Posted in Whathaveyou on February 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
With Pentagram at the top of its thus-far bill playing what will reportedly be their final Swiss show ever on a retirement tour that will also stop through Desertfest Berlin 2024 this Spring, the Sound of Liberation-associated Up in Smoke Festival has made the first lineup announcement for its 10th anniversary edition. Set for Oct. 4-6, it is at the spearhead of what will almost certainly be a busy month on the European underground touring circuit. And as one expects news to follow shortly from other October festivals throughout Western Europe — Keep it Low in Munich, Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp, Høstsabbat in Norway that I’ve been fortunate enough to go to a couple times, and so on — knowing that the likes of Truckfighters, Monolord, Lowrider, Greenleaf and Slomosa will be out on the road, at least the latter two of them behind new records, warms the heart in February’s drear. Will I be there? Probably not, barring a miracle or some kind of grant that doesn’t exist, but someone will be, and that’s rad enough of a thought to get me through the end of this sentence, so I’ll take it.
Wonder if we’ll see new stuff from Gnome this year, and I think Messa were beginning the process this winter of their next LP. October is far enough away that just about anything can happen between now and then, and I guess that’s part of the fun in posting these things in the first place. Thanks for talking that one through with me.
And while we’re here, happy 10th anniversary to Up in Smoke, and many happy returns.
Here’s the latest:
⚡️UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL 2024 – FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT⚡️
Hey Smokers,
Today, we are thrilled to announce the first bunch of amazing bands for the 10th-anniversary of our beloved Up In Smoke Festival!🖤
None other than Bobby Liebling and his crew in Pentagram will be joining us to celebrate their last show in Switzerland ever! 🔥
So great to see our Scandinavian friends Truckfighters, Monolord, Slomosa, Greenleaf and Lowrider joining the madness with exclusive Switzerland shows.
In addition to this, we are introducing the dark, haunting sounds of the female-fronted doom outfits Messa and Wolvennest, along with the experimental rockers Djinn, Belgium’s one and only Gnome, and the UK riffmasters Psychlona.
Up in Smoke takes place near Basel and Switzerland offers some excellent bands as well! Check out Tar Pond, Preamp Disaster, Norna, No Mute and Glue.🇨🇭
Make no mistake, this was just the beginning!👀
Up in Smoke 2024 will be a massive heavy rockin’ birthday bash and the stoner party of the year!🪩
Line Up:
Pentagram *last Swiss show ever* Truckfighters Monolord Lowrider Greenleaf Slomosa Messa Wolvennest Gnome Psychlona Djiin Tar Pond Preamp Disaster Norna No Mute Glue & many more
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Am I taking this entire Desertfest Berlin 2024 announcement as an excuse to put on Ruff Majik‘s Elektrik Ram yet again even though I was playing it approximately 40 hours ago while writing the best-of-2023 post? You bet your ass I am. 40 hours is about as long as I’ve made it all year. Less if you count hearing the songs in your head when the music isn’t actually on.
Elsewhere here, check out Masters of Reality confirmed for both flagship Desertfests. Another record might be too weird for planet earth, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. And I’ll note that this is the first I’m hearing of a farewell tour from Pentagram to take place in 2024/2025, but apparently that’s going to be a thing. Call it a low-level surprise? Nobody’s gonna say Bobby Liebling didn’t put in his time, even if you only count since the band got going again in 2009, never mind the better part of four decades prior.
I’ll be expecting tour announcements from Mondo Generator and Ruff Majik — maybe they’ll be out together; that would kind of rule as a pairing — Daevar, Pentagram, Arthur Brown, etc., and will post accordingly when I see what I see.
From the PR wire:
DESERTFEST BERLIN confirms PENTAGRAM, MASTERS OF REALITY, MONDO GENERATOR & many more new band names for 2024!
Desertfest Berlin has announced new names for their eclectic 2024-edition, and confirms iconic PENTAGRAM (last Berlin show ever!), MASTERS OF REALITY, THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN, MONDO GENERATOR, RUFF MAJIK, DAEVAR, APTERA, ZAHN, ZERRE and EINSEINSEINS! Get ready for THE riff party of the year – aside a wild and high-class blend of finest psychedelia, stoner rock, doom, desert punk blues, sludge and all that is metal, this is also going to be your last chance to see PENTAGRAM live in Berlin on their final Farewell Tour in 2024/2025!
Desertfest Berlin will take place between May 24 – 26, 2024 at Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater. Tickets, that would also make some perfect Xmas gift, are on sale at: www.desertfest-tickets.de
AMENRA | OSEES | PENTAGRAM MASTERS OF REALITY | ACID KING | BRANT BJORK TRIO THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN | TAMIKREST PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS | MONDO GENERATOR MONKEY3 | SIENA ROOT | DŸSE |EARTH TONGUE DIRTY SOUND MAGNET | THRONEHAMMER | RUFF MAJIK | FULL EARTH NEÀNDER | APTERA | ZAHN | DAEVAR | ZERRE EINSEINSEINS | PRAISE THE PLAGUE & MANY MORE
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Scott Reagers, Ron Holzner, Karl Agell, Lothar Keller, Henry Vasquez and Victor Griffin are Legion of Doom. Wow, huh? I’d be interested to hear a collective count of the members of this band’s years of experience. Griffin started Death Row in 1980. Reagers goes back to the ’80s with Saint Vitus. Holzner joined Trouble in ’86. Karl Agell sang for Corrosion of Conformity circa Blind in 1991. Vasquez started out in Archie Bunker in 1997. And Keller started Sacred Dawn in 2005 and was founding guitarist for The Skull beginning in 2012. That’s arguably 150 years of doom and metal from these guys. A collection of lifers.
So you’ve got the metal-leaning style of Lothar Keller sharpening edges around the unmatched-in-doom tonality of Victor Griffin, two singers and they’re Karl Agell and Scott Reagers, Holzner locked in and smiling on bass while Vasquez is swinging away on drums? That’s a pretty serious fucking band. Every one of them a master at what they do.
And they’re gonna do a record? And play songs from everybody’s catalog? Shit that sounds good. I hope it works. They’re playing the not-to-be-confused-with Legions of Metal fest in Chicago and Hellfest in France in June. Doom on:
LEGION OF DOOM: Metal/Doom Supergroup Featuring Current And Former Members Of The Skull, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Corrosion Of Conformity, Pentagram, And More Solidifies Lineup; First Festival Dates Announced
Have you ever wanted to hear all the heavy in one place? From its origins onward?
After the untimely passing of Eric Wagner (Trouble, The Skull), one of doom metal’s most notable and esteemed singers and songwriters, The Skull bassist and bandleader, Ron Holzner, contemplated long and hard on whether it would be possible to carry on. Nine months and a lot of soul searching later, an idea was born.
Recalls Holzner, “I decided I want to honor the memory of Eric by playing songs that he crafted. I want his spirit to become eternal through his words and melody. And I also want to play songs from the catalogs of everyone involved.”
Alongside guitarist Lothar Keller (The Skull, Sacred Dawn) and drummer Henry Vasquez (The Skull, Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun), Holzner decided to reach out to his longtime comrade, vocalist Karl Agell (Corrosion Of Conformity, Blind, Leadfoot, Lie Heavy) as well as vocalist Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) and riff master general, guitarist Victor Griffin (Death Row, Pentagram, Place Of Skulls). And so LEGION OF DOOM has come to exist with an all-star lineup of doom’s most prestigious figureheads, here to share their ultimate heavy truth, taking the genre from what is known into uncharted territories.
Comments Keller, “Continuing The Skull in some kind of form seems like the right thing to do. LEGION OF DOOM is a perfect way to continue bringing doom metal to the fans! There is new music to finish and it’s important for us to follow through with bringing it out for everyone to hear.”
“This is gonna be a monster,” adds Vasquez.
