March 29th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: The 56th edition of Los Angeles’ popular no-cover all-star rock ‘n roll jam event weekly Ultimate Jam Night took place last week, except that unlike the other 55 weeks at Lucky Strike Hollywood, it did so at the Whisky-A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip, and also moved from its regular Wednesday night slot to Tuesday nights at its in new and decidedly better home. I attended one out of the 55 Ultimate Jam Nights at Lucky Strike Hollywood in its first month, and discovering firsthand just how unfit that venue is for a no-cover rock event of this nature and how un-rock-n-roll its ambience and location clearly is, I avoided this all-star jam like a plague since then. But now in its new setting, I was willing to give it another chance, and I arrived at the Whisky with zero expectations. Continue reading “‘Ultimate Jam Night’ Makes Its Debut At The Whisky”
March 28th 2016, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: The 2016 edition of the annual Decibel Magazine Tour features Norwegian black metal icon and former Immortal frontman Abbath’s new eponymous band as the headliner, along with support acts High On Fire, Skeletonwitch and Tribulation, and visited Los Angeles for a gig at the Regent Theatre in downtown LA. The last time Immortal played a show in this town was as far back as 2010 at the Avalon, and this being the first sighting of any of its current/former members since then, the LA black/extreme metal faithful was in high anticipation of this gig, and turned up in huge numbers to attend it. Decibel tours invariably deliver the goods year after year, and much was expected from Abbath and the rest of this lineup. Whether these expectations were met, was a different story altogether. Continue reading “Abbath, High On Fire, Skeletonwitch & Tribulation Visit Los Angeles On Decibel Tour”
March 28th 2016, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hollywood CA: To music lovers worldwide, the name David Gilmour needs no introduction. The Pink Floyd guitarist/vocalist and legendary guitar icon is back in the spotlight as a solo artist, with the release of his fourth full-length solo effort ‘Rattle That Lock’ in 2015, and the subsequent live performances that have followed. Gilmour is currently on a North American tour, during which he and his band has already played shows at the Hollywood Bowl and The Forum in the Los Angeles area. Last Monday March 28th 2016, after his triumphant return to LA, Gilmour played a free outdoor mini-concert in the El Capitan Theatre parking lot in Hollywood, to be filmed for a broadcast on the national television talk show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’. Fans that could not afford tickets to the big concerts (or even those that did) were beyond excited at the chance of seeing Gilmour up close in this intimate setting, and all was in readiness for a special, albeit brief evening of timeless music. Continue reading “David Gilmour Plays Free Outdoor Mini-Concert In Los Angeles”
March 27th 2016, The Regent, Los Angeles CA: Bringing together rock ‘n roll and wrestling in a unique live performance based entertainment form, the Rock ‘N Roll Wrestling Bash “Exotrash” was created in 2003, and after several years of success in Europe, has finally made its way to the United States, following multiple attempts to do so. The inaugural U.S. edition of the event took place at the Regent in downtown Los Angeles last Sunday March 27th 2016. This was an unknown entity to locals, but many turned up to discover what it was all about, expecting an evening of non-stop entertainment.
Rusty Eye
Doors opened at 7 PM, and the scene inside the Regent was obviously very different from what a regular concertgoer would otherwise expect. There was a wrestling ring set up in the center of the general admission floor, adjoining the stage in such a way that performers would easily be able to step in and out between the ring and the stage. Upon entering the venue, attendees were made to sign an injury release form, basically signing their lives away in case any wrestlers were to fly out of the ring and into the crowd. At 8 PM, the musical opening act Rusty Eye began proceedings with an excellent set. This progressive metal trio has been around in the LA scene for a number of years, they have been participating as the musical act in Mexican underground wrestling events, and were the ideal choice as the openers for this show as well. They don’t play nearly as many shows as they once used to, which makes each of their shows even more worth attending. Ticket holders that arrived early enough to catch this band were not disappointed, as was evident from the general applause following the set.
