By Andrew Bansal
May 3rd 2013, The Roxy Theatre, Hollywood CA: The last time I saw Philm was at the Roxy on May 29th 2011, and the band made a return to the same venue after almost two years to give me a chance to set that straight. They took part in the Cinco De Mayo weekend kickoff event last night and were the support act for Metalachi. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Philm’s debut full-length record ‘Harmonic’, seen songs off of it played live several times before the May 2012 release of the album, but never got to see the band after that and hadn’t heard any of the newer, unreleased songs yet. I got to the venue well before their 10 o’ clock start. The turnout was really good, packed with plenty of people here for the Cinco De Mayo festivities. Right on schedule, the Roxy curtains were raised and it was Philm time all over again.
The one truly outstanding feature of any Philm performance is the placing of Dave Lombardo’s drumkit at the forefront of the stage. Almost every metalhead on this planet knows and loves Dave Lombardo for his work in a certain band called Slayer, but if you’re a true Lombardo fan and want to really feel the impact of his drumming from a mere couple of feet away, you’ve got to see a Philm show. He took his position on the kit, with vocalist/guitarist Gerry Nestler on his right and bassist Pancho Tomaselli on his left, and the holy trinity wasted no further time in ripping into their 45-minute set.
They began with some new material. It sounded compellingly fast, and led perfectly into the ever-awesome ‘Vitriolize’ off of the Harmonic album. The way the song builds up, explodes and releases boundless amounts of energy, I’ve always found it to be one of the most enjoyable live songs. Last night it sounded as good as it ever has, with the band looking like they hugely enjoyed playing it. They kept the Harmonic flow going by doing ‘Mitch’. The slower tempo of the tune gave us all a breather from the relentlessness of Vitriolize, and the gave Gerry Nestler the perfect opportunity to prove that he has only gotten better as a live musician since I last saw this band. Both on vocals and guitar, this is a song he really shines on. Next came ‘Hun’ featuring some fuzz and wah-pedal madness, followed by ‘Area’ with tasty bass intro by Mr. Tomaselli. While Nestler and Tomaselli were at the top of their game, Lombardo was laying hard into those drum skins towards the end of that tune, almost compelling us to bang our heads along to his beat.
Following that, they got deep into some more new material. I know it’s a cliché thing to say, but it truly did sound different from the debut album. These musicians are too good to repeat anything they’ve done in the past, so I can’t say it was unexpected. The new music has more of a jam-oriented vibe to it rather than the raw, punk-ish, aggressive nature of Harmonic. It showcases the musicianship to the fullest, but definitely has structure to it. The negative connotations of the word ‘jam’ don’t apply here. Harmonic sounds deliberately more raw and unpolished on the studio recording as compared to its live rendition, so I’m looking forward to the next release to see what direction they go with in terms of the production. Although it’s always interesting to hear new music, nothing beats the thrill of rocking out to songs you already know and love, so the band followed up this new material by closing out the set with the fantastic ‘Sex Amp’.
I really can’t say this enough times, so I’m saying it again. Dave Lombardo is without doubt one of the best musicians on the planet, and in Gerry Nestler and Pancho Tomaselli he has the perfect accomplices who compliment his drumming and enjoy the hell out of their own on-stage performances. In Philm, Lombardo is the frontman, and is redefining heavy metal drumming by taking it to dizzy heights. All in all, an immensely powerful set by one of the best live bands going around.
Set list:
*New material*
Vitriolize
Mitch
Hun
Area
*New material*
Sex Amp