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Buckcherry – Christmas Is Here
Buckcherry – Christmas Is Here [single] (2010, Eleven Seven Music)
1. “Christmas Is Here” … 3:10
Band:
Josh Todd – Lead Vocals
Keith Nelson – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Stevie D. – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jimmy Ashhurst – Bass, Backing Vocals
Xavier Muriel – Drums, Percussion
“Christmas Is Here” is an exclusive digital single that was released in November 2010 just in time for the holiday season. I bought my copy through iTunes but it’s available at all major digital music stores.
There’s really not a whole lot to say about this single other than I like it a lot. I’m a huge fan of Christmas music (mostly the traditional tunes sung by crooners like Crosby, Sinatra, Cole, Como, Martin, Mathis and even Michael Buble) so when I found out Buckcherry was releasing a Christmas song I was very excited to check it out since BC is one of my favorite bands.
Honestly though I wasn’t expecting much, thinking this was basically going to be a throwaway track but I loved the song upon first listen. It’s not a rockin’ Christmas song like “Run Rudolph Run” or “Jingle Bell Rock”, instead BC takes a jingle jangle mid-tempo pace. It’s a laid back, feel good Christmas rock ‘n’ roll song. I think a lot of contemporary Christmas songs fall flat but “Christmas Is Here” is a modern classic and a song I’ll be playing for many holidays to come. Makes me feel all warm ‘n’ fuzzy inside and positive about the entire season and isn’t that what a great Christmas song should do? I hope it’ll be issued as a bonus track at some point on a CD.
So, is there anything these guys can’t do? Kick-ass rockers, great ballads and now great Christmas music. Best band from the last 15 years easily.
www.buckcherry.com
www.facebook.com/buckcherry
www.twitter.com/buckcherry
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 – Music From and Inspired By
Mission: Impossible 2 – Music From and Inspired By (2000, Hollywood Records)
1. “Take a Look Around” – Limp Bizkit … 5:20
2. “I Disappear” – Metallica … 4:26
3. “Scum of the Earth” – Rob Zombie … 2:55
4. “They Came In” – Butthole Surfers … 4:42
5. “Rocket Science” – The Pimps … 3:30
6. “Have a Cigar” – Foo Fighters & Brian May … 4:02
7. “Mission 2000″ – Chris Cornell … 3:42
8. “Goin’ Down” – Godsmack … 3:23
9. “What ‘Chu Lookin’ At?” – Uncle Kracker … 5:11
10. “Backwards” – Apartment 26 … 3:09
11. “Karma” – Diffuser … 3:16
12. “Alone” – Buckcherry …3:23
13. “Immune” – Tinfed … 3:49
14. “My Kinda Scene” – Powderfinger … 4:26
15. “Carnival” – Tori Amos … 4:18
16. “Nyah” – Hans Zimmer & Heitor Pereira … 3:32
Ordered this one online for dirt cheap all because I wanted the Metallica and Buckcherry songs that were exclusive to this album.
A number of singles were released from this album: Limp Bizkit’s “Take a Look Around” (a rap-metal reworking of the Mission: Impossible theme), “I Disappear” and the Foo Fighters/Brian May cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” spring to mind. The local radio stations seemed to be all over the Limp Bizkit single (it was 2000, after all, and rap-metal was all the rage) and “I Disappear” received substantial play as well.
I love “I Disappear”. I think it’s one of Metallica’s best songs. Sure it’s not heavy metal but it’s a great hard rock tune and whenever I heard it on the radio I felt compelled to drive faster. Maybe the music video of James Hetfield speeding around had something to do with that!
Once again showing myself becoming ever more the completist, Buckcherry’s “Alone” is what truly made me decide to buy this album. I didn’t even realize they were on this soundtrack until recently and the song is exclusive to this soundtrack so I had to own this. It’s a pretty good tune, not a career highlight for the band, but I like it and it’s a lot better than most of the songs here.
