The Presets

The Presets from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Senses Fail and Hollywood Undead

I'd like to start this post with a quick shout out to my boy Tom Flynn, who went to this show with me and lost a shoe. haha. We attended this show for one reason only... Senses Fail. Hollywood Undead is a joke as far as I'm concerned, but I that didn't keep me from taking some pretty great video of them. Senses played pretty well, although I have seen them twice before and this was the least entertaining of the three. Hollywood Undead sold this place out, and had the entire crowd going nuts the whole time, so I guess a few people think they are alright. The Senses Fail video is just one straight video of three songs, and I almost drop my camera at one point. The Undead video is actually an edit of some of the footage I got. The show was a blast, go check the videos.


Senses Fail from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.


Hollywood Undead from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Beejan at The Mansion

Last Friday (Feb. 20th) was my opportunity to see some local hip-hop live, at The Mansion on SE 11th and Morrison. I heard about the show through a friend, and I have to say I was NOT completely dissappointed. While the crowd wasn’t incredible, it was certainly characteristic of a local rap show, especially at a place called The Mansion. I have to say I was particularly impressed by a kid named Beejan coming from Tigard. I enjoyed the kid’s old school flow; you gotta love being able to understand each word. Especially when the words are things like “you might catch an uppercut like Tekken, what, check him, he might have brought the Tech in. haters, fake thugs they all carry weapons.” After his set I bought one of his Mix Tapes, which is apparently in stores.(EveryDay Music, 360 Vinyl) The album, I Guess That’s the Name Vol. 2, has some very solid tracks on it including Fire, Embrace the Day, and Timeline, all of which I believe can be found on his myspace page (myspace.com/beejanmusic). Many of his songs involve normal life themes, as opposed to the drug dealing lifestyle we are so used to hearing about. Some of his lines were illustrative of his local standing and aspirations. “They’re living in the studio, I’m living in reality. Trying to turn my art into a seven digit salary.” I took a few videos at the show but the one I decided to post is one where he decides to ignore that the song is over, and continues to spit a capella when the beat drops.The kid next to me was thoroughly excited about it, and I imagine fairly intoxicated, check it out. I enjoyed myself, and look forward to seeing more from this local artist. His upcoming show is free, at Urban Hookah on TV Highway next Saturday(March 7th). (www.urbanhookah.net)


Beejan at The Mansion from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Cradle of Filth

I really just want to put this show behind me, so let’s make this quick. I showed up in between sets, just before Cradle of Filth was ready to start. I often plan to arrive right around this time for shows like this because the headliner is going to be bad enough; might as well save myself the pain and skip the openers. The Roseland was the setting for this blackened mob, all decked out in their Children of Bodom T-shirts and studded belts. My buddy Matt and I had been getting mentally prepared on our walk from my downtown apartment and going in, I was pretty pumped to get hit in the face by a Goth kid. Unfortunately upon rising up into the Roseland floor, I found myself standing in a nearly empty auditorium. The worst thing about a small turn out at a metal show is the direct effect it has on the pit. Naturally. Needless to say the pit sucked and the music was worse. That’s the short and sweet. Check the vid.


Cradle of Filth from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Rebelution

“Hailing from Santa Barbara California, wearing the baggy jeans in the pot leaf trim, the defending California Reggae champions of the world… Rebelution!” While that all may be a little over the top, you seriously need to check these guys out. Their album “Courage to Grow” was something I didn’t stop talking about for some weeks leading up to the show. I had never heard of Rebelution before seeing their show announced on MikeThrasherPresents.com (pitch!) and once I saw their poster, I immediately headed to my torrent search engine of choice _______ (send check to see name there) and downloaded their debut release. I’ve never had a particular interest in this genre, but this disc certainly changed my mind. The album features hit after hit of solid relaxing ska infused reggae that you can’t help but dance to. Their live performance was no different. The show was at The Hawthorne Theatre, and they sold the place out. The first thing I couldn’t help but notice as they took the stage was Marley Williams (bass) rocking a Blazers jersey. What a badass. They opened up with a few tracks from the album, and then as many bands like to do they threw us some new material to digest. The new stuff was pretty good, but what I found most enjoyable was their performance of almost the entirety of Courage to Grow. I was impressed as the entire crowd knew each and every word. Their encore was Feeling Alright, which just so happens to be your video for this show. Go check it out, and throw me a comment.


