an uphill battle. Power trio Black Tusk, while making their Seattle debut, seemed primed to stake their claim as a new Georgian force to be reckoned with in 2010. The new material builds on and crushes anything they have done in the past, and should turn some heads as soon as “Taste of Sin” hits streets May 25th.
Weedeater unfortunately lived up to their well deserved reputation of blowing fuses wherever they go. On this particular occasion they had blown their forth fuse right about the time 1am hit, meaning I couldn’t stick around any longer to see if they were even able to get off the ground. Bummer.
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