Concerts

The Subliminal Criminals Tour // The Cobalt Pub

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September 29, 2015 - Oh hey, a new venue to explore!  This is my first time ever at the Cobalt down on Main and boy was I excited to shoot at a smaller venue (and scared for the lack of lighting...)  I also noticed that the Electric Owl across the street has closed so I'll never get a chance to shoot there either... :(

Regardless, I have waited way too long to see Deez Nuts to perform live.  (I know how that sentence sounds, don't remind me haha).  For those who don't know, DN was started as JJ Peters' side project while he was with I Killed the Prom Queen and now is his dedicated act.  They are a hardcore, rapcore , metalcore blend hailing from Melbourne, Australia.  They originally got a lot of flak for their "gangsta" image and lyricism with their early work (see Rep Your Hood), but have gotten a lot more mature and serious in tone with their latest album, Word is Bond.  JJ himself is a super chill guy as I got to talk to him really quick after the show and he's pretty much how he shows himself - true to himself and not giving a fuck what others think.  Anyway, all-in-all a fun yet mellow show, but with such a small following in North America, I would one day love to see a full set from them with the whole crowd chanting along to Band of Brothers.

Oh...and I didn't realize you could use flash at this venue until AFTER the fact.  Sorry guys!

To repeat myself earlier, Word Is Bond is now currently out for your ears to mosh to, but also check out Stay True for more of their classic sound.

Up next came pop-punk act from New Jersey, Major League.  A strange, yet welcomed change of pace - especially with what was to come for the latter half of the night.  The boys from Major League I think felt a little out of place, especially with the hardcore crowd and often thanked the audience for accepting them as the odd one out on the roster.  Regardless they did what they did best and even if some of the crowd didn't seem to care too much, they did show thanks and appreciation for the musicianship.  Although I'm really selective with my pop-punk, these guys have toured with bands such as Mayday Parade and Senses Fail which is pretty respectable!  

You can check out their latest album, There's Nothing Wrong With Me, which was released last year.

Being As An Ocean.  Oh where to begin.  Like with most bands, it takes a while for me to get into them and this is usually after they've opened for someone I've just seen.  And then just regret at how I will have to wait a long time for these bands to roll back around in Vancouver just so I can shout at the top of my lungs again.  BAAO was here last September opening for UK metalcore act, Architects, and I didn't care much for them back then.  Come around Warped Tour, I've embraced their wonderful amalgamation of spoken-word verses and shouted choruses, the melody and the rhythm.  

The show this time around was even more hectic than Warped Tour with Joel Quartuccio, the frontman and vocalist literally jumping into the crowd - moshing, shouting and singing with everyone as he's being pushed around and climbing on things.  The boys on the instruments held it down as Joel took the show and made the night super memorable - the energy was leagues beyond of what I have seen before and as I will later state, I think hardcore shows now hold a special place in my heart, and BAAO is definitely one of the bands that caught my love.

Their self-titled album was released this year, but I would also highly recommend you check out How We Both Wondrously Perish as well!

Stray From The Path was also like my situation with BAAO above.  They also opened for Architects and I didn't really know too much about them until I forced myself to listen to them after and turned out I really liked what I was hearing.  The hardcore band hails from Long Island, New York and their lyrics often run deep with issues in society (particularly American culture and foreign policy) and as stated in the show, "not a facade, no bullshit."  Drew York got the crowd running crazy as fans rushed the stage and then proceeded to stage dive off.  Moshing, crowd surfing, two-stepping.  You name it, it was happening.  Fan-favourite songs Damien, Black Friday, Badge & A Bullet was sure to give the crowd sore throats as it seemed the whole bar was shouting at top of their lungs.

Their latest record, Subliminal Criminals, was released in August and kicks tons of ass.  Check it out if you appreciate hardcore.

