Concert Review - All Them Witches with King Buffalo and King Dead

The Sherman Theater, Living Room

Stroudsburg, PA

August 23, 2014

       I hadn't taken an over-night road trip for a show in a long time. But when I found out that All Them Witches and King Buffalo would be making a stop in Stroudsburg (about a four hour trip from Pittsburgh), I rallied some troops and we took to the weary path that these musicians are all too familiar with.  Being one of the lucky cats to get a King Buffalo tee with a promo earlier this year, I brandished it with pride, and began strolling Main Street Stroudsburg in search of our venue and a good dive bar.  Our destination was the Sherman Theater’sLiving Room.  With a quiet appearance, more common for art galleries and open mic poet nights, we were psyched to experience All Them Witches and King Buffalo in a tight fitting and intimate setting.  As we approached the Living Room we were waved down by King Buffalo’s drummer Scott, who noticed my shirt.  After the friendly introduction, we offered to give the guys a hand loading, but we were too late.  We chilled for a while, waiting for The Witches to arrive, and carried on with Scott anticipating the music to come.  Scott was a stand up dude with a killer Van Halen tee (thanks for letting us talk your ear off dude).  All Them Witches pulled up and we got them loaded into The Living Room and after friendly hello’s I was in much need of a drink.  Luckily there was a nice little joint called Kay’s Tavern with a pool table and old timers playing an ancient table top bowling game.  My buddies and I ordered up a round of Yuenglings and they proceeded to kick my butt at pool.        

This is where I found out there was another opening band, King Dead a bass heavy trio Heavy Planet covered earlier this year (see the exclusive here).  Some of the other musicians arrived at Kay’s and somehow All Them Witches lead man and bassist, who goes by the name Parks, and I ended up talking world music and the mystery that is Tuvan throat singing.  Losing more time than we realized King Dead had already hit the stage with a western inspired atmospheric doom sound.  I had made it back for their monstrous closer.  Noticing that the trio was all lows, two basses and a thunderous set of drums, I wasn't prepared for the rattling my rib cage experienced.  With a final crash of percussion King Dead laid waste to what was left of a battered crowd and tore down making way for the mighty King Buffalo.

                Oozing a very different vibe, King Buffalo courted the audience with a more reflective sort of groove leaving the crowd in a head nodding daze.  Front man Sean is of tremendous stature, proclaiming their message above the rhythmic crunch being laid down by Scott and Ben (bass) during their standout performance of Providence Eye.  Scott’s tenacity with his kit left my buddy, Paulrus, and I impressed at the trio, who set a solid foundation for All Them Witches to take the stage and finish the night big.  

                The $3.00 Sam Adam’s draughts kept the set up time occupied and the conversations soaring.  Before we realized it All Them Witches were rolling, checking their sound waves.  Sound check seamlessly moved into the set with Lightning At The Door’s album opening one-two punch Funeral For a Great Drunken Bird and When God Comes Back.  My initial reaction, of course after the rocking that surged through my body, was that these four have a spectacular chemistry together, truly something every music lover wishes to experience at a live show.  The Witches set ran through the majority of Lightning and just as I was awestruck at Rob’s percussion antics during my first listening of the album (you can check out my opinion here),  I was even more so impressed with his live performance.  The dude has some serious mo-jo that naturally makes the grooves groovier.  The four-some closed with emotion-builder Charles William and I would say that no group of musicians could have chosen a better way to end the evening.  Each instrument, paired with Parks genuine vocals, built an immense wave of desire of liberation and The Witches delivered just that.  When an evening of live music leaves you forgetting all of your other life concerns you know the music did exactly what it needed to do and that should leave the musicians themselves feeling resolute in their creation.  As much as this music and these musicians meant to me upon the first listen, they now mean even more.  If you’re interested in seeing more of the bands check the links below. If you’re a Pittsburgh native, you won’t want to miss King Buffalo, who will be playing at The Shop tonight (August 27th).  They will also be playing with Heavy Planet favorite The Midnight Ghost Train at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn, NY for an event by The Electric Beard of Doom. 

King Dead

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King Buffalo

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All Them Witches

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Parks (All Them Witches), Scott (King Buffalo), & Paulrus

Moving the Earth Festival

The Windup Space
Baltimore, Maryland USA
March 22, 2014

Last weekend the second annual Moving the Earth Festival took place at The Windup Space in Baltimore, Maryland.  Heavy Planet was on hand for night one of this two day affair, and we got to soak in the grooves and get sloppy with some of the finest riff slingers the East coast has to offer.  In the words of festival organizer, Sixty Watt Shaman/Foghound drummer, and all around cool guy Chuck Dukehart III, the event was created to be a "celebration of all things heavy."  Based on the ringing in my ears, the pounding in my temples, and the puddle of drool on my pillow the following morning, I'm fairly certain his vision was realized.  

