Hairy And Loud Night

I vaguely heard of The Parlor Mob before but never listened to their music. I heard good things about them and they were sharing the stage with Black Stone Cherry in a double bill concert. So I expected a good solid rock night!

The Parlor Mob at Melkweg Amsterdam, October 26 2009 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
The only thing I was disappointed about was them only playing for 30 minutes. I expected them to play for about an hour since it looked like they weren't just the support act. Their music is heavenly inspired by big 70s rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Heavy grooves and guitar licks combined with bluesy tunes. Singer Mark Melicia has a high pitch voice that reminds me of The Mars Volta now and then. They waste little time in between the songs to make full use of the time they have. Their album 'And You Were A Crow' that I bought afterwards is equally solid and will spend many hours in my CD player.

Black Stone Cherry at Melkweg Amsterdam, October 26 2009 (Ronald Says 6 out of 10)
Unfortunately I forgot my ear plugs tonight since it turned out that I really needed them. I like this band's music. Their powerful no nonsense rock songs are perfect for a hard rocking live performance. And hard rocking it was! Just too bad they could have done with a little less. Lots of long hair flipping, fist in the air, stick twirling and such turned it all into a cheesy performance. A ceaseless wall of noise kept pounding the crowd until they were numb. This was even more appearent when they played a piece of "Sweet Home Alabama" that had lost all its subtlety and strength compared to the original. Drum player John Fred Young has an enormous amount of energy and keeps pounding his drum kit. Too bad his only volume level is "as loud as possible" and he keeps filling every gap with fills and notes. I'm sure the boys can play well and I don't mind an energetic rock show. Except they forget that the primary focus should be on the music.

So in the end I could have used more of The Parlor Mob and less Black Stone Cherry.


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Living Colour Still Colourful

Many people may have missed the new Living Colour album 'Chair In The Doorway' a short while ago. Somehow this top band who were top of the bill in the late 80s has dropped off the radar. They have been back together for quite a few years but somehow people fail to pick that up. This can't be because they're not meaningful anymore since nothing can be further from the truth. They still make relevant and powerful rock songs that are worth listening to.

Living Colour - The Chair In The Doorway (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

They still give lively rock performances as I experienced a year ago and definitely haven't lost that appetite and drive on this new album. On the contrary. They seem more focused than ever and the album both sounds angry and hard rocking. The sound is very diverse as we're used of the foursome and with the introduction of more electronic and experimental sounds into their music on 'Collideøscope' they have enriched it even more.

Vernon Reid's guitar is as sharp as ever and the songs are strongly founded by the killer rythm section consisting of drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish. Singer Corey Glover finishes it off with his powerful and strong voice to deliver one of the best rock albums of the year. These are just great musicians who are a pleasure to listen to.

They seem to have come to the point that for so many people is inevitable: dreams turned out to be illusions, you thought you had the answers, but you're left with only more questions. "Party is over, the circus has left town, it's the morning after, and you're coming down" Glover sings in 'Method'. You want to leave but where do you go? So you're stuck behind the door. "Then there's the chair" he sings in 'The Chair'. This doesn't lead to a negative album but definitely an angry one. And one with killer grooves ('Young Man', 'Out Of My Mind'), great guitar riffs and solos ('Decadence', 'Behind The Sun') and some good old funky tunes ('Bless Those (Little Annie's Prayer)'). There's also room for a bit more psychedelica in 'Not Tomorrow' and some good old plain fun in hidden track 'Asshole'.

So I advise you to check out this album since it's everything a rock album should be and a lot more.
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Puscifer New Video "The Mission"

Puscifer, Tool singer Maynard James Keenan's side project are about to release a new EP titled 'C is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) E.P.' on November 10. Now they have released the first video for "The Mission". Click "Read more" to see the full track list. Click here to read more about the EP.




01. Polar Bear
02. The Mission (Renholder Mix) (feat. Milla Jovovich)
03. Momma Sed (Alive @ Club Nokia)
04. Vagina Mine (Alive @ Club Nokia)
05. Potions (Deliverance Mix)
06. The Humbling River
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