…And Then There Were None…

Sweet Jehosephat, where did the summer go? So many plans, so little accomplished. Of the summer resolutions, exercise and spending more time on the set took a back seat to working and spending all free time on my ass. However, a few positives came out of this scorching inferno of a summer: A sprinkling of kick-ass concerts throughout the past three months kept my spirits high while working a menial overnight stocking job (whee!)… Wanna know about ‘em? I bet you do…

June 4 – The California Guitar Trio @ The Duck Room (Blueberry Hill), StL

Once again, the CGT was awesome. A very receptive, loud crowd was on hand to give these three a proper welcome. The only rough part was when the crowd sang along to the CGT’s rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I wouldn’t call this drunken choir pleasant to the ear by any stretch of the imagination. However, the trio laughed it up and kept on with a great show which showcased a pair of new songs. If you ever get a chance to see these gentlemen, I’d strongly recommend it. This was my third CGT show and I’ll be back for more…

July 21 - Dream Theater/Queensryche/Fates Warning @ The Uptown Theater, KC

OK, I went in just to see the monsters of prog-rock, Dream Theater, but guess what – they were up last on this triple bill. Fates Warning had some decent stuff and I wouldn’t have minded hearing a bit more from them, but my associate and I came in a little late for their set. We muscled our way to a good vantage point, not knowing whether DT or Queensryche would play next. Just our luck, the ‘Ryche is up next and we’re stuck in the middle of hundreds of midwestern thirtysomething cock rock fans. I gotta say, I didn’t really dig the Queensryche, but I haven’t heard that much of their material either. Anyway, finally the true show began and everyone clamped to the front to see the greatest band in the world. They were in full force, busting out pieces from their nearly two decades of reperitoire. A new “solo medley,” which featured 15+ minutes of straight shredding, was featured to an exhilarated crowd. Queensryche came back on to play three songs with the Theater, which made for a crowded stage. The funny thing about that was that all the Queensryche members were mixed WAY down. All in all, it was a great show despite my disassociation with two of the three bands. I have now seen Dream Theater in three different cities: Chicago, Sauget and Kansas City.

August 12 – Type O Negative/Lacuna Coil/New Death Sensation @ Pops, Sauget, IL

If a person lives with three straight Type O fans, they will be crowned an official fan simply by association and exposure. Such is the case with me. Here’s the skinny on the show: NDS sucked, Lacuna Coil (a very impressive Italian metal band) nearly stole the show, yet Type O put the hammer down and rocked out the packed house at Pops with a solid set that featured heavy drinking, two major screw-ups (during one of which, Peter Steele stopped the song and asked the crowd if they wanted them to try it again or just skip it) and a setlist that consisted of mostly older material. The crowd was “fucking unbelievable” according to Steele, who usually isn’t in to giving compliments. I don’t know who he was looking at – the woman in her 60s who was rocking out with her old, gross tattoos or the half-naked goth chicks getting surfed around the front of the stage…

Overall, a fun summer for concertgoing. Now if I could only get those Avril Lavigne tickets, my life might just be complete…

- Dustin Wall