Steel Panther may be a caricature of the glam and hair metal bands that they started covering, but these days the stuff that passes for “rock n’ roll” could use a little more hairspray, leopard print and definitely more power chords. Steel Panther gave the sold out crowd at House of Blues a big ole’ injection of classic, balls out rock straight from their crotches. The type of pure, testosterone based music that allows long-haired guys to wear shirts with exposed nipples and sequins, put on makeup with a Pretty Pretty Princess mirror, dance in sync and hit notes that have no business coming out of a dude’s mouth, without their manhood ever being questioned. I’m not just saying that because half of their lyrics about girls who picked undressing as a career choice and would happily let you do lines of blow off their asses. I’m saying it because there was more manliness pouring off of this stage than there was at GWAR, it just didn’t happen to be physically covering everything in sight.

There’s no shortage of on-stage antics during their shows either. At one point in time they covered Hoobastank’s “The Reason” and it was the only time I’ve ever heard that song and not wanted to kill myself. Michael Starr (lead singer / Bret Michaels look-a-like) comments on the quality of the sex he just had with Lexxi Foxxx’s (bass player / Joan Rivers with talent) mother. They work together, so moms being a topic of discussion is really no big deal, right? Until he takes it one step further and says that he screwed her so hard that she got diarrhea ass all over his dad’s face. That all came out of the mouth of a PhD in English Literature from Berkeley who was also an Assistant Professor at Texas A & M. You call it crossing the line, Steel Panther calls it another day at the office.

Concerts and shows are two different things. Some of the most dynamic, most talented musicians have absolutely no stage presence. They know how to play music, but they don’t know to play a crowd. On the other end of the spectrum, you can be blown away by a show put on by an artist with no musical merit that’s also tone deaf. The band that sounds like the cologne from Anchorman did both. You won’t hear me say face-melting very often, but that’s exactly what it was. Satchel plays the guitar like he was born with it between his legs. Stix (Last name of Zadinia. See what he did there?) made the entire drum kit his bitch. Lexxi Foxxx actually played his bass–and made it look cool. And the English professor, well, he’s my idol. All I’m saying is, if the Mayan apocalypse happened a year early on December 29th after this concert, I would have died with a huge shit-eating grin on my face.

DATE: Thursday, December 29, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Brendan Shanley ( @lostinprint )

This performance, like all the others, is a trip down memory lane. A time before wives and responsibilities and full-time jobs. A time when you didn’t really care about what music other people were listening to and what was and wasn’t cool. It was all about music that you could connect to. Maybe it was the sound, or the lyrics or even the feeling behind it, but you connected. Graham makes that happen every time he takes the stage, and this time was no different. He eloquently forces you to forget about the shitty day you just had, the girl that broke your heart or the fact you have to work in six hours; the only thing that matters is that moment you’re living in right now.

As he emotes about events and feelings from his past, you can’t help but relate to his experiences in one way or another. He’s honest, almost to a fault at some times, but it’s never contrived. Somehow, he poured every ounce of that into his performance. He’s an excellent guitar player, singer and songwriter, but Graham’s true gift is his ability to connect with his audience on a level most people have never experienced.

DATE: Thursday, December 15, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Brendan Shanley ( @lostinprint )

The thing about iwrestledabearonce is that they don’t really have a thing. They so desperately try to avoid categorization that the constant genre-bending comes across as spastic. At times it’s operatic. At others, it’s psychotic. Sometimes, it’s even beautiful. What’s even more curious is that this constantly shifting sonic calamity generally happens a few times in one three minute window. You don’t have time to make a decision about whether or not you love it or hate it before the slow thump of guitars, bass and drums gets replaced with thrash metal and screaming you’d normally call the cops about.

What’s important to keep in mind though is that you have to be ridiculously talented to pull off something half as impressive as this iwrestledabearonce performance. Krysta Cameron can go from a scream that would make Tom Araya jealous to a harmony that would leave Amy Lee unemployed faster than you can do, well, just about anything. Surround her with a very capable cast of supporting characters on the strings and sticks and an untethered, chaotic sort of magic happens. It’s not for everyone, and it’s not music you’d want to knock boots to. What it is is music with a pulse that might be a little outside of your normal comfort zone that will get your blood pumping, your fists flying and your brain rattling. Even if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, go see them. It takes a talented group of people to do in an entire album what iwrestledabearonce does in one song, and as long as you can appreciate talent, you’ll be blown away.

DATE: Tuesday, December 06, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham ( @tracygrahamcrkr )

Check out their upcoming tour dates.

