Countdown to Epicenter Twenty Ten: 3 days!

Amanda and I have traveled the country to see her fave band, The Academy Is…. Seeing that we’ve flown to Chicago and NYC, driving an hour to Fontana for Epicenter Twenty Ten, is kind of a no brainer. The band is currently on tour with Kiss (yeah, I questioned that one too) and both acts make a stop at the festival this weekend.

Word on the steet is that TAI is working on some new stuff for a forthcoming album. Personally, my fingers are crossed that they’ll want to test out some of their new material when they play on Sunday. If not, I’ll be happy enough to hear all my old favorites, like the tunes featured below…

~ Kristen

(Note From Amanda: I’m so stoked to see them! I was due for some TAI love. I’m personally a fan of this song.)  

Countdown to Epicenter Twenty Ten: 4 days!

One of the bands playing Epicenter Twenty Ten is Against Me!  If gotten raised eyebrows when I’ve told people I love this band, but honesly I feel like their album New Wave is one of the greatest in my collection…every single song = genius!

 I’ve been listening to their new CD, White Crosses, quite a bit lately and although I don’t feel it is quite on par with New Wave (would be v. difficult to do), it is growing on me more and more with each listen. I’ve seen this band a couple times and am excited to see what kind of set they put on for us next weekend.

Video for their first single off White Crosses:

and a video for one of my favorite Against Me! songs:

~ Kristen

Countdown to Epicenter Twenty Ten: 5 days!

As previously mentioned, next weekend, Epicenter Twenty Ten is the place to be! One of the bands I’m most excited to see that I’ve never seen before is Papa Roach. I’ve always been a casual fan, loving the obvious tunes like “Last Resort” and “Scars”, but I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live before. They recently released a new album featuring a mix of new tunes and live versions of old favorites. LMN’s friend Theresa, a long time Papa Roach fan, wrote a review of the new CD that definately has me excited about their live show. Check it out below:

~ Kristen

 

Time for Annihilation: On the Record and On the Road

Album Review By Theresa Bickleman

For most bands, releasing a ‘greatest hits’ album takes years in the making and the album consists of only the chart topping hits that have made them successful. This isn’t the case for Papa Roach. It has been ten years since they have hit the mainstream music world and nothing seems to stop them. Their 7th studio album Time for Annihilation: On the Record and On the Road that was released August 31, 2010 it has five, new tracks and the rest of the album is a live version of their hits and their misses. It was about time Papa Roach decided to make a live record. There’s no denying the energy that this band has on stage and that energy blasts though the speakers. These four guys certainly know how to put on an electrifying rock show. There’s nothing fake about it.

The five new tracks are nothing but heavy hitting rock songs. Papa Roach slows things down just a little bit with the passionate ‘No matter What’ tune. ‘Kick in the Teeth’ was the first single off the record to be released. This was the perfect song to set the stage for the rest of the album. The song lets everyone know that these guys are ready for anything and aren’t going anywhere quite yet. “When it feels like a kick in the teeth I can take it”, and I’m pretty sure they can with the other three songs, ‘Burn’, ‘Enemy’, and ‘One Track Mind’. Not sure whom these lyrics are about, but I’m sure that Jacoby Shaddix and Co. mean business.

“Getting Away with Murder’ and ‘Between Angels and Insects’ are two great songs that made cut to be on this album. These songs will never get old being played live. Both of these songs can make any Papa Roach crowd go crazy. So it was only natural for these songs to have a place on the album. ‘Hollywood Whore’ from the 2009 Metamorphosis album can be considered a miss but it still has a catchy beat. That Album’s first official single, ‘Lifeline’ also took a spot on the live record. ‘…To be Loved’, ‘Time is Running Out’ and ‘Forever’ from the 2009 Paramour Sessions album are excellent crowd sing-a-long songs.

Two songs that would have been cool to see on the record would have been ‘Broken Home’ from their 1999 Infest album, and ‘She Loves Me Not’ from the 2002 LoveHateTragedy album. ‘Broken Home’ is one song that gets the crowd off their feet and gets mosh pits started.

Time for Annihilation would not be a complete compilation album without ‘Last Resort’ off their Infest album and ‘Scars’ from 2004’s Getting Away with Murder, which were two songs that really put Papa Roach on the Rock and Roll map.

I give this album an A. Not just because I’m a fan Papa Roach but also, because this album exceeded my expectations. If the five new tracks are a little taste of what is to come from this band, bring it on! Papa Roach is a band known for their live show, so therefore they had to make an album that makes you feel like your front row and they did exactly that with the live songs. You can’t even tell the misses are the misses. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that just means you haven’t seen Papa Roach live.

Countdown to Epicenter Twenty Ten: 6 days!

As I mentioned yesterday, next weekend is Epicenter Twenty Ten. I was thrilled looking at the line-up to see one of my favorite LA bands, Crash Kings. These guys have been blowing up since their days of playing The Viper Room and anyone who has seen them or heard their music could probably tell you why.

For a taste, here’s their most recent music video:

~ Kristen

p.s. Some pics I took from their show at The Roxy