By Andrew Bansal
September 24th 2013, The Roxy, West Hollywood CA: They were the surprise package and the odd band out on this year’s Mayhem Festival, and now, Austin TX-based hard rock outfit Scorpion Child are back touring North America on their own headline run, along with a fantastic lineup of bands that includes German stoner rock trio Kadavar, Los Angeles’ very own party rock stalwarts Gypsyhawk, Wilson from Detriot, and Mothership from Dallas TX. These are five of the most promising bands in our genre today, with great new studio albums out, and I’ve been looking forward to this show ever since the tour was announced. This is the kind of show that’s all about having a good time, and I feel that Los Angeles needed a show like this, as it promised to be one hell of a rock n’ roll party.
But before the show began at the Roxy, Scorpion Child did a free acoustic set at the Soundcheck Hollywood store down the street, sans their bassist. They took a while to get it started but once they did, it turned out to be a nice little treat for the handful of people in attendance. Scorpion Child’s Zeppelin influences probably shone through more in the acoustic version of their songs than it does in the standard versions. They said it was their first time ever playing acoustically, and I thought they handled it well. It should lead to more such sets from them in the near future.
Following that I moved to the Roxy and I made it there just in time for the start of the show, with the first band Mothership taking the stage promptly at 7:45. This heavy rock trio led by brothers Kyle Juett on bass/vocals and Kelley Juett on guitar/vocals, focussed on doing the simple things right, and succeeded in impressing the small crowd that was present at this time of the evening. With solid riffs, pristine solos and an immaculate rhythm section, Mothership sounded excellent and played a 30-minute set that flew by even before any of us realized it. Their set consisted of songs from their self-titled debut album released earlier this year, and songs like ‘Cosmic Rain’, ‘Win Or Lose’ and ‘Lunar Master’ were nothing but pure delight for the audience. I believe this is Mothership’s first ever full North American tour, and based on this performance I’d say they need to come back and play for us many, many more times.
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Next up were Wilson, the party-crashing quintet from Detroit who were here to infuse some punk into this largely rock n’ roll lineup. Frontman Chad Nicefield and his bandmates brought with them unabated levels of energy and enthusiasm in an attempt to win over this audience. Most people inside the venue looked like they weren’t familiar with the band and chose to stand and watch the band with peering eyes. I thought Wilson fit this touring package brilliantly as they bring elements of punk and hardcore to provide a little change-up from the other four bands. Their cover of AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’ was absolutely hilarious as Chad stepped off the stage and moved through person to person in the crowd, trying to get each of them to sing one word or chorus line of the song. Nearly all people recruited by him seemed too shy or nervous to sing the words clearly, but it was all in good fun and endeared the crowd towards the band to a large extent. This was an enjoyable set by Wilson. They’ve toured with a lot of different bands over the past couple of years and I can see why, because their music and live show can cross over with many sub-genres, all with equal impact.
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Mothership and Wilson were great as openers for this show, but this party really kicked off when Gypsyhawk hit the stage at 9:15 PM. The boys were back in town with their brand of rock n’ roll, clearly inspired by Thin Lizzy and Motörhead but presented in a manner that makes it all their own. Once they started this set with the eponymous track ‘Gypsyhawk’, there was no looking back. It was time to rock, dance, sing and party. They belted out one song after another and the energy on stage and in the room just kept rising further with every passing moment. Even for someone like me who’s seen them plenty of times in the past, Gypsyhawk always do something different each time, like the cover of Rory Gallagher’s ‘I’m Not Awake Yet’ on this occasion. It was the perfect choice of cover and blended right into the set as if it was their own song. This 30-minute set seemed way too short for a band of Gypsyhawk’s calibre and sheer impact on the audience, and I honestly think they should have been higher on the bill. There were still two more bands to follow, but I had a feeling I had already seen the best band of the night.
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Set List:
1. Gypsyhawk
2. The Fields
3. The Answers We Need
4. State Lines
5. I’m Not Awake Yet (Rory Gallagher cover)
6. Commander Of The High Forest
All the way from Berlin, Germany, stoner rock trio Kadavar took the stage next. After the kind of set Gypsyhawk played, Kadavar’s style of music came across as very low-energy in comparison, but judging by the response of this crowd it seemed like they were mainly here to see Kadavar. The floor was absolutely packed during their set, more so than for any other band tonight. Kadavar sounded really clean and had a distinct old-school organic power-trio vibe to their music, paying homage to the likes of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Saint Vitus. It was great to hear tunes off of their new album ‘Abra Kadavar’, the song ‘Doomsday Machine’ being the highlight of the set in my opinion. They didn’t indulge in any crowd interaction whatsoever and hardly moved around on stage. For them, it was all about playing the tunes right. I enjoyed their set and they did a great job at playing this style of music, but for me they didn’t really serve as a good follow-up to a band of Gypsyhawk’s energy level and I thought their 50-minute set was a little too long. But don’t get me wrong, I love their music and I certainly hope they return soon.
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And lastly, the Scorpion Child dudes were ready to start their set at around 11:05 as the intro tape rolled in. This intro kept rolling even after the curtains were raised and the band members were in their positions, which was a little strange but it built up the tension and anticipation amongst the audience even more. But when they did finally start, they brought their A-game to this great Roxy stage and gave us a great representation of what they’re capable of as a group of promising young musicians. Their music is not just aimed at classic hard rock revival as most people would think, because it also blends in an element of the Seattle 90s rock sound in a way that goes well with the Zeppelin-worship tendencies of the majority of their material, and that’s what makes them stand out in the listener/viewer’s mind, consciously or sub-consciously. Singer Aryn Jonathan Black used this spacious stage to the fullest and added his own character into the show while the two guitarists sounded fantastic as well, with solid support from the rhythm section. Aside from the rocking segments, the interludes in certain songs really heightened the impact. Time stood still as the band held these songs and then let them explode back into life. It was a pity that they played only 45 minutes, and it was even more sad to see that the room had cleared out after Kadavar’s set and not many people stayed to see Scorpion Child. For me they were the worthy headliner of this show, even though I’d say it’s a tie between them and Gypsyhawk for best band of the night. Having said that, all five bands played great sets, and in all honesty, aside from the Iron Maiden show I witnessed recently, this was the show of the year. Check out the remaining dates of this tour below, and if this show is coming to your town, do not miss it!
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Related Interviews: Scorpion Child | Kadavar | Gypsyhawk | Wilson
Scorpion Child photo gallery (by Brad Worsham):
Remaining Tour Dates:
9/25: Tempe, AZ @ Rocky Point Cantina
9/27: Austin, TX @ Red 7
9/28: Ft. Worth, TX @ Tomcats
9/29: Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
10/1: St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird
10/2: Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
10/3: Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck Bar
10/4: Montreal, QUE @ II Motore
10/5: Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus