Tonight - PAIN OF SALVATION, CHERIE CURRIE in St. Paul, ESCAPE THE FATE in Minneapolis, DORYDRIVE, BLUE FELIX in the Suburbs

I can't ever recall a night with five shows scattered across the metro, so here we go. My pick of the bunch is Swedish progressive metal outfit Pain Of Salvation with Kingcrow, Imminent Sonic Destruction, Violent Fade, and Redshift. I'll shortly have a review of the new Kingcrow album posted that I hope will convince you to attend. This is a 16+ early show that starts at 6:00, and tickets are $18 at the door.

Another rare performance happens tonight in St. Paul at the Girls Got Rhythm Festival at the Amsterdam Bar - former vocalist of The Runaways, Cherie Currie, headlines the night with Sugar Stems, Marilu And The Machetes, and Is/Is. It all starts at 8:00; it's a 21+ show that will cost you $20 at the door. The Minneapolis StarTribune recently ran a short interview with Cherie Currie.

Over in Minneapolis you can catch Escape The Fate with Glamour Of The Kill and My My Missfire - The Color Morale is no longer a part of this show. This is an all ages show that gets underway at 8:00, and tickets are $20 at the door.

DoryDrive returns to the area for a free show at the Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville; no further information is available.

Finally, Neisen's in Savage has a big local metal package of Blue Felix, Throw The Fight, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Terror Overising, and A Sound Theory. This show is also free - it's 18+ and starts at 7:00.

In Concert This Week - May 10, 2013

Brace yourself for a ton of great shows coming up this week!

Starting with a couple show outside the metro area, tomorrow, Friday, May 10 has local industrial metal bands Gabriel And The Apocalypse and Thira at Buster's in Mankato for a 21+ show at 9:45 for only $5. Down in Rochester, DoryDrive plays a free 21+ show at the Wicked Moose with Venus On Fire and Angry Room; doors are at 8:00.

Friday also kicks off the Girls Got Rhythm Festival at the Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul with cult punk band The Avengers, Gateway District, The Pinsch, and Total Trash. The second night on Saturday, May 11 features former singer of The Runaways Cherie Currie, Sugar Stems, Marilu And The The Machetes, and Is/Is. These are 21+ shows, and tickets are $20 each night at the door or $35 for a two-day pass. You can read an interview with Cherie Currie and Girls Got Rhythm organizers Dana Raidt and Travis Ramin over at City Pages.

There's four other shows of interest on Saturday, May 11. Fans of progressive metal should turn out for the first U.S. tours of Sweden's Pain Of Salvation, Italy's Kingcrow, Detroit's Imminent Sonic Destruction, Omaha's Violent Fade, and locals Redshift. Over at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis you can catch hard rock band Escape The Fate with support from England’s Glamour Of The Kill. Note that metalcore band The Color Morale is no longer on the Escape The Fate bill. The Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville has alternative rock band DoryDrive. Lastly, it’s a big night of local metal at Neisen’s in Savage with Blue Felix, Throw The Fight, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and A Sound Theory.

Speaking of Escape The Fate, their former frontman’s new band Falling In Reverse also plays Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Sunday, May 12 with support from American Fangs. You can save some money by purchasing the “Escape The Fate 2 Show Pack” that gets you into both the Escape The Fate and Falling In Reverse shows for only $25. Just across the street at Epic the same night metalcore band Asking Alexandria tops a large bill with Motionless In White, Whitechapel, Chimaira, and I Killed The Prom Queen.

On Monday, May 13 rock radio darlings Sick Puppies perform at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with local support from Pinwheel.

Limp Bizkit performing at Kemper Arena in Kansas City on October 22, 1998 on the Family Values Tour. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (7).

Limp Bizkit returns to town after a long absence for a show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. This show sold out quick, and additional tickets were released earlier this week – you can still purchase them through ticketfly here.

The busy week ends on Wednesday, May 15 with metalcore stars Bullet For My Valentine teaming up with Halestorm, Young Guns, and Stars In Stereo at Myth in St. Paul. The Stars In Stereo Album Preview EP was reviewed here (6/10). Also on Wednesday alternative rock band Taproot plays the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis with support from Boy Hits Car, XFactor1, and Willpowerless. Up north, Wednesday finds Sevendust plays Duluth at Clyde Iron Works with Pop Evil and Canadians Monster Truck.

RELATED SEVENDUST POSTS: I reviewed the awesome new Sevendust album Black Out The Sun here. You can download the audio from an early headlining show on July 19, 1997 in Lawrence, Kansas here, and my From The Vault feature has a ton of live photos and promotional materials from 1997–2000.

Sevendust performing June 18, 2000 at Cox Arena in San Diego. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (18).

Concert Announcements - March 15, 2013

Sludge rock band Jucifer, together with Witchden, play the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Sunday, March 24.

As was announced earlier, Japanese metal gods Loudness will put in a rare U.S. appearance on Saturday, April 27 at the Hi 5 in Burnsville with local support from Downtread.

Black Tusk has been added to the bill as support to the previously announced Kvelertak and Cancer Bats show on Saturday, April 27 at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.

Powerhouse L.A. vocalist Mandy Lion brings his band to Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, May 13 with support from Hooligans Union and Crashmatic. Mandy Lion is best known for his work with the short-lived supergroup WWIII, which also featured guitarist Tracy G (Dio), bassist Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio), and drummer Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath). Their 1990 self-titled debut contains some of the most heavy, wicked riffs and vocals – check out “Time For Terror”. For the second WWIII album, 2003’s When God Turned Away, underappreciated guitar hero Joe Floyd (Warrior) laid down the riffs.

Prior to their May 21 in Rochester as direct support to Papa Roach, Escape The Fate headlines Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Saturday, May 11 with support from The Color Morale and Glamour Of The Kill. This is an all ages show, and tickets go on sale today, Friday, March 15 at 10:00 am.

Chicago metal band Hessler comes to Hi 5 in Burnsville on Saturday, June 15. Also on the bill the Judas Priest tribute band Electric Eye and Metal Witch.

Following his June 30 show at Buster’s in Mankato, former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler brings his new band Adler to Station 4 in St. Paul the next night, Monday, July 1. VIP meet and greet tickets are available.

Last for this week: sure, it’s not metal, but fans of industrial metal will likely be interested in Depeche Mode. They will be playing the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Tuesday, August 27. Tickets go on sale April 6.

From The Vault - PAPA ROACH

UPDATE: Here's also a Papa Roach promo photo from 2000 used for the promotion of the Infest album.

I haven't gone through my archives in a while, so I thought it'd be fun to pull out some old photos of Papa Roach back when they were trolling the Sunset Strip for attention just like everyone else. These photos were taken March 20, 2000 at the famed Troubadour in West Hollywood the month before their major label debut album, Infest, was released. This was one of the Troubadour's free Monday night shows that usually featured some great local metal bands, and at this one Papa Roach played with Slaves On Dope and Disengage. I remember chatting with Dino Cazares of Fear Factory at the bar, I believe he is related to one of the guys in Papa Roach. Although no one knew who Papa Roach was at the time, it was clear from the excitement in the room that Infest might go somewhere. Millions of albums later, Papa Roach remarkably remains one of the last rap-rock bands standing.

Papa Roach rips up the Troubadour on March 20, 2000 on the eve of the release of Infest. Click on any photo to see more pictures of Papa Roach (15).

Papa Roach performs Tuesday, May 21 at the Mayo Civic Center Auditorium in Rochester with support from Escape The Fate and Otherwise.