Writing is Fighting

SXSW Pictures and Audio for "Are Metalheads Smart Enough to be Online?"

I didn't go crazy with  shooting this year. I just didn't feel like fighting the crowds on this trip. Also, still struggling with my new lens, for some strange reason.........

Also, here is the audio recording of  the Panel. Enjoy! 

 

SXSW Day 3 Recap

I've decided not to talk about the "N-Word - Stay Classy, Texas" story.

Anyway, so the panel was on Saturday and it went pretty well. I was proud of my PowerPoint presentation, and the panelists, my homeslices Phil Freeman and Sean Palmerston, Metalsucks.net's Vince Neilstein and Noisecreep / Buzzgrinder's Sean Cannon were fantastic! Thanks again, guys for agreeing to to do this.

Later in the evening, I headed down to check out Profound Lore's showcase at the Valhalla, and it was great. My review of the SXSW Festival (I admit, very metal-ish) is up at Exclaim!, where I talk a bit  about the show.

Chris Bruni is the man. Perhaps I respect his work because as the owner of Profound Lore Records, he cannot seem to ever make a mistake: Every band on his label is so supremely talented, that even if they are musically your cup of tea or not, it is clear that Bruni has an eye for great talent. But also, he's Canadian, making a huge impact on metal worldwide, which I think is pretty cool. the above sideways pic is of this fantastic band on his label, Grayceon, who I have to check out a bit more. Amazing musicians. 

SXSW Day 1 Recap

Shit I'm getting old, but after a 22-hour day, I realized I have more energy than I thought. 

First day was great. It is hot here and I'm probably a tad overdressed, but after getting my pass at the convention centre I went full-tilt. First thing on the schedule - I went to Full Metal Texas at Emo's to catch the last portion of Kvelertak's  set and meet up with my roomie and Hellbound editor, Sean P. 

After that, I went back to the hotel, changed into some comfortable clothes and headed back down to Emo's to catch Trap Them, and YOB. I'd seen Trap Them before and I think I met a couple of the members last year at MDF, and they always put on a high energy show - their drummer is a hoot. 

YOB? That was a fucking religious experience. Whoa. I actually saw them twice yesterday, and both set lists were different with the exception of performing "Burning the Altar." The first set was pretty interesting, as Mike S. (vocals, guitar) is an interesting fella. Really intense (I'll post more pics up at my Flick a bit later). The only thing was is that they were using another band's equipment, and there was waay too much bass coming out of the speakers and it overshadowed Mike's vocals and guitar. This guy is sensual, mystic and eccentric . His physical movements seemed at times to be so umm, physical and in a weird way vunerable that at times I was compelled to look away. He is a phenomenal vocalist and I'm sure that for the youngsters at the first show, they might have been a bet weirded out at first, but the crowd was totally enraptured by his presence.

After meeting up with (Grim) Kim Kelly and Carmelo Española (who both write for Invisible Oranges , among other places) and chatting, Carmelo and I grabbed a bite, sat down on the disgusting Red River sidewalk and later, headed over to Barbarella to catch a showcase, featuring about at least 7-8 bands. There were some good, some bad and since I'm covering the festival for Exclaim! I'll get into the details later. I purposefully hung around to catch the showcase's closers, YOB perform their second set of the day.

Then the coolest thing happened: So Mike S. walks by me and I stopped him and congratulated him on the earlier set. After asking if they were selling their first CD, Elaborations of Carbon ( I was desperately trying to find it online) He said, 'no problem, I'll give you a copy." A few minutes later, he hands me a copy. I was like, fucking awesome! I told him that one of the tracks, "All the Children Forgotten  blew my mind the first time I heard it, and he said, "I'll play it for you tonight."

And they did! I was grinning and singing like crazy and to see them perform it live was unbelievable. I think that made my SXSW trip. The second set was way more crisp and defined, the sound loud but even and heavy as hell. I went up and thanked him afterwards. It is really nice to find out that someone you admired for their musicianship is actually a really nice guy. Doesn't happen that often.

Today: 

I'm going over to the convention centre to catch at least a couple of panels, and then headed over to meet with Phil Freeman to see Pentagram and later, Wormrot.

Then it is over to see Kylesa, Howl, and check out another showcase with this great band, Year of the Dragon. Later, its Crowbar and St. Vitus! Yeah! 

 

 

 

Off to SXSW!

Yippee! (I think)

Heading to Austin to moderate this panel  and to cover the festival for Exclaim! Once I get off the plane, I'll be off and running, trying to cram in as many shows as possible, seeing colleagues and getting my editor / roomie, Sean P from Hellbound to take me to at least one awesome BBQ place - funny, this will be my fourth year there and I have had some of the best Mexican food, but never BBQ........

So this afternoon, it's panels and then Trap Them and YOB and hopefully later in the evening, Fishbone and Wu Tang Clan! There is some time between those two, so I'll probably wander the streets for awhile. 

I'll be back with regular updates! 

Top Concerts and Photos of 2010

 (Okay I popped in a few pics from late 2009, too). The above pics are representative of some of the best shows I attended this year. The first pic is Gus G from Ozzy Osbourne's band, and I took it while reviewing the show for Exclaim in late November. Great show and what was cool about shooting this show was the huge back screen for the thousands of fans who were sitting up in the 'cheap seats' - the ACC is huge. Ozzy played the 'greats' from his solo career and from Black Sabbath, so even if you were not a huge fan, most likely you would be familiar with the majority of the set list.