Rebelution from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

The Walkmen

Showing up just before the headliner comes out, is a skill that I have been trying to develop through the years, as my availability gets tighter, and social engagements take precedent to your brothers garage band. But on the other side of that arrangement you’ll find that more often than not you are missing solid talent that is yet to be discovered. This show was a great example as I arrived during the final set change. I went up to the bar with my buddy Mark, and asked around about how the show had been thus far, and I couldn’t stop hearing rave reviews about Beach House, the band that had just left the stage. I spoke to around 15 people that each said they performed outside of their expectations. I even ran into one guy who was on his way out, having seen what he’d come to see… Beach House. I on the other hand was there for one thing, Red Moon. A single off of The Walkmen’s fifth studio release “You & Me”. It was my favorite track of the solid indie album and I think they played the rest of it pretty well. The showmanship was mildly lacking, but I wasn’t exactly in the right mind to make that distinction so maybe take that with a grain of salt. I enjoyed myself, and that is what it’s all about. Check out the vid which is the song Red Moon. Download their studio stuff, much better representation of their music than this live show footage.


The Walkmen from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Chiodos

The first time I saw Chiodos they were opening for 30 Seconds to Mars. This was back when few knew who they were and Jared Leto was still cool. In fact, Craig Owens, Chiodos front man, walked out the front door of the Wonder Ballroom shortly after the show and not a single person knew who he was. My friend Aimee, who had been listening to Chiodos for a while and was actually at the show for them rather than 30 Seconds to Mars recognized him immediately and confronted him. He seemed taken aback that he was being recognized, what with being in the shadow of Jared Leto and his brother during this tour. We talked to him for a few minutes and he seemed pretty excited as he walked away. Now, Chiodos has become almost superstars. They aren’t playing sold out arenas but I couldn’t believe how many Chiodos shirts I saw at a show with Silverstein in the lineup. I figured that there would certainly be more of their fans present as opposed to Chiodos fans. Anyway, if you take a look at the video I have embedded below, you will see how big shot Chiodos thinks they have become, dramatic lighting and all. The show was great by the way; they played nearly every song they had. Silverstien killed it as well. I have only recently become a fan of their music, but they certainly had a large fan base in attendance. I had fun, and that’s all that matters.


Chiodos from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Bayside

I am a Bayside fan. I have seen them twice before this show. Okay, now that I have those 2 statements on the table, this was the worst show I have ever been to. I arrived with my friend Camden as The Matches were performing. I was not impressed. Then came the headliner, Bayside, the band I had come to see. First off, they messed up the sound check. I didn’t hear anyone check the center stage mic, which is something I normally think nothing of, but once they came out I immediately noticed that the vocals were low. We could barely hear the guy. Watch the video; you’ll know what I’m talking about. Unfortunately they did not fix the problem. Then, that red lighting that you see in the video below, was the sole lighting sequence for the entirety of the show, also normally not something I think too much of, but when I returned home and watched all of the video I took, I noticed it right off. Thirdly, the newest Bayside release Shudder, was nothing spectacular. I feel like it was the same shit we have been hearing from Bayside for years with slightly new lyrics. I was disappointed, and this disappointment was just further realized when attending their show. Like I said, I am a Bayside fan, but this show fell short.


