Rob Zombie Redemption

Admittedly, I almost didn’t make it to the Rob Zombie concert on Wednesday. I would’ve been getting tickets hella late, and I really didn’t wanna get seat tickets in the Rose Music Center amphitheater if I had to go alone. But then an angel of a friend said she would go with me, and we got the tickets the night before.

The opening band was a Dayton local called Brothers In Arms. They sounded so familiar, and I didn’t realize until I figured out who they were that I had heard them previously on the local radio stations. Honestly, these guys are awesome, and have a great sound. Check them out if you like bands like Black Stone Cherry or Black Label Society.

My last Rob Zombie experience was piss poor due to the awful venue it was at, so I was excited for some Zombie redemption. And a mighty fine redemption it was! Finally being able to see the stage meant I finally got to witness that Rob Zombie energy. The man has amazing stage presence, and works the entire stage. Every member of the band had the same energy and zeal, as well, so with the screen backdrop playing new video loops for every song and the great lighting, it was visually spectacular.

Rob Zombie and I apparently have at least one thing in common, in that we enjoy an authentic concert experience. I don’t feel like you can fully appreciate and enjoy a show watching it from your phone screen (or, at the very least I can’t lol). So he had John 5 absolutely kill it on a guitar solo while he made a lap around the amphitheater. It was at this point, when I realized what he was doing, that I rushed down to the edge of the seating I was at and leaned over the rail. I was rewarded for the effort with a high five from RZ, which was super appreciated since I could see that not everyone was getting one as he made his way around.

While my first time seeing him was tainted by the venue it was at, that wasn’t his fault. I don’t believe that Rob Zombie can give a bad concert experience. The man was made to entertain, it would seem. Every song dance-able and he plays enough of his popular songs that even new or casual fans can sing along at least a few times during the set.

Overall, I know I definitely will not hesitate to see him whenever possible, because even with seats that are not exactly my preference the show was top notch.

Disappointment aka Fort Wayne, You Suck

This one is a little overdue, guys, and I apologize for that. But, it’s been hard for me to figure out how I want to get this one written down. You see, I had a bad experience at a concert, and I don’t want to spend the whole time bitching, but I wasn’t really given much more to work with.

We’ll start from the beginning. I had never been to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And thus, I had no clue what to expect. I did not expect, however, the $5 parking charge. And the fact that it would be cash only. So already I was annoyed, on top of the fact that I was running a tad bit late because of conflicting information out there about the start time, and the fact that I didn’t think it would be necessary to follow the venue on Facebook to keep updated.

What was I going to see? Something that I paid way too much for, I can tell you that. It was a co-headlining show with Disturbed and Rob Zombie, featuring Pop Evil as the opening band. Now, I have nothing against Pop Evil, but I don’t exactly have anything of theirs downloaded and I only know the songs I heard on the radio. We walked in during the middle of their set, and from what I saw they had really great stage presence. The lead singer even ran up and sang in the stands.

That’s right, guys. I went to a giant venue where they actually have stadium type seating. I’ve been so spoiled with my small venue experiences, I thought I’d never go back to one of those places. But I figured that if anyone was worth it, Rob Zombie would be worth it. And that’s part of the problem I have with loving big name guys like RZ. They really only ever seem to play giant venues like that, with outrageously priced tickets. But seeing Zombie was my dream. And it still is, because I couldn’t see the man to save my life!

I got floor tickets, because where the fuck else would you expect me to be. But little did I know that I had walked into another god forsaken venue that does not allow moshing or crowd surfing. Thank you, Fort Wayne, for once again sucking the fun out of everything. But as rude as the staff was, and overpriced the drinks, the people that actually went to see the show were just fucking awful. The whole place smelled like bad body odor and sweat and halitosis. I’m really concerned that Fort Wayne isn’t showering or brushing their teeth, because that’s really not sanitary or healthy, guys. There was a stupid prick who kept pulling the boyfriend’s ponytail. And I was stuck behind guys letting pretty, skinny girls in front of them, but couldn’t let me get anywhere that I might actually be able to see the stage. At one point there was a girl trying to shove me to the side to get in front of me, but I stood my ground. Now, if you ask me nicely, I will absolutely let you get in front of me, provided you make sure that I can still. But this bitch had these HUGE guys come up and barrel through us all. I came so close to punching some big ass dudes in the back of the head, but I really can’t afford to get knocked out at a show.

So no, I couldn’t see Rob Zombie if my life depended on it. I could see the screen, which was cool, but I wasn’t there to just watch whatever video he had playing to go along with the songs, I was there to watch HIM. If I wanted to just listen to his music, I could’ve done that at home and not had to deal with Fort Wayne assholes! From what I could hear, he sounded awesome, and the few times he came into my line of vision, he had so much energy. I would’ve killed for VIP meet and greet tickets, but I’m broke as fuck. That’s the mommy life, though.

Now, by the time Disturbed came up, I was just in a foul mood all around. The merchandise was too expensive and I would never get anywhere that I could actually see the stage, so I was super bummed. The whole concert experience just wasn’t there for me anymore. I was literally miserable. So we settled somewhere standing at the back of the crowd. Of course that still didn’t save us from being jostled, because two security guys were escorting a man who wasn’t even fighting them out of the arena, and instead of moving 2 inches to the left, they decided to shove me and the boyfriend out of the way. Really nice, guys.

So David Draiman and the guys take the stage. And that’s about it. Flashy light show and fire. But Draiman just walked back and forth across the stage. The whole time. No stage energy at all. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the man’s vocals were on fucking point. And it’s not like I could really see the guys that well, anyway. But the most exciting thing was all the fire and the lights. I could’ve listened to that at home.

All in all, it still pains me that I wasted so much money on a shitty experience. I will never go back to that venue for anything ever again in my life. And now that I’ve seen Disturbed once, I really don’t feel like it’s an experience I need to go have again. However, Rob Zombie is still on my fucking list, and next time I’m saving up for VIP damn it! I, of course, bought these tickets before the tour with Korn was announced, so I’m still really bummed that I don’t get to go see that, but I don’t doubt that they’ll go a-touring together again. The only real highlight of my night was getting to out to eat afterwards with an old friend, who reminded me that Fort Wayne isn’t completely full of shitty people.

Have you ever had a disappointing concert experience?

Inquisitional Tourture

Alright guys, this one is a little overdue. But writing this shit isn’t my job (sadly), it’s just a hobby. And I don’t think anyone reads this shit anyway, so I’m allowed to take breaks lol.

On March 2, I drove down to Cincinnati to attend The Inquisitional Tourture. Ne Obliviscaris, Butcher Babies, and Cradle of Filth. And I’m gonna be honest, guys. If you missed this tour, you really missed out on something phenomenal.

I’m going to go ahead and admit to you guys that I am only human (sometimes). We missed all but 2 songs of Ne Obliviscaris’s set, because I’ve never had to use my emergency brake, and this didn’t know where it was in my car. And so, when I was getting into the car after filling up the gas tank, I accidentally pushed it just a fraction, and caused the brake light to come in. And it took me an hour and a trip to a garage to have them show me where my emergency brake was. Angry tears were shed, pained words were shouted in the Wal-mart parking lot. It wasn’t good, guys.

But! We still managed to make it. The last two songs I heard from Ne Obliviscaris were really great, and if they had accepted credit cards, I’d have a CD and a t-shirt (sorry, guys, I’ll get your merch online eventually). And I’m a sucker for a good band with sweet vocals and a bad ass violinist.

Now, I wanna take a moment to talk about the venue before we get into the meat of the show. The boyfriend and I saw this show at Bogart’s. It was our first time there, and I was kind of disappointed I didn’t get a chance to really explore the venue since we got there late. I like to know my surroundings. But it was easy to maneuver through, I really appreciated the long row of stalls in the bathroom (though what’s up with the lack of sinks?!), and their sound system was GREAT. I’ve gotten used to tiny venues with shitty sound systems that leave me partially deaf for a few days, so the change was very nice. I couldn’t tell you what the price on drinks was at the bar, because I didn’t buy them (the perks of a boyfriend who will be the designated driver on your birthday), but the amount of alcohol we got in them was decent. I definitely look forward to another show there.

Now then, let’s get on with the story, shall we?

Butcher Babies. Is there really any more anyone can ask for? Not one, but two very gorgeous bad ass women with perfect metal voices. Their energy was great, and they got everyone up and moving. I joined in a few mosh pits, got to listen to Monster’s Ball (’cause let’s be honest, how can you not like that song?), and then I got to crowd surf for the first time. I’m gonna be honest, guys, I’m not a tiny lady. I am roughly 190lbs of hips and thighs and ass, and I’ve always been a bit bigger. I really wanted to crowd surf, especially when Heidi issued the challenge for people to crowd surf over to her for high fives, but I was afraid. So I inched my way over to the middle of the crowd and some really nice guys helped me up. And that was it. I was sailing over a sea of hands towards the stage, and it was incredible. I grabbed Heidi’s hand and held it for a moment before security caught me over the railing and sent me back into the crowd. Sadly, the shirt I got from them was bigger than I had thought it was, and so I’m gonna have to learn some t-shirt surgery in order to make it something wearable for public use.

And then there was Cradle of Filth. I was not at all sure what to expect from Cradle, and so when Dani came on stage, it was this surreal moment of seeing him in the flesh. I had always thought he’d be short, but it was hard to tell his height with him up on the stage. He looked of a moderate size. The mosh pits were grand, and thankfully chivalrous, because my boots had zero grip and of course there was water/beer/alcohol/Coca-Cola on the floor, so I did fall two times, but was immediately pulled back up. I got to crowd surf again, and helped get someone else up into the air. Around the time that I thought they were going to stop, I went to the merch tables to get the things I wanted. We then stood at the back of the crowd while Cradle finished and went off stage. Of course I stood around for a moment, waiting for the lights to come in to find out if Cradle was going to be at the table after the show…

And then they came back out. And I couldn’t tell you how many more songs were played, but we thankfully stayed long enough to hear From The Cradle To Enslave. But the absolute cherry on top of the whole night was when they played Nymphetamine Fix. That song has been my favorite of theirs, and was the first song I ever heard from Cradle back in middle school. I danced to that song when I was a stripper. I’ve put that song on mix CDs for people. And to hear it there, live, watching Dani Filth, my only regret was that I wasn’t closer to the stage. Sadly, we ended up having to leave early because the show was on a weekday and my boyfriend is a teacher, so he had to be up for work quite early and we had a bit of a drive home. So I didn’t get a picture with any of the bands. But the experience I had was a glorious one, and it was the best birthday concert I have attended, right up there with the time I went to see Phantom of the Opera by myself in Columbus.

So, question of the day. Have you ever gone to a concert for your birthday? If so, who did you see? And if not, who would you like to see?