In This Issue:

• Live Review: A Night With SOAD

• Rerun: Jeff Beck - You Had It Coming  Written By: Andrew Stewart

• KMFDM Hits Calgary With New Album

• The Darkness To Offer A One Way Ticket To Hell

• Do You Feel Safe At A Mötley Crüe Concert?

• Who's Your Daddy?  Josh Homme!

• Shirley Manson Confirms My Thoughts On Rock Star: INXS

• In Stores Next Week

• This Week's Releases Reviewed

• Upcoming Shows

Live Review: A Night With System of a Down

Once again, I've witnessed a concert in which I'm having trouble figuring out how to convey it to you, my loyal readers. The System of a Down/The Mars Volta show here in Calgary's Saddledome on Monday, September 19th was simply put, exhilarating.

Sadly, the evening didn't start out as good as it should have. The show was scheduled to start at 19:30 hrs, but I really had no intention of watching Hella, the opening band. I had come across a few of their song by pure coincidence, and they're style just didn't do anything for me.

With that in mind, we arrived at the arena shortly before 20:00 hrs and this is where things went wrong. Now, I understand that this is a SOAD concert, but the security/crowd control methods were just downright excessive. For those of us lucky enough to have floor tickets, we were segregated to a entrance line of our own which was single-file through a single door. That's when the rain started, as if we needed anything else to dampen our moods. We were subjected to an individual stamping our ticket, followed by an issuing of a wristband, followed by a search, and finally a scanning our ticket as we entered the door. It took over half-an-hour for all of this to transpire and by the time we walked onto the floor, The Mars Volta was more than half-way through their hour-long set and performing The Widow from this years Frances The Mute. I was NOT impressed with the fact that I missed any of this performance.

What I did see of TMV was incredible. Personally, I think the audio mix was a little too loud as it was hard to distinguish the multi-instrumented band, and it was definitely out there (by which I mean, very psychedelic.) The band jammed more than anything else, although towards the end they did play Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt, which is the closing track to their 2003 release De-Loused In The Comatorium and a great rock tune. The back-drop was a display of vivid designs and odd images (is that an aardvark fucking a naked man?) which when lit in different ways, appeared to be completely different from just moments prior. Unfortunately, I don't think many people in our fair province are ready for the music of TMV as a good portion of the crowd was visibly put off by their performance. I will say this though; beyond the trippy performance and everything else, this band proved that they are elite musicians despite it possibly being beyond some people's taste. I'm interested to see them once again, at a better venue.

After a decent break, and plenty of roaming around the arena where I lost friends, found others and lost them all over again (and even a quick stint in a private box), the lights dimmed and a white sheet concealed the stage. From behind the sheet, a single spotlight silhouetted guitarist Daron Malakian as his began playing Soldier Side - Intro, which on the album, is followed immediately by the first single B.Y.O.B., and it was no different here. As the opening riff to the song hit, the sheet was removed to reveal the whole band as they assaulted the fans in ways that left us in a glorious frenzy.

The band's performance was intense and lengthy, without a disappointment to mention. They played a number of songs from Mezmerize, including the second single, Question!, This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On this Song, Revenga, and Lost In Hollywood. I was very pleased to hear them play my personal favourite, Sad Statue, and Malakian started Cigaro by reciting the first lines ("My cock is much bigger than yours...") in a comedic way before actually ripping into the song.

The performance included many songs from their previous three albums too. It was fantastic to hear songs from their self-titled debut, especially Suite-Pee and War?. Of course, Chop Suey and Toxicity, both from Toxicity, made it on the set-list during the evening. Songs like Prison Song and Bounce seemed to get the crowd into a whirlwind as much as the monster hits did. They even played Mr. Jack from Steal This Album, prompting the majority of the masses to join them in chanting "Fuck You Pig!" towards the end of the song.

They even played a couple of songs from the upcoming Hypnotize album, the second half of the dual release this year, one being Kill Rock 'n Roll and the other, an instrumental piece which I have yet to figure out the title. Thrown into all of the System goodness were even two covers. The first, a cover of Neil Young's Hey Hey, My My and the second being Sultans Of Swing from Dire Straits. The latter was performed solo by Malakian with him replacing the line "We are the Sultans of Swing" with "We are the System of a Down".

