Black Sabbath in Edmonton April 22nd 2014

On Tuesday night I went to the Black Sabbath and Reignwolf double bill here in Edmonton at Rexall Place. Again this was a show I was hesitant to about going too, it was on the expensive side and the original drummer of Black Sabbath Bill Ward wasn't involved. After thinking about it and reading reviews and finally actually being able to get a decent ticket, I took the bite and went to the show.

Am I ever glad that I did check this show out. I have always been a huge fan of Sabbath, and it had been fifteen years since I had last seen Black Sabbath (Ozzfest '99 Vancouver). I had also heard some good things about the opening band Reignwolf, whom hail from Saskatoon.

I got to the show plenty early as I just knew that the pat downs and line up to get into the venue was going to be a joke and it was, nonetheless I was prepared and no problems and made in lots of time, to have a few drinks and catch openers Reignwolf. I'm happy to say that it was good to catch the opener Reignwolf whom is fronted by Jordan Cook who also plays lead with his brother on guitar as well and not sure who plays drums in the band, having said that Jordan also plays a bass drum while givn'r on the guitar, during one song he also got behind the drum set and played the drums as well as playing the guitar. The band Reignwold reminded me of a mix of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jack White, some old school rock like Cream and Hendrix. It was loud, in your face, noisy and made people take attention. All and all I thought they were pretty good. Good choice on an opening band, lots of people made it to their seats to see what all the noise was about.

Reignwolf in Edmonton at Rexall Place.

Up next one of my all time favorite bands Black Sabbath, original line up minus Bill Ward on drums which was a crying shame. Replacement Tommy Clufetos is a stellar drummer and did a great job, but I'm all held up on having Bill Ward there as he is the original and is still alive.

What can you say about this show, well it was even better then I was expecting. Opening with "War Pigs" while everyone scrambled to there seats after being outside smoking the sweet leaf was funny to watch, although I too was one of them scrambling. Next up was "Into The Void" from Masters of Reality, this is the song where Geezer Butler's bass really seemed to kick in for me. Then next up is "Under The Sun/Every Day Comes And Goes" from Volume 4 and you realize holy fuck, this is Tony Iommi THE riff master playing old school Sabbath in front of you, that's when I really got in the groove realized this is a special event. Ozzy sounded good, all things considered, he don't move like he used to, but the man can still sing. This was a great show with one great song after another, even the new songs from the album 13 worked into the set well. I thought the setlist was great, be nice if they would change it up night after night, but who am I to say. One thing I could have done without was the drum solo, though it was good, I am not a drum solo kind of guy, unless of course it is Neil Peart, but I understand the reasoning for it, the old guys need a breather. And after the drum solo, the boys came back full of spirit, you could see the guys were having fun performing together again, that to me is always an awesome thing to see. The place was packed to the hilt. What I also really liked was the simple set up where the music did the talking, not flashy or anything, just great music. Good times!!!

Black Sabbath at Rexall Place Edmonton.

Setlist for Edmonton show.

War Pigs
Into the Void
Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
Snowblind
Age of Reason
Black Sabbath
Behind the Wall of Sleep
N.I.B.
End of the Beginning
Fairies Wear Boots
Rat Salad
Supernaut
Iron Man
God Is Dead?
Dirty Women
Children of the Grave

Encore:
Paranoid

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.

Record Store Day with The Fuzz Kings and Joe Nolan Apr.19th 2014

On Saturday April 19th was one of my favorite days of the year (my Xmas), yes, the third Saturday of April every year, and this year was the seventh installment of Record Store Day. A day of celebrating independent record shops, with special limited edition releases by many bands and local shops having sales and hosting live performances by bands.

In Edmonton here, my day started by lining up at Permanent Records to see what this shop got in for the special day. I did alright here, scoring the following records.

* Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Beacon Theatre 1992
* Green Day - Demolicious
* Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey (limited edition 2,000 copies grey vinyl)
* James Brown - Food For Thought (limited edition 1,000 copies)
* Bruce Springsteen - American Beauty EP
* Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News (non RSD release)
* Bob Dylan & The Band's - Basement Tapes Influences
* Pixies - Indie Cindy
* Devo/Flaming Lips - Split 7 inch Gates Of Steel (Live)
* The Fuzz Kings - I'm Your Goon (local band RSD 7 inch release)

After dropping off them purchases, it was off to Blackbyrd Myoozik to see what they had. And well, I did good there as well, picking up these records.

* Grateful Dead - Hampton '79 (limited edition of 7900)
* Tame Impala - Live Versions
* Songs from Common Ground Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing The Songs of Big Bill Broonzy
* KISS - Destroyer (Remixed 2013 version)
* Brighton Rock/Harem Scarem split 7 inch single
* Wilfred N and the Grown Men - 3 song CD single (local band)

So after all that record shopping, I still didn't get everything I was looking for. Thanks to my brother Captain Citrus in Calgary, he was able to get the following titles for me. Thanks bro!!!

* The Mystery Side by Side 7 inch single
* Deer Tick - Eel Bowel 7 inch single
* Drive-By Truckers - Dragon Pants EP (10 inch record)
* Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 (limited edition clear vinyl exclusive)

Not only was Record Store Day special for all the new releases on vinyl, but then there was the live music performances at Permanent Records in the afternoon with local bands The Fuzz Kings at high noon, followed by Joe Nolan at 1:30.

When I got to Permanent Records just before noon to catch local roots rockers The Fuzz Kings performance, I was kind of surprised to see such a good turn out at the store for this. Sometimes these in store shows don`t always turn out, as there was very little advertising for this show. But nonetheless, a great turn out for the band and the store. This was my first time seeing The Fuzz Kings, I had picked up both of their albums, so I was looking forward to finally seeing these guys. And they didn`t disappoint. They reminded me of a party band along the lines of the Supersuckers. Lead singer "Fat" Dave Johnston and the band were celebrating not only Record Store Day but also the release of their latest album "ReTurn Of The Century" and the RSD release of their seven inch single "I`m Your Goon". They put on a great forty-five minute show. This is a band I will definitely get out and see in a club.

The Fuzz Kings at Permanent Records.

Next up was another local roots rock artist Joe Nolan whom has just been signed to Six Shooter Records. I had never seen Joe play live before, but will be sure to be watching for more live performances by this artist. He put on a great show at Permanent Records playing to another decent size audience. Joe Nolan now has two albums out called "Goodbye Cinderella" and his newest album "Tornado". This is an up and coming artist to keep your eyes and ears open for.

Joe Nolan at Permanent Records.

Another awesome Record Store Day done for the year, already looking forward to next years. A great job done by the guys at Permanent Records with the two bands playing at the store. Get out and buy some music at your local record shop. Good times!!!

KISS Collectible Of The Day April 18th

Today's KISS Collectible is an album that was produced by Paul Stanley of KISS. The album is the debut album by a band called New England from Boston. This album came out in 1978 on Infinity Records, the one song that did get a little bit of air play was a song called "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya". I picked up this record at a shop here in Edmonton called Permanent Records. This album is terrible and it's no wonder I had never heard of it before. If it wasn't for Paul Stanley producing this record I would never have had any interest in this. But because of the KISS connection, I now own this shitty record.

After looking into this band a little more. I have discovered that two of the guys, keyboard player Jimmy Waldo and bass player Gary Shea went on to play in the band Alcatrazz. Unless you have to have everything do to with KISS, I do not recommend picking up this record.

In record news...Don't forget to get out and support your local record shop, especially with this Saturday April 19th being Record Store Day.

Also, if you are in the Edmonton area, next Sunday April 27th will be the annual Edmonton Music Collectors Show held at Central Lions Seniors Recreation Centre (11113-113st).

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks in Edmonton April 8th 2014

I've come to the conclusion that I am no damn good at writing concert reviews, so from here on in, they will be short, and will just include a few words with pictures and such.

Now, having said that. On Tuesday I went to the Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks with Speedy Ortiz double bill at the Starlite Room.

This was my first time seeing opening band Speedy Ortiz in concert. They were alright, a wall of noise coming at you. Seeing the guitar player Matt Robidoux strum his guitar with a pair of pliers is something I have never seen done before. Lead singer Sadie Dupuis sounded good. An interesting band.

Speedy Ortiz at the Starlite Room.

Headliners were Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks who are on tour for their new release "Wig Out At Jagbags" which is a great album by the way. This was my second time seeing them in concert and again another great performance.

The band seemed loose and appeared to be having a lot of fun on stage. Lots of banter between songs with audience and amongst themselves. They just come across as not taking themselves so serious, which was cool. Stephen and The Jicks performed material from pretty much all their albums including a couple of covers. A bang on version of the Rush song "Fly By Night" sung by drummer Jake Morris. Another cover they did was Jane's Addiction "Mountain Song" which also sounded really good, the song wasn't on the setlist but was performed during the encore.

All and all this was a great show. I was a little surprised by the smaller then expected turn out, but being a week day I guess that is to be expected. Good times!!!

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks at the Starlite Room.

Setlist from show.

T-shirt.