Bayside from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Devildriver

If you are unfamiliar with Devildriver, please go watch this video before reading on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULgU7_lYA38 Now that you are familiar with these crazy assholes, you can understand why my buddy Matt and I decided to go see them last week, and still haven’t stopped talking about it. When we arrived at the Roseland, we were ushered to the Bar as opposed to heading up the stairs to the concert hall as we normally would. They had cleared the majority of the bar out, and were using the stage that was normally reserved for smaller bar shows. I heard someone giving a Roseland staff member some shit about it not being in the concert hall and the staff member said “This is the first time this has ever happened!” I didn’t realize it at the time, but what had occurred to me after leaving was that the Roseland had actually done all of us a favor. I imagine that because the pre-sales were so discouraging, they moved the concert to the bar because it was a smaller area, and had the show been upstairs there would have been no pit, and it would have turned out much like the Kataklysm show. I say Bravo Roseland Theater.But then again, I could have no idea what I'm talking about. When Matt and I arrived, Snot was playing. I had never heard of them, but I enjoyed it very much. There were 2 girls that also enjoyed it very much, and they got up on stage to show it. There is a video below of these two girls and I strongly suggest you check it out.
Snot from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.
Once Devildriver got on stage, the place erupted. Unlike the Kataklysm show, the majority of the crowd was pit ready. I think the lead singer of Devildriver put it best when he said “We want everyone to be safe, but we want extreme viciousness as well. It’s really weird how it works.” He told us this right after he stopped the show because a 350lb guy had gone down and wasn’t getting up. It took 5 Roseland security guards to literally drag him out of the middle of the pit, and I can almost guarantee you, his leg was broken. As soon as he was clear, they started back up and the “extreme viciousness” continued. Watch the video, it gives you a little taste of it. I think the show was great and I have the bruises to prove it.

Devildriver from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly sold out 2 weeks before they arrived at the Roseland Theater on October 11th in good ol’ Portland Oregon. Luckily enough I was able to get my buddy Scotty Burk and I in the door last minute. For some reason the capacity crowd of the Roseland always seems to impress me; I think it might be because of the energy that Portland seems to bring to live music as opposed to the sheer numbers that may seem weak to other venues around the country. I have never been a big fan of Flogging Molly’s records, but their live show certainly entertained me. I think I can speak for Scott and me both when I say that these Irish musicians gave the crowd their monies worth. They had a sizable pit, and the guys in the pit were sizable themselves. I don’t understand why their shirts had to come off but with the amount of 300lb guys that were running around with no shirts on sweating their asses off, I found myself in the middle of it for a very short period of time. There was a kid there wearing a kilt, and apparently he had been in attendance last time Flogging Molly graced the Pacific Northwest and Dave King, Flogging Molly’s front man, recognized him and invited him on stage for their final song. I have some video of Connor in all of his glory that will be up soon. The seven piece band drew a crowd and as they left I heard nothing but praises, overall I would say their show was great and I wouldn’t hesitate to see them again.

Flogging Molly from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Gogol Bordello

I work at a gym, and we open at 5:30am. On Wednesday s the Willamette Week is delivered and I often stop and talk with the guy that delivers them about upcoming shows and what not. A few weeks back he asked me if I was going to see Gogol Bordello, and I told him I had no idea who they were. He said “Dude! You have got to go check these guys out.” I followed his advice. My friend Sarah and I went in knowing very little about this band, we knew only their genre… Gypsy Rock?!?! Well, we figured out what that meant right away. These guys were crazy. They had the entire place, which was packed, moving to the sounds of violin, harmonica, accordion, and guitar. I enjoyed the music, which to be honest I didn’t expect, but their show was awesome. The guy on the violin had to be 90 years old. I would recommend checking Gogol Bordello out if you get the chance. I can almost guarantee you will have fun at their live show. Check out the video below and you might get a picture of what I am talking about.


