ROCKIN’ WITH ASKA IN CAJUN COUNTRY
The Wild Salmon, Lafayette, LA
August 3, 2013
Jen and I were chillin’ at the hotel in Lafayette waiting to head down to the
gig when the phone rang. Jen answered it. The caller identified
herself as being the hotel front desk and asked if there were any problems with
our room. Jen said no. The caller then asked if we’d noticed any
bedbugs because the room’s previous occupants had complained about them.
The color drained from Jen’s face and she frantically stripped the comforter
and sheets back from the bed in search of those nasty insects. Then the
caller asked about fleas and said they’d sprayed the room earlier that
day. By now, Jen was mortified. “What about the rat traps?” the
caller asked next. I thought Jen was about to cry. She was at the
end of her rope. That’s when it hit me. I spoke up, “Is that
George?” The laughter on the other end of the line told us all we needed
to know. Sure enough, my wife had been punk’d by our pal George Call from
ASKA, who was killing time in his room while waiting for the show.
Fortunately, my poor traumatized Jen did not kill George, so there was a show
that night after all and I didn’t have to bail her out of the Lafayette City
Jail. But it was quite an auspicious start to the evening.
The Wild Salmon, on the outskirts of a residential area in Lafayette, is sort of
the antithesis of these antiseptic, corporate House of Blues type music venues
that are springing up all over the country. It’s a ramshackle, authentic venue
with all kinds of faded sports and entertainment memorabilia hanging on the
walls, abandoned soda machines sitting in the back of the room, stuffed mammals
perched atop ancient video games, and so on. The place has personality,
without a doubt. It also has a tiny dimly lit stage, a well-stocked bar, a
basically non-functioning air-conditioning system with exposed ductwork
everywhere (on a sweltering, steamy early August night in Louisiana, you bet
your ass it was a sweatfest), and an amazing kitchen where the chef dishes up
yummy bowls of spicy Cajun gumbo with black beans and sausage.
Demographics of the club’s patrons are all over the map too. You’ve got
old and young, rednecks and rockers, metalheads and good ol’ boys, all
coexisting. It’s quite a place to see a gig, and about the last place on
Earth you’d expect to see a Grade A, top-notch old-school heavy metal band like
ASKA performing. But Lafayette’s only a four-hour drive from my metal-less
home base, so I jumped at the chance to see ASKA here, just as I did when they
performed at this very same venue last December.
Entering the stage at a few minutes past midnight with their traditional “Angels
of War” opener, ASKA were firing on all cylinders right from the start.
The band’s lineup (now featuring a Conan-shirt wearing George Call on
guitar/vocals, French-born Chris Menta on guitar, blond-maned bassist Dave
Harvey, and drumming titan Danny White) has clearly had time to gel since I
last saw them 8 months ago. Even on a postage-stamp size stage like the
Wild Salmon, the band members seem much more comfortable around each
other. They interact with each other more, they seem to have more fun,
they play together better, and they’ve added a visual aspect (in terms of those
Accept-style synchronized headbanging parts that were such an integral part of
the Keith Knight / Daryl Norton era) that had been missing in December. As a
live unit, this quartet has grown by leaps and bounds in 2013, no doubt a
product of substantial live experience in the interim. ASKA also
benefited from a surprisingly clear and punchy sound, and a crowd that (while
numbering only a few dozen at its zenith) was brimming with enthusiasm and
support for the Texans.
Unlike last time, ASKA were allowed to play their full 80-minute, 13-song set
tonight. The setlist was a classic “best-of” approach, hitting the high
points of the last three albums, including two tracks from the newly-rereleased
‘Nine Tongues,’ five from ‘Avenger,’ and four from ‘Absolute Power.’ There
were no shocking exclusions, although this might be the first time I’ve ever
seen ASKA not play the AC/DCish “Leprosy,” and the recently-favored
“Killashandra” and “Her Ghost Remains” were absent. When you’ve got
evergreens like “Longships” and “Leather,” “Freedom” and “Valkyries,” though,
you’re all about winning. And “Blood of the Wolf” (probably my earliest
fave ASKA track dating back to when I first heard the band in 1998) made a
welcome reappearance in the set after a long absence. Aside from the
originals, ASKA kept with recent tradition by offering up a pair of covers, the
predictable but fun “The Trooper” and a surprising but beautiful choice in
“Children of the Sea.” George Call’s Dio impression on the latter track
was superb (far better than mine when he handed me the mike near the end to
sing a couple of horribly off-key lines – I acquitted myself better on the
small chunk of “Valkryries” I got to sing, though). All indications
are that ASKA’s new album, ‘Fire Eater,’ will drop as early as next month on
Germany’s Pure Steel Records, but the band opted not to give us any teasers
tonight, instead sticking with the tried-and-true. Who could blame them?