The lengthy set ended shortly after 23:00 hrs and I took a run out to the concourse to obtain some merchandise before the masses arrived and took what little was left. I was hoping to have bought my hoodie quickly enough to make it back on the floor for the encore, but there was none to be had. My initial thoughts were of disappointment as I was craving more, but in hind-sight, the lengthy set proved to be exactly what the band wanted; a satisfying amount of time with SOAD, and no bull-shite stoppage in the night prompting us to coax the band back out for more.

My only complaint would be that the cost of merchandise was pretty hefty, and even though I was willing to dish out an exorbitant amount of money for a work-shirt, they didn't have a size that fit me. When I think of that though, if the only complaint was the price of souvenirs, it certainly speaks volumes about the show itself.

Finally, because I spent much of my time in the mosh pit (which was violent yet cordial for the most part, as I witnessed a few people fall only to have people around them, including me, making sure they weren't trampled), I didn't manage to get a complete and accurate set list. Instead, I asked some of my friends who were in attendance at the show to provide me with their thoughts. Here they are:

• "This show was a pure unadulterated rock show that was saturated with unrelenting energy...a show the listener is lucky to also behold."  ~ Victor Tanyi

• "My first SOAD concert, I am a bigger fan and have more respect for this talented group after last night."  ~ Reid Robinson

• "System was good.  The Mars Volta was GREAT!" ~ Alisa, PLAY

• "It was like having a hot, gyrating musical orgy with 4 porno-trained bisexual nympho groupie bitches on rails while screaming and clawing through a sensory-shattering orgasm for 2 hours then collapsing into a whimpering but numbingly satisfying post-best-fuck-of-your-life afterglow.  Ya, that good." ~ Mike Tanyi
• "Best concert/show I've seen all year...VOLTA!" ~ Jim Fernandes
• "FUCKING AWESOME...Totally awesome show!" ~ Steve Janes
• "System was an amazing show.  Serj [Tankian]'s voice is melodic, yet powerful.  [He] Has an early 19th century tone with almost an Opera like sound.  His voice is what makes the band so very different from the other bands.   AWESOME!  The drummer John Dolmayan is excellent.  Kept the band together with a driving force.  Truly a great show......LOVED IT!!!!!!" ~ Karyn Moeskops
• "Tight, pounding metal.  Fucking awesome.  I too chanted in the church of SOAD." ~ Ryan Jorgensen

As if that weren't enough to whet your palate, I have confirmation of the accompanying album to Mezmerize, its release date and set list. Hypnotize will hit store shelves on November 22nd on both CD and DualDisc. The album features twelve songs (Attack, Dreaming, Kill Rock 'n Roll, Hypnotize, Stealing Society, Tentative, U-Fig, Holy Mountains, Vicinity of Obscenity, She's Like Heroin, Lonely Day and Soldier Side, which completes Soldier Side Intro which is the first track on Mezmerize), and the DualDisc version of the album will contain behind-the-scenes footage of the making of both albums. The artwork for the album was designed by Vartan Malakian (Daron's father) and the packaging will physically join both releases together; musically and artwork-wise.

Rerun: Jeff Beck - You Had It Coming

Written By: Andrew Stewart

Very few things in this world are better than a sunny day, a long stretch of pavement, and a good album cranked on the stereo. A sign of a good album is how well it sounds when you’re tearing down a highway, and you have it loud enough to drown out the wind noise coming from the open window.

This is an album that forces you to make it louder as you drive. It’s a guitar driven album, and it showcases one of the world’s best guitarists with more non-traditional sounds. For those of you who listen to music for the poetic renderings of some artists…move along, there’s nothing to see here. For the rest who are up for anything, enjoy the read.

Allow me to introduce Jeff Beck in 10 easy to read bullets:

1. Born on June 24th, 1944, just prior to the end of WWII.

2. Grew up in the small English town of Wallington, England.

3. Began to learn guitar as a child, and briefly attended Wimbleton Art College before leaving to focus on music full-time.

4. Replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist for the Yardbirds in 1965.

5. Left the Yardbirds after 18 months and formed The Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass.

6. Released two albums as part of The Jeff Beck Group, Truth and Beck-ola. Stewart and Wood leave to join The Faces. Beck disbands the group until 1971.

