Tonight - CANDY MACHINE GUNS in Fridley

Click on the pictures to see more photos of Candy Machine Guns performing March 24, 2013 in St. Paul (17).

On the heels of Sunday's show in Mankato with Screaming Mechanical Brain, Candy Machine Guns from Milwaukee is taking over Open Mic Night at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley tonight. Get out and see these guys if you can. I reviewed their March 24 show at Station 4 in St. Paul when they opened for Red Lamb, and they are a great, heavy band. They self-released their debut album Here We Come last year. Best of all, tonight's show is free.

Tonight - (HED)P.E. in St. Paul

(hed)p.e. performing at the Tattoo The Earth festival in San Bernardino, CA on August 12, 2000. Click on the picture to read the From The Vault post with more pictures (22).

Happy Easter everyone! Easter brings no relief from the onslaught on shows, so here we go. Long-running rap-core band (hed)p.e. brings their show to Station 4 in St. Paul tonight with local support from Nuisance, Strate-Jak-It, and Angry Room. This is an all ages show that starts early at 6:00; tickets are $15 at the door. Check out my earlier posts where you can download audio of (hed)p.e. live in 1998 and pictures from the Tattoo The Earth Festival in 2000 as part of the From The Vault series.

If you're in the south metro area, it's not too far to Mankato to see local industrial metal band Screaming Mechanical Brain at the What's Up Lounge with Candy Machine Guns from Milwaukee and Evasive Maneuver. This is an all ages show that starts at 8:00, and is $8 at the door. I reviewed SMB's The Policy Of Unilateral Hate album here (9/10), and Candy Machine Gun's show opening for Red Lamb at Station 4 in St. Paul here.

Check out the video for "Salt The Earth" (demo version) from Screaming Mechanical Brain (lyrics not work friendly).

Candy Machine Guns performing March 24, 2013 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Click pictures to see more photos of Candy Machine Guns (17).

Lastly, local band Apocalypse Theatre has their Revolution Circus show with a variety of performance artists at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley.

In Concert This Week - March 29, 2013

The crush of concerts continues over the next week, so pick and choose wisely!

Tomorrow, Friday, March 29, industrial/dance band I:Scintilla plays Ground Zero in Minneapolis with Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Go Fight, and Goodnight Criminals.

Saturday, March 30 is a big night starting with As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada, For Today, and The Chariot at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The same night pop-punk band Sum 41 plays Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with Hollerado. Also on Saturday, Station 4 in St. Paul has local shock masters Impaler with Mordwolf, Mastiff, and Compassion Dies.

Sunday, March 31 may be Easter, but there’s still some great live music to be heard. Rapcore crew (hed)p.e. returns to Station 4 in St. Paul with Nuisance, Strate-Jak-It, and Angry Room. Local industrial metal band Screaming Mechanical Brain plays the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato with Milwaukee’s Candy Machine Guns and Evasive Maneuver. Also on Easter Sunday, you can catch Apocalypse Theatre and their Revolution Circus show at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns stick around the area for another show on Tuesday, April 2 at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns performing March 24, 2013 at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Denmark’s Volbeat return for another sold-out show, this time at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Wednesday, April 3 with support from Danko Jones and Spoken. Swedish sleeze rockers Crashdiet play the same night at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley with Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey. Wednesday is also the start of the weekly, month-long residency for sludge band Witchden at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis with openers Vulgaari and Buzzard.

If that isn’t enough, then Thursday, April 4 has one what should be one of the biggest thrash shows of the year with Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, and Holy Grail at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Concert Review - RED LAMB and CANDY MACHINE GUNS

Red Lamb and Candy Machine Guns

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

Former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz has been largely quiet since his last stint with Anthrax in 2007, but he returned with Red Lamb, unleashing their debut album last year (reviewed here, 7/10). This, the band’s first tour, billed Anarchy for Autism, is a benefit for autism. Thankfully the light rail construction right outside Station 4 appears to be completed, and the venue now sports a cool new sign.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of Candy Machine Guns (17).

Milwaukee’s Candy Machine Guns has been on tour with Red Lamb for a couple weeks, and they were already underway when I got there. The 30 minutes of their set I saw was quite impressive. Candy Machine Guns play a very heavy style of modern-sounding metal that is a full-on assault of the senses. Singer Hobbes Caltous is at his best when screaming, and the band charged through many of the songs off their debut album Here We Come. They have a two other area shows coming up, and they’re well worth checking out.

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Red Lamb (49).

It was highly disappointing that only about 50 people turned out for Red Lamb, but if it bothered the band they didn’t show it. A tape of “It’s A Small World” served as the introduction before the band took over with “Watchman”. It was immediately apparent that the band was playing tight, and seemed out to prove that Red Lamb isn’t simply a fun side project. Following “Runaway Train”, “Be All, End All” was the first Anthrax classic broken out. This, along with the other Anthrax songs played, actually sounded great with only one guitarist and allowed Dan’s solos to figure more prominently.

Back to Red Lamb material, the band stormed through “One Shell (In The Chamber)”, “Keep Pushing Me”, and “Standby Passenger”. An awesome version of “Only” came next, and vocalist Don Chaffin really proved his versatility and incredible voice with this one. This seemed to bring new energy to the crowd, and the band responded with a firey version of “Angels Of War”. Red Lamb’s version of “Caught In A Mosh” simply has to be heard to believed – drummer Kevan Roy juiced up the chorus with some intense double-bass that brought new life to the Anthrax standard. I’d love to have a studio recording of this version from Red Lamb. “The Cage” was another highlight before “Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)” brought another outsized response from the sparse crowd.

Dan had been a bit reserved on stage up to this point, but he gave a heartfelt introduction to “Puzzle Box”, talking about the challenges he and his wife have in raising twin boys with autism and explaining his hope that the metal community can be supportive of raising awareness and support for the disease. “Puzzle Box” was  clearly a crowd favorite, followed up with “Don’t Threaten To Love Me” and “Temptation”. “I Am The Law” closed the show, unfortunately halted mid-song when Dan’s guitar malfunctioned. The band handled it gracefully and with humor, and Dan had a smile on his face and took it in stride as his showed the band where to pick it up again at the fast guitar break before the solos.

In all, Red Lamb delivered an inspired, nearly 90 minute set where they ran through nearly the entire debut album (only “Warpaint” and, disappointingly, “Get Up” were missing) and five Anthrax classics. Vocalist Don Chaffin is an amazing front man, and his range and talents were impressive in the live setting. The whole band is incredibly talented and their show gave me new admiration for the album. Hopefully this tour is only the beginning of more tours and recorded output from Red Lamb.

Dan Spitz returns to the band's sponsored bus to promote autism awareness.

Candy Machine Guns return to perform two other area shows: Sunday, March 31 at the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato with Screaming Mechanical Brain and Evasive Maneuver, and Tuesday, April 2 at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

RELATED CONTENT: Check out my review of the debut album from Red Lamb. There's also an audio download of Anthrax in 1991 on the Clash Of The Titans tour. In my From The Vault series, you can read about past experiences and view of photos of former Anthrax vocalist John Bush in Armored Saint, with more to come from the legendary Anthrax side project S.O.D.

Tonight - RED LAMB in St. Paul

Tonight is the night that former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz brings his new band, Red Lamb, to St. Paul on their inaugural tour. They're playing at Station 4 with support from Milwaukee's Candy Machine Guns, Prophets Of Aether, Monster Of Creation, and Pandemic. Doors open at 6:00 with the show starting at 6:30 - tickets are only $10 at the door, and a $40 VIP ticket also gets you a meet and greet opportunity with the band. The show is also a benefit for children with autism.

Check out my review of the Red Lamb's debut self-titled album (7/10), as well as the audio of this 1991 Anthrax show while supporting Persistence Of Time on the Clash Of The Titans tour.

Here's a short video of Dan Spitz introducing his band for the current tour, and below is the official video for "Puzzle Box".