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CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY: Lord of the Lost returns to Denver after 10 years to the Summit Music Hall - SEE IT ALL HERE

9/27/2024

BEASTO BLANCO

Lord of the Lost returns to Denver after 10 years to the Summit Music Hall September 24, 2024

Last night I had the pleasure of crossing a band off my bucket list. Lord of the Lost. I arrived at the Summit Music Hall a little early and talked with some of the security folks who I really enjoy because as a concert photographer they make me feel welcomed and at home. As I made my way into the venue, I had to work my way around the long line that had formed at the merch tables.

Touring with LOTL was Beasto Blanco, a band I had heard of but did not know much about until I saw they were on this tour. To my pleasant surprise Calico Cooper, daughter of Alice Cooper was a vocalist along with Chuck Garric lead vocal and guitarist who had toured with Alice Cooper. Beasto Blanco took the stage to a cheering crowd and opened their set with, “Run for Your Life” from their newly released album, Kinetica. With the lights dancing through the fog, the energy from the band was high right from the start. Calico’s outfit (see photo gallery) is a little hard to describe with her knee high boots, a studded belt around her waist, hand and forearm brace and carrying a baseball bat with spikes in it stalking the stage. But it was the contact lenses she was wearing that looked ghostly under the lights.

The crowd immediately got into the music and were moving about head banging and pounding the air with their hands. As the band moved through their set, there was no slowing down as the members moved about the stage interacting with each other and the crowd. Calico would join Chuck on vocals and at times she sang alone and made her way toward the crowd as if she was stalking them. Occasionally she pointed her bat at the crowd with an evil look in her eyes and at me as well. The band finished their set with “Breakdown” from their 2013 album, Live Fast Die Loud. As the band was saying good night, Calico asked the crowd who was seeing them for the first time, a lot of hands were raised and Calico said, Welcome to the family! That includes me and I'm happy to do so.

Beasto Blanco members:
Chuck Garric: Co-founder, frontman, lead vocalist, and guitarist
Calico Cooper: Vocalist and daughter of Alice Cooper
Jan LeGrow: Bass
Sean Sellers: Drums

Setlist:
Run for Your Life
Bad Thoughts
Freak
Feed My Frankenstein @Cover
Machine Girl
Grind
Lowlands
Beg to Differ
Nobody Move
Breakdown

LORD OF THE LOST

The crowd was ready for LOTL and there was a mix of young and old but leaning more towards the older side. One by one LOTL made their way on stage starting their set with “The Curtain Falls” as Chris Harms made his way on stage. Dressed in a black vinyl outfit and with the mic in hand poured out vocals as he moved about the stage. Right from the beginning, Chris was on move back and forth along the front of the stage as he sang. The crowd was loving the songs dancing and moving around, singing with the music. The energy level I watched on stage after I was photographing was amazing. Not only did their 19 set of songs cover over 20 years of their music, I was wondering how the band, especially Chris moving so much, carried this energy show after show.

Songs going back to 2010 with, “Dry the Rain”, “Sex on Legs” from 2011, “Destruction Manual” from 2022. At times Chris would talk with the fans and engage them while he sang and the crowd loved it and kept moving right along with the music. Late in the set, Chris spoke out about the reason they were here and that it helped with their success over the years and said it “was because of you” our fans! The crowd roared in appreciation and the LOTL broke into the song I was waiting for, 2016’s, “Drag Me to Hell”. This was the song in the video I watched on YouTube so many years ago. The band finished their evening with, “One Last Song” from 2023. It was not a real big crowd this night but you couldn’t tell by the volume from the cheering fans that could have listened to a lot more from Lord of the Lost as they said good night.

I waited many years to see LOTL and I was blown away by their show, their stage presence and the selection of songs they played. Add to that, the pleasant surprise from the Beasto Blanco show as well. There are only 3 shows left in the tour, I hope you can make one of them.

Lord of the Lost Members:
Chris "The Lord" Harms – lead vocals, guitars, cello (2007–present)
Klaas "Class Grenayde" Helmecke – bass, backing vocals (2008–present)
Gerrit "Gared Dirge" Heinemann – piano, keyboards, percussion, guitars, theremin (2010–present)
Pi "π" Stoffers – guitars, backing vocals (2017–present)
Niklas Kahl – drums (2017–present)
Benjamin "Benji" Mundigler – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (2024–present)

Setlist:
The Curtain Falls
The Future of a Past Life
Dry the Rain
Loreley
Destruction Manual
For They Know Not What They Do
Raining Stars
Sex on Legs
Six Feet Underground
Live Today (snippet)
Die Tomorrow
Black Halo
Forevermore
Drag Me to Hell
Blood for Blood
Unstoppable @Cover
We're All Created Evil
Blood & Glitter
One Last Song

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CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY: Everclear with special guests pack the Gothic Theater in Englewood Colorado & Terrell Stewart was there! - SEE IT ALL HERE

9/27/2024

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JIMMIE'S CHICKEN SHACK

Everclear with special guests pack the Gothic Theater in Englewood Colorado September 22nd, 2024

I greatly appreciate it when I am asked by a band's pr people to cover a show for them, especially when it’s a band I have covered before and enjoy. Add to that, it was at one of my favorite venues to cover shows at, the Gothic Theater. Arriving at the venue it was no surprise to see the line of fans stretching down the block and more coming from all directions. I was not familiar with the two opening bands and I did not do my usual by checking them out before the show. I thought, maybe I’ll be surprised, and was I!

Guitarist, lead vocalist, and founding member Jimi Haha made his way on stage with his guitar and was getting settled in as the other members followed him out doing the same. They are known as Jimmie's Chicken Shack, a rock band from Annapolis, Maryland. They started their set with, “Dropping Anchor” from their 1997 album, Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope, and the fun began. Jimi greeted everyone with, “Welcome to our encore”! The energy level rose in a hurry as the band members would move about and interact with each other and the crowd. Between songs Jimi would talk with the crowd and at one point as he was quietly making an adjustment on his guitar he said, “I’m tuning my guitar” and laughter and cheering came from the crowd. Their music has been described as Rock, Alternative rock, Post-grunge, Funk metal, and Funk rock. With my ears I would add Rockin Blues. As their set was winding down, before the last song Jimi asked the lighting guys which he appreciated, to bring up the house lights and then asked the crowd to turn their backs to the stage and applaud them. It was quite the sight to see. They finished their set with “High” and taking their bows the crowd roared showing their appreciation for a great show.

Jimmie's Chicken Shack members:
Jimi Haha
Island Styles
Christian Valiente
Jerome Maffeo
Matt Jones

Setlist:
Dropping Anchor
Seconds Slip
Lazy Boy Dash
Sunsets For Sale / Retrieving Stars
Simple Concept
Do Right
High

MARCY'S PLAYGROUND

Next up was Marcy Playground, a three piece Alternative/Indie band from Minneapolis, Minn. Guitar and lead vocalist John "Woz" Wozniak along with Dylan Keefe, bassist and backing vocalist created Marcy Playground in 1994 and in 1995 they signed to Capitol Records. The band opened their set with Poppies from the 1997 self-titled album. The band moved through their set at a pretty good pace with “Rock and Roll Heroes”, “Special” all the while bassist Keefe was very animated throughout the night. The crowd was into the music as I would see people rockin out in tight quarters with such a packed house. When fans want to move, just give them a few inches, they will do their thing. Though Marcy Playground's sound was a little different, that did not slow down the energy pouring out from the stage and the crowd.

When the band played their big hit, “Sex and Candy” the crowd was singing along and moving along with the band. Finishing the set with, “Sex and Candy” the threesome thanked the crowd and they poured it back to them.

Marcy Playground members:
John "Woz" Wozniak – guitar, lead vocals (1996–present)

Dylan Keefe – bass, backing vocals (1996–present)
Shlomi Lavie – drums, backing vocals (2009–present)

Setlist:
Poppies
Pigeon Farm
Rock and Roll Heroes
Special
Saint Joe on the School Bus
Rebel Sodville
Good Times
Bye Bye
Wave Motion Gun
Punk Rock Superstar
Sex and Candy

EVERCLEAR

As the stage was being turned over for Everclear, I got to thinking about the 2 bands I did not check out before the show. They were 2 very pleasant surprises! I might have to do this more often.

The lights dropped and the crowd roared as Art Alexakis headed to the mic at the front of the stage with his band mates of Everclear following right behind. Taking the mic Art yells out, “Denver we are so happy to be back”, with that the band started their set going back to 1997 with “So Much for the Afterglow” from the album of the same name. The venue was electric with the crowd cheering and singing and the animation from the band was in full swing. The crowd of young and old were lost in the music and the stage presence of the band. There were 3 of us covering the show from the pit and we moved about in a tight pit with smoothness and courtesy for each other. That makes for a great time because watching and following the Everclear members move a round stage was a journey of its own.

Art again would talk with the crowd asking, “how many of you were here last year”? A deafening roar came back from the crowd. Everclear went back and forth through time with songs, “Unemployed Boyfriend” from 2000,
“Heroin Girl” from 1995 and “I Will Buy You a New Life” from 1997. Bassist and backing vocalist Freddy Herrera seems to be in a world of his own as he moves about raising up his bass and meeting in the middle with Art and guitarist Dave French. Sitting back and watching the show, the energy between the band and the audience was amazing to watch as they would interact with their fans.

Everclear finished their evening with “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Santa Monica”. The appreciation from the crowd and the band flowed back and forth for a great show.

There are still 23 more drops on the Everclear tour, I highly recommend that you catch this tour. The bands were outstanding, you will not be disappointed!

Setlist:
So Much for the Afterglow
Everything to Everyone
Unemployed Boyfriend 2000
Heroin Girl 1995
You Make Me Feel Like a Whore
Otis Redding 2000
Learning How to Smile 2000
I Will Buy You a New Life 1997
Strawberry
AM Radio 2000
Father of Mine
Heartspark Dollarsign 1995
Wonderful 2000
Brown Eyed Girl @Cover
Santa Monica

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CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY: KK’s Priest and Accept bring their Full Metal Assault Tour to the Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado & our guy Terrell Stewart captured it all! - SEE IT ALL HERE

9/27/2024

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KK’s Priest and Accept bring their Full Metal Assault Tour to the Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado 9-3-2024
A night of old school metal was on tap at the Oriental
Theater in Denver and a band that has been around for 45+ years started the night to a much older crowd or better yet, a bunch of old school head bangers. From Germany, Accept took to the stage to get a night of metal off to a great start. Opening their set with “The Reckoning” fired things up right away and the crowd was head banging and throwing up the horns. Though there had been many changes in band members over the years, it was great to see Wolf Hoffman, one of the founding members of Accept in 1976 on lead guitar and backing vocals.
Working through their set with songs, “Princess of the Dawn” and “Teutonic Terror”, their stage presence interacting with each other and their fans was fun to watch as the band would line up together and rock back and forth playing hard to the delight of the crowd. Accept couldn’t have finished their 13 song set with a stronger song than, “Balls to the Wall” which had the crowd moving and singing along with the band, it was something to see and hear.
Accept members:
Wolf Hoffmann – lead guitar, backing vocals (1976–1989, 1992–1997, 2005, 2009–present)
Mark Tornillo – lead vocals (2009–present)
Uwe Lulis – rhythm guitar (2015–present)
Christopher Williams – drums (2015–present)
Martin Motnik – bass, backing vocals (2019–present)
Philip Shouse – guitar (2019–present)

Setlist:
The Reckoning
Humanoid
Restless and Wild
Straight Up Jack
London Leatherboys
Midnight Mover
Demon's Night / Starlight / Losers and Winners / Flash Rockin' Man
Princess of the Dawn
Metal Heart
Teutonic Terror
Fast as a Shark
Pandemic
Balls to the Wall

ACCEPT

KK PRIEST

The stage now turned over the video screen in back of the stage lit up with different characters and then KK Downing exploded onto the stage in the fog and bright lights, guitar in hand and shredding to the opening song as his band members joined him on stage the CO2 clouds of smoke filled the air as the song “Hellfire Thunderbolt” rang throughout the venue to their cheering, head banging fans. Considered one of the most influential guitarists in metal, a former founding member of Judas Priest, KK’s legend lives on with his creation of, KK’s Priest. Powering through their set with images moving across the video screen and the CO2 clouds that would rise up, KK’s Priest keep their fans on their toes and moving with their music.

With a mix of original songs came a mix of Judas Priest covers, “Night Crawler” and “The Green Manalishi” to the delight of their fans. At 72, KK’s energy level was that of a 20 year old. Moving about the stage interacting with the crowd and his bandmates while working his magic on the guitar. As their set was winding down the band started the song, “Breaking the Law” and the crowd cheered and sang along with them. Finishing their night with “Raise Your Fists” topped off a night of old school metal that will never get old to listen to!

KK's Priest members:
K. K. Downing – guitars (2019–present)
Tim "Ripper" Owens – lead vocals (2019–present)
A.J. Mills – guitars, backing vocals (2019–present)
Tony Newton – bass, backing vocals (2020–present)
Sean Elg – drums (2021–present)

Setlist:
Hellfire Thunderbolt
Strike of the Viper
One More Shot at Glory
The Ripper @Cover
Reap the Whirlwind
Night Crawler @Cover
Sermons of the Sinner
Burn in Hell @Cover
Diamonds & Rust @Cover
Hell Patrol @Cover
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) @Cover
Before the Dawn @Cover
Breaking the Law @Cover
Sinner @Cover

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CONCERT REVIEW & PHOTOGRAPHY: Powerwolf sells out the Ogden in Theater in Denver, Colorado and Terrell Stewart was there for it all - CHECK IT OUT HERE

9/27/2024

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Powerwolf sells out the Ogden in Theater in Denver, Colorado months before their show with special guests Unleash the Archers August 31st 2024
I arrived at the Ogden Theater about 45 minutes before the doors opened and the line which started hours before was around the block with excited fans that managed to get tickets for this show. It was the first show to sell out for Powerwolf’s 2024 US tour. A larger venue when hopefully they return again. Looking throughout the crowd waiting for the show, there were many people with painted faces, others with tour shirts from last year's show and even a few people with tour shirts from other cities. You could feel the excitement in the air and I too was excited to see Powerwolf, a band I waited years to see.
Once inside I headed down to the pit as I always do and say hi to the security guys and put my gear down. My first question is alway, can we shoot around the venue after our first 3 songs in the pit, the answer was yes. The venue filled up quickly and the line for band merch was longer than I have ever seen. The atmosphere was electric.
The house lights dropped and the roar from the crowd was deafening as Unleash the Archers made their way onto the stage. The band started their set with “Abyss” as Brittney Hays (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) moved front and center and filled the venue with her powerful vocals and the very enthusiastic crowd was head banging and throwing up the horns. It was tight for the band to move around but that didn’t stop them from interacting with the crowd and each other. Their next three songs were from their 2024 album, Phantoma released this past May and the response from the crowd brought big smiles to the band members faces. The Archers finished their set with the cover of “Northwest Passage” and the crowd thanked them with a loud roar of appreciation.
Unleash the Archers members:
Brittney Hayes (a.k.a. Brittney Slayes) – clean vocals (2007–present)
Scott Buchanan – drums (2007–present)
Grant Truesdell – guitars, unclean vocals (2011–present)
Andrew Kingsley Saunders – guitars, clean vocals (2014–present)
Nick Miller – bass (2021–present, 2018–2021 touring musician)
Setlist:
Abyss
Ghosts in the Mist
Green & Glass
Gods in Decay
Tonight We Ride
The Matriarch
Awakening
Northwest Passage @Cover

UNLEASH THE ARCHERS

POWERWOLF

I watched the turn over of the stage with interest because you could see high up the covers on the drum kit and keyboards. Behind them was a large backdrop that would change throughout their set. There was a stairway in the center and on either side of the stage were backdrops with wolves on them. It was a great set up all around and fit Powerwolf’s stage atmosphere perfectly.

The lights came down and the crowd started chanting, Powerwolf, Powerwolf, Powerwolf! From the left of the stage keyboardist Christian "Falk Maria Schlegel" Jost came out on stage, from the right side vocalist Karsten "Attila Dorn" Brill appeared. Facing each other they made jesters toward each and then moved into their places as the other members made their way onto the stage. They started their set with “Bless ’em With the Blade” from their newly released album, Wake Up The Wicked, which they are playing live for the first time on this tour. The power from the band resonated throughout the crowd and the crowd was head banging with their arms in the air.

Throughout their set, the band moved back and forth in time with some of their greatest classic hits, “Incense & Iron” from 2018, 2013’s “Amen & Attack” and mixing in new songs, “Sinners of the Seven Seas”. When the band would finish a song, the chanting from the crowd would start again and from the smiles, facial expressions from the band it was easy to see how appreciative they were. As the band members moved about the stage interacting with each other and with their fans, I couldn’t help noticing the facial expressions from keyboardist Christian "Falk Maria Schlegel" Jost. I was wondering what was going through his mind as he moved at times jestering with arms here and there. (see photo gallery)

The energy level from Powerwolf’s fans in the now very warm venue was high as ever when the band finished their 16 set. After a short break, the band returned to chanting crowd with a 3 song encore that took you way back in time with, “Sanctified With Dynamite” from 2011,
“We Drink Your Blood” from 2011 and “Werewolves of Armenia” from 2009 to close out their amazing show!

This was just the second stop on their tour and this is a must see show not only for their fans but to anyone who loves metal combined with a great stage show.

Powerwolf members:
Benjamin "Matthew Greywolf" Buss – lead guitar (2003–present)
David "Charles Greywolf" Vogt – bass, rhythm guitar (2003–present)
Christian "Falk Maria Schlegel" Jost – keyboards (2003–present)
Karsten "Attila Dorn" Brill – vocals (2003–present)
Roel van Helden – drums (2011–present)

Setlist:
Bless ’em With the Blade new
Incense & Iron
Army of the Night
Sinners of the Seven Seas new
Amen & Attack
Dancing With the Dead
Armata Strigoi
1589 new
Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend
Stossgebet
Fire and Forgive
We Don’t Wanna Be No Saints new
Alive or Undead
Heretic Hunters new
Sainted by the Storm
Blood for Blood (Faoladh)

Sanctified With Dynamite
We Drink Your Blood
Werewolves of Armenia