Metal Gods Tour 2003
When music is your part-time gig you tend to have some
interesting opportunities thrown your way, like Tuesday night hanging
backstage at the Phoenix with the likes of Metal Mike and Roy Z of Halford,
Chuck and Steve of Testament, and Steve and Snake from Skinlab. I can
honestly say my evenings are rarely boring these days! I had my pick of
tonight’s show in Petaluma or the Avalon show June 5th in San
Francisco. The choice was an easy one. If you are a true follower of the
local scene, you have been to the Phoenix. For those of you who have yet to
enter the doors into this makeshift theatre/teen center, you are truly
missing out. From what I understand, current manager Tom Gaffney not only
books bands at the Phoenix, but opens the venues doors after school (and
throughout the summer), so that local teens have a place to hang out, rather
than running around and finding trouble. The main theater has at most 8 rows
of seats, leading out to a bare floor. On the main concourse to the stage,
on either side, are skateboard ramps that double as bike ramps. All of the
walls throughout the venue are hand painted graffiti, including the
furniture and the backstage area. It is a place where you feel at home, band
or fan, at every age. The Phoenix is known for booking good shows that draw
well, Tuesday night was not an exception.
Two of the Bay Area’s legendary bands teamed up with
the Metal God to bring down the house in the sleepy town of Petaluma and
California Bands was there to share in the destruction. Halford is currently
playing 5 West Coast shows in support of their latest endeavor, The
Crucible, and created metal mayhem with their selection of supporting
bands. Skinlab opened the evening of sheer metal madness. The band is set to
head to Australia for a 7-day festival tour and then back to the States to
put the finishing touches on their best of compilation set to hit in the
Fall, entitled The Nerve Damage Sessions. “ It is a fine collection
of all of our best material,” explained vocalist and bassist Steve
Esquivel. “We thought the best thing … to …do … was to and get back
in the studio and write some new stuff. We wrote 2 new songs and re-recorded
one of our songs, in an acoustic version.” When asked to elaborate
further, Steve wants to keep the new material under wraps until the
double-CD release date. You can’t blame a girl from trying.
Now on to the performance….
Skinlab stalked on stage for 45-minutes of bone crushing
guitar work and gnashing vocals. Paul Hopkins was pounding the skins like
nobody’s business as Snake and Glen Telford traded guitar riffs to Steve
Equivel’s vocals and chomping bass lines. I have to admit, the audience
was much lighter than I would’ve liked to see for these Bay Area veterans.
Steve paced the stage and taunted the audience into pitting fast and hard.
Twenty minutes into their set, the boys began to win the war as more kids
streamed to the front of the stage and the inevitable circle of moshers
began to form. It is at shows such as these, that I would like to shout out
to every band member I know ~ “Dude, this is how it is done! This is how
you work a crowd!” This comes from experience as any well-traveled
musician will tell you. Life on the road as an opening act or main support,
will teach you what to do when you think the audience should listen. Skinlab
has been a heavily touring band for the better part of the last 5 years.
However, no matter how far from home they go they are still in touch with
the bands in the local scene. “Hey man, you guys know about Hostility?”
shouted Steve prior to announcing their final song Scapegoat. “Those
guys brag about the kids at the Phoenix!” All in all, the set was solid.
Skinlab performed as an opener should and set the pace for the rest of the
show. I knew when I saw Chuck Billy backstage in full black garb I was in
for a true evening of metal. When he strutted out with the rest of his band
mates, there was no question that Testament was in the house and ready for
business.
Growing up in Northern California and keeping up with the
local scene, I am no stranger to the continued popularity of Testament. The
band has earned and demanded respect on the metal scene since the early 80’s.
I grew up in a time when metal was a lifestyle, one I maintained and a
lifestyle that is coming back. There was a time, when Pearl Jam and Nirvana
ruled the charts, that the metal scene changed. Out were the flash, light
and leather. In was dock martins and flannel shirts. We are seeing the
return of the golden age of metal, thank god for that. Metal bands dress as
metal band should, and Testament walks that walk and talks that talk.
Testament opened with “Eerie” and by their third song in, “Chasing
Fear” the mosh pit was formed and the crowd at the stage was 7-10 people
deep. Guitarists John Smyth and Eric Peterson never sounded better, laying
down the law and riffs into the sea of eager ears and eyes before them.
Bassist Steve DiGiorigio kept in perfect time and rhythm with drummer Steve
Allen, no small task when it comes to songs like “DNR” and “Burnt
Offerings”. And what can I say about Chuck Billy that has not been said in
person or in print, the man is larger than life both on and off the stage.
He looked good, he sounded out of this world and he is the front man of
Testament without a doubt. As I alluded to earlier, I had seen him about an
hour or so before show time. I was well aware of his bout with “germ cell
seminoma” (a rare form of cancer) for which he was diagnosed in 2001. He
just looked good, he looked healthy and it did my heart good to see him on
stage ~ where this performer was born to be. Unfortunately, I left halfway
through the Testament set to head backstage for the Halford “meet and
greet”. Although I had an opportunity to meet and talk with Metal Mike and
Roy Z, the remaining 3 band members had made an early return back to the
hotel after sound check. This would be California Band’s only opportunity
to meet up with the infamous Rob Halford, and I just couldn’t pass it up.