Passage Between

Moving their set from the scheduled start time of 8:00 to 7:15 in order to make room in the lineup for fellow Baltimore locals Asthma Castle (who were originally scheduled to play on Sunday), didn't seem to bother Passage Between…other than maybe they just screamed a little louder.  Brewing with sheer intensity, the trio served as a mighty appetizer for the early arrivers as they wrapped sludgy rhythms in raw throated roars that were certain to turn the heads of a few innocent passersby strolling down Baltimore's North Avenue.  Throat shredding duties were shared by guitarist Cole Crick and bassist Cameron Smith as drummer Joseph Bradshaw worked over the drum kit, which was to be used by all of the evening's performers.  A brief, yet brutal introduction of what was yet to come; Passage Between did their goddamned best to make the festival's namesake a reality.
 

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Asthma Castle

The stage at The Windup Space is not a large one, and after witnessing a three piece lay waste to it, the five members of Asthma Castle looked rather…err…cozy.  Sludgy fuzz emanated from the dual guitar attack of Justin Ethem and Cameron Smith (pulling double duty after having played bass with Passage Between), as bassist Jeff Davis and drummer Adam Jarvis (also Misery Index and Pig Destroyer) held down a rhythm that was as solid as a brick shithouse.  Vocalist Matthew Yukna pleaded to the heavens with a hoarse howl as the band segued in and out of stoner rock grooves, suffocating doom and relentless hardcore passages.  Safe to say that necks in the crowd were beginning to noodle and Moving the Earth was hitting its stride.

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Supervoid

I'm a big fan of Pittsburgh's Supervoid, having placed their recent LP Filaments at number two on my "best of 2013" list, so I was plenty fired up to catch their set at Moving the Earth.  The cosmic fuzz found on that album carried over perfectly to the stage of The Windup Space on songs like "Ladders," "War Elephant," and "Ride the Snake" and the band even took this opportunity to introduce a couple of new tracks which fit right in alongside the old ones.  The first of these, "Gallows" was a showcase for guitarists Dave Warren and Joe Madia, who manage to interweave their riffs, solos and other such elements with prog-like proficiency throughout Supervoid's textural soundscapes.  Between generous pulls of PBR, vocalist Brian Urban explained that the second new one, titled "Against Sunrise," is "about zombies and shit" before flaunting his impressive vocal range, which manages to evoke everything from Mike Patton to Randy Blythe.  Bassist John Braymer navigated a pedal board every bit as impressive as any of those used by the multitude of guitarists on the evening's bill while drummer Greg Kemper kept the backbone of this intricate beast intact.  Supervoid are a band who are stretching the boundaries of what "stoner rock" can be and that was evident during their set at Moving the Earth.  If you get the opportunity to check them out, you'd do well to take advantage.

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Black Manta

This festival had been billed as “the return of Sixty Watt Shaman,” but to be fair, they weren’t the only reunited legends on tap for the evening.  Carrying the “Doom Capital” flag from the genre’s halcyon days, it was evident as soon as Black Manta took the stage that these dudes have like…seen things, man.  Lead vocalist Skull stalked the front of the stage as he glared at the Moving the Earth crowd, his eyes wide with crazy, one fist thrust high in the air, and the other strangling his microphone.  Meanwhile bassist Walter White stood his ground at stage right, thumping away at the fuzzed out tones of the band’s self-described “bomb rock” while guitarist Hillel Halloway grooved out to the left.  Drummer Tommy Carr flailed away at the community drum kit, seemingly doing his part to make sure there would be nothing left of the thing by festival’s end.  For those old enough to remember when Black Manta stood alongside the likes of Earthride, Unorthodox, and Internal Void atop the underground doom scene of the mid-Atlantic, nostalgia reigned supreme during “Days of Yore” from the band’s now classic EP Fuck Them All but Six.  But it was the nodding approval and cheers from the younger contingent that proved the timelessness of these tunes.  Welcome back Black Manta…it’s been too long.

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Wasted Theory

The American flag draped over one of Wasted Theory’s amplifiers just seemed to enhance the dirty, southern swagger buried in the Delaware band’s heavy grooves.  Vocalist/guitarist Larry Jackson Jr. strained every vein in his neck as he pushed his gravelly voice right to the edge.  Meanwhile, he and guitarist Dave McMahon, who just joined the band a few months back, traded licks like sparring partners as Wasted Theory plowed through a set of all new material from their upcoming full length Death and Taxes (due May 2014).  Not to be outdone, Jonathan Charles rumbled the guts of everyone in attendance with his four string, while drummer Brendan Burns twirled his sticks, held them over his head in an upside down cross, and generally beat the shit out of the skins for the entirety of the band’s 40 minute set.  I caught Wasted Theory just under a year ago when they came through Washington DC and to take nothing away from that performance, I am amazed at how much they’ve grown.  After what I saw in Baltimore last weekend, I can’t wait to get my hands on that new record. 
  

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Kingsnake

Quite simply, Philadelphia’s Kingsnake get better every time I see them.  With one foot planted firmly in rhythm and blues and the other resting on a stratum of stoner rock, the band displays a smooth confidence onstage and if it weren’t for the reunion of the legendary Sixty Watt Shaman to follow, they would have made worthy headliners for the Moving the Earth Festival.  The dual guitars of Brian Merritt and Bill Jenkins combined heaviness with improvisation, and when Jenkins added his gruff, whiskey drenched vocals, songs like “Fang of the Cobra” from the band’s excellent 2013 LP One Eyed King of the Blind sounded both monumental and boogielicious.  The rhythm section of Matt Kahn on bass and Matt Farnan on drums was fluid…almost jazz-like…and when the band broke into the sing-a-long chorus of “Mountain Girl” it felt like The Windup Space had been magically transformed into a 1970’s arena rock show.  It’s obvious at this point that Kingsnake are on their way up.
    

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Sixty Watt Shaman  

Finally, after so much buildup and anticipation, it was time to put any rumors, expectations, and past memories to rest…it was time to revive the legendary Sixty Watt Shaman.  After more than a decade apart, vocalist/guitarist Dan Soren, bassist Reverend Jim Forrester and drummer Chuck Dukehart III were joined by new guitarist Todd Ingram as they brought their southern fried, stoner rock back to the stage.  The band collectively disposed of any lingering anxieties by diving right into “Cactus Mexicali” from their 1998 debut Ultra Electric and as they transitioned into “Southern Gentleman” (also from Ultra Electric), you could almost see the rust fall away and the confidence begin to grow.

Reverend Jim Forrester seemed to enjoy every second of the band’s set as he roamed the stage like a raving maniac, thumping out the rhythm to a suite of songs from Sixty Watt’s classic Seed of Decades album.  By contrast, Todd Ingram stoically stood his ground as he seemingly concentrated on winning over the Sixty Watt faithful by nailing each and every lead, riff, and rhythm.  Right behind them, Chuck Dukehart III gave the Moving the Earth drum kit its final bout of punishment for the evening, occasionally looking over his shoulder to sing backing vocals on songs like “Fear Death by Water,” or to crack jokes about the band’s fog machine…”hey look, I’m on fire.”  And when he wasn’t playing rhythm guitar, Dan Soren occasionally picked up a tambourine as he wailed into his microphone, or mined the depths of his signature baritone.  The band was tight, the crowd was electric, and by the time Sixty Watt closed out their set with the epic “Red Colony,” it was pretty damn evident that this revival was complete.

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Sixty Watt Shaman Setlist:

Cactus Mexicali

Southern Gentleman

Seed of Decades

Fear Death by Water

Poor Robert Henry

New Trip

Stone’s Throw Away

Whiskey Neck

Pull the Strings

Red Colony

Check out more pictures from the show below:

Passage Between:

Asthma Castle:

Supervoid:

Black Manta:

Wasted Theory: 

Kingsnake:

Sixty Watt Shaman:

Saturday Night Concert Series: Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age's performance from the 2008 Pinkpop Festival.



Landgraaf, Netherlands 06/01/2008.

Setlist:

- Era Vulgaris (only a few seconds)
- Sick, Sick, Sick
- Go With The Flow
- Do it Again
- Misfit Love
- Burn the Witch
- Turnin' on the Screw
- Monsters in the Parasol
- You can't Quit me Baby
- Millionaire
- Little Sister
- Make it Wit Chu
- No One Knows

((setlist.fm))

Line Up:

Josh Homme (Guitar, Voc)
Joey Castillo (Drums)
Troy Van Leeuwen (Guitar, Lap Steel)
Michael Shuman (Voc, Bass)
Dