ASKA
Acadia Bar & Grill, Houston, TX
February 8, 2014
Man, what a long drought in between concerts. Three months had passed
since Jen and I had attended the star-crossed Rock Harvest Festival in
Maryland, with nary a decent gig opportunity in sight. Desperate times
call for desperate remedies, so I did what any self-respecting metal addict in
a heavy metal wasteland would do: I packed up my wife and my brother and
drove almost 1,000 miles roundtrip to attend a club show on a Saturday night.
Situated in north Houston, Texas, some 20+ miles of unrelenting urban sprawl
away from the city center, the Acadia Bar & Grill is an unassuming venue
from the exterior, tucked into a strip mall where you wouldn’t even notice it
if you weren’t looking. Hell, we drove past Acadia twice in our rented
beige Chrysler 200 before we finally found it. Once you get inside and
take a look, though, it’s immediately clear this place is cool. It’s no
dive. Capacity’s probably about 275 (if the fire marshal sign on the bar
is to be believed) and it’s a nice-sized open room with a stage at one end, a
bar in the middle, pool tables on the far end, and video games / dartboards /
etc. ringing the perimeter. Cover was cheap ($10/person), and the draft
beer was tasty and reasonably priced ($3.75 for a Shiner on draft =
winning). More importantly, the sound and lighting were outstanding for
every band. Cool venue. My only complaint was that it wasn’t
smoke-free, but I’ve noticed that same problem at other Houston clubs.
Tonight we were treated to a four band package, with each act bringing something
worthwhile (or at least somewhat entertaining) to the table. First up were
VANITY CRIMES, a heavily glam-inspired quartet of youngsters who seem to
have taken modern Scandinavian sleaze, 70s KISS and Alice Cooper, and punk rock,
and mixed them all in a blender. Vocals and stage presence could use some
work, but they were fun and their “I’m 18” cover was certainly well
chosen. Second band of the night was Houston’s own WOLFEBLITZER
(one of the best metal band names ever, amirite?), who have existed in some
incarnation since the 1990s. I must confess I had a bad feeling when they
first took the stage. Guitarist on stage left was wearing a long-sleeve
flannel shirt and had a vaguely emo-ish haircut. Bassist wore a heavy
letterman’s-style jacket, no shirt, bright blue shorts, and a white bass
autographed by Ace Frehley. Female singer looked like a distant relative
of James Rivera. With this mismatch of appearance, I feared the
worst. Then they started playing. Wolfeblitzer ripped. That
flannel-shirt clad guitarist? An absolute beast on the fretboard.
That diminutive Latina singer? Well, she must have James Rivera’s lungs
too because she wailed like a banshee with power and control. The songs
were uptempo, energetic and catchy. And Wolfeblitzer closed out their set
with a sparkling rendition of the Judas Priest / Joan Baez nugget “Diamonds and
Rust” that lulled us all with a quiet, gentle beginning before dropping the
hammer and transforming into a full-blown galloping metal song. I don’t
know where Wolfeblitzer have been all these years, or why I’ve missed
them. But I do know they kick ass and if there’s any justice, they’ll
start to get some well-deserved recognition for their efforts.
Band #3 of the evening was STRAIGHT LINE THEORY. When the heavyset,
bald frontman barked into the mike “we’re going to fuck you up” at the beginning
of their set, I thought surely we must be in for some noisy/angry/screamy
hardcore kind of stuff. Not so. Instead Straight Line Theory played
more of a chunky modern rock / metal hybrid, maybe something along the lines of
Black Label Society mixed with, I dunno, Godsmack or something. Riffs were
heavy and simple, singing was clean, songs were straightforward and easy to
latch onto. Maybe not completely my thing, but not at all an unpleasant
way to spend 45 minutes anyway.
It seems that everything has been coming up roses for ASKA of late.
They’ve had a stable lineup for the last couple of years. They’ve got a
well-received new album, ‘Fire Eater,’ that is certainly worthy of their legacy
and that (for my money) contains some of the finest ASKA material ever
written. They’ve just released a very professional-looking video for the
standout cut “Dead Again.” But God always has a way of kicking you in the
nuts just when things are going good. Drummer Danny White greeted me when
the band entered the venue and said, “So, you’re going to get to see the new
guitarist.” New guitarist??? What new guitarist??? What
happened to the old guitarist??? Turns out the Frenchman, Chris Mehta, is
apparently out (for reasons that he and/or his former bandmates can air in
public if and when they see fit to do so, but I will not). In his place is
Bryant Contreras, who was playing his first gig in ASKA tonight after a whopping
two band practices. Danny assured me that Bryant was up to the challenge,
but you never really know with a new guy, do you? Funny thing is that from
a distance, Bryant actually does bear a passing resemblance to Chris.
