Sixx A.M. - Apocalyptica - Vamps -- Fillmore - Apr 29 2015

Vamps - A Japanese quintet starts things off to a packed house tonight. They have a touch of glam, but far more more heft and pace to be tossed into that category. Their particular brand of metal has some old school hard rock inherent, alas lyrically, too. Yet there are some near industrial moves within and the guitar work is quite strong. The energy was high and they successfully pulled the crowd in. So ultimately this was an effective half hour opening set.

Apocalyptica - As expected, tonight's show would be just a wee bit louder and wilder than the enjoyable earlier set at the Embassy of Finland. To start, the percussionist was now at a full drum kit and with his power and skill, he was a great anchor for the three cellos. The cellos had that same outstanding interplay that was evident in the acoustic setting and the players were still able to bring it down and get delicate plucking and quieter passages working as well. New singer Frankie Perez has a fine resume and added some quality vocals for about half of the set Ultimately, it was the overall power and unbelievable speed that really amazed the crowd. The band are veterans and had lots of their own fans here tonight, but the roar at the close of the set from virtually the entire crowd just showed how amazing they were in their 45 minutes on stage. The one surprise for me was how well they worked the crowd by moving around the full width of the stage with their cellos. Kudos to the crowd for accepting something more creative than what may exist in their record collection, but with music this vibrant and thrilling, it was not much of a leap for them.

Sixx A.M. - It was only a few hours before the show, where I realized that in addition to the first two bands, I was going to see Nikki Sixx's band headlining tonight. While I somewhat loathed Motley Crue, I was happy that it was the one member I would want to listen to and even have a conversation with. Sixx is still on the bass and has a lead guitarist and lead vocalist in his trio (and contributing the initials to make up the band name). The singer does the drumming on the records, but they have a touring drummer to allow him to focus on his vocals. All of them contribute solid rock moves throughout the fare, which is decent post Crue rock music. It is not my favorite brand of metal or hard rock, but the band delivers what this crowd wants and seems on top of their game. I doubt too many people went home disappointed tonight.

Drumkit Quiz answer: The drumkit I highlighted a few posts back, was that of Terry Bozzio, of Frank Zappa and the mothers fame and then with his band, Missing Persons. He is on a lot of albums, so he has a lot of percussion. Kudos to two faithful readers who got the answer correct.