September 2010 Concerts: Queensryche and Uproar

September 2010: Queensryche and Uproar!

Queensryche @ the Puyallup Fair:

This was a first for me, I've never seen Queensryche do a full show. I did see their acoustic set with Loaded a year or so ago. I hadn't been to a show at the Fair in many years. I was happy to see improvements to the outdoor venue. Our seats were on the floor so I wasn't able to see if there were improvements in the grandstand seating area.

There was a opening band - Tesla. Now I wasn't really familiar with the band back in the 80's. But I found I did know a couple of the songs more than likely from MTV. My 80's were filled with Wave and Punk for the most part. They were very energetic and I did enjoy seeing them.

When Queensryche took the stage, I was stunned at the size of the drum kit. Holy cow that sucker was big! Cymbols, drums and gongs just over his head too! I'm really unfamiliar with most of their songs but was able to sing along with the masses to ‘Silent Lucidity’. I was really moved when their Native American dancer took the stage. I happen to be 1/3 Native so I'm always affected by those types of performances. Highly recommend seeing them live if you haven't already. It is a good time.

Uproar - Post Falls, Idaho:

We were able to check into our hotel early so we could freshen up a tad from our drive over to the Spokane/Post Falls area. I do have to say that the organization of The Knitting Factory staff at the venue left A LOT to be desired. I'm not sure if this was the first time they put on a show at the old greyhound track or not, but they need to figure things out QUICKLY. We didn't have tickets waiting for us. Ours got lost or dropped along the way. Mike did have one ticket to use to get in and a little while later he came back to give me a ticket. This got us in the door, but it didn't get us backstage to meet up with Halestorm. We did find them at their booth doing meet and greets so they found a couple of extra wristbands for us. Yeah! We could go backstage now.

The second stage had a familiar band playing second - New Medicine. We had seen them play the actual Knitting Factory with Halestorm a few months earlier. Opening the show was a band from Canada called Hail the Villian. We liked them a ton. The lead singer knew how to engage the crowd and keep them engaged their entire set. New Medicine then took the stage. They are kind of a modern twist on Linkin Park/Green Day. Just a fun, fun band. After them came Airborne out of Australia. Holy Cow!! I understand the meaning behind their name. Their lead singer likes to go to the air. He climbs the speaker stacks, he climbs the rigging for the stage, he gets on the shoulders of his crew and walks around the crowd playing his guitar. Pure mayhem! In a good way ;)

Headlining the second stage was Hell Yeah. This band scared me. Well, not the actual band, but the reaction to the band from the crowd. People were really into this band in a drunk and disorderly way. The way that makes me move back and watch from afar. This was when I decided it would be a good think to go backstage and get on the bus with Halestorm.

Time for the main stage!!!! I was able to go on stage for Halestorm and watch from Joe's side of the stage. This was the first time the crowd was calling for the band by name to get on stage. Arejay was so excited! Halestorm killed it of course. But then again, I love them and am totally biased.

After Halestorm was finished, we went back to the bus with them. I missed Stone Sour play but I knew I could just catch them tomorrow in Auburn. There was no way I was going to miss Avenged. I made my way down to the stage. I had to stay back cause they use so much pyro. Their opening song was Nightmare. They have quite the dramatic entrance. One of their stage hands is up on some rigging with a noose around his neck pacing (yes, he has safety gear on as well. He 'jumps' from the gear hanging above the center of the stage when the band comes out and starts the song. He hangs there seemingly lifeless through the whole song, which isn't a short one. A crew of fake EMTs come out and lower him down to a strecher and whisk him away. There were some screams from the crowd when he 'jumped'. I was one. My favorite song is ‘Afterlife’ so I stayed out until after that song before I made my way back to the Halestorm bus. I’m not a fan of Disturbed at all so I didn’t go back out for them.

We visited for a bit more before we headed back to our hotel room to get some sleep. We were leaving early to drive back home then over to the Uproar show at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn.

Video  Uproar, Post Falls, ID

Uproar – Auburn, WA

We almost didn’t make it on time. There was a pretty gruesome motorcycle accident on the pass on the way back home.

Same bands today but a different location. Again we were with Halestorm early and I got to watch them from the side stage. Mike was covering this show for KISW and we had good seats. Once Halestorm was done, I made my way to our seats to catch Stone Sour for the first time and Avenged Sevenfold again. I really liked what I saw in Stone Sour. I’m not really familiar with Slipknot other than knowing Corey Taylor sings for both bands.

