Staring in with an icy gaze

A catapult is sprung into motion

Release point alpha

A kinetic burst of fury unleashed

Hurtling towards a destination known

Guidance systems don't apply

Rushing, turning, arching, aching

Displacing the air as it moves

Confounding all observers

Changing appearance, disguising intentions

Finally drifting, dropping unexpectedly

Omega point connection

A halberd gives way to a ballista

And you are left to stare away

On fire

 

 

I have been fortunate to see many awesome shows this year. Since I have been touting Machine Head's "The Blackening" as the album of the year so far I was really excited to see this show.  After getting teased by MH's short set opening for Lamb of God back in the spring I was ready for a full on show. I met up with my pals Curtis, Manny and Bill and headed over to the Nokia around 6 PM. Having never seen a show at the Nokia I came away mostly impressed. It is a beautiful, luxury style new venue with lots of comforts for the fans. What is not comfortable is the $8 beer prices but that's what you get when you share an address on Broadway, in Times Square and downstairs from MTV Studios. You are basically paying their rent there. It is however, a top flight place.  Air conditioned coolness, great sound, perfect sightlines and flat screen TV's for the folks in the back of the house with close ups of the on stage action were all offered up.

Since for a change I was early to the show I was there to see all the bands in their metallic sonic splendor. The first band up was Sanctity. Other than knowing they are on Roadrunner Records (who isn't these days?) and they have toured with Megadeth, I knew nothing about them. Well they flat out blew me away! While the metal du jour lately is 80's style thrash, Sanctity has a style and sensibility that is not pure copying but quite good. Although they borrow heavily from pre-1985 Metallica, Exodus, and Anthrax they injected enough originality in the form of song structures and interesting riffs. Sort of like Trivium without the catchy pop-styled choruses. The lead singer Jared looked EXACTLY like James Hetfield in the early days; right down to his posture at the microphone. I was also very impressed with their lead guitarist who had some hot shredding solos. I hate when they make it look all too easy, don't you? I went out to the merch table and bought their CD Road to Bloodlust right after the set.    

Next up to the stage was Throwdown. Sorry to say their set ranged from decent to underwhelming to bad. I have thought of them as the little hardcore/metal band that could with some weight to their might. However, recently they have adopted; no make that carbon copied "Far Beyond Driven" era Pantera so much that the result borders on comical. Just like old-school Metallica, legions of today's bands draw inspiration from Pantera. But you have to have some semblance of your own style in there somewhere. Their pedestrian songwriting left me bored. I hope their singer is sending checks to Phillip for his voice, likeness and style as I write this.  If they had a somewhat original song it would be "Unite" or "I, suicide". Or was that "Strength Beyond Strength"? I don't know.

So after that debacle was over the place really started to fill up with excitement for Arch Enemy. I have seen Arch Enemy once before but that was for 25 minutes on Ozzfest a few years back. Mind you it was before 9:30 AM in a brutally hot parking lot and over 2000 fans were already there! This time it was gonna be a lot more up close and personal. After a very impressive fast set change AE took the stage like gladiators in the area. The place lit up with cheers when they opened up with "My Apocalypse". Featuring what amounts to an all-star band of Europeans and Sweedes AE boasts some of the most talented and influential musicians in the world among their members. Lead guitarist Michael Amott (ex Carcass) is a superstar riffer and lead player and he is bolstered by the return of his brother Chris who is impressive on lead guitar as well. Many will remember drummer Daniel Erlandsen from his stint with In Flames. Bassist Sharlee DeAngelo (Witchery) has many side projects keeping him busy and the group is led by the incomparable Angela Gossow on vocals. The sound mix was a little off for the first three songs making the guitars sound small and hard to enjoy. Tearing through a 12 song set in exactly one hour the band drew heavily from its last few albums Wages of Sin and Doomsday Machine they were a force to be reckoned with. They also played some tracks off of their brand new record Rise of the Tyrant. The most notable new song was "Revolution Begins". The best received track of the set overall was "Ravenous". Other crowd pleasers were the well known "We Will Rise" and "Nemesis". If I had to boil it down to the bare essence I'd say that AE has the perfect blend of melodic intricacy and hellish brutality. I think they are even a far greater live band then on record and I am excited to see what comes next in their career.

