CONCERT REVIEW

*Footage & Photos by Kenny Howell

As I approached the House of Blues it quickly became apparent why this was an all ages show.  The 300-plus crowd that lined up across from Fenways’ Green Monsta was mostly pre-adolescent girls giddy with school yard glee in anticipation of their first concert.

The last thing I want is to be in a room with thousands of screaming little girls but then I thought it is good to see these kids rocking to PARAMORE instead of the manufactured Jonas Brothers or fellow Disney phenom Miley Cyrus.

Lead singer and tween role model HALEY WILLIAMS’ comfort level with her rising stardom was immediately apparent as she and her ensemble confidently tore through the opening “Ignorance,” from the band’s latest release BRAND NEW EYES. Cheerful, spunky and ruthlessly energetic, Williams bounced around stage with infectious enthusiasm.

PARAMORE showcased their musical maturity with new high octane tunes including “Careful” and “Decode” and the stripped away folksy acoustic “Misguided Ghosts.” The new material went over strong and they still create the perfect punk indulgence for mainstream teenagers.

The band dug into their sophomore breakthrough album RIOT! to deliver pop-punk confections like “CrushCrushCrush,” “That’s What You Get” and crowd pleaser “Misery Business” left rebellious tweens salivating for more.

It’s become a visible trend for bands on the indie label Fueled by Ramen to become emo rock stars as evident by Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Gym Class Heroes – and now Tennessee pop-punk act PARAMORE who are finally getting its chance to shine displayed why it deserves to break through the Warped Tour ranks and become a multi-platinum selling act.

Spilling out to Lansdowne Street after the show offered up a flashback to an 8^th grade dance as parents lined up in their cars and on the sidewalk eagerly awaiting for their kids to exit after a night of candy-coated good clean fun.

SETLIST:

• Brand New Eyes Tour Intro
• Ignorance
• I Caught Myself
• That’s What You Get
• Looking Up
• Emergency
• Crushcrushcrush
• Turn It Off
• Here We Go Again
• Careful
• Conspiracy
• Where The Lines Overlap
• Decode
• Miracle (Outro)
• Misguided Ghosts
• Misery Business
• Brick By Boring Brick

For more information  visit PARAMORE

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

WBRU-FM celebrated its 40^th anniversary Saturday night at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI and they invited a couple friends – CAGE THE ELEPHANT and SILVERSUN PICK UPS.

Kentucky-bred CAGE THE ELEPHANT kicked off the festivities with an hour long set and they kept true to their Southern roots with bluegrass twang and gritty undertones. Lead singer MATT SHULTZ was in constant motion with his maniacal vigor and magnetism and I cannot recall seeing a band rock so enthusiastically as this five piece.

They kicked out tunes from their self-titled debut including the bass-propelled groove of “In One Ear,” the instantly addictive “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” and the surge-n-stomp single “Back Against The Wall.”

CAGE THE ELEPHANT displayed enough raw talent and passion to suggest they can outlast many of the musical trends.

I was anxious to see SILVERSUN PICKUPS because SWOON is definitely one of my favorite albums of 2009 and I was curious to see how it would translate live.

The set opened with “There’s No Secrets This Year” and included the Pixies-ish “Well Thought Out Twinkles,” and the overdosed treble and layers of distortion of “Panic Switch.” The highlight of the set was “Catch and Release” one of the album’s finest moments – both lyrically and sonically.

SSPU’s played like a melodic wall of noise with a surge of guitar squalls highlighted by the beautiful and sometimes haunting harmonies of bass player NIKKI MONNINGER. I will admit I often thought that BRIAN AUBERT ’s vocals on the CD might were overdubbed to achieve his sound but after seeing them live there is no doubt those  robust  and atmospheric rousing vocals are legit.

It was apparent that the majority of the sold-out was here to see the SSPU. Often the breaks between songs were extended to accommodate all of the rambunctious applause and the band seemed primed to adore every minute of it.