It was fun seeing the reaction to A7X’s intro now that I knew what it was like. I was looking around the theater to see facial reactions. This band never ever disappoints me. This is the 3^rd time that I’ve seen them and I plan to see them even more!!

I’m still not a Disturbed fan (They didn’t convert me overnnight) so I went backstage with Mike and Arejay. Arejay was getting Mike to take promo’s for him. Some turned out amazing!! They are really creative when they get together.

 Video: Uproar, Auburn, WA

KISW's Pain in the Grass 2010 - August 28 @ The White River Amphitheater

This was an amazing day! I got my own photo pass!!!! I'll put up some photos from the show at the bottom of the blog!

We had to be there by Noon so we could get in and meet up with the KISW staff for instructions. I was going to be able to shoot the first 3 songs of each band and the interviews in the VIP section.

First band for each PITW show is a local act. This year - Post Modern Heroes. They got a pretty decent crown for being first up. I'd guess around 1,500 people had made their way into the show area. PMH killed it and made some new fans!!

Next up - My Darkest Days. You may know them from their song 'Porn Star Dancin'. I liked their look. Sol is just adorable. I know he'll hate that comment, but it's true!!

3rd - Drowning Pool. Hot damn they were awesome. I can't believe I got to shoot these guys!!! Ryan made his way into the crowd for 'Bodies'. Talk about insane. Mike went right in after him to get some killer shots!!! Sadly, this was just a day after Ryan's son had a tragic injury that he will be recovering from for a very long time.

4th - Sevendust!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them. I love Lajon. I love Vinny. I love Morgan. I love Clint. and I love John. They are just great great guys. They played a good set but I had to leave right after my 3 songs in the pit to make it to the VIP area to see PMH doing their on air interview with KISW.

5th - Puddle of Mudd. This band is the reason I even wanted to be at this show. I have a huge crush on Wes. They did not disappoint me at all! I had never seen them live before and I'm so glad I did! I was also lucky enough to get an all access pass from Shinedown so I was able to go backstage for the rest of the show. It made it much easier to stay with Mike and see the remaining shows from the side stage.

6th - Black Label Society: They are a bit harder than I like, but they were entertaining. I liked taking photos of them.

7th - Shinedown: For me, the set was a little too up and then down. They have such a diverse portfolio but I would have lumped the ballads together. I found the crowd was a little down during some up the rockin' tunes. Rockin', ballad, rockin' ballad. It's just too up and down. I didn't watch too much after my 3 songs. We ran in to Vinny backstage and had a great visit. Southern men can be so damn charming!

The 8th and final band of the night were Godsmack. They really aren't my kind of band either. Their lighting was pretty bad so my pictures were not the greatest. Sully is quite the front man though. The crowd was very into it.


Post Modern Heroes:

 

My Darkest Days:

 

 

Drowning Pool:

 

Sevendust:

  

Puddle of Mudd:

 

Black Label Society:

Shinedown:

Godsmack:

Pain in the Grass Pre-Funk party: Aug 27, 2010 @ Studio Seven

The 2010 pre-funk featured Windowpane, Klover Jane, Post Modern Heroes & Astro-Creep. There were two other bands, but we didn't get there until after they were done performing.

This was the fist time I had seen Klover Jane with Rane Stone on lead vocals. I really liked Stefan, but I think Rane brought KJ up a level. This band is worthy of getting some good traction on an EPK.

Windowpane is just a great rock band. I like them more and more every time I see them.

PMH - Loved seeing them so hyped up to be the opening band for Pain in the Grass tomorrow!!! They were able to play early enough to get out and get home for some sleep. They have to be at White River at 8am tomorrow to get their gear front loaded for the 1pm start.

Post Modern Heroes: Pain in the Grass Pre-Funk at Studio 7

I didn't really know what to expect from Astro-Creep. This is a full costume cover band of White Zombie. What a fun band! Loved the costumes and the black light paints.

I love seeing so many great live acts in Seattle!! We are a pretty blessed area.

Post Modern Heroes and Witchburn on August 20, 2010 @ Tony Z's in Everett, WA

You will be hearing a lot from me about these bands. Both of these bands are friends of ours. We support both of them madly!!

Witchburn took the small stage and owned it! The crowd was very in to it. They travel well. People come out to see the lead singer Jamie Nova. Many of them know her as the lead for the all-girl Hell's Belles AC/DC cover band.
Witchburn is a 5-piece band with chicks on bass, lead vocs and lead guitar. They have a Sabbath type of sound. My all time favorite live picture that Mike has taken so far is of the lead guitar player Mischa. She has a head full of dreds that make her looks like Medusa on stage.

