Sunday, June 22, 2008

live review: the black angels & the warlocks

so what are the chances that two of your favorite bands will share a bill? and what are the odds that they play at a wicked local venue with a wicked local band? now takes those chances and odds and add them to the odds that this will be the best show you've ever been privy to and what do you get? well, if you happened to be at the mad planet here in milwaukee last night to catch the warlocks and the black angels play (and judging by the attendance you weren't) then those odds were astronomically out of your favor but you bet your chips right by going.

on my way to the show i was planning the night in my head. first up i will get the 'get smoked call', and then i'll see locals call me lightning, followed by the black angels, and then the warlocks will burn the whole fucking place down. this wasn't exactly a correct assumption, in fact it was completely wrong. i walk in unsmoked to hear 'we're the warlocks and we're from los angeles.' and i'm like 'i thought this shit went down at 10. oh well i guess i missed call me lightning. fuck it.' nope, for some reason the warlocks opened the show--not that i have anything (or had anything) against call me lightning--i thought the locals would play first. it doesn't seem unreasonable that the band on tour wouldn't open. oh well at least there wasn't any awkward standing around as i was rolling solo.


the warlocks played a set mostly composed of favorites ('the dope feels good', 'hurricane heart attack', 'come save us', 'the dope feels good') and some from the latest release heavy deavy skull lover; 'so paranoid' but the set seemed suspiciously short. maybe 8 songs. 9? draped in strategically placed light, the warlocks' silhouettes were all we we're allowed to see. this along with the fog that the fog machine spewed (that constantly reminded me i wasn't smoked) totally added to the ambience the music was putting out. head warlock bobby hecksher was kind of downer when he kept saying that the venue wasn't right and he'll never play there again. then again he kept reminding us that he was sick as well so maybe the two we're related. maybe that's just the los angeles in him. either way, i think the warlocks cemented themselves last night as the best jonestown massacre offshoot band (with black rebel motorcycle club coming in at a dangerously close second).


locals call me lightning came out and thrashed a ridiculously awesome set. apparently a dude from mudhoney (mark arm) and jack black (if jack black grew his hair long, ruled the bass, and wasn't a retard (most of the time)) moved to milwaukee, found the best drummer in town and started a band. then they get signed to frenchkiss and then the warlocks opened for them before they opened for the black angels. that is pretty much all i know about them. well that and they shop at the same local record shop i go to. but man, can that kid play the drums even though he wears this ridiculous o-face the entire time. check em out if you can. that is if you dig solid rock n roll.


i've never heard about the black angels live set so i wasn't sure what to expect when i saw 2 film projectors, a film strip projector and an overhead projector. coming out and tearing up 'manipulation' the black angels blazed thru songs off of both their albums plus one i didn't recognize called 'sitar jamb no. 1'. thru-out the entire show, various films and movie clips with played over the band and some some of the audience intermixed with various pictures and slides. the only clip that really sticks out was the 100 meter dash form some olympiad or something was played backwards. it's really weird watching people sprint backwards with this unbelieveably perfect psychedelia is thrown right at your face. and by weird i mean totally fucking sweet. i really wish it was season and i could've eaten a chronic dose for saturday june 21st which could have been the only way last night would've been better. but even that would be only marginally better. because last night was pretty tits. during the entire set the band rotated instruments and even the drummer mid-song. speaking of drummers, the little drummer girl wrecks. my guess is that she likes the velvet underground a whole bunch. plus she's superhot. this tour goes thru july and i highly suggest you attend as this one was only 10 bones or clams or whatever it is you call them these days. stay tuned for an interview with black angel christian later on down the line. ok, so the only complaint i have is that they didn't play 'the prodigal sun'. meh.

well, that and then george carlin died. dang.

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