Machine Head was up next. I will save the verbal fellatio for another time, but suffice to say they are one of most favorite bands ever. Once again a fast stage change unveiled the huge MH banner and set. As the lights dimmed the chants of "Machinefukinhead!" started up. The band walked on stage to the strains of "Clenching the Fists of Dissent" They were explosive right out of the gate as ferocious as ever. The opener was just further proof that Machine Head is laying claim the throne of today's preeminent metal bands. Considering that this was a band left for dead (not by me!) just three years ago, this quite an accomplishment. They followed the opener with the equally crushing "Imperium" and "Aesthetics of Hate" possibly setting a record for longest three songs in a row not at Dream Theatre concert. "Aesthetics..." of course is dedicated to the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott and frontman Robb Flynn made his little vitriolic speech against those who deride fans of metal as dumb and undesirable. He also played my favorite guitar, a see-thru red BC Rich (drool). I was kind of concerned at this point that it would be a fairly short show since this took up about half an hour. I love these new proggy ten minute plus songs, but I'm always greedy to hear longer sets lists.

Any case MH next followed up with the classic track "Old" from Burn My Eyes which was awesome. Flynn is getting to the point where is like a rabid caged animal on stage. He always seems to be foaming at the mouth and considering out more and more technical their songs are getting he seems to still put on a great show. His playing and singing whether heavy or soft have never been better. When you watch him perform you really connect with him and feel all of his emotions. The rest of the band has stepped up their collective game as well. Fans can certainly point to lead guitarist Phil Demmell joining the band a while back as when they took a big leap forward in songwriting and performing. He and Flynn together are more formidable than just about every tandem out therr. Alternating between dual harmonies, dueling leads and just overall great playing they certainly add an element that the band has never had to this point. Drummer Dave McClain was his usual brutal, technical self on the drums. I have often said he is the most underrated drummer in metal today.  He doesn't usually make the lists of top drummers, but he ought to. Since bassist Adam Duce broke his leg goofing around with a mountain bike, so he had to miss the entire tour. He was replaced by two guys infact! Bassist Brandon Sigmund did a solid job filling in while Jared from Sanctity came out to sing most of the backing vocals and did a god job. I missed Duce's presence on stage, but he was well covered for.

The set continued on with an array of impressive tunes like "Take My Scars" "Halo" and the epic "Descend the Shades of Night".  The whole place was going pretty much apeshit the entire show which I was happy to see. Naturally the closer "Davidian" is always a killer with everybody in the place going crazy and singing nearly every word. Flynn professed from the stage that it was the best show they'd ever played in New York and I would be hard pressed to argue despite only ten songs and 1 hour and 15 minutes on stage. My only hope would be that when they get around to a headline tour they give the fans the closer to two hour show we deserve. I think their music and performance has reached the classic level of old-Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and other bands (Pantera also comes to mind) where they have the goods to deliver a long show. I certainly would welcome more songs off of all their albums in the future.

NEXT UP: OVERKILL!!!!

 

This is a call to all the bassists

The four, five and six string maestros

Gods of Thunder inspiring me

Purveyors of the low end experience

Guiding me, driving me, leading me

This goes out to all the in the pocket players

Groovin, holding it down at the bottom

Letting everyone else shine

Coming in from the center of the earth

Or outer space right to your inner space

This is a roll call to all who showed me the way

Who started me off and continue to get me off:

John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, Cliff Burton,

Chris Squire, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, Flea, Mike Dean, Frankie Bello, David "Junior" Ellefson, Rex Brown, Gene $immons, Larry Graham, Geddy Lee, Mike Rutherford, Jack Bruce, Steve Harris, Nathan East, Jason Newsted, Justin Chancellor, Billy Gould, Mike Inez, Les Claypool, Doug Pinnick, Duff McKagan, Ben Sheppard, Roger Waters, Roger Glover,

DD Verni, Joey Vera,  Phil Lynott, Fieldy Arvizu, Christian Olde Wohlbers, Bootsy Collins, Bernard Edwards, Tom Hamilton, Dee Dee Ramone, Greg Lake,Chi Cheng, Michael Anthony, Timothy B. Schmidt, Lemmy, John Myung, Harley Flannigan, Doug Wimbish, Paulo Pinto Jr, Tony Levin, Billy Sheehan, Mike D'Antonio, Paul Raven, Muzz Skillings,  Dan Lilker, Sting, John Deacon, Paul McCartney, Rob Deleo, Cliff Meyers, Robert Trujillo, Bill Gaal, Paul Simonon, Doyle Only, Adam Duce, John Wetton, Sean Yseault and countless others.