Here's a link to one of Mike's video's of Witchburn stills with the song 'Army of Voices'.

 Witchburn - Army of Voices

Post Modern Heroes - Our friend Travis Bracht (formerly of Second Coming) heads up this band. Travis is a stage mover so it really cracks me up to see him on the tiny stage at Tony Z's. There really isn't any place for him to go. Their retro Bowie sound fills the rooms and the crowd with their tunes. Their signature opening - They freeze for the first 2 minutes of 'What Would You Do' then break in to their moves.

Post Modern Heroes - 'The One'

Please make an effort to listen to both of these bands. They are very much worth it!!!

Half the World on August 9th, 2010 at El Corazon, Seattle, WA

If you haven't heard of this little gem of a metal band out of Boise, you should really get familiar with them!! I'll have a link to one of their official videos at the bottom.

Half The World are a much heavier femail lead band. The lovely Mary Magill leads this band of talented musicians. We've seen Half The World several times and have even traveled to Boise to see them in their home town.

Having them open for Karnivool in Seattle was a big treat! We didn't have to travel to far and Mike was able to shoot Karnivool! The kids and I didn't stay for the bands after Half The World though. It was a school night still. We just wanted them to be able to see Mary and the guys.

As usual, Mary didn't disappoint. She always sounds great. And the guys always sound heavy!!! Rock horns to you all!!!!!!!!!!!

Half the World - Carry My Dreams Away

Billy Idol - August 5th, 2010 at the Tulalip Casino in Marysville, WA

Billy looks amazing! He's still sexy as hell after all these years.

This was the first time Mike and I had been to the Tulalip for a concert. This was part of their summer outdoor series. They impressed me with adequate bathrooms inside and out. They had great food options and the lighting and sound were both really good.

As for Billy - He not only looked amazing, he sounded amazing. The set was a good length. Steve's guitar solo was insane. The crowd absolutely loved every single moment of the show. I caught a little bit of drum solo and most of 'Mony, Mony' on video. Click the link below!!

Setlist:
'Ready Steady Go!'
'Dancing With Myself'
'Love is Strange'
'Flesh For Fantasy'
'Scream'
'Sweet Sixteen'
'Scarred for Life'
'Kings and Queens of the Underground'
'L.A. Woman'
'King Rocker'
'Running With the Boss Sound'
'Blue Highway'
'Rebel Yell'

Encore:
'White Wedding'
'Mony Mony'

Halestorm, Adelitas Way, Since October & New Medicine - July 23rd, 2010 at the Knitting Factory in Spokane, WA

This was the only stop we had to make on our family vacation to Mt. Rushmore and back. Sorry, but I don't have any pictures or video to add to this blog :(
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We checked in to our hotel and made our way over to the venue. This was the first concert that we were taking both kids to.We ran in to Audie Grantham, drummer of Since October, outside and I got my introduction hug from him. Little did he know, the kids also had a gift for him and Ben. Mike & Ike's! Their favorite candy.

This was our first time to this venue. It looked pretty much like the Boise Knitting Factory on the inside. It has a 21+ section as well as all ages. I like venues like this. The kids and I were escorted to our own little section of the balcony where the bands can watch the bands on stage. Ryan was beyond excited to see Arejay Hale from Halestorm.

This was the first time we had seen New Medicine. They were great. They are a little punk band with Linkin Park mixed with a little Green Day. Check out their CD 'Race You To The Bottom' from Photo Finish Records. The whole CD is great. I believe iTunes has a few bonus songs that aren't on the physical CD.

Since October is just a fabulous live band. Ben's dreds a full stage usage made him a lead singer that you can't take your eyes off of. Luke flicked a pick up to me in the balcony. How did he know I have a pick collection. I will see them play anytime they are in the Pacific NW! :)

Adelitas Way was much better than the first time I saw them earlier in the year. I absolutely love watching the guitar player Creighton Bibbs. He's my favorite part of the band. The singer doesn't do much for me. Nice voice but just kinda blah on stage.

Halestorm, as always, is just the absolute best. There isn't one thing about that band that ever disappoints. Lzzy's vocals, Joe's guitar, Josh's bass and Arejay's drumming are always, always amazing. I couldn't wait for the kids to see Arejay's drum solo for the first time. The kids mouths dropped when they saw Arejay start to drum with his baseball bat sized sticks. Arejay's drum tech (his dad Roger) came over and tossed up drum sticks for myself and the kids. It was a really fun night. One I'm sure the kids will remember for a long time.