Went to Kristal tonight. I wanted to see 13 Muses. I used to work with bass player Troy back when at Wizards, when he was with Alienation. I never got to see Alienation. One of the things that sucks about working in bars is that you actually miss a lot of the fun things that are going on because you have to work.
When Troy and I worked together, he had LONG dreads and I had heard from Chris Bower that he had cut them off, so I didn’t know if I would recognize him without them. But I walked in and looked up at the stage and the first thing I saw was Troy and I recognized him right away.
Troy from 13 Muses (that's a guitar pick in his mouth)So, I got there early into 13 Muses’ set. I missed opening band the Ripp-Offs. I had also wanted to catch Rev Lil Timmy & the Lords of Discipline, but I understand that they actually had to cancel, so my lateness wasn’t a factor. I hear it was some kind of medical emergency, so I hope everything is ok!
Anyway, I walked in and 13 Muses was on. The first song I heard was all growly and I was hoping that wasn’t all they were. I like growls and screaming, but not when that’s all there is. I want to hear some melodic lyrics and guitar and some cool bass and pounding drums, too. Turns out they had all that, too.
The songs that impressed me the most were the last two. “End of Days” and then one they dedicated to a friend who died last week, “Afraid.”. That was a real tearjerker, but a damn good song. Sort of slow and very emotional. I think that’s when a song is the most powerful...when a strong emotion is evoked and everyone can feel it emanating out. The crowd definitely went crazy on this one. I almost felt a little misty myself and I didn’t even know this girl.
Next up was Brotherhood. These guys have a good time! I have never seen so much smiling in a heavy show before. They’re going to have a good time, and dammit, you better have one, too. At one point, the singer asked if everyone was having a good time and the response was lame. He was like, “What the fuck?! You’re out! You spent money. Why don’t you fucking yell?!” And everyone seemed to realize he was right. We’re out! We’re having a good time! We’re drinking beer! We should fucking shout! And we did.
BrotherhoodNext up was Lokey. I’ve reviewed them before and I always love these guys! You just don’t get much more balls out hyper energy than this. Terry Anderson may be small, and he makes fun of that himself, but the energy he puts out is HUGE! There was hair-dancing galore! These guys have been around forever and they know how it’s done! I remember doing promo’s for them back when I did the website for Odyssey. They love San Antonio and they rave about that in their show. They love us, we love them. There wasn’t a person there who didn’t shout out their name.
Lokey - this guy makes great crazy faces, but I never could catch one - oh well
Last up was Before the Bloodshed. And while I have to say that this was the most entertaining segment of the night, they were actually my least favorite band. Almost all the vocals were screaming and I just don’t see the talent in screaming everything. And I wasn’t the only one. Others around me were happy when the sound cut out. I saw one guys plugging his ears. But danm, theses guys had half the club up on the stage with them, singing, dancing, moshing. There was a bikini contest going on, which, as a woman, I would have to call one of the most pathetic things I’ve ever seen. These pretty girls were told they needed to go around the club and impress people while the band played and they had to dance around the stage and be sexy. Even Terry Anderson said that he didn’t like it because the girls had to humiliate themselves to win. And it was humiliating. Not that they weren’t beautiful. They just shouldn’t have had to debase themselves like that. But, hey, if they were willing to do that...more power, I guess. Hopefully they really needed the money.
Before the BloodshedADDED NOTE: Here's one place I should clarify. Before the Bloodshed is very good at what they do. Great showmanship, great energy. If you DO like this kind of music, these guys are definitely worth checking out.
Really, it was a great night, if for no other reason than that everyone was there. Suzi from Suzi’s Rock Page. Jen from The Scene. Toni from The Edge...she took pics of the bikini contest, so I guess check that out. So many people from other bands. I know there were members of Pitbull Daycare in the house. Randy Bonillas from KISS. It was like who’s who of SA Rock. At one point, Suzi bet me she could pick up Nancy Silva and she did! Nancy is fucking TINY! Cool chick, though!
I ended the night talking to one of the guys from BrokenSeal, who couldn’t understand why I am leery of going down to The Rabbit or Bonds alone. He thinks I should own a gun, but I am very against guns due to the fact that when they’re used, statistics show they’re usually not used against criminals, but accidentally used against family members, people you know, etc. He thinks I should at least carry Mace or pepper spray or whatever. I told him I generally rely on my temper and that I take as my example Kwai Chang Caine from Kung Fu. He is my hero. This guy has never watched Kung Fu, so I told him he needs to spend some time with Kung Fu to understand my point of view. We had a deep drunken conversation about this in the parking lot.
ADDED NOTE: What good would a gun do me? I couldn't carry it from my car to a club. You can't take a gun into a club. It's illegal to carry a gun in a place that serves alcohol.
SECOND ADDED NOTE: I know that this conversation doesn't make complete sense, but I'm pretty sure that's actually how it went, lol. So I can't lie. I was a-buzzin!
Great night. I love this place. We still have the debate going on whether the drum kit sticking out of the wall at Sneakers was first Peter Criss or Tommy Lee. I think it was Peter Criss first, then Tommy Lee. But I’ve been told I’m wrong. Terry Anderson only remembers it as being Tommy Lee and no one else .So does Troy. But I know at some point it was Peter Criss.
Randy, who judged the Rock City Battle of the Bands with me and Suzi, agrees with me that it was Peter Criss first.
ADDED NOTE: Ok, Fred has schooled me. (Check the comments.) It was Tommy Lee first. In my defense, I did LOTS of shots at Sneakers!! Seriously, as I mentioned in the comments, I think I remember it backwards just because it would have made more sense, music-timeline-wise.
Also, speaking of Sneakers, the DJ came out with a list of all the bands that have played that stage....White Zombie,. STP, Alice in Chains, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Montrose, Rob Halford...on and on...he said it was hallowed ground. Fuck yeah.
I’ve seen probably half the bands he mentioned there. The Offspring, Blue Oyster Cult, Sam Kinnison right before he died (OOH OOOOHHH!) The history of the place just haunts the place. For those of you too young to have experienced it....I think you can still feel the vibe there. There were definitely some youngsters there tonight that seemed to feel the reverence that the place is due!