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Brides of Destruction
Tag Team!
Two cities - Two reviews
By Linda Spielman and samdamonkey
with photos by Michelle
Botti |
Since our Tag Team series does such
a good job giving the readers a couple of different takes on CDs, why not
apply to live shows? So, we have a very special live review for you this
time around. We have not one, but two different takes on the Brides of
Destruction inaugural tour that comes courtesy of long time antiMUSIC scribe
Linda Spielman and one of the newest additions to our writing staff, samdamonkey.
Linda starts us off with her review
of the May 12th show at Mr. Smalls in Pittsburgh (complete with photos
by Michelle Botti)
Brides Of Destruction
Mr. Small's Theater - Pittsburgh, Pa
By Linda Spielman
I consider myself a wild child with a corporate
alter ego. By day, I am this professionally dressed joke of my true inner
being & personality. So to jump at the chance to see Nikki Sixx, Tracii
Guns, Scot Coogan (from Ednaswap) and London LeGrand; hell yeah I was game.
Truth be told, I actually was counting down days until the Brides of Destruction
show.
It seems almost sacrileges to see Brides of Destruction in an old church
(aka Mr. Small's Theater). However, the atmosphere definitely added to
the rock and roll rebellion vibe. I felt as though I was 18 years-old again.
When I used to go to Hollywood to visit friends, I would end up on the
Sunset Strip on the weekends to check out all the bands who were emulating
the Motley Crue's, LA Guns, and other successful bands of the day. I admit
now, I learned quickly that showing your ID and tucking $40 underneath
it got me into The Whisky, Roxy & Roxbury many years before I should
have. 'Tis the life of Rock n Roll.
The lack of air conditioning, smell of
stale beer, and more heavy metal shirts than I can even count made the
Brides of Destruction show a true rock adventure. Although radio stations
in Pittsburgh are not playing the band, it didn't sway the fans coming
out in outstanding numbers.
The
crowd anxiously awaited as the band took stage around 10pm. Like many,
I too was wondering if London could produce live the rock star quality
voice I heard on their CD "Here Comes The Brides". As the quartet started
off their set with "Shut The F**k Up", it was obvious London was a reincarnate
rock god for a new generation. If one song was going to set the stage for
the rest of the night and the support of the crowd, that one sure did it.
I was amazed from looking at the crowd just how many people knew all the
words throughout the evening. My feelings were that many people were just
coming out to see Sixx & Guns. However, although these icons are/were
members of some of the most successful acts of the 80s, Brides of Destruction
was a whole other animal. There are no comparisons past and present except
for the lineup of band members.
BOD's
set included a majority of CD's content. "I Got A Gun", "Natural Born Killers",
"Revolution", "2x Dead" were just some of the highlights of the set list.
Sixx was all over the stage and constantly playing to the crowd. Guns,
looking & sounding better than he ever has was equally energized. As
for LeGrand, I think I am his biggest fan after this show. Not only is
his vocal ability and intensity astounding, but he truly is a performer.
He is everything a lead singer should be and should be the poster child
example for anyone taking Rock Star 101. There were times I thought the
range of this wiry, jack rabbit-like personality were data tracked. But
as I got closer to the stage, I quickly realized he really was singing
and hitting all these ranges vocally that left my jaw on the floor.
One thing that BOD has is involvement.
Every single member of this band sings backing vocals. And even Scot Coogan,
who I originally used to see drum for Ednaswap fronts vocals on a song
entitled "Life", which is truly profound lyrically as well as dripping
with great rock melodies.
I
have seen the guys in BOD perform in their respective bands a lot over
the years. But I have never enjoyed one of their shows more than I did
as BOD. You can tell from the show these guys are back to enjoying themselves
on stage. The music is fresh, the vibe is fresh, the energy is raw and
renewed. You can just sense from their set they were having the time of
their lives.
It's always good to go back to familiar things. But when you go back and
find a new perspective, a new enjoyment, and a new found energy it's even
sweeter. That is what I came away with from the BOD show. It was like going
back to my wilder days but with a new appreciation for the roots of the
wildness. I was a fan of BOD when I got the CD, I am now a bigger, more
appreciative fan of BOD after seeing them live.
Anyone who wants their monies worth at
a great rock n roll club show, with true rock icons...Brides of Destruction
will not nor do I think ever disappoint.