DATE: Saturday, December 3, 2011
PHOTOS & WORDS BY: Will Rice (@tweetwillrice)

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, there was a gaming console that didn’t have 3D, couldn’t connect to the Internet and had graphics that couldn’t compare to the major motion pictures at the time. It was called the Nintendo Entertainment System, and if you’re anything like us, that gray box was your first introduction to people like Mario, Link and Fox. Enter Minibosses. The prog rock/experimental metal group plays classic NES hits on actual stringed and mounted instruments. This isn’t the epic tale of a plumber dodging fireballs and bounding bottomless pits encoded in 8-bit by a computer, it’s four dudes playing that shit on real instruments. It’s never anything we’d recommend, but it’s probably like doing acid as an eight year old.

From Kid Icarus to Megaman to Contra to every-other-game-you-played-on-the-NES, Minibosses tears a sonic hole between reality and imaginary with some of the most talented fingering you’ll find outside of the Internet. Are they playing covers of video game songs you’ve heard before? Yeah, but who the hell cares? At the end of the day, the songs are recognizable enough to be familiar but different enough to be good. It’s like running into the girl you had a crush on in grade school after college and finding out she stumbled into being gorgeous. The emotional attachment is still there, but the presentation is so out of this world different that you can’t help but get excited. Minibosses were the protagonists of the evening, engaged in an epic boss fight to help kids with potentially life-threatening diseases by putting some more joy in their lives with a shot of video game rock n’ roll. They shredded the competition.

DATE: Sunday, November 20, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Brendan Shanley ( @lostinprint )

Standing in the lobby of Metro before the duo that is Digitalism went on, we were practically assaulted by Jägermeister girls. Apparently this tour was sponsored by Jäger, which makes sense given the fact that Digitalism was just here in August. Jäger is a phase most of us have grown out of, but if it means another chance to catch Digitalism–in a more intimate environment, no less–we’ll choke down the licorice firewater for an evening. But I digress.

The Digitalism show at Congress was great. It was like an orgasm encoded into 8-bit. But that show played Scottie Pippen to Metro’s Michael Jordan when it comes to Digitalism. There were no breaks between songs. A completely revamped backdrop featuring the I Love You Dude heart duplicated to look (maybe unintentionally) like alien robot eyes. A skyline of pulsating light towers illuminated by the drops on “Blitz” and the ominously hanging eyes in the back. Oscillating beats punctuated by vocals filled with pangs of pure exhaustion. Ten minutes of Digitalism live is more concert than most artists can pack into a full hour. Which is exactly why we’ll be back every time to let them melt our brains.

DATE: Monday, November 28, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham ( @tracygrahamcrkr )

They took the stage about half an hour late, but with late 90s dance music pulsing throughout the Vic, most barely noticed time had elapsed because they were too busying twirling imaginary glow sticks. Alex “Scott Howard” Trimble and friends slowly took their places to a roaring cheer. A single strum later, they owned the stage. Alex’s Irish accent mysteriously vanished, and if you weren’t already a fan, it would be ridiculously difficult not to become one. The Vic’s natural acoustics only intensified the melodious experience brewing on stage, and the Two Door Cinema Club experience was well underway. There’s something about upbeat and heartfelt music coming from a man rocking a red varsity jacket that makes you want to relive joy that only mid-to-late 80s cinema can do.

Somewhere between a better-than-the-album performance of “What You Know” and recognizing Sam Halliday’s striking resemblance to George McFly, I realized what I was missing as a Two Door Cinema Club fan was the live performance. If you haven’t seen them perform live, you are missing the complete package. Many bands don’t meet expectations from speaker to stage, but Alex and friends not only met and exceeded expectations, they raised the bar for any band in the future.

DATE: Thursday, December 1, 2011
WORDS BY: Pedro DeJesus ( @Lessthan3pi )
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham ( @tracygrahamcrkr )

The instrumental assignments varied from song to song to the point that I began to lose track of who played what instruments.  They are all such talented musicians that at one point Ryne switched from bass, to vocals, to tambourine, to hitting Baron’s bass drum with a mallet that he seemingly pulled from his back pocket, and that’s just the start. However, they failed to connect on an interpersonal level with the audience. They moved through set at lightning pace, barely taking the time to inform the audience what song was next. Alissa was so focused on hitting every note perfectly on the keyboard that she never had the chance to embody the music, whereas Nate’s raw emotion propagates through every note. By the end of the performance, you felt his loss as if it was your own.

Having Sympathy on repeat for a week before the show, the expectation of entertainment was relatively high. Despite not feeling that personal connection with the band on stage, their performance was flawless. My jaw was a bit ajar at the surprising versatility of every musician on stage. They are definitely a musical, and emotional, voyage worth checking out next time they come to town.

