Concert Review: Deftones, Boston, MA, May 9th, 2011

It was a glorious evening last night at the House Of Blues. I was just stoked to be there after having my friend that was supposed to drive drop out the night before. Thankfully, another one of my friends was able to go and I am beyond thankful that I found someone to drive, it was one hell of a show.

I arrived at the House Of Blues around 7:40. My tickets were supposed to be on the second level, but my friends and I decided to sneak on the floor. It worked out, no one asked to see our tickets. It was a huge plus being able to see this show from the floor. At around 8:00, the first band, Funeral Party went on. I didn't expect them to at this show, I thought Dillinger Escape Plan was the only opener. Funeral Party is a indie/alternative rock band from England. They were actually surprisingly decent. They were an unconventional opener for this show, but they really weren't bad. I am not going to start listening to their stuff or anything like that, but they were a respectable opener for the evening.

The Dillinger Escape Plan was up next. The first time I saw them at Warped Tour last summer, the audience reaction was horrible, but Dillinger was still great. This time around, the crowd reaction was much better and Dillinger's show was even better. They were actually lights out. Their energy is honestly unmatched anyone in the music industry. I would go as far as to say you have not seen an energetic live band until you've seen The Dillinger Escape Plan live. From the opening notes of "Farewell, Mona Lisa" to guitarist Ben Weinman hanging upside from the balcony railing during set closer "43% Burnt", Dillinger's energy was relentless. They are such a fantastic and intense live band that needs to be seen by every metal fan at least once.  I would love to see them headline very soon.

Deftones were amazing as well. I saw them open for Alice In Chains in September and they were great, but this time out they killed that performance. They had one of, if not, the clearest sound mixes i've ever heard live. The sound was completely perfect. Chino Moreno sounded fantastic. His voice is even better live than is on disc. He is one of the very few vocalists I've heard live that I can say that about. The setlist was fucking great. A really great balance of stuff from their entire discography. The set highlight for me was "Passenger" with Greg Puicato from The Dillinger Escape Plan. That song gave me chills live and Greg Puicato does an amazing job with Maynard James Keenan's parts from the original  (personally, I think he does a better job. ) One of the best live songs I've seen this year, maybe even ever.

Overall, it was a spectacular show. Deftones and Dillinger Escape Plan are two of the finest live bands in metal today. They both put on high energy shows and they give it 110% every time out. If this coming to your city, don't miss this tour.

Scores
Funeral Party 6/10
Dillinger Escape Plan 9.5/10
Deftones 9/10

Setlists
Dillinger Escape Plan
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Chinese Whispers
Room Full Of Eyes
Gold Teeth On A Bum
Black Bubblegum
Sunshine The Werewolf
43% Burnt



Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Birthmark
Engine No.9
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Digital Bath
Knife Prty
Korea
Hexagram
Minerva
Bloody Cape
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
Prince
Cherry Waves
Feiticera
Elite
Change (In The House Of Flies)
Passenger(with Greg Puciato) (One of the best single song performances of 2011, if not ever for me)
Encore:
Root
Nosebleed
7 Words

Concert Review: BlackDiamondSkye(Alice In Chains/Deftones/Mastodon) Boston,MA September 22,2010

A brief anecdote to open with prior to my review. My friend and I got on the subway around 5:15 to head into Boston for the show. About halfway through our journey, a group of African-American dudes that are around the same age as my friend and I board the subway. My friend is also African-American and these kids begin to start smack talking us, thinking they are hilarious. They proceed to ask my friend what he is doing and he says going to the Alice In Chains concert and these kids begin to question his "blackness" and proceed to rant about how "brothers shouldn't go to rock concerts". Then they proceeded to get off the subway and me and my friend just laughed at their ignorance.Besides that odd ride in there, the rest of the night was amazing.

Mastodon went on directly at 7:00. I was extremely excited to see them again. Despite Mastodon being my favorite band of all time, their live performances are extremely scattered in quality. The 1st time I saw them in 2007, Brent Hinds was so strung out he forgot lyrics and blew solos left and right. Thankfully Mastodon brought their A-game out at this show. The setlist was fantastic. I had heard many conflicting setlists from them from the first few dates of this tour, so I really was not sure what would actually be played. The set was heavy on Blood Mountain/Leviathan material which excited me greatly because those are my two favorite records from Mastodon. Naked Burn is a great opener and was a really nice surprise. The finale of Megalodon and Blood and Thunder was epic. Megalodon is so god damn heavy live and Blood and Thunder was such an amazing surprise. The whole band was tight and Hinds nailed every solo/sounded great vocally.Best performance I have ever seen from Mastodon.

Deftones were up next and they are really a hit or miss band for me. Their new record Diamond Eyes is pretty damn good and I dig some stuff off of Around The Fur and White Pony. This was my 1st time seeing them and going in I had heard mixed reviews on their live show. Deftones were very good live. Chino Moreno is an absolute madman on stage. In addition to his whirlwind energy, he sounded great on vocals. I was surprised about how well songs like Rocket Skates where live. Rocket Skates is not one of my faves but live it was amazing. Deftones impressed me and I would go see them again.

Seeing a band like Alice In Chains live is just surreal to me. They are one of the most iconic bands of the past 20 years and I was getting to see them live. Alice In Chains blew me away. Will Duvall at times in a live environment sounds exactly like Layne Staley, it gave me chills. The 1-2 opening punch of Them Bones and Dam That River was insane. Both of these tracks are among my favorites and made great set openers. Alice In Chains played an eclectic mix of tracks from all their records and it made for one of the best performances I have ever witnessed. Anyone that still doubts Alice In Chains without Layne Staley is crazy. Duvall does a great job with Layne's work and he is a beyond worthy replacement.

This was seriously one of the best shows I have ever been to in my entire life. Mastodon and Alice In Chains brought down the house and Deftones were great as well. Go check out this show if hasn't already come through your city, all 3 bands are great and it was worth every penny I spent.

Scores
Mastodon 9/10
Deftones 8/10
Alice In Chains 9.5/10

Setlists
Mastodon
Naked Burn
Divinations
Crystal Skull
Colony Of Birchmen
Capillarian Crest
The Czar
Megalodon
Blood and Thunder

Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Around The Fur
Be Quiet and Drive(Far Away)
My Own Summer(Shove It)
Prince
You've Seen The Butcher
Sextape
?
Change(In The House Of Flies)
?
Engine No.9
7 Words

Alice In Chains
Them Bones
Dam That River
Rain When I Die
Again
Check My Brain
Your Decision
No Excuses
Sickman
God Am
We Die Young
Acid Bubble
Lesson Learned
Rooster
Encore
Love,Hate,Love
Man In The Box
Would?

Album Review: Deftones-Diamond Eyes

Deftones have been through a lot recently. Bassist Chi Cheng had a severe car crash in November 2008. He was in a coma for about 2 months untill he woke up again. He still can not walk but he is slowly getting better. In the wake of this Deftones scrapped their already-recorded still unrelased record Eros to write Diamond Eyes.

I was not really a fan of the Deftones. Their music has always been really average and just really nothing stood out about it. The only album of theirs I somewhat enjoyed was White Pony. I decided though that I would give Diamond Eyes a chance mainly due to the very postive feedback and the possibilty of seeing them live with Alice In Chains and Mastodon. I am glad I did.

The thing that stands out most about Diamond Eyes is Chino Moreno's vocals. He has really raised the bar vocally for himself. Chino also does a great job lyrically. He focuses on a lot of positive themes and their is a lot of thought put into his lyrics. This record is also noticeably heavier than past Deftones record. Tracks like "You've Seen The Butcher" and "CMND/CTRL" are among the heaviest Deftones tracks ever recorded. Heavy works a lot better for the Deftones than the experimental sound of their past couple records. Despite being heavy at points its also really melodic. There is a lot of different styles here and I can defintley dig that.

This record is worth checking out for sure. It has a lot of appeal to people who like a lot of different genres. This is the best Deftones record yet and as pretty much a complete non-fan prior this to record, Diamond Eyes turned me into a fan.

3.5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1.You've Seen The Butcher

2.Beauty School

3.Diamond Eyes