Now samdamonkey gives us the lowdown
on the May13th show in Cleveland.
Brace Yourself
Brides Of Destruction win over Cleveland
audience with a Shout At The Devil-May-Care Performance.
By samdamonkey
Q: How does a person upstage not one, but
two genuine, literally dyed-in-the-wool rock stars who collectively have
close to 20 million albums sold and are veterans of numerous and raucous
world tours?
A: Become a hair stylist to the stars,
change your name to London LeGrand, hook up with said veterans, produce
an incredible 9-song demo that is marketed as an album, perform high-energy
shows, proceed on road to reinvent hard rock.
Most
of the 500+ people at Cleveland�s Odeon were there because of the veritable
star power of Nikki Sixx and to a lesser degree Tracii Guns. Sixx hasn�t
performed in theaters this small since before 1985�s �Shout At The Devil�
became the touchstone hard rock
album for burn-outs and jocks alike. Gun�s
namesake band, L.A. Guns, has filled 200 capacity clubs lately, but the
band he helped build from the ground up has fallen into a sort of complacency
with a revolving door line-up.
So, needless to say, nobody was expecting
the sheer old school rock hurricane that is the Brides front man. He is
a better singer than Sixx or Guns has ever had (and P. Lewis has pretty
good pipes...Vince, not so much) and he�s the perfect vessel with which
to channel old rock sensibilities to a new audience.
Trouble is, Brides of Destruction are having a problem finding that younger
audience. The Odeon�s crowd was replete with aging rockers in faded
concert shirts from victorious tours gone by and former big-haired hotties
sporting a few extra pounds. Nikki Sixx, heroin addiction and all, has
aged well. The same can�t be said for his core audience.
Following the pre-show crescendo of classical
goth-opera that seemed to get louder and louder with each successive choral,
LeGrand and company powered out of the gates with their first single off
of �Here Come The Brides.� �Shut The F*ck Up� was well received
and had the close-to-capacity house raising
their fists and metal signs well into �2 Times Dead� and the catchy verses
of �Natural Born Killers.�
By
this point, the London mystique was fully felt by the crowd. Dressed in
B.O.D. silver parka, gray striped scarf, L.A.P.D.-style sun glasses, and
black bandanna pulled back barely containing black spikey hair reminiscent
of a rock n� roll rooster, London gave little to the audience in the way
of between-song banter and never...ever...took the shades off. He is capable
of heavy-metal growl or melodic singing...all with equal power...the equivalent
of a major league baseball player hitting to all fields.
Relinquishing vocal duties to excellent
drummer Scot Coogan for the anti-suicidal �Life,� London was into it as
ever providing backups on the song and letting his band mates get their
appropriate and well-deserved spotlight time. Next up was "Revolution,"
a Gn'R-tinged song that would have Axl back on stage in a minute had he
written it.
Brides
played everything off their debut release except the song Sixx took back
from Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, "Only Get So Far." But what came after
the first 8 songs was something to behold. Superstar Cover Band Free-For-All.
Jetting into the opening chording of "One
More Reason" Guns, LeGrand and company weren't just dusting off some long-forgotten
gem. They were selling it. Sixx, in particular, was holding down the low
end and supplying the back ups like his life depended on it.
Searing versions of "Rip and Tear" and
the obligatory "Never Enough" showed Guns at his absolute pinnacle of performance,
fretboards be damned.
Stagelights dim. Tracii Guns comes front and center and addresses the audience.
He confesses that since he was 10-years old and playing guitar, he's
been trying to emulate what "this guy" has accomplished, in deference to
Nikki Sixx and the Crue. With that, he
launches into "Livewire" from Motley's
'Too Fast For Love' album. Drummer Scott Coogan begins drumstick twirling
like there's no tomorrow. London excels during the breakdown portion of
the song.
A double-threat of "Looks That Kill" and
"Shout At The Devil" closed the show out and gave the oldster audience
a morsel of what they were really looking for: an up-close-and-personal
Crue Clinic. But with London in the mix, what they got was so much more.
Cliff's notes on Hard Rock 101 for '04.
Purchase
Brides of Destruction's music and listen to samples.
Visit
the official site for Brides of Destruction.
Photos by Michelle Botti
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