Rusty Eye photos:
Shortly after, the stage (and the ring) was set for all the action to begin. The group of musicians performing in the background while the wrestling takes place, and of course, also providing live intro music for the wrestlers’ entry, is called El Brujo’s Gore-Chestra, and the band’s Pacific Coast unit performing at this show comprised seasoned local musicians John Hatfield and Bill Hudson on guitar, Robert Madrigal on bass, Damien Rainaud on drums, and El Brujo himself on vocals. The format of Exotrash is simple. Wrestlers fight to the backdrop of live rock ‘n roll music. A good number of fast-paced fights punctuated this evening, and for this crowd it was a novel concept that they responded to very positively, from the looks of it. The musical highlight was certainly the appearance of Slayer/Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, who played two Exodus songs ‘A Lesson In Violence’ and ‘Metal Command’ with the Gore-Chestra. He did his part with effortless ease, and the musicians on stage seemed more than thrilled to get this opportunity to jam with him.
As for the wrestling itself, from the perspective of someone who’d never been to a live wrestling event prior to this one and perhaps expected too much, it definitely wasn’t anywhere near as violent as your typical Mexican underground wrestling, and came across more like a choreographed dance routine rather than serious contact sport. The wrestlers that appeared also carried an undeniable element of comedy in their appearances, which added further to the humor quotient. Besides, there were burlesque dancers moving all over the stage during the show, and one of them stepped into the ring to pour whiskey down people’s throats. As one poor unsuspecting girl found out, volunteering to be subjected to this isn’t the best idea, because there are good chances the whiskey would fill and burn your nose.
The show ended with all wrestlers getting in the ring, followed by the musicians doing the same while they played a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’. The concept is undoubtedly great, and there is no shortage of entertainment for anyone that attends this kind of event. Based on how the evening unfolded, it has to be said that “Exotrash” would appeal more to rock ‘n roll fans rather than wrestling enthusiasts. The turnout wasn’t as good as it should have been, and not as much as the event truly deserved, but there is scope for more such editions in Los Angeles, and the fan-following would only increase every time. Anything blended with rock ‘n roll is worth a try, and the Rock ‘N Roll Wrestling Bash most certainly is.
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More photos:
Set List:
01. General Dienamics
02. Train Of No Return
03. Obey
04. The Devil Made Me Do It (Once Again)
05. A Lesson In Violence *feat. Gary Holt
06. Metal Command *feat. Gary Holt
07. Sweet Transvestite
08. Shadow Of Your Love
09. Like A Motherfucker
10. Arrogance Of Mankind
11. The Trooper
March 26th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Last Saturday night March 26th 2016, I went back for another metal fix to the ever-popular Sunset Strip, or should I say what’s left of it since the Key Club and House Of Blues which were once staples of the strip have been long gone. On this night I paid a visit to Whisky-A-Go-Go to bask in the sounds of Satan as headlining act, with support from Night Demon, Resistance, and Toxin. Continue reading “Satan Conquers The Sunset Strip”
March 25th 2016, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: Have you ever turned up to a metal show with average expectations and after the whole night finally ended you realized your expectations were exceeded by one hundred percent and you may have just witnessed one of the most amazing bands/artists you had ever seen? Well I hope so, because it’s a great feeling and that’s the kind of night I had last Friday March 25th 2016 at the Viper Room with headliners Weedeater and support acts Author & Punisher, Today Is The Day, and Lord Dying. You should keep in mind that this night had some strong competition with UFO playing just down the street at the Whisky-A-Go-Go and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd was in town as well. Upon walking into this night I wasn’t sure I had ended up making the right decision, but soon enough, specially when the main support act took the stage, I knew I had chosen the right show and smooth sailed into the land of no regrets from there on out. Continue reading “Stoner Jams & Industrial Doom: Weedeater And Author & Punisher Perform At The Viper Room”
