It's Definitely A "Twisted Christmas"

It's going to be another weird Christmas this year. Since KJ and I can't make it home once again, we're trying to make the best of it and thankfully the live rock shows have been plentiful to compensate. Our Christmas season got a little "twisted" last night as we caught 98.9 The Rock's Twisted Christmas show at the Midland Theater in Downtown Kansas City. The show featured Adelitas Way, Sick Puppies, Papa Roach and Breaking Benjamin.

This was the second time in a few months that we got a chance to catch Sick Puppies live. We first saw them back in September here in Lawrence (see "Hard Rock, Sore Throats, Hot Bass Players and Getting Old"). I missed Emma. It was nice to see her rocking the bass once again. This was also Breaking Benjamin show number 5 for us. And honestly, I would see them again...and again. Ben (the lead singer) was a little under the weather but they still put on a good show and even rocked out a great version of Dream On by Aerosmith.

As for Adelitas Way and Papa Roach, this was the first time we'd seen either. Adelitas Way was decent, they brought some energy and some good tunes. But Papa Roach was nothing short of amazing. I like their music and although I've never been a huge fan, they most definitely know how to bring the rock. Jacoby, the front man, was all over the place, dripping sweat from song one and all while sporting a giant smile on his face. It's so much easier to get into the music when you can see the band enjoys what they are doing.

Aside from the music it was one of the most interesting shows I've ever been to and that might mean that I need to be in the pit a little more often. We saw at least 3 sets of women making out (I think there was one girl that was the common link to all 3 sessions), two sets of naked breasts (on a couple of different occasions, one occasion that won our side of the floor a little contest), and at least 3 fights, all of which my bad ass girlfriend broke up. This show was truly what a rock show is about.

It's nice to think that in about 3 weeks we'll be heading back to the same place to catch Cavo and Rev Theory for The Rock's New Year's Eve party. It'll be a huge change of pace to be counting down the new year like we've seen on tv all these years. It will no doubt be a great experience and an even better reason to rock out like we love to do.

By the way, sorry for the crappy cell phone pics of the show (Not that the pics on here are ever stellar anyway). It was hard whipping out the camera in the surging crowd and though we were close, it was necessary to use the zoom on my cell phone camera, making the pics a little grainy. But with me being a bit of a cell phone photog wannabee, I couldn't help myself.

Rock on!

Hard Rock, Sore Throats, Hot Bass Players and Getting Old

I'm only 26, but when did I get so "old"? It's like it happened with a flick of a switch, when I wasn't paying attention, just trying to pay the bills and keep myself happy. Last night, though it was a Thursday (wow, that makes me sound real lame), I braved the unknown nightlife of Kansas to try to regain a semblance of my youth by doing something as simple as staying up past 9:30 and seeing a real rock show, something that I haven't done in the longest time.

Last night was the big show I had been waiting for for months, Sick Puppies in downtown Lawrence playing with The Veer Union and headliner Hurt. My excitement was in the chance to see Sick Puppies, who I've been a fan of since their first album was released in 2006. With the show being right here in town and their new album "Tri-Polar", which I just had to go out and snatch the day it came out (see Those Are Some "Sick" Sick Puppies) blasting holes in my car stereo speakers, I felt this was my opportunity to strip myself of my old man status and act like the rocker of old days that was seeing rock show after rock show excited over every riff and lyric.

The show was at The Granada, an old school looking music venue on Massachusetts St. in downtown Lawrence. KJ and I showed up in time to see the opener, a local Kansas City band called Black Oxygen. They put on a decent 20 minute or so set and made way for The Veer Union, who is known for their single Seasons, which gets quite a bit of play on the local alternative rock stations around here. Their set was highlighted by a dangerous looking mohawk, a drum set set off to the side of the stage due to lack of space, and some kicking tunes. As enjoyable as they were, we stood back at watched from the back of the pit, taking it in and waiting for our chance to truly rock out.

Once The Veer Union finished, I set aside my walker, grabbed KJ and walked to the floor in front of the stage and rocked out like you're supposed to at a rock show as Sick Puppies commanded the room. The modest sized crowd surged around us as we were pushed forward to the very front with Shim (the lead guitarist and vocalist) hovering over us and bating us on to keep moving and making as much noise as we could. I sure as hell didn't hold back. I belted out every lyric that I could, which was most of them, and shouted my excitement like I did in my college days, rocking it out for Foo Fighters or Three Days Grace. (We saw some very good shows back in those days.)

Shim really owned it song after song and Mark truly held his own behind his kit, but there's really no way to sugar coat it, Emma, the bass player, was smoking hot. There is nothing much hotter than to see an attractive woman rocking out on a stage, ripping the hell out of her instrument and looking damn fine in the process. At some points it was hard taking my eyes away, seeing her so intense and into the music, head banging in her tall black boots and short skirt. Heck, even KJ admitted she would tap that. That's saying something when your girlfriend tells you that. It's sad that I didn't have the guts to go say hi and check out her hot Australian accent at the meet-and-greet after the set, but watching the show was a treat in itself.

Sadly, after Sick Puppies, our geriatric ways kicked back in after a couple of songs into Hurt's set. I'd never heard of them until this show and I didn't know any of their tunes. (I did really dig their tune "Ten Ton Brick".) Their music was heavy, intense and most definitely gut busting in the best of ways, but we were both exhausted and dreading the work day that was to follow.

I hate to admit I left early, at only 10:30 to boot, I'm usually the last one to want to leave early from a rock show, especially after paying good money to be there, but we'll take it one step at a time. Me protecting my lady from the moshers and screaming myself hoarse to the lyrics of Sick Puppies was more than a small step to my reintroduction to non-loser-dome.

Those Are Some Sick "Sick Puppies"

New music! I love new music! We're less than a week from the release of the new Our Lady Peace album but to pass the time I'm getting smacked in the face by the new album from Australian hard rockers Sick Puppies called "Tri-Polar".

In my opinion, the album is sick, and of course I mean sick in the most affectionate uses of the word. It's one of the albums that I just bought, knowing it was going to be good and it's always a great feeling when the feeling is justified. I thoroughly enjoyed their first album, "Dressed Up As Life" and had the confidence that this one would be even better.

The first single,You're Going Down, is most definitely a heavier first impression than their first hit All The Same. The rest of the album doesn't fizzle out either. With songs like War, So What I Lied, and my current fave, I Hate You, you get a swift kick in the gut both lyrically and musically. You get that great combo of crunching guitar, gritty vocals and that signature bass twang that is made just that much better knowing a hot rocker chick is slamming it out.

With a couple of chiller songs to give you the roller coaster that a good album will undoubtedly put you on, "Tri-Polar" is going to be in my cd player for quite a while, right behind OLP's "Burn Burn" which comes out in 3 days.

Everyone else is coming out with killer music that's getting me all excited, where's mine? Good question. In the meantime, if you're looking for some good rock, check out the new Sick Puppies disc, "Tri-Polar". Rock on!