Converge/ Torche/ NAILS @ The Echoplex, Los Angeles. 10/28/12

We Are The Champions

Converge are easily one of the best live acts on the planet and one of my favorite bands of all time. I'd watch them perform the phone book in a basement (with more growls and d-beats than usual) if I could. Some of you might recall my last Converge story from this summer's FYF Fest. Well, my wounds had healed, sinuses cleared, and shoe laces tied extra tight. I was ready for another dose of Converge on their All We Love We Leave Behind Tour.

Talk about a lineup. This tour was siiiiiiick. Like "OMGZ" I need to sit down and catch my breath after reading the lineup. Torche, Kvelertak and NAILS. All three bands have released killer albums, all produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, in the past few years. This overs the creme de le creme of metal, rock, hardcore/grind. Even the local opending act Dangers is ridiculous!


So we arrived early to catch Dangers because they impressed the hell out of me when they opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan back in January. This time I was familiar with their songs, and impressed by how tight and close to their album they sound live. Their singer Al is a madman on stage, jumping into the the crowd and running around the pit like a wild injun, jumping and crawling while shrieking at the top of his lungs...while barefoot. Can't wait to see these guys again.

Kvelertak was next. I really enjoyed their self titled debut album from 2010, and was looking forward to watching them rock out, but alas, I was starving. My girlfriend and I headed to the back of the venue (where you can't see jack) to get some pizza during Kvelertak's second song. The band sounded awesome from what I heard...but after a long day of work, we needed to eat. Sorry guys, next time.

Glad I ate, because NAILS was fucking exhausting. Imagine trying to work out with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s. NAILS mantra: "We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!" This band is so heavy it's retarded. Really. I described their sound as "a monolithic slab of caveman brutality" when they opened for Dillinger in January (yeah, them and Dangers...go figure) and now I want to add, "violent" to said description. Something about this band makes causes me to speak in grunts and long for a 2x4 to smash over people's skulls. Their songs are short, fast and fucking awesome. The 2nd guitar player they added only made them sound heavier. I simply can't get enough NAILS.

Torche was next and were totally a welcome change of pace. I think I might have turned into a total werewolf if the aggro streak didn't halt right there. Luckily, Torche is all about having fun. They played a lot of new stuff of their latest album Harmonicraft, and had a lot of little HD cameras set up on stage, leading me to believe they were filming for a new video or a TV performance in the future. Their newer stuff is poppy enough to get dudes and ladies alike to move and dare I say, even dance, near the front of the stage. Then their older material comes along and is so heavy it has heads banging throughout the venue. So glad Torche was on this bill. Kudos fellas.

Finally, the headliners and heavyweight champions of the underground metal/hardcore universe took the stage: Converge.

They opened with "Concubine" and the Echoplex exploded. I learned my lesson from my FYF. My girlfriend and I retreated to the outskirts of the floor, away from the pit, but still close enough for me to get some awesome videos. Since their superb new album, All We Love We Leave Behind, dropped in October, it was almost a given that Converge would be playing a lot of new songs. However, the band went online and asked fans what other songs they'd like to hear on this tour. The response was massive. EVERYONE had a thousand old song they wanted to see live. I was stoked they played "Heartless," one of my top choices!


Rare gems like the ultra dirge-y "You Fail Me" and from way back when "My Unsaid Everything," gave Converge's  old school fans a nice nod, while all the new jams from All We Love flat out slayed. "Trespasses" "Sadness Comes Home" "Glacial Place" "Empty On The Inside," etc etc. I've never been
more stoked to hear a band play new stuff in concert before.

The venue had lots of floor space, which gave the sold-out capacity crowd room to breathe. I think that's what kept the energy level relatively high throughout the night. People could take a step back and catch their breath before jumping into the pit for the next song. After a full night of ass-kickery, and a full day of beforehand, I was exhausted by the time Converge wrapped their hour and half set up with the always epic, "Last Light." After paying homage at the band's merch table (and getting a sweet ass Axe to Fall flag) I ran into Converge singer/visual artist/record owner and awesome human being Jacob Bannon outside. Dude looked drained. He was covered in sweat, his voice barely audible and was still chatting it up with fans outside. He may have gone through the ringer onstage, (and every night) but you know he'd do it again, to the delight of assholes like me, in a heartbeat...forever if he could pull it off.

