Showing posts with label Saxon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saxon. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2016
Metalling the Day
00:00:01 Crusader - Saxon
00:06:34 Accept - Balls to the Wall
00:12:01 Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
00:16:57 Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell
00:23:52 Diamond Head - Am I Evil
00:31:32 Judas Priest - Electric Eye
00:35:11 Grim Reaper - See you in Hell
00:39:27 Manowar - Warriors of the World
00:43:15 Helloween - Power
00:46:43 Iron Maiden - Powerslave
00:54:00 Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
Friday, September 27, 2013
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Saxon
By my guess, there were probably 150 people that came to see the tour that rolled into Spicolli's in Waterloo, IA, but for those 150 people, seeing Saxon play in an intimate club setting was certainly worth every penny of a ticket.
The Unity, Halycon Way, and Fozzy warmed up for Saxon. Each band had high points. After slaying through their original songs, The Unity ended their short set with a note-for-note worship of Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" as the approving crowd roared. Next up was Halycon Way who rocked the stage with their material, including the excellent "Web of Lies". Following them came Fozzy, led by WWE superstar Chris Jericho and his charisma. Songs like "She's My Addiction" and "Sin and Bones" were highlights of their set.
But the highest point of the night was actually when legendary heavy metal band Saxon came to the stage with the sole intention of satisfying the crowd that did find out they were going to be in town. The fact is that Spicolli's is a long way from the festivals and hundreds of thousands of fans that routinely attend metal festivals to see bills that often include Saxon. You couldn't tell that by the energy and authority with which lead vocalist Biff Byford commanded the cramped stage. Byford told us that Saxon has played in front of 100,000 people and in front of 100 people and as long as there was an audience, they would continue to play. That makes me hope that they will return to my area prior to calling it a day.
Essentially, Byford directs traffic by being the only one to address the crowd directly. His vocals didn't sound strained and his stage presence was precise. I didn't get the feeling that he was on auto-pilot because of the small stage and the small crowd. Instead, Byford made light of the situation and said that they weren't going to play an encore because there was no place to go so they would just keep playing. Original guitarist Paul Quinn, guitarist Doug Scarratt, and bassist Nibbs Carter put drummer Nigel Glockler through his paces with the fast tempos that came song after song. The band achieved instant respect from the first measure with the musicianship that came out of the PA system.
And to be clear, Saxon is "required listening" if you want to speak intelligently about the genre. Only after absorbing the attitude described in their classic songs like "Denim and Leather," "Motorcycle Man," and "Princess of the Night" can you appreciate the modern heavy metal bands like Metallica, like Lamb of God, like Avenged Sevenfold, who, in some capacity, can be traced back to Saxon's discography that began with their self-titled debut in 1979. After 16 songs, Saxon left the stage but I don't recall if Byford promised to return to Waterloo in the future.
The Unity, Halycon Way, and Fozzy warmed up for Saxon. Each band had high points. After slaying through their original songs, The Unity ended their short set with a note-for-note worship of Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast" as the approving crowd roared. Next up was Halycon Way who rocked the stage with their material, including the excellent "Web of Lies". Following them came Fozzy, led by WWE superstar Chris Jericho and his charisma. Songs like "She's My Addiction" and "Sin and Bones" were highlights of their set.
But the highest point of the night was actually when legendary heavy metal band Saxon came to the stage with the sole intention of satisfying the crowd that did find out they were going to be in town. The fact is that Spicolli's is a long way from the festivals and hundreds of thousands of fans that routinely attend metal festivals to see bills that often include Saxon. You couldn't tell that by the energy and authority with which lead vocalist Biff Byford commanded the cramped stage. Byford told us that Saxon has played in front of 100,000 people and in front of 100 people and as long as there was an audience, they would continue to play. That makes me hope that they will return to my area prior to calling it a day.
Essentially, Byford directs traffic by being the only one to address the crowd directly. His vocals didn't sound strained and his stage presence was precise. I didn't get the feeling that he was on auto-pilot because of the small stage and the small crowd. Instead, Byford made light of the situation and said that they weren't going to play an encore because there was no place to go so they would just keep playing. Original guitarist Paul Quinn, guitarist Doug Scarratt, and bassist Nibbs Carter put drummer Nigel Glockler through his paces with the fast tempos that came song after song. The band achieved instant respect from the first measure with the musicianship that came out of the PA system.
And to be clear, Saxon is "required listening" if you want to speak intelligently about the genre. Only after absorbing the attitude described in their classic songs like "Denim and Leather," "Motorcycle Man," and "Princess of the Night" can you appreciate the modern heavy metal bands like Metallica, like Lamb of God, like Avenged Sevenfold, who, in some capacity, can be traced back to Saxon's discography that began with their self-titled debut in 1979. After 16 songs, Saxon left the stage but I don't recall if Byford promised to return to Waterloo in the future.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Rocking: Saxon Last Night, Lou's Classic Ride Tonight
What a great show last night! I can certainly understand why Metallica liked listening to Saxon. I was impressed. I have started a draft of my review and will need to get that submitted soon. I got home at 1 AM and was up at 6 AM. If the show wasn't great, I'd say I was too old. Great conversation to and from Waterloo with Kevin.
Tonight is LCR rehearsal @ 8 PM. We are going to work on 5 new songs (in alpha order)
Tonight is LCR rehearsal @ 8 PM. We are going to work on 5 new songs (in alpha order)
- I Think You Know What I Mean
- Paranoid
- Rock and Roll All Night
- Rocky Mountain Way
- Wanted Dead or Alive
Monday, September 23, 2013
Lars is Making Me Go
My love for all things Metallica has not wavered over the years. Sure, I like Bayside just as much - my longtime friends are stunned I would write such blasphemy - but now, in September 2013, Metallica is making me travel to Waterloo to see a concert. The headliner is Saxon and the opening band is Fozzy, which has WWE wrestler Chris Jericho as their lead vocalist.
Confession: I don't know a single Saxon song. I can't hum a single riff or recite a single lyric. What does any of this have to do with Metallica? Well, per a video - maybe the "Cliff 'Em All" VHS tape - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich stated that he was influenced by Saxon. Lars said it so it must be true. Here's the Top Ten list of their songs, but I truly have no idea if there are other songs that should be replacing the ones on the list.
I'm going mainly because it's an excuse to be with my friend Kevin. I worked with Kevin years ago and we have been friends since 1998. He lives in Marion and we don't hang out nearly enough. We've seen Slayer in Davenport, went to Memphis in May 2007 and Opeth / Katatoniz in Minneapolis. We also went to see Shinedown / Three Days Grace / P.O.D. on 2/1/2013. We had lunch on 8/1/2013 and talked about life. I'm anxious to hear how life is nowadays for him.
Confession: I don't know a single Saxon song. I can't hum a single riff or recite a single lyric. What does any of this have to do with Metallica? Well, per a video - maybe the "Cliff 'Em All" VHS tape - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich stated that he was influenced by Saxon. Lars said it so it must be true. Here's the Top Ten list of their songs, but I truly have no idea if there are other songs that should be replacing the ones on the list.
I'm going mainly because it's an excuse to be with my friend Kevin. I worked with Kevin years ago and we have been friends since 1998. He lives in Marion and we don't hang out nearly enough. We've seen Slayer in Davenport, went to Memphis in May 2007 and Opeth / Katatoniz in Minneapolis. We also went to see Shinedown / Three Days Grace / P.O.D. on 2/1/2013. We had lunch on 8/1/2013 and talked about life. I'm anxious to hear how life is nowadays for him.
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