“I have always gravitated towards heavier music. I have been involved with making it for over four decades,” reflects Agell. “When Ron asked me to join him in carrying on the doom metal tradition that he was part of and established first with Trouble and then The Skull, there was only one path forward. It’s been a great honor to sing Eric Wagner’s words and melodies and I truly look forward to performing songs from the massive legacy of all the members of LEGION OF DOOM.”
“It’s a great combination of experience and lineage with everyone involved,” says Griffin. “Though I prefer to avoid hype… regardless, it’s gonna be heavy!”
“Ron approached me and asked if I would be interested in participating in first a tribute to Eric Wagner who was a dear friend of mine and then a new musical adventure,” recalls Reagers. “We both concluded that we were not done with metal. How could I say, ‘no?!’ Karl, whom I respect and admire, adding his incredible vocals to this ensemble… Victor Griffin! My dear friend and bandmate Henry, the great Lothar Keller, and Ron whom I have known forever… This venture is gonna be fun. I look forward to working with these gentlemen!”
Concludes Holzner, “We are all seasoned veterans of the music business and prefer to let our music do the talking… And our music is gonna be speaking loudly! All the fans and bands…We are family. Combined, we are all the Legions Of Doom!”
LEGION OF DOOM will make its debut appearance at Legions Of Metal Fest in Chicago this June before heading overseas for a performance at Hellfest in France with more live dates to be announced in the weeks to come.
LEGION OF DOOM: 6/03/2023 Legions Of Metal Fest @ Reggies Live – Chicago, IL 6/18/2023 Hellfest – Clisson, FR
LEGION OF DOOM: Ron Holzner – bass Lothar Keller – guitars Henry Vasquez – drums Karl Agell – vocals Scott Reagers – vocals Victor Griffin – guitars
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
After celebrating five decades of Pentagram with a short stint of shows earlier in 2022, the band’s founding frontman, Bobby Liebling, will head to Texas in January to join forces with members of Sanctus Bellum, Blues Funeral, Doomstress — and a ton of other bands those dudes are in; Haserot in the case of bassist Ben Yaker and guitarist Maurice Eggenschwiler, James Rivera’s Metalwave in the case of Eggenschwiler and fellow guitarist Jan Kimmel, The Scourge in the case of drummer Alex Erhardt, etc. — under the banner of Bobby Liebling and The Rivetheads, playing rare Pentagram and Bedemon tunes and who even knows what else.
Liebling is an ever-divisive figure at this point, but someone without whose influence American doom wouldn’t be what it is. Interestingly he seems to have taken more of a reputation-tarnishing from punching his mom than the allegations of sexual harassment on tour, but any way you look at it, the story isn’t pretty. Nonetheless, dude’s lived at least eight lifetimes in his one, and with the likes of Fostermother, Stone Nomads, Mr. Plow and Bridge Farmers in opening slots for these two shows, it seems like good times will be had one way or the other. I’m not justifying anybody’s behavior or saying I support it in any way, but 50 years in doom later, Bobby Liebling is still relevant to the genre and there aren’t a lot of people you can say that about.
Announcement comes courtesy of the PR wire:
Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling to Play Solo Shows Highlighting Rare Material
Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling announces two solo shows in Texas this January. Playing under the name Bobby Liebling and the Rivetheads, the singer will play a set of deep cuts and rare gems from throughout his storied career, including songs from both the Pentagram and Bedemon catalogs. Most of these songs have rarely, if ever, been played live previously. Joining Liebling for these shows will be a Houston-based backing band featuring members of Doomstress, Sanctus Bellum, and Blues Funeral. These shows promise to be an event that fans in attendance will not soon forget.
Bobby Liebling and the Rivetheads
Fri. Jan 27, 2023 – Houston, TX, Black Magic Social Club Feat. Fostermother, Mr. Plow, Stone Nomads Event page:https://fb.me/e/4bTU3bF9i
Sat. Jan 28, 2023 – Austin, TX, The Lost Well Feat. Bridgefarmers, 1 more TBA Event page:https://fb.me/e/30dxuJhyZ
Bobby Liebling and The Rivetheads: Bobby Liebling – Vocals Jan Kimmel – Guitar Maurice Eggenschwiler – Guitar Ben Yaker – Bass Alex Erhardt – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I’m not going to attempt to invalidate anyone’s feelings about Pentagram or their founding frontman Bobby Liebling. Not gonna do it. Although it seemed to be the reports of his having punched his mother that actually got him the most flack over recent years, there were prior allegations of sexual harassment on tour and while doom as a genre is pretty conservative, he’s about as close as I’ve seen anyone come to being ‘canceled’ in any form of underground heavy, with maybe one or two exceptions.
So I’m not looking for drama in posting about the band. If you think dude is a scumbag, maybe you’re right. I don’t really know him beyond his reputation as an addict, his undeniable charisma on stage. We’ve never hung out, in other words. But Pentagram are a band whose influence spans generations and continues to set riffers on a doomly course, and that’s not nothing. Lots of famous artists who’ve made significant aesthetic contributions are arguably unworthy of public adoration. If you put Liebling in that category or you don’t, to be perfectly honest I don’t have the energy to fight you either way.
I’ve had a chat or two with Greg Turley though over the years, and “Minnesota” Pete Campbell is a good guy. I don’t really know Matt Goldsborough, but he can sure play. So whatever. Not trying to trigger anybody here — and yeah, I mean that — but a 50th anniversary of a band’s existence, even if that band is long, long, long removed from its original incarnation and has had long, long, long periods of inactivity in that time, isn’t nothing. This is me noting it.
Dates came from social media:
In honor of the band’s 50th Anniversary, heavy metal pioneers PENTAGRAM return to the stage for a handful of select live performances!
You are cordially invited to come celebrate over a Half A Century of doom, hard rock and heavy metal alongside these living legends. The first string of performances break the band’s two and a half year hiatus and pledge to cover fan favorites from the past five decades.
Conceived on All Hallows Eve of 1971 by vocalist / songwriter Bobby Liebling and fellow hard rocker and horror fan Geof O’Keefe, the band had their first rehearsal on Christmas Night of the same year.
Secure your attendance now and partake in this historic soiree in one or more of the fine cities below. Further details and appearances will be revealed over the next days and weeks. Tickets may be obtained on our “Events” page: https://www.facebook.com/pentagramusa/events/
US Dates: June 7 – Mechanicsburg PA @ Lovedraft’s brewing June 8 – Boston MA @ Brighton music hall June 9 – Portland ME @ Genos June 10 – Brooklyn NY @ Sovereign June 11 – New Haven CT @ State House June 12 – Frederick MD @ cafe 611 w/ Bloodshot
Pentagram: Bobby Liebling, Greg Turley, Pete Campbell, Matt Goldsborough
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
What started out in 2009 as a limited CDR from Bobby Liebling’s Ram Family is now being given the moniker Bobby Liebling & Dave Sherman Basement Chronicles and released under the title Nite Owl on LP and CD through Svart Records. If you recall the Liebling documentary Last Days Here (review here), some of this music was featured. It was pretty raw then and is now as well, but you know, you bring together two of Maryland/D.C. doom’s most celebrated figures in Sherman and Liebling — not to mention Gary Isom and Russ Strahan, who both also add guitar and songwriting — there’s going to be some manner of continued interest.
Liebling earlier this year released the debut from The Limit, also through Svart. He’s about as close to ‘canceled’ as I’ve seen anyone in the doom community come — if the sexual-harassment-on-tour allegations didn’t do it, the assault on his mother seemed to — but remains a figurehead in Chesapeake heavy, and so yeah, putting this stuff out makes sense. Don’t be surprised if Pentagram makes a comeback either. That’s how it goes.