For more information  visit SILVERSUN PICKUPS & CAGE THE ELEPHANT

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

During a stellar 12-song, 80-minute set, THEM CROOKED VULTURES went on to prove they are one of the rarest and tightest units in rock. Nowadays, the term “supergroup” gets thrown around like a groupie at a Poison concert but to call THEM CROOKED VULTURES a supergroup would be a disservice.

The group includes rock alumni JOSH HOMME (Queens of The Stone Age/Eagles of Death Metal/Kyuss) on guitar and lead vocals, DAVE GROHL (Foo Fighters/Nirvana) on drums, JOHN PAUL JONES (Led Zeppelin) on bass/organ and longtime Homme affiliate ALAIN JOHANNES (Queens of The Stone Age/Eleven) on rhythm guitar.

TCV music has been held in anonymity. No tracks have been leaked and the only samples that are available are on the bands YouTube channel.  But even those are only 30 second clips and even their MySpace page music player is empty. My only regret is that I listened to several bootlegs before the show. In hindsight, I think I would have preferred to discover the music live.

GROHL was astonishing! With his brute force and finesse he was invigorating and exhausting to observe at close immediacy. He played long and complicated fills between hi-hat, snare and floor tom without ever losing the songs’ propulsive drive. It was apparent why JOSH HOMME chose him to anchor the finest QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE album, “Songs for the Deaf” (2002).

HOMME handled lead vocals and guitar laying the foundation with hard edges and playing precision just as he does in QOTSA. And JOHN PAUL JONES, whose music with LED ZEPPELIN is an obvious touchstone for both his bandmates, was a huge presence and match for GROHL’s power and a counterpoint for Homme’s melodies. They sounded fresh, invigorating, tight and just plain nasty.

Also, if you expecting to hear any material from FOO FIGHTERS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE or LED ZEPPELIN you will sadly be disappointed.  TCV only play material from their forthcoming album and they do not return for a trendy encore.

As history has shown, most supergroups usually don’t last usually last past their debut album but at least this particular one is off to a exciting start.  A debut album has been completed but a release date has yet to be confirmed.

SETLIST:

• Elephants
• Dead End Friends
• Scumbag Blues
• Gunman
• Caligulove
• Bandolier
• Highway One *First time performed live
• Interlude /w ludes
• Mind Eraser No Chaser
• New Fang
• Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I
• Warsaw

For more information  visit THEM CROOKED VULTURES

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

*Footage & Photos by Kenny Howell

JOE PERRY has not been shy about letting his feelings be known regarding how irritated that AEROSMITH has been sidelined due to STEVEN TYLER’s tour injury. Rather than sit idle, PERRY has been keeping busy promoting his forthcoming solo album, HAVE GUITAR, WILL TRAVEL.

The new incarnation of the JOE PERRY PROJECT debuted is new lineup and offered its first preview of new material on Sunday, September 20^th at Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, MA. The band includes German singer HAGEN, found completely by chance on YouTube by PERRY’s wife, bassist DAVID HULL who was with PERRY since the 80s’, drummer BEN TILESTON who plays with PERRY’s sons band TAB THE BAND, organist PAUL SANTO who has performed with Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Ozzy.

The black-leather glade rock and roll hall of famer hit the stage with the title track from the first JOE PERRY PROJECT album, “Let the Music Do the Talking” then pulling from the AEROSMITH catalog he offered up such classics as, “Combination,” “Dream On,” and “Walk This Way” along with few covers including Fleetwood Mac’s “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight.”

The band had a light moment with a reggae version of “Dream On”; Perry provided the just-greasy-enough rift and some scorching slide work on Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man,” from the solo Perry album and Malden’s own Charlie Farren infectious rocker “East Coast, West Coast.”

While AEROSMITH’s career seems to be in a state of disarray with frontman STEVEN TYLER, PERRY made no mention of any revived Aerosmith tour, and hinted at the JOE PERRY PROJECT getting ready to go on the road, he encored with a smoldering version of the Neil Young classic “Rockin in the Free World.”

Perry will rejoin AEROSMITH in November to play a series of rescheduled dates Hawaii, after which the future of the Toxic Twins seems unclear.

SET LIST:

• Let The Music Do The Talking
• Walkin The Dog
• Sombody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonight
• Long Way to Go
• No Surprise
• Slingshot
• Do you Wonder
• Dream On
• Scare the Cat
• Vigilante Man
• Rockin Train
• Train Kept A Rollin
• Combination
• Walk This Way
• Rockin in the Free World

For more information  visit JOE PERRY

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

THE CULT stopped at the House of Blues in Boston on Saturday, September 12^th for their highly anticipated “LOVE” LIVE TOUR.

I am starting to enjoy these cliché concerts where a band plays an album in its entirety because you can time your bathroom breaks and beer runs around the songs that you do not really care for, but with THE CULT, choosing a song you do not care for is a challenge.

The LOVE album is regarded as THE CULT’s paramount album – from the unmistakable opening notes of “Nirvana”, through BILLY DUFFY’s wah-wah chording guitar on “Phoenix”, to the velvet vocals of IAN ASTBURY’s on “Black Angel.” THE CULT gave birth to an album that still resonates 25 years later and it marks the band’s evolution from its Goth roots to a lean-mean arena rock machine.

THE CULT delivered an extravagant production, with theatrical effects, using state-of-the art video technology. The back of the stage was encompassed by a movie screen that displayed colorful expansions of 60’s psychedelia leaving me to wonder if I was watching ASTBURY front THE CULT or THE DOORS. It complimented the chill vibe and rain that had been falling outside non-stop for two days.

I have been seeing THE CULT since 1988 and four times within the last four years and this show was definitely the highlight – it sounded phenomenal, and reminded me how truly great LOVE is, an album that usually gets sidelined to ELECTRIC and SONIC TEMPLE.

To coincide with the band’s “LOVE” LIVE TOUR, they will be releasing two different editions of the album in September.

SETLIST:

In addition to playing the complete LOVE album they played the following:

• Electric Ocean
• Wildflower
• Sun King
• Rise
• Firewoman
• Dirty Little Rockstar
• Love Removal Machine

For more information visit THE CULT

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

STRYPER kicked off their 45-city 25^th ANNIVERSARY TOUR in Boston to a packed House of Blues on Friday, September 11^th in support of their latest release and best effort to date, MURDER BY PRIDE.

I guess you could get away with calling it a hometown show for the native Orange County, California band since they rehearse and record on Cape Cod which is also the home of lead singer MICHAEL SWEET.

Audience banter was kept to a minimum aside from SWEET talking about the bands roots in Boston and playing for the first time in 1985 at the now defunct Channel — “We have so many ties here. We are pretty much based here. We are not from Boston but I live on Cape Cod  were we rehearse. Should I give you guys the address? You can come down for coffee.”

The show offered the first glance at the new stage clothes by designer Ray Brown who created the classic outfits for TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL and IN GOD WE TRUST.  I was a little apprehensive about seeing color coordinated stage outfits but they were toned down from previous designs with a modern flair and edge.

When you are considered a 80’s band there is a thin line between being timeless and being dated but STRYPER proved throughout their 90-minute set that they stand on the timeless side of the line.

The show launched to a pitch-perfect intro of “Soldiers Under Command” by SWEET who then handed the vocal duties off to the crowd and they did not miss a syllable. Working out the rust was still evident as the band missed the cue to launch into “Soldiers Under Command.”

After blasting through tunes from SOLDIERS UNDER COMMAND and THE YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK — “The Rock That Makes Me Roll,” “Loud N’ Clear,” “Reach out” — they chipped away at the  critically acclaimed and   impressive newbie’s, “Murder By Pride,” and “4 Leaf Clover” frequently looking at one another  to anticipate the myriad mid-song changes.

The usual suspects filled in the remaining holes including the delicate and melancholy classic “Honestly,” “The Way,” and “To Hell With The Devil.” One of the night’s most exhilarating moments was the guest appearance by TOM SCHOLZ and GARY PIHL of BOSTON for a cover of, “Piece of Mind.”

Rarely has a band been unfairly pilloried as STRYPER and while truths in music may depend on who’s listening, STRYPER proved that even after 25 years in the music industry, as long as you can still bring it live you really don’t have  to worry about what others are saying.

For more information visit STRYPER

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER