Archive for the ‘Concert Reviews’ Category
Buddy Guy & The Rev. Horton Heat @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
It’s easy to take rock and roll for granted. It’s been the dominant musical form in the western world for more than half a century now and there isn’t a genre whose modern form doesn’t owe something to that surprisingly potent blend of country and blues. For anyone who’s forgotten what we owe to our musical forebears, however, Cain’s brought a couple of messengers for rock’s roots to their main stage in the last week: living blues legend Buddy Guy on the night of December 10th, and “psychobilly” veterans The Reverend Horton Heat on the 12th. Both acts played sets that acted as retrospectives of the last 50 years of music history, and both had crowds begging for encores. Read the rest of this entry »
Metallica @ BOk Center
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
Anyone who reads my stuff regularly knows that I usually find it hard to look at heavy metal with anything other than amusement. That a style of music can be so obsessed with death and yet survive for so many decades is, at the very least, ironic (and probably even kind of funny). And I don’t think it’s a secret that t-shirts covered in skulls with band names in jagged fonts ran out of shock value sometime in 1984. It would be fine if it were a joke, but for every hip metal act that’s being ironic about it, there are always ten bands who think said hip acts are serious and adopt the pose with a completely straight face.
Plain White T’s & Dropkick Murphys @ Cain’s Ballroom
Dave Trio, Plain White T's
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
There’s an old story about one record company executive who passed up the chance to introduce the Beatles to the American public, saying “Guitar bands are dead.” It’s probably not true (I looked and can’t find confirmation of it anywhere), but of course it’s a good story. The irony should be obvious: the Beatles were the band that almost single-handedly extended the shelf life of guitar bands for decades to come, and established that particular combo as the bread and butter of Western (and even worldwide) popular music. Real or imagined, this particular executive represents everything we all hope we’re not: believing that we’re on the cusp of the future, while we’re actually hopelessly stuck in the past.
Of course it’s been nearly half a century since the Beatles formed as a band, and guitar bands are very much alive (though once a decade or so, there’s always a pompous music critic who comes forward to exaggerate rumors of their demise), due in no small part to the Fab Four’s exponential expansion of the medium. And while numerous guitar bands have attempted to drag rock and roll in numerous labyrinthine directions, every decade or two there’s always a new crop of bands clinging to British Invasion-style pop rock and its simple harmonies and bouncy guitars. Read the rest of this entry »
Buckethead & That 1 Guy @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
Buckethead
As the Eagles were recently playing their second show this year at the BOk Center, a slightly different concert was taking place at Cain’s Ballroom for those of us who like our music a little more offbeat.
The two acts that played that night were Buckethead and That 1 Guy—a couple of avant-garde experimenters who are just as gifted musically as they are reticent about their identities (actually, their real names are Brian Carroll and Mike Silverman, respectively, for anyone dying to know), and who both had the crowd laughing and scratching their heads with their transcendently bizarre performances.
Atmosphere @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
“I know this is a red state,” Atmosphere emcee Slug said from the main stage of Cain’s Ballroom, “but are you guys happy with the results [of the presidential election]?”
The crowd went wild.
This was the vibe in the air when Slug and his deejay Ant took the stage Friday night November 7, 2008. It wasn’t a question of politics, although those might have influenced it to a certain extent; the point was that the country was entering a new era — one of racial harmony, with the electoral victory of Barack Obama simply serving as more proof.
Mudvayne @ Cain’s Ballroom
Chad Gray
Since forming in 1996, the members of Mudvayne have gone from being some vague variation on the “evil clown” motif, to being space aliens, to being regular people, and now—if their live show at Cain’s Wednesday night was any indication—they’re in the process of turning back into evil clowns. In other words, they managed to complete the full Kiss cycle (and squeezed in a brief foray into David Bowie territory!) in a short twelve years. (And Kiss took twice as long—you can almost feel Gene Simmons’ jealousy.)
