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

Devin Townsend Project -- Lawrence, KS -- September 13th, 2012

Man, the drive there was stupid. The highway was down to one lane for most of the way and it was pouring down rain. I was ANGRY, but I'm really glad I stuck it out and went!

I got to the Granada about halfway through Stolen Babies' set. I wasn't really all that impressed with them. I guess I'm used to accordion's being used in a kick-ass, folk metal way, but it just kinda didn't serve a purpose in their set. I thought their bassist and drummer were pretty good, but other than that...nothing really stood out for me. And they're the second band I know of where one person's sole job is to bang on an empty oil drum during shows.

Paradise Lost was awesome! Those kinda old-school, late 80's/early 90's doom bands always bring it. They were very heavy, although the vocalist seemed like he was struggling on a few songs. I guess he had some voice problems and ended their set early at an earlier date. The whole band was really into the performance, though. Really good though.

The big response of the night came from Katatonia, however. One word: Wow. These dudes can put on a show. They were heavy, melodic, had some amazing solos and just absolutely ripped everyone's face off. There was a ton of headbanging in the crowd and lots of singing along, too. Jonas' vocals sounded spot on, and both of the guitars really crunched and brought the house down around them. I can't believe I even entertained the thought for even a second that I might have skipped them. Never again!

I was actually going to leave after Katatonia, but I'm pretty glad I stuck around for Devin Townsend. Although he wasn't nearly as jaw-dropping as Katatonia, I was really glad I stuck around for him. First and foremost - he is an entertainer. I don't think I've ever seen a frontman for a band engage an audience like he does. Whether it's talking to the crowd in-between songs or playing to them during songs, Devin is just really fun to watch. Most of the stuff they played was on the heavier side, although the song "Life" has a really upbeat, almost pop sound that was fantastic! Set went really fast, and I really hope he'll be back many more times.

Devin Townsend set:

Seventh Wave (Ocean Machine)
Life (Ocean Machine)
Supercrush! (Devin Townsend Project)
Kingdom (Devin Townsend/Devin Townsend Project)
Liberation (Devin Townsend Project)
Truth (Devin Townsend)
Regulator (Devin Townsend)
Color Your World (Devin Townsend)
Vampira (The Devin Townsend Band)
Lucky Animals (Devin Townsend Project)
Juular (Devin Townsend Project)
Grace (Devin Townsend Project)

Katatonia:

1. Dead Letters
2. Buildings
3. The Longest Year
4. Deliberation
5. My Twin
6. The Racing Heart
7. Lethean
8. Teargas
9. Walking by a Wire
10. Sleeper
11. Hypnone
12. Forsaker
13. Leaders

Paradise Lost (included(Out of order and incomplete):

Enchantment
Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
Tragic Idol
One Second
Say Just Words
The Enemy

Devin Townsend Project: 8.5/10
Katatonia: 10/10
Paradise Lost: 8.5/10
Stolen Babies: 6/10

Opeth -- Kansas City, MO -- October 6th, 2011

I couldn't ask for a better performance for my first Opeth show. Going into it, I had probably heard more of Katatonia than Opeth, but I was completely floored by them. Exceptionally heavy and just overall great performances from everyone.

As soon as Opeth started The Devil's Orchard, the crowd went nuts. They actually were singing along to most every song and headbanging, moshing, crowd surfing throughout the whole show. Yeah, there was one douchebag screaming for Blackwater Park in the back of the venue, but everyone else seemed really appreciative of Opeth doing something different. The only remotely negative thing I could say is that while I definitely enjoyed their acoustic songs, it really kinda threw off the tempo of the show. Luckily, Mikael is a great frontman and engaged the crowd and even led us through a rendition of the chorus to Harvest that it all was definitely worth it in the end. Highlights were the chillingly amazing "Face of Melinda", the Rainbow-ripoff (Mikael's words) "Slither" and "Hex Omega". Definitely never missing a local Opeth show from now on. No harsh vocals = the best kind of Opeth show.

Katatonia opened the show and was warmly received. Great "doom rock" that was really quite heavy at times. "July" was probably the heaviest song from them that evening. I'm definitely going to look into them further now!

Beaumont Club was packed. I dunno if it was sold out, but there were more people there for this show than I've seen at most shows. Definitely made me feel good to see a really happy and respectful crowd, yet still huge metal fans!

Opeth:

The Devil's Orchard
I Feel the Dark
Face of Melinda
Porcelain Heart
Pyre
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Throat of Winter (Acoustic)
Patterns in the Ivy II (Acoustic)
Harvest (just the chorus with crowd singing)
Closure (semi-Acoustic)
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Slither
Fair Judgement
Hex Omega
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Folklore

Katatonia

1. Ghost Of The Sun?
2. Liberation
3. Soil's Song
4. My Twin
5. The Longest Year
6. Evidence
7. July
8. Dissolving Bonds?
9. Day and then the Shade
10. Forsaker

October preview: Opeth

Here's a quick rundown of all the metal shows happening in October. There's a ton, so I'll try and recap them all one post at a time.

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First up on October 6th is Opeth at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City. I've heard they're not playing any "growling" songs on this tour, so take that how you want. Going to be packed for sure, either way. Katatonia opens!

The Drapery Falls on Kansas City

Returning after a triumphant show in 2009, Opeth comes back to the Beaumont Club in Kansas City on October 6th. Along with them are doom rockers Katatonia. Don't miss this!

Skipping Kansas: Katatonia

What an awesome tour that's coming nowhere near here.

Katatonia
Swallow The Sun
Orphaned Land

Dadgum.


Sep. 08 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
Sep. 09 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Sep. 10 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
Sep. 11 - Worcester, Mass - Palladium
Sep. 12 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
Sep. 13 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
Sep. 14 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Sep. 15 - Detroit, MI - Blondies
Sep. 16 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
Sep. 17 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Rock Club
Sep. 18 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
Sep. 21 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
Sep. 22 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
Sep. 23 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
Sep. 24 - San Francisco, CA - Thee Parkside
Sep. 25 - Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theater
Sep. 26 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go
Sep. 27 - Mesa, AZ - U.B.'s
Sep. 28 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock
Sep. 30 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Oct. 01 - Austin, TX - Emo's
Oct. 02 - Houston, TX - Warsaw
Oct. 04 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Oct. 05 - Louisville, KY - Uncle Pleasants
Oct. 06 - Raleigh, NC - Volume 11
Oct. 07 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx