Black Cobra -- Kansas City, MO -- July 2nd, 2012

Black Cobra is heavy. That's all you really need to know. In front of a crowd that maxed out at about 75 (hey, it was a lot more than the last time I saw them), they absolutely destroyed. They rarely stopped playing, segueing into each song and only talked to the crowd about three times. But they played a ton of songs. The set I have is out of order but I'm almost positive they played those songs, plus maybe another 4 or 5. One guitarist had the heaviness and crunch of a full-fledged sludge band. It was a riff-filled night of doom. My neck is still sore from headbanging!

(Out of order + missing another 3-4 songs.)
Avalanche
Somnae Tenebrae
Corrosion Fields
Beyond
Abyss
Obliteration
Negative Reversal
Catalyst
Chronosphere
Storm Shadow
Five Daggers
Red Tide
Dragon & Phoenix

Hardcore duders Gaza opened for Black Cobra and they were a lot better than the first time I saw them. They sound a lot more like Converge now, which is definitely not a bad thing. They're also a very political band, but one that makes you so pissed off that you want to do something. They are still as chaotic and dissonant as ever, though. Good stuff.

There were two local bands opening. Tycho Brahe opened the show and they were kind of fun. I'd say they're a bit like a proggy (sorta) grind 'n' roll band, if that makes any sense. Definitely wanna see them again. Second band was Canyons who are usually really good, but their vocalist had lost his voice halfway through there set. That really sucks, because I know how great these guys are live.

Black Cobra: 9/10
Gaza: 8/10
Canyons: 6/10
Tycho Brahe: 7.5/10

Upcoming show reminder/update!

Hey dudes and dudettes! It's been a while since some new shows were added, but there have been some and I'll put em all here in a sec! But here's a quick reminder of some killer shows coming up between now and the end of May:

Overkill w/ God Forbid, Suidakra, Diamond Plate, Marasmus at the Beaumont Club on April 26th!
Kittie w/ Warbringer, Pathology, The Agonist, Bonded By Blood, Blackguard at the Beaumont Club on May 9th!
Bible of the Devil at the Riot Room on May 9th!
Origin w/ Cattle Decapitation, Aborted, Decrepit Birth, Battlecross, Troglodyte at The Granada on May 18th!
Danzig and Doyle play Misfits! w/ Hammerlord at Uptown Theater on May 31st!

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Now, here are some shows that have been announced recently:

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The father of theatrics and shock rock, Alice Cooper, returns to Kansas City after a long while on June 15th at the Midland Theater! I saw him a few years back at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, and he put on an amazing show! Can't wait to see this legend again.





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Torche is taking a break from their tour with Corrosion of Conformity to bring possibly the heaviest show of the year to the Riot Room on June 17th! Also with them is The Slowdown!





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A pretty big concert for Kansas City - Dream Theater will be making a semi-rare appearance at Starlight Theater on June 29th! Opening for them will be a King Crimson cover band featuring ex-members of the band! Should be a fantastic show.




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My personal concert that I'm super excited for is the return of probably the heaviest duo on the planet - BLACK COBRA. They'll be bringing crazy awesome sludgey/crusty/grindy guru's Gaza to the Riot Room on July 2nd! I was floored when I saw these guys a couple years ago. Their last album was amazing, so this show will be off the charts crazy.






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And finally, just announced - Nightwish will be returning to Kansas City at the Beaumont Club on September 27th. Along with them is Kamelot. It's not often you see these two bands around these parts, so it's a can't-miss show!

Gaza -- Lawrence, KS -- January 8th, 2011

So my first concert of 2011 may not have been all around as fantastic as 2010's (Nile w/ Immolation, Krisiun) but Gaza was fantastic all the same. And if I can't see Immortal in the middle of a snowstorm, Gaza will do just fine as a replacement.

Gaza is not your average grind band. They have grind, crust, hardcore, sludge, and punk influences in their music, but it all came through wonderfully in one of the loudest performances I've seen at the Jackpot. In between songs, the vocalist would talk to the crowd without the mic, so it gave a really at-home, down-to-earth vibe to the show. The band was all over the place and interacting with the crowd on songs like "He Is Never Coming Back" which the crowd sang most of. During the last song, the vocalist moshed with the crowd and for the final explosion of sound, the guitarist and the bassist joined. It was epic, in the small venue type of way. Great stuff, Gaza has the potential to be a legendary live band.

Opening the show was KC's Walking Oceans, an instrumental post-rock band. The good thing about them was that although they were instrumental, the music was great. They definitely put the "rock" in post-rock and the basslines were groovy as hell. Infectious. I hope they open more shows.

Before Gaza was Mansions. Mostly instrumental post-metal/sludge. It didn't really click with me last time, and this time was only a little better. It just seemed like they played the same song over and over again. Not terrible, but not too great either.

Gaza set included:

He Is Never Coming Back
Cristle
Cult
Windowless Mansion
Canine Disposal Unit

They were really good. I'll do a full review tomorrow. Pretty nice start to 2011 concerts.

Gaza: 9/10
MANSIONS: 5/10
Walking Oceans: 8/10

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Have a bunch of shows coming up, so get ready for some awesome shows in 2011!

The first is awesome metalcore band GAZA who will be at the Jackpot on January 8th. With them will be Convert, Mansion, and Walking Oceans. It's an early show at 7 PM, so come rock out early!

Hahdcoah!

A great hardcore coming to the Jackpot on June 4th. KEN mode and Gaza. Rager!