7. Reforms a new version of the group and releases two more albums, Rough & Ready and The Jeff Beck Group before dissolving the band once again. He splits off to form another band with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, who release a single album Beck, Bogert and Appice in 1973.

8. Moves away from 'power rock' in favour of jazz-fusion albums, releasing two such albums in 1975 (Blow By Blow) and 1976 (Wired).

9. Returns in 1980 with There And Back, and then disappears until the release of Flash in 1985.

10. Continues to release albums showcasing different styles of music, and earns himself 3 Grammy’s along the way. The most recent coming from You Had It Coming in 2001.

Although Jeff stuck with the jazz-fusion and did it well, he began to grow more interested in electronic music, and began relying heavily on samples. This can be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on the artist. It’s bad if it’s Perry Farrell’s Songs Yet To Be Sung, but good if it’s Jeff Beck. Now the cool thing about this album is that apart from being good, it’s quite different from what you’d expect out of an old guy like Beck. It does a nice job of taking the best and most impressive parts of Jeff’s talent on guitar, and pairing it nicely with some sampling. The effect is a good, solid guitar driven album.

To figure out what this album sounds like, mix a little Ministry with NIN and some Eddie Van Halen, and you’re pretty much there. The first song, Earthquake, although not the strongest on the album, offers a nice glimpse of what’s to come. Good tempo, lots of guitar and minimal lyrics to get in the way. Jeff Beck is not a singer, and he doesn’t try to be. Other than minimal vocals on the occasional track, the album is mostly lyric-less. Remember…Guitar + Beat = Kick-Ass album.

The second song on the album, Roy’s Toy, is a perfect example of how much Jeff likes sampling. The car mixes his love of music with his love of hot rods by opening with the sounds of one of the meanest engines going and quickly flows into an infectious hook on guitar. Throughout the song the sounds of the engine are used repeatedly to great effect. It goes well with the manufactured beat and holds a steady feel to the song. And it’s catchy as hell, which never hurts.

From there we enter the third song, which is another fine display. Remember…Guitar + Beat + Moaning Woman = Kick-Ass song. The song is called Dirty Mind, and it suits it well. It opens with a sultry “Oh My God…” and doesn’t let up. Jeff paints a picture with this song that no words could accomplish, and it provides one of the most intimate songs on the album. Jeff manages to make his guitar sound like its moaning and partners it with a great beat that carries the song along and doesn’t allow it to go stale.

Rollin’ & Tumblin’ cries out for a fast car and a wide open road. Imogene Heap's female voice is a welcome change to the minimal vocals so far on the disc. The song opens with a very simple, fast, tribal beat followed by a sharp guitar…and then the voice comes in. It maintains this pace the entire time and manages to get the blood pumping, as well as offering a bit of a surprise. It doesn’t rely as heavily on sampling as some of the other songs do, and it brings something new…a bass. Midway through the song a very pronounced bass hits to momentarily replace the guitar.

The fourth track offers a bit of a change of pace. Nadia puts a spotlight on how effective a guitar can be at conveying very delicate emotions without cluttering things up. The song opens with a gentle guitar-only intro that is quite easy to listen to and sounds like a love song should. Just to change things up a bit, however, the song quickly introduces a quick techno-ish beat which is amazingly well suited to the song. The guitar is so prominent and effective that the fast beat doesn’t take away from it at all. They shouldn’t go together, but somehow, they work.

The last song on the album is an example of less is more. It is one of my favourite on the album, because it is so stripped down. The beat remains hauntingly far away in the background, only becoming more of a presence near the middle of the song as if it’s helping to build some drama. The guitar is impressive simply by showing how a true master can wield it. Not only can Jeff make his guitar scream, but he can use it in such a gentle manner that it confirms how much talent this guy has.

The other tracks on the album are all good, and should not be ignored, and the ones here simply show the strongest examples on the album. Each one has something about it that is unique and easy to listen to. Nothing seems really out of place, although some songs have a more ‘timeless’ quality than others. The album is one that can easily be put on the stereo and left there until it spins all the way through.

But don’t take my word for it…go listen for yourself.

KMFDM Hits Calgary Next Week; Deliver New Album

For you industrial fans, an old player is back in the game and hitting Calgary next Tuesday (September 27th). KMFDM are playing The Warehouse and it's all in support of their new album, Hau Ruck.

