311 with RNR

It seems just like yesterday that for the first time Las Vegas hosted the annual 311 day, back in 2010. Although I was not fortunate enough to snag a ticket in the few minutes before they sold out, 311 once again showed Las Vegas love by kicking off their spring tour at The Joint. Despite being fan since the release of their 1995 "Blue Album," I was still a virgin to seeing 311's live show. Needless to say, with 15 years for my imagination to run wild, I was beyond excited to see this show.

Opening was Las Vegas' own hip-hop groove band 702. This massive eight piece band consists of a highly technical guitarist, intense bass, keys, and drums, all feeding the beat to four emcees. Their songs ranged from groovy beats to loud rock, channeling several styles, from Jurassic Five to Rage Against the Machine. RNR was highly dynamic, captivating the audience and getting the crowd spun like they were the main act. I was truly impressed by everything they brought to the Joint, and it's been a while since I could say that about a homegrown band. Truly innovative and sure to go somewhere, be sure to do your part, show some Vegas love and take a moment to give RNR a listen.
Before 311 took the stage, fans began rushing down to the floor and "three-eleven" chants began breaking out of the over-anxious crowd. 311 started off hard, wasting no time whipping the fans into a frenzy. Nick Hexum addressed the thousands of cheering fans, "What's up Vegas! Welcome to the first show of 2011. Thanks for comin' out. Let's get loose and have some fun; what do ya say?" 311 definitely brought the fun, playing mostly songs from their back catalog, fans sang along and danced through a groovy two-hour performance. Despite throwing a rather plain show relying only on house lighting, this allowed Hexum's ambient voice and the music to shine even stronger through. I was thoroughly impressed with 311's incredible performance and hope to catch many more in the future. The next day, 311 posted on their facebook, "Thanks Vegas!! Great fun was had by all." 311 also gave fans a link to their incredible setlist, which consisted of many old tracks and rarities that surely please everyone in the house. Fortunately I captured several of these rare moments on video. [Notably Part II: A wicked drum circle with all members on drums following Applied Science, Part III: Eons, and Part IV: Mindspin]

Videos:
Part I - RNR, 311: Intro / Sick Tight, Beautiful Disaster
Part II - 311: Welcome, Mixed Up, Applied Science (entirety)
Part III - 311: Eons, Omaha Stylee, and Down.
Part IV - 311 Encore: Mindspin and Feels Good

BlackDiamondSkye Tour: Alice in Chains, Deftones, and Mastodon

Back in April, I was given the choice to throw a birthday bash or buy tickets to the Alice in Chains, Deftones, and Mastodon on their BlackDiamondSkye Tour. [Actually a combination of the latest album from each band: Black Gives Way to Blue (AIC), Diamond Eyes (D), and Crack the Skye (M)] This intimate one month tour was a real treat for long time fans, Las Vegas happened to be the thirteenth and final stop. Without hesitation I chose the concert. As I was fortunate enough to purchase tickets on the pre-sale before they sold out, my punishment was the excruciating six month wait. AIC is easily on of my top ten bands, I love Deftones style, and Mastodon always puts on a great show; I knew this would be an epic show.
Although I don’t believe Mastodon has reached the level of success they deserve, every regular metal concert goer has seen them at least once. Mastodon typically opens for large rock concerts putting on high energy performances with true metal attitude, style, and shredding guitar solos. Tonight was no exception, only they were backed by two large screens projecting gritty video clips, great audio and lighting. Mastodon definitely warmed up the crowd with their headbanging music, playing a full setlist, and taking a moment to thank the fellow bands and their crew for making this tour happen.

During the short break, it became apparent that many of the audience were diehard Deftones fans, especially when the chanting started. Who can blame them though, in 2008 their bassist (Chi Cheng) was in a severe car accident that he has yet to recovered from. Although Chi has not been forgotten, many of us were simply grateful to have the chance to see Deftones live.
Deftones wasted no time catapulting into their set, taking fans back by hammering out a couple of old school classics, reminding many of us why we love their music. Chino was jumping and screaming across the stage, stirring the crowd into a frenzy, crowd-surfing and a pseudo-mosh pits errupted before security stifled them. Deftones rounded out a particularly well received set with tracks from Diamond Eyes and their self-titled album. Even after the crowd was totally rocked by Mastodon and Deftones, an incredible finale by Alice in Chains was still to come.
Alice in Chains teased the audience by wrapping the stage in a white sheet, keeping their setup hidden until showtime. When instruments began humming, colored lights and the tour logo were shown onto the sheet, suddenly dropping to reveal an elaborate two level stage covered in screens. Alice in Chains started off strong with many fan favorites from Dirt. Their sound was rich, full, and new singer William DuVall was the perfect choice for vocals, doing respect to former Layne Staley. Jerry Cantrell played beautiful solos with seemingly little effort, and DuVall joined in on acoustic guitar for a few songs. AIC choose a wonderful selection of songs from their incredible catalog, even returning to an underwhelming crowd to complete a three song encore.

