Tag Archives: Metal

The Mosh Pit

2 June, 2009 Brian Mc 1 Comment

So has it come to this? Have I run out of things to write about and now have to reply on my friends?

Heck no, I’m nowhere close…

I do however have some great friends, some who have some great writing abilities and asked me recently if I could share some of their work to my reader. Of course they had to bribe me to agree to it. Kidding, I was happy to accommodate their requests.

My first guest blog comes from a long time friend named Frank who was actually at that Clutch show that Matt and I hung out in the lobby for. He, at one time, wrote for the indie 90’s Cleveland music magazine Bottomline as well as contributed to Pittriff.com. I am really be able to share some of his work on my on my site and really got a kick out of this one, so with out further adieu….

THE MOSH PIT
by Frank Soltysiak (aka The Punisher)

Since the dawn of civilization people have used music to express their emotions. For those with less musical skill, dancing to music was the tool of expression. Throughout the passing of time dancing has evolved and changed with the different types of music. Music and dancing have always been used to express the feelings of the specific time and culture. Swing dancing was a counter-measure to express a feeling of rebellion toward an oppressive society during World War II. During the 1960’s and 70’s, the rhythmic swaying movement was used to express the feeling of oneness with the earth and the usual drug-induced feeling that went along with the psychedelic music of the period. Music and dance evolve with the time.

In the last twenty years, music has begun to express an aggression that had not been seen before. This musical transformation was the antithesis to the hippie generation, and began to express the discontent and discomfort with the “Peace, Love, Dope” generation and the sudden popularity of disco. This musical transformation took the form punk rock. And the evolution of the dance led to what is now known as “Moshing”.

With the emergence of Punk Rock in the late 70’s, it was only natural that a new form of dancing would follow. The bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Ramones spearheaded this underground musical movement. With this music, a dance known as “The Pogo” emerged hand in hand. The Pogo, a simple movement of jumping up and down and twisting the hips while in the air, provided a dance for a music that had been thought to be undanceable. Following in line with the Punk movement was the Hardcore movement.

Bands such as Black Flag, Fear, Bad Brains, and the Circle Jerks were among the headliners to this new, more aggressive form of Punk. With this added aggression came an increasingly aggressive dance. This dance was known by many names such as “slamming”, “skanking” or “strutting”. This dance followed a very loose guideline and a tight geometrical form, the form of a circle. This dance held a carnal disorganization, physical danger, and an excessive code of community. Punk and hardcore music did not hold close to the musician/fan division, as most of the pop bands of the time followed with an almost biblical dogmatic devotion. Punk shows held true to a belief of equality between the artists and the fans. The fans of punk would inevitably make their way to and on the stage with the artists themselves. This revolving door of fans on the stage let to spatial confrontations. This was the first form of the Mosh Pit and Stage Diving.

The dangerous dancing was first spotted in the Los Angeles punk scene. The dance was well documented in the movie “The Decline of Western Civilization”. This pre-mosh-pit-slam dance slowly made its way across the United States and landed in New York City on a day that lives on in the minds of the punks of the day, in 1981 when Black Flag made its first appearance in NYC. This concert was marred with blood and fistfights. New York City once again held a place of prominence for the Punk/Hardcore scene, with the emergence of “slamming” and stage diving on national television, with the showing of the band Fear on Saturday Night Live, brought to the stage by John Belushi, and fan of Punk rock and the club, CBGB’s, a noted punk club. Following this time of underground punk prominence came short time period known as “The Crossover”.

In the mid-80’s came a time known as the Crossover. The Crossover fused together the Hardcore scene and the thriving Metal scene. The metal and non-punk fans began to join the thriving underground punk scene and vice versa. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer led the metal side of the crossover, and with this crossover of music, came the crossover of dance. Metal dance before this time was confined to the elementary “head banging” that left the feet stationary and the head and neck moving. With the crossover, slamming and stage diving pushed themselves into the hierarchy of metal. The metal slamming increased the aggression and brutality, and diminished the feeling of community. And from all this history came what is now known as “THE MOSH PIT”.

What was and what is are slightly different. The feeling of community has resurfaced and become law in the Mosh Pit. There is still the aggression and brutality that there once was, but the inflicting pain upon others is less important than releasing ones own manifestation of tension. At least this is true for most.

Metal and Punk and every member of that family have always been scene as the bastard child of music. Metal was something that the Musical Patriarchy would admit to screwing up on and producing, but it was nothing that could ever be bragged about. There are now members of the metal community that cannot be considered pure, or true believers in the music or its unwritten message. These people have come into the scene for many reasons, whether it is the new popularity, the instant release of aggression, or just on another attempt to find a companion. These people have come to the pit that used to hold commandments so pure and so idealistic that they would have made the Mother Theresa blush, and they sully it with their ignorance and simply impotence.