The album, whose titled translates to 'Heave-Ho', was written and recorded by leader Sascha Konietzko and his band-mates in a matter of six months. "Everyone just got to work and it was a concerted, focused effort," said Konietzko. "It drummed up quality material in no time at all. I can't come to terms with anything unless I have a deadline. If I had another year to finish this album, I would still be in the middle of it. It would turn out differently but who knows if it would be better."

Konietzko also pointed out that the album was recorded with absolutely no outside help. He and Steve White, Andy Selway, Jules Hodgson and Lucia Cifarelli did all the work. "Nothing on here I don't 100% approve of. I'm proud of this album because it was the first one done without any outside input...We've never had producers and we don't need to, but there wasn't a single thing that wasn't entirely in our hands or not on our radar..."

KMFDM hit Edmonton on the night before the Calgary show (the 26th) before moving across Canada including stops in Toronto on October 4th and finishing up on October 8th in Halifax, NS.

Hau Ruck is available in stores now.

The Darkness To Offer A One Way Ticket To Hell

Although it hasn't been tremendously long, it's been a little while since we've heard from The Darkness but fans of the tongue-in-ass-cheek metal band need wait no longer. The UK quartet has announced the track listing, album title and release date for the sophomore release.

The album, One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back, is scheduled for release on November 28th, and features songs titled Knockers, Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time and Bald among others. Now, if this were any other band, those titles would seem rather innocent, but this is The Darkness; a band featuring members who present themselves, fashion-wise, more like Spinal Tap and lead singer Justin Hawkins; who's been compared to Freddie Mercury of Queen, sporting the uni-tard with a neckline that droops right down to his pelvic bone (and let's not forget Justin's visit to Toronto where he got the infamous Prince Albert piercing before a radio interview at edge102 and announcing it to listeners.) With that in mind though, this is no ordinary band and those titles could convey something not-so-innocent.

It's not known if bassist Frankie Poullain co-wrote the material on the new album before he departed, but he certainly isn't featured on the recorded product. Guitarist Dan Hawkins filled those shoes until ex-guitar tech Richie Edwards stepped in permanently.

All that aside, my new favourite thing about The Darkness is the graphic on the bottom left-hand corner of their web site, proof that these guys don't take themselves too seriously.

Mötley Crüe Concert Dangerous For Both Fan And Vince Neil

You better watch out if you're heading to a Mötley Crüe concert anytime in the near future. At a show in Atlanta last Friday (September 16th), singer Vince Neil tore a calf muscle in his leg when he fell off stage in an attempt to lean over the edge to be closer to the fans. The band was about five songs into the show when this occurred.

He wasn't the only one falling though. An unidentified man fell from the fourth floor of the Philips Arena where Mötley Crüe were performing said concert and sustained injuries that sent him to Grady Memorial Hospital. Just a couple more reasons not to go to a Mötley Crüe gig.

Despite orders from doctors not to perform, Neil and the band will be back at their Carnival Of Sin tour this Sunday in Memphis, although he'll definitely be mostly stationary.

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/24015237

Who's Your Daddy? Josh Homme!

I'm normally not one to report on the personal business of musicians, but being such a shameless fan of Queens of the Stone Age, I cannot ignore this news.

QOTSA front-man Josh Homme and Distillers front-woman Brody Dalle, who have been an item since last year (at least) are expecting their first child, as reported by Jesse Hughes to MTV.com last week. Hughes and Homme play together in another band, the Eagles Of Death Metal.

A spokesperson for Dalle confirmed the news. Dalle is reportedly five months pregnant and the two are engaged to be married. Meanwhile, Homme (with QOTSA) continue to open for Nine Inch Nails on their North American tour which stops in Toronto on November 10th and Calgary on November 17th. The tour experienced a scary moment last week when the show in San Diego was cut short during the NIN set. Drummer Jerome Dillon was thought to have suffered a heart attack on stage, but it turned out to be an anxiety attack. The Tucson show on the 17th was cancelled but Dillon has since recovered and the tour continues.

Shirley Manson Confirms My Thoughts On Rock Star: INXS

When I heard that INXS were going to search for their new singer via a reality TV show months ago, my immediate reaction wasn't good. I was a pretty big INXS fan back in the day, and I still contend that singer Michael Hutchence didn't commit suicide in the traditional sense of the word (he simply had an accident while getting ultra-freaky in my limited opinion), but the thought of using reality TV to find another singer and move forward with the band just did not sit well with me.