Similar height, similar hair, not totally dissimilar facial features. I
actually thought he *was* Chris at first glance. Then again, I’m blind as
a bat, so what do I know?
At a little after 12:15 a.m., ASKA strode onto the stage. Singer/guitarist
George Call announced that their intro tape wasn’t working and that their new
intro would be him saying, “Tah dahhhhhh.” Way to get everyone laughing
before you’ve even played a note. Then he tore into the riff of
traditional ASKA opener “Angels of War,” and away we went. The band
actually sounded fantastic. Bryant Contreras played great, with the only
sign of nervousness being his lack of motion on stage. (And was it just
me, or was George taking on a larger percentage of the solos than he usually
does?) Danny White beat the hell out of his beautiful new clear’n’chrome
kit, with the old-school ASKA logo adorning each kickdrum. It’s a pleasure
to watch the man play drums. Bassist Dave Harvey has really settled into
the band with his big bass sound and his stalwart stage presence. To me,
he now feels just as integral to ASKA as Keith Knight did for all those
years. (This, of course, is meant as praise to Dave and not to detract in
the slightest from Keith’s massive contributions to ASKA.) When Dave’s
bass rig temporarily went out during “Leather,” the hole in the band’s sound was
glaring. Fortunately, he got it plugged back in midway through the tune,
after which the rockage resumed. Then there’s George Call. What can
I say? He was sharply critical of his own performance after the gig and
yeah I did hear him flub a lyric or two along the way, but George on a B-grade
night is better than most at their best. He remarked from the stage that
he had “come down with a cold, or maybe AIDS” in the last couple of days, but
you wouldn’t know it from hearing him sing. I will say it was the first
time I’ve ever seen George on stage in jeans instead of leather trousers, which
he forgot in Dallas today. (He jokingly dedicated “Leather” to those
missing leather pants.)
A huge question that I mulled over on the 7.5-hour drive to Houston was what the
ASKA set list would look like tonight. They’ve got a new album to promote,
and I was eager to hear some ‘Fire Eater’ tunes. But I also knew that
their scheduled set time was one hour, which meant there wasn’t much time for
all those ASKA classics from ‘Avenger’ and ‘Absolute Power.’ And then
there’s the “new guitarist” factor – how much ASKA material has Bryant had time
to learn? Turns out we got an almost perfectly balanced ASKA set
tonight. There were three songs each from ‘Fire Eater,’ ‘Absolute Power’
and ‘Avenger,’ plus the classic “The Stalker” from ‘Nine Tongues,’ and two
covers (Maiden’s “The Trooper” and Priest’s “Breaking the Law”). Did we
need the covers? Well, no, and I would have preferred originals instead,
but the covers were fun crowd pleasers, a dude from local band Owl Witch jammed
with them on “Breaking the Law,” and ASKA has regularly played a couple of
covers each time I’ve seen them since WOM Fest IV in 2011, so no worries
there. Honestly, the only really painful omission in my book was
“Valkyries,” which just may be the greatest ASKA tune of all time.
Otherwise, I really have no complaints with the set. Of the three new
songs, “Everyone Dies” (played at a slightly faster tempo than on the CD) made
the best live impression, but “Dead Again” and the surprising “Son of a God”
(which I’d not expected to hear) were killer as well. Of the older songs,
man I loved hearing “Invasion” tonight. It’s really a perfect set closer,
especially when George ditched the guitar halfway through, went into roving
frontman mode with the microphone, and gave Bryant the spotlight to rip through
those harmonies all by himself. That’s a way to send everyone home happy.
ASKA Setlist: Angels of War, The Stalker, Crown of Thorns, Longships, Leather, The Trooper,
Son of a God, Dead Again, Breaking the Law, Freedom, Everyone Dies, Invasion.
All in all, this was a hell of a fun night. I wish the Houston metalheads
had turned out in greater numbers tonight, but apparently that clueless fatass
radio dipshit Eddie Trunk was making an appearance at a rock club down the
street, which bled out the attendance at Acadia somewhat. Nonetheless,
from my standpoint, the evening was an unqualified success. I rocked out
with ASKA once again. I discovered a terrific band in Wolfeblitzer.
And I enjoyed some draft Shiner that you can’t get on tap back home. Who
could ask for anything more?