Release here is Oct. 29. Info follows:
Nite Owl by Bobby Liebling and Dave Sherman Basement Chronicles
Nite Owl by Bobby Liebling and Dave Sherman Basement Chronicles is a set of doom bangers, fuzz rockers and meditative late night boogie finally made available to a wider audience.
In the early years of the new millennium doom metal legend Bobby Liebling was going through a quieter period after the Pentagram lineup that had brought us the album Show ‘Em How had disbanded. Dave Sherman, Liebling’s longtime friend and a renowned doom metal musician (Earthride, Spirit Caravan) started hanging out with Bobby more regularly and eventually the duo decided it’s time to record something and see what it would bring. “After having crashed my car”, Sherman recounts, “I was regularly packing my 4 track into a backpack, saddling up on my iron horse and riding over in the dead of night to visit Bobby. He was in sore spirits and solitary at the time so I’d started going over to keep him company, thumb through his record collection, talk music and party. These hang sessions inspired us both, so I ended up writing some riffs. With the lights of the recorder lit, these night songs effortlessly flowed out of us and were chronicled in one take.”
The Nite Owl album is the first time these recordings, a snippet of which can be heard in the cult classic documentary Last Days Here, are made available officially apart from CD-r “I Plead The Fifth” of which just a handful of copies were made by the artists. The Svart version is also remastered and partially remixed at Noise For Fiction studios, for a slightly more amplified and less lo-fi experience.
Tracklisting: I’m Takin’ No More (Liebling / Isom) Drop The Gun (Liebling / Sherman) You’re Like The Wind (Liebling) All Lit Up (Liebling / Sherman) Last Call (Liebling / Sherman) Space Marshall (Liebling / Sherman) Sweet Street Cheater (Liebling / Sherman) Nite Owl (Liebling / Sherman) South Of The Swamp (Liebling / Strahan)
Lineup: Russ Strahan – Guitars (lead, slide) Dave Sherman – Guitars (rhythm), Bass, Drums, Percussion Gary Isom – Guitars (rhythm, harmony) Bobby Liebling – Vocals, Guitars (lead, rhythm), Bass, Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 10th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
SonicBlast Fest announced its 2021 edition was being postponed at the end of the month, and already they’re turning around and making a first announcement for 2022. That’s kind of comforting. Some of these acts — looking at you, Psychlona — have been waiting to play the Portugal-based festival since being announced for 2020 — but barring disaster, there’s a reasonable expectation that 2022 might be a return year, so in addition to them, SonicBlast Fest 2022 is rolling out the formidable likes of Green Lung, Electric Wizard, Pentagram, Weedeater, 1000mods, The Machine, Samavayo, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, Tia Carrera, Slift, and a ton of others with more to come. If you’re going to do a thing, get in there and do it.
Tickets are on sale now, or if you’ve already got them either for 2020 or 2021, they’ll carry over. 2020 was supposed to be my year to hit this fest, as well as a whole bunch of others. So it goes. If you make it to Âncora for the three-dayer next August, you go with my respect and admiration, and no shortage of jealousy.
Lineup info follows here, as per socials:
Come fanatics, come to the sabbath
We’re totally psyched to announce Electric Wizard, Weedeater, Pentagram (official), 1000mods, W.I.T.C.H We Intend To Cause Havoc, Night Beats, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Meatbodies, SLIFT, The Devil And The Almighty Blues, BALA, Mythic Sunship, GREEN LUNG, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Psychlona, Toxic Shock, The Machine, Tia Carrera, The Goners, Samavayo, Rosy Finch, We Hunt Buffalo and 24/7 DIVA HEAVEN to SonicBlast Fest 2022.
