Mr. Big @ House of Blues

One of the best bands to ever come out of the 80s is back with an incredible tour. HORNS UP!A few hours before the show, Ragman and I were waiting for Eric Martin backstage at the House of Blues in downtown Houston.  He was running late (a chronic problem apparently, and one that I share with him so it's cool), but he apologized profusely and gave us a great interview for our upcoming Mr. Big tribute show. Rags busted his balls a little trying to get him to sing us a bumper, and Eric said he wanted to save it for the show, explaining "tonight I'm gonna sing like gangbusters".  And that he did.

The whole damn band did, in fact.

The thing is, if you've never seen Mr. Big play live in their nearly 25 year history, you're missing out.  These guys know how to play a venue in the purest rock sense; old school all the way. Backstage, before the show, the other guys seemed non-chalant, even aloof, like they weren't sure if any of this was a good idea. But that night, onstage, they came out like it was the best thing they've ever been a part of. These guys are total pros, as any Mr. Big fan knows, and part of what that means is to give the audience what they came for, right? The new tunes were well mixed amongst a setlist of their best songs, including their slower ballads, and the energy coming off the stage could've powered a Vegas casino. Eric started out slowly, taking it easy on some of the higher parts like he was saving something for later.  Well played, since they ended up playing a 2+ hour long show with some great encores.

Bottom Line: There's not much more to say, except that these guys play their hearts out, complimented by an excellent sound mix (nice work, Michelle) that had every note as clear and powerful as you can have outside of a recording studio.  And while I'd be tempted to say if you're not a fan of Mr. Big's music, don't bother, I realize that's a crazy statement to make. Mr. Big is straight ahead rock and roll in the truest sense; there's classic boogie shuffles, hard driving rock, contemptlative ballads all layered with incredible musicianship. If you like rock and roll, you'll like Mr. Big.

In the vein of other amazing bands that can't seem to get regular airplay (e.g. Enuff Z'nuff, King's X), Mr. Big has never had the following it deserves outside of Japan, so I was thrilled to see this band back in a club. With any luck, it won't be the last time. About that, Eric Martin had this to say:

- Genghis can't wait to record the Mr. Big tribute show soon...

Podcast #125: Results

Rest assured, when the best of the hair metal bands have faded away, there will still be someone to point at you in a promo shot!Who is more in touch with the metal scene: Genghis & Ragman or Revolver Magazine? Join Genghis & Ragman as they dissect the Golden Gods results and compare their picks with the magazine's results. Next, the boys round up “The Saint” Jaime St. James from Black N' Blue who discusses the reunion of the band as well as their first new CD in almost 20 years - Hell, yeah!

Featured DVD: Manowar - Hell on Earth III

Beer of the Show: Maui Brewing Company - Coconut Porter (Beer Rating: 2.5)

Featured Tracks: Farewell to Freeway - Liquor? I Don‘t Even Know 'Er; Manowar - Gates of Vahalla; Firewind - Cold As Ice; Avenged Sevenfold - Welcome to the Family; Iron Maiden - Mother of Mercy; Black N' Blue - School of Hard Knocks, The Snake; Freight Train Jane - Bye, Bye, Love; Black N' Blue - Fool’s Bleed, Hell Yeah, Best in the West & Strange Things

Classic of the Show: Hurricane - 10,000 Years

Ragman Pick of the Show: Destrophy - Cry Havoc

Genghis' Pick of the Show: Red Circuit - You Can Sleep While You’re Dead

- Ragman is on a tear...

Podcast #125: Results

Podcast #124: Coward

Sebastian Bach's just not looking like he used to these days.Is it a cop-out when an established artist decides to just release singles in lieu of a full length CD? Some may say it's "cowardly". If the artist doesn’t seem to have enough faith in the music they're creating, then why should they put it out? Join Genghis and Ragman as they discuss the artists that are taking the easy way out, as well as the ones that are still making it happen. Prepare yourself for audio awesomeness as the boys discuss this topic and more...

DVD of the Show: Alter Bridge - Live in Amsterdam

Beer of the Show: Wasatch Devastator (Beer Rating: 3)

2nd Beer of the Show: Petrous Golden Triple (Beer Rating:3.5)

Beer Float: The Thick Lizzy

Guest Sound Man: Brian Johnson

Featured Tracks: Trust Company - Close Your Eyes (Till It‘s Over); In Flames - A New Dawn; Hammerfall - The Enemy Within; Yes - Rhythm of Love; Alter Bridge - Find the Real; Motley Crue - Planet Boom; Who Cares - Out of My Mind; Atom Smash - Do Her Wrong; Z02 - Dirty Water; Cold - Wicked World; Adelita’s Way - Invincible

Classic of the Show: Blue Murder - Jelly Roll

Genghis Pick of the Week: Anthrax - Fight 'Em 'Til You Can’t

Ragman Pick of the Week: The Birthday Massacre - Pins and Needles

- Ragman thinks we might have a winner...

Podcast #124: Coward

The Death of Andy Kaufman (DVD)

Say what you will about the man, but few people have never heard of Kaufman's antics.Andy Kaufman was one the better comics of all time.  His avante-garde style of comedy intrigued some and disgusted others.  Unfortunately, Andy died in his prime at the early age of 35.  Many have questioned the way he passed and whether or not it was a hoax; there are many conspiracies theories that surround his death, just like many of the iconic figures of our time.  Recently, MVD Visual released a documentary, that dives into this mystery and tries to uncover all of the unexplained theories surrounding Andy's death, called The Death of Any Kaufman.

The DVD begins with a back-ground on Kaufman, and then sets out to find out, whether he is still alive or if he is truly dead.  Was Kaufman crazy or a genius?  Well the jury is still out on that one, but if he faked his death, he pulled a fast one on all of us.  From what the film tells us, Andy was always infatuated with faking his own death, hence all of the speculation.  The documentary itself is okay, but drags on at times.  The documenter really never comes up with any concrete evidence to prove that Kaufman is alive.  Once they give up on the whole premise of the movie they switch gears to try to find out what Andy was like behind the scenes.  Not sure why they would do this in this order.

The film contains some rare archived footage that was transferred from video tape, and it's too bad they weren't able to get their hands on some more pro-quality footage. Another downfall with this one is the poor audio mix.  It gets hard to hear the dialog at several times during the film.  Aside from that, the movie is okay, it just never goes anywhere.  The filmmaker interviews many unknowns which really didn't help their credibility.  While it's not necessarily a bad movie (it actually makes you think), unfortunately there isn't enough substance to keep the viewer interested.

Bottom Line: If you're a conspiracy theorist, then this is for you.  Is Andy Kaufman dead? Who knows?  And at this point who really cares (with the exception of his family)?  With a little more budget this one may have come off a little better, but unfortunately it came up a little short.

- Ragman has never thought of faking his own death...

Crashdiet - Generation Wild

The Scandinavian metal scene is one of the richest sources of good heavy music, and Crashdiet proves it with Generation Wild.The Scandinavian hard rock scene seems to get stronger each year.  This scene has produced some solid bands over the years, but it seems to be overflowing with talent these days.  The latest band to break out is Crashdiet.  The band are not that new to the scene, they have been around just over 10 years, but it looks like they're about to break out.  The band has had to overcome some adversity, since its inception, but have been stable for the last couple of years. Crashdiet have just released their 3rd album Generation Wild, which could be the one that sends them over the edge. 

Generation Wild starts off with the track Armageddon, which has a cool Kiss - Creatures of the Night, feel to it.  It is a mid-tempo rocker driven by a cool heavy riff.  The cool thing about this group, is that they have a nice mix of 80's hard rock mixed with the more commercial side of metal.  Imagine 80's era Kiss mixed with Skid Row and you would be pretty close.  The songs are well written and are catchy as hell.  I really like how these guys turn it up a notch with the attitude, while still keeping a catchy melody.  The track Native Nature, is a great example of this, because of the cool Skid Row feel about it.  It is a midtempo romper that has that cool sleazy rock vibe to it ala Youth Gone Wild.  A solid effort from start to finish.

Bottom Line: Great 80's styled hard rock with a some attiude thrown in.  All of what you loved in the 80's/early 90's and more.  Great songs that will stick with you and leave you craving more.

Standout Tracks: Armageddon, So Alive, Generation Wild and Native Nature

- Ragman is thinking there's a resurgence coming - and he likes it...