Concert Reviews
S.O.D., Crowbar, and Skinlab
Live at Harpo's, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Saturday, November 20, 1999
Reviewer: Nathan Robinson
Ah yes, Harpo's. I hate this place. Not only because it just sucks, but
also because the neighborhood it is in is not very safe. I vowed I would
never come here again, but here I am! First of all, I am not a fan of
Skinlab. I purposely arrived late to miss them. And although I did arrive
late, I made it just in time to see them! Great… Well, they were just
what I expected: Machine Head clones! "Come on motherfuckers, I want
to see this pit go crazy!" It's talk like that between songs that
makes my stomach sour. Just shut up and get on with the goddamn show! I
mean, the band performs well, and their stage presence is energetic, but
get off the stage and make way!
Next up: Crowbar! Can you get any heavier? These guys are no bullshit,
heavy weight, rhinoceros metal! They sounded excellent and played well,
performing a mixture of songs from various albums (sorry I cannot pinpoint
any certain names here, I'm a newer fan of theirs). It seemed their set
was rather short though. One disappointment was a change in drummers. I
don't know who was up there with them, but he did not fit in visually nor
functionally. Is this the same person as the goof in Sonic Violence?
S.O.D… By the time they got on stage it was midnight…typical for
Harpo's. I tend to get fed up with this shit hole by this time and
unfortunately I start to lose interest in the show. S.O.D. was, well…S.O.D.!
Heavy and hilarious! The opening music was "We are the World."
Not just part of the song…the WHOLE THING! Brilliant! They played a
large slew of songs, which is no wonder seeing as they're so short. Billy
Milano had nice things to say about Detroit and people in general between
songs, which was entertaining. He ripped on us because Detroit's the home
of that loser Kid Rock. Scott was his usual intense-picking and
stage-stomping self. Dan Lilker was also his usual self…a living zombie.
And Charlie? Man, he totally pounded his ass off tonight. I kept my eye on
him most of the night because he was the most entertaining for me, and I
really appreciate his skills. S.O.D. almost played their entire first
album, which was cool, but I wish they would have concentrated more on the
second. They performed ballads of Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt
Cobain, Frank Sinatra, Freddy Mercury, and a few others. Glad to hear one
for Frank goddamn Sinatra! They also played "6 songs in 9
seconds". This short bit was a medley of their shortest songs
including "Anti-Procrastination Song", "Momo",
"The Camel Boy", "Diamonds and Rust", and two more I
couldn't make out for some reason.
Seeing S.O.D. was cool, but for some reason I just wasn't as excited as
when I first bought my ticket. I am sure part of it had to do with seeing
In Flames just a week prior. I mean, can you get any better? (Let me
answer that by saying yes: Fantomas). The other part of my un-enthusiastic
feelings is Harpo's. Unless an ultra-metal show comes along, this is the
last time I'm going to Harpo's. It's just not worth it.
Fantomas
Live at St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Monday, December 6, 1999
Reviewer: Nathan Robinson
Mike Patton. Dave Lombardo. Buzz Osbourne. Trevor Dunn. Man, these four
guys are AMAZING! I would guess there were only 150-200 people at this
show. St. Andrew's Hall is a good place to see a live band. It is right in
the heart of downtown Detroit.
Opening for Fantomas was some stupid-ass techno bullshit
"band" called Kid 606 or something like that. What is the
purpose of this? It's one guy, a computer, and some other electronic crap
on stage. He doesn't really play anything…just pushes buttons. Why not
just pop your CD into a player, push ONE button ("play"), and be
done with it? Stupid…pointless…annoying. I cannot believe people
listen to this crap. In ten years, is anyone going to care about this ass
wipe? This kind of "music" has no integrity.
Enter Fantomas. They opened up with Mike ripping on us for being the
home of Kid Rock. This was pretty funny indeed. But without warning they
started the music with Dave and Trevor's pounding drums and bass, along
with Mike's hiccup vocals . Everyone in the audience just watched in awe
as the show progressed. I just had to get close to witness this
monstrosity. Fantomas sounded superb, and their performance was virtually
flawless, which is amazing considering the technicality and insanity of
their album. Timing is critical for this band, and it was very
entertaining watching Mike staring at Dave with evil eyes to make sure
they're right on target. And if you've never seen Dave live, you're
missing out on quite a sight! Damn is he furious! Fantomas ripped through
the first half of their album with very little pauses and in-between-song
ramblings. Although during the quiet parts of the music, people were
yelling various Mr. Bungle song or demo titles, or other nonsense, to
which Mike responded by telling us to "shut the fuck up" and
threatening to play a Kid Rock medley and all of his hit songs, including
a ballad. Mike couldn't remember the name of Kid Rock's ballad and asked
Buzz what it was called. Buzz shrugged his shoulders with a clueless look
and muttered "I don't know…the ballad of Detroit?" Mike
replied "wait, I know…it's called 'The People Mover'". Which
is very hilarious if you've been to Detroit and know what this
piece-of-shit public transportation train thing is.
As a change in pace, after completing the first half of the album,
Fantomas played what I would guess is a cover song. If you know Mr.
Bungle, Patton's other band (duh), you know they always play covers…anything
from D.R.I. to Loverboy! The song Fantomas played tonight sounded like a
love song, judging from the words and how soft the song was. But there was
a middle section that was fast and heavy that threw everyone off for a
bit. After this song, they played the second half of their album. So in
all they played their whole album! Is that not awesome!? And the crowd
loved every minute of it! And as usual, the band left the stage while the
fans shouted for the band to come back. Well they did. And guess what they
played for an encore: a fucking Slayer medley! HOLY SHIT! Every time you
go to see a band perform live, and that band has a musician formerly from
another band, people shout that other band's name. For what reason I don't
know. So naturally, during this show people were yelling
"Slayer!", as if the band would hear it and respond by playing
"War Ensemble" or something. Well I sure as hell wasn't
expecting a Slayer medley! Starting off with the intro drums of
"Criminally Insane", they mixed up various songs from
"Reign in Blood", but Fantomas style. They toyed with the
arrangements and tempos, exaggerated some music or vocal parts, or played
the parts true to form. Absolutely brilliant and exciting! After the show
Dave threw out his sticks to the crowd. I missed my chance at getting his
second stick. It went right by me. Damn! What is my problem!?
This is perhaps the best show I have ever seen! These guys are
breathtaking. Just phenomenal! It's no wonder I bought a hat, shirt,
jacket, sweatshirt, and stickers after the show! Remember, a band makes
its money from merchandise sales, not ticket sales nor record sales. And
the band deserves every penny of my contribution!