When they played Cain’s, lead singer Chad Gray/Kud/Chüd (hard to keep track of what they’re calling themselves these days) was in full evil clown regalia—with the jumpsuit, the collar, and of course, the pink mohawk and the fake blood dripping down his face—and guitarist Greg Tribbett/Gurrg/Güüg was dressed as some sort of Hassidic Darth Maul. Of course bassist Ryan Martinie/RyKnow/Rü-d and drummer Matthew McDonough/sPaG/sPüG were still looking like real people, but I imagine that just means that the re-transformation is still in the works (or that they’re both job-hunting). Read the rest of this entry »
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
Grace Potter
As I looked over the merchandise table for Vermont-based band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (when they performed at Cain’s Ballroom Saturday night), I couldn’t help but notice a t-shirt. It was adorned by a hand making the “metal horns” symbol and the made-up word “Nocturnica”—written, of course, in Metallica’s trademark font.
The band members themselves might be fully aware of the irony there, but I’m sure it would be lost on most metalheads. As a band that plays a retro-but-timeless music that’s firmly rooted in the blues, the Nocturnals are a surprisingly versatile group (their press materials boast that they’ve been just as comfortable in the country’s various jazz, blues, jam band, and rock scenes). When they took the stage, it was hard to miss their eclectic influences—psychedelic, country, gospel, and—yes—heavy metal (guitarist Scott Tournet pulled off more than a few face-melting solos). Read the rest of this entry »
Staind (et. al.) @ Tulsa Convention Center
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
Aaron Lewis, Staind
It’s been said by some that the recording industry as we know it is not long for this world—crumbling from the inside out, a victim of its own greed and inability to adapt. It’s not my job to root for this or help it along, but Friday night I had the opportunity to witness a little piece of it.
The Tulsa Convention Center was host to three of the biggest names currently circling through the playlists on “active rock” and “mainstream rock” radio: hard rock/nu metal outfits Papa Roach, Seether and Staind. The concert was not particularly entertaining, but it was a moment of insight into what’s happening with the music industry and why more and more musical acts are eschewing it altogether.
Flobots @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
Brer Rabbit and Kenny Ortiz of Flobots
There was a time when hip-hop had the power to bring people together. When it first appeared, if was the voice of community, a source of common identification and political action. It’s hard to say exactly what happened; perhaps it was when MTV and the music industry caught on. Once it was commercialized, it was dumbed down, homogenized, and marketed under the only pretense that the record companies have understood since the 1970s: youth rebellion. Messages of unity, liberation and social action gave way to depressing gangsta jeremiads, pointless thug posturing and mind-numbing booty-shaking. It was depressing to see a new musical genre with so much potential crash and burn so quickly.
Thursday night, I saw it resurrected.
Jimmy Wayne (et. al.) @ Cain’s Ballroom
Cross-posted at: Tulsa Today
There are, in my experience, two kinds of music fans in the U.S.: those who just don’t “get” hip-hop, and those who just don’t “get” country music. I would seem to fall into the latter category, despite being raised in the great state of Nebraska; perhaps it’s because I was born in New England, the apex of cultural snobbery (well—if you ignore New York and L.A., of course, which I do). But regardless of the reason, I never really understood the appeal of a bunch of guys in cowboy hats standing around and singing imitation 70’s rock (yes, modern “country” is roughly 80% Lynyrd Skynyrd and exactly 0% Hank Williams) with silly lyrics about tractors and trucks. Seeing as I’m writing for an Oklahoma publication, I should probably stop there.
And seeing as I’m writing for an Oklahoma publication, I figured I should check out the KVOO listener appreciation party, which took place at Cain’s Ballroom on Saturday night, under the vigilance of the country legends whose pictures line their walls. It was a deal I couldn’t argue with, even if honkytonk isn’t my thing: $9.95 for a program of four acts, each of which played for nearly an hour. It was bound to be a foot-stompin’, knee-slappin’ good time. And it was—but of course I’m getting ahead of myself. Read the rest of this entry »
