Tonight - WHITE EMPRESS in Spring Lake Park

As usual there's a lot of updating and posting of content that needs to be done here. I should have helped spread the word about this show earlier, but if you aren't aware already, get out to Pov's 65 in Spring Lake Park tonight, Saturday, May 9, to see the one and only White Empress. This is the Twin Cities-based band led by former Cradle Of Filth guitarist Paul Allender and rounded out with an experienced group of musicians, including fantastic vocals by Mary Zimmer (ex-Luna Mortis).

Support for the show will come from We Are Legion, Faith Hills Have Eyes, and Black Box Warning. This is an 18+ show; doors open at 8:00 and tickets are only $10 at the door.

If you missed the band's debut performance in Minneapolis in October you won't want to miss tonight's show. Their first show was thrown off kilter with the drummer bailing one week before the show. This forced the band to find an LA-based drummer available immediately who was flown to the Cities for some intense rehearsals. White Empress pulled off a great, albeit shortened set under the most dire of circumstances. In this context tonight's show should be tight and polished. Tonight is also the last night of a short Midwest run before White Empress heads to Japan.

I'll have much more to post about White Empress in due course (including a ton of live photos), but for now here are a few photoshoot-style photos of the band that were shot immediately after their first performance in October. Despite the pressures of that night, the band was in high spirits and was gracious to gather around for these shots after meeting with fans.

CHIMAIRA Returns to the Road, Will Appear in Spring Lake Park August 6

Thrash/metalcore outfit Chimaira hits the road again in the U.S. for a string of dates throughout most of August. Joining the trek are The Plot In You, Upon This Dawning, Allegaeon, and Silence The Messenger. The full itinerary appears below.

Pov’s 65 in Spring Lake Park will host the tour on Wednesday, August 6 with local opener Climactic. This is an 18+ show, and tickets are on sale now through Vitalculture.

August 5 – Joliet, IL, Mojoes

August 6 – Spring Lake Park, MN, Pov’s 65

August 7 – Peoria, IL, Rail 11

August 8 – Des Moines, IA, Wooly’s

August 9 – Lansing, MI, The Loft

August 10 – Akron, OH, Rock Factory

August 11 – St. Louis, MO, Fubar

August 12 – Kansas City, MO, Aftershock

August 13 – Denver, CO, Blue Bird

August 14 – Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge

August 15 – Portland, OR, Hawthorne Theatre

August 16 – Seattle, WA, Studio Seven

August 17 – Spokane, WA, The Hop

August 19 – Sacramento, CA, Assembly

August 20 – West Hollywood, CA, Whisky A Go-Go

August 21 – San Diego, CA, SOMA Sidestage

August 22 – Phoenix, AZ, Joe’s Grotto

August 23 – Tucson, AZ, The Rock

August 25 – Odessa, TX, Club Patron

August 26 – San Antonio, TX, Korova

August 27 – Austin, TX, Dirty Dog Bar

August 28 – Houston, TX, Warehouse Live

August 29 – Dallas, TX, Trees

August 30 – Oklahoma City, OK, The Chameleon Room

From the Vault - DISTURBED, Part 1

Disturbed playing the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood on May 19, 2000.

Fight Or Flight, the band featuring Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren, are back at Pov's 65 in Spring Lake Park tonight as direct support to Filter, so this seems like a good time to unearth some old Disturbed photos.

Disturbed was first brought to my attention when I received a promo copy of their debut album, The Sickness, in January 2000 a couple of months before its release in March. I immediately loved the album, so I was disappointed when I heard (from a band that played with them that I won't name) that they fell flat live at a showcase gig at the Troubadour in West Hollywood in January or February of that year. Disturbed dropped off the Danzig/Six Feet Under tour before I would have had the chance to see them at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim in May.

An early promo copy of The Sickness.

I did see Disturbed, however, at a secret System Of A Down gig at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood alongside The Deadlights and Crease on May 19, 2000. Everything I had heard about Disturbed's live show was indeed true. Vocalist David Draiman, although he sounds great on the album, just couldn't cut it live. I snapped these pictures, but didn't watch the entire set since Amorphis, Moonspell, and The Kovenant were playing down the block at the Whisky. I caught Disturbed again a couple nights later in San Diego, where I was able to arrange a photoshoot with the band, and those pictures will be coming in Part 2.

Bam Margera’s F*CKFACE UNSTOPPABLE Announces New Tour, Spring Lake Park Date December 1

Actor/daredevil/musician Bam Margera is taking his band F*ckface Unstoppable on a month-long run through U.S. and Canada starting November 27. The tour brings him to Pov’s 65 in Spring Lake Park on Sunday, December 1. Support on most shows comes from Wilson; here’s the full list of dates:

November 27 – West Chester, PA, The Note

November 29 – Flint, MI, The Machine Shop

November 30 – Peoria, IL, Brass Rail

December 1 – Spring Lake Park, MN, Pov’s 65

December 3 – Lincoln, NE, Knickerbockers

December 4 – Billings, MT, The Railyard

December 5 – Missoula, MT, The Palace

December 6 – Seattle, WA, Studio Seven

December 7 – Spokane, WA, The Center of Spokane

December 9 – Calgary, AB, The Republic

December 10 – Edmonton, AB, Pawnshop

December 11 – Saksatoon, SK, The Odeon

December 13 – Thunder Bay, ON, Crocks

December 14 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON Canadian Night Club

December 15 – Toronto, ON, The Annex Wreckroom

December 16 – Hamilton, ON, Club Absinthe

December 17 – Ottawa, ON, Mavericks

December 18 – Montreal, QC, Underworld

December 19 – Amityville, NY, Revolution

December 20 – Albandy, NY, Bogies

December 21 – Reading, PA, Reverb

Concert Review - KILLER DWARFS

Killer Dwarfs/Modern Superstar/Electric Eye

Sunday, September 14, 2013

Pov’s 65, Spring Lake Park, MN

This being my first time at Pov’s 65 I got to the club early to check it out. Fortunately I caught local Judas Priest tribute band Electric Eye, who hands down is the best tribute band I’ve seen since the Ralph Saenz-fronted Atomic Punks. These guys have got it all down – twin guitars laying down all the riffs and solos with machine-line precision, a rock-solid rhythm section, and yes, a leather-clad vocalist that can pull off Rob Halford’s vocal gymnastics seemingly without effort. Their sound was punishingly loud, and it only added to the impressive hour-long assault of older Priest tunes like “Metal Gods”, “Rock Hard Ride Free”, “Beyond The Realms Of Death”, and a re-worked version of “Turbo Lover” without the guitar synthesizers. Definitely catch Electric Eye playing around town when you can!

Florida-based Modern Superstar was up next and did little to excite the crowd that remained dispersed around the vast bar area of the club. These guys are trying hard to create a modern hard rock sound, but most of their songs simply lack the hooks and catchy riffs. They only played two songs from their 2011 debut album Under My Skin (“Blue” and “Devil’s Playground”), instead relying heavily on new material from the yet-to-be released second album, such as “Two Months”, “Love Is Crazy”, and “Burning Pages”. New singer Chris Nichols seems to be a good fit for the band, and he carries himself with good stage presence. I admire Modern Superstar’s strong DIY efforts and whatever-it-takes attitude, and despite my negativity they do show some potential.

Everyone was here for Killer Dwarfs, and the stage area filled up in anticipation of this underappreciated Canadian band. Proving this wasn’t some half-baked reunion tour, the band stormed the stage with an explosive version of “Stand Tall” that led right into “Hard Luck Town”. Vocalist Russ Dwarf then began to take his time chatting with the crowd in introducing “Believe In Me” and “Last Laugh” before things slowed down with “Driftin’ Back”, which included acoustic guitarwork from Russ. “Union Of Pride” was the only song played from Big Deal, and the second half of the set focused on selections from the Dirty Weapons album (“Doesn’t Matter”, “Nothin’ Gets Nothin’”, and “Comin’ Through”). Russ expressed his disdain for bands playing new material that the audience doesn’t know, so the title track was sole track aired from the new Start @ One album. Rock anthem “Keep The Spirit Alive” closed out the set, but of course the crowd was clamoring for “Dirty Weapons”, for which the band returned to play as the encore.

