I originally bought From the Inside from a cutout bin somewhere around 1980 - 1981; I was a stupid kid hoping to find something on par with “School’s Out”. Other than the gatefold cover nothing about it really piqued my interest so I ended up giving it to a buddy of mine who was big into Alice.
So here we are thirty years later, and thanks to the magic of Spotify I run across this again. I gave it another shot and you know what? It’s fucking fantastic. It may end up being my favorite Alice Cooper album.
Based on his stay in a sanitarium, the album is a combination of autobiographical songs and songs based on people he ran across. It’s pretty serious stuff with only a couple of songs (”Millie and Billie”, “Nurse Rozetta”) played for shock. Even “Veronica”, about an inmate who misses his dog tears me apart.
My personal favorite is “Serious”.
All of my life was a laugh and a joke
And a drink and a smoke
And then I passed out on the floor
Again and again and again and again and again
The song comes across as a party song but there’s such a tragedy beneath that.
The worst part of the album is the 1978 quasi-disco production but even that’s not overbearing.
Now if only I could track down a reasonably priced copy of Marvel Premiere that was based on this album…
Two years ago it was insanely hot and I got something in my eye.
Last year it rained the whole time I was there and I got so much mud on me I had to go home and change before I could go anywhere else.
This year it was cold. Not late-December/January cold, but cold enough that I didn’t wear shorts and I had to put on a hoodie. I still wasn’t warm enough. Still, it was the best time I had at Kansas City’s premier gathering of misfits and undesirables, although that isn’t saying a whole lot.
The response time on my phone’s camera stinks, but this delightful pixie had a large knife hidden in her boots. She was using it to untangle her beads.
Despite this year’s strong lineup I was disappointed in a lot of the performances. Hinder and Alter Bridge, two of the bands I was really looking forward to, didn’t do anything for me. The two standouts I saw were Art of Dying and - suprisingly - Papa Roach. I’ve never been a huge fan of theirs, but Papa Roach put in a solid set and really knew how to work the crowd. I’ve previously written them off but I’m going to check out some of their stuff beyond what I’ve heard on the radio.
One of the interesting things I noticed this year is that more people were at the second stage. In previous years the second stage had a small crowd because it featured lesser-known bands. However a lot of the acts put on better sets than those on the main stage. This year was no exception but the crowd was larger and more into the music than previous years. Another thing is that the organizers did a better job with the food tents. There were more of them and slightly better quality than previous years. As usual there was no shortage of beer tents. I realize that this happens because they sponsor it, but only having Miller and (I think) Coors available really bites.
The weather ended up driving me out before Stone Sour’s set. I really wanted to see them but spending hours in the cold was beginning to chill me to the bones. Overall I had a pretty good time but I don’t know if the hassle of the drive, parking, and 30 minute hike to the Liberty Memorial is worth it. Unless they book someone spectacular next year or move it to a better venue this may be my last one.
These two young lasses were enjoying their weekend away from finishing school to perform for the crowd in exchange for beads.
In the days leading up to the Ozzy Osbourne concert I wondered which Ozzy I would see - the hapless old man you seem to see everywhere or the dynamic frontman I grew up with. Turns out I got to see both during his recent show. The majority of the time he was the Ozzy of old, using the same lines that he’s relied on for the past 30+ years, telling the crowd to go crazy and how much he loved everyone. There were a few times though where he showed his age and it looked like someone’s grandfather up on stage, bent over and tired.
The set list relied heavily on earlier material with a large selection of songs from Blizzard of Ozz and his days with Black Sabbath. There were a few suprises like “Shot in the Dark” and “Faries Wear Boots” which were a nice departure from his usual setlist. Overall the vocals sounded good and Ozzy seemed really into performing. I’ve admittedly lost my interest in Ozzy since his reality show hit but seeing this show reminded me of why I was a fan in the first place.
The backing back was solid but didn’t blow me away as I had hoped. I keep hearing a lot of good things about guitarist Gus G but I keep getting the feeling that between his playing on Scream and in concert that he’s being held back and not given a chance to show his talent. The low point of the show was the guitar solo and drum solo, both of which were way too long. While both musicans proved their ability with their respective instruments, I got bored with each less than a minute into it.
Slash’s solo band opened the show. Having Slash on the bill was the deciding factor in my going to the concert but for some reason their performance didn’t connect with me. I’ve heard so many good things about their show at Harrah’s Voodoo Lounge earlier this year and I’m wondering if their show isn’t better suited for smaller venues instead of large arenas. They hit the stage ten minutes before the posted show time and played for an hour with a nice setlist with a mix of songs from his solo album, Velvet Revolver, and Guns ‘n’ Roses. I would definately like to see them again in a more intimate venue to see if there’s any difference.
So for Black Friday I ended up just getting this and the Jimi Hendrix Christmas EP. Love Garden didn’t have any copies of the Sinatra album and the Black Keys 2-LP set was $40, but I still might end up going back and picking it up.
I’m still not 100% sure why I got this. Metallica’s a great live band, sure, but I’ve got a buttload of live material from them and this didn’t really have any songs I couldn’t find elsewhere. I suppose I was hoping playing for the small crowd (~150) would result in a looser performance with some suprises. To a certain extent I suppose it is but not as much as I had hoped. There’s a lot of chatter in between songs where the band tries to act like an up and coming act, but they go back to the well too often for that and it becomes tedious.
The album has the following songs:
- No Remorse
- Fuel
- Havester of Sorrow
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Master of Puppets
- Sad But True
- Motorbreath
- Seek and Destroy
At the end of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” there is an impromptu version of “The Frayed Ends of Sanity” with what sounds like an audience member singing.
Metallica’s another band who has a pretty tight sound based on lots of touring and that’s on display here. Despite the size of the crowd, they don’t half-ass it and play just as hard as they would for an arena. With the exception of “Fuel”, every song on here is a favorite of mine and I like that they left out overplayed songs like “One” and “Enter Sandman”.
Overall a pretty solid effort and since most of the recent live stuff I have is digital, it’s nice to have Metallica live material in a physical format. It’s definately cool of the band to offer something like this to independent record stores, I feel like they went above and beyond on this one.
“This speech is my recital, I think it’s very vital”
Two thirds of the way into Jackyl’s set at the Midland theatre, DMC (of Run-DMC fame) launched into a version of “It’s Tricky” and received the loudest reaction of the night. For me this was completely unexpected - this was a crowd of die-hard rock fans although the vast majority were around for Run-DMC’s rise in popularity. The fact that he received such an incredible response shows what an impact Run-DMC made in the music world. The songs DMC performed with Jackyl (”It’s Tricky”, “Just Like a Negro”, and “Walk This Way”) were the highlight of Wednesday night’s sold-out Jackyl concert at the Midland Theatre.
The rest of Jackyl’s set was solid. They mixed songs off their new album, such as “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass” and “When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide”, with old favorites like “Down on Me” and “I Stand Alone”. This is a band that has spent a lot of time honing their live show on the road and it shows. The crowd was completely into it from beginning to end.
Opening the show was the Nigel Dupree Band featuring the son of Jackyl singer Jessie James Dupree. They put on a good show back when I saw them open for Cinderalla back in July and the delivered another good set on Wednesday. The major difference between the two performances was that Nigel Dupree now sounds more like his father than before. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not, just something I noticed.
