#26-#29

These might be a little shorter than usual. I'm really far behind.

#26

Mastodon
Kylesa
Intronaut

@ Cat's Cradle 05/13/09

I was very excited for this one. It's been years since I've seen Mastodon, and I've never seen them headline either.

My friends and I arrived with some time to kill, but not a great amount to kill. The show was sold out, and I was pretty determined to get a good spot for the show. I went to get some food next to the Cat's Cradle (which minus the drink prices, is probably my favorite venue in NC as of now), and that caused me to miss the first song or so of Intronaut. What I saw of their set was DAMN impressive though. I was actually underwhelmed when I saw them 2 1/2 years ago open for Misery Index, but maybe they just had an off-night. Ironic considering they told me all the live songs from their Challenger EP were recorded at that show. Heh.

This was probably the best time I've seen Kylesa, despite them not playing a lot of old material. All of the best tracks from Static Tensions were played, as were Bottom Line, Hollow Severer, and Where the Horizon Unfolds. The great thing about the Cat's Cradle is their attention to sound, and they brought out the best from them.

And finally, Mastodon. I admit, I don't adore Crack the Skye like everyone else seems to, but my love of the album was definitely boosted after seeing them perform the ENTIRE THING live that night. Hot damn. I got a standing spot near the side of the stage, which was almost perfect. The band was so focused and tight, with every song sounding damn near exact like it does on record. Brent's guitar was occasionally cutting out at times, but I don't think many people noticed (he sure didn't). The set was comprised of Crack the Skye, from beginning to end, which also had a trippy video screen playing in sync with the band. They took a quick break after that bit, and came out to do older material afterwards. Most of it was Blood Mountain material, but it was cool to hear Seabeast and Megalodon. Only song from Remission though? Blargh.

Overall, it was definitely worth the money and travel. The fact that Mastodon isn't everyone's little secret anymore is still a little hard to digest. Good for them though.

#27

Monkeyknifefight
Spring Break 1931
Stinkbomb
Audacity

@ Luckys Pub 05/15/09

This was a real last minute decision. I was kind of fatiqued from Mastodon, but I wanted to see Stinkbomb and had heard interesting things about SB31.

Audacity were on first. For a bunch of kids who looked like they were still in high school, they did pretty dang good. Solid 80s punk. I gotta wonder how many patches one of the kids in that band had on though.

Stinkbomb were great. Sounded better than at the Kontatto show, and played a couple of covers to boot (Sailin' On and Live Wire). A small part of me wonders what will happen when they play with ASG soon. Perhaps a clash of fanbases? It's likely to occur.

And now, Spring Break 1931. Well, the music wasn't the greatest thing ever. In fact, it was downright sloppy at times. I didn't like the fact that there were two frontmen, something which I don't think is necessary for ANY band. The set WAS entertaining though. Beach balls and balloons being thrown around constantly, watching drunk punk rockers make fools of themselves, and just a generally "fun" vibe, which I don't see in a lot of Wilmington bands these days.

I've seen Monkeyknifefight several times before, and I like em. I think I was just too tired to really watch, minus a few songs. Bands sure love to cover "Fix Me" these days as well. It's a great song and all, but man there are more Black Flag songs to choose from. I left after the cover, pretty much saying I was going to relax for some time. But alas...

#28

Mobile Deathcamp
Temple Destroyer (performing 2 sets)

@ Luckys Pub 05/16/09

God damn it, I'm back at another show. I WAS going to go to MC Chris/Whole Wheat Bread, but I didn't feel like paying $14 for just two bands. So instead, I paid $5 for 3 bands (Acirema was supposed to play, but dropped off for reasons unknown). I figured that if I hated this gig, it was only $5 wasted and no more.

Temple Destroyer opened and did a pretty okay job. They're talented kids, but I think they need to work on the vocals. Pretty cool black/thrash. After they completed their set of their own material, they came out to do a second set, which was comprised of nothing but covers. They covered Mastodon, Slayer, and Metallica with the exception of "For Whom the Bell Tolls," they were all pretty accurate.

I really didn't know anything about Mobile Deathcamp. I didn't like the name all that much, and I figured it'd be like the Wings to Gwar's Beatles (and good god, I just compared the Beatles and Gwar). I'm eating my words though, because they ripped pretty hard. These guys could fucking play. Their guitarist/vocalist, the one who I believe was the ex-member of Gwar, was a hulking dude who could shred that little Flying V of his pretty well. They even played a couple of covers which were both gnarly (Thin Lizzy-Emerald and Devo-Freedom of Choice). I'd be more than happy to see these guys again.

Though the turnout was terrible (maybe 10-15 kids came out?), the show was quite cool. The same can not be said about the show the day after...

#29

Queensryche (performing extended sets of Rage For Order/American Soldier/Empire)

@ House of Blues 05/17/09


Even though I dig the shit out of Operation: Mindcrime, I'm not a big fan of Queensryche. My friend Will won a pair of tickets to see them in SC, and offered me the chance to see them with him, even though his excitement for them was about the same as mine: not very big.

After driving through possibly the worst storm I've seen in a couple of years, we got to the House of Blues and managed to stand near the side of the stage for most of the performance. Let it be known, I HATE the House of Blues. Corporate bullshit with some of the most ludicrous prices around. Plus I really can't get behind any venue that forbids re-entry. I had actually taken a vow back in September 2008 after watching Flogging Molly perform there that I would never set foot in there again. Well, I lasted 8 months. Joy. But back to the show.

Queensryche were pompous, boring, and cheesy. And not necessarily in that order. The Rage For Order set was just plain boring, with Geoff Tate acting (and looking) like he was a suave higher being than most of the people not on stage with him. Dude, wearing sunglasses indoors for most of your performance is never usually cool. The American Soldier set was ATROCIOUS. The songs from the record sounded more akin to Limp Bizkit than they of their own sound. A Drill Sergeant hype man, a backup singer who looked eerily like the singer for Buckcherry, and a duet with a 10-year old awkward little girl made the set something straight out of Spinal Tap. We left midway through the Empire set, having finally given up on seeing anything that resembled good. Plus I got tired of having someone constantly to me behind him and ask "You having a good time? What do you think so far?" Oh if only you knew. If only you knew.

I don't think I'll be catching Queensryche again anytime in the future, unless they can promise to stop acting like egotistical douchebags on stage and do nothing but Operation: Mindcrime material.