~ Review by Kit Ekman ~
Acadia Bar & Grill, Houston, TX
February 8, 2014
Man, what a long drought in between concerts. Three months had passed
since Jen and I had attended the star-crossed Rock Harvest Festival in
Maryland, with nary a decent gig opportunity in sight. Desperate times
call for desperate remedies, so I did what any self-respecting metal addict in
a heavy metal wasteland would do: I packed up my wife and my brother and
drove almost 1,000 miles roundtrip to attend a club show on a Saturday night.
Situated in north Houston, Texas, some 20+ miles of unrelenting urban sprawl
away from the city center, the Acadia Bar & Grill is an unassuming venue
from the exterior, tucked into a strip mall where you wouldn’t even notice it
if you weren’t looking. Hell, we drove past Acadia twice in our rented
beige Chrysler 200 before we finally found it. Once you get inside and
take a look, though, it’s immediately clear this place is cool. It’s no
dive. Capacity’s probably about 275 (if the fire marshal sign on the bar
is to be believed) and it’s a nice-sized open room with a stage at one end, a
bar in the middle, pool tables on the far end, and video games / dartboards /
etc. ringing the perimeter. Cover was cheap ($10/person), and the draft
beer was tasty and reasonably priced ($3.75 for a Shiner on draft =
winning). More importantly, the sound and lighting were outstanding for
every band. Cool venue. My only complaint was that it wasn’t
smoke-free, but I’ve noticed that same problem at other Houston clubs.
Tonight we were treated to a four band package, with each act bringing something
worthwhile (or at least somewhat entertaining) to the table. First up were
VANITY CRIMES, a heavily glam-inspired quartet of youngsters who seem to
have taken modern Scandinavian sleaze, 70s KISS and Alice Cooper, and punk rock,
and mixed them all in a blender. Vocals and stage presence could use some
work, but they were fun and their “I’m 18” cover was certainly well
chosen. Second band of the night was Houston’s own WOLFEBLITZER
(one of the best metal band names ever, amirite?), who have existed in some
incarnation since the 1990s. I must confess I had a bad feeling when they
first took the stage. Guitarist on stage left was wearing a long-sleeve
flannel shirt and had a vaguely emo-ish haircut. Bassist wore a heavy
letterman’s-style jacket, no shirt, bright blue shorts, and a white bass
autographed by Ace Frehley. Female singer looked like a distant relative
of James Rivera. With this mismatch of appearance, I feared the
worst. Then they started playing. Wolfeblitzer ripped. That
flannel-shirt clad guitarist? An absolute beast on the fretboard.
That diminutive Latina singer? Well, she must have James Rivera’s lungs
too because she wailed like a banshee with power and control. The songs
were uptempo, energetic and catchy. And Wolfeblitzer closed out their set
with a sparkling rendition of the Judas Priest / Joan Baez nugget “Diamonds and
Rust” that lulled us all with a quiet, gentle beginning before dropping the
hammer and transforming into a full-blown galloping metal song. I don’t
know where Wolfeblitzer have been all these years, or why I’ve missed
them. But I do know they kick ass and if there’s any justice, they’ll
start to get some well-deserved recognition for their efforts.
Band #3 of the evening was STRAIGHT LINE THEORY. When the heavyset,
bald frontman barked into the mike “we’re going to fuck you up” at the beginning
of their set, I thought surely we must be in for some noisy/angry/screamy
hardcore kind of stuff. Not so. Instead Straight Line Theory played
more of a chunky modern rock / metal hybrid, maybe something along the lines of
Black Label Society mixed with, I dunno, Godsmack or something. Riffs were
heavy and simple, singing was clean, songs were straightforward and easy to
latch onto. Maybe not completely my thing, but not at all an unpleasant
way to spend 45 minutes anyway.
It seems that everything has been coming up roses for ASKA of late.
They’ve had a stable lineup for the last couple of years. They’ve got a
well-received new album, ‘Fire Eater,’ that is certainly worthy of their legacy
and that (for my money) contains some of the finest ASKA material ever
written. They’ve just released a very professional-looking video for the
standout cut “Dead Again.” But God always has a way of kicking you in the
nuts just when things are going good. Drummer Danny White greeted me when
the band entered the venue and said, “So, you’re going to get to see the new
guitarist.” New guitarist??? What new guitarist??? What
happened to the old guitarist??? Turns out the Frenchman, Chris Mehta, is
apparently out (for reasons that he and/or his former bandmates can air in
public if and when they see fit to do so, but I will not). In his place is
Bryant Contreras, who was playing his first gig in ASKA tonight after a whopping
two band practices. Danny assured me that Bryant was up to the challenge,
but you never really know with a new guy, do you? Funny thing is that from
a distance, Bryant actually does bear a passing resemblance to Chris.
