Fu Manchu -- Cleveland, OH -- September 9th, 2010

[Natrlhi]

Venue: Grog Shop
Source: Yours Truly / The Bands in Question

First band up was Cleveland's own Venomin James. They are a stoner metal band with just enough punk edge to fit in quite nicely with Black Tusk and Fu Manchu. I had never heard their music before, although I had heard of the band before. I liked them well enough to check them out in the future. Like I said, they fit in very well with the touring acts. 7/10

Next band up was supposed to be L.A.'s extraordinary hardcore / metal / punk duo It's Casual, but alas, they had to cancel this gig for some reason. Hopefully the other folks who get to see this tour will get to see this band. Something tells me it would have been a great set.

Next up was Black Tusk from the sludge metal mecca of Savannah, GA. These guys are a power trio (guitar / bass / drums) who all share vocal duties pretty much equally. That was cool to see and hear. I talked to their merch chick for a while, and when I drew a comparison between then and up-and-coming riffmasters HOWL, she laughed and said "don't let them hear you say that." Apparently, it's not the comparison with that particular band that the Black Tusk dudes shy away from - it's being compared with anybody. They'd like to think they have their own unique sound, and while I'll admit this is fairly true, I think the comparisons are basically harmless and complimentary in large part. I mean, HOWL has some of the fattest and coolest riffs going right now. I would also compare them in some ways to their Savannah metal brethren Baroness and Kylesa - each in different ways - and again, these are high compliments.

At any rate, their set was absolutely fucking fantastic. They started off with the first three tracks from their phenomenal new album "Taste the Sin", and then launched into an older track called "Beneath", which is from their 2009 split with The Holy Mountain. Next, they blasted through the three-part epic which is The Takeoff / The Ride / The Crash, the final segment of which has a very Kylesa-y rolling drum beat in the beginning that just gets my head banging every time. Next was an even older gem called "Prophecy One by One" from their 2008 full-length "Passage Through Purgatory" (which I do not have yet, and which they did not have for sale, unfortunately ). The closer was my favorite track from their new album, "Twist the Knife", which has a drum beat which is eerily similar to the one from "The Crash" which I love so much...but it's an even better tune overall. What a perfect set.

Black Tusk
Embrace the Madness
Snake Charmer
Red Eyes, Black Skies
Beneath
The Takeoff
The Ride
The Crash
Prophecy One by One
Twist the Knife

These guys rock hard, and their interplay with each other up on stage is fun to watch. They wear their punk influences proudly on their sleeves, but they are still a riff-based sludge metal band at heart. They write great songs which are heavy, fun, and highly addicting. Plus, they are super nice dudes, too. I got to meet bassist Athon and drummer James after their set, and they kindly confirmed the set list for me and chatted with me for a while. Athon said that they plan to start writing a new album after this tour is finished, and if past history is any indication, it will be out quickly (they have released three splits, two demos, an EP and two full-length albums in the last five or six years ). 8.5/10

---

Finally, it was time for the headliner Fu Manchu, whom I admittedly knew nearly nothing about prior to last night. I had heard very good things, and several comparisons to Clutch (among other bands that I also like) had been made, so my expectations were set fairly high. However, from the opening few notes, it immediately became apparent to me that I was in for a whole lot more than I had bargained for. First of all, these guys were LOUD - and I mean REAL FUCKING LOUD - and even though their pace isn't always blistering, and their lyrics are mostly about cars and highways and the occasional astronaut or something (in other words, borderline silly), these dudes are actually pretty heavy. At least, let's just say that they are no strangers to distortion, wicked solos, headbanging and super-awesome riffs. Their frontman Scott Hill is a joy to watch - a typical blond-haired surfer dude who looks like somebody the Beach Boys would have kicked out for smoking too much weed - which is to say that he's the perfect centerpiece for a band like Fu Manchu. Their set was:

Fu Manchu
Pigeon Toe
California Crossing
Boogie Van
Bionic Astronautics
Cyclone Launch
Let Me Out
Squash That Fly
The Falcon Has Landed
Hell on Wheels
Mongoose
Nothing Done (SSD Cover)
Redline
Regal Beagle
Laserbl'ast!
Evil Eye
Guardrail
King of the Road

These guys were heavy. They were fun. They were loud as fuck. The crowd absolutely loved them - and yes, even though their music is a lot like a surfer version of Clutch - the crowd did mosh - and hard, a few times. In fact, their was even a wicked little skirmish between a couple of fans during the second or third song which resulted in the more asshole-ish of the two dudes getting escorted out post-haste by security. However, even a little violence - friendly or not - could not stop the freight train which was Fu Manchu last night. I became a fan - that's for sure. These guys are one hell of a live act - and if this tour is coming near you (i.e., if you live in or near Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver or Las Vegas), I highly suggest you attend. 8.5/10

[mankvill]

I saw Black Tusk open for Weedeater. They were pretty heavy!