As you can tell by looking at the artists involved, this is mostly an alternative rock/metal album with most acts turning in the usual generic songs that has come to be expected from soundtracks. Chris Cornell’s “Mission 2000″ is decent and despite the title, it’s not some type of remix or variation on the M:I theme — it’s a new, harder version of the song “Mission” which was on his excellent Euphoria Morning solo debut from the year previous.
To be honest, most of this soundtrack is garbage but I only spent a few bucks and got out of it what I expected to get out of it so I guess it’s not a total loss.
Highlights: “I Disappear”, “Have a Cigar”, “Mission 2000″, “Alone”
BUCKCHERRY – All Night Long
Buckcherry – All Night Long [Best Buy Exclusive Limited Edition] (2010, Eleven Seven Music)
Disc 1: All Night Long
1. “All Night Long” … 3:54
2. “It’s a Party” … 3:44
3. “These Things” … 3:52
4. “Oh My Lord” … 3:38
5. “Recovery” … 3:01
6. “Never Say Never” … 3:43
7. “I Want You” … 3:43
8. “Liberty” … 4:16
9. “Our World” … 3:50
10. “Bliss” … 3:56
11. “Dead” … 5:24
Disc 2: Reckless Sons Acoustic EP
1. ‘These Things” … 3:58
2. “Fire Off Your Guns” … 3:46
3. “Black Butterfly” … 3:47
4. “King of Kings” … 4:49
5. “My Friend” … 3:58
6. “Grace” … 4:20
Band:
Josh Todd – Lead Vocals
Keith Nelson – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Stevie D. – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jimmy Ashhurst – Bass, Backing Vocals
Xavier Muriel – Drums, Percussion
Producer: Marti Frederikson & Keith Nelson
All Night Long is one of my most anticipated albums for 2010. The release of the singles “All Night Long” and “Our World” gave me great hope for this album. I was a big supporter of this band when their debut album hit back in ’99 but then they kinda drifted away after the release of Time Bomb but made a great rock ‘n’ roll comeback with 15 in 2006. 2008′s Black Butterfly was the band’s finest moment in my opinion (though most disagree) and their Live & Loud 2009 release is one of my favorite live albums of all time. I guess maybe in my eyes this band can do no wrong at this point. I’ve been lucky enough to see them in concert three times and they’re one of few real rock bands left. They have a classic sound and look but aren’t retro. Simply put, Buckcherry is good sleazy rock ‘n’ roll.
I pre-ordered the Best Buy edition because it was only $9.99 and also it comes with an “exclusive” second disc — the Reckless Sons Acoustic EP. Well, I guess Best Buy is correct in saying this version of Reckless Sons is exclusive because while they are offering six acoustic tracks, iTunes is offering seven (an acoustic version of “Sorry” is the extra track). It’s a shame digital music gets preferred treatment these days but that’s just the way it goes when CD sales continue to drop. I don’t download albums so I guess I’ll have to settle for this inferior Best Buy version of the EP.
The Acoustic EP is good for what it is. The original plan for the album was for all of it to be acoustic but they scrapped that idea presumably after all these acoustic songs were written. The songs are what you would expect: ballads and mid-tempo numbers. Not really something I would want a full album of but for bonus content it’s pretty good. Some of these songs would have fit in well onto the actual All Night Long album. The song “Black Butterfly” was actually written for the album of the same name but for whatever reason was not included.
As for the actual All Night Long album, for any that were disappointed by the detour the band took a bit with Black Butterfly, I think they’ll find much to like here. The album is straight-forward meat & potatoes rock ‘n’ roll. It’s Buckcherry doing what they do best — sleazy rock songs about sex and partying. There is no “Crazy Bitch” or “Too Drunk…” here and maybe that’s a good thing. I’m glad they’re not trying to re-write previous hits. I have found every single song to be enjoyable, no filler here. Of course, there’s the few obligatory ballads but I think that’s an area where Buckcherry excels. “These Things” and “I Want You” fit in just fine with the rest of the great ballads this band has written.
