Metal Assault: Gig Reviews

By Jordan Salfity

June 28th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: The 68th edition of ‘Ultimate Jam Night’, a popular Los Angeles based event that is free to the public and creates a unique experience to see rock n’ roll all-stars jam in front of a live audience week after week, was held on Tuesday June 28th 2016. The first 55 weeks took place at The Lucky Strike in Hollywood before moving to the iconic Whisky-A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip. I had wanted to attend one of these events for a long time, and finally got my chance on what was certainly an unforgettable night. Continue reading “Ultimate Jam Night #68 Spotlights Bill Ward’s New Band, Pays Tribute To Nick Menza”

By Lisa Burke

June 22nd 2016, The Novo, Los Angeles CA: As the story goes, Brian Patrick Carroll sat in a room one day watching Halloween IV while eating KFC chicken, and at some point after putting on a white mask such as that of Michael Myers, he then put the empty bucket of chicken on his head like a hat, looked in the mirror and that’s how Buckethead was born. Buckethead is not just the only guy who plays guitar on stage with a bucket on his head and a mask, but he’s also one of a kind in overall style as well. He definitely has moments that are clearly influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen, Jennifer Batten, Angus Young and Jimi Hendrix, yet he is all over the map with these influences and carries his own brand of crazy talent and skill well. On Wednesday June 22nd 2016 at the Novo Microsoft Theater downtown which was formerly known as Club Nokia, I saw Buckethead perform a solo show with no openers and just a little over an hour-and-a-half set. Continue reading “Los Angeles Gets Treated To An Evening With Buckethead”

By Lisa Burke

June 20th 2016, Crazy Girls, Hollywood CA: Sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll has been the taboo of this nation in a music sense since its heyday in the ’60s and ’70s when these items were much more free to go hand in hand. The music back in those days, no matter how much sex and drugs were behind it or involved in it, was still always primarily about the music. Today it is more common to find sex and drugs as a primary reason to join a band while the music becomes secondary. That said, why not enhance the mood of a rock n’ roll show by adding in that extra splash of sex by playing in a strip club on none other than the most conservative night of the week, Monday night? That is exactly what I attended on Monday June 20th 2016 at Crazy Girls strip club, which is hosted by Nick Fucco who runs the Metal Mayhem Mondays, and is supported by Lost Anarchy magazine as well. On this night, Nick was not in attendance because he was in New York managing his own yearly rock n’ roll and heavy metal festival called Nickstock. Continue reading “The Drama Headlines Metal Monday At Crazy Girls Hollywood”

By Lisa Burke

June 17th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Punk rock has been kicking ass from the sidelines for quite a few decades now, and although some people may be in the mindset that punk died somewhere along the journey, I can reassure you it hasn’t. In fact, there are many modern-era and old-school punk bands that mix up the style of the genre in such a way that it becomes timeless. On Friday, June 17th, 2016 I attended my first Agent Orange show at the Whisky-A-Go-Go and I left the night with no regrets. The support acts on this night were Motorcycle Boy, The Thrill Killers, and I caught local band The Scurvy Kids as well. Continue reading “Punk Rock Friday: Agent Orange Turns Back The Years At The Whisky”

Photos by Jay Valena

June 11th 2016, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: Norwegian black metal tyrants recently concluded a highly successful North American headline tour, including their first ever Los Angeles gig at the Regent in DTLA. You already read our writer Lisa Burke’s review of the show, now enjoy these amazing photos by Jay Valena: Continue reading “Photo Gallery: Taake @ The Regent, Los Angeles CA”

By Andrew Bansal

June 14th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: For its 66th edition on June 14 2016, the think tank behind the all-star ‘Ultimate Jam Night’ event held every Tuesday at the Whisky-A-Go-Go decided to freshen the format a little, and called it ‘Ultimate Band Night’ instead, shedding more of a spotlight on bands rather than on random all-star jams as they’ve done in all past editions. But as always, it was an all-ages, no-cover event, and drew a large audience comprising fans, tourists, curious passers-by, media paparazzi, and of course, a plethora of seasoned musicians. Even for regulars, this promised to be different from Ultimate Jam Night’s typical weekly affair, and it remained to be seen how this band-centric format would work and what bands would make their mark. Continue reading “Ultimate Jam Night Rocks Whisky-A-Go-Go With ‘Ultimate Band Night’”