By Andrew Bansal
Dec. 1st 2011, King King, Hollywood CA: Every Holy Grail show is a special occasion for me, but last night’s event at the King King in Hollywood was extra special. It was the Los Angeles chapter of the 39th annual New Years World Rock Festival, and besides LA, the festival is taking place in four other cities around the world, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. There was a donation box to collect money for the Japan disaster benefit. Last night’s event was also televised for Japan’s Fuji TV and will air in Japan in the first week of 2012. So, along with the ever-exciting prospect of a full Holy Grail set, there was the added attraction of being part of a televised concert. I was also looking forward to see the return of the Okai sisters for the first time since they put an end to one of my favorite local bands, The Binges.
As soon as I entered the venue, I liked the vibe straightaway, and I knew I was in for an entertaining evening. Before I got to see the two amazing sets of musicians I had come here to see, there was an opening act by the name of Le Kat. It was an all-female ensemble who sang and danced along to smooth jazz music playing in the background. Although I’ve become really open minded when it comes to different musical styles, it was pretty clear right from the outset that this act was not my cup of tea, and I think I speak for most people who were in the audience.
I might have appreciated them a little more if they performed a shorter set. It went on for way too long, and it didn’t help matters when they did a “re-take” of one of the songs because they wanted to do it right for the camera. I thought to myself, I should go and fuck up every Holy Grail song so that they end up doing their whole set twice. At one point, two chicks were dancing in traditional Indian-type dresses. If I was high, I would have really enjoyed that part. I would have been like, “Duuuude”. I would have been on another planet. But I wasn’t high, and so my biggest moment of joy came only when Le Kat ended their set.
The wait wasn’t too long before Holy Grail took the stage, all guns blazing as usual, with “Immortal Man”, and never let the intensity down from that point on. They were as amazing as the previous ten times I’ve seen them. Their music bleeds true heavy metal. It just automatically makes me sing and head-bang endlessly, and last night was no different. Even then, I kind of surprised myself by the ease with which I was able to recall the lyrics and sing along. Besides “My Last Attack”, I never read the lyrics to any of their other songs, and I think it simply resulted from repeated listening of Crisis In Utopia, the best album released in 2010. I felt the size of the stage suited them perfectly. It wasn’t as tiny as the Viper Room, and nowhere near as big as the Henry Fonda Theatre. Eli Santana and Alex Lee like to get together for the guitar harmonies while James Luna loves getting in the faces of people in the front row. They were able to do all of that last night, and seemed to be enjoying it. They are so used to playing these songs that they looked absolutely tuned in, everything clicking into place. It will be interesting to see how that changes once they release their next studio album.
The turnout at the venue was pretty good, and most people seemed to be here for Holy Grail. But I fail to understand why this band doesn’t already have a bigger following. With this show set to air in Japan soon, I hope this turns out to be their big break at least in that country, and I feel a Holy Grail headline tour of Japan would go down very successfully. Japanese music lovers have always shown great appreciation for true old-school hard rock and heavy metal, something most North Americans don’t seem to do. Anyhow, last night’s set proved that the Grail never disappoints.
Setlist:
1. Immortal Man
2. Chase The Wind
3. Call Of Valhalla
4. Crisis In Utopia
5. Hollow Ground
6. Requiem
7. The Blackest Night
8. My Last Attack
9. Fight To Kill
After a Holy Grail set, I’m usually dead. I can’t move my upper body at all. I’m done for the night, and ready to go home. But of course, I stayed to see Jordan Cook & The Okai Sisters. Tsuzumi and Mayuko Okai were the ones who put this whole show together, and it was great to see them return to the stage for the first time in more than six months, albeit in a new group. I’ve been a fan of their previous band The Binges ever since I heard them. I could tell how much they love playing music, so even when that band ended, I was more than sure of their return someday soon. That day had arrived, and the music they played for the next 40 minutes here was sufficiently awesome to give me a second wind and bring me back to life.
It was completely different from the raw, bare bones rock ‘n roll of The Binges, and to be honest, it took me a couple of songs to get used to. I would describe their overall sound as blues-based hard rock with elements of alternative, garage and punk rock. A friend of mine mentioned Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and I think that’s a pretty valid comparison. It was really thick, heavy and slow for the most part. The interplay between Mayuko and Jordan Cook on guitar was excellent, and the harmonies were sounding great. Jordan did a good job on the vocals and held his notes really well, even though he was all over the place in terms of his on-stage mannerisms. Tsuzumi’s bass was as loud and powerful as ever. All four members of the group got plenty of opportunity to show their prowess and contributed equally to the sound. Jordan called out a couple of the songs as new tunes, and I thought those sounded better than the older ones. Overall, I enjoyed their set and would definitely like to see this group perform again.
All in all, an evening that started out on a weird note but ended on a fantastic one.
Rating: 9.5/10
Related: Jordan Cook & Okai Sisters picture gallery | Holy Grail picture gallery
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