Wow... We actually had a pretty calm month! BUT, I know what's coming - London. So I think we planned it this way.
05.06.2011: Loudness at The Boardwalk in Orangevale, CA
OK, I had no knowledge of this band at all. Why did we drive down to the Sacramento area for this show? Loudness is one of Mike's favorite bands. They are an 80's rock band from Japan and they seldom tour the states. This worked out perfectly cause we had plans in Reno the day after the show so we drove down a day early to catch Loudness in Sacramento then drove to Reno the next morning.
The place was packed. I stayed up front and snagged a pic from the bass player. There were a ton of people there that knew all the words to the songs. Mike was the only photographer allowed.
05.15.2011 Rammstein at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA
OK.. WOW is the only way to start off talking about this show. Are you kidding me? Crazy good music and even crazier good show. How they get away with some of their antics and show posters, I have no idea! Check out my video:
05.27.2011: Nolan Garrett at Louie G's in Fife, WA
We go from 80's rock to a young blues guitar player. Nolan is only 13 and is already opening up for Randy Hansen (The composer and Jimi Hendrix tribuite musician). Nolan plays a lot. if you have a chance to catch him, please do. The youth musicians in this area are really something to be excited about. There is a new generation of musician that really have bright futures and they all play styles that are just a little bit different from each other.
04.13.2011: System of a Down with Gogol Bordello at Key Arena in Seattle, WA OK, I was VERY disappointed that this show was no pro photographers at all. However, this rule provided some of the best entertainment that I've had at a concert. BUT this meant that Mike nor I got photo passes so I can't re-live this show through our photos. AND I still got a guitar pick even though I wasn't even close to the stage :)
The Story: We knew there were no photographers for this tour so when we saw a guy walk by with a tripod and camera gear, we watched. It took just a few minutes to see the guy get escorted to the rear of the floor surrounded by security. Then SOAD's personal security guard arrived along with their manager Beno (Beno brought me my pic). Mike asked him what was up. Summary of Beno's reply: He asked the guy who he was and who gave him the photo pass. Guys reply: Their manager. Beno: Really, Who is their manager? Guy: His name is xxxxx xxxxx (Not Beno) Beno: Interesting, cause I'm their manager and I didn't give out any photo passes Security: Escorts guy out of the building
This show was especially fun for me cause we brought the kids. Ryan and Elisa had a good time, but for the second time, Ryan fell asleep at a major, and loud, concert. I'm sure he was snoring the way he was sitting in his seat. He's also done that at an AIC concert at the Paramount. We were standing on the side and he sat on my feet and fell asleep for almost an hour. I don't know how he does it.
Both SOAD and Gogol left me wanting lots more. This was the second time I'd seen Gogol and they were just as much fun the second time around. SOAD was a first for me. I absolutely loved them. They didn't sing my favorite song, Vicinity of Obscenity, but they sang 29 songs total. 29! Here are some snapshots: SOAD/Gogol
04.14.2011: Deftones at The Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA LOVE their energy. I still don't know enough of their songs, but you don't have to to enjoy this band. Here are some of Mike's shots from the 2010 & 2011 shows: Deftones/Chino Files 2010/2011 I was excited to see Dillinger Escape Project open, but they played in the actual dark which really wasn't fun at all.
04.16.2011: Record Store Day with Duff McKagen's Loaded at Easy Street Records on Queen Anne in Seattle, WA I had no idea that Easy Street had a stage behind the garage door at the back of the store. You literally stand between records to watch a band play. We love Loaded. Love the guys, love seeing them play any time we can. This is a band that we support big time. Please take the time to have a listen. Duff has been in Loaded longer than he was in GNR now. Pretty amazing. Here are my photos: Duff McKagan's Loaded - Easy Street Records - Seattle 4/16/11 I also have several videos up from the show on my Youtube channel: stefferzz1970 This one was my favorite video showing the garage door going up:
04.29.2011 S.Y.F.T. CD release show at El Corazon in Seattle, WA Syft are a local rock/metal band with a bunch of promise. The lead singer, Sean, is a very good front man. Great stage presence and he gets the crowd going. Technically they are a 4 piece but sometimes bring an extra guitar along. Photos: S.Y.F.T. CD release party @ El Corazon 04.29.2011
03.05.2011: Dokken & Sword of Judgement at the King Cat Theater in Seattle, WA
It's been 4 years since I met my husband and I still feel like I'm in Metal 101 class. Yes I have always known of Dokken, but I didn't know a single tune. It was a good time though and I got to continue practicing with my new camera.
