OnTour

Bob Mould arrived at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music on the last Sunday in March with the intention of playing an intimate solo acoustic show in support of his new Life and Times (Anti) album. Yet as he’s done throughout his career, the iconic singer/songwriter/guitarist deviated from the script.

Joined by bassist Jason Narducy, a veteran member of Mould’s touring band, the former Husker Du frontman treated the sold-out crowd to an invigorating career-spanning set that culminated with the 48-year-old musician plugging in an electric guitar that spit distortion in a venue renown for quiet and restraint. With his voice in pristine shape and emotions running high, Mould’s gray whiskers and bald head were the only obvious indicators of his status as indie-rock’s elder statesman. Whether excited to test out material from the new record-his second in 13 months-or simply charged by the thrill of delving into his rich catalog, Mould remained engaged from start to finish.

Dressed in a navy blue shirt and blue jeans, the workman-like vocalist didn’t come to chat. “You know me and talking. It’s just better to go…,” he announced before launching into a caustic rendition of “Poison Years,” one of five tracks drawn from 1989’s celebrated Workbook. Similarly, “Brasilia Crossed With Trenton” found him rocking back and forth at the microphone while choking the lifeblood from his guitar, his facial expressions a mess of agitation and disillusion. After he finished the epic tune, mental exasperation forced him to move to another place. “We had another one from Workbook but I’m feeling trapped by my past,” he admitted in the midst of the 90-minute concert.

Mould’s past proved nothing if not cathartic. His cracked falsetto and nasal accents produced the illusion of vocal echoes on “Wishing Well,” a track propelled forward by wavy chords and Narducy’s nimble accompaniment. “See a Little Light” shook and swayed, its bright tuning indicative of the cautiously hopeful lyrics. “Favorite Thing,” a gem from Mould’s days in the 90s pop-rock trio Sugar, jangled with anticipation. “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” persuaded with ringing melodies and magnetic hooks. Throughout, Mould tailored the strumming to each song’s needs. As his right arm loosely dangled over the instrument’s body, his right hand alternately stabbed, snapped, scraped, and swiped at the strings.

Few artists know how to get more from less. Primarily avoiding solos, Mould built songs up to a breaking point and brought bruised narratives into the forefront. Raw and vulnerable, a number of his newest songs seamlessly blended in with time-tested classics. Seething frustration poured through the deceptively mellow “The Breach,” an introspective number that, like many others on this night, tried to make sense of the disconnect, fallout, regret, anger, and ache that stem from troubled relationships.

In this regard, few songs were better than the bittersweet kiss-off “I’m Sorry, Baby, But You Can’t Stand In My Light Any More.” Questioning himself as much as the behavior of his discarded partner, Mould sang “I always find the broken ones/What does that say about me?,” hitting on a subject that has forever been a staple of great pop music.

Despite its relatively short history, Mastodon has rightfully emerged as one of the 21st century’s most mesmerizing bands. The Atlanta metal quartet has progressively raised the stakes on each of its four studio efforts, the most recent of which, Crack the Skye, finally garnered the group overdue mainstream attention-and an impressive debut on the Billboard charts. The elaborate record is only the latest mind-boggling statement from a band that isn’t afraid to challenge itself or its audience.

Such ambition was on display April 30th at Chicago’s sold-out Metro, where Mastodon began the dizzying 100-minute show by playing Crack the Skye from beginning to end. With film images related to the concept album’s narratives flashing on a screen behind them, the members focused intently at the task at hand-namely, mastering the array of tempo shifts, revolving vocal passages, and complex fills demanded by the material. Speaking not a word to the crowd, Mastodon created an aura-rich atmosphere rife with roaring volumes, corrugated rhythms, and trance-inducing intricacies. Dynamic and stormy, it was the equivalent of being dragged feet-first into a turbulent spirit world.

Holding his bass at a perpendicular angle to the floor and bending backward, singer Troy Sanders struck his best Phil Lynott poses while continually trading vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds. His head branded with a jagged tattoo, Hinds shouted lyrics like an under-siege ship captain barking orders to his crew. Along with guitarist Bill Kelliher-a fellow misfit whose rat-tail hair, mutton chops, and scruffy mustache perfectly sum up the band’s refreshingly carefree attitude towards trends and conformity-Hinds juggled a cornucopia of choppy riffs, spacey hooks, and pointillistic leads. While the duo did their share of shredding and thundering, spaciousness and restraint were also in order. “Quintessence” benefited from ample breathing room before embracing spongy drones that kicked the song into another stratosphere. Hinds’ nimble finger picking on “Divinations” sent the tune into a series of rollercoaster spins, turns, and dives. And a deliberate intro to the four-part epic “The Czar” came on as an ambient wash, with Hinds and Kelliher’s complementary notes taking on the shapes and textures of falling snowflakes. In terms of merging technical precision, soulful dexterity, and reckless abandon, a better hard-rock guitar tandem doesn’t currently exist.

Perched behind a modest drum set and seated on the floor (sans riser), virtuosic drummer Brann Dailor held it all together. Wrists and arms in constant motion, he kept time and added accents with a technique that combined equal parts power and finesse. On occasion, Dailor pulled double duty, contributing harmonies to “Crack the Skye” and auxiliary psychedelic touches on “The Last Baron.”

If the first half of the concert was music of séances, spells, flashbacks, dreams, and myths, the blustery second half functioned as a crushing blitz of Mastodon’s heavier side and thematic probe of earthly creatures and natural elements. Exploring its evolution in reverse order, Mastodon tore through songs from its first three records by starting with the free-for-all “Bladecatcher” before breaking the a-chronological sequencing by climaxing with “Hearts Alive.” In between, the band threw Southern punches (”Colony of Birchmen”), triggered sonic avalanches (”The Wolf Is Loose,” anchored by Dailor’s kit-mashing), and invoked man-versus-monster tussles (”Seabeast”). On this night, Mastodon left no doubt as to what party proved victorious.

Black leather, long hair, tattoos, and smiles united under the golden mosaic roof of the NY Hammerstein Ballroom to feel the heavy metal thunder of Black Label Society. On April 10th The NYC chapter members brought on the SDMF (Society Dwelling M.F.’s) attitude as BLS performed the new greatest hits CD/DVD, “Skullage”. Representing the West Coast (San Francisco, CA) as a Metal enthusiast and performer it was a treat to begin my recent NY trip attending this bash. Having seen the sold out opening show of the tour back in my home town at the Fillmore on March 6, I was impressed that Zakk Wylde and company had fine-tuned the show and camaraderie even further. Edsel Dope’s band, Dope got the party started with some of his originals, including “Addiction” and finished with a mixed bag of covers, ranging from Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” and NWA’s “Fuck the Police.”  Shots were delivered to the band via a Hustler dancer, inviting the crowd to join the after party at the Hustler Club.

Sevendust took the stage next with master metal frontman Lajon Witherspoon.  They played their hits and covered metal standards “Master of Puppets”, “Walk” and closing out with “We Die Young” , pouring out a lot of energy to pump up the crowd even further.  Just before BLS took the stage, they played Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” as intro music.  I had a great time singing along with this one, but it did seem to confuse some of the audience.  I chalked it up to Wylde’s Southern influences.

Then, the enormous BLS banner hit the floor and the siren kicked in; they hit the stage and opened with “Black Mass Reverends.”  Wylde’s voice was heavy with reverb as he ripped away on his new orange Gibson “Zakk Wylde ZV Buzzsaw” guitar, one of only 50 produced.  Nick Catanese lived up to his title of “evil twin guitarist” scorching riffs on his PRS guitars, with the backbone of BLS, JD Deservio on bass and drummer “Louisiana Lightning” cranking out some thunderous beats.  Wylde went on to blast out his hits, “Destruction Overdrive”, “Stillborn”, “Blessed Hellride” and “Suicide Messiah” with he and Catanese using their double stacked Marshalls to blow the roof off the Ballroom.

Zakk swears on every tour he will play the tribute song “In This River” dedicated to the late Dimebag Darrell Abbott (Pantera).  Wylde, put the chest pounding metal studs side of his personality down for a few minutes as he sat down at the piano to play this tribute to his good friend; the piano adorned with a BLS American flag and two large photo banners of Abbot.  “Fire It Up” was laden with multiple crowd delights. Black Label icon beach balls were tossed into the crowd frenzy as t-shirts were shot out of a CO2 cannon. Zakk ended the blaze by soloing ala Randy Rhodes style with the Flying V over his back and with his teeth. A blistering Star Spangled Banner further unleashed Wylde’s guitar playing soul while touching many hearts in the Big Apple.

Leslie West of Mountain appeared as a special guest proving he still has a great voice. West, Wylde, and Catanese all unleashed impressive guitar solos, with both BLS guitarists using double neck guitars. Following the Mountain special was “Concrete Jungle” and the infamous finale of “Stillborn”. The BLS NYC Chapter shined their faithful colors with hours of metal mayhem, admiring Zakk Wylde as the Metal Messiah and frequent gestures of respect went back and forth between the bandmates. Thankful pointing gestures to the power that be, personal Wylde hugs and lots of one on one eye contact with the fans in the front row were soaked up as Wylde made his exit.

It’s always great to see guys this talented have a dose of humility.  I think it’s safe to say that Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society successfully destroyed and conquered NY’s Hammerstein Ballroom this evening.

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer kicked off their “Unwigged and Unplugged” tour in Vancouver, BC last night and played this evening at Portland’s Keller Auditorium.  Watch for a full report next week when issue 21 of TONEAudio is ready for download.

But we will tell you this much; if you are even a little bit of a fan of Spinal Tap or The Folksmen, this is not to be missed.

The Pacific Northwest music scene has been steadily embracing a pure party music aesthetic over the last year or so, and in that spirit the Yogoman Burning Band delivered a loose and exuberant set in front of a friendly, eclectic and enthusiastic crowd at the “World Famous” Kenton Club in North Portland. Yogoman, based in Bellingham, Washington and led by drummer Jordan Rain, mixes reggae, rhythm and blues and soul into a familiar package. Their fun and celebratory performance was the perfect match for the first warm spring night after a particularly long and grueling winter in this region.

It was a treat to see Sarazin Blake in person after being recently introduced to his latest album, The Air Your Lungs Forced Out. He stood at the rear of the stage and adapted his usually folk-tinged guitar rhythms to the traditional reggae upstrokes, giving Rain (who placed his drum set right at the front edge of the stage) the reigns. Rain also sang lead vocals with a perfectly relaxed tone that makes this music a perfect antidote for the end of a hectic day. Bassist Norah McLaughlin, trumpeter/cornet player Joel Ricci, saxophonist Thomas Akihiro Deakin, trombonist Mars Lindgren and guitarist Josh Holland crammed themselves onto the small stage and provided the audience with an unusually high caliber of musicianship.

You can find out more about Yogoman Burning band by checking out their MySpace page, where you can get more information on their new album, City of Subdued Excitement, MP3 downloads and tour information.