DATE: Thursday, December 1, 2011
WORDS BY: Pedro DeJesus ( @Lessthan3pi )
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham ( @tracygrahamcrkr )

Before you get all crazy, let’s clear a few things up. First of all, Dallas Green’s voice is fucking amazing. He’s the Freddie Mercury or the Bob Dylan or the Ray Charles of folk music. His voice alone has probably led to more than one pair of shaky legged encounter leading to the tour bus. Secondly, City and Colour is generally good music to put on and zone out to. He also sold out The Vic, which is no small feat in and of itself. As if all of that wasn’t enough of a reason to sit down and drink an IPA or a bottle of whiskey with him, he’s got some really sweet sleeves. But none of those aspects led to anything more than a show that was a collection of disparate parts punctuated with small highlights.

Green’s music when accompanied by a touring band can be perfectly described by the attire of the people surrounding him. The clean cut, buttoned up drummer in red and white checks with a navy tie. A bass player rocking a tucked in oxford and suspenders. Cowboy hats and cufflinks and ascots. Full suits and repp ties (think diagonal stripes in primary colors). All those seemingly unrelated things come together under the guidance of the tatted-up Green in a newsboy, golf style cap and plaid. It’s classic Americana, but Canadian. Hipsters from the North if you will. Depending on your perspective, that could be a damn good start. But Green ditches the rest of the troupe in favor of going it alone more often than not. This lets him really shine as the amazing voice and songwriting talent that he is, but it also results in a sound that’s as much lullaby as it is emotional harmony. In other words, you could fall asleep standing up.

Technically (no air quotes), City and Colour is good. Scratch that. City and Colour is a fantastically talented group of musicians, especially Green. Ultimately, the problem with this show was everyone that was there. Maybe it’s the somber tone and volume of the music, but some people need to learn to shut the fuck up. Find a video on YouTube of this performance where there isn’t at least one asshole talking and send it to me. I will personally buy you a Fat Tire, or an eargasm or whatever the fuck else it was that everyone was talking about over Green’s supposedly angelic voice. Now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “that’s not their fault.” I might be inclined to agree with you if Green hadn’t stopped the show at one point to tell everyone to put their phones away for a song and enjoy the show. Enjoying the show is a lot easier said than done when every Joey and his brother needs to share his feelings at the top of his lungs.

To be completely honest, the show wasn’t a total bust. Seeing Green live was a great way to reconnect with the music that let him sell out intimate venues like The Vic in the first place. Unless he starts telling people to shut the fuck up though, I’m just going to stay at home and listen to it by myself.

DATE: Wednesday, November 23, 2011
WORDS BY: Ben Dahl ( @CobaltInfinity )
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham ( @tracygrahamcrkr )

In present day, Pritchard and band mates were once again greeted by a sold out crowd, anxious to hear songs from past records and their new 2011 release Junk of the Heart. The sea of people on floor level were bouncing joyfully from the get-go as the band jumped straight into “Is It Me” off the new record. Additional songs played from the new album were hit single “Junk of the Heart (Happy)”, “How’d You Like That” and “Runaway”. Much to the delight of their five-year fans, they also played a bunch of favorites from Inside In/Inside Out to include “The Sofa Song”, “She Moved In Her Own Way” and the ridiculously catchy “Naive”.

List any band frontman and Pritchard will give them a run for their money as the perpetual crowd pleaser. Adam Levine may think he’s got the moves, but it’s Pritchard who authentically captures the swagger of Jagger in a very believable way. Part of the stage set-up was an extended and elevated walkway that was no doubt there upon the frontman’s request to be closer to his audience. (At one point he accepted a Chicago Bulls hat that he wore for a number of songs before signing it and giving it back to an elated fan.) Often egging the crowd on, he bends and leans in curious ways while radiating rock and roll. It’s probably a precious few who can gracefully stumble across the stage without being mistaken as wasted – but Pritchard pulls it off. He worked that platform with the ease and finesse of a ganglier longer-haired, modern pop incarnation of Gene Kelly.

While Pritchard may without question, be the star – lead guitarist Hugh Harris is the only other band member who has been there from the start – and he carries his weight beyond great guitar riffs. Harris chimed in on back-up vocals and played the keys for a couple songs as well. As a whole, the entire band brings their A game.

The highlight of the show was no doubt the band’s incredibly rousing performance of “Do You Wanna” that boasts one of the best rockstar choruses ever written. The entire room was jumping and shouting “Do you wanna make love to me? I know you wanna make love to me.” It’s the most endearing and forgivably cocky question The Kooks can ask – and with girls fawning in the front row, squealing with ecstasy, we can easily guess how they would respond to the proposal. ::wink::

SHOW DATE: Saturday, November 26, 2011
WORDS BY: Marisa Ruiz (@MarisaVictoria)
PHOTOS BY: Tracy Graham (@TracyGrahamcrkr)

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