I'm seeing this tour here, but it says Black Tusk is headlining. I'd way rather have Fu Manchu headlining, though.

[mastodon421]

I've heard great things about Black Tusk's live show but Taste The Sin really didn't impress me much and I LOVE sludge metal. I will hopefully see them some time to see if my opinion changes.

[evildeadjedi]

Hell yea Nat, I completely forgot about this show glad it turned out awesome. The FU is extremely LOUD and FUZZY, great stoner rock and the lyrics are mostly throwaway but, they still kick ass!! "A surfer version of Clutch" first time I heard that description but, I can see it in certain songs (I find them sorta stoner skate rock/punk since "Daredevil" , "In Search Of". "The Action Is Go" was often blasting out the PA's at skate parks I visited back in the late 90's). Several staples like Evil Eye, Boogie Van, Mongoose, Hell on Wheels, and King of the Road plus some fairly rare ones (the SSD cover for example) makes for a nice set.

Fu Manchu cover of Blue Oyster Cult "Godzilla" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Najo_8Tvc

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by evildeadjedi

The FU is extremely LOUD and FUZZY

Very fuzzy.

Originally Posted by evildeadjedi

Fu Manchu cover of Blue Oyster Cult "Godzilla" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Najo_8Tvc

People were hollering for them to play that, but they didn't. They did play "Redline" by request, though. People kept shouting it out, and Scott was like, "so ya wanna hear Redline?", to which people obviously cheered loudly in the affirmative. So he said, "OK, fuck it - this is a song called Redline!", and they tore right into it. The crowd went apeshit (for about the tenth time of the night). Then they played "Regal Beagle" next, which is the first song from the "In Search Of" album, and when they finished that track, Hill said, "and now we're just gonna finish playing the rest of the 'In Search Of' album!", which made everybody cheer again, but then he laughed and said he was just kidding. By that time they had already played about a third of it anyway, though.

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by mankvill

I'm seeing this tour here, but it says Black Tusk is headlining. I'd way rather have Fu Manchu headlining, though.

Yeah, I don't think the FU is even playing this show...it's not listed on their web site, and the site for the venue in Lawrence says it's just Black Tusk with two local bands (The Cast Pattern & Hester Prynne) as openers. I would still recommend going just to see Black Tusk, but obviously it won't be as good as the show I got to see.

[mankvill]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

Yeah, I don't think the FU is even playing this show...it's not listed on their web site, and the site for the venue in Lawrence says it's just Black Tusk with two local bands (The Cast Pattern & Hester Prynne) as openers. I would still recommend going just to see Black Tusk, but obviously it won't be as good as the show I got to see.

Oh, well THAT sucks. I assumed Fu Manchu was doing the whole tour.

Man, I fucking hate Hester Prynne and The Cast Pattern. Talk about two conflicting genre's. The Cast Pattern is shitty metalcore and Hester Prynne is shitty deathcore.

Oh cool, they must have JUST added the Cast Pattern and Hester Prynne within the last, like 6 hours, because it definitely did not say that this morning.

I don't know if I even want to go now.

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by mankvill

I don't know if I even want to go now.

Well, I definitely think Black Tusk will be back - they have been touring like motherfuckers this past year, and I'm sure they will do it again when they put a new album out. You'll just have to wait for a while, though.

[mankvill]

Yeah. That sucks, though. Fu Manchu was here last year at the same venue. Wish I would've gone, now.

[evildeadjedi]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

Very fuzzy.


People were hollering for them to play that, but they didn't. They did play "Redline" by request, though. People kept shouting it out, and Scott was like, "so ya wanna hear Redline?", to which people obviously cheered loudly in the affirmative. So he said, "OK, fuck it - this is a song called Redline!", and they tore right into it. The crowd went apeshit (for about the tenth time of the night). Then they played "Regal Beagle" next, which is the first song from the "In Search Of" album, and when they finished that track, Hill said, "and now we're just gonna finish playing the rest of the 'In Search Of' album!", which made everybody cheer again, but then he laughed and said he was just kidding. By that time they had already played about a third of it anyway, though.

Godzilla is beastly (no pun intended or maybe a little) live but, it is awesome they still focus the old stuff in the live setting. Watched Boondock Saints 2 last night and noticed that the music playing while Romeo fought on the ship was "Mongoose"