REVIEW: Yakuza, Atlas Moth, Batillus and The Swan King
WHEN: November 23, 2011
WHERE: Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave., Chicago
Yakuza
Subterranean was packed Wednesday night as Yakuza, Atlas Moth, Batillus and The Swan King pretty much tore the place apart. Here’s what you need to know:
- After wanting to see Yakuza live for the past few years, I can definitely say it was a much more high energy performance than I expected. Don’t get me wrong — their music is intense. It’s more or less the idea of what an act that fuses metal and jazz is going to be like live. Regardless, Bruce Lamont (who is typically a mellow, laid back guy in my experience) is a beast on stage, from punching the ceiling above the stage to his breakneck headbanging. The rest of the band follow suit, and it’s definitely interesting to see the meshing of high and low culture in person as opposed to just hearing it on an album. Much of the set consisted of material from 2010’s Of Seismic Consequence.
Triple Penetration: Because of this show, I now know that three microphones can fit inside of a saxophone.
- The Atlas Moth played a solid set that, like last time, consisted of material from their new album, An Ache for the Distance, as well as “…Leads to a Lifetime on Mercury.” Unlike last time, however, drummer Tony Mainiero slipped up during the second song, “Perpetual Generations,” and the guys had to start over. According to bassist Alex Klein, it’s the first time they’ve botched a song like that. Shit happens, I guess, but they recovered well and the rest of the set was still better than whatever crap you’re probably listening to right now.
Are You Sure You Know Where You’re At? For most of the night, there was a kid up front who was dancing like he was in the club and doing some sort of move that looked like he was shooting hoops (Do people still say that? I never gave much of a fuck about sports…). It was at its weirdest during Batillus, but nobody pointed it out until the Moth set. I assume he was on really good drugs, or was hearing different music than I was.
- I had never heard Brooklyn’s Batillus before Wednesday night, but I’ll definitely be checking them out some more. Their set was solid, and they had a doomy, sludgy sound with a lot of blackened atmospherics.
Random Observation: Seriously…What was up with that club-dancing kid?!
- It was also my first time hearing openers The Swan King. They sounded not unlike something that might have come out of Seattle in the early ’90s. That’s not a bad thing, though. I’ve always been a big fan of diverse bills.
Yeah… I’m out of remarks here.
REVIEW: Riot Fest 2011: Danzig Legacy w/ Youth of Today, Macabre, Nachtmystium & The Infected
[NOTE: This show had a no camera policy, and I was pretty sure someone working security at Congress Theater was about to go home with a brand new camera that night — the one in my pocket. Thanks to Sanford Parker, however, I was able to get the photos you see here. Thanks again for hanging onto my camera, dude!]
WHEN: Friday, October 7
WHERE: Congress Theater, Chicago
It is the third night of the 2011 Red Bull Riot Fest in Chicago, and arguably the most notable. It is on this night that planets and stars have aligned with the black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, harkening forth long-dormant beasts to ravage the Earth for the first time in two score and several fortnights.
Alright, that’s admittedly a bit over-dramatic, but the October 7 date of the Riot Fest was indeed special in that it played host to one of only four planned Danzig Legacy shows — shows that feature “Evil Elvis” performing not only his solo material, but two additional sets that unleash his early horror punk work with Samhain and the Misfits.
As fans began trickling into the Congress Theater, opening act The Infected blasted through a set of loose, free-flowing punk that, energetic as it may have been, didn’t really get the crowd moving. It’s tough being the first band on a line-up this solid, though, especially when it has such a heavyweight headliner. That said, I’d have to see these guys again to make any sort of fair assessment.
Ever since releasing 2008’s psychedelia-tinged black metal opus Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1, Nachtmystium have become the Chicago metal act of note. Their set further solidified that status as they rolled through an opening salvo of “Assassins” and the title track from last year’s Addicts: Black Meddle Part 2 before taking their sonic blitzkrieg through pre-Meddle tracks like “A Seed for Suffering” and “Ashes to Ashes.” It’s probably been said at least a dozen times by now, but Sanford Parker’s presence as full-time keyboardist has really taken the band’s live show to another level, allowing the songs to more closely resemble their studio recordings. The band as a whole were tighter than I’ve seen them before, going out with a roar with “Hellish Overdose.”