It is the responsibility of all true fans of all metal members, whether it be hardcore, new, alternative, etc, all true fans must realize who these vagrants and nonbelievers to all that metal is are, and then we must rid our temporary homes, the concert clubs and music establishments, we must abolish their presence from anywhere that holds our presence. So with a sorrowful heart, the profiles of these “infiltrators” has been established and must be memorized by all fans, in order to bring emotional greatness back to the community that we call our own. The profiles that follow are not to be taken lightly, because these vagrants can do more damage than good.

1. Carl Lewis– This type of person is a devious individual, content on causing physical pain to singular people, one at a time. This type of person is usually small in stature as well as in intellect. The Carl Lewis lacks the intestinal fortitude for a prolonged time span in the Pit, so he is usually very hard to catch, but is always easy to spot.

The Action of the Carl Lewis; the Carl Lewis is a cowardly character. His action as noted, is to cause pain to singular individuals one at a time. The Carl Lewis is the type of person that takes a ten yard sprint into the middle of the pit, only to hit one unsuspecting mosher, and then the Carl Lewis flees, after taking one look at the carnage that he has recklessly and senselessly caused.

2. Napoleon– This type of person is small in stature and in self-confidence. The Napoleon is someone in the pit for one reason, to reassure himself that he belongs where he is for the night. Being that there is no height requirement to get into the pit, this individual has no problem entering the pit, but due to his small height and build, he is easily ignored. His build and height might cause one to see him once, but once he is seen, he is easily ignored, and once ignored he finds it his mission to become the center of attention once again.

The Action of the Napoleon; The Napoleon as stated is a cowardly character. Due to his lack of height and build, he feels that it is his need to impede the progress of the pit, by standing in the epicenter, the middle of the pit. He uses his lack of height in order to aggravate other members of the pit, and to catch members of the pit in lower areas of the body than one might not find acceptable. The Napoleon is not a very dangerous nuisance in the pit, but his lack of size and the excess size of the chip on his shoulder can cause large problems in the pit. Be cautious of the size of his mouth and the amount of bragging that might spew if the Napoleon lands a cheap shot.

3. The Pusher– The Pusher is the most cowardly of all the types. The Pusher lacks both the testicular fortitude to enter the pit as well as the intelligence to stay far away from the pit. The Pusher is a person of average build and size, which might make him hard to spot, but the large forehead and the dull look in the eyes might cause anyone to stare. The Pusher is not one that you will see inside the action of the pit, but rather on the fringe of the pit just out of reach.

The Action of the Pusher; The Pusher’s actions are very simple. The Pusher looks for a member of the concert that enjoys watching the pit. This member might be waiting for his or her time to enter the pit, or the member might be abundantly content simply watching the action. The Pusher spots this unsuspecting member of the concert, waits for the moment of extreme aggression within the pit, and then shoves that unsuspecting member from behind into the pit, where his or her unawareness causes much unwarranted pain. The Pusher’s actions are by all extents the most cowardly, but unfortunately not the most dangerous.

4. The Grabber– The Grabber is a type that is not cowardly by the traditional definition, but is by moral standards. The Grabber is not dangerous by the traditional definition, but is by moral standards. This type does not use the pit for what the traditional member does, the release of tension and aggression. Rather this type uses the pit in order to further his perverted fantasies of being a peeping tom and a groper.

The Action of the Grabber; The Grabber is a sick, perverted fellow that prays on the unsuspecting nature of the female pit member. The female pit member the shows the ultimate courage and strength to be put on top of the pit and crowd surf is the target for the Grabber. When these beautiful vixens are stretched out on top of the crowd, the Grabber uses his grubby little paws to cop a cheap feel off the unsuspecting female. What the Grabber lacks in definitional cowardice and danger, he more than makes up for in perversion and lack of respect for the opposite sex and all the concert members as a whole.

5. The Girlfriend– The Girlfriend is the second most dangerous of all the types. The terrible part of all that is the girlfriend is dangerous, and the reason for her danger are not even actions of her own. The cowardice of the Girlfriend is immeasurable. The cowardice is not due to her entering the pit. She should be given all the same credit of any other member to step into the pit. The cowardice is in the action that takes place outside of the pit.

The Action of the Girlfriend; The Girlfriend is a very courageous female that enters the pit with all intentions of upholding the commandments and excelling the dominance of the pit. But somewhere in the middle of all the action, The Girlfriend forgets one of the most important commandments, ALL THOSE THAT ENTER THE PIT ARE EQUAL IN THE EYES OF THE PIT, and somehow figures that she, due to the fact that she is a female should be treated differently than all the other members. And somehow and sometime, the female has her own ass placed into her hands, and does not appreciate it very much. After this takes place, the girlfriend vacates the pit and reports to her Boyfriend. She points out some unsuspecting member that might or might not of been the aggressor (which is no infraction) in the pit. The Boyfriend then goes and does his chivalrous duty by taking up for his girlfriend and attempting to hurt the supposed transgressor. The Girlfriend is quite dangerous and should be considered for the anti-pit-member that she is, beccause it is both cowardly and dangerous when she gets her ass kicked to go and get her boyfriend to kick the ass of whomever kicked her ass.

6. The Meathead (a.k.a. The Frat Brother)- The Meathead is the most dangerous of all the types. The title does in no way imply that all Meatheads, aka The Frat Brother, are members of a Greek Fraternal Organization. The Meathead, along with being the most dangerous of all the types, is also the least welcome of all the types. The Meathead is not a true fan of the music or the art in the pit, but rather just a fan of carnage and unwarranted pain. The pain that he will try to inflict upon unsuspecting members drives the Meathead. He has no need for the music, but just the reenactment of any drunken brawl that he has been in, because he feels unworthy of all the other members unless he is a member of an unwarranted fight. He doesn’t know why people are in the pit. He doesn’t know what the pit is for. All the Meathead sees is the aggression and the brutality, and simply assumes that those feelings are related to brawling.

The Actions of the Meathead; The actions of the Meathead are simple; his actions are nothing that should be in the pit. Cheap shots, along with no thought regarding the safety of the members, which completely goes against the commandments of the Pit. It is essential to either educate this individual or simply remove him from the pit.

These profiles have been compiled to help all members of the metal family to realize who is not worthy of being a family member. Metal is metal because of the mentality. Metal is metal because of the brutality. And metal is metal because of the responsibilities that all the members hold to make it the most brutal, and the most aggressive, and the most dangerous. Blood might be spilled. Skin might be cut. Bones might be broken. But these are all the reactions to the decision of the member to walk into the pit. Walking into the pit does not give anyone free reign to forget about the commandments and seek out a person to hurt. The Pit is about expressing ones own aggression and tension and oppression. That simply means that all enter the pit at their own risk, knowing the commandments that have been set down since the beginning. All those who choose not to realize those commandments and understand the community, will be asked to leave or will be escorted out by the community themselves. The Pit is The Pit, it lives, in breaths, and it governs itself. Those who ignore the commandments of The Pit, must suffer its consequences.

-PUNISHER-

Cleveland, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Progressive Rock, Rock

Coheed & Cambria Join Heaven & Hell This Summer

4 May, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

This is a huge annoucement!!! Coheed & Cambria were hinting about something good today on their Twitter account…

Coheed & Cambria were selected by Heaven & Hell (Ronnie James Dio, Tony Ioomi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice) to join them for a summer tour.

The following comes from a Sony Music announcement:

(May 4, 2009 – New York, NY) Coheed and Cambria, the progressive rock outfit who are recording their fifth album, are also spreading their wings by playing to new audiences in 2009 creating more visibility in the metal world, as well as the jam and indie circles more than ever. Earlier this year, the band supported the heavy metal juggernaut, Slipknot, and now mix that with varied festivals such as Mountain Jam, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits it’s hard to find a current band that can stretch those kinds of boundaries.

There is another reason for Coheed supporting H&H. Black Sabbath (Dio version) was Claudio and Travis’ favorite group growing up, and Claudio’s very first concert – at NY’s Beacon Theater in October of 1992. “The night would prove to be one of the most influential of my life. I got the overwhelming feeling that the whole stage was alive–the lights seemed to be as controlled by the sounds as everyone there, and I would exit the venue that night with a fire lit under me.”

Seventeen years later, the band shares the stage with their mentors.

HEAVEN & HELL TOUR DATES
8/07 – Vancouver, BC – Thunderbird Arena
8/10 – San Jose, CA – Event Center Arena
8/11 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theater
8/12 – Phoenix, AZ – Dodge Theater
8/14 – Albuquerque, NM – Journal Pavilion
8/15 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks
8/18 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion
8/19 – Chicago, IL – Charter One Pavilion
8/21 – Detroit, MI – Meadow Brook Pavilion
8/22 – Cleveland, OH – Nautica Pavilion
8/23 – Baltimore, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
8/25 – New York, NY – WaMu Theater @ MSG
8/27 – Wallingford, CT – Chevrolet Theatre
8/28 – Boston, MA – Bank of America Pavilion

This is going to be a unique show for sure and I am planning on checking out the Cleveland stop. I’m shocked to see the Cleveland stop is being played at Nautica, a smaller venue than the last venue that Heaven & Hell played at. This show will be selling out so make sure you get your tickets as soon as they go on sale.

I have a feeling many of the Heaven & Hell fans are going to be asking why Coheed & Cambria was chosen and not another metal band… After all the last time I saw Heaven & Hell tour a few years back, Machine Head and Megadeth opened for them.