Also to every bassist to ever share a stage with me or if you just picked up your axe yesterday to join the fight:

You all have touched my life.

The power of your manna flows in, out and through my fingers.

I'd like to give you all a gift in return.

One perfectly played note on the bass.

A note with a tone like no other.

A note to make bowels around the world rumble and empty.

A note to bring eargasms to chasms far and wide.

A note to be heard as well as listened to and remembered.

If you play bass and I missed someone that has touched you leave a comment.

..> ..>

How soon we forget ourselves in a sea of shallow emptiness eh sheeple?. This is me stepping on my little soap box to talk about 9-11. I am far from super patriotic and aside from supporting the troops I don't ever support misguided, wag-the-dog type police actions like Iraq wars. I just think it's sad that every year that slips past further away from that fateful day we become more and more removed from it. Like the death of a pet, we miss them terribly at first but it blends into the memory banks of the past and fades. We are not fighting a war on terror in order to win. Because like a war on jealousy and greed it can not be won. America, once the most loved and feared nation in the world is now the most mocked and derided. How does this make you feel as an American? Proud? Idiotic? Ashamed? Six years later and the world is still about blood, money and oil. And it always will be. Six years later and there is no Bin Laden to hold accountable. No Al Quida to lay blame on. Six years later and we have not rebuilt the towers. Six years later and the incompetence is still running wild. Six years later and our lame duck government learned nothing from their massive failures so Hurricane Katrina was suffered harder than it should have been. Did all those people die in vain? Have all the soldiers who have died and are dying right now as I type this going to an early grave for nothing. Men and women who lay their lives down for our freedoms, but fighting a war of little consequence. Ask yourselves when as a collective people will we pull the wool off from our eyes and see again? When? As long as we prefer to be isolated and distracted from the truth I am still glad to be an American, but not like I used to be. The only thing patriotic I can do today is stay awake, not feed into the lies and ask these questions. I still remember how, do you? You may now return to your regularly scheduled drivel.

 

 

 

 

So we all found out today that Hilly Krystal died. I have profound memories of CBGB's and a special one of Hilly. I learned about CB's like everybody else growing up in NYC. Probably read Hilly's name for the first time in the Village Voice or something. Went to my first matinee in High School the fall of 1988. Mucky Pup was on the bill. No id, no pat down, no nothing. The only thing I had to to was tuck in my pony-tailed metal hair in my hoodie and not wear any Metallica shirts that day lest the real punks kick my ass. Later on in 1998 when my first gigging band, GRUNT played audition night, I ran into the man himself. Audition night gig there meant 8 PM on a Monday in NYC and we brought in like 50 kids, which I thought was impressive since it was one of our first shows. Standing center stage in the place where legends were born filled me with a lot of emotions. The floor of the stage was so flimsy in spots I thought my chubby  foot would break it in. We killed it performance wise! People paid $5 to get in and I think the band got $2 per head. Since I was the business man of the band it was my job to collect the dough. I had to wait around til the end of the night for money. We had played at 8 and I was the only one left hanging out waiting. I was told I had to wait until 2 and that pissed me off! So at 12 I got up to front door and bitched to the door guy about getting paid. So he calls Hilly and he comes down from his office and yells at us "I don't know what it is with you kids?" And leaves. The guy paid me and I left, realizing I had annoyed an icon! I had many gigs at CB's and went to countless other shows there. My favorite one was the S.O.D. reunion show in 2001. The last one I went to was Life of Agony and Desolate in 2005. Thanks for everything Hilly!

