Thee Oh Sees @ Royale, Sep 20 2023

I missed the opener "Population II".  Seems like a cool band from Montreal.  Old sound, good playing from what I've heard on Spotify. 

The crowd had a lot of energy and a big age range. Some mild crowd surfing and lots of bouncing and pogo up front. There was also a young guy with a Bim Skala Bim shirt!

A tight rhythm section was the main draw to get me out of the house on a work night.

The Oh Sees has dual drummers and they were amazing. Sometimes they played totally in sync and sometimes one played the back beat and while the other played fills over it. Both had Vistalite sets and Paiste cymbals, which really matched the aesthetic and sound of the band.

The bass player was giving me major "Joe Lalli" vibes. He laid a solid foundation and groove while being pretty mellow on the side of the drummers.

Dwyer had a great overdrive fuzzed out guitar sound and I'm always a fan of the high playing position. “Ooo wooo!” 

As for Royale itself - it's tattered, old and very unwelcoming for bands and guests.  They take a cut of the merch.  They had the most old school open urinal setup that I thought I was in Fenway pissing in a trough.  No ADA/accessibility accommodations, the balcony was closed and the bouncers outside gave off a late 90s goon vibe.  Compare Royale to Roadrunner, which has really set the bar high for a medium/large size club in all respects. 

Ghost of Shows Past

Here's the first in a new series, called "Ghost of Shows Past" which tries to document shows I've seen but have forgotten the details of, or forgotten about all together.  

Metallica @ Great Woods June 11 1994

I was cleaning out my closest today and found a bunch of old ticket stubs.  This one is in the worst condition but what an important show.  Metallica along with Aerosmith and GnR were the first bands I was deeply into.  Unlike some other "ghost" shows, I still remember seeing Metallica at Great Woods, sitting on the lawn and having a blast.  

As for the date of the show - Metallica has a huge set list archive on their site which says they played Mansfield in 1994 and 1998.  I'm pretty sure it was 1994 and waiting for Jeff to confirm. 

The Who's Tommy & Aerosmith 1994

This one is a special twofer which goes back to when I first start dating my girlfriend and future wife, Caitlin. 

We first saw Aerosmith at Great Woods in August 1994 with a bunch of friends and were not dating at all, but I had my eye on her 😉.  I was also really excited to see Aerosmith, who was at this point my favorite band.  I liked local bands and had collected all of their albums on cassette.  I still think Kramer and Whitford make a fantastic rhythm section. 

In September 1994, Caitlin and I had our first date at the infamous Green Day concert at the Hatch Shell.  Had a riot and a lot of fun.  I knew she was the person for me after that.  

Two months later in November 1994, she takes me out to see The Who's Tommy musical at the Wang.  We also saw Phantom of the Opera at some point during our early years.  She certainly expanded my views on other performing arts. 

Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Worcester Centrum Oct 28 1995

This is a true Ghost of a show.  I had no idea I saw the Bosstones at the Centrum (I guess called the Memorial Auditorium back in the day?).  

I guess it's easy to forgot a show like this in a huge arena when I've been to several hometown throwdowns, including the one that got recorded for the live record 🤘

Battles @ Roadrunner, Sep 11 2023

John Stanier is one of my favorite drummers, so I was PRETTY excited to see Battles.  I got there at doors open to get a front row view from the balcony.

The headliner was Mr Bungle, who always brings out a diverse crowd, as witnessed by the fashion observed from the balcony: 

T-Shirts of such bands as DRI, SNFU, Anthrax, COC, Pantera, Jinjer, Rob Zombie, Tree, Bad Brains, Health ("sad music for horny people"), Sam Black Church, Sonic Youth, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Rough Trade, Dillenger Escape Plan, and multiple Zappa shirts. 

Plus: 3 Mohawks, 2 sets of animal ears, 1 white face paint, 1 tye dye shirt and 1 red dress. 

And the winner of them all, a Tim & Eric themed Bungle album cover: 

The Battles set was top notch and Stanier's playing was out of this world.  He continues to rock a long sleeve button down dress shirt, which is drenched with sweat by the end of the show.  

I wish his snare mix was a bit louder but otherwise no complaints.  Well except for Ian making a joke about Roadrunner being a "sports" name for a music club.  Does he not know the official rock song of The Commonwealth? 

It's nice to see Lars paying homage to Stanier, using a similar yellow Tama kit for their tour with Pantera.  

He Is Legend @ Taffeta, Sep 2 2023

Hi-intensity rock n roll from North Carolina 

It was my first time seeing He Is Legend and also first time in club Taffeta, in an industrial area of Lowell.  You know it's a good sign when a freight train is rolling in at 8pm right next to the club.

The lead singer has been having some health problems and missed the showed last night but was here at 50% and NOT vomitting.  

Dennis, Jim and I were right up front were the vocal mix was shiite so his 50% energy didn't matter.  Nonetheless, the band SHREDDED.  Absolutely killed it.  Bluesy rock n roll with heavy metal riffs and killer drumming. 

The drummer Jesse played a sweet vistalite kit. He was a hard hitter, lots of Bonham-esque tom fills, well placed double bass and cymbal chokes.  He laid the backbone for all the songs. 

The lead singer, Schuylar, was a pretty groovy dancer. 

They also had dope merch, dude!