Summers in The Bay Area are wonderful. The weather is nice, the air is damp yet refreshing with the precipitation of the close shorelines and the perspiration of others, and as long as you stay out of SF there’s hardly any preposterous hills that you will have to climb. During this time it’s easiest to get around on a bicycle, which makes things a lot more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about being a buffoon that actually operates a vehicle while presumably being intoxicated. Falling down and getting bruised up is no big deal, losing your life and the lives of others you potentially care about is fucking terrible- so don’t drink and drive, it’s not worth it. As school lets out every summer there is a stream of great bands/artists performing nightly in DIY houses and venues throughout our cities. Forward Thinking and Intellectually inclined individuals who’ve formed bands are getting the opportunity to travel after their semester is over and set off to share their ideas and artistic expression with the diverse culture and show community found only here in The Bay. This is a very unique place to reside if you are a fan of music and art.
On 5/30/13, I went to a venue called The Continental Club, located in West-Oakland, which is currently under newer ownership and opening the doors to some folks in the metal community. This used to be one of the coolest Jazz & Blues venues in the country so it’s really awesome that they are allowing more people to participate in the tradition of shows at their historical venue. The place has a great charm to it. When walking through the doors you enter a fairly large ballroom that meets up with a stage and there’s chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a mysterious upper deck for those that would like to enjoy the show from seats – accompanied with an upstairs & downstairs bar with in’s and out’s for smokers.
Opening the show this evening was a new band from San Jose called Disinhibition. Chad from Caffa/Necrot is playing drums for them and Colin from Mortuous is playing guitar while Andre from Cyanic is doing vocals. This is a killer lineup that plays grindcore heavily influenced by death metal.
Warpvomit is a new Blasphemous Death Metal band from Seattle. This was their first tour and they hit the road with their close friends in Bone Sickness. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing the debut release by these dwellers of the Pacific Northwestern void.
Bone Sickness is a Death Metal band from Olympia, Washington. They were on tour to support their debut album “Alone in the Grave” which is now available through their label – 20 Buck Spin .
On 6/21/13, Caffa was playing in San Francisco at the tour kickoff show for our friends in Augurs with SF locals Ordstro opening up the show at a cool DIY spot.
Augurs is a new Hardcore/Sludge band from The Bay Area and this tour revolved around them travelling to the Pacific Northwest to record with the legendary Billy Anderson(Sleep). The tracks they recorded are going to be used for an upcoming split LP with Caffa tentative through Hash Crimes LLC! This was the Summer Solstice after all – so you get to enjoy the evenings shows with an extra touch of dramatic flair.
After playing the show with Augurs & Ordrsto, our band headed back to Oakland so we could catch one of our favorite local bands Fell Voices.
Fell Voices is an Atmospheric Black Metal Band from Santa Cruz/Oakland. We made it right in time for their last song which just so happened to be a new song called, “Dawn”. They play very rarely so we were content to be able to catch at least a small bit of their performance.
The next day, 6/22/13, was a day that featured a killer Gilman show in celebration of the life of Grandpa as he was turning 66.6 this evening. A really incredible lineup was put together in honor of Grandpa and he sat right alongside the stage throughout the entire evening wearing a smile while exchanging kind nods and handshakes to those that congratulated him on his existence.
Connoisseur from Oakland was one of the opening bands this evening. They play Hardcore while getting really stoned and embracing a xWeedxEdgex lifestyle.
To The Point is a new Hardcore band from Los Angeles featuring Chris Dodge from Spazz and several other awesome projects including Slap-A-Ham Records. To The Point recently put out a split with the band xACxDCx. This is them performing their hit singles, “Nothing is Brutal” & “Faces of Meth”.
Freedom Denied is Ex-Plutocracy members and Dorian from Noisear playing some killer West-Bay P.V. They came together as a band to perform at this evenings show.
Noothgrush from Oakland also played this evening. They are one of the heaviest bands in America. This is a new song of theirs called, “Thoth”, which is in tribute to a friend that has transcended realms. This track is going to be on a split that is coming out with Coffins. Noothgrush will be summoning Mothra to fly them around the country of Japan with Coffins later this fall.
(Hand Drawn Poster by SF Artist- Jose Gabriel Angeles)
On 7/5/13 a show was organized for Versklaven, from Houston(Tx), in a DIY house in Oakland that also featured Plague Phalanx from San Jose and a special Striations set. Versklaven plays D-Beat Punk and shares members with War Master. This was a really fun evening.
You can catch the Caffa footage from this evening by following this link.
Two days later, on 7/7/13, I traveled to The Oakland Metro to support my friends in Cyanic, from San Jose, who were playing with Lightning Swords of Death. Farron, the lead singer of L.S.O.D is a talented artist that has contributed several illustrations to Cyanic that they have used for artwork/merch with their debut release, “Litanies of Lust Unholy“. I will be releasing their debut on Cassette in the near future through Transylvanian Tapes!
Valdur is a Death Metal band from Mammoth Lakes that hit the road with L.S.O.D for this tour. Greg from Brainoil/Ear Hammer Studios recently worked with the band and he was enthralled by the drummers playing ability. I’m glad he gave me the heads up as his chops did not disappoint.
Lightning Swords of Death, from Los Angeles, play a very hypnotic style of Death Metal. They mix riffs and mayhem pretty well without sounding over complicated and too technical. This was my first time seeing them, they blew out the power on stage during the beginning of their set with their fog machines cranked up and their foreboding lights. I can appreciate that.
TheCoronation
August 3, 2013 at 3:07 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH1VeAnVJ2o