I made it back inside to catch the highest energy point of Testament’s
set, in my opinion, “Over the Wall,” “Dog Faced Gods” and “Disciples”.
The hour had arrived or had it? As I sat awaiting the
arrival of the Metal God the minutes passed with no lights on the stage or
music through the P.A. This went on for close to 30-minutes, when the
mystery had been solved. Power to the stage had been cut-off (I would later
learn that this was due to the one of the main source cords being cut),
putting an already behind show even further past schedule. Of course, once
Halford took the stage all was forgiven ~ fists were in the air, song lyrics
sung in unison and guitar riffs so heavy you could see them thread the air.
Halford opened with a Priest favorite “Painkiller” which accomplished
two things. First it established that both Metal Mike and Roy Z are not Glen
Tipton and K.K. Downing, they have their own interpretation as to how the
dueling riffs are to be played. Second, Rob Halford’s trademark scream and
high octave vocal range is still intact, nearly 30 years after he first hit
the metal scene. From the moment the man took the stage, I was reminded of
the first time I had seen him perform more than 20 years ago. It is an
impression I will not forget any time soon. His complete and total control
of the stage and the audience, no matter the size, is something that must be
seen and most local singers need to be tutored in. When Rob Halford is on
stage, that is his territory and his domain. He makes no bones about it. For
the 90+ minutes he is performing, you are his to entertain. Backing him on
stage are 4 musicians whose presence are made known within minutes of the
first drum beat or bass line. Halford consists of Metal Mike Chlasciak and
Roy Z (the same man who produced the last 2 Halford albums) trading guitar
duties, Bobby Jarzombek on drums and Mike Davis on bass. With these four
musicians behind him, Rob Halford can re-take the metal scene by storm.
The set was peppered with the “right” kind of songs
for the crowd in attendance, just enough Priest with some Fight and Halford
material to satisfy the memory and wet the appetite. The crowd reacted to
every song ~ fists in the air, bodies moving, mosh pit in full progress and
even one brave stage diver. The energy was high, the guitars meaty and the
vocals piercing ~ metal doesn’t get any better! This, this was the type of
performance I grew up watching and paying 30 bucks for, this was the energy
and high I couldn’t explain to my parents but shared with my friends…
this is what it is all about.
With Halford, the assault isn’t just on your ears and
eyes as you take on what is before you on stage, it is music you can feel
pound through your body. If I can’t feel a double bass beat in my chest or
the vibrations from a lead guitar solo so high and long you want to cry,
then it isn’t a show I want to see. Bobby’s double bass work on “Rapid
Fire” and “Heretic” reverberated throughout my sternum. What few metal
drummers understand, and Bobby has mastered, is when and how to use the
double bass to their advantage. My suggestion, take in a Halford show and
learn from the best, because that is the only place I have seen it mastered
in the last 2 years. Bobby lays his tracks down and Mike Davis threads through them
and powerfully with his bass playing. He made his place on stage known by
the time “Resurrection” was into the first bridge. He was front and
center, backing Rob on vocals and taking in the energy of the crowd. The
collaboration of the rhythm section could not be displayed better live than
during “Into the Light,” flawless doesn’t even come close. Metal Mike
and Roy Z gel on stage, they are extensions of the same instrument played
within a note of one another. The trade off during “Heretic” was poetry
in motion, as Roy laid down the solo and Mike threaded his sound around it.
I have not heard two guitarist so tightly wound around each other musically.
Again, something that must be seen up close and personal. For those of you
on the West Coast, the first of five opportunities have pased you by.
I came to Petaluma to see a metal show, one that reminded
me of what metal was growing up and what I think it is coming back to some
15+ years later. Rob Halford is that voice I will always associate with the
music that was the anthem of my youth. Tuesday night, he carried on that
anthem to a younger generation of fans. The pitch, the range, the presence
on stage leads to one thing, he has upped the anti for those who dare to
challenge the gauntlet he has thrown on the metal trail. He is what metal
singers should aspire to be, both in vocal quality and stage performance.
You truly have not been to a metal show, until you have seen Rob Halford
sing “Diamonds and Rust” or “Electric Eye”, bottom line.
Additional Information:
California Bands would like to thank Metal Mike and Roy Z
for taking the time to sit and interview with us. We know your time is
limited at each show and we are appreciative that you let us spend some time
getting to know both of you and learn more about The Crucible and
your side projects. California Bands also had the opportunity to spend some
time with Steve for Skinlab to learn of their upcoming endeavors. Again,
much appreciated so close to show time. In addition, many thanks to Todd
from T-Boy the true man behind the infamous curtain of Oz.
Skinlab: www.skinlab1.com