In a cool nod to their debut, the album cover and inside art features photos of a live model made up to look like the painting of the girl on the cover of their debut. Apparently, her name is “Cherry Girl”. And the real girl is pretty hot!
Okay, I do have one complaint — the first disc seems to have trouble playing my computer. Reckless Sons will play just fine but All Night Long seems to have a 99.9% fail rate on this computer. I have tried it on a laptop, two DVD players and a car and it plays there fine with no problems but I guess it hates my computer. I’ve only been able to get it to play once and that was after I had restarted the computer. I ended up ejecting the disc to listen to Reckless Sons and then went to put All Night Long back in and it was back to not playing! This is very frustrating because I listen to 98% of my music on my computer.
Other than that, this is an amazing release and it’s a very strong contender to be my favorite album of the year.
Highlights: “All Night Long”, “These Things”, “Oh My Lord”, “Never Say Never”, “I Want You”, “Our World”, “Dead”, “Fire Off Your Guns”, “My Friend”
BUCKCHERRY – Live & Loud 2009
Buckcherry – Live & Loud 2009 (2009, Eleven Seven Music)
1. “Tired of You” … 3:44
2. “Next 2 You” … 3:56
3. “Broken Glass” … 4:39
4. “Check Your Head” … 4:56
5. “Lit Up” … 4:42
6. “Talk To Me” … 3:48
7. “Rescue Me” … 3:48
8. “Rose” … 4:02
9. “For the Movies” … 5:13
10. “Ridin’” … 4:41
11. “Lawless and Lulu” … 4:27
12. “Everything” … 4:31
13. “Sorry” … 4:04
14. “Crazy Bitch” … 7:37
15. “Cream” … 4:05
Band:
Josh Todd – Vocals
Keith Nelson – Guitar
Stevie D. – Guitar
Jimmy Ashhurst – Bass
Xavier Muriel – Drums
Producer: Keith Nelson
Buckcherry is easily one of my favorite acts to come out out the ’90s (though they barely made that decade, their debut was released in 1999) and are one of the best hard rock outfits going today, in my opinion. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live three times and hope to see them again in the future. They always put on a fun energetic show, they’re a great live rock ‘n’ roll band. Maybe they aren’t perfectionists and technical wizards but rock ‘n’ roll isn’t about perfection. They aren’t as sloppy as a band like Poison but they have just enough to lend extra charm to their shows.
Live & Loud 2009 is a great representation of what the band is all about. I’m sure the usual touch-ups were done in the studio (in fact I think I hear Josh Todd backing himself on the vocals at one point) but I can say that if anything was changed, the changes were very minor because I know what they sound like live. I actually saw the band on this tour, unfortunately they weren’t recording for this album at the show I went to near Detroit. The whole album was recorded over the course of a few shows in Canada in May 2009.
The album basically doubles as a “best of” and features 5 tracks from 2008′s Black Butterfly which is a good thing because I think that’s their best album yet. The only track off the top of my head I think they missed out on including is “Too Drunk…”. Which is really weird because it was Black Butterfly‘s lead single and was a minor hit on rock stations. What’s even more strange is on the reissue of Black Butterfly it was replaced by the band’s cover of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” (a song they recorded for NASCAR). I guess that explains not including it here but why would you remove a single from the album in the first place? The song caught a lot of flack for being a too similar to “Crazy Bitch” but I still love it.
Speaking of “Crazy Bitch”, it’s the highlight of the album. In a live setting, the band adds a bit of funk to it and Josh Todd’s stage rap introducing the song is good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll debauchery and fun. The version here is 7 min 37 sec but when I’ve seen them they’ve stretched it out to about the 10 minute mark.
Upon release, the album was going for about $9.99 but I picked it up for $7.99. I’m not a huge fan of live albums but for bands I really love I’m more prone to buy them. I’m glad I picked this up and anyone who isn’t sold on Buckcherry’s studio albums may be able to appreciate this release a bit more.
