VEGASinsight Archives

Loving you was like loving the dead.

The dates for the 2008 Jagermeister Music Tour were announced recently, most notable for you Vegas metal-heads is May 31, when Hatebreed, Type O Negative and 3 Inches of Blood hit the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay at … 5 p.m.? That’s kinda early for a rock show. Maybe they need extra time to clean up the three inches of blood left by the opening band. Get it? Ha ha ha … OK, wasn’t funny.

We were actually quite surprised to hear that Type O Negative was on the tour, because, um, we thought they broke up years ago. Good to see Peter Steele and company are still making the world safe for goth-metal and awesome facial hair. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 29 at 10 a.m., or online at HOB.com Tuesday, March 25 at 10 a.m.

The crowd inside the House of Blues grew restless after patiently listening to two opening acts, including the fabulous Armor For Sleep and hardcore, long-haired Christian rockers Underoath. Suddenly, to the audience’s great delight, the stage lights gradually brightened, and Taking Back Sunday’s lead singer Adam Lazzara — dressed in a form-fitting black outfit — practically bounced onto stage as if springs were attached to his shoes.

Though both opening acts had gone over well, the crowd went into an ecstatic and frenzied uproar as soon as they heard the first few thundering drumbeats from percussionist Mark O’Connell. Arms flailed wildly around and heads radically bobbed as Lazzara, singing tumultuously, hung over the stage so close to the crowd it could almost reach him (as during Underoath’s set, there would be no crowd surfing). Most fans controlled themselves, though some were so wild that security frequently had to restrain them. In the general admission, standing-room-only area near the stage, a few needed to be rescued from the sweaty and rambunctious crowd. More than a few people were clearly bruised and swollen about the face.

After a few songs from Taking Back Sunday’s latest album, Louder Now, the lights dimmed and Lazzara (complete with acoustic guitar and harmonica neck-piece) appeared on stage solo. The crowd seemed confused—or perhaps oblivious—when he snuck in the chorus of The Killer’s “When You Were Young,” a clever choice, integrating the Vegas-originating band’s sound into the act.

When the rest of the band members returned to the stage, they performed some of their older tracks, such as “Cute without the E (Cut From the Team),” from the 2001 album Tell All Your Friends. The chemistry and synergy of the complete team was apparent, smoothly playing off of one another. Lazzara’s flamboyant, almost graceful dance movements included enthusiastic microphone swinging. His ability to maintain vocals while being self-strangled by the mic cord shocked the crowd further into frenzy. It was impressive, yet at the same time somewhat horrifying for the fans who might prefer to see a prettier, non-noosed Lazzara. Fortunately, he didn’t end up passing out or knocking himself unconscious. Eddie Reyes’s killer guitar chords made the audience cut loose even more with random bouncing, while Fred Mascherino on guitar and vocals tested the limits of his vertebrae with boisterous head movements.

During a short breather, Lazzara informed the audience that Mascherino married his girlfriend, Asia, over the weekend, and that it was also time for more celebration—as it was also Matt’s 23rd birthday. With his parents watching from the side of the stage, a lit candle-laden cake appeared, sparking the crowd and band to sing a light-hearted—and not quite in tune—rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

After the blaze was extinguished with an exhausted lungful of air, Taking Back Sunday returned to what it does best—convincing the audience that, regardless of just how little energy and pizazz a typical Vegas audience has, that they should rock their asses off.

The alternative music of the 1990s has been very good to Vegas-based rock band The Day After…. Moody groups like Catherine Wheel helped shape the sound of the trio’s Gotham Records debut album, A Different Way To Get By, and now the long-time local band is sharing a bill with Minneapolis alt-rock icon Soul Asylum at the House of Blues Friday night.

“We’ve always been fans of Soul Asylum,” says The Day After… bassist KC Wells. “Jenine and I grew up with all those late ‘80s and early ‘90s punk/alternative bands. My absolute favorite song from them is ‘Just Like Anyone’—I love that song, and Jenine [Cali, vocalist and guitarist] has always thought we should cover ‘Somebody To Shove.’”

Known mainly for its mid-‘90s albums Grave Dancers Union and Let Your Dim Light Shine, Soul Asylum actually formed in the early ‘80s and was a pivotal part of the Minneapolis indie rock scene, coming up with such contemporaries as The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. After an eight-year hiatus from recording, the band re-emerged in 2006 with a brand-new album, The Silver Lining, as well as a new lineup featuring former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and Prince drummer Michael Bland.

“I can’t tell you how much of an honor it will be to support not only Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy [Soul Asylum’s singer and guitarist, respectively], but those two as well,” Wells says of Stinson and Bland. “It’s crazy to think of the rock heroes that have come from that Minneapolis/St. Paul scene.”

The Day After… has kept a low touring profile since the Oct. 17 release of A Different Way To Get By, but the album and its lead single, “Car Crash,” have been well-received by music fans and the media. “Car Crash” went undefeated in Xtreme Radio 107.5-FM’s nightly new music face-off, “It Came From The Mailroom,” and was promptly added to that station’s rotation.

“Regionally it’s done very well, throughout Southern California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada,” says Wells. “However, it’s also been selling sporadically throughout the country. We’ve been established on nationwide college radio though, so we are expecting more people outside the Southwest to catch on here pretty quick.”

Wells says the band has touring plans for 2007 and intends to build a support team to keep the band “moving in the right direction.” Right now, though, they are simply excited to open for some of their musical heroes.

“I implore kids who haven’t heard of them [Soul Asylum] to come see the show and to go back through their history and see exactly what they’ve meant to alternative/punk music, from when they started as Loud Fast Rules to their ties to punk legends Hüsker Dü,” Wells says.