Gogol Bordello from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Jamie Lidell

If you don’t know Janelle Monae or Jamie Lidell, get ready to click on the YouTube bookmark in your toolbar because you need to see these two. Of course you needn’t travel all the way to YouTube when yours truly has supplied you with such great footage right here within the confines of this very blog. Below is some footage from the Jamie Lidell show that you may enjoy, but definitely check these 2 out elsewhere. I downloaded Jamie’s album and checked out Janelle’s website before the show, and I knew that the show was going to be fun right away. What I didn’t expect was to be blown away. I became a fan of Janelle’s on the internet, but when she stage dove into a crowd of maybe 25 kids she became my hero. Jamie is a genius; he mixes beats while on stage and then sings to it. His style was awesome. When I arrived Janelle had 2 songs left. The show was at the Wonder Ballroom, and even with the bar there were maybe 200 people in the whole place. By the time Jamie Lidell got on stage the place was pretty full. Much of the crowd knew every word, but he wasn’t simply playing his album for us, he was remixing it before our eyes. Great show, check out the video.


Jamie Lidell from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

People Under the Stairs

Legends of Underground Hip-Hop anyone? The People Under the Stairs were in Portland on Friday and my buddy Adam and I decided we should probably check this out given what we have heard about these indie rap gurus, so we headed over to the Hawthorne Theatre an hour and a half after the show was scheduled to begin. We figured this would be ample time to miss the opening acts which we cared nothing about… we were wrong. The show was 5 hours long. We were standing for quite some time, and unfortunately for the acts, their turntables died and they were running the entire show off of iTunes from the back of the house. Each song had to be faded out rather than mixed into the next song. It was pretty interesting, allowing for a lot of weird silence and an overall loss of crowd energy. Luckily for the headliners there were using different gear and had no problems. Their set was exactly what they had promised, a high energy lyrically charged underground hip-hop event. They had the crowd’s attention and with it they set the place on fire. Double K and Thes One both spit some very hot fire, and Thes One was all over the freestyle throughout the night. However he couldn’t get away from calling Portland “Rip City”. While totally accurate, it got kind of old. Did I mention they are from L.A., because they sure did. As with much of the hip-hop culture, especially the underground crowd, where you are from means even more than what you saying, so every other song was often about where they were from. I am not from L.A. I am from Spokane, and I just so happened to run into a bunch of kids that I went to high school with. A few of them moved to Portland after graduating and a bunch of them were in town visiting. All of us meeting at the concert was a crazy coincidence. I am not from L.A.

People Under the Stairs from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Shiny Toy Guns

Berbati’s hosted the Shiny Toy Guns on Thursday to an All-Ages, sell-out crowd. My buddy Mike and I were in attendance and while their album made me think the show would be fun, I didn’t really have any. They had hung umbrellas upside down from the ceiling creating a neat effect with their laser lights, but I didn’t really care for their show. We arrived late, and left early.


Shiny Toy Guns from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

August Burns Red

If you are into brutal, if you like metal, if you understand that heavy has nothing to do with lbs, it’s quite possible that you are, or were at one time a fan of August Burns Red. Was that enough commas for you? If not, read my previous posts as they are littered with commas, often used incorrectly. So, August Burns Red came back to town last night and boy what a show. Did I just use “boy” in describing a metal show? Opps. These guys are awesome. The show was at The Hawthorne Theatre. I had a great time, and got a lot of great footage, you can check some of it out below. I arrived just before the band Sky Eats Airplane was scheduled to start, and they were pretty good as well. I had never heard of them but their live performance caught my attention and I downloaded their album upon arriving home. August Burns Red is a group of very talented musicians, and if you don’t like metal I’m sure you disagree, but I’m telling you they are outstanding. I got a pick from guitarist JB which I was pretty excited about. Overall the show was pretty brutal, check out the video and you’ll see what I’m talking about.