*** more to be announced soon***
SonicBlast Fest 2022 11, 12 and 13th August Praia da Duna dos Caldeirões Âncora, Portugal
Tickets bought for the 2021 edition are automatically valid for 2022.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
The enduring legacy of Blue Cheer — who did no less than shepherd the transition between the ’60s rock and the heavy ’70s, setting a significant blueprint for the latter in terms of tone and bluesy approach — need not be recounted here. Along with the likes of Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and others who took a more volatile turn on the era’s psychedelia and volume push, they were a pivotal act and the work they did in their original run from 1966-1972, as well as in various periods thereafter, continues to resonate, with 1968’s Vincebus Eruptum and 1969’s OutsideInside (discussed here) rightly considered landmarks in the aforementioned temporal and stylistic shift. In a word, they were “important.” They mattered.
There have been plenty of Blue Cheer covers along the way, from artists across the globe, but as regards tribute albums, 1999’s Blue Explosion: A Tribute to Blue Cheer (also discussed here) stands in singular testament to the band’s affect on underground heavy rock and roll and doom. Issued by Italy’s Black Widow Records, it was 16 songs from 15 separate artists, totaling about 78 minutes of material with the following tracklisting:
1. Pentagram, “Doctor Please”
2. Internal Void, “Parchment Farm”
3. Hogwash, “Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger”
4. Thumlock, “Out of Focus”
5. Natas, “Ride with Me”
6. Fireball Ministry, “Fortunes”
7. Norrsken, “Pilot”
8. Garybaldi, “Fresh Fruit & Iceburgs”
9. Rise and Shine, “Sun Cycle”
10. Wicked Minds, “Just a Little Bit”
11. Standarte, “Sandwich”
12. Space Probe Taurus, “Second Time Around”
13. Drag Pack, “Come and Get It”
14. Vortice Cremisi, “I’m the Light”
15. Ufomammut, “Peace of Mind”
16. Pentagram, “Feathers From Your Tree”
Obviously a few immediate standout names in there. First (and last) is Pentagram, who open and close the proceedings with “Doctor Please” and “Feathers From Your Tree” — two choice cuts as regards the Blue Cheer catalog. It ain’t “Summertime Blues,” which is probably Blue Cheer‘s most known single, but you’ll notice no one takes that on, and that seems like a purposeful decision on the part of the label in terms of staying away from the obvious move. Either way, as regards Pentagram, it’s important to consider the timing. This isn’t Pentagram in 1985 or even in 2009. Victor Griffin is nowhere to be found. This is many years before Sean “Pellet” Pelletier would take over as frontman Bobby Liebling‘s manager/caretaker, and despite the best and noble efforts of Joe Hasselvander handling drums, guitar and bass, Liebling sounds like a human being in the throes of a well-documented heroin addiction. Pentagram were signed to Black Widow at the time, and in 1999 they issued Review Your Choices, which was followed in 2001 by Sub-Basement, and if you know those records, they sound like rough years. You can hear that here too.
Highlights, however, include early-Ufomammut‘s psychedelic rendition of “Peace of Mind,” Internal Void paying simultaneous tribute to Blue Cheer and Cactus with “Parchment Farm,” the shimmering proto-proto-metal of Sweden’s Norrsken — the predecessor that birthed both Witchcraft and Graveyard — doing “Pilot” from 1970’s The Original Human Being, Fireball Ministry‘s “Fortunes” and Rise and Shine‘s “Sun Cycle.” Add to that list Argentina’s Natas, who would soon enough be known as Los Natas, doing a rare song in English with “Ride with Me,” since as far as I’m concerned the guitar tone there is worth whatever price of admission the secondary market might be charging for the disc. If you ever question why I’ll listen to anything Sergio Ch. ever puts out, ever, ever, ever and forever, just listen to that guitar and you’ll have your answer as to how that loyalty was earned.
Further, the fuzz blast of Wicked Minds‘ “Just a Little Bit” and the rawness of Drag Pack‘s “Come and Get It” offer good times to fill out the second half of the disc. These, along with the ’90s post-grunge doom roll of Vortice Cremisi‘s “I’m the Light” and the sure tone of Thumlock earlier on, mean that more than just the bigger names on Blue Explosionhave something to offer. There’s a lot to dig, and yeah, some of it is pretty uneven in terms of relative volume and production-style changes from one band to the next — going from Wicked Minds to Standarte is notable, as is Thumlock to Natas, but if you take it as a collection of artists coming together on their own terms to celebrate the legacy of one of heavy rock and roll’s formative acts — i.e., if you take it for what it is — Blue Explosion is both a solid listen and worthy mission.
In my mind, it’s always paired with the 1999 Freedoom Records tribute to Trouble, Bastards Will Pay (discussed here), which I bought around the same time, and which also features Rise and Shine and Norrsken. The latter of course are of particular note because of the paucity of material they actually released — a few demos between 1996 and 1997 and a single in 1999 — and the legacy they cast across Sweden and the rest of Europe in the members’ igniting the continent’s vintage-rock movement. That is an influence that continues to spread, and while Blue Explosion might feature still-active and still-influential bands like Pentagram and Ufomammut and Fireball Ministry, as well as others, the opportunity to chase down output from Norrsken is itself an appeal for the disc as a whole.
I was fortunate enough to see Blue Cheer on what would be their final run as they supported their 2007 release, What Doesn’t Kill You…, which was the same era captured on their 2009 DVD Rocks Europe (review here) — I think the Rockpalast performance is on YouTube at this point, but get the DVD for the bonus interviews with Dickie Peterson, as his stories about Janis Joplin and Grateful Dead are nothing short of amazing — and though of course it wouldn’t have been the same as seeing them some 40 years earlier, it was a chance to relish in and pay homage to the legacy of a crucial band. They were, I can say without reservation, loud as hell. Everything The Rolling Stones were never brave enough to do more than hint at being.
Blue Explosion: A Tribute to BlueCheer isn’t the same kind of experience, of course, but it’s the same impulse, paying homage to the legacy. Whether you dig in for the academic appeal, curiosity, or just to hear some unfamiliar takes on familiar riffs, I hope you enjoy.
Thanks for reading.
—
Xmas wasn’t bad. The Pecan learned the word “presents” and how to open same, and he liked the stuffed Pete the Cat and Little Blue Truck and various other such and sundry things — mostly trucks — we and others in my and The Patient Mrs.’ respective family branches got him, so that’s a win. Dude has plenty, plenty, plenty to keep him occupied. The Patient Mrs.’ sister and mother, as well as our niece and nephew on that side, stayed an extra day as well, and my sister’s oldest son came back yesterday to play video games — ace call on my part to tell the CT branch of the family to bring the Nintendo Switch — and my mother, sister, her husband and other nephew came over last night for pizza and leftovers, and it was great having everyone around. There’s a room in this house — the room I’m in now, as it happens — that’s pretty much made for hosting, and I like hosting. And I think The Patient Mrs. does too. So it works out. I dread the holidays. I really do. Got off relatively light, and got a new coffee grinder and mug to boot. So yeah.
New Year’s is next, which means nothing to me except getting used to writing 2020 instead of 2019, which usually takes at least a month, then The Patient Mrs. is going away to a conference in Puerto Rico for a couple days in January — though she’ll be working, I suspect she’ll find the relative change in climate somewhat restorative; at least that’s my hope — and I’ll be on solo duty with Pecan: Toddlerian. Dude and I spent plenty of days on our own this semester as his mom settled into her new job, so I’m not really nervous about it or anything. I’ll be tired. Big change.
I’m gonna punch out in a minute, but a couple quick things:
— The Quarterly Review was originally going to be next week. I’m pushing it back a week. It’ll start Jan. 6.
— There may be a new Gimme Radio show next Friday? I’m not sure yet.
— Going to see Clutch at Starland Ballroom on Monday. That’ll be good.
Thanks for your support in the Best of 2019, Song of the Decade and Album of the Decade posts this week. You warmed my heart, really, and I promise you, promise you, promise you, I don’t take that support for granted. Thank you.
Hope everyone who celebrated Xmas had a good ‘un, and if New Year’s is a party for you, have fun and please be safe. If you need a ride, get one.
