Last: vodun (missed em), mugstar (yawn), Cosmic Dead (woo!)

Next: The Death Of Her Money (possibly last gig), Big Naturals (local psych/punk loons), Fumaça Preta(psych/fuzz/funk/tropicalia). Going to be pretty strange.

Last: Steak + Garcia

Next: J Mascis

Last (same night, different venues);
Lo-Pan - TT The Bears (Cambridge, MA)
The Life & Times - The Middle East Upstairs (Cambridge, MA)

Next - New Years Eve in Chicago at The Subtaranean
Pelican/The Life & Times/Pinebender

That's what I'm talking about!

it made me think of the legendary one in RVA. how does he do it ALL the time?

what was fantastic, was both bands were equally TOP notch. Stoner into Space. I don't think I've pulled off those circumstances before.

The last show I saw was Wretch and The Skull. Wretch tore it up. Anyone who's into the Gates of Slumber should love this material, though it's definitely its own thing. The Skull simply destroyed. At first I wasn't really looking forward to the set because the band is lacking the original guitarists of Trouble, but they were just SO DAMN GOOD I didn't mind. It was a treat hearing a number of tracks from the first two Trouble LP's. If you get a chance to see them, don't sleep on it.

last show was yob. next show is high on fire hopefully. i got tickets for the early show but i have court that day for a fucking cell phone violation at like 2pm. hopefully im not in court for very long...

Some ass kicking punk rock and roll:

LAST- Proxy / Unholy Thoughts / Lost Tribe / Slugz

Proxy was awesome, great punk rock and roll from Montreal, theses dudes are not fucking around. Mainly Stooges/Motorhead style tunes but I swear the jam at the end of one song sounded like Marshall Tucker Band. Really really good stuff.

NEXT- Glue / Barge / Animal Planet / Kommunion / Mad Exit

Glue from Austin was great about a year ago, I skipped the Pig Destroyer venue aggro-fest to see them at a house show and glad I did, another kick-ass punk rock and roll band delivering the goods. Probably gonna be a mob at this one tonight, again a house show.

LAST - Incantation and Ritual Necromancy here last night. First show in roughly a month-and-a-half (been busy with a lot of other stuff) and goddamn it was good.

NEXT - I have tickets for Black Witchery (this must be their first show here?) in three weeks, but I might check out various shows (Blackwitch Pudding, Lebenden Toten or Christian Mistress) between now and then. Back in the saddle!

Last - Pelican/The Life & Times/Pinebender, 12/31/14 at The Subtaranean in Chicago. It was fucking fantastic

Next - Torche/Nothing/Wrong at Great Scott 3/25/15 in Allston, MA
smells like the 90s. Potential barn burner. Nothing are heavy shoe gaze worship from Philly. Wrong are Strap It On/Meantime era Helmet worship from Miami mixed with a little more heavy/sludge/fuzz. This will be my first time seeing Torche

LAST- Saw Karma To Burn last night, really enjoyed it. Current rhythm section hits hard, allowing Will Mecum to do his thing seemingly without effort on guitar. WV desert rock? I guess it's a small team, but Mecum may have written the book on it. They have never been my favorite band but it's cool to see for the semi-legacy he's carved out.

NEXT- Couple of show tonight- Bubonic Bear house show early and Set & Setting club show late. Late show also features locals Everyone Dies in the End which includes ex-members of Lord By Fire.

Yeah dude, might try to make that Torche/Nothing/Wrong show in Boston, that's a killer lineup.

Torche are amazing live, you're going to dig them. I'm stoked on Nothing.

Also thinking of traveling to CT the next night to catch SWERVEDRIVER (!!!!!!!) the next night....

I want to see Father John Misty on Mar 31st in Boston, King Tuff is also playing. That should be absolutely killer, Misty brings it live yo.

Last - that strange one at the top of the page. It was strange. Big Naturals were good as ever. Skronky free jazz trio playing in the corner between sets. Missed DoHM, caught Revelation Trio playing some fat doom. FP were totally out of place, had sound problems (MORE BASS!) but put a smile on my face.

Next - looks like Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson in a couple of weeks. Fatso fucking Jetson!!!

LAST - Aforementioned Incantation/Ritual Necromancy show.

NEXT - Christian Mistress, Druden and Raw Nerves on Saturday.

Possible NEXT NEXT - Mayhem, Watain, Revenge the following week.

NEXT to LAST - Christian Mistress, Raw Nerves, Druden last Saturday. Fucking great! New venue/bar in a weird place for that type of thing, but Christian Mistress killed it! I know a lot of folks were thrown by their unreleased new bluesy stuff, but I eat that stuff up!

LAST - Mayhem, Watain, REVENGE on Wednesday. REVENGE were worth the price of admission! Kind of pissed I slept on them this long, but there is just too much shit to keep up with! Cool band concept, but having an ungodly drummer always helps your band! Watain was cheesy as fuck, but crowd pleasers. Mayhem was really good as always. As long as they keep going as a vehicle to keep Attila out in the public, I have no problem with what they're doing.

NEXT - Black Witchery later on today. Really looking forward to this, but the bar REVENGE set is gonna be tough to top!

LAST - Black Fucking Witchery! Just tonight. Fuckin' sweet. Between this and REVENGE, I've had a good week of holocaustic death/black metal!!!

NEXT - SLEEP on Friday at a rather shitty venue, so we'll see how it goes...

Last show was a buddy's band this past Friday.

Next up is Elder followed by Yob a week later in the same venue. Smack dab in between those two is Torche w/Wrong and Nothing. I may have to suck it up, put my old man pants away, and make it out to that Monday night show.

That's a good run of gigs.
Had to miss Fatso Jetson but my shitty mood lifted a bit this evening when I realised it's Gonga playing with Lakota and Pohl on Friday. Cosy little pub venue.

Next next - Seven That Spells in an even cosier pub!

LAST - SLEEP on Friday who fucking crushed!

NEXT - Napalm Death/Voivod next week.

Last: Pig Destroyer in December
Next: Yob/Enslaved/Ecstatic Vision in March followed the next day by SWANS

Two shows back-to-back will kill me weary ass, being a parent has really cut down on my show attendance. Missed Watain because Mayhem canceled and frankly doubt I would've made it even if they hadn't.

Well if there is a scenario that requires you to take off work, get a baby sitter, eat your Wheaties, that's it. Surprised to hear SWANS are back at it. I thought they already hit the east coast on this album cycle.

I found out Danava is playing free show at motorcycle show nearby here tomorrow. I might end up checking that out. Danava kicks ass and FREE is a very good price!

Free is the best price, and parenthood is the best reason to get out to that gig!
If you're going to be bleary, slightly deranged and stewing in days-old grime you may as well be in a darkened room with strangers being bathed in sound.

Here's to Metal Parents!

being a parent of 2 young-ins, I vowed after zero shows in '13 (first year in nearly 25 years I'd not gone to a show)...that I would change that. '14 was an excellent turn around. Pelican, Lopan, Life & Times, Pile, Ex Hex, Speedy Ortiz,etc.

Gonna try to continue that in '15

NON metal show next - Big Head Todd & The Monsters at The House of Blues, Boston 2/21
I introduced my wife to their album "Sister Sweetly" when we first met back in the early 2000's and she ended up liking it much more than me. I was into some of that jam stuff if it sounded good (ie, Widespread Panic, Bela Fleck, etc.) back than, not as much now. But she loves that Big Head Todd album, so for this past Xmas, I bought her 2 tix to see them. And I've been looking for an excuse to see what the newish House of Blues in Boston is like. Should be fun, dinner at Ruth Chris beforehand ("special" date nights are usually filet mignon x 2)

Next next - Torche/Nothing/Wrong at Great Scott, Allston MA 3/25 (That's going to be a rocker)

Next Next next - maaaybe Mastodon/Clutch/Graveyard at House of Blues, Boston 5/17
A few hesitations.....
1. I'm barely an active Mastodon fan, after being a fanboy up through Leviathan, and than shutting it down after multiple bland prog releases. But I've never seen them live, and I'm still curious how they'd sound on stage.
2. Pretty much the same with Clutch, but I've seen them several times, and that frat club audience finally tipped the scales at the last show I went too, and made me not want to return. I doubt that has changed, even though we are "getting older".
3. I've seen people praise Graveyard, but that rock does little for me on record, but I bet it's decent live.
A buddy of mine kind of wants to go. I told him, if he wants to go...I'll go. So it's up to him.

LAST - My last show was a few days ago, a jammy blues guitar guy from Portland OR named Scott Pemberton, who was playing brewery/taphouse gigs on the east coast. Description sounded interesting and the show was only $5 so I checked him out, guy is really talented, plays a beautiful Gibson without a strap, so he would balance it against himself or lay it down on a stool in front of him constantly. Entertaining, but was a little too jammy/light for my tastes, I'm sure the guy is capable of harder playing but has to keep it palatable for all the beer-swilling normals in the crowd.

Although he said he was doing another set I split to head to a dive bar in another part of town to attempt to buy tickets to an upcoming appearance by The Dwarves, who will be playing Richmond for the first time since 1993 when there was a notorious clash with locals that was memorialized in the lyrics to their song 'Reputation'. I remember the 90's gigs taking place but did not attend either of them. As the story goes, on the earlier visit The Dwarves performed their 'dance craze' song "Do The Screw" which involved Blag jumping on a woman in the crowd and grinding her onto the floor. This resulted in the abrupt end of the show, and created a vendetta against the band that was revisited in the subsequent 1993 show where some male friends of the woman baited the band into a fight, which occurred with Dwarves members wielding their instruments as weapons. Van tires were later slashed, and the band hasn't returned until this gig, a show in this too-small dive, on St Patrick's Day. What could go wrong? Unfortunately for me, the last ticket was sold 10 minutes before I got there, since I had spent my time (foolishly?) listening to that blues hippie.


NEXT- Darsombra tonight

My daughter's sleep took a turn for the better so things are looking up for next month....

Yeah, Swans played at the same venue (my favorite in Philly) just last May. I ain't complaining, though. I hope they play "Just a Little Boy" this go-around because I missed it last time.