I think that once Coheed & Cambria takes the stage in front of those questioning fans and dish out a few songs they will not wonder anymore. Live Coheed is amazing and I am hoping will be appreciated by Heaven & Hell fans.

Heaven & Hell released their first album in 17 years titled The Devil You Know.

Coheed & Cambria recently released Neverender a box set of a live show they played in NYC last October where they played four nights, each night playing an entire album start to finish.

Cleveland, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Pop, Progressive Rock, WTF

Crack The Circus

29 April, 2009 Brian Mc 1 Comment

I’ve been keeping a secret of sorts for the last week from you all. It has to do with music so I hope none of you are too shocked… I have two shows lined up this week that I am attending.

Tomorrow I am headed to Columbus to one of them.

Who am I seeing you ask? Good question.

First let me tell you who I am seeing this Saturday with Matt and two of my out of town friends…

Mastodon

On the night of Gaslight Anthem a couple of weeks ago Matt gazed into my eyes and asked “do you like Mastodon and would you be interested in catching them in a couple weeks?” My answer was of course yes. The show is sold out at the Beachland in Cleveland and until Matt hooked me up I really thought I was not going at all. My friends Shannon and Josh from West Virginia reached out to me a month ago stating they were driving all the way up here to see them. I told them we would all go so it will be even more enjoyable now.

A lot of people are loving Mastodon’s new album Crack the Skye with the progressive metal wizard rock. Some on the other hand think the band went soft because this album is not as hard as the others and there is actually harmonic singing this time. I think it is awesome and from what I heard the band will be playing the entire Crack the Skye album start to finish during one set followed a second set full of older material. I can not wait! The CD is one of my favorite releases so far this year.

Still wondering who I am seeing tomorrow? I will give you a couple of hints…

-I am not a fan at all
-Under normal circumstances I would not be caught dead at this type of show
-I own nothing by this artist

So if I am not a fan and would not want to be caught dead at this show then why am I going you wonder?

Well I used to be a part of an alt-girl pin up website where I met a lot of cool people. After leaving I stayed in touch with a few of the members who were more so friends. Actually Shannon and Josh, my WV pals, are from the site. Anyways one of the guys on the site went by the name Prendick. He and I became good friends while I was on that site and continued to keep in touch after I left.

Prendick had something happen to him last week that will change his life forever. To respect his privacy I will not discuss what happened but he reached out to me last week saying he had tickets to a show in Columbus and asked if I would take the place of someone. Under the circumstances I told him of course I would attend.

Tomorrow night I am going to see Britney Spears.

Brokenheadphones at a Britney Spears concert??? Yes, I laugh at it too but I am actually looking forward to it now. Mostly I am looking forward to hanging out with Prendick but I have been told the show has been entertaining. I will do my best to take a few photos and post them here.

So this week is all about pop rock and metal. This shockingly is not the first time I have been through something like this.

Years ago during the same week I saw Pink and a couple days later Slayer. I remember sitting 4th rock center at the Pink show surrounded by screaming girls in pink shirts as I slammed beers and wore a CKY shirt. Pink actually looked at me for a second because I stuck out so bad.

Anything is possible I guess.

Have you ever been to a live show that you did not tell your friends about or have you ever gone to a show that you never in your life thought you would? I want to know!

Cleveland, Funny, Good Times, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Random, Rap, Review, Rock, Rockabilly, The Dumb

Rock Hall Induction Ceremony 2009 From My Eyes

5 April, 2009 Brian Mc 1 Comment

For the first time ever the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was opened to the public. The second I had found out about this amazing opportunity I just had to go. Thanks to Matt at Addicted To Vinyl, he helped make that happen. Last night was amazing to say the least.

Before heading to the event, Matt and I met up with Clevelandrockandroll.com‘s Bear and his son. We met up at the Great Lakes Brewing Company for some eats, drinks, and great conversation. Bear is a great guy and had plenty of awesome concert stories from the past to share at the table. It was really cool meeting him and I will be checking his site out frequently for sure.

Towards the seven o’clock hour we all headed to the famed Public Hall for the event. The traffic was lighter than expected and as we rounded the corner on to St. Clair it was obvious that something big was going on. Media vans, limos, mobile satellites…and this was at the rear of the venue.

As luck would have it Bear and his son followed us to the event so we all took a small hike around the building that once hosted memorable concerts such as the Beatles and Janis Joplin and made our way into the sardine cramped hallways of the Public Hall once we bypassed the red carpet. This was the first time the induction ceremony had been in Cleveland since 1997 and this was the first time that people like me could attend without spending outrageous amounts of money.

