By Darshun
September 22nd, 2014, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: Los Angeles-based rock group Palms, featuring Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno and three members of Isis, returned once again to a sold-out Troubadour last Monday night, and the show also treated the audience with an opening set by The Beta Machine which features Matt McJunkins (A Perfect Circle) on bass and vocals and Jeff Friedl (A Perfect Circle & Puscifer) on drums.
McJunkins and Friedl were accompanied by two guitarists who both occasionally played keyboards and backup vocals and Claire Acey on vocals. The music direction of The Beta Machine in my opinion is “lush rock,” sounding almost like the Supreme Beings of Leisure (a Trip Hop band) with more rock elements in their music. The standout musician in this band is drummer Jeff Friedl who absolutely pounded the drums in this set. Matt’s bass was the loudest in the mix compared to both guitarists combined in certain moments of their set. Overall the crowd welcomed them but were more anxious of course for the headlining act, Palms.
An excited crowd began clapping as Palms keyboardist Chuck Doom was the first to enter the stage followed by Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer, and Jeff Caxide. Then there was an uproar as Chino Moreno hit the stage. The set began with ambiance and then a bass riff from Jeff as the band rolled into an untitled new song. Now bear in mind that Chino played 2 days prior with his Trip Hop-esque band Crosses at the Sunset Strip Music Festival and the following night with Palms at the Observatory. There were a few off-key notes throughout the set by Chino —but I give him credit for being a trooper on playing these songs at the Troubadour. The highlight of the night and the most use of camera cellphones was when Adam Jones of Tool accompanied the band for “Shortwave Radio”. Adam began with a dissonant riff and played a solo midway in the song which most fans would easily recognize as his signature guitar playing in Tool. Chino’s banter in between songs was comical, right after Adam Jones left he goes on talking about Wrestle Mania and old school wrestlers from the ‘80s. It was a memorable night overall and great to see three-fifths of Isis still playing together on one of my favorite stages in Los Angeles.
Video footage of Palms featuring Adam Jones (by Matt Nielson):
Set List:
01. * New Song *
02. Tropics
03. Mission Sunset
04. Future Warrior
05. Shortwave Radio (featuring Adam Jones)
06. Antarctic Handshake
07. Patagonia