Highlights: “Tired Of You”, “Next 2 You”, “Broken Glass”, “Check Your Head”, “Lit Up”, “Talk To Me”, “Rescue Me”, “Everything”, “Crazy Bitch”
BLACK ROBOT – Black Robot
Black Robot – Black Robot (2010, Formosa Records/Rocket Science Ventures)
1. “Baddass” … 2:28
2. “Cocaine” … 2:45
3. “Momma Don’t Cry” … 4:07
4. “Girls Kissing Girls” … 3:15
5. “Money” … 2:52
6. “I’m In Love” … 4:46
7. “In My Car” … 3:33
8. “Black Robot” … 2:28
9. “Love on a .45″ … 2:56
10. “Dissatisfaction” … 2:39
11. “23 Days of Night” … 3:11
12. “Stop the World” … 3:45
13. “Nervous Breakdown” … 3:21
Band:
Huck Johns – Vocals
Yogi Lonich – Guitars (Tracks 1-3, 5-10, 12, 13
Andy Andersson – Guitar (Tracks 4 & 11)
Jonathan “JB” Brightman – Bass
Devon Glenn – Drums
Producer: Dave Cobb
Black Robot (a great band name if there was one!) is good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll influenced by acts like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Crowes and the Rolling Stones and even though the band doesn’t list them as an influence, I even hear a bit of Stone Temple Pilots. Much like The Last Vegas and Charm City Devils, there’s a cool retro vibe going for this band as they display a raw garage rock ‘n’ roll style that borrows from the 1970s and southern rock.
Oh, and one other band you might be able to draw a comparison to is Buckcherry. Which isn’t surprising because Jonathan Brightman (who, along with Huck Johns, is the driving force behind Black Robot), Yogi Lonich and Devon Glenn all were members of that band up until it dissolved in 2002. Lonich and Glenn have since left Black Robot but gGuitarists Andy Andersson & Staffan Osterlind have stepped in, as has drummer Possum Hill.
To my understanding, this album was actually released in 2009 but the band went back into the studio with guitarist Andy Andersson (Osterlind hadn’t yet joined) and recorded two new tracks for this 2010 re-release.
Knowing the Buckcherry connection, I was immediately interested in hearing this band but somehow, despite the best of intentions, I ended up losing track of when the album was coming out. Luckily, the Gods of Rock had pity on me and the day after I had remembered to check them out, a review copy wound up in my mailbox! Talk about destiny!
“Baddass”, the album’s opener, sees the album off to a running start. It’s a great way to introduce people to the band. Loud rock ‘n’ roll where the singer sings about how bad he is? Who could not love it? Next up is what sounds like AC/DC doing a cover of “Cocaine” (made famous by Eric Clapton, originally performed by J.J. Cale). Then there’s the jangly “Momma Don’t Cry” which I hear parts of STP and parts of Jimi Hendrix.
My absolute favorite track is the raucous “Girls Kissing Girls” (which has always been a favorite subject of mine) that sees the band back in AC/DC mode. The ballad “I’m In Love” is another album highlight bringing to mind ’70s southern rock and STP again. I think singer Huck Johns is a great voice throughout the whole album. He seems to easily capture Bon Scott and Scott Weiland, depending on what the song calls for.
Anyone who is a fan of the bands I have mentioned will enjoy this album. There are many great rock bands out there today, but there’s not many with as classic of a sound as Black Robot, so support real rock ‘n’ roll!
Highlights: “Baddass”, “Girls Kissing Girls”, “I’m In Love”, “In My Car”, “Black Robot”, “Love on a .45″, “Dissatisfaction”
Concert Review: KISS w/ Buckcherry – 9/25/09
KISS
with Buckcherry
9/25/09
Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan
FINALLY! Nine years after trying to see KISS on their “farewell tour” (I couldn’t find anyone who would go with me!) and five years after purchasing tickets to see them on their Rock the Nation tour (my show got canceled), I can now say that I have experienced KISS alive and in person! They’ve been the Holy Grail of concerts for me and it was everything I expected.
Supposedly, tickets were selling so well on the first day for this show that they added a show for 9/26 as well. I’m pretty sure the second date was already set in stone, but I’m also confident the show last night as a sellout, I didn’t see an empty seat in the 12,000+ capacity arena by the time KISS stormed the stage.
The show was scheduled to start at 7:30PM and my fiancee and I (the only rock show partner I have) left Lansing about 5:15 or so. I’ve never been into Detroit before, so I was a little bit anxious, hoping we could be sticking the highway and that’s exactly what we did as the highway feeds right into Cobo. After waiting for about 30-40 minutes in very slow moving line to park in Cobo’s parking complex (which they ripped me off another $10 for), we got to our seats a few minutes past 7:30.
Buckcherry setlist
Tired Of You
Next to You
Lit Up
Out of Line
Talk To Me
Rescue Me
Highway Star
Everything
Sorry
Crazy Bitch
Unfortunately, Buckcherry had already started their set as we were still outside the doors trying to get our seats, but I could hear “Lit Up” playing, so thankfully, we didn’t miss to you. I would’ve love to have heard “Tired of You”, it’s a great live song and one of my favorites from the band. I was able to find out they played “Tired of You” and “Next to You” thanks to a fan from Buckcherry’s message board.
One thing I thought was funny was that sing Josh Todd mentioned he was told not to cuss while talking onstage (that didn’t really stop him, but he did hold back a bit compared to the previous shows I’ve seen them on)… Yet, almost every song Buckcherry played features cussing!
It was cool to hear them play Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”, the band covered it recently as a theme song for NASCAR and it has been placed on the re-issue of 2008′s Black Butterfly.
The band did another great expanded edition of “Crazy Bitch”, taking a brief trip into Billy Squier’s “The Stroke” (as they usually do) and also “Fire”, which I’m guessing is the title. It was a popular funk song, but I can’t remember who sang it originally.
All told, Buckcherry in the studio or live is one of the great rock bands from the last ten years. This was my third time seeing them play and it’s always a great show. As good as they were though, my mind was on KISS and by the time Buckcherry ended their set, I was ready for Gene & Paul!
KISS setlist
Deuce
Strutter
Got to Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Nothin’ to Lose
C’mon and Love Me
Parasite
She
Watchin’ You
100,000 Years
Black Diamond
Cold Gin
Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Rock and Roll All Nite
ENCORE:
Shout It Out Loud
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud
Modern Day Delilah
Love Gun
Detroit Rock City
Paul was especially fun to watch (he’s always been my favorite), he was prancing and dancing and running around all night long. I was also looking forward to his stage raps and I know he’s got a reputation for using the same lines at every show, but this time he mostly spoke about the band’s history with Cobo and Detroit. He mentioned they originally weren’t planning on starting the ALIVE 35 tour in Detroit, but once they heard Cobo was coming down (it’s being demolished and then will be rebuilt to a larger size), they wanted to play there. He also talked about the hard times Detroit has fallen on and said it was a sin for one of America’s greatest cities that’s given the world such great music to have such a high unemployment rate and said he knew Detroit would rise again.
There was a funny part where he was asking us where KISS should play next time they come to Detroit. He asked if they should come back The Palace of Auburn Hills, the crowd booed, so he said “where do you want us to come?”
“No, not in your mouth,” was Paul’s reply to one fan up front. It was pretty funny.
Another humorous moment was when Paul came out to join the crowd during “Love Gun” on his rotating platform. Nearing the end, after his vocal part was done, his microphone stand went down. I’m not sure he knocked it over on purpose or what, I didn’t catch that, but he pointed at it a few times for a crew member to take care of, but no one did. In anger, he kicked it towards the edge of the platform and one of the guys finally got off their butts and took it away so he could keep prancing around.