None of us dressed formally. We dressed rock causal. After all we were going to a concert right?. I sported jeans, my Adidas (Run-DMC love), a CBGB’s shirt, and a Sage Francis hoodie because that is how I roll. You would not believe how many tuxedo wearing people complimented me on that shirt. I was asked if I had even been then and regretfully I said I had not. Luckily others in attendance wore equal amounts of street clothes so that we did not stick out too much.

Now I’m going to break this post down into a couple of sections just for the heck of it. First I will talk about all the positive aspects of the night, mostly the performances, followed by a few things that really made the night not so enjoyable. Nothing can ever be perfect can it? Well the good news is that the bad things that did happen did not ruin my fun too much and all in all I would say this was one of the coolest things I have ever been to in my life.

Matt and I sat in section 19 row H which is on the left side of the hall to the back rear. We sat in the row that butted up against the rails and walkway so the plus was that there were no people behind us. Of course the rest of our night would be spent shifting our bodies to ease the aches on our necks from looking left, but it was a small price to pay for a great evening.

The place seemed to fill up slowly in regards to public seating. The high rollers who spent one of my car payments for a table seat in the VIP area were engaged in dinner already and were finishing up. Looking around I could see cameras and all sorts of lighting and of course the giant crane like camera in the center that towered over the VIPs.

Mayor Frank Jackson, I’m sorry… Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, had some nice words to say about the ceremony returning to town. I joked with Matt and Said “Cleveland has a mayor?” and got some laughs by the others seated around us. He spoke about the excitement for the induction ceremony as well as hopes to see it return every three years. Next up were some Rock Hall higher ups who had more positive things to say about the night’s event, but seriously I was not there to see high paid people with dream jobs speak, I wanted some music.

At about this time the music was about to begin I took a quick photo (seen right) with my handy iPhone just so I could share it here on the site. Soon the night’s first inductees took the stage, Anthony & The Imperials. The Brooklyn doo-wop turned soul revivalists blew me away with their three song performance including “Tears On My Pillow” and “Shout”. Smokey Robinson soon inducted the act into the Rock Hall once they completed their performance.

I laughed when Little Anthony told the crowd that Little Anthony & The Imperials had never won a Grammy but announced the band did have a new release and hoped that would change.

After a fun collection of Wanda Jackson footage appeared on screen Rosanne Cash took the podium to induct once of the first females to play rock and roll. Rosanne Cash spoke about her father, Johnny Cash, and Elvis and of course the lady in the spotlight Wanda Jackson who soon came out and gave some words of her own. She then waltzed to the main stage grabbed her guitar and proved that age is nothing but a number while playing “Mean Mean Man” and “Let’s Have A Party”.

Paul Schaffer introduced Spooner Oldham and some classic tunes were played like “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “Natural Women”. Sadly the crowd did not seem to be in to this fun little performance.

Classic footage of Bobby Womack from Soul Train appeared on the big screen with some really awesome footage. Once completed The Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood inducted Cleveland’s Bobby Womack (who actually wrote “It’s All Over Now” for the Stones). Ron Wood had a nice touching speech and actually looked like he had some tears in his eyes while introducing Bobby Womack to the stage. It was nice to see a hometown musician make his worthy way into the Rock Hall. Never in my life did I ever think I would see a Bobby Womack performance live but that all changed as he began his set with acoustic guitar in had seated on a stool for everyone to hear. He jammed to “Wait Until Tonight” and then with a full horn section “It’s All Over Now” took down the house with Ron Wood ripping up a guitar solo. Amazing.

Detroit hip hop artist Eminem had the privilege and honor of inducting RUN-DMC into the Rock Hall. His introduction speech was very personal talking about the act that “turned Marchal Mathers into Eminem”. Controversial concerns earlier were omitted as everyone in the house cheered for RUN-DMC as they were accepted into the Rock Hall. They were the first rap band to appear on MTV, to go platinum, to tour the world, to infuse rock into their rap, and now are the first to be inducted.

Each member gave their acceptance speech and Jam Master Jay’s mother spoke on behalf of the fallen DJ. I laughed when she stated that Jam Master Jay broke every turntable of hers. She also stated that she never hesitiated buying a new turntable though. Hearing Rev Run and DMC speak of how they got their start was really interesting. I did find it a little annoying however to see the entire group with multiple family members on stage together. It was a little too MTV Music Awards for me. Sadly the act did not perform at the awards. I was not aware that they were not and was actually kind of bummed. I know it would have been amazing to see them play out live but they chose not to.

Here is Eminem’s speech:

Bass guitarist of the E Street Band Gary Tallent as well as celebrity drummer Max Weinberg collectively inducted drummer D.J. Fontana and the late bassist Bill Black both of who played with Elvis Presley. I am curious to see the FUSE version of the awards as Max Weinberg had a very long speech eventually thanking D.J. Fontana who joined them at the podium.

