LIVE REPORTS
Rozz Williams Tribute Paul Roessler & Gitane Demone
Symbolism,
Eva O at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Show Review and Photos By: Jaime Pina
The Los Angeles Death Rock scene was alive and well on Friday March 15 for the tribute show at Hollywood Forever. Nico B brought together an impressive line-up for a fundraising concert for his upcoming documentary on Rozz Williams. The venue was packed and the crowd was thrilled with the performances.
Marking the live debut of their recently released The New Young Kings Of Midnight, Gitane Demone and Paul Roessler opened the show and it was obvious we were witnessing something very special. On the recording the piece is somber and hypnotic but live in person it was a much more powerful experience. Gitane pulled off a miraculous vocal performance with her soaring voice raising the hair on my arms. Paul conjured the orchestral sounds from his keyboards and also sang occasional harmonies with Gitane. This was a fantastic and very special start to the show.
Symbolism was up next featuring James McGearty and Rikk Agnew of Christian Death with London May of Samhain on drums. Assisting Agnew on guitar was Vincent Price of Body Count. On vocals there is Devix Szell and he is an extraordinary front man. As the band provided pounding riffs with Agnew’s twisted little melodies on top, Szell delivered angry and pained vocals while physically commanding the stage. The band made a triumphant return with this hard performance.
Dressed in full medieval vampire regalia right out of a 70’s horror film directed by Al Adamson or Andy Milligan; Eva O. lead her band made up of members of The 6th Chamber through a set of Shadow Project songs. With the first two acts burning through highly explosive sets Eva and company had a rough task ahead of them. As the set progressed it became obvious they were more than ready for the show and the music built to an enormous cacophony with Eva’s guitar solos and vocals in the lead.
The show also featured a screening of the film Pig and a teaser trailer for the film-in progress as well as Dave Bats in the DJ booth. The venue was beautiful and it was more than ironic seeing a whole bunch of Death Rockers roaming the cemetery with purpose.
Thor Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre ,
Whisky a Go Go Friday March 8, 2024
Show Review and Photos By: Jaime Pina
In 1977 a record was released by a former body builder who had a love for Rock N’ Roll and had spent a few years working toward his goal of fronting a rock band. I’m sure your typical record company industry type of that time – you know, with the hairy chest, silk shirt unbuttoned to show said hairy chest and the coke spoon on a chain – probably thought this was a gimmick act that wouldn’t last a month. But the first album by Thor went gold in his native Canada and the two promo videos from the album gained him fans in the US when they were shown on late night rock television. The concert this evening was the Los Angeles stop on Thor’s 50th anniversary tour. There were lots of special guests to help Thor celebrate this landmark show.
It was a stacked bill but I was lucky enough to arrive just in time to see the mighty Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre. Now, I had seen them before as they have been Thor’s backup band for a few years now and their opening set this evening kicked some righteous butt! Looking like Southern Rock fellas with an attitude they rock a sound that is Memphis (their hometown) cool but that will appeal to people who like music set at high energy. They would be equally at home sharing a stage with ZZ Top or Queens Of The Stone Age. And the guitar playing is amazing. The special guests started during their set and they drove the crowd wild by bringing out Cherie Currie of The Runaways for killer versions of “Ramblin’ Rose” by MC5 and of course, “Cherry Bomb”.
After a short break Thor came out casually dressed in street clothes instead of his usual God Of Thunder outfit and regalia. And Thor also seemed to be having a lot of fun by cracking lots of jokes onstage and just really enjoying himself and the crowd. With so many albums under his belt it was hard to put together a comprehensive set so the band just decided to rock some catalog favorites along with a couple of songs from Thor’s new record, Ride Of The Iron Horse. The crowd had no problem with the song selection and was fist pumping and singing along all through the show. There were many high points during the set but my personal fave was when Thor talked about appearing on the Merv Griffin Show and having to perform “Action” by The Sweet with Merv’s orchestra instead of his rock band. They did the song at the show and not only did the band nail it but Thor crushed it on the vocals. Among the guests appearing with Thor were Jim Cirile from Rock N’ Roll Nightmare, former band members Bruce Duff and Mike Kischnick and more. There was also a special appearance by one of the “minions” from Rock N’ Roll Nightmare. All in all it was a fantastic evening with lots of great songs and Thor once again proving that he is still the God Of Thunder Rock. Here’s to another 50 years!
