Huge update!

Been silent for February, but have a ton of new confirmed shows to let you all know about! Here we gooooooooooooooooooo:

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The hardest working band in a touring sense, JUCIFER, is returning yet again to Kansas City. They'll be at The Riot Room on March 10th, a Sunday. They literally play with a wall of amps so be prepared for one of the loudest and heaviest experiences of your life.

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HOWL, the only good thing to come out of Rhode Island, will be returrning to KC on March 19th, a Tuesday, at the Riot Room. I was very impressed the last time I saw them, one of the first acts on the first Metal Alliance tour. Super heavy! Also on the bill are Boreas, Keef Mountain and Abbot.

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Here's one for the kids - Australian death metal/metalcore act PARKWAY DRIVE will be at The Granada on April 4th, a Tuesday. I actually think they do this genre of music better than pretty much all others, even though I'm not a huge fan. Along for the ride is The Word Alive, Veil of Maya and While She Sleeps.

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Here's a big one. One of the original old-school death metal bands that is world-renowned will be making a stop in KC for the first time in...AGES. The legends themselves, SUFFOCATION will be bringing a packed bill to The Riot Room on April 22nd. Along with them are one of my favorites EXHUMED, along with legendary act Jungle Rot, Rings of Saturn, Adimiron and of course, local favorites Troglodyte will be opening! Seriously stacked bill - get your tix soon!

 

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Another pretty sweet show, KVELERTAK is bringing back their brand of hardcore punk and black metal to the Granada in Lawrence on April 28th, a Sunday. Along with them is Canadian extreme music act Cancer Bats and sludge addicionados Black Tusk.

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Are the shows announced so far not crazy enough for you? Then here you: DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN will be headlining at The Granada in Lawrence on May 12th, a Sunday. The Faceless and Royal Thunder open. Get ready for stage dives!

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Here's probably my most anticipated KC concert so far of the year. Doom legends KATATONIA is making a rare headlining appearance at The Aftershock on May 19th, a Sunday. They put on one of the best performances of 2012 opening for Devin Townsend, and hopefully they're every bit as heavy this time around. Locals Existem and the always awesome Wrath and Ruin open.

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And finally, new inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame RUSH will be at the Sprint Center on August 4th, a Sunday. It seems KC-based Rush appearances are becoming rarer and rarer, so I suggest not missing out on this one!

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That's most of the shows announced. Check the sidebar for more! Thanks! :D

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Fall in love with a lot of show announcements!

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If you can't make it to Iced Earth/Symphony X/Warbringer at the Midland on February 26th, you might want to try to see Junius w/ O'Brother and Maps for Travelers at the Jackpot in Lawrence that same night! Great stuff for fans of The Atlas Moth and Alcest.







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After finishing their tour with English Dogs, The Casualties and Toxic Holocaust, Denver thrashers HAVOK will make another headlining stand in Kansas City! These guys are one of my favorite new thrash bands, especially live. Opening is Night Creation and At Your Throat!







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A lot of people were really excited about Protest the Hero's 2011 release for "Scurrilous", and they'll get a chance to see them support that album! They'll be at the Granada in Lawrence on March 26th along with Periphery, Jeff Loomis and The Safety Fire.







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One of the biggest sludge metal acts today, Black Tusk, will be at the Riot Room on April 3rd. Support will come from East of the Wall. It will be heavy. There will be beards.







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Whoops!

The Black Tusk show coming up will NOT have Fu Manchu or It's Casual playing as well, instead now local bands The Cast Pattern and Hester Prynne will be opening.

Sludge invades Lawrence

If you want to bang your head as hard as you can, Lawrence is the place to be. Black Tusk will be coming back to the area after a pretty impressive performance with Weedeater earlier this year. They'll be at the Jackpot with stoner rock legends Fu Manchu on September 13th. Get heavy.

Weedeater -- Kansas City, MO -- April 2nd, 2010

Heaviest show of the year!

This was at the Record Bar in Kansas City. The sound was fantastic all night long. Definitely one of the best venue's I've ever been to for that size. They were even serving food! Maybe I'll get some next time...

Only disappointment of the night: Struck By Lightning didn't show. The guitarist for The Gates Of Slumber mentioned this ("They're stuck somewhere west of Cheyenne...there's a country song in there somewhere...") but it didn't hinder the show too much. Once it started, it didn't let up a bit.

First band was The Gates Of Slumber from Indianapolis. Also the only band of the night with solo's! They were pretty different from the other bands, as they were mostly straight up heavy metal. They ruled. What they lacked in overbearing heaviness of the other bands, they made up for by making everyone bang their heads. It was like Black Sabbath was on stage in front of us!

Their set included Beneath The Eyes of Mars, The Doom of Aceldama and Blood And Thunder

Next was Black Tusk. They had great stage presence and it was neat how even their drummer provided vocals. Definitely heavy, even though the sound wasn't as clear as the band before. They went from song to song so there was a steady stream of metal at all times. I hope they come back soon with another killer tour.

The real star of the night was the bassist for Weedeater, Dixie Collins. The ex-Buzzov*en mainman is extremely entertaining to watch and he's one of the best bassists I've seen live! He was all over the place and the insane actions he did on stage only mirrored what were some of the best live extreme metal vocals I've ever been privileged to hear. He even had a cup holder on the side of his amp with a bottle of cough syrup in it which he sipped from often. The demeanor only matched the music which might have been the loudest and heaviest band I've seen in years. They started off with "God Luck and Good Speed" and after that it was just a torrent of the sludgiest, dirtiest metal you'd ever hear. Other songs were Bull, Wizard Fight, For Evan's Sake, $20 Peanut, and Weed Monkey. I really hope they come back really soon.

The Gates Of Slumber: 9/10
Black Tusk: 8.5/10
Weedeater: 9/10

Heaviest night of all time?

Just found out about a pretty sick show going down. On April 2nd at the Record Bar (most likely 18+, but maybe all ages) will be Weedeater on their "Nine Toe" tour. Their myspace lists possible support bands as "Black Cobra, ASG, Black Tusk, The Gates of Slumber, US Christmas, and Struck by Lightning", but the event on last.fm here lists Black Tusk, The Gates Of Slumber, and Bison BC. We'll see as soon as The Record Bar updates its website.