Legendary Jimmy Page inducted his friend Jeff Beck into the Rock Hall. After some kind words the former Yardbird hit the podium with some choice words and first middle finger of the evening. The two then took the stage and did this:

Seriously that was once of the cooler things I have seen in my time.

It was pretty apparent that most of the public came to see heavy metal rockers Metallica. The rock casual attire seen worn by everyone included a lot of Metallica t-shirts, some brand new, and some from years ago when I feel the band was at their strongest. Some chose to wear sport jackets over the shirts making for an interesting choice in attire.

It was no surprise to hear the loudest cheers of the evening when Metallica’s name appeared on the big screen followed by a brief film of the band. By this time many of the people in the public sections were heavily sauced. I’ll get into that more later.

Who better than to induct Metallica than the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s bassist Flea. Sporting a blue hairdo, Flea gave one of the best speeches of the night. He spoke, and swore, about how much the band influenced him as a troubled youth and how they helped him get to where he is today.

Flea said it best when he stated:

“This music comes on the radio, and I couldn’t believe that it fucking existed. It was like I had been living in this normal world, where I knew what everything was that came on the radio, and all of a sudden my mind was being blown by this beautiful, violent thing that was unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life.”

Metallica, including Jason Newsted and Cliff Burton’s father who rightfully so gave the first acceptance speech, all took a few moments each to speak. As a long time fan of Metallica, especially in my youth, I listened to every word each of them had to say about how it came about that a heavy metal band got where they are today. Cliff Burton’s dad I could tell was so proud of his son’s accomplishments of the late musician and as a fan it meant a lot to me to see someone from his family to be there.

Robert Trujillo, who spoke after Jason Newsted, rightfully gave thanks to Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies and the second he did I had a big ol’ smile on my face.

Lars Ulrich did not have a speech written up at all. He huddle over the microphone and gave thanks to family, friends, and fans. While pompous sometimes he actually said something I wanted share:

“I think rock and roll is about possibilities and about dreams. The fact that the six of us can be up on the stage tonight, snot-nosed kids, outcasts, loners who grew up in very different parts of the world, in very different situations and make it here tonight, to this wonderful night in front of all these people down here … Rock and roll truly is about possibilities. Look at us. Metallica’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!”

It was true, the band has been through a lot and seeing them all on stage really proved they fought their battles and proved their way into the Rock Hall. At this moment I really was happy to be a part of that night witnessing only the second metal band to ever be inducted into the Rock Hall.

Seeing Metallica get inducted really got me thinking about future inductees. Will bands like Iron Maiden, Motorhead, or even Social Distortion ever have their day? Only time will tell I guess.

I was not sure what was going to happen next as the band exited the stage. I was hoping for Jason Newsted to at least play one song with them and much to my surprise Metallica and Jason Newsted took the stage and pumped out “Master Of Puppets” with two bassists. Yes…two bassists. It was incredible.

They may have formed in 1981 and show signs of aging but good lord these guys sounded just as awesome as every time I have ever seen them live. I do want to add that the above video does not include the entire public singing along and cheering their hearts out and the sound live was much better than what is heard. The video also omitted the VIP section sitting there motionlessly and looking scared. The band also played the commercially overplayed “Enter Sandman” and even though I really do not care for that track anymore it still caught my ear and I sang along…

I really hope that their performance at the ceremony leads Jason Newsted back to the band some how. Metallica with two bassists would be pretty sick. I know they had their disagreements and fights amongst one another but Jason Newsted looked so happy to be on stage with his former crew. Maybe it was just because of an awesome weekend they all had reconnecting, or maybe it is more. We shall see.

Once Metallica finished up many folk started leaving and that was a huge mistake as they missed out on the two finales.

First up Anthony & The Imperials, Wanda Jackson, D.J. Fontana (who was inducted earlier in the evening), Jeff Beck, Bobby Womank, and Rosanne Cash all took the stage and performed “Jail House Rock”. It was a pretty insane cover of a track that helped pave rock and roll to where it stands now.

After their performance I only knew it was going to get better, and it did. Metallica, Jason Newsted, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Flea and Joe Perry all took stage and played the Yardbird’s “Train Kept A Rolling”. Talk about guitar overload! There was so much going on at once I did not know who to look at.

My night was complete after that.

And so ended the 2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony…and I was a part of it. How sweet is that? Hoping to be invited to an after party or notified of a secret show, which did not happen, Matt and I squeezed out way out of Public Hall and called it a night.

That was the good, now time to me to bring up some of the events that really had me wanting to swing my fists…

First off I have a top 10 of drunks I would like to punch in the throat that were seated around us. Yes it is a concert, and yes it was being filmed for television, but seriously did you really need to drink to the point where you are most likely going to forget the entire evening? There were people around me that had no idea what was going on and would try and leave to take a piss every ten minutes.

