Twin Cities Metal: Dangerous Toys And Beatallica Concert Review

Dangerous Toys, Beatallica

Friday, July 30, 2010

G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park, Fridley, MN

I was initially torn about going to see this show since legendary technical death metal band Cynic was playing the same night at Station 4 in St. Paul. My decision came down to seeing an excellent band from the late 80s/early 90s that rarely plays shows outside of Texas, Dangerous Toys, with the comedic genius of Beatallica, who have never played in the Cities before, versus Cynic, who sounded horrendous their last time through with Meshuggah (I nearly walked out). Since I can live with the memory of seeing Cynic back on the Focus tour, Dangerous Toys won out and I don’t regret it. I had the chance to briefly chat with Dangerous Toys frontman Jason McMaster before the show, and he lit up when I asked him to sign my Watchtower Demonstrations In Chaos CD. He talked about searching for and finding the original cassette tapes that were used for the album, and seemed bummed that these recordings were now out of print. Jason was one of the most pleasant people to talk with.

I’m not sure the crowd really knew what to think of Beatallica, but they won the crowd over by the end of their 75 minute set. Something’s wrong if you can’t have the sense of humor to appreciate what Beatallica is all about. Decked out Sgt. Pepper’s-inspired uniforms, the guitarist mentioned the highlight of his day was meeting the guitarist from Impaler as they launched into “The Battery Of Jamyz and Yoko” and “Sandman”. Newer songs were mixed in with old favorites such as “I Want To Choke Your Band”, “Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band”, and “We Can Hit The Lites”. Amidst all the hilarity, it’s sometimes forgotten that Beatallica can deliver the goods. How Beatallica twists Metallica riffs into Beatles songs is pure genius, and the way Jamyz Lennfield apes Hetfield’s voice puts you in stitches. The band even dared to play “Please Please Me (Or I’ll Beat You)”, a play on an early Beatles track that Jamyz announced they weren’t allowed to release because of legal troubles. Beatallica puts on a fun show that is a pleasant diversion from the depressing mood of most metal bands these days. Look for them to hit the Cities again around Thanksgiving as their Masterful Mystery tour extends out late this Fall.

Click picture for more photos of Beatallica (18).

Click to watch Beatallica play “The Battery Of Jamyz And Yoko”.

Click to watch The Beatallica play “Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band”.

Click to watch Beatallica play “Hero Of The Day Tripper”.

Click to watch Beatallica play “Please Please Me (Or I’ll Beat You)”.

Dangerous Toys has reunited a few times over the last couple of years, so this was a rare opportunity to catch this hard rock/boogie outfit from Texas. I had seen Dangerous Toys twice way back in 1991 on a killer tour with Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Motorhead, and Metal Church, but I don’t remember them being as hard rocking and energetic as they were tonight. After kicking things off with “Outlaw”, they proceeded to hammer out nearly the entire debut album (minus “Feels Like A Hammer” and “Here Comes Trouble”) over the next 75 minutes. A great crowd turned had turned out and roared their approval at even the most obscure tracks played. Vocalist Jason McMaster was in good spirits, and he has a remarkable knack for remembering dates of old shows played in the Cities and he recounted stories about each. He rambles on between songs like Phil Anselmo, only McMaster is actually really funny and coherent. One of the funniest moments was during “Sport’n A Woody” when he implored the crowd to sing louder because “This song is about my dick!” A couple highlights from the Pissed (“Pissed”, “Paintrain”) and Hellacious Acres albums (“Gimme No Lip”, “Line ‘Em Up”, “Sugar, Leather & The Nail”) filled out the set. Although the show was heavy on the first album, everyone enjoyed it and had a great time. The other thing that struck me was the amazing guitar work of Scott Dalhoyer, whose Eddie Van Halen-inspired playing really sounds better than ever. Although the band members weren’t introduced, I believe this was the entire original lineup that played tonight except for long time guitarist Paul Lidel. Dangerous Toys never quite received the recognition they deserved, however, tonight’s show proved that there’s a place for their fun rock ‘n’ roll. Hopefully the band members continue to find the time between their other projects to keep Dangerous Toys alive.