MOAR Past Gigs! (Outside of Fresno)

Well, now that I covered the gigs I've been to in the city of Fresno, it's time to discuss the one's I've been to outside of Fresno! mainly in San Francisco.

Lets' see....
The first show I ever went to in SF was Seether in 2007 I believe. My friend dragged me along at pretty much the last minute, we got to the venue right as they were about to go on stage. It was pretty cool, the venue was really nice, I believe that was at the Warfield.
Then 2008... I can't remember much that year, I had wanted to go to Pagan Fest, but I didn't have the money at that time, so 2008 I stuck to shows here mostly. In 2009 I went to PaganFest Pt. 2 with Blackguard, Swashbuckle, Moonsorrow, Primordial, and Korpiklaani. That's also where I met my friend Tracy in real life for the first time. It was an amazing show. :D
In September I went to see Psyclon Nine with Imperative Reaction in SF. Twas my first industrial type show, and it was pretty feckin' awesome!
In October I went to see Stratovarius in SF, and they were just...orgasmic, especially Jans. I wanted to jump on stage and rape his hair. Mmm. <3
Then in November of I went to Heathenfest in SF. Where I saw Kivimetsan Druidi, Vreid, Alestorm, Belphegor, and Eluveitie. Brilliant show. Alestorm and Eluveitie were my favourites.
Then early this year I went to the third PaganFest in January, with White Wizzard, Swashbuckle, Tyr, and Korpiklaani. Tyr were actually pretty good, I had heard good things about them, I just never took the time to listen to them!
Then in March I went to SF to see HammerFall w/Powerglove. It was a pretty epic show. I hadn't listened to Powerglove in ages!


I think that's all for now. I'll be going to a couple more shows outside of Fresno in the upcoming months as well, I'm looking forward to those! :)

Favourite Album Covers.

Well, this is a hard one. There's loads of album covers I think are beautiful works of art.
Buuut, these are the ones I find most beautiful, and not sickest. You won't find any gore-y album covers from any Death Metal band here.

A great representation of the decaying urban life that is humanity.


Another one of Fursy's amazing art works.


Of course I'd favour almost anything with violins. ;)


I really like the colour blue, and I think this album cover fits nicely with the album itself.


Now this..this cover is THE representation of Power Metal. The long blond haired man on a unicorn holding a sword, facing a mighty dragon in some fantasy land. THIS is what PM is all about! This one picture IS Power Metal.



Ah, this brings me back. Nine Inch Nails. I can't be arsed to explain the entire story behind this album. Let's just say I was completely hooked on the album, and the story. This picture makes me wonder what's really out there.

Violins.

As stated in my previous post below, I'm a sucker for violins.
They're my most favourite and beloved musical instrument. I even bought my own violin a few months ago and have been slowly learning. But I don't think I'll get very far if I just teach myself. This isn't like a guitar, in order to properly learn how to play the violin, I'll need a teacher!

Anyways. I'll automatically love any band that uses violins. Which is why I'm so fond of Folk Metal, with their heavy usage of fiddles, along with some Power Metal bands.
I've always admired a lot of violinists, they make it look so...incredibly amazing. I always find myself in awe whenever I see TSO live, like last year, the violinists had so much energy and emotion when playing. It was truly orgasmic.

Not much else I can say about violins.
I just love them oh soooooooooooooo much.

Power Metal.

So recently I've been mentoring a friend of mine about the epic ways of Power Metal. I must say, he's a quick learner and is doing quite well. I'm very proud of him. Someday he'll be as epic as me. :D

All this teaching has rekindled my love of Power Metal.
I downloaded the new Derdian album, along with 3 albums from Rhapsody of Fire, 2 albums from Kamelot, and 1 album from Revolution Renaissance. All are incredibly amazing bands!
I don't know why I didn't listen to them sooner.
I love Rhapsody of Fire's and Kamelot's use of violins. I'm an absolute sucker for violins.
I love everything about these bands. From their guitar harmonies, to the melodic keys, and to the enchanting choirs. Tis what Power Metal is all about, baby!
Mmm. Love love love it.
Those Germans and Italians know how to make goooooooooooood Power Metal!
And Kamelot is pretty damn good for an American band, even though their vocalist is Norwegian and their keyboardist is German. :P

Another thing I've happened to notice with PM, like, they all seemed to be connected.
Ya know...vocalist or other musicians being in other bands, or doing guest vocals or guest whatever for other PM bands. A good example of this would be with Avantasia, I can't be arsed to list all the guests Tobias has used for his Avantasia band, also, he himself has been a guest vocalist. They're aaaaaaaaalllll connected, like one big, happy, powerful, epic family.

Here's an example of Kamelot's guest musicians.

Guest musicians
Miro − studio keyboards (1999-2007)
Günter Werno − keyboards (on The Expedition)
Luca Turilli − solo guitar on "Descent of the Archangel" (Epica)
Simone Simons − guest vocals and video appearance on "The Haunting" (The Black Halo), guest vocals on "Blücher" and "Season's End" (Ghost Opera)
Shagrath − As Mephisto: vocals, video appearance on "March of Mephisto" (The Black Halo); vocals on "Memento Mori" (The Black Halo)
Snowy Shaw − As Mephisto: vocals on "March of Mephisto" (One Cold Winter's Night)
Jens Johansson − keyboard solos on "March of Mephisto" and "When the Lights are Down" (The Black Halo)
Mari Youngblood − As Helena: vocals, appearance on (Epica), "Abandoned" and "Memento Mori" (The Black Halo), video appearance in "The Haunting" (The Black Halo) and various tracks of the One Cold Winter's Night concert of 2006.
Elisabeth Kjærnes − video appearance on "March of Mephisto" (The Black Halo and One Cold Winter's Night) and "The Haunting" (The Black Halo), vocals in "Nights of Arabia" (The Fourth Legacy and One Cold Winter's Night)
Matt Knowles (Royal Anguish) − As Mephisto when playing in Florida
Sascha Paeth − guest appearance on One Cold Winter's Night as additional guitarist on "Moonlight", and Ghost Opera
Amanda Somerville − guest vocalist for "Mourning Star", "Love You to Death" and "Ghost Opera"
Anne-Catrin Marzke - live female and backing vocals
Sebastian Bilodeau - Saxophone on "March of Mephisto"
Sean Tibbetts - live bass during the 2006-2009 tours
Dirk Bruinenberg − guest drummer on "The Silent Goddess" and "Alexandria" (The Fourth Legacy)


I should make a chart of all the connections in the world of Power Metal. Hmmmmm. Sounds interesting. Wikipedia, here I come!

P.S. If you're wondering who that lovely person is in that picture up there, that, my friends, is Jens Ola Johansson. Current keyboardist for Stratovarius.
I love him. He's a PHENOMENAL keyboardist/pianist. In my opinion, of the best musicians ever. EVER!!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

So, lately I've been listening to a lot of TSO.
I just downloaded their album, Night Castle, and I'm already in love with it.
I remember during their live show back in December they played a few songs from this album, and I was like, "wow, I really love those songs, I need to download that album" but my procrastination got the best of me, until now!!
Ahh, listening to them REALLY makes me wish it were Winter already. I'm already so excited to see them again. After every show each year, I count the days till they return.

They recently did their first ever Spring tour, sadly the tour dates were very limited, and California wasn't on the list. :(
So I'll have to wait till November/December.

Here's a little info about TSO, for you n00bies. Courtesy of Wikipedia. :P

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an orchestra founded in 1996 by Paul O'Neill, who brought together long-time friends Jon Oliva, Robert Kinkel, and Al Pitrelli. The band's musical style incorporates neoclassical, symphonic and progressive sorts of hard rock/metal.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra has recorded and performed renditions of traditional Christmas songs, and these have been among their most popular works. They are also known for their elaborate concerts, complete with a full light show and dozens of pyrotechnics that are synchronized with their performance.