With that said during some segments of the night the sweet ushers (more on that in a second) would shut the doors not to allow anyone back to their seats until a commercial break. This made the drunks unhappy and loud. Luckily Matt and I were seated directly in front of a door way into the concession area so all of the jackasses who went to get drinks had to finish them in the halls and created a ton of noise. So much I might add that I was not even able to hear DJ Fontana’s acceptance speech. That was about the time I turned around and screamed “Shut the eff up!”

People were yelling at the ushers when they were denied to be seated such as one princess saying “Do you know how much money I spent to get here?” – Yes lady I do know how much because it is the exact amount I spent to go there too and I sure as hell did not spend that money to hear your tramp ass complain.

Another finely dressed douche bag had no idea where he left his seat due to one too many and when the ushers told him he was a row off he yelled at them for wasting his time. Idiot. Drunk idiot.

Oh I almost forgot about the dad who asked me if “Evil Knievel jumped over the Public Hall in the 60’s”. Do I look that old? He almost ate it a few times down the steps too and I was secretly hoping he would have…

Honestly I could not believe the number of people that were just out of control wasted. If it were a Metallica concert I could understand but this was a serious ceremony of sorts that meant a lot to the artists involved.

Then there was the lady five rows in front of us screaming and wooing while failing to throw the devil horns. Seriously, I am not kidding. This drunk bimbo looked like she was having seizures at times because she was so blasted. She would throw her hand out, make a peace sign followed by what looked like the “shocker” and once even the “Live Long and Prosper” Spock Star Trek sign. She eventually used her other overly tan hand to mold her fingers into the most pathetic devil horns I have ever seen. If I did not love my iPhone so much I would have surly chucked it at her head.

Took this right when Mr. Awesome Security guard tapped me in the back of the head...

Oh yea, my iPhone. I was trying to take a picture of the Jimmy Page / Jeff Beck performance and a security tapped me on the back of the head and yelled I am not allowed to take video making for a blurring picture. I told him I was taking a picture with my phone and he said it was taking me too long as I was holding the phone like a video player. I pointed to the crane sized camera and told him I was waiting for it to move. Ass.

Are you tired of my ramblings yet?

I have a couple more.

The ushers when we got there were friendly and showed us to our seats but as soon as the ceremony started they started talking behind us and their walkie talkies were going off.

I understand having contol at a show and hiring outside help to maintain, but the guys behind us did not respect the paying crowd and kept laighing and talking. I was getting so frustrated and I know I was not the only one.

One usher in particular had that face and smile that just read “punch me” and he pretty much annoyed me all night. During the Jeff Beck performance he danced like a fool mocking the legend. I know he had no idea what was going on and was only there to make his $7 an hour.

The same usher made the comment “Enter Sandman” made Metallica. Instantly I envisioned myself jumping over the rail behind me, grabbing the kid by the head, and knocking him out. It is one thing to be dumb but another thing to be musically dumb.

Finally there were the fans that just had to yell things out during the speeches in hopes that their voices would be heard on national television. A shout out or two can be humorous but some of these people were tying to out shout one another. Someone would scream “I love Metallica” and a moment later “I love Metallica more” could be heard. It was sad really. Any respectful fan would have allowed any of the inductees give their acceptance speech without drunk interuption and saved the shout outs for the live shows.

I am happy to say I kept my cool and did not get myself thrown out of the event. I wanted to so badly, but did not. There is a chance I upset the father sitting next to me when I dropped the F-bomb but I was pissed and it just came out. I think if I would have flipped out and punched people in their throats it would have made for a better read here but I did not want to miss a thing that night.

So there. There were some of my complaints. I am sure Matt could add a few more. Other than the drunks and the ushers it was a swell time for sure.

I really hope that in three years the ceremony comes back to Cleveland and if it does I will be there. There is something about being a part of rock history that is all so appealing. Sure I am not a rock star nor did I walk down the red carpet to the VIP area and eat cake but I did get to witness the same thing high rollers have been doing for years and that felt pretty damn awesome.

DVDs, Eye Opener, Metal, Music

Eye Opener: Heavy Metal In Baghdad – Documentary

26 March, 2009 Brian Mc Leave a comment

While away this past week I finally caught the rockumentary about one of the only metal bands in Baghdad and their struggle with following their dream. I kept seeing reviews and positive comments about Heavy Metal In Baghdad, a documentary about a band playing forbidden music in a war-zone also know as Iraq. Trust me, this was something I am glad I watched and any fan of music should check this out as it will make viewers realize how lucky you have it here in the USA.

The program surrounded the band Acrassicauda (Latin for “Black Scorpion”) and followed them through their struggle to do what they loved to do, play metal. Inspired by bands from the United States such as Metallica and Slipknot they attempted to start their own band in 2001. The band was only able to play three shows before the war in Iraq started and soon thereafter the band faced accusations of being devil worshipers and at times had to live their lives in secrecy to save their lives.

During the three years this documentary was filmed bans were created by the clerical council forcing the band and fans to cut their hair, not wear Western attire (American clothing), and end “music-filled parties and all kinds of singing”; basically the band was forced to quit or deal with consequences. Insurgents and religious fundamentalists would not hesitate to take their lives if the band or fans were seen in public and the documentary clearly shows the efforts made by the band to risk their lives and also live their dream. Through power cuts to stop the band from playing to avoiding death daily, this was a first hand look at the struggle they faced. Just hearing them talk about the war and the attempts of others stopping them showed how determined they were to continue.

Weeks would go by at times before vocalist/guitarist Faisal Talal, guitarist Tony Aziz, bassist Firas Al-Lateef and drummer Marwan Reyad would even get to see one another let alone practice. Constant threats and even a missile hitting their practice space did not hinder Acrassicauda who claimed to be the only Iraqi metal band in existence.

The documentary really sucked me in as directors/journalists Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Iraq to find the band and interview them while in turn have their own close calls with local militants. Upon arriving to Iraq at one time the journals were told to expect to be shot at.

The journalists take their dangerous surroundings in stride with most of the time being held in a hotel just outside the war areas for safety. When they travel they are accompanied by armed guards and wear bulletproof vests. While filming gun shots and bombing can be seen and heard in the background during the active war. Their real-time reporting only made Heavy Metal In Baghdad that much more interesting.

Eventually the band flees to another country becoming refugees to save their own lives. The difficult choice was a smart choice for them. Eventually the band meets up with the journalists once things calmed down a bit and candidly talked about the chaos they lived in. With everything going on they did not give up their dream but rather put it on hold.

The band, once settled, was able to play a live show in one of the countries they fled to and I must say the people who showed up really showed their love to the band after a few songs into the show. All the hell this band went through was rewarded by cheers and applause by others who share the same common love for a said forbidden genre of music.

You would think that the band has a happy ending and plays sold out shows at metal clubs and recorded a platinum selling CD. The happy ending at the end of the documentary was the band saving their lives and continually fighting for what they wanted to do. At the end they were in small living quarters and had sold their equipment just to pay for rent. Since they were refugees it was difficult for some of the band to acquire jobs. Not what I expected to see but it made sense.

With war going on during the filming of this documentary I could only think of how easy I have it living in the United States. The interviews of the band showed how hard it is for them to be a metal band in Iraq and even harder to be a refugee. Their love for metal was more of a secret as they did not want to risk their families or their own lives. It was truly sad to see their expression cut by others.

In the United States I can wear what ever I want, play any music I choose, and roam my streets without worrying about being executed or caught in crossfire of a seemingly never ending war. I am lucky that I do not have to flee my country to save my own life for my beliefs and do not have to sell my own belongings just to pay a month of rent because I am a refugee. Sometimes I forget how good I really have it here. The members of Acrassicauda did not have this luxury by any means.

I did learn after viewing the program via the movie’s website that the band was eventually relocated to New Jersey of all places. Looks like the band finally got that happy ending they deserved.

Here is a blog from the band dated 02/09/09:

Friends, fans and family… as many of you heard lately we made it to the States, all four of us.

After 8 years of waiting and struggling it feels good now that we all made it and we’ve got high hopes for the future that maybe after all what we’ve been through it’s time to become 4 musicians instead of 4 refugees and finally to stand on stage steps away from everybody that helped us and supported us and believed in the band and its quest.

We’re finished being in purgatory not knowing what’s next, tormented by the bad thoughts of not being able to finish what we started 8 years ago. We were so afraid to let our dream go, so afraid to let it slip away and get sucked in to the bureaucratic black hole by the people that tell you what to do and what not to do, but I guess we were blessed cuz we had you on our side. Each and every one of you brothers, sisters, wives and husbands, moms and dads, friends and our idols whoever that might be stay true to who you are, you are the reason that we wanted this dream to come true even when it felt impossible cuz we felt that every one of you guys wanted it just like us (or maybe more).

From the bottom of our hearts, that pump every bit of iron and Metal into our veins, we salute you no matter who you are… Arabic, American, German, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Pakistani, Norwegian, Danish and many more. I have seen many people from all over the globe getting under the flag of metal and music in general and becoming one. We just had an idea, no more, but you made it happen, you are the true inspiration. Many times we sat and read your emails and comments and many times I saw some of the guys in Acrassicauda getting tears and space out for many minutes looking at your emails.

Now that we all sit and think about our future as a band we know that every thing that we had been through in the past years of our lives was totally worth it. We set out goal and now we know what is worth living for and what is worth to dying for.

Yours,
Acrassicauda

Here’s the trailer to the documentary now available on DVD: