Last Night: Anvil at the House of Blues Anaheim
Categories: live review
The Hype: Buoyed by the critical acclaim of the superb 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Canadian cult favorite metal band descended upon the House of Blues Anaheim for their first ever appearance in Orange County. Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow called it a trip 30 years in the making.
Bands such as Motorhead and Metallica would not cite Anvil as an influence if they didn't have the musical chops. Kudlow was nailing all the notes and displaying his prowess by quickly changing from machine gun, palm-muted power chords to harmonic ear shattering squeals. Kudlow even literally blew off the guitar knob during one of his many gratuitous guitar solos. The axe may have been responding the gold vibrator solo that sparked everyone with a camera to stick it in the air for YouTube documentation.
Robb Reiner was a blacksmith behind his double bass drum kit smiting out sharp beats, especially for "This is Thirteen." One could not deny the chemistry between Kudlow and Reiner as they seemed to be telepathically connected. The sludgy riffs of "Thumb Hang" were recalled Ozzy Osbourne's first band, as Kudlow had prefaced the song with a story of how after all these years he still is just a kid that listens to Black Sabbath. "Forged in Fire" and "Metal on Metal" closed out their main set with people still chanting "Anvil!" After a salacious story about a groupie experience, "Jackhammer" drilled home the point that after three decades Anvil were going to stick to their metal roots.
The Crowd: Long hair, black T-shirts and nary a female in sight. A metalhead crowd for sure.
Overheard: "They were really good. I didn't know they could actually play that well!" said a long-haired dude waking out from the show.
The Show: The word Anvil conjures an image of hardened black steel that is used to forge razor sharp weapons such as swords and axes. Kudlow's axe was his trademark flying "V" guitar, which drove the sparse but devoted crowd ape shit. A full row of Anvil concert T-shirt-wearing fans lined the front-stage barricade and pumped their fists to the metal glory of "March of The Crabs." Digging deeper into their second album Metal on Metal, things went, yes, demonic when Anvil smashed into "666."
Robb Reiner was a blacksmith behind his double bass drum kit smiting out sharp beats, especially for "This is Thirteen." One could not deny the chemistry between Kudlow and Reiner as they seemed to be telepathically connected. The sludgy riffs of "Thumb Hang" were recalled Ozzy Osbourne's first band, as Kudlow had prefaced the song with a story of how after all these years he still is just a kid that listens to Black Sabbath. "Forged in Fire" and "Metal on Metal" closed out their main set with people still chanting "Anvil!" After a salacious story about a groupie experience, "Jackhammer" drilled home the point that after three decades Anvil were going to stick to their metal roots.
Hollywood band Tarsha blasted through their glossy, '80s Sunset Strip rock and showed some initiative by working the fans after their set with a paper and pen to collect email addresses for a mailing list. Operation Overload from Orange County had a slight identity crisis judging by the Lamb of God, Metallica, Bullet for My Valentine, and Children of Bodom T-shirts all the individual band members were wearing. We know you are a metal band, but try picking a different aisle at Hot Topic and let the music speak for itself.
The Crowd: Long hair, black T-shirts and nary a female in sight. A metalhead crowd for sure.
Overheard: "They were really good. I didn't know they could actually play that well!" said a long-haired dude waking out from the show.
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