Something I always do is avoid using “I” in a review. I always avoid talking in the first person and just give a description of the show and let the reader form an opinion. I recently got the opportunity to see Mr. Bungle in Philadelphia and they are no ordinary band so this will not be an ordinary review.
In the thirty-plus years of their existence, Collective Soul has managed to produce more than a few hits and they were on full display as their tour with Rubikon came to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, PA.
St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheatre at Lakeview played host to an epic evening of music featuring three bands: Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, and Jinjer. Opened as the Lakeview Amphitheater in 2015, the venue is perched on the shores of Lake Onondaga and boasts 5000 seats under cover in the pavilion and a capacity of another 12,500 on the lawn. Being conveniently located at the intersection of two major area highways, driving there is relatively easy and the $20 for parking seemed reasonable compared to most other similar venues. It should be noted that the geography of being between the lake and the highway dictates that the parking lot be long and narrow. It can be a long walk to and from the stage and coming and going can take some time so plan accordingly. The staff did an excellent job moving everyone quickly and efficiently through the process.
For a little over a week now, a mini festival of sorts has been touring the east coast and on Saturday night it descended on the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey. Five bands touring together are assaulting amphitheaters with a roughly five-hour show, much to the delight of the Metal community. Butcher Babies, Nonpoint, GWAR, Coal Chamber, and Mudvayne have combined forces and take everyone away from the mundane for a night. The result is five hours of music that starts at a high level of intensity and just builds from there.Continue reading
Kansas has been touring in support of their 50th year as a band and the release of a retrospective compilation Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas (InsideOut Music). The album contains songs from every album the band has released and after 50 years it takes three full CDs to accomplish that. It should be noted that CDs did not exist when the band started playing music. They also predate the Sony Walkman, the internet, Apple Corporation, MTV, and the MP3. Kansas’ music has a sound that includes hints of Bad Company, The Tubes, Foreigner, and even Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The question is who influenced who?
Currently touring the US are Front Line Assembly, Gary Neuman, and Ministry. This past Thursday saw them descend on Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia and what an experience it was.
This weekend saw fans of Industrial music flocking to a pair of shows in Texas. A three-band bill consisting of Unitcode:Machine, The Hunger, and headliner Stabbing Westward promised an evening not soon forgotten. Friday night was in San Antonio at Paper Tiger and Saturday was the Scout Bar in Houston. Both are one thousand plus capacity (at least according to fire code) and feature powerful sound systems that render earplugs inadequate. Tying all everything together is the fact that lead singer for Stabbing Westward, Christopher Hall, has been working with the other two bands on their music and even producing the latest albums from both of them. The setlists and performances stayed the same at both locations and were well worth seeing twice.
Long-awaited and long-delayed; Static-X – Fear Factory – Mushroomhead, and Dope finally got to play their show at Irving Plaza on Sunday night as part of The Rise Of The Machines tour. Planned a couple of years ago, the packed bill encountered the now all too familiar COVID delays, and coordinating that big of a bill takes monumental effort. Eventually, everyone was in place and the tour was a go. Any one of these bands would be worth the price of admission. Put them all together, and you have an epic evening in store.Continue reading
“Starting to feel normal again, feels good.” These words were spoken by Pete Loeffler, the front man for Chevelle, during their set at the Orange Loop Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is right in that people are attending festivals again but this is a new one.
When I last saw Brit Floyd in August, I said that I would gladly see them again. I did just that on Tuesday night at The State Theatre in New Brunswick NJ.
Over the last two years, the State Theatre took advantage of the downtime forced by the pandemic to completely refurbish the facilities. New carpet, new seats, new bar, new bathrooms…everything has been updated and it looks great. I would swear that the seats are even a bit wider than they were before. Parking is readily available in a public garage just a five minute walk from the venue, and there are tons of restaurants of every type in the immediate area. Continue reading