Weary from the struggle

Not from the fight

Getting up off the mat again

When my bleeding face says lay down

I raise myself up on my knees

Feeling broken teeth on the floor

Knowing deep down I am all at once

Self-righteous and purely insane

The never ending grieving process

Left me battered but resolute

Keep finding new ways to kill the pain

New ways to explain to my stubborn heart

Why I must remain to fight another day

And when my weary head lays down

At the end of another dull day

Marked with both victories and defeats

And my eyes go wet with frustration

The thought that comes to my overburdened mind is

Why do I still fight to have what is not my own

And fuck anyone who thinks they can stop me

Well I just got back from the tool show a little while ago and frankly I am fried mentally and emotionally. I will do my best to churn out this review with as much quality as possible, but I'm fading fast. As you may know tool is my favorite band ever and they have never let me down yet. So this will be more biased than my usual reviews and frankly Scarlet Johansson, I don't give a damn!

 

I've never been to the Tweeter Center in the time I've lived up near Boston. I heard great things about it, but never been. However, outdoor semi-open air ampe-theater type venues are my favorite places to see a show. I get picked up by my two new friends Robin (cute and nice) and Leo (smart and handy) near the crib. After a brief setback of a flat tire, we were on our way and down to the place in seemingly no time. We talked of all things tool for most of the ride and I needed no pass to indulge in that topic ever.

 

So we get to the venue with a little time to spare and have thankfully missed the opening act so it was almost tool time. We get to the seats and I/Stub Hub.com has got the job done on the best quality seats I have ever had to see tool play. Section one, in front of stage left and 21 rows back. You could feel the anticipation tense up in the air. Since tool is unlike most bands and rarely plays its biggest hit songs you never really know what you're going to get in terms of a set list. The show started quickly right before 9 PM as the band made their way on stage with the house lights up. They took their places on the stage and I had a direct view of everyone on stage, but especially Justin Chancellor who is one of my bass guitar heroes. With no delay the band launched into the hypnotic track "Jambi". A simple, brilliant idea of an all white stage including the floor was meant to accent the lightshow. Video screens everywhere (sides, back and ceiling!) and flood/spot lights provided the visual backdrop. Of course I was excited like a little girl at a tea party, and I whipped out my camera phone to take some early snaps. No sooner do I take exactly one piss poor shot does a security doofus accost me. He threatens to kick me out of the show if I don't fork over the battery to my phone. What could I do but give him my (already ailing) battery? I'm not gonna bitch too much more about this except he stayed in our general area the entire show while everyone around us took pics with their phones. Anyway Jambi was a kick-ass opener and was highlighted by a talk-box guitar solo that would have made Joe Walsh proud. The entire band sounded amazing and looked great too. Maynard- vocally epic as usual and adding some great backing keyboard work, Adam rock solid on the far side of the stage on guitars and moog, Danny bringing the thunder behind a massive kit and Justin just rocking out and adding his low-end madness.

 

Maynard addressed the crowd with a "hello redsox!" and the band next went into "Stinkfist". This version was a bit slower and grinding than the original and really brought out the heaviness of the track. They also added the now customary middle jam section which is always welcome. The entire place went nuts singing together in the bridge ("I'll…keep… digging…til… I feel ..something!" and the hair on my arm stood up from all the energy exchanged in the place. After a shorted intro of (-) Ions came "46&2". This is far and away my favorite tool song and suffices to say I could write pages on just this song alone. But I won't! I was great to hear as always: crushing, uplifting, dark and beautiful all at once. Continuing to keep the spirits high the band next presented "Schism". Despite being one of their more radio friendly songs of the last two albums, tool is not afraid to tamper with the fans expectations. Rather, they would rather take them and each song on mini journeys. "Schism" continues to evolve and change slightly every time I hear it performed.  Now it features the middle breakdown recast as a two-minute thrash workout. Nice!

 

As each song played the visual aspect of the show just kept building and building. In typical tool fashion the band intercuts their own music videos with home made footage and graphics to enhance the show courtesy of Adam Jones. In contrast to most bands of their stature they'd prefer you not notice them. Lots of poseur rock and metal bands should learn from this and put the focus on the music where it should be.  Following schism was the one two punch of "Lost Keys"/"Rosetta Stoned". The droning dreaminess of the first track gives way to the spasmodic madness of the second. Blistering rhythms, pulsing bass and guitars and Maynard rapping his speaking-in-tongues vocal through a megaphone add to the uniqueness of the track. I gather that "Rosetta Stoned" is a rant on being abducted by aliens and other strangeness, backed-up by a bunch of astronomy laden sci-fi visuals. The normally eleven minute track was also expanded to about 15 minutes since this time the ambient part of the song was extended.