The band ran through most of Alive!, strangely leaving off “Rock Bottom” and “Firehouse”. I would’ve loved to have heard “Rock Bottom”. It was great to hear “Modern Day Delilah” and “Love Gun” and of course, they couldn’t come to Detroit without closing with “Detroit Rock City”.
I’ve seen enough KISS concert footage to know what to expect from these guys: pyro, flames, smoke, levitating drum kits, rising platforms, firebreathing, Gene doing his bat pose and flying up into the air, Paul ziplining out to the middle of the arena, rocket shooting guitars, smashing guitars… They did it all and myself and the rest of the crowd ate it up!
These guys are professionals, Tommy and Eric included. They sounded great and they looked great, so as always, KISS delivered. I will make sure to see them again when the next come around, hopefully they’ll do a tour dedicated to the new album next year.
BUCKCHERRY – 15
Buckcherry – 15 (2005, Eleven Seven Music)
Track Listing:
1. “So Far” … 3:19
2. “Next 2 You” … 3:28
3. “Out of Line” … 4:22
4. “Everything” … 4:23
5. “Carousel” … 4:31
6. “Sorry” … 3:46
7. “Crazy Bitch” … 3:22
8. “Onset” … 3:35
9. “Sunshine” … 4:12
10. “Brooklyn” … 3:59
11. “Broken Glass” … 3:31
Band:
Josh Todd – Lead Vocals
Keith Nelson – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Stevie D. – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jimmy Ashhurt – Bass, Backing Vocals
Xavier Muriel – Drums, Backing Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Mark Watrous – Keyboard
Produced by: Mike Plotnikoff, Paul DeCarli, Keith Nelson
This album kinda passed me by, even though I picked it up soon after it was released. I was happy the band was back and had a huge rock radio hit with “Crazy Bitch” (then later a pop hit with “Sorry”), but outside of “Crazy Bitch”, I didn’t really listen to the album much. Sometimes, when I buy many CDs within a short span of time, some get lost in the shuffle and not played as much. Perhaps 15 suffered that fate.
And that’s just too bad because this album is REALLY good. In fact, I’d place it right behind my favorite Buckcherry album, 2008′s Black Butterfly. Whatever Josh Todd & Keith Nelson are doing since bring the group back, it’s working for me. There’s a looser, heavier 70s vibe than what was found on their self-titled debut and Time Bomb.
A good handful of songs here have been a part of their live show when I’ve seen them: “Next 2 You”, “Broken Glass” (which sounds even better live), “Out of Line”, “Everything”, “Onset”, and of course “Sorry” and “Crazy Bitch”.
Highlights: “Next 2 You”, “Everything”, “Sorry”, “Crazy Bitch”, “Onset”, “Broken Glass”
BUCKCHERRY, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, PAPA ROACH, SAVING ABEL – 02/21/09
Buckcherry/Avenged Sevenfold/Papa Roach/Saving Abel (02/21/09, Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan)
This past Saturday night I had the pleasure of getting to see a good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll show in Battle Creek. We (my fiancee and I) left here (Lansing) at about 4PM, even though the show didn’t start until 6:30, just to make sure we know where we were going and find our seats… which turned out to be general admission.
After a long wait in a sloooow moving line just to get into the actual arena, I was surprised by how small and kinda of old it was. Holds about 8,500 people and the show was reported to be a sell-out. Of course, the woman had to stop off and get her Papa Roach shirt. Papa Roach being the whole reason we went to this show. My original concert pick was Motley Crue/Hinder/Theory of a Deadman/The Last Vegas, which took place earlier in the month in Grand Rapids. It would’ve been our 3rd time seeing the Crue, but instead she talked me into seeing seeing Buckcherry and Papa Roach for a 2nd time (3rd for her when it comes to Papa Roach).
So anyway, it was a fun show. Here’s the breakdown:
Saving Abel
I don’t know much about this band. Despite my girl owning the CD, I’ve never got around to listening to it, though I was very familiar with “Addicted” from radio and my girl’s ring tone. Everyone was very fired up as soon as they lights went down and they heard the band start to play, but I get the feeling most people were just happy to finally hear music and didn’t so much about Saving Abel in particular. I guess they’re kind of a Nickelback “post grunge” rock band. Not really my thing. I pretty much just wanted them to play “Addicted” then get the heck off the stage.
I had more fun watching one of the guitarists, who was really into the whole show and going all out with mannerisms while playing like he was some heavy metal guitar player. Not knocking it, I thought it was fun.
Not exactly sure of the setlist, since I’m not familiar with their album, but I found this list online and it sounds right:
“In God’s Eyes”
“New Tattoo”
“Drowning (Face Down)”
“Addicted”
“18 Days”
“Beautiful You”
Papa Roach
The crowd favorite of the whole show was, by far, Papa Roach. Kinda makes me wonder how they get such low billing when touring with other bands (they were 3rd on the bill for Crue Fest too). Jacoby Shaddix’s energy is off the charts, just like it was at Crue Fest in Clarkston, MI. He ran into the crowd to sing “Lifeline”, pretty cool stuff. I see the band keeps going in a poppier direction with “Lifeline”. Not a fan of the other new song, “Hollywood Whore”. Just seems cliche at this point to bash brainless celebrity bimbos like Britney and Paris.
Setlist:
“Between Angels & Insects”
“…to Be Loved”
“Deadcell”
“Scars”
“Getting Away with Murder”
“Time Is Running Out”
“Lifeline”
“Forever”
“Hollywood Whore”
“Last Resort”
Avenged Sevenfold
Judging by reaction, A7X were the 2nd biggest band of the night. I think Avenged Sevenfold and Buckcherry are alternating on who is closing the shows. I’ve been missing the boat on Avenged Sevenfold, despite owning City of Evil. I bought 2007′s self-titled release in preparation for this show and it’s a good thing I did, they covered six songs from that album. I loved it. I was really hoping they would play “A Little Piece of Heaven”, which is my favorite song from their last album. I’m hearing they do it as an encore when they close the shows.
It was amazing to hear & see the band play. Great musicians and Synyster Gates has quickly become one of my favorite guitarists.
Setlist:
“Critical Acclaim”
“Afterlife”
“Beast and the Harlot”
“Scream”
“Dear God”
Synyster Gates solo
“Bat Country”
“Gunslinger”
“Unholy Confessions”
“Almost Easy”
Buckcherry
I really enjoy this band because they’re keeping the 80s sleaze factor intact and they delivered a career best (and one of my favorite albums from 2008) with Black Butterfly, but unfortunately, I think they turn off a lot of the “modern” metal/rock fans for the very reason that they are “old school” in sound. Most of the crowd seemed way more into Papa Roach & Avenged Sevenfold in terms of reaction and t-shirts being worn. Plus, I think by this point, there had been so much screaming, yelling and moshing (!!!) going on, the crowd was getting drained.
Still, it’s a blast watching guitarist Keith Nelson (who was dressed like a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Brian Johnson) and singer Josh Todd work the stage. Todd’s movements bring to mind Axl Rose, Steven Tyler, and Mick Jagger.
Unfortunately, we actually had to cut out early from their set (at least we got to beat all of the traffic, though we had to drive an hour back home through a terrible snowstorm), but we were able to see most of it.
The set list, obviously, I’m not totally sure of but I know they played the songs, even if I can’t remember the order:
“Tired of You”
“Broken Glass”
“Next 2 You”
“Ridin’”
“Rescue Me”
“Too Drunk…”
“Lit Up”
“Talk to Me”
I’m sure they finished up with “Sorry” and “Crazy Bitch”.
Overall, this was a great show. Saving Abel was the only downer. I just don’t think they fit in with these other bands. Papa Roach had tons of energy that the crowd matched, Avenged Sevenfold put on an excellent live show and are great musicians and Buckcherry brought the sleaze, attitude & swagger. What more could you ask for?
