Orange Goblin, et al. @ the Note, West Chester PA 11.3.13

[SabbathJeff]

Hadn't heard any/much of these four openers, so this was as much an introductory gig, a chance to be capped by stellar ben wardian type entertainment.

Kingsnake -

caught last of set that began early (really?) as I arrived at 7:53, so that was weird.

What I heard I liked we enough, was sounding a tad generic to my ears in its simple blues doom/death, but not unfavorable.

Anciients -

Fuck yes.  Big surprise.  Beautiful twin guitar work.  Classic metal juxtaposed with that fast shit?  I'd have totes grabbed an album.

Lazer/Wulf -

The other surprise of the night.  Not sure what they're doing on this tour..?  These guys were really good at what they do.  I don't know what it is they do.  Sometimes they play just fast evil standard heavy shit.  Then there's the other times.  The tapping times as I like to call them.  The bassist was nuts with this this tapping shit, gutiarist to, creating ryhthms clanging versus verses soaring.  I can see this working for Tool or Primus tours moreso.  Again, very talented, I just can't groove to what they laying down some of the time.  Pick a genre.  They play the fast stuff well enough.  But the purity of the rhyrhms they unleash by tapping seem to stand out more, to call for more attention.  Honestly, I'd tell the guys to rid the fast shit regular metal and just build songs around the tapping, verses songs that act like they're metal but then have abrupt detours into clangly tool/primus territory.  Pick a genre, then get back to me.

Holy Grail -

YEEEEEEEEE How the fuck did that dude hit those notes?  Whoever sings for this band has a really great high pitched voice, way up there, past halford, maybe even past king diamond, super up there.  Squeals of things metal echoed through and over the classic metal twin guitar harmonizing, the really fast technical riffing, the maniac behind the drums trying to hold the thing together, and that in the pocket finger free bass, which was really fun to watch.    

Really fun live band.

And then came Orange Goblin.  I gave Goblin Chris my art therapy drawing I drew for the lads, and he kindly accepted it and said he'd show it to them.  This set tonight was really special.  Scorpionica, Acid Trial, Saruman's Wish, Rage Of Angels, Made Of Rats, Stand For Something, Some You Win, Some You Lose, Round Up The Horses, Your World Will Hate This, Time Travelling Blues, They Come Back, Quincy The Pigboy, close Ride Tide Rising.

Made of Rats, Time Travelling Blues and Quincy the motherfucking Pigboy were really really tasty, top form tonight.  Was hoping they would have had a copy of the live album released last year, but it was not to be.  Nabbed other merch anyway.  When I closed my eyes for the beautiful intro to time travellin'...I swear I thought it was 1969 and the James gang was on stage.

Ben was his usual big britishy self, and entertained the masses well in West Chester tonight.

Saw someone famous, because he had a very fuckable piece of arm candy attached at his arm all night.  Who was that guy?  Why do I know him?  Where have I seen him?  Why was he at my gig?

/stonedlolreview