Tool

So went to see Tool yay. It was at the Hammersmith Apollo, which is a big venue, but suffers due to the fact the seat are old wood ones and very narrow, with little or no legroom not, ideal for me with my bad leg.Doors opened at 6:30, but the show was due to start at 8 ( no support band), which was pretty crappy as the place was packed and the extortionately price drinks where being snapped up. I hate that venues can A) inflate the price of drinks at gigs and B) open the doors early to get more drinking time in. Pretty poor.

Playlist

  • Roseta Stoned
  • Stink Fist
  • 46 and 2
  • Jambi
  • Schizm
  • Sober
  • Lateralus
  • Vicarious
  • Aenima

Although it appears a small set list the 90 minutes they were on stage flew by and Tool were on top form including the adhoc drum solo’s that were pretty special.

Dolls

Doors opened 6 and if you arrived in time your will have caught perfomers in the crowd, but sadly I didn’t manage to see alot of it, so can’t write much about it.
Thomas Truax was on the main stage first. Accompanied with a fascinating collection of instruments (all self made excluding the guitar), his songs seemed to be composed on the night with the use of sound sampling that he would record at the start of a track. His drum machine Sister Spinster (that appeared to be constructed out of 2 bike wheels ) was his only on-stage companion.With one song (The Butterfly And The Entomologist) being performed using a hand-held fan and his roaming throught the crowd with his guitar unplugged (seeming to puzzle the sound techs) it was a damn fine performance and a good start to the show.Amanda appeared on stage to thank Thomas for his performance and to introduce the next live act.


Wearing their bright orange coloured combats Katie and Dave, Bang On (who Amanda had seen perform in Edinburgh) hit the stage literally using everyday items from plastic bins to frying pans to delivery a organised frenzy of noise from their self constructed drumming rig. This was a great interlude between bands that got the crowd chanting along with them.


The second band to take the stage was DeVotchKa , the quartet between them had on stage a drumer/trumpet player, Singer/guitarist, Accordian/Violin player and Sousaphone/Double Bass player. Combined this generated a varying style of music from fast-paced/haunting Spanish/Mariachi or Romani/Slavic tradtional styles of music. They perform a rather upbeat verson of Venus in Furs that was different to say the least. The band were accompanied by both Amanda and Brian from The Dresden Dolls for a version of ‘Oh What A World’ by Rufus Wainwright.


As DeVotchKA left, the stage was perpared for the Dolls (just drums and keyboard), the crowd was treated to a display of aerial tissu (performer unknown) which was pretty cool and had the crowd captivated. 

With their new album hot off the press and some rave reviews the Dolls finally took the stage in the Astoria. Playing through a fine selection of their best work including Mrs O, Missed Me, Perfect Fit, & Coin-Operated Boy. Thrown in were 2 wonderful covers of T-Rexs Cosmic Dancer and a verson of Black Sabbaths War Pigs (which was unusual with only drums and piano).

After a short break Amanda returned to her piano and performed an outstanding version of Leonard Cohens’ Hallelujah. Brian re-took the stage with his guitar as they performed a cover of Jacques Brels Amsterdam with Amanda swaggering around the stage with a bottle of beer. There are gigs and there are performances, this was definately the latter. The whole event was a wonderful combination of entertainment and music. The bands seem to enjoy the day as much as the members of the crowd.In all the night was a blast and a great time was had by all.

*Thomas Truax picture by Chris Saunders.

Ministry album and tour

I knew we’d let one slip by, a new Ministry album Rio Grande Blood, due for release May 2nd.

Rio Grande Blood features Tommy Victor (Prong), Paul Raven (Killing Joke), special guest artists Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys, Melvins), Sgt. Major and Liz Constantine (Dizzy X).

So the Ministry line up for the tour is:
Al Jourgensen
Paul Raven (Killing Joke) bass
Tommy Victor (Prong) guitar
Mike Scaccia (Rigor Mortis) guitar
Joey Jordison (Slipknot, Murder Dolls) drums

On top of that line up support act for the tour is Revolting Cocks and Pitbull Daycare.

With only 1 UK date planned (Wednesday 2nd August) it should be brillant.

Strapping Young Lad Videos

Stumbled across the video for the Strapping Young Lad song S.Y.L. earlier, which came as a surprise as I never knew it existed! Check it out here! There’s a load of other stuff by them linkable off that page aswell, including the new Vid for Zen. (They are a bit a grainy and take ages to download, but you probably aren’t going to find them anywhere else!)
Attached the video below, but you may need to pause it to allow it to buffer a little, else it will jump