O'Neill has managed and produced rock bands including Aerosmith, Humble Pie, and Scorpions, later writing for and producing Savatage, where he began working with Kinkel and Oliva. The concept for a band playing Christmas carols in a rock opera style was not received warmly by the industry, but quickly proved a success with adults as well as young people.

In the recording studio, Trans-Siberian Orchestra uses a full 60-piece orchestra and a choir. As of 2004, their touring band included 14 vocalists, 14 musicians, and 2 narrators.

Current members.

Composer:
Paul O'Neill - Composer, lyricist, producer
Jon Oliva - Composer
Robert Kinkel - Co-Producer, Keyboards, music director
Al Pitrelli - Guitars, music director

Vocals:
Adrienne Warren
James Lewis
Tommy Farese
Anthony Gaynor (also Narrator)
Alexa Goddard
Kristin Lewis Gorman
Erin Henry
Steena Hernandez
Jay Pierce
Bart Shatto
Brad Lewis
Steve Broderick
Danielle Landherr
David Kretzer
Andrew Ross
Scout (Scout Ford)
Bryan Hicks (also Narrator)
Jeff Scott Soto
Tim Hockenberry
Jamey Garner
Valentina Porter

Guitar:
Al Pitrelli
Chris Caffery
Alex Skolnick
Angus Clark

Bass:
Johnny Lee Middleton
Chris Altenhoff
John Weir

Drums:
Jeff Plate
John O. Reilly

Keyboards:
Jane Mangini
Derek Wieland
Luci Butler
Donald Rooney

Violin:
Anna Phoebe
Alison Zlotow
Roddy Chong
Caitlin Moe


Ah. I could go on and on about TSO.
I love them oh so much.
I can't wait for this upcoming winter. It shall be my 4th time seeing them, and many many MANY more to come in the future.
Every year I always get a headache from the light show they put on, cause my eyes are very sensitive to lights, but it is damn worth it.
Anyways, I'm orf to have an eargasm, courtesy of TSO. <3

More Past Gigs. (In Fresno)

Now, as you may or may not know. I live in Fresno, California.
We get pretty decent shows here once in a while, but ever since our main venue, The Exit, closed down, there haven't been hardly any decent shows. :/
We have a few others as well, like The Save Mart Center. That's used for mainly sports events, and really big concerts. The Exit was used for like...smaller ones. Mostly hardcore scene kid bands would go play there. I loved The Exit, and was very sad when I heard that they would be closing, because the owner couldn't afford the rent for it anymore.
But alas, we have a few other venues around here. The Starline (great late night dance club), Rainbow Ballroom. Tower Theater. Club Retro (very nice. big open area. clean.) I'll be going to see Whitechapel at Club Retro on the 14th, I'll ALSO be seeing Straight No Chaser at The Rainbow Ballroom on the 14th as well. Two shows in one day, gonna be epic. I'm glad I bought my tickets early for Straight No Chaser, sold out quickly. :|
If you don't know who they are, they're a male A cappella group. With some amazing singing voices.


I'll also be seeing Bring Me The Horizon on the 21st of June at The Starline. I'm going just to take the piss, I wonder how long I'll be able to stay there without wanting to bludgeon someone to death. And I recently saw A Day To Remember w/ Silverstein, Enter Shikari, August Burns Red and Veara at the Rainbow Ballroom. ABR were really good, and ADTR as well. Enter Shitari were....well, shit.

Anyways. My first show I ever went to at The Exit was Suicide Silence back in 2007 I believe. Oh man it was amazing!
By the end of the show, the adrenaline was hella pumping through my veins. It was also my first time seeing Suicide Silence as well. If I remember correctly...August Burns Red was also there. And Craig Mabbitt was there, ex-Blessthefall and current singer for Escape The Fate. I took a few pics of him, AND he even signed my shoe! and I still have it to this very day. :D
The next day I saw Moria, back when they were still together. And that was another amazing show. This was all during October for my birthday, so I went to like, 3 shows over 3 days. The last show was with Parkway Drive, and they were amazing! I couldn't believe I actually got to see them live. After the show I got their autographs. :P
A few months after that I saw Alesana for the first time, and seeing as they were my most favourite band ever back then, I went mental when I found out they were coming to Fresno. Granted, they're still one of my top favourite bands, just not my number 1. ;)

Now fast forward to about middle of 2008 I think. I went and saw The Medic Droid w/ The White Tie Affair, two bands I really enjoy. That was a fun show. Lots of dancing and singing a long. Haha, oh I remember it like it was yesterday, however, the only reason I can remember all these shows is because of the photos I took, and looking at them brings back all the wonderful memories.

Oh! then around...sometime in Autumn, Calabrese came to The Exit. It was their first time in Fresno, and of course, my first time seeing them as well. I was so excited that I was FINALLY getting to see them. I took a couple pics with them, and got their autographs, which I actually still have! I have it kept in a safe place. If they ever come back to Fresno, I'll be damn sure to see them again. :)

Few months after that I went to see Abigail Williams w/Decrepit Birth and Veil of Maya at The Exit.
Amazing show as usual. I had only went to go see Abigail Williams and Decrepit Birth, and it turns out Veil of Maya were actually pretty decent.

Tis all I can be arsed to talk about for now.

Past Gigs.

The other day I was looking at all the old photos I had taken at the gigs I went to, and so many memories came back. Those were truly some amazing times.

One in particular would have to be the first Rockstar Mayhem Festival back in July of 2008.
It was one of the best gigs I went to that year!
The line-up the year was:

Main Stage:
Slipknot
Disturbed
DragonForce
Mastodon


Jägermeister Stage:
Machine Head
Airbourne
Five Finger Death Punch
Walls of Jericho

Hot Topic Stage:
Underoath
Black Tide
Suicide Silence
36 Crazyfists
The Red Chord

Probably the best line-up they've had so far.
Anyways, All the bands were amazing, minus WOJ, and The Red Chord. I don't like them.
Suicide Silence were amazing as always. But my favourite bands there was probably Disturbed. I'd never listend to them much before seeing them live, and it was the first time seeing them live as well. And damn they put on an amazing live show! I'll definitely see them again if they ever come back to Fresno. Slipknot were amazing as usual! DragonForce gave me a headache, but it was kind of lulz watching them.
I'll always remember that day. There lots of vendors there as well, after the bands finished playing they would go to their vendor and sign autographs and take pictures.
The Metal Mulisha freestyle motocross team was there as well, which was very entertaining to watch.
Also, seeing as it was in the middle of July in the middle of California, it was very hot. I should have worn sunscreen. I got sunburnt on my cheeks, nose, and scalp, but it was worth it!
All in all. Epic day.

They haven't come back to Fresno, yet. But I don't really care, the last two line-ups have been shit, like this years is...

Main stage
Korn
Rob Zombie
Lamb of God
Five Finger Death Punch

Mayhem Festival stage
Atreyu
Norma Jean
In This Moment
3 Inches of Blood

Jägermeister stage
Hatebreed
Chimaira
Shadows Fall
Winds of Plague

All fail bands. I suppose Winds of Plague is alright, but meh.

Onto more past shows.
Hmmm....OH!
Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Now THEY put on an amazingly orgasmic show every year. It is now a tradition that I see them every Winter when they tour.
This upcoming Winter shall be my fourth time seeing them. Roll on November/December!
Last year they had a new violinist, and he had such energy! I loved every second of it.
There's been many other past shows that have been amazing, but I can't be arsed to talk about every one of them. So yeah.
Tis all for now!