Deftones @ The Greek Theatre. 11-1-13.

Deftones just spent the past few months opening for Avenged Sevenfold on some crappy arena tour across the USA. I say crappy because I wouldn't wish touring with Avenged Sevenfold upon my worst enemy. So the tour ends and Deftones rush back to California and play this awesome one off headlining show at The Greek Theatre. Just the band and five thousand or so friends hanging out together in the Hollywood hillside. Oh...and Glassjaw was opening. Cool right?

Unfortunately, traffic in Southern California is the 5th horseman of the Apocalypse. Journeying through the ungodly confines of the 5 fwy, then traversing through a Mt. Everest of parking lot congestion, we missed Glassjaw and damn near missed the beginning of the headliner's set as well. The only semi-good thing to come out of this traffic/parking nightmare, was seeing Serj and Shavo from System of a Down huddled under a tree outside the venue waiting for the rest of their band mates to show up (this was later confirmed by the power of the internetz). 

Thankfully, we made it to our seats moments before Deftones went into the opening notes of "Feiticeira," off White Pony. After months of playing a brief "best of" type set for non Deftones fans, Chino said it felt great playing whatever they wanted. That meant lots of rare treats like "Elite," "Lhabia," "Teenager," and "Bloody Cape," alongside a healthy dose of new cuts from 2012's Koi No Yokan. "Temptest" and "Romantic Dreams" sounded just as good, if not better (heavier and with crazy urgency) live than on the new record. Even after watching Chino play guitar all night with Palms this summer, it's still so odd watching him with a guitar in Deftones. I guess I'm just used to him jumping and swinging his microphone around.

photo boosted from: L.A. RECORD

Outdoor venues can be tricky, with sound levels fluctuating on the whims of a breezy night, but Deftones sounded great this evening at the Greek. Stephen's guitar was pummeling as ever during "Diamond Eyes," just as Abe's ghost notes and full on snare bashing were on display during "Passenger." We all know Chino is modern rock's crown prince of crooning/screaming, but Sergio Vega's backing vocals have become a crucial component to the Deftones live show. Not only is he a legendary bassist, but the dude can carry a tune. I couldn't believe it but Sergio basically made "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" his own.



A few bummers about Deftones' otherwise awesome show:

• Curfew- the venue is nestled between the woodland expanse of Griffith Park, and very expensive residential homes. The wealthy neighbors don't take kindly to late night concerts in their backyard so the Deftones performance at the forest moon of Endor (Chino's words) was cut short by a few songs.
• Layout-although a great sounding venue, if you aren't within the first few rows of the stage the band feels a bit far away. We were lucky enough to land seats with a birds eye view but still couldn't manage any decent photos or video =/
• Parking- yeah I'm bitching about parking again. Really it's that fucking horrible trying to park here. We spent about the same amount of time in the car (arriving then trying to exit afterwards) as we did inside the venue watching Deftones play. Sheer insanity.

Small grievances aside, Deftones continued their reign of awesomeness with back to back album & concert victories. So thankful they played this show and didn't force me to buy an Avenged Sevenfold ticket. Thanks guys, I owe you one. 

Palms @ The Observatory, Santa Ana. 7-11-13.

Ever hear of the Deftones? Of course you have. They escaped the slums of the mid 90's nu-metal scene and emerged as one of the most exciting rock bands of the new millennium. Ever hear of ISIS? Maybe not...but you should have. They were genre bending titans of atmospheric and metal music, standing tall as the leaders of the 00's post-metal underground. What happens when you splice the charismatic vocal croons of the Deftones with Isis' intense musical core? You get an awesome fucking new band called Palms. That's what. They played four special debut shows in California last week. Their show at The Observatory was amazing.

Crypts, a Seattle based synth punk outfit, opened the show. I kind of hated the band at first, dudes playing laptops and synths don't usually hold a special place in my heart, but after a few songs I found myself totally spellbound by the band. The singer was a total maniac, jumping, spitting and cracking his belt like a whip every chance he got. I'm definitely interested in seeing more from Crypts in the future.

Once Crypts wrapped things up, the sizable crowd grew anxious for some Palms. I don't think the show was sold out but it looked pretty damn full from my end. It seemed like most people in attendance were die hard Deftones fans. This made sense, since Deftones are the larger act and vocalist Chino Moreno is worshiped like some kind of deity by his adoring legions of Southern California Latino fans. No really, you could literally hear a wave of panties dropping as soon as Chino took the stage. So the packed house was ready, and I'm happy to report that Palms was more than able to kick ass on this night.

Palms mellow, atmospheric sound (think sandy beaches at sunset) was enthralling, while the band's refined metal pedigree was strong enough to keep heads bobbing all night. They played every song off their self titled debut album and threw a Swervedriver cover in for good measure. It should come as no surprise that the band was tight and precise as hell, Palm's musical core (Jeff, Aaron and Bryant) spent more than a decade together bashing away in ISIS and Chino's career with the Deftones has cemented him as one of the best vocalists of his generation. It's like Hercules and Xena teaming up...you better believe they're going to kick ass. I was pleasantly surprised to see Chino playing guitar during their set. I'm so used to seeing him as the hyped up frontman, watching him focus on his playing and delivery was kind of surreal. Also, Aaron Harris has been one of my favorite drummers for years. His block-y yet strangely fluid drumming style is totally unique and something I can't get enough of. Watching him rock out again behind the kit after ISIS disbanded was, for me, worth the price of admission alone.


Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay the band is that Palms sounds almost exactly like their album live. Get the CD, close your eyes and that's pretty much how they were in concert. Yes this isn't the most complex or technically demanding music, but it's rife with sonic textures and nuances that the band nailed perfectly onstage. Check out the band's new record and jump at the chance to see Palms live in the future.