Sword of Judgement is a young local band and had some good shredding going on. They are a throw back to the 80's style metal bands like Megadeth, Flotsam and Jetsam & Rage.
03.07.2011: Dirty Heads at El Corazon in Seattle, WA
I cannot praise this band enough!! Dirty Heads are amazing live. They and their fans are always full of energy. Good energy. Energy that is out to have a great time. This show was the first time I had seen them headlining with a sellout of their very own. It was completely packed in there. It was so hot that the security guards, stage right, were squiring the crowd with Super Sucker water guns to cool them off. I was luckily up on the second level, but I still had to keep and eye out for the water to my camera was ok.
Here's a video from the show - 'Check The Level' and 'Paint It Black'. There are several up on my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/stefferzz1970
Opening for Dirty Heads was a new band to us called New Politics. We left fans of the band as well as the guys. They were super nice to chat with after the show. I'm sure you'll recognize their hit!
03.11.2011: Super Geek League at the King Cat Theatre in Seattle, WA
You really really have to see SGL to understand their so called Sci-Fi Punk Circus. Circus is a very good adjective. Take a punk band, dress them up like Geek super heroes, add in an aerobatics act, Go-Go dancers, a priest and a devil and you can just barely begin to understand this spectacle... To see what I mean, see the photos! Super Geek League - 03.11.2011
03.12.2011: Rock Out ALS with Pretty Enemy, Late September Dogs and History For Sale at Club Motor in Seattle, WA
First, Rock Out ALS, is a non-profit group who have a mission to raise money for ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease) research through Rock 'n Roll shows around the Seattle area. As always, this show featured some great local bands from the Seattle area. It is always a good time for a great cause.
I really don't need to say anything but DEVO. It's really all that needs to be said. If you've seen them live, you know. If you haven't, they put on a great show. You'd have no idea how old they really are! They move around like they are still in their 30's or 40's. You can see Mike's shots here:
February only had a couple of shows this time around, but they were good ones!
Slash with Myles Kennedy: February 5th was Slash at the Tacoma Dome opening for Ozzy. Mike shot Slash, but he didn't get a pass for Ozzy. Dailies and weeklies only this time around. No radio stations or blogs. We had great seats and I was allowed to bring in my point and click so I did manage to get a few shots in. This was the second time that I had seen Slash perform with Myles Kennedy. I liked them better in the larger arena. Myles sounded better too. I think he may have had a cold the previous show.
Ozzy held his own. To this day it amazes me that he is coherent on stage but completely incoherent off stage. He is alive when he performs and seems to be really present. I'm not an Ozzy fan, but I did enjoy my first Ozzy show. Here's a video of 'Iron Man':
Ozzy Osbourne - 'Iron Man'
Toyota Center, Kenewick, WA 02.12.2011: Headlining the show, Avenged Sevenfold of course killed it along with it's tech in this video of the opening song 'Nightmare'. He's just fine ;) I've seen Avenged several times and am NEVER disappointed with their show, other than it ends.
New Medicine opened up the show and I got to use my new D7000 for the first time to shoot it. I only had a photo pass for them so you get videos of the rest. We are friends with the guys so I am completely biased when I say they totally nailed it. Next up was Hollywood Undead who I had never seen before. High high energy. It was interesting but a little much for me. Before A7X took the stage, we got to see Stone Sour. I've seen them a few times as well. This time though, I was actually distracted by Corey's hair. I'm used to seeing in shorn very short. After Stone Sour was done, Corey came out to the soundboard and was standing right in front of me visiting with either M Shadows OR Synyster Gates wife (they are married to twins dontch know).