 

At the end of Rosetta Stoned the band left the last notes sustaining on for five minutes on and took a break from the action on stage. The tech crew all dressed in white lab coats came out and fiddle with the gear. I looked around and everybody in the house seems to have their lighters out…. It was pretty cool.  A stool was brought out for Justin and I knew what was coming next. The massive two part "Wings for Marie"/"10,000 Days" was coming up and I was anticipating a great performance. It really is a moving piece of music and the patience and stealth with which the track builds just blows my mind. Adding to the feeling is the first appearance of a massive laser light performance. Beams shot out from behind the stage, the middle and back of the venue and were project onto the ceiling on other screens.  Then perhaps the highlight of the show is the awesome bass solo by Justin. He was facing away from me most of the song on his stool, but then turned slowly facing front. His immaculate, spot-on finger style jaunt should be in bass textbooks everywhere. Then as the song kicked into its' ending cadences Justin went back to picking.

 

I was totally unprepared for what was to come next. As I mentioned Tool doesn't ever play what you expect and I was not expecting a little gem called "Push It" to appear. I have only heard it live one other time about ten years ago at Ozzfest 98. It also starts with a simmer and boils over by the end of the track. The ending of the song is about as brutally hard as anything in the bands' repertoire and of course Maynard signature high notes were echoed by the crowd. I was smiling from ear to ear at this point. Then another curveball was thrown in the form of "Flood" off of the Undertow album. The band rarely plays anything from this era anymore, but I was flat out tickled to hear this jamming song.

 

After a snippet of what sounded like the pastiche "Merkkaba" the old familiar heartbeat thump at the start of "Lateralus" could be heard. This has been the closer the last few tours and rightly so as it is now a cornerstone of the setlist. After the grinding opening chords gave way to the verse riffs red and yellow laser lights flickered in perfect syncopation. Maynard used to play guitar on this track and Schism, but now exclusively plays a lot of keys throughout the song.  Then perhaps the best performance of the entire night took place. A second drum kit was brought out and a duel ensued between Danny and the guy from the opening act. Lasting ten minutes and five plus beers by Justin (as he continued to play the main riff) in total it was just plain crazy! Then the entire band kicked back in for the normal ending, again led by Justin. They could have ended the show right there, but had one more song to offer. Maynard implored the crowd of drunk people to "resist the urge to have sex with a relative on the drive home, and to be good to each other." Weird! Then came the closer of "Vicarious". Even after two plus hours the band was still firing on all cylinders the sound and fury of the show was overwhelming all sense of reality. As the show ended the entire band got together for a group hug and received a five minute ovation from the crowd. Not only would this rank among the best tool shows I've seen, but clearly one of the best shows I've ever seen. I would say that I have sense for a while that the band is nearing the end for them. The show had a definite farewell vibe to it. If this is indeed the end they are going out on the top of their game.        

 

 

 

I heard that song today

One I had not heard in a while

And it transported me back in time

To the place of my utmost contentment

When I didn't have a care in the world

And nothing could ever harm me

The tribal drums calmed my nerves

The native tongue that called out to me

As sinewy guitars penetrated my mind

The winds swirled, a wolf howled

I listened to it over and over in a loop

Eternal repeat button depressed in my mind

And I am reminded of that day

Much like the nautical timbre of the song

Our bodies ebbed and flowed in time to the rhythm

In our ears and in our hearts

 

 

 

So I am getting some inquires about my page and what exactly my musical background is all about. Who is this Keith fella? What is Boston Massacre really? Is he really in five bands right now? These answers and more are found herein. Since I can't resist an opportunity for self promotion I thought I'd serve up a hot slab of smoking me related back story. I have written some of these for other bands and people before. Any attempt to bs in the third person, sound self-important and totally pretentious is merely on purpose. Any stabs a humor are likely regrettable.  Also, no animals were harmed in this writing of this bio. Absolutely no names have been changed to protect the innocent, the dysfunctional or the deceased.

 

 

It all started with humble beginnings in The Bronx, New York in the early seventies. An impressionable little shaver named Keith could be found running around in his tighty whities while his oldest brother Bill blasted out the LP's and 8-Tracks of the day. Sharing big helpings of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Kiss, Yes, Blue Oyster Cult, and Genesis left an early and indelible mark on the boy. Perhaps the most profound early formative event for Keith was seeing his brothers' first band rehearsal. Decked out in full Kiss regalia and make-up, Keith's brother gave his own daily rock concerts in the bedroom and led to dreams conjuring up Les Paul's, Fender Basses, laser lights, breathing fire, spiting blood, violin bows, capes, cowls and clown make-up. The seeds of destruction were sown!

 

 

At the age of five Keith enrolled in music school and took theory and classical guitar. Eventually giving up guitar in favor of singing lessons, Keith embarked full force on his journey. Years of performing in school plays combined with a pushy stage mom led him to eventually pursue acting, community theatre productions, auditions for TV commercials and ultimately off, off Broadway. Show tunes, classical music and bebop jazz filtered in from his parents. As the 80's marched on Keith graduated from the school of classic rock to the school of 80's rock and metal. At the (not exactly) fabled Junior HS 135 fate smiled on the playground at recess on a cold day in the winter of 1985. It was there where he met one of his musical soul mates in life, Curtis Dunlap. 

 

 

This was a great meeting of developing young minds and talents. Sharing a mutual love for classic rock and discovering a lot of early thrash metal together, Curtis' love of the six strings led Keith to follow a dream he'd always had, to play bass and sing. A year later Curtis went electric and his pal followed suit with his first bass, a Fender. Many hours spent in the Dunlap basement learning riffs by Page, Hendrix, Hetfield and many others forged a bond unfadeble by time. But Junior High was ending and Keith was off to Fiorello H. LaGuardia H.S. of Music and Performing Arts. (aka: the school from the TV show "FAME").

 

 

LaGuardia High was a different area than Keith was used to. Sure he received world class training in all styles from some amazing maestros. However, he often wondered why there was chamber music class, but no rock singing class? Plenty of Brahms, but no Billy Joel. Why a gospel chorus class, but no Bohemian Rhapsody harmony work etc?  So he toiled away honing his craft, but always feeling the need for more brutality with his Beethoven. When he wasn't in the school practice room our hero was absorbing all types of music from metal, punk rock, pop, jazz and world music. LP records, cassettes and ultimately cds became his refuge which he shared with his peers. In the meantime he kept playing bass and having his first forays into leading his own bands. Among the highlight's of Keith's time at LaGuardia was performing in a chorus backing up former pop star Whitney Houston! This was at a gala for then President George Bush I.

 

 

Fast forward to the early 1990's. A more musically mature and independent Keith co-founded the band GRUNT. From humble beginnings in basements and bedrooms, over seven years GRUNT became a beast of the local New York metal scene. Following its' leaders' eclectic tastes the band had the ability to play any kind of rock or metal song. This was not always advantageous since the band played hundreds of shows, many bills without any such diversity. Culminating with the March 2000 release of the "Twice Thru Hell" (co-produced by Keith) and an appearance at the New Jersey Metal Meltdown, the band was slowly grinding to a halt. He left the band soon after and went on hiatus musically.

 

 

After a few years of session work and backing up other people Keith returned with a fury to the stage with the band HATED in 2004. HATED was a blend of thrash, punk rock and hip-hop. While not really a reflection of where he was as an artist he helped solidify the band at the time and had a lot of fun. HATED's blistering live shows were becoming the stuff of legend and the CD "Musical Cyanide" (2005) was raw, original and most of all ten kinds of heavy. At the same time Keith fulfilled another musical dream of his when he formed his Pink Floyd tribute band PIGS ON THE WING. Strictly playing cuts from the classic seventies era, the band won over a lot of fans with its' spot on replications of the tough to nail legendary Floyd sound. Keith left both bands when he relocated to Boston in 2005.

 

 

Now we have the present day and the uncharted future. When Keith is not working on his career in finance or writing, he still has time for music. His current project is the SALTED WOUNDS reunion. Pairing Keith up with his pal and other musical brother from another mother- Omar Cordy on the drums, SW is back from the dead and ready to kill. Plans are on tap for a possible CD release(s) and comeback shows. Other musical projects upcoming for 2008 will be the first Boston Massacre recordings (metal/hardcore), an unnamed sci-fi based prog-metal record and another top-secret project of epic proportions featuring an all-star cast of his peers in 2009.