There were plenty of funny/amusing moments during the set, too. How about
the part near the end of the set when a seemingly random woman jumped onstage,
grabbed the mike, and coaxed the band to play a few bars of what was a rough
approximation of Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly”? The “it ain’t no big
thing” line then elicited cries of “that’s what she said” from the
audience. Oh my. Or when George did a hilarious, intentionally
over-the-top Ozzy impression and sang a bit of Sabbath’s
“Snowblind”? Or when a guy in the crowd kept calling out for obscure
‘Nine Tongues’ track “Captain Crunch” until George & Co. finally relented
and played a little bit of it (couldn’t do the whole thing because they hadn’t
rehearsed it)? Or when George went into one of his patented diatribes
about Kanye West, Jay Z, Beyonce, etc. etc., while rallying all the true
metalheads in Lafayette to the cause? Ah yes, ASKA shows are at their best
when that fun element is pushed to the forefront, and it was definitely there in spades tonight.
What was most impressive about this gig was the level of showmanship and
professionalism displayed under what were, let’s face it, not optimal
circumstances. There weren’t a lot of people there, and the numbers had
probably dwindled to 20 or so die-hards by the time the night was over.
It was hot as a freakin’ furnace in the Wild Salmon, yet the band members were
up there with studded vests and leather trousers, rockin’ out and sweating
under the lights like nothing was amiss. Drummer Danny White (playing his
righteous ‘Absolute Power’ kit which I was seeing for the first time this
evening) had a cold and was laboring under the sauna-esque conditions, but he
never let it show. Under the circumstances, ASKA might have been forgiven
for delivering a perfunctory set, collecting their fee, and getting the hell
out of dodge. But they didn’t. Somewhere in a cow pasture in
northern Germany, the Wacken Open Air festival was going on tonight, with
something like 100,000 people in attendance. Judging by the intensity of
their performance, you’d think ASKA were playing the True Metal Stage at
Wacken, not the Wild Salmon. It was a max effort, max performance by all
of them. And it was awesome. After the last glorious strains of
“Crown of Thorns” rang out, the band stuck around, signed autographs, took
photos and talked with every person there until the club was empty.
Finally at close to 3:00 a.m., they loaded up their gear, accepted a doggie bag
of gumbo and devil’s food whoopie pies from the kitchen, and headed back to the hotel.
The takeaway lesson is that this new configuration of ASKA are at the top of
their game now. They’re great guys and killer musicians, and they’ve got a
top-shelf catalog of superb U.S. metal songs at their disposal. Hopes are
high that ‘Fire Eater’ will expand that canon in short order and catapult ASKA
ever onward, ever higher. You have been warned. Just watch out for
those bedbugs and fleas in your hotel room …
Setlist:
Angels of War
Stalker
Longships
Leather
The Trooper
Blood of the Wolf
Imperial Rome
Legions
Freedom
Children of the Sea
Invasion
Valkyries
Crown of Thorns
The Wild Salmon, Lafayette, LA
August 3, 2013
Jen and I were chillin’ at the hotel in Lafayette waiting to head down to the
gig when the phone rang. Jen answered it. The caller identified
herself as being the hotel front desk and asked if there were any problems with
our room. Jen said no. The caller then asked if we’d noticed any
bedbugs because the room’s previous occupants had complained about them.
The color drained from Jen’s face and she frantically stripped the comforter
and sheets back from the bed in search of those nasty insects. Then the
caller asked about fleas and said they’d sprayed the room earlier that
day. By now, Jen was mortified. “What about the rat traps?” the
caller asked next. I thought Jen was about to cry. She was at the
end of her rope. That’s when it hit me. I spoke up, “Is that
George?” The laughter on the other end of the line told us all we needed
to know. Sure enough, my wife had been punk’d by our pal George Call from
ASKA, who was killing time in his room while waiting for the show.
Fortunately, my poor traumatized Jen did not kill George, so there was a show
that night after all and I didn’t have to bail her out of the Lafayette City
Jail. But it was quite an auspicious start to the evening.
The Wild Salmon, on the outskirts of a residential area in Lafayette, is sort of
the antithesis of these antiseptic, corporate House of Blues type music venues
that are springing up all over the country. It’s a ramshackle, authentic venue
with all kinds of faded sports and entertainment memorabilia hanging on the
walls, abandoned soda machines sitting in the back of the room, stuffed mammals
perched atop ancient video games, and so on. The place has personality,
without a doubt. It also has a tiny dimly lit stage, a well-stocked bar, a
basically non-functioning air-conditioning system with exposed ductwork
everywhere (on a sweltering, steamy early August night in Louisiana, you bet
your ass it was a sweatfest), and an amazing kitchen where the chef dishes up
yummy bowls of spicy Cajun gumbo with black beans and sausage.
Demographics of the club’s patrons are all over the map too. You’ve got
old and young, rednecks and rockers, metalheads and good ol’ boys, all
coexisting. It’s quite a place to see a gig, and about the last place on
Earth you’d expect to see a Grade A, top-notch old-school heavy metal band like
ASKA performing. But Lafayette’s only a four-hour drive from my metal-less
home base, so I jumped at the chance to see ASKA here, just as I did when they
performed at this very same venue last December.
Entering the stage at a few minutes past midnight with their traditional “Angels
of War” opener, ASKA were firing on all cylinders right from the start.
The band’s lineup (now featuring a Conan-shirt wearing George Call on
guitar/vocals, French-born Chris Menta on guitar, blond-maned bassist Dave
Harvey, and drumming titan Danny White) has clearly had time to gel since I
last saw them 8 months ago. Even on a postage-stamp size stage like the
Wild Salmon, the band members seem much more comfortable around each
other. They interact with each other more, they seem to have more fun,
they play together better, and they’ve added a visual aspect (in terms of those
Accept-style synchronized headbanging parts that were such an integral part of
the Keith Knight / Daryl Norton era) that had been missing in December. As a
live unit, this quartet has grown by leaps and bounds in 2013, no doubt a
product of substantial live experience in the interim. ASKA also
benefited from a surprisingly clear and punchy sound, and a crowd that (while
numbering only a few dozen at its zenith) was brimming with enthusiasm and
support for the Texans.
Unlike last time, ASKA were allowed to play their full 80-minute, 13-song set
tonight. The setlist was a classic “best-of” approach, hitting the high
points of the last three albums, including two tracks from the newly-rereleased
‘Nine Tongues,’ five from ‘Avenger,’ and four from ‘Absolute Power.’ There
were no shocking exclusions, although this might be the first time I’ve ever
seen ASKA not play the AC/DCish “Leprosy,” and the recently-favored
“Killashandra” and “Her Ghost Remains” were absent. When you’ve got
evergreens like “Longships” and “Leather,” “Freedom” and “Valkyries,” though,
you’re all about winning. And “Blood of the Wolf” (probably my earliest
fave ASKA track dating back to when I first heard the band in 1998) made a
welcome reappearance in the set after a long absence. Aside from the
originals, ASKA kept with recent tradition by offering up a pair of covers, the
predictable but fun “The Trooper” and a surprising but beautiful choice in
“Children of the Sea.” George Call’s Dio impression on the latter track
was superb (far better than mine when he handed me the mike near the end to
sing a couple of horribly off-key lines – I acquitted myself better on the
small chunk of “Valkryries” I got to sing, though). All indications
are that ASKA’s new album, ‘Fire Eater,’ will drop as early as next month on
Germany’s Pure Steel Records, but the band opted not to give us any teasers
tonight, instead sticking with the tried-and-true. Who could blame them?
There were plenty of funny/amusing moments during the set, too. How about
the part near the end of the set when a seemingly random woman jumped onstage,
grabbed the mike, and coaxed the band to play a few bars of what was a rough
approximation of Lita Ford’s “Kiss Me Deadly”? The “it ain’t no big
thing” line then elicited cries of “that’s what she said” from the
audience. Oh my. Or when George did a hilarious, intentionally
over-the-top Ozzy impression and sang a bit of Sabbath’s
“Snowblind”? Or when a guy in the crowd kept calling out for obscure
‘Nine Tongues’ track “Captain Crunch” until George & Co. finally relented
and played a little bit of it (couldn’t do the whole thing because they hadn’t
rehearsed it)? Or when George went into one of his patented diatribes
about Kanye West, Jay Z, Beyonce, etc. etc., while rallying all the true
metalheads in Lafayette to the cause? Ah yes, ASKA shows are at their best
when that fun element is pushed to the forefront, and it was definitely there in spades tonight.
What was most impressive about this gig was the level of showmanship and
professionalism displayed under what were, let’s face it, not optimal
circumstances. There weren’t a lot of people there, and the numbers had
probably dwindled to 20 or so die-hards by the time the night was over.
It was hot as a freakin’ furnace in the Wild Salmon, yet the band members were
up there with studded vests and leather trousers, rockin’ out and sweating
under the lights like nothing was amiss. Drummer Danny White (playing his
righteous ‘Absolute Power’ kit which I was seeing for the first time this
evening) had a cold and was laboring under the sauna-esque conditions, but he
never let it show. Under the circumstances, ASKA might have been forgiven
for delivering a perfunctory set, collecting their fee, and getting the hell
out of dodge. But they didn’t. Somewhere in a cow pasture in
northern Germany, the Wacken Open Air festival was going on tonight, with
something like 100,000 people in attendance. Judging by the intensity of
their performance, you’d think ASKA were playing the True Metal Stage at
Wacken, not the Wild Salmon. It was a max effort, max performance by all
of them. And it was awesome. After the last glorious strains of
“Crown of Thorns” rang out, the band stuck around, signed autographs, took
photos and talked with every person there until the club was empty.
Finally at close to 3:00 a.m., they loaded up their gear, accepted a doggie bag
of gumbo and devil’s food whoopie pies from the kitchen, and headed back to the hotel.
The takeaway lesson is that this new configuration of ASKA are at the top of
their game now. They’re great guys and killer musicians, and they’ve got a
top-shelf catalog of superb U.S. metal songs at their disposal. Hopes are
high that ‘Fire Eater’ will expand that canon in short order and catapult ASKA
ever onward, ever higher. You have been warned. Just watch out for
those bedbugs and fleas in your hotel room …
Setlist:
Angels of War
Stalker
Longships
Leather
The Trooper
Blood of the Wolf
Imperial Rome
Legions
Freedom
Children of the Sea
Invasion
Valkyries
Crown of Thorns