The BlackDiamondSkye Tour was really like three shows in one, each band had the energy, skills, and fan base to have each headlined their own show. As this was the last stop on the tour, 4,000 fans were treated to a sentimental and over four hour concert with Alice in Chains, Deftones, and Mastodon. Due to my deep love for these bands, I will admit I was hesitant of the new band members, however both impressed me and did a fantastic job. This show was everything I wanted and more, quite possibly the best one of 2010.

Setlists:
Mastodon: Naked Burn, Divinations, Oblivion, Crystal Skull, Colony of Birchmen, The Czar, Megalodon, and Blood Thunder.
Deftones: Rocket Skates, Around the Fur, Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), My Own Summer (Shove It), Diamond Eyes, You’ve Seen the Butcher, Sextape, Passenger, Change (In the House of Flies), Birthmark, Engine No. 9, and 7Words.
Alice In Chains: Them Bones, Dam That River, Rain When I Die, Again, Check my Brain, Your Decision, No Excuses, Love Hate Love, We Die Young, Acid Bubble, Lesson Learned, It Ain't Like That, and Rooster. Encore: Nutshell, Man in the Box, Would?

Primus

This Saturday night, The Joint at the Hard Rock hosted a special midnight show, Primus. A generous friend of ours had one extra ticket to the show, but for the rest of us the envy started to sink in. Since most of us had never seen Primus, we decided to take a trip to the venue and buy any tickets available. It was a good thing we did, because when all eight of us arrived at 11:30, the show was sold out.
Primus came out to an elaborately decorated stage, on either side of the drums there were two giant spacemen with constant flashing images projected on their helmets. Les Claypool was wearing a suit, tall Lincoln style top hat, and bold round glasses, making himself look like an eight-foot tall ringleader. I knew immediately we were in for a one of a kind performance. Sure enough, after opening with Pudding Time, Primus did an incredible cover of Pink Floyd’s In The Flesh from The Wall. Primus already had the audience in a frenzy, cheering, dancing, and rocking out.
It was great to see Primus perform as a three piece, with Les Claypool, Larry Lalonde (guitar) and Jay Lane (drums). Even when Les would trail off into an experimental bass solo, the guitar and drums were equally as loud and creative; their music flowed together instinctively. The immense rhythms moved through your body and rattled your bones. Primus seemed to just go with the flow, playing random tracks, doing stylish covers, just jammed out playing; Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread, Behind My Camel (The Police cover), Groundhog's Day, Those Damned Blue Collar, Mr. Knowitall, Big in Japan (Tom Waits cover), and Over The Falls.
Not only did Les make his mad bass playing skills look easy, the sounds he was able to create were like nothing I had ever heard. The audience just stared in amazement when he came onstage with a monkey mask and played these deep, dark, grinding tones with his Whamola (single string stand-up bass). Just watching Les Claypool alone was an incredible show of unique instruments and sounds. Primus banged out the rest of their set with Eleven, Frizzle Fry, My Name Is Mud, Southbound Pachyderm, and an extended version of Tommy The Cat.
Fans chanted “Primus sucks! Primus sucks!” until they returned to the stage for an encore. Primus gave all they had left with Over the Electric Grapevine and Too Many Puppies. The whole crowd took this last oppotunity to dance, get crazy in the pit, and even crowd surf. Primus had managed to take all 4,000 fans on an incredible two hour journey through their music, visuals, and truly unique experience.

Primus was an incredible show and even many veteran fans were gushing about it is one of the best shows they have ever seen. The Hard Rock exploded with thousands of people at 3 a.m., some waited in the garage for an hour to leave, others stayed and partied till dawn. The upside to sticking around after a concert in Las Vegas, a couple hours later a few of our friends got the chance to have a drink with Les Claypool himself. Thank you Primus, it really doesn’t get any better than that!

Be sure to check out a behind the scenes look at Primus in Las Vegas.