Rancid - Let the Dominoes Fall

Since the day Rancid's latest album "Let the Dominoes Fall" came out it hasn't left my cars cd player. "Let the Dominoes Fall" isn't going to when you over if your not already a fan of the band. But if you are "Let the Dominoes Fall" will be everything you are looking for in a new Rancid album. This albums represents everything I like about Rancid. Catchy, up beat, fast songs that make you want to sing along and jump around. Most of the songs have something to say about the state of the world today. They cover everything from the war in Iraq to the struggling economy. Some particularly strong songs are Disconnected, East Bay Night and my personal favorite You Want It, I Got It. All I can say is that if like punk rock go out and buy this cd right now!! For info on Rancid visit the bands myspace page at www.myspace.com/rancid

RANCID: "Last One To Die" video

Marilyn Manson - The High End of Low

Marilyn Manson has been one of my favorite musicians since I was in high school. I own all of his albums and have seen live multiple times in a number of cities. So I could hardly wait to get my hands on his newest release "The High End of Low." The album had been hyped quite a bit on the internet because of the return of Twiggy Ramirez and a quote form Manson comparing it to the "Antichrist Super Star." Sadly the "The High End of Low" does not live up to the hype. Its not a horrible album by any means. It is just not all that good either. Twiggy's influence on the sound of the album goes along ways. The thing that weakens the album in my opinion are the lyrics. A majority of the album's lyrics are about having your heart broken and the pains and anger that comes along with it. I hate to say it; but Manson has gone a little "emo" with this album. There are a few gems on the album that rank among Manson's best. "We're Americans" and "Leave a Scar" are two songs that come to mind. "The High End of Low" may be Manson's weakest album; but there is still enough for hardcore fans to warrant a purchase. For more enough on Marilyn Manson you can go to www.myspace.com/marilynmanson

June Concert Picks

June Concert Picks

New York Dolls - June 3 - House of Blues
Peaches - June 12 - Granada Theater
Chuck Ragan - June 21 - Prophet Bar
Futurefest - June 27 - Austin

May Concert Picks

Mad Sin - May 6 - House of Blues
Edgefest - May 9 - Pizza Hut Park
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - May 11 - Granada Theater
Fischerspooner - May 15 - Granada Theater
Isis - May 20 - Granada Theater
Benny Benassi - May 23 - Lizard Lounge

The Faint & A Little Bit of Ladytron @ the Granada

We arrived at the show kinda of late. I was a a little worried that we might miss the beginins of Ladytron's set. We lucked out and arrived when the were walking onto the stage. It wasn't long after though that things took a turn for the worst. Just as Ladytron was about to start there third song (it might have been there second or fourth) they started having technical difficulties. After a couple of minutes of trying to get there equipment to work they just walked off the stages. This is when I knew we were hosed. Sure enough after a couple of minutes later a roadie walked on to the stage and informed the crowd that Ladytron would not returning. Man that was a downer. I have been a fan of Ladytron for awhile now and this was my first opportunity to see them live. But hey, a little bit of Ladytron is better than no Ladytron at all. I figured the crowd would be a little out of it for The Faint. Luckly I was wrong. The atomosphere in the place was still realativly positve. The Faint played a really good set. The crowd was really into them and the bands energy reflected the crowds excitement. Their preformance made up for Ladytron having to cancel. For more info on the bands go to www.myspace.com/ladytron and www.myspace.com/thefaint

Taproot @ Wasted Space in Las Vegas, NV

After four days of saying we were going to go the Hard Casino; we finally did it. We went with the intentions to just drink and gamble. As well admire some of the music memorabilia they had on display. The coolest two items were a guitar used Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and a suit worn by Prince on the Purple rain tour. Prince is a tiny man. While we walking around checking out the music memorabilia we learned that Taproot was going to play the club Wasted Space located in the casino area of the Hard Rock. I hadn't seen or heard anything new by Taproot since they were on tour for Gift many years ago. We were really more interested in checking out Wasted Space and Taproot gave us the excuse we needed. I have also always enjoyed experiencing the concert crowds in other cities. Wasted Space is a pretty awesome place. It has a tattoo parlor thing going on. As well as some pretty awesome designer art hanging on the walls and ceiling. The club was created by Carey Hart. The ex husband of the Pink. The show was packed. Everybody there seemed really into the bands. Taproot hadn't really changed that much since I saw them back in the day. Overall I enjoyed the show. I recognized a few of the songs form Taproots set. But for the most part it was my first time hearing many of the songs. For more info on Taproot visit there myspace page. www.myspace.com/taproot

Miyavi @ Anime Matsuri in Houston, TX

Miyavi is by far my favorite Japanese musician. As well as being one of my favorite all time guitarist. I was very surprised when I learned that Miyavi was a playing one of the smaller anime conventions in Texas. I never thought I would ever see him at a con. They only other time I have been able to see him preform was as the guitarist in SKIN at the Long Beach Arena a few years ago. This was my first chance to see him preform any of his solo material. As far as I could tell a majority of the people at the convention were to his him. The was really really long. As you can see form the video I found on YouTube posted below. You can even see me lying on the ground towards the end. We waited in line for close to five hours to get in. Its a good thing we did because they stopped letting people in to the hall once they hit the 2000 people max capacity. They pulled a little trick on every body once they got into the concert. Every body was all excited for the concert. Chanting Miyavi and what not. Then some goofy guy came on stage and told every body we had to watch the Showdown fighting game championships before Miyavi was gong to come on. I like fighting games so I thought it was kinda of neat to watch. Most of the people in the crowd didn't though. Finally after suffering through an incredibly boring Sagat vs Sagat match of SF4 it was time for Miyavi to come on. It was well worth wait and standing in line all day. Miyavi rocked the place. Well as much as you can "rock" an anime con. He played good mix of songs form through out his electic career. He knew a fair amount of English and chatted with crowd quite a bit. The only thing I was disappointed by was that he didn't play any of his acoustic stuff. He Miyavi had a very charismatic and flamboyant stage presence. Which is in lines with what I expected. For more info on Miyavi check out is myspace page. www.myspace.com/miyavi