Although the crowd was small, this is one of the most enthusiastic reactions I’ve seen in a while from the audience. Despite their long absence, Killer Dwarfs have clearly maintained a strong connection with their fan base. A large part of the crowd stuck around and waited for the band to drag their merchandise into the venue, and used to opportunity to chat with the band and take pictures with them for nearly an hour. The entire band’s performance was stellar, but Russ really stole the show as he ran around the stage, collapsed, and did somersaults like a kid on an arena stage for the first time. Hopefully this won’t be the last time we see Killer Dwarfs in the States! Their amazing show once again left me pondering how it could be that Killer Dwarfs never achieved any mainstream recognition.

Check back soon for a post-show interview with vocalist Russ Dwarf!

From The Vault - TWO HIT CREEPER

Long Beach's Sunflower Dead played last night with Ill Nino, and two members of the band formerly had their own two-man band Two Hit Creeper that played extensively around Southern California in the early 2000s. A two-man band is unusual enough, but how about one solely consisting of guitar and accordion?! These guys pulled it off in convincing fashion (with the help of a drum machine), and they were super nice guys to boot. It was hard to not go to a metal show on L.A's Sunset Strip around 2000 and not see James and Michael handing out flyers to promote the band. James (now Jaboo) and Michael are now the guitarist and singer, respectively for Sunflower Dead.

These pictures are from a show they did on May 16, 2000 at Brick By Brick in San Diego while they were still a two-piece unit (they later expanded to a four-person band). Michael and James always seemed to be the type that makes their own success, so it's not surprising to see them breaking out with Sunflower Dead.

I've also included scans from their self-released six-song demo EP from 2000, The Stepchildren's Twisted Circus Music. If you can get your hands on this, it's easy to hear the demented, original spin James and Michael now bring to their new band.

KILLER DWARFS and MODERN SUPERSTAR Pictures

I also was at the Killer Dwarfs concert this past Saturday at Pov's 65 in Spring Lake Park where they were supported by Modern Superstar and Judas Priest tribute band Electric Eye. This was one of the most fun shows I've been to in a while! Expect a full review of the show to be posted soon! I also did a short interview with Killer Dwarfs vocalist Russ Dwarf, so keep your eyes peeled for that also. In the meantime, here's the photos of Killer Dwarfs and Modern Superstar.

FLIGHT OR FLIGHT Adds Spring Lake Park Date To Tour Schedule

With Disturbed on hiatus, guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren have busied themselves with their new band Fight Or Flight, whose debut album is released next week on July 23. They’ve been adding more U.S. club dates to their tour plans, including one at Pov’s 65 in Spring Lake Park on Sunday, August 18. Support at the Spring Lake Park show will come from Mindset Evolution and Dorydrive, and tickets are on sale now through Vital Culture.

July 27 – Fort Wayne, IN, Piere’s

July 28 – Sauget, IL, Pop’s

July 30 – Grand Rapids, MI, The Intersection

July 31 – Toledo, OH, Main Street

August 1 – Columbus, OH, The Basement

August 2 – Lancaster, PA, Chameleon Club

August 3 – New York, NY, Grammercy

August 4 – Syracuse, NY, The F Shed at the Market, w/Sick Puppies

August 6 – Buffalo, NY, The Tralf

August 7 – Pittsburgh, PA, Altar Bar

August 9 – Providence, RI, Met Cafe

August 10 – Gilford, NH, Meadowbrook

August 11 – Bethlehem, PA, Musikfest

August 13 – South Bend, IN, Club Fever

August 14 – Rockford, IL, District

August 15 – Bloomington, IL, Castle Theatre

August 17 – Madison, WI, Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum, w/Sevendust, Asking Alexandria

August 18 – Spring Lake Park, MN, Pov’s 65, w/Mindset Evolution, Dorydrive

August 20 – Omaha, NE, Sokol Underground

August 21 – Des Moines, IA, Wooly’s

August 23 – Kenosha, WI, Brat Stop

August 24 – Joliet, IL, Mojoes

August 25 – Nashville, TN, Exit/In

August 27 – Tulsa, OK, The Vanguard

August 28 – Little Rock, AR, Revolution Music Room

August 29 – Lawrence, KS, Granada Theater

August 31 – Columbia, MO, Mojo’s