If one were to compare Chicago death metal veterans Macabre to anything, the best description would probably be GWAR without the costumes and fake bodily fluids. With their over-the-top introductions to songs with titles like “Albert Was Worse Than Any Fish In The Sea” and “McMassacre” — which, I shit you not, is about a murderous rampage in the magical and imaginary world of McDonaldland — it’s hard to take these guys too seriously, and a ton of fun if you appreciate tongue-in-cheek dark humor and theatrics. Of particular note, their set featured one of the night’s first cameos, as Bruce Lamont of Yakuza and Bloodiest was pulled out to the stage and “shot” by a masked gunman.
By this time, much of the audience was restless for Danzig. One sympathizes with weathered New York hardcore punks Youth of Today for having a tough crowd to work. It’s likely their straight edge, pro-positive outlook message probably had open ears in a small fraction of the audience. Regardless, they worked their asses off to try to win over those in the crowd who had never heard of them before, with vocalist Ray Cappo nearly pulling the rope ladder to the lighting rig down at one point. Even if it’s not what you’re into, the amount of passion they have for what they do is admirable.
As the time grew closer for Danzig’s set, the amount of pent-up energy in the room was palpable. As the lights dimmed and the opening riffs of “Skin Carver” cut through the theater, the audience exploded into an undulating mass. Danzig led his solo band (guitarist Tommy Victor, bassist Steve Zing and drummer Johnny Kelly) through thunderous renditions of “Hammer of the Gods” and “Rebel Spirits” before taking Congress Theater back with classic cuts like “Twist of Cain,” “Her Black Wings,” “Devil’s Plaything,” “How the Gods Kill,” and “Dirty Black Summer.”
As the final notes of “It’s Coming Down” rang across the room, the lights dimmed and a backdrop bearing the cover of Samhain’s November Coming Fire rose at the back of the stage. Danzig returned to the stage wearing a black leather mask somewhat resembling a cross between the Gimp and Marvel’s Daredevil with Samhain members London May and Steve Zing. Congress Theater went apeshit for staples like “All Murder, All Guts, All Fun,” “Horror Biz,” “Unholy Passion,” and “To Walk the Night.” One of the most unexpected moments of the night occurred as Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe joined the band during “Mother of Mercy.” (I honestly thought I was seeing things until I saw Blythe’s Twitter account the following morning.)
The lights again darkened momentarily as yet another backdrop was raised — this one featuring the familiar “Crimson Ghost” logo of horror punk godfathers the Misfits. Original Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein lurched across the stage, barreling through “Death Comes Ripping” as the crowd somehow managed to become even crazier.
As far as comparative experiences goes, it felt the same as seeing Black Sabbath in 2004 or Motörhead earlier this year. Thanks to the week’s rising temperatures, the theater had become a sauna by this point, prompting Danzig to question whether he was in “Hell or Auschwitz.” Always with the subtlety, Glenn. Bodies whipped across the arena and sweat blanketed the floor as Danzig and Doyle torpedoed through “Vampira,” “Bullet,” “I Turned Into a Martian,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Halloween,” and “Last Caress.”
Returning to his solo material, Evil Elvis delivered “Bringer of Death” and “Not of This World” before leading Riot Fest in an ear-splitting sing-along of “Mother.” Not sated of their thirst for the short, dark and sideburned one, demands for more were answered with an encore of the Misfits’ “Skulls.”
It would be easy to nitpick and say that the show could have been best if original Misfits bassist Jerry Only had been involved — or if original Danzig members John Christ, Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits had returned for an evening — but doing so would take away from the magic the evening possessed regardless. That cool, black hearse with the velvet interior, skull speed shift and coffin that unfolds into a bed is still the same hearse, regardless of what tires are on it.
Heavier Than Your Mom 