August Burns Red from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Maroon 5 & Counting Crows

I know a lot of people that don’t really care for Maroon 5 and to you I say… “That’s cool.” Personally I enjoy Maroon 5 very much, and there is nothing like throwing on my baby blue apron, busting out the Windex and vacuum cleaner and throwing on some (cough cough) umm, sorry about that I just don’t know what… This past weekend the Portland area was graced with Maroon 5 and Counting Crows' presence, but of course a line up like this couldn’t possibly be contained by a Portland Venue so the show was held 20 miles north of Portland in Ridgefield Washington at The Amphitheater at Clark County. When I found out that these two bands were coming to the area I began organizing a trip to see them. My brother was the one that tipped me off on the show and he was more than excited as The Counting Crows is his favorite band. I also called my good buddy Gates who, like my brother, lives in Pullman Washington attending Washington State University. They decided they would drive over together and stay with me over the weekend. I got a hold of my friends Aimee, Allison and her boyfriend Matt. In all we ended up having a gang of 5 anxious concert goers… MATT! Make that 4 anxious concert goers and one rather annoyed boyfriend. Sorry bro. We bought our tickets all in a row and anticipated their WORLD WIDE MEGA STAR arrival. This amphitheater was incredible. The reserved seating upfront was indoors but it had no back wall because behind the reserved seating was the giant lawn for general admission. Around the outside was something like 12 concession stands including the famous $13 beer, and $10 ballpark frank; nothing like event price hikes! My friend Aimee and I are big friends of the band Augustana, and they were the openers. We had seen them live once before in Portland, and they blew my mind. In this setting they were a little less impressive. Partly because the majority of the crowd hadn’t arrived yet so it was much like they were playing in an empty arena, and partly because we were so far away from the stage. They pretty much kick ass though. Maroon 5 played first and it was exactly what I expected. High energy, expensive sets, pyrotechnics, laser lights, giant T.V. screens, the works. The audio was great, it was a masterful presentation. I have a cool video of everyone with their cell phones raised upon Maroon 5’s request. Check out my Vimeo account at www.Vimeo.com/nichollsaaron, for that and other concert footage along with some shorts. Maroon 5 played a bunch of songs from their 2 platinum records, and at the end the lead singer threw his guitar in the air and let in smash to the ground. He then picked it up and handed it to someone in the front row. I was very upset. Counting Crows came next, and it was obvious that the majority of the crowd had come to see these rock superstars. They played great, vocals were spot on, similar theatrics but my one complaint was that some of the songs were remixes of the album track I was used to, and they didn’t live up to the originals. They were great though, and they played their encore with both of the other bands, a made a nice little “Save the World” statement at the end. I think all 5 of us had a great time and it was money well spent. Sorry Matt.


Maroon 5 from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.

Nightwish

I got an email 2 weeks ago from a good friend of mine from high school telling me that a favorite band of his was coming to Portland, and that he was making plans to come visit and go to the show. I told him that I could probably get us tickets, and that he was welcome at my place for as long as he wanted. Well, I was able to get us into the show, and it was a blast. It was a band called Nightwish, a Swedish power metal band that mixed amped metal chords with a melodic opera style vocal. I knew nothing about this band, but apparently in their genre they are a big deal. I realized this when we arrived to a giant crowd at the Roseland, something I wasn’t expecting at all. We caught the last 2 songs of the opener Sonata Arctica and then made our way through the crowd during the set break. We ran into a couple of kids in town from Forest Grove (a 2 hour bus ride from Portland) to see the Swedes. When Nightwish came out they did so in fashion; all the flashy 90’s laser lights and dramatic intro music that I had imagined when listening to their album the day before. I was able to shoot some good video of the group. The lead singer Annette came up to the edge of the stage and sang directly into my camera at one point, and then the keyboardist came to the edge of the stage and handed me his beer. I drank it in proper “crazy fan” style as if the fact that it had been his beer made it taste like Hawaiian Punch. I promptly threw the empty cup into the security pit only to receive a giant cheer from the fans immediately surrounding me. At the end of the show I was lucky enough to catch the bassists’ pick to give to my good friend Dan, and he was nothing but excited. Of course his mind was elsewhere as I came to the back of the house only to see him sucking face with the Forest Grove girl. HAHAHA.

Nightwish from Aaron Nicholls on Vimeo.