Concert review: Chevelle: Big Fresno Fair - Fresno, CA (October 12, 2012)

I've been contemplating all week whether or not I should write a review about this show... and what better day to write it than on Pete Loeffler's birthday! 

 Anyway, I've seen Chevelle before, but this show was different; this show was sacred. Yes, sacred. There are still no words to fully describe this show... the only words I can come up with are "epic" and "absolutely badass". That's all I've got. It's one of those things where you had to be there. 

This show was mind-blowing. This show was brutal. 

This show kicked ass. 

  So this was my 2nd time seeing Chevelle... I know, I suck... haha! This time I was closer. Much, much, closer!!! 5th row (not counting the two stupid VIP rows), slightly off-center, between Pete and Dean... more so on Dean's side. Also, "Sheldon" the bull made an appearance!!! I tried to take pictures of this epic moment, but: 1) Paul Paul Theatre's lighting is terrible and never seems to get a long with our camera. 2) There were two bean poles standing in front of us, and two more bean poles had the seats in front of them. The story of my life. It sucks being short.

  Let's get to what actually matters, yes? CHEVELLE!!! They opened with "Sleep Apnea", which definitely set the tone. I knew it was going to be a badass show. "Hats Off to the Bull" was played next, and it was all kinds of badass. The song itself kicks ass, but when you have "Sheldon" up there staring at you, it adds the extra badassness. Especially when the purple lights hit him; it shined black and purple, with purple glowing eyes! (Yes, I have a picture!) "Jars"... need I say more? 3 beyond badass songs in a row. I'm tellin' ya folks, my mind was blown. Just, oh my gawd.

  I should probably mention that Pete was a little banged up... okay, a lot banged up. He and Dean were being quite comical about it. Dean's a really funny guy! Pete said he "got into a fight with a badger", but later told the truth of what really happened. For those who don't know, Pete fell off the stage in Tucson a few nights prior, and jacked up his knee... he JUST released some video footage of it a few days ago, and yikes!! It was bad. He's lucky he didn't injure anything else. So yeah, Pete's a trooper! He could have cancelled the last few shows after Tucson, but he didn't. He played on. Massive kudos to Pete!!!

  Back to the brutality. THE BASS. Holy crap!!! Dean's bass playing is absolutely brutal. The bass has always been prominent in Chevelle's songs... but damn, I thought the speakers were going to explode. It was absolutely fabulous. And hot. Hey, I'm a bass girl ♥

  A high point in the setlist for me, was "I Get It". I friggin' love that song. The lyrics, the bass... the disco beat... just everything. "Get Some" and "Letter From a Thief" were definitely memorable, as well. "Piñata" was a pleasant surprise!! And oh my god, they played "Roswell's Spell" !!!!!!!

ROSWELL'S SPELL!!!!!!

I went nuts. Can you tell?

  When I last saw them, I griped about "The Clincher" being their closing song. That's my favorite Chevelle song, and I hated that I had to wait until the very end, but I enjoyed the antici... pation. This time around, "The Clincher" was not the closing song, but I kinda wished it was. It's just the perfect closer. I thought the setlist positioning for it was a bit off? I mean, either put it towards the beginning or put it last... putting it 5 songs before the end... I don't know, it kind of seemed less epic? And the fact that they slowed the tempo down just a little bit... yeah, that was kind of disappointing. I wanted more crunch and more screaming... I can only describe as being "The Semi-Clincher"... LOL! 

  I had a bit of high school nostalgia with "Send The Pain Below" and "The Red"... and I liked how "Comfortable Liar" was sandwiched in between the two. That was just perfect. Absolutely perfect. A certain asshole's face came into my mind during "Comfortable Liar"... I couldn't help but laugh and just shake my head. Just... gawd I love Chevelle. I really, really, do. 

  "Face to the Floor" was the closing song. Badass song, but not for a finale, guys! Come on! That is not a 'finish things up' song... it is more of a mid-way song. I personally think they should've switched "Face to the Floor" and "Hats Off to the Bull". But it was STILL an epic night and a completely badass show. I'm tired of the words epic and badass now, but like I said, no other words come to mind. And no other words could do that show justice.

  Any gripe(s) that I might have *cough not playing "Another Know It All" cough* don't even matter to me. I was 5th row at a Chevelle show, which is the closest I've ever been to Pete, I mean Chevelle ;) And I got to see Pete's eyes. Yes, I'm weird. I have this thing about having to see certain people's eyes and faces while they're singing/playing music. I like to watch them feel it. It's inspiring. And Chevelle inspires me. Pete Loeffler inspires me. 

  Yeah, I'll go away now... ha! But not before I share some pictures :)

Pete :)

 

Sam :)

 

Dean :)

 "Sheldon" the Bull :)

Peace, Love, & Music,

~Lizzy Lepp  

*P.S. - I forgot to post the full setlist! Sleep Apnea, Hats Off to the Bull, Jars, The Meddler, Vitamin R (Leading Us Along), Get Some, Closure, I Get It, Letter From a Thief, Envy, Piñata, The Clincher, Roswell's Spell, Send the Pain Below, Comfortable Liar, The Red, Face to the Floor :)  

"In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death & Duran Duran"

John Taylor's memoir, "In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death & Duran Duran", is FINALLY available in the U.S. and Canada!!! It came out yesterday :) If you don't have your copy yet, GO GET IT!!!! ♥

Any further homework will be put aside until I finish this book. Ha!

 Buy it here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
www.amazon.com

Peace, Love, Music & Nigel John Taylor,

~Lizzy Lepp 

*P.S. - This lovely book has lovely pictures. Lots of lovely pictures ♥

Happy 10 years to The All-American Rejects!!!!

Yep, that's right. 10 years. Holy cow!!!

 Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter have been making music together since 1999 and started recording their debut album in 2001. However, their debut album (released on Doghouse Records) came out on October 15, 2002... so they count this day as their official anniversary!

  They re-released their debut album when they signed to Dreamworks Records, in 2003. This album cover might look more familiar to you!

  

Alright, now it's time to get all mushy.

I can't NOT help but get all mushy when it comes to The All-American Rejects. I've been fan since Nov/Dec 2002. It doesn't even seem like it's been that long. I remember them being in some magazine, with the headline "Artists to Watch" (or something along those lines). The article gave a bit of background info (names, ages, bands they liked/influences, etc), and to look out for their debut single, "Swing, Swing". I remember saying, "I'll definitely keep a look out for you guys..." A band who says they loved and were influenced by bands like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Poison, Queen... (you get the picture) gets an A+ in my book. Especially a band coming out in 2002. THIS was the first picture I ever saw of them. A lot of win, here. Mhm!

Let's fast forward to... about a week or so later? I was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework and I had TRL playing in the background... they decided to "premiere" a random snippet of "Swing, Swing". Carson Daly didn't say much about them, other than they were a 'fresh new artist' and that you could now vote for their video if you liked what you heard/saw. They started it right at the chorus. I heard "swing, swing, swing..." and I immediately jumped out of my chair and ran to the television. It was love at first listen? I mean, they had already caught my attention... but that song... I thought it was amazing. And catchy. Also, Tyson was playing a Flying V bass AND a Def Leppard t-shirt makes an appearance in the video. Again, so much win. Not to mention Tyson's eyes. *sighs*

The song/video that started it all :)

 So yeah, from that moment on, I've had nothing but LOVE for that band. And the love continues to grow. I will admit though, out of their four albums, I prefer the first two the best. I'm not saying that the other two are crap, because they are not. "When The World Comes Down" (album #3) took a while to grow on me, but it grew on me! That's all that matters. Their most recent album "Kids in the Street" is a good album. A great album. It's different, but not a bad different. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. A lot of people have quit liking them because "they are too different now"... but I can't be one of those people. They have matured musically... that's all. They can't still be writing songs like "Swing, Swing" at age 30!!  

