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fuck off weak doom, we kane harder |
:Electric
Wizard::REVIEW OF US TOUR 2001: THREE
NIGHTS WITH THREE WIZARDS
March
15, 2001 : The Backroom, Austin, TX What follows is a summary (as best I can recall) of the 3 dates Electric Wizard & Warhorse brought DOOM to the Southwest US on their Apocalypse Now Tour! I followed them on this tour for these three dates, racking up almost 1000 miles total (okay, 999.7 miles exactly). How could I not? ELECTRIC WIZARD, the heaviest band in the universe tours with Warhorse, who runs a close second, and I'm going to pass?? Not bloody likely. I've been a fan of Electric Wizard and the other Rise Above Records artists too long to miss out. I live in Dallas, TX, which is about 3.5 hours from Austin at (ahem) "highway speed" and about 3 hours from Oklahoma City, again, at highway speed. Thursday, March 15, afternoon was upon me and shirking all earthly responsibilities, I took off for Austin to be sure not to miss the doors at The Backroom which were to open at 7PM. [Sidebar: the SXSW festival had descended upon Austin for these two Electric Wizard dates and I had two choices: buy a SXSW wristband for $200 or get to the venues early & buy a ticket. This, my friends, is the definition of the term "No Brainer".] The doors opened and in we went, the crowd beginning to fill the room which was already packed with musicians (hey, is that Ed Mundell from Monster Magnet over there? Oh, yeah, Atomic Bitchwax plays tonight!) I grabbed a beer, a Lone Star of course. It's the NATIONAL beer of Texas, don't ya know. And as I was walking back to check out the merch booth, there is Electric Wizard standing right in front of me. I introduced myself and began chatting with Jus about the run in with the law they experienced in Richmond, VA (see the NEWS page for more details on that). He was amazed how quickly all those cops came out of the woodwork and was grateful the situation was resolved. He said that he was generally enjoying this his first tour of the US so far, though. Tim Bagshaw dispelled the rumor that he was leaving Electric Wizard, chalking it up to internet rumors. We talked a bit about what bands they had been listening to and Tim expressed regret for missing the SUNN 0))) show that had taken place not long ago. He told me that he heard it was fantastic, the guys just laid down in back of their amps and wailed away! About this time is when Warhorse took the stage. Crushingly heavy doesn't even begin to describe their sound. Jus clapped loudly after each of their songs, showing support for their tourmates. After Warhorse played, I had a chance to talk with Jerry Orne who plays bass & does vocals for them. A very cool guy. These guys are going far. Then I went over to the merch booth to grab some gear and was talking with the guy running the booth. He turns out to be John from Solitude Aeternus (and founder of Brainticket Records)! So, naturally I bought one of everything because the gear/CDs/vinyl was too cool to pass up. Especially the Electric Wizard shirts they had. WOAH! Then a quick retreat to my truck to drop off the merch so I didn't have to hold it all night. Ah, the lament of a superfan. Later, Jerry from Warhorse joined a band (whose name escapes me) on stage for a cover of Ace Of Spades because the singer of that band thought Jerry looked like Lemmy. He's right. Jerry even said on-stage "Yes, I look like Lemmy, and boy is my wife psyched." He ended up totally trashing this bands mike stand, but hey, it's all rock-n-roll. I'll skip the Raging Slab and Atomic Bitchwax reviews although they were excellent, I'm getting off topic enough as it is! Electric Wizard went on stage at 1AM, to an anxious SXSW crowd and I grabbed the pole position directly in front of Jus's mike stand. Unfortunately, they had a couple of technical problems which broke their stride a bit, but the overall feeling of the show was incredible. Jus was an animal, headbanging and taking some mean stances (see the PHOTOS page) while Tim laid back toward his amp. Mark was controlled chaos behind the drums. Really a sight to behold. Highlights for this show were Dopthrone, Wizard in Black, Sons of Nothing, and the closer Electric Wizard. They did a freeform jam as an encore which worked really well. Jus got offstage and assured me the next night would be better. Better??? This night had been a near-religious experience and now it's going to get better?? I talked to the guys some more then left in search of lodging--which turned out to be nonexistent due to the SXSW festival. The places I did find were ridiculously priced, so I did what any self-respecting DOOM fan would do. I slept in my truck. Waking up later that morning to the sound of diesel engines, I knew I better get back to SXSW, lest I miss out on the free performances being held Friday during the day. I saw an assortment of bands. Some good, alot bad, but the great thing about music showcases is that there's free food (and sometimes free beer!). So, no matter how crappy the band, if there are fajitas, I'm in! Besides, I figured I'd better hear what total garbage sounds like to better appreciate the thundering power of Electric Wizard again that evening at Emo's. The doors opened for the night show at Emo's about 7:30PM. This was the MAN's RUIN showcase night. Stoner/Sludge/DOOM galore! Talk about a kid in a candy store! Bottom was the first band I saw play. These chicks RAWK! Very heavy and well, heavy on the bottom end. I'll spare you the story about one of the guys in ANTISEEN getting on-stage with an Austin punk band and cutting himself on the face with a broken bottle. I'll also skip the story of the singer from Operator Generator pouring an entire beer into the pocket his leather pants. Let's get to the WIZARD, shall we? Since Warhorse wasn't playing that night, they did an interview with High Times magazine. Electric Wizard went on once again at 1AM to a crowd full of anticipation. The band just before them played such an intense set that the drummer decided to knock the drumkit over, not realizing that ELECTRIC WIZARD was supposed to use that kit to save time between sets. (Each band had 40 minutes and started at the top of the hour, leaving the sound guys 20 minutes to get things right for each band.) So, setting up the trashed drumkit ate into Wizard's timeslot a bit. They started at about 1:10AM with an intoxicating jam with riffs the size of mountains, after which Jus proclaims "We are the KINGS of the fucking stone age" and launches into Dopethrone. The hi-hat that Mark was using proceeded to fall over during this song because one of the supports was broken by the previous band. Tim stood it up and the cymbals fell off next. Jerry from Warhorse grabs the Warhorse hi-hat and replaces it while they are playing. What a guy. Next comes Chrono.naut. Kind of a given figuring that they are playing at the Man's RUIN showcase! Jus breaks two strings during this song and has to re-string his guitar while Tim & Mark jam. (Freakish collector that I am, I had to grab one of these strings since it landed right in front of me). Then Wizard in Black begins. The guys next to me against the stage go crazy over this song and had been asking for it since the set started. Wizard in Black faded into Electric Wizard before we knew what hit us. This was their final song due to time constraints, but the guys' reactions to this set let me know they enjoyed it much more than the previous night. It was a great show, hands down one of the best shows I've ever been to. After chatting with Electric Wizard & Warhorse some more, the club owner finally kicks the remaining people in the bar out. Time to make the drive back to Dallas (at what had become 3AM). I made it about an hour out of town when the lack of sleep from the night before hit me. Looks like it's the Dodge Motel again tonight! I made the rest of the drive to Dallas the next morning (March 17) said hello to my wife, went out to a St. Patrick's Day parade, then grabbed a buddy of mine and drove to Oklahoma City! The guy I went with had lived in OKC a while back but had never heard of the venue Wizard were playing (Music Dimensions). We had some dinner, drank green beer, and then went to Music Dimensions. Our first reaction: "What the hell? This place is a record store!!" Then we saw that the front of the place is a record store and the back is a place for bands to play. WICKED!! The 6PM show was just getting over when we got there and Warhorse was due to play at 9PM. So, what do you do when you're in a record shop? Buy records! Seriously, if you are ever in Oklahoma City, you have to go to this shop! Tons of Rise Above Records, Man's Ruin, Southern Lord, etc.!!! Wicked shop. Plus the owner is a great guy...you'll find out how great in a bit. Warhorse set up and played, nay, DESTROYED this place. After the band Oversoul played, the crowd was primed and ready for some heavy DOOM. Warhorse delivered big. All of the big ones were in this set, folks: Black Acid Prophecy, Lysergic Communion, and the set-ender Scrape. After which Jerry Orne (bass player for Warhorse) rips all the strings off his bass and dives into the crowd! Everyone dug it so much that they played their first ever (according to Mr. Orne) encore! Saving the best for last, they went to their vinyl-only release The Priestess. Amazing. Warhorse are from Worcester, MA, so they will be touring the US sometime soon I'm sure! See them; you won't soon forget it. It was going to take Electric Wizard a while to set up, so my buddy and I went across the street to a local bar for some refreshments. St. Patrick's Day special: All Beer on Tap $1. So, we pounded a few, trying to make Ben Ward from Orange Goblin proud. We didn't quite reach the state of "drunkest men in the world" but we got a good buzz going. Back to the venue where Electric Wizard were about to take the stage. Again, I stand directly in front of Jus, the place is packed, and they begin jamming after the customary "We're Electric Wizard from Dorset, England" from Jus. In walks the owner of the place with a lit joint in his hand and proceeds to pass it around, first giving me a hit, then off to others in the room, including Wizard...Jus takes a long toke while playing, then passes it to the other guys when the song is finished. Then it's back to me and then to the owner. The owner then leaves quickly and comes back, handing a fresh joint to Jus. Jus says "You guys don't mind if we get high a minute do ya?" They nail that one and then start Dopethrone. MMMMM. Perfect! I'm banging my head pretty recklessly at this point and due to this fact & the hi-grade that I hit, I'm not clear on the *order* of the songs they played, but I know for a fact they played Wizard in Black, Supercoven, We Hate You and Sons of Nothing. They finished without playing Electric Wizard, so John from Solitude Aeternus runs over and says "Jus, the cops say they're going to arrest you if you don't play Electric Wizard". So, what do they play as their final song? Electric Frost. "You're all the same, the lot of you.....you hate the police too, you make it easy!" This show was by far the best of the three I saw and comes close to being the best show I have ever seen in my life. Following the show I wished all the guys well on the rest of the tour, to which Jerry from Warhorse replied, "Man, you've been on tour more than us!" If you can get out to see them on this tour, DO IT! If for some reason something comes up...BLOW IT OFF AND SEE THIS SHOW!!! NO EXCUSES!!! Nothing is worth missing these bands live. A guy named Tony made some incredible gig flyers for this show, and I'm still trying to reach him to get a decent copy of one. I have the one that was hanging in the place that night, though! My friend and I crashed at a relative's house in OKC and drove back to Dallas the next day trying to recover from the havoc I had wreaked on my neck the night before, and to fully absorb the tones still echoing in my head. Make it back to the US soon, guys. Until then, Hail the three wizards crowned with weed!
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