Ghostbustour @ The Boardwalk

The Ghostbustour @ The Boardwalk in Orangevale, CA - Oct. 14th, 2010

iwrestledabearonce
Eyes Set to Kill
Chelsea Grin
The Chariot
Vanna




Ok, so. Let me start by saying I have been anticipating this show for a while now. For the past month or so, I've been slowly incorporating both IWABO and Eyes Set to Kill into my brain pan and really enjoyed doing it. I'm going to go on the record and mention that I know these aren't the most popular bands in the world, but for the two I was there to see, I was really excited. The price point for the ticket was an excellent bargain, at $15.00 bucks for the ticket, BUT they offered a Meet and Greet with IWABO for $30.00. Normally you'd say; Thirthy fucking bucks for iwrestledabearonce??? I say, yes! With the Meet and Greet you obviously got into the venue early, which is always a plus for me. They gave you a IWABO shirt, and they brought along a photographer who took your pic with the band, printed it out for you, and as an added bonus, they all signed the back (which I wasn't expecting). During the time you had with them, depending on how many people were a part of it (there were 7 - myself included), you also had time to shoot the shit and get anything else signed you wanted.. I brought my two CD's and also had them sign the back of the shirt I had just acquired - SCORE!

IWABO was really, really nice. All of them. They were all super thankful for all of us, the meet and greet peeps as well as the long line of people outside, coming to the show. Speaking of the line outside.. I'd say the vast majority (as Rob had assumed - were kids). There were a few people closer to my age, but it appeared they were there with their kids, and a small handful of twenty-somethings.

The rest of the band members from the other acts were wandering around back and forth, but I couldn't tell you a Vanna from a Chariot, so I wasn't really arsed about it. I did, however, see Anissa and Alexia Rodriguez wandering around a bit, but I didn't get a chance to meet them til their performance and after - more to follow.

The evening started off with Vanna. I've never heard of them. I'm not sure if their name is a homage to the Wheel of Fortune's letter spinning beauty or a boat or something, but they were there, and I hate to say it, wasn't too bad. I didn't rush to the back to buy their CD, and I don't plan on going down to Best Buy to look for a copy sometime later, but I have to say that they rocked out pretty good. I wasn't a fan of their main vocalist, but I really did enjoy the guitirist (with the big ear plugs) and his clean vocals. Normally, these relatively unknown bands have clean vocalists who can play guitar and kinda sing, this guy wasn't one of them. He actually really did have a great voice - even live, and if they were to make him lead vocalist and have Mr. Screechy pipe in every once and a while, I would like this band a LOT more. All in all, I really enjoyed them and it was a great way to kick off the show. Sadly, that experience wouldn't last long.

Vanna



Next we have The Chariot from Georgia (According to thier Wikipedia page). I have to start this out by saying that THIS BAND SUCKS!!!!!! Oh my fucking God. It's like Corky from Life Goes On went down to the mental institution and picked up some fucking crazy ass lunatics and gave them instruments and formed a band. I can't say enough how fucking horrible this band is. Please, The Chariot, if you ever read this; STOP MAKING MUSIC! STOP TOURING! JUST STOP EVERYTHING AND GO AWAY! I'm sorry for being so repetitive and not going into details, but seriously. I hate this band. Watch this video and see why.

The Chariot



I was praying to the Gods of Metal that this would end, but sadly - they must have been busy playing Pinochle or watching porn or something, because they weren't listening. Next we have Chelsea Grin from Utah (of all places). Here's another crap band. They seemed to have a decent following in the crowd as a lot of people were smashing their way to the front of the stage (where I was - Meet and Greet, hello) and you can hear and see them singing along. Apparently, this band not only makes crappy music but they also do Calisthenics on stage, concentrating on squats, to keep in top physical condition. While everyone else was rocking out, I was laughing my ass off - what a joke. Seriously? Synchronized hair spinning I can do (a la Blackguard), but leg thrusts and squats??? Maybe they were farting along to the music? Sadly it was so loud, we'd never truly know. I believe you might see some of said exercises here in this video, unfortunately, I couldn't get through enough of it to see much of it, for as I said before, they suck.

Chelsea Grin



Please, please, please don't let ESTK suck live. I just couldn't take it.

Ok, so I see Caleb setting up his drum kit and some people loading gear up and banners for the ESTK show. Soon enough, Anissa comes out toting a bass that looked too big for her and then finally, Alexia comes out with a Les Paul style guitar. The hotness factor just shot up a LOT. Enough about their looks aside, my m fears were pleasantly set to rest, as they came out and rocked out well. Cisko, the screamer, sounded great regardless of being under the weather (as he had mentioned to me earlier when I chatted with him for a minute and the band performed together amazingly well. It seemed like their set, however, went by really fast, and I can only remember them playing about 5 or 6 songs. Near the end, however, Lexia had taken her ear monitor out and seemed like she had to struggle a bit with her vocals. I wasn't sure if it was a sound problem or the closely packed together tour dates, but either way, I can't complain - I got out of that show exactly what I wanted and expected - also getting Anissa's pick (she handed it to me directly) and one of Lexia's that had fell off her mic stand and was given to me by Jonny (from IWABO) while they were setting up. Double score! Please enjoy this, their latest track from their cd "Broken Frames" (which pretty much rules).

Eyes Set to Kill



Now for the headliner - iwrestledabearonce. They took quite a while in setting up, they had a LOT of props. Lighted Clouds, a big lighted Rainbow behind Mikey, a laser light emitter and some cannon looking things they set on the speakers (More on that later). The worst part of their set was the fog machine they set off as they were prepping - it filled up the whole building rather quickly and sadly, made it REALLY difficult for me to take pics - which is why I basically stopped taking them since they turned out so shitty.

According to their setlist (and they were the only band to have one), their show would consist of the following:

You Ain't No Family
The Cat's Pajamas
Still Jolly After All These Years
Eli Cash
Danger in the Manger
Corey Feldman
Pazuzu for the Win/Black Eye/See You in Shell
Alaskan Flouder Basket
Vlork: Mighty Wielder Of Sheep
Ulrich Firelord: Breaker Of Mountains
Taste Like Kevin Bacon

They really did put on a great show. Sure, they're weird. They're strange. Some of what they do doesn't make sense. But musically, it makes a LOT of sense.. They really do have a way of putting some really crazy shit together and making it sound really interesting, and they're amazingly talented - even live. They put so much into their performance and had the crowd at their mercy. I, sadly, had to cut out of the front with only four songs left to go, as I am old and unable to take the squashing of lesser beings. Plus, I was hot, fat and sweaty (which is never a good combination) and dehydrated. I found out, as I was at the back of the stage, that the crazy tube guns on the speakers were confetti launchers, and the ENTIRE crowd was covered in coloured streamers... lol. Glad I left when I did. :)


To close, I ended up in the back and met Cisko (again), super nice guy), and Caleb and I chatted a sec. Whilst he was signing my cd's, a ruckus formed behind us, as security was removing a SHITLOAD of people who were STILL fighting each other as they were being cast out of The Boardwalk. Seriously, violent shit. Me and Caleb looked at each other in shock - yes, we had a moment.. :) Once the show ended, Anissa and Alexia came over to their merch table to meet people, take pics and sign shit. I had them sign the CD's I brought with me, and lastly, I stopped at the IWABO merch table to get my pic. I, of course, look hideous, but I still love the pic. Another memento of a great show and a great evening.

iwrestledabearonce