Whew, finally made it to my final(ish) list of 2017! At the beginning of the year, I set out to go to less concerts, perhaps save some monies, be more well rested...and I ended up going to about the same amount of concerts as 2016. FAIL (but really win)! Seriously though, for 2018, I'm going to be more picky about my concerts. No really, I can stop at any time! BBL looking up concerts.
10) Between the Buried and Me - October 6, 2017 - Catalyst Club - Santa Cruz
2017 marks the 10th anniversary of Colors, BTBAM's best album and one of the best albums of all time. Colors was a landmark album, acting as a stepping stone from their earlier hardcore/metalcore days and into their current prog direction.
When they announced they will be playing Colors in its entirety, I geeked out all by myself like usual. Their choice in venue was not ideal, but I get it, they're hitting up different markets. It was a bit of a drive down to Santa Cruz, but worth the effort.
The sold out show was packed! I was shoulder to shoulder with sweaty metalheads, trying my best to rock out while being crammed like a sardine. Considering how much I just geeksploded about this tour, the energy I felt from the band wasn't quite right. Maybe they were bored of the material, were extra tired that day (touring life is rough), had the flu, etc. It could simply be that they are in a different place than they were 10 years ago.
Overal though, it was still a good show. The crowd was moving to the music and singing along, and musically it was flawless as far as I could tell. Finally hearing Colors performed in its entirety is something I will not forget. Thanks BTBAM!
9) Thundercat - July 15, 2017 - The Independent - San Francisco
Stephen Bruner, AKA Thundercat, was in town opening up for Beck the night before. He soon added a headlining show at the Independent for the day after, and played to a sold out crowd of about 500. There was no real opener, just an awkward dude spinning old soul records. Not even really trying to blend the songs together, just playing old records. I CAN DO THAT.
Once Thundercat took the stage, I was surprised to only see him accompanied by only a drummer and keyboardist. This is when I realized that parts on the album I thought were guitar was Thundercat playing the chords/licks on his six string bass. For about two hours, Thundercat graced us with (in most cases) extended versions of his songs, which included some sick bass shredding, and oddball stage banter in between tunes.
8) Tech N9ne - April 11, 2017 - The UC Theatre - Berkeley
Tech N9ne brought along Brotha Lynch Hung, Krizz Kaliko, Stevie Stone, Ces Cru and G-Mo Skee. With 5 listed openers and an 8PM start time, this looked to be a really long night. Fortunately, all the openers had short 20 minute sets, and Krizz Kaliko performed with Tech N9ne as opposed to being a separate opener.
The highlight of the support acts was Sacramento horrorcore legend Brotha Lynch. I heard about him back in high school, but for one reason or another I never listened to him until now. It's a shame I've waited this long.
Tech N9ne hit the stage about a quarter to 10. Dude seriously gave it his all for just about two hours, running around, doing some crossfit high knees, working up a serious sweat. Krizz Kaliko performed a few of his own songs throughout the show, giving Tech Nina some much deserved breaks. As the set drew to a close, they were dripping sweat and short of breath. Of all the rap hop shows I've seen, Tech N9ne is among the best.
7) Dance With the Dead & Gost - November 15, 2017 - DNA Lounge - San Francisco
This was my first time seeing Dance with the Dead, and my third time seeing Gost (all within one year). Dance With the Dead went from twin ax attack riffage over synthwave beats, to turning the place into da club with knob turny synth/EDM, and then back to the guitars. Their Master of Puppets cover was realy bizarre. Who turns Master of Puppets into a dance song? Overall though, it was a ton of fun, even though their music didn't always match their horror themed image.
For my third time seeing Gost, he decided to change his outfit. Gone is the leather jacket and skull mask, and instead he just looks like an anonymous dark monk thing. He brought a skull on stage as an homage to his previous incanartion. His setlist hasn't changed much from the last time I saw him, but he did play at least a couple new songs, one which had vocals. Despite having no guitars, Gost was the heavier of the two, making it feel almost like a metal show.
This is the type of show where EDM bros and metalheads collide. There were plenty of glow stick glow fingers oonz oonz, mixed with folks in black shirts and long hair. There was both dancing and moshing. A bizarre mix of cultures that was a pleasure to be a part of.
6) Dying Fetus, Cattle Decapitation, Fallujah, Party Cannon, et al (Bay Area Death Fest Day 2) - July 21, 2017 - DNA Lounge - San Francisco
Dying Fetus is a band I've been wanting to see for years, but I wasn't able to make it out to a show for one reason or another. Not long after I bought my ticket, they announced that Cattle Decapitation was also going to play on day 2 and be direct support for Dying Fetus. Cattle Decap are yet another band I have never been able to see for some reason. Everything was coming up Milhouse.
I showed up just in time to catch most of Aethere's set, one of the many local openers. The party really got started when Scotland's Party Cannon took the stage. A couple of them were in board shorts and bright shirts, and threw beach balls into the crowd to open the show.
BADF day 2 was also historic as Alex, the vocalist for local hometown heroes, Fallujah, was parting ways with the band. This was his final show with Fallujah, and it was certainly an emotional night as they ended the set with big hugs. He delivered an excellent performance in front of a very enthusiastic home team.
Cattle Decap was up next as direct support. Unfortunately, the sound was a bit muddy and I had a hard time making out the intricacies. Slightly disappointing, but still a great time. The sounds that come out of Travis Ryan's body are inhuman.
Finally Dying Fetus took the stage at about 12:30am. From the get go they just blasted everyone right in the face with a litany of notes, blast beats, and breakdowns. They were relentless for about an hour, and by the end of it all it was 1:30am. Even though I showed up a bit late, it was a really long night and I was exhausted. All of the bands were excellent, and the crowd's energy was high the entire night despite being a long day.
5) Susanne Sundfør - November 16, 2017 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco
The Norewegian synthpop star's latest album, Music for People in Trouble, does away with the her usual sound. Instead, she has opted to strip everything down to just voice and guitar/piano. As she was touring in support of her latest album, this is exactly the show she brought with her. I bought my ticket before knowing any of this. To be honest, I was a little disappointed to hear that it wouldn't be her typical show.
The majority of the set was made up of new material, but she did include reworked versions of her past hits. Susanne has an incredible voice, and the stripped down show really highlighted her vocal talent. So many times during the show, her vocal performance gave me chills and goosebumps. She absolutely blew me away, and my prior disappointment turned out to be futile.
The only issue was the way thes venue was set up. The bar was technically in another room, but wasn't closed off, so you can hear shaking cocktails in the background while she's pouring her heart out to the audience.
The picture isn't the best angle, with all those stupid heads in the way. There was a sign in the front of venue asking that nobody take pictures. I'm gangsta so I took one anyway.
4) Hammers of Misfortune, Hell Fire, Extremity - April 13, 2017 - SF Eagle - San Francisco
While all of these bands fit comfortably under the metal umbrella, none of the bands sound like each other at all. I don't think it was designed to be this diverse, but was simply made up of all local bands that are metal in some way that said let's play a show together. The venue was also an interesting choice, being primarily an LGBT bar, I had no idea there were concerts here.
Extremity opened up the show with some old school death metal. They are a new band but made up of members of older bay area bands. Solid set by a solid band. Hell Fire was up next, and offered up some cheesy British style heavy metal a la Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It was strange going from brutal to cheeseball, but they put on a very fun show filled with high energy and sweet guitar licks.
Closing out the show was Hammers of Misfortune. They groove hard with their mix of prog and old school psychedelic rock / metal. Just like Extremity, members of Hammers of Misfortunate also play in other bay area bands like VHÖL and Vastum. Not pictured here is Sigrid Sheie, a classically-trained pianist on the keys, showing off her versatility by also playing the cowbell like a boss. Their set was a ton of fun, and my only complaint was that it was too short, clocking in at about an hour.
3) Miles Mosley - May 4, 2017 - Rickshaw Stop - San Francisco
Miles Mosley and the WCGD dropped one of the best albums of the year in January. He toured in support of the album, and came through the Rickshaw Stop for the low low price of $15 (ridiculous).
From beginning to end Miles Mosley and company ripped the place to shreds. His WCGD brethren joined him on the stage, with Cameron Graves on his left and Tony Austin to his right. This was Miles' show, but every member of his band was able to shine.
All of the songs had so much more energy when performed live. The crowd was moving, smiling, and all in all having a great time.
2) Free Salamander Exhibit - March 31, 2017 - Uptown Nightclub - Oakland
Oakland's Free Salamander Exhibit is Sleepytime Gorilla Museum reborn (minus Carla Kihlstedt). Their debut album, Undestroyed, is one of the most forward thinking progressive albums of 2016. They played some shows in support of the album, but I don't think they ever did a full blown tour. There are some bands I will never see simply because they are too small and the distance would be too great. I'm fortunate to be able to live near Free Salamander Exhibit's hometown, as they play local shows often.
They started the show slowly walking through the crowd one member at a time in animal masks (WUT). As each member reached the stage, they each started played and adding additional layers of sound until finally building up to the full band. It was a slow burn, but it was a unique and effective way to kick off the show.
After the opening song, the masks soon came off and they rocked the place for nearly two hours. Like Thundercat, they were able to stretch out their material, as their one and only album is only 50 minutes long. By the end of it, the two hours flew by fast. Shoutout to the old woman with the cane that rocked out for nearly the entire time. I hope that's me when I'm in my golden years.
1) Ed Sheeran - August 2, 2017 - Oakland Arena - Oakland
OMG, Ed Sheeran is so great with his fiery red ginger face and hair. He just stands there in one spot playing that guitar and singing with that wonderful voice of his, tricking everybody in the place into thinking he's a good musician and a good singer. He's truly an angel that walks amongst humanity brightening everyone's day with his presence. He was the number one streamed artist on Spotify so he must be great. This was absolutely the best show of the year, hands down, no question.
Here are the rest of the concerts I went to in 2017.
Perturbator & Gost - Jan 8, 2017 - DNA Lounge
Talib Kweli - Jan 21, 2017 - The UC Theatre
Alcest, The Body, Creepers, Vale - Feb 6, 2017 - Oakland Metro
Architects, Stray From the Path, Make Them Suffer - Mar 16, 2017 - Slim's
Ghost Bath, Astronoid, Ion - Apr 20, 2017 - Thee Parkside
Wrekmeister Harmonies, Worm Ouroborus - Apr 21, 2017 - Elbo Room
King Crimson - Jun 17, 2017 - Fox Theater
Tool - Jun 21, 2017 - SAP Center
Korn, Stone Sour, Babymetal - Jun 22, 2017 - Shoreline Ampitheater
Bruno Mars - Jul 20, 2017 - SAP Center
Maxwell, Raphael Saadiq, Jazmine Sullivan - Oct 8, 2017 - Concord Pavilion
Dream Theater - Oct 25, 2017 - Fox Theater
Ne Obliviscaris, Allegeon, Cormorant - Nov 1, 2017 - Bottom of the Hill
Arch Enemy, Trivium - Nov 28, 2017 - Regency Ballroom
Run the Jewels - Dec 7, 2017 - The UC Theatre
Pig Destroyer, Necrot - Dec 9, 2017 - Oakland Metro