Lastly, co-heading with SFTP comes Winnipeg hardcore act, Comeback Kid.  Their name refers to the return of Mario Lemeiux to the NHL and is hilariously Canadian but fantastic all at once.  A huge name in Canadian hardcore, they rose in popularity simply by word of mouth and long, steady touring.  At this point, I knew there was no way I was going to be at the front dodging stage-divers anymore so I rushed around, snuck behind some speakers and climbed on some kegs to get some of the photos!  Much like how pop-fans are obsessive-crazy, hardcore fans know how to have a good time and aren't afraid to get roughed up or wake up tomorrow sore with some random bruising and maybe a black eye.  Fans were going nuts the whole time and everyone from the band was jumping, spinning and doing god knows what on that tiny little stage.  All-in-all, a spectacular show and it furthers my love for hXc community even more with its camaraderie and not-giving-a-fuck attitude.

CBK's latest album, Die Knowing, was released last year.

Setlists

Deez Nuts

  1. Word
  2. What's Good
  3. Stay True
  4. Wrong Things Right
  5. Shot After Shot
  6. What I Gotta Do
  7. Your Mother Should Have Swallowed You
  8. Face This On My Own
  9. Band of Brothers

Major League

  1. Homewrecker
  2. Pillow Talk
  3. Kaleidoscopes
  4. Graves
  5. Recovery
  6. Rittenhouse

Being As An Ocean

  1. Little Richie
  2. The Hardest Part Is Forgetting Those You Swore You Would Never Forget
  3. L'exquisite Douleur
  4. Death's Great Black Wing Scrapes the Air
  5. Sleeping Sicarii
  6. This Loneliness Won't Be The Death of Me

Stray From The Path

  1. Outbreak
  2. Death Beds
  3. Negative And Violent
  4. D.I.E.P.I.G.
  5. Scissor Hands
  6. Black Friday
  7. Badge & A Bullet Pt. II
  8. Damien
  9. First World Problem Child 
  10. Badge & A Bullet

Comeback Kid

  1. Talk Is Cheap
  2. Wasted Arrows
  3. Do Yourself A Favour
  4. All In A Year
  5. False Idols Fall
  6. Die Knowing
  7. Lower the Line
  8. G.M. Vincent & I
  9. Partners In Crime
  10. Step Ahead
  11. The Concept Stays
  12. Broadcasting...
  13. Should Know Better
  14. Wake the Dead

Unearth - Wovenwar - To the Wind - Angelmaker // VENUE Nightclub

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September 27, 2015 - Ah, I've kind of missed VENUE as it's been a while since I last shot Anti-Flag here, despite its lack of a photo pit.  What I don't miss is the obnoxious, shitty security staff (dude, you're a bouncer at a venue for a metal show, not dealing with drunk fucks with fake IDs) and the pretentious, entitled people that come through these doors for regular nights (the amount of judgement at these alt kids after leaving was HILARIOUS.) Regardless, I felt horrible for missing like 3-4 shows that local act Angelmaker has put on due to other commitments such as work, birthdays, school or well more photo work.  Anyway, shout out to Cole Rideout for the access and letting me use the photos for NotYourScene!

Angelmaker was up first, and boy did they start the show off right.  Despite perhaps having the smallest following of the lineup, they held their own being the HEAVIEST of the lineup as well.  Pig squeals and death growls lined their breakdowns and melodic sections of their setlist and everything sounded tight and in sync.  It's definitely cool when there's people you know succeeding in the music scene when so many others have failed, and these guys have a ton of potential as you can tell they put their heart and souls into what they love.

You can check out their debut album, Dissentient, here.

To The Wind, a hardcore-punk band from Seattle followed suit and although shifting gears in genre, put on a good act with lots of energy (to be expected from a hXc band!)  Although fairly quiet on social media, the band has put out two full length albums, Block Out the Sun & Sleep, being the most recent and had jumped on Warped Tour for 2014.  They will be returning to open for metalcore act Texas in July in a month so I will put a more detailed concert review in there!

After the shit-show that was Tim Lambesis' (of As I Lay Dying) bribe to an undercover officer to kill his wife, the remaining bandmates did what most people would do if they found out that someone they knew was conspiring murder - get the fuck out (well technically, put it on hold while Lambesis serves his jail sentence and drummer Jordan Mancino still shares ownership rights).

Anyhoo, Wovenwar consists of the departed members of As I Lay Dying combined with Oh Sleeper's vocalist Shane Blay.  The band itself isn't so much traditional metalcore as AILD as it infuses hard rock, alt metal and modern heavy metal into it as well - appealing for a more diverse audience compared to your stereotypical angsty 16-25 year olds.  Wovenwar themselves put on a strong act and are building their reputation as they've toured with huge acts such as In Flames, Periphery and Black Label Society.

Their self-titled record is also available now!

Last, but not least was the metalcore headliner, Unearth, hailing from Winthrop, Massachusetts.  Despite listening to a fair bit of metalcore, I'll be honest, I haven't heard of them until the night of.  This might be perhaps that they formed in 1998 with more of the pioneers of metalcore such as Hatebreed and Integrity. Regardless, they have a more raw sound compared to the same old rinse-and-repeat acts of today (clean vocals/chorus, drop tuning breakdowns, etc.)  The audience drawn was a much diverse crowd than what I would usually expect and the energy was high as I had to evacuate the front of the stage or my camera would have exploded with the fury of a couple hundred moshers.  

Their latest album, Watchers of Rule, was released in 2014.

Setlists

Unfortunately no setlists available for Angelmaker or To The Wind.

Wovenwar

  1. Foreward
  2. All Rise
  3. Death to Rights
  4. The Mason
  5. Profane
  6. Tempest
  7. Matter of Time
  8. Prophets

Unearth

  1. Watch It Burn
  2. Never Cease
  3. This Lying World
  4. The Swarm
  5. Endless
  6. Giles
  7. Last Wish
  8. Burial Lines
  9. Zombie Autopilot
  10. My Will Be Done
  11. The Great Dividers

Marty Friedman - ExMortus - Skull Vultures // Rickshaw Theatre

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September 26, 2015 - Well, a little backed up - partially due to fatigue, but I'll be honest - I've also been pretty lazy with updating this thing (let me know in the comments if there's anything you'd like me to fix with my style of writing or blogging!)

Regardless, I had to hop on the train to shoot Marty Friedman, the former lead guitarist of Megadeth during the 90s and now solo musician residing in Tokyo, Japan.  

Anyway, to begin, we had local act Skull Vultures, a progressive metal act consisting of Jason Puder and Eli Slamang.  These guys tear it up on the guitar and bass respectively  - holding their own and lighting the way for how the rest of the night will go.  Unfortunately, it's been a while since the show but I would love to see these guys open up again for more of the technical bands that roll into town!

You can check out their music here.

Up next are Exmortus, a metal act from Whittier, California.  Oh my god, these guys literally gave me a guitar-gasm - the shredding was for real.  Constant neo-classical riffs including tapping, sweeping, arpeggios and a beautiful combination of both rhythmic and melodic bits made for music to my ears.  Unfortunately Jadran Gonzales, the vocalist was unable to show, but the instrumental setlist was more than adequate to win the crowd of headbangers over (myself included!)

Their newest 7", For The Horde, is now available!

Lastly; the man, the legend, Marty Friedman - internationally recognized guitar legend had finally set off for a North America tour.  Friedman is known for his improvisation on the 6-string and draws inspiration from a plethora of sources including but not limited to:  Eastern music, neo-classical, thrash and progressive rock.  

Complementing him for the show were his touring bandmates: Chargeeee, a drummer who draws his aesthetic inspiration from hair metal with drummer flair to boot; guitarist Jordan Ziff who held his own against Friedman both with stage presence and skill; and lastly, bassist Kiyoshi Manii.  I have no words for what I saw that night - one might have stereotypically labelled her as a timid Asian girl in a red dress but boy, was everyone wrong.  She probably had the most stage presence of all the whole band, running left, right and centre while keeping the fan morale up with crowd interaction.  The show also contained solos from each of the band members, and also a moment where a guitarist was called on stage to shred with the band...and the lucky member was Eli from earlier!  I've never seen someone so excited to jam with one of their heroes in my life - his glee was sky-high and boy did he ever shred.  All-in-all it was a very fun show and has definitely inspired me to keep playing the guitar (even if I'm not so great!)

Setlists

Unfortunately none for Skull Vultures.

Exmortus:

  1. Rising
  2. Immortality Made Flesh
  3. Slave to the Sword
  4. Foe Hammer
  5. For the Horde
  6. Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)
  7. Metal is King

 Marty Friedman:

  1. Hyper Doom
  2. Amagigoe
  3. Street Demon
  4. Elixir
  5. Stigmata Addiction
  6. Devil Take Tomorrow
  7. Tibet
  8. Angel
  9. Kyioshi Bass Solo
  10. Kyioshi Higher Ground Fragment
  11. Ashes to Ashes/Forbidden City/Tornado (Medley)
  12. Ripped
  13. Jordan Ziff Guitar Solo
  14. Inferno
  15. Undertow
  16. Dragon Mistress (with Eli Slamang of Skull Vultures)
  17. Thunder March/Ballad of the Barbie Bandits
  18. Kaeritakunattayo (Encore)

 

 

Vans Warped Tour // Auburn, WA [Pt. IV]

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My apologies everyone on the delayed post.  For those who have missed them, here are the prior parts: one, two, and three.

To begin, I personally did not see myself seeing PVRIS (pronounced Paris) as I had heard nothing about them, but I was recommended to them by both Tyler and Carmin.  Things had worked out since I also had a block in my schedule to shoot them.  Their style is something I haven't necessarily heard earlier but it's something electronic-y and alt/pop/rocky.  The band themselves are fairly new into the game, with only two prior EPs and one album, and I feel they do have a lot of growing up to do.  This aside; however, they do have a loyal fanbase and I do hope to hear them accelerate through the charts much like LIGHTS had since her debut.

So...if glam rock met post-hardcore, and had a baby, the result would be the Black Veil Brides.  Although I haven't heard too much of them, and wasn't necessarily drawn by their music - they put on a fun show!  Similar to many glam rock and hair metal bands of the 80s (I'm looking at you Poison and Motley Crue) BVB delivered the stage theatrics with the silly makeup, long hair, studded jackets, smoke and pyrotechnics.  I wish I could have stayed longer but I could never miss a chance to see...

...Beartooth!  Gone are Caleb Shomo's day of crabcore with Attack Attack! Instead comes a vicious post-hardcore/metalcore act where the crowds seem to grow every time I see them.  The fans were some of the rowdiest, despite being later in the day.  Crowdsurfers flew as the band tore up the stage, and even more so when the cover of Blitzkieg Bop came on.  Although some of the notes were missed, the intensity made up for it.  I would highly recommend any headbanger to join the pit and see them on tour.

Finally!  I have waited years to see I Killed the Prom Queen since the release of their album Music for the Recently Deceased came out in 2006 (which I'm still rocking out to, btw.)  I don't think they'd ever made their way to Vancouver and I was even more heartbroken when I heard of their breakup in 2008, but time had finally come when they reunited for their latest record Beloved (sans JJ Peters, however.)  For some reason, bassist Benjamin Coyte wasn't present but the show carried on with Jaime Hope (ex-The Red Shore) growling at the top (or bottom) of his lungs and Jona Weinhofen slaying it on the cleans.  Although the crowd (and set) was smaller than I expected, the pit was wild and I ended up getting kicked in the back once or twice (I thought it was just elbows!)  With Aussies Northlane, Parkway Drive and Deez Nuts hitting up Vancouver, I can only dream for a headlining Canada tour with IKTPQ.

 

Setlists

PVRIS

  1. Fire
  2. St. Patrick
  3. Mirrors
  4. Holy
  5. White Noise
  6. My House

Black Veil Brides

  1. Faithless
  2. Heart of Fire
  3. Coffin
  4. Wretched and Divine
  5. Kickstart My Heart (Motley Crue cover)
  6. The Legacy
  7. In The End

Beartooth

  1. The Lines
  2. Relapsing
  3. In Between
  4. I Have a Problem
  5. Beaten In Lips
  6. Dead
  7. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover)
  8. Body Bag

I Killed The Prom Queen

  1. Your Shirt Would Look Better with a Colombian Necktie
  2. Thirty One & Sevens
  3. Calvert Street
  4. Sharks In Your Mouth
  5. Say Goodbye
  6. To the Wolves