After the show started airing on CBS with the band, the fact that Dave Navarro (otherwise knows as Mr. Carmen Electra) was involved somewhat peaked my interest, but not enough to actually watch the show. Even the lovely Brooke Burke couldn't draw me in. After a kMNR reader told me about a couple of episodes and how it wasn't that bad, I almost made an attempt to watch. Almost.

I did in fact catch an episode in which contestant Ty Taylor covered the Foo Fighters' Everlong. He did an impressive job, especially considering he reportedly hadn't been very familiar with the song at all. However, the notion that they had contestants participate in a jam-aoke turned me off even further. From that point forward, I made no attempt to watch the show until Tuesday night past when by accident, I came across the tail end of the finale in which INXS picked J.D. Fortune as their new lead singer. He then performed their first single (Easy, Easy) as a band to close the show. My feelings are mixed, but mostly still not impressed with the manner in which this search to bring the band back was conducted.

In a story from the Associate Press, Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson has expressed similar distaste for Rock Star: INXS. "It isn't INXS without Michael Hutchence," she said. "I feel like in life you have to be prepared to let go of something in order for new growth to occur in your life. And I think it is unhealthy to be constantly coming back to recreate the past. You should forge forward instead of being sentimental about things that have gone by."

Although I'm not opposed to INXS looking to find a new singer, I just think this wasn't the right way to do so. Regardless, they are once again a complete band and are releasing their new album, Switch on November 29th.

In Stores Next Week

Next week marks the release of Sheryl Crow's Wildflower. Crow, who's married to champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and creates mixed CDs for his training sessions, returns with her first release since 2004's The Globe Sessions.  Also hitting stores is Neil Young's Prairie Wind, HIM's Dark Light, the Bloodhound Gang's Hefty Fine, best-of releases from Blind Melon titled Tones Of Home and the Cranberries and Road To Rouen from Supergrass.

For the urban music lover, there are two new albums of interest hitting store shelves on Tuesday. First, Sean Paul brings his distinct voice and dancehall sound back with The Trinity. Longing for the R&B soothing of a female voice? Toni Braxton introduces Libra, her first new disc since 2002's More Than A Woman.

Lastly, arriving on September 27th is the new album from Metric, Live It Out. This disc's first single, Monster Hospital, has been getting airplay on both radio and music television (with a pretty interesting yet peculiar music video, I might add) and is their first release since their breakout album, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? The band is touring all over Canada and the US right now through to mid-November, including a show here in Calgary on October 26th. A scheduled show in Kingston, ON on September 26th has been cancelled, but fans in that city need fear not as it's for good reason. Instead, Metric will be joining Billy Talent and Strippers Union Local 514 for the Queen's University homecoming. They plan on returning to my other home-away-from-home in early 2006.

This Week's Releases Reviewed

This week marked the release of new albums from Bloc Party, Coheed And Cambria, Idlewild, The Rasmus, and The Suicide Machines.

You can read short review for these and other new releases at Chart Magazine:

http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/09/2001.cfm

Upcoming Calgary Shows

ON SALE TOMORROW!!!  Oh joyous day!  Bad Religion is coming back to Calgary, reportedly at MacEwan Ballroom (although some sources state it's MacEwan Hall but really, does it matter?), and they're being joined by Anti-Flag.  Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow (September 23rd) at 10:00 hrs, but since you've read this far (and if you hurry) pre-sale tickets are on sale until tonight (September 22nd) at 22:00 hrs.  The CJAY92 password is "strikes".

~~ kMNR v2005.085 ~~

If you would like to hear about or if you have any information on a particular band or artist, please email and I will do my best to cover them.

• September 15, 2005 ~ kMNR v2005.084 ~ "Can't Fear Fear 'Cause Fear Is My Killer"

• September 08, 2005 ~ kMNR v2005.036 ~ "Picking out the highlights of the scenery"

• September 01, 2005 ~ kMNR v2005.035 ~ "Convince yourself to take control"

• August 25, 2005 ~ kMNR v2005.034 ~ ""Vulcanize the whoopee stick, in the ham wallet""

• August 18, 2005 ~ kMNR v2005.033 ~ "If You Wanna Do It, Do It Right"