Similar height, similar hair, not totally dissimilar facial features. I
actually thought he *was* Chris at first glance. Then again, I’m blind as
a bat, so what do I know?
At a little after 12:15 a.m., ASKA strode onto the stage. Singer/guitarist
George Call announced that their intro tape wasn’t working and that their new
intro would be him saying, “Tah dahhhhhh.” Way to get everyone laughing
before you’ve even played a note. Then he tore into the riff of
traditional ASKA opener “Angels of War,” and away we went. The band
actually sounded fantastic. Bryant Contreras played great, with the only
sign of nervousness being his lack of motion on stage. (And was it just
me, or was George taking on a larger percentage of the solos than he usually
does?) Danny White beat the hell out of his beautiful new clear’n’chrome
kit, with the old-school ASKA logo adorning each kickdrum. It’s a pleasure
to watch the man play drums. Bassist Dave Harvey has really settled into
the band with his big bass sound and his stalwart stage presence. To me,
he now feels just as integral to ASKA as Keith Knight did for all those
years. (This, of course, is meant as praise to Dave and not to detract in
the slightest from Keith’s massive contributions to ASKA.) When Dave’s
bass rig temporarily went out during “Leather,” the hole in the band’s sound was
glaring. Fortunately, he got it plugged back in midway through the tune,
after which the rockage resumed. Then there’s George Call. What can
I say? He was sharply critical of his own performance after the gig and
yeah I did hear him flub a lyric or two along the way, but George on a B-grade
night is better than most at their best. He remarked from the stage that
he had “come down with a cold, or maybe AIDS” in the last couple of days, but
you wouldn’t know it from hearing him sing. I will say it was the first
time I’ve ever seen George on stage in jeans instead of leather trousers, which
he forgot in Dallas today. (He jokingly dedicated “Leather” to those
missing leather pants.)
A huge question that I mulled over on the 7.5-hour drive to Houston was what the
ASKA set list would look like tonight. They’ve got a new album to promote,
and I was eager to hear some ‘Fire Eater’ tunes. But I also knew that
their scheduled set time was one hour, which meant there wasn’t much time for
all those ASKA classics from ‘Avenger’ and ‘Absolute Power.’ And then
there’s the “new guitarist” factor – how much ASKA material has Bryant had time
to learn? Turns out we got an almost perfectly balanced ASKA set
tonight. There were three songs each from ‘Fire Eater,’ ‘Absolute Power’
and ‘Avenger,’ plus the classic “The Stalker” from ‘Nine Tongues,’ and two
covers (Maiden’s “The Trooper” and Priest’s “Breaking the Law”). Did we
need the covers? Well, no, and I would have preferred originals instead,
but the covers were fun crowd pleasers, a dude from local band Owl Witch jammed
with them on “Breaking the Law,” and ASKA has regularly played a couple of
covers each time I’ve seen them since WOM Fest IV in 2011, so no worries
there. Honestly, the only really painful omission in my book was
“Valkyries,” which just may be the greatest ASKA tune of all time.
Otherwise, I really have no complaints with the set. Of the three new
songs, “Everyone Dies” (played at a slightly faster tempo than on the CD) made
the best live impression, but “Dead Again” and the surprising “Son of a God”
(which I’d not expected to hear) were killer as well. Of the older songs,
man I loved hearing “Invasion” tonight. It’s really a perfect set closer,
especially when George ditched the guitar halfway through, went into roving
frontman mode with the microphone, and gave Bryant the spotlight to rip through
those harmonies all by himself. That’s a way to send everyone home happy.
ASKA Setlist: Angels of War, The Stalker, Crown of Thorns, Longships, Leather, The Trooper,
Son of a God, Dead Again, Breaking the Law, Freedom, Everyone Dies, Invasion.
All in all, this was a hell of a fun night. I wish the Houston metalheads
had turned out in greater numbers tonight, but apparently that clueless fatass
radio dipshit Eddie Trunk was making an appearance at a rock club down the
street, which bled out the attendance at Acadia somewhat. Nonetheless,
from my standpoint, the evening was an unqualified success. I rocked out
with ASKA once again. I discovered a terrific band in Wolfeblitzer.
And I enjoyed some draft Shiner that you can’t get on tap back home. Who
could ask for anything more?
~ Review by Kit Ekman ~