AAR will always be a band that I will love. I know always is a pretty long commitment... but I am absolutely sure of it. I endured a Warped Tour... in Fresno... during the SUMMER, and I've had two autograph lines cut on me... and I STILL dig this band. Mhm, that's love! haha! But in all seriousness, there are very few 'modern' bands that I love, let alone still love after 10 years. That says a lot.

Happy 10 years, AAR!! Here's to 10 more ♥

(Image credit: Lauren Dukoff)

Peace, Love, & Music,

~Lizzy Lepp

You learn something new every day...

I saw this on my twitter feed about an hour ago...

  John Lennon was a Pepper!!!!

 I didn't know that?! Did you know that?!

As if I didn't massively love John Lennon already, I go and find out that we belong to the same club!! YES!!! ♥

All you need is love... music... and Dr. Pepper! :)

Peace, Love, & Music,

~Lizzy Lepp 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces nominees for 2013 induction

It's that time again, the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame... I mean, Fame, have announced the nominees for the 2013 induction. And once again, a few of the nominees are just downright silly... what in the hell goes through these people's minds when they discuss the nominations? 

Here's the list of the 15 nominees:

 The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Chic

    Deep Purple

 Heart

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Albert King

 Kraftwerk

The Marvelettes

The Meters

Randy Newman

N.W.A.

Procol Harum

Public Enemy

Rush

Donna Summer

http://rockhall.com/pressroom/announcements/2013-nominees/ 

Now, I don't want to belittle any of the bands/artists who have been nominated... but once again... WTF??? I know my opinion means jack dookie stain, but come on, now!!! A small chunk of these bands/artists SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame... actually, they should ALREADY BE in the Hall of Fame (but that's a whole 'nother blog post), and the rest I've never heard of? If you are like me, and have very little knowledge of certain nominees, click the link I've provided above... not only does it show the list of nominees, it also provides some background info on them.

My picks: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Deep Purple, Heart, Rush, and Procol Harum, and Kraftwerk.

Rush... RUSH!!! I'm not a big fan of Rush... actually, I wouldn't even call myself a "fan" of Rush, but I do like a few of their songs, and I would never deny the fact that they should be in the R&RHoF. R&RHoF, what took you so long?!?!?! Seriously, why isn't Rush already in there? And Deep Purple, a LOT of people predicted this one. You KNOW the only reason they are up for nomination, is because Jon Lord recently passed away. I truly believe that if he hadn't of passed, they wouldn't have been mentioned in the nomination discussion. I don't know why they're not already inducted, as well. AND FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD... INDUCT JOAN JETT ALREADY!!!! Maybe then I'll be able to sleep at night... or maybe not, but inducting her and Blackhearts would surely help some. She was nominated for the first time last year, but was snubbed... if she gets snubbed again, I will seriously nerd rage. And what about The Runaways?? I think they should be considered for induction AND inducted at some point, as well.

I'm a little surprised to see Kraftwerk on this list, but not surprised in a bad way. I hope they get in. The potential induction of  Randy Newman makes me laugh, I'm not even going to lie. I like Chic, but where's Cheap Trick? I don't mind Donna Summer, but where's Def Leppard? hen again, what do I know? I'm just a 26 year old music fan who writes a blog. BUT for the first time ever, fans can officially cast their vote(s) for the 2013 inductees! You can vote for up to 5 of the nominees, and the top 5 bands will comprise the fan ballot. Fan Poll: Cast your vote!

I could go on and on about how much this establishment fails, or about the bands/artists who deserve to be inducted or should have already been inducted, but I won't. I don't feel like going into a full-blown rant right now, and I'd be beating a dead horse. I'll leave that up to Eddie Trunk! If the chunk of bands/artists on this list who truly deserve to be inducted, gets inducted, then there might be hope for the R&RHoF... key word being *might*

Hopefully one day, we'll see bands like Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, INXS, The Zombies, T. Rex, The Monkees, The Smiths, and The Cure make the inductees list... as well as the many other acts who continue to be wrongfully snubbed. One day.


Peace, Love, & Music,
~Lizzy Lepp