That's why Converge rules folks. Check em' out next time they're in driving distance. And if you ever see NAILS, bring ear plugs and a baseball bat.

Mankind in a nutshell

"We are not what was intended" -John Doe

Base.
How low can we go?
Fuck the Beatles, I'm an animal
An upright ape with opposable thumbs
To hold the clubs
To hold the guns
Swing low sweet chariot
God bless my DNA
Drunk drive my Chevy to the levee
Let the flood come and sweep me away
No this ain't the apocalypse
It's the way shit has always been
From Sodom to Saddam
Attila to Tienenmen
A quarter million years of human being
A quarter million years as a human stain
We use ten percent of our gorgeous brains
And leave the rest up to cocaine
Lucy in the sky
Got her hands on a new shotgun
Lucy in the sky
Got her hands on a Remington
Lucy in the sky
Her shiny diamonds drenched in blood
And I know where the wild things are
Don't look far
Don't look far
'Cause I got wisdom in my teeth
And terror in my wars
Yes, I know where the wild things are
Don't look far.
Don't look far.
There's a reason that it's hard to look in the mirror.
There's a reason that it's hard to go to the zoo
And there's a reason you want to pry open the cage
See, you should be there, too.

or basically...THIS:

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nails & Dangers @ Center For The Arts, Eagle Rock. 1/18/2011.

destroyers!

Best show of the year. I know it's still January but really, I'd have to be invited onstage by Slayer or have Refused unite in my living room or some shit for anything to top this. I've already said many times before, but The Dillinger Escape Plan is my favorite band and in fact, this here blog is named after their song, "Jim Fear." Anyways....it had been a long while since I last saw Dillinger perform a headlining show, and never in a venue like this.

The show took place inside the Eagle Rock Center for The Arts. The place was meant to house art exhibits, yoga classes, community meetings and now, sweaty mosh pits. We arrived just as the first opening band finished up. Dangers, was up next. This was my first time seeing these guys live and they did not disappoint. Fast paced hardcore meets rock & roll vibes, with lots of energy on stage and some witty stage banter to boot.


My losing streak finally came to an end. After 3 failed attempts, I finally got to see Nails live. Their music is fast, ugly and ridiculously heavy. Like a monolithic slab of caveman brutality. The area in front of the stage, affectionately referred to as...the pit, started getting nasty during during their performance. If Dillinger wasn't immediately following them onstage, I wouldn't have wanted Nails set to end.


And then there was Dillinger. This was my 11th time seeing them live since 2004 and it's safe to say that this show stands as one of my favorites. The venue's small floor area kept the crowd's energy high, and it's high ceilings gave the band some more room to work on their acrobatics. They opened with "Panasonic Youth" and my sanity/better judgement went out the window.


I knew I shouldn't have stayed down in the front like I did. I had work the next morning and should have stayed with my pals on the sidelines. Of course with the songs like "Good Neighbor" blaring through the speakers, and watching singer/riot inciter Greg literally climbing the walls, I forgot I wasn't 18 anymore and decided to stay on the front lines. Sure, my camera got knocked around, causing the battery to stop functioning properly, and some dude collided into my wrist, causing me to now wear a splint/brace and type reeeeeeeally slowly, but that was but a small price to pay to witness the Dillinger spectacle up close and personal.


I dug their set list. All killer, no filler some would say. Surprised I still had a voice the next day after singing along to crowd favorites, "Milk Lizard" and "Gold Teeth on a Bum." It's funny, those songs got the best reaction from the Deftones' audience when Dillinger opened up for them last summer and although they may be more "streamlined" than the usual DEP fare, all their hardcore fans love em just the same. I guess people really do like just singing along to their favorite tunes. Cause in point, the final onslaught of "Sunshine The Werewolf" and "43% Burnt" back to back. People soaked in sweat and utterly devoid of energy, screaming their lungs out for the "DESTOOOOOOOOYER!" breakdown part like they'd never live to see another day. I would know, I was one of them.

Did you see that? Clip is kind of long and audio is a little sketchy at times but man, just imagine being in the center of that. I was on the stage, sprained wrist and all. Bumping into Ben's guitar, hitting Billy's china cymbal with my (good) hand, and screaming with Greg at different times.

Dillinger played another show, this time a free 21+ gig in Fullerton the next night. I planed on going but was now nursing a sprained wrist and decided to stay home and watch the show streaming live from the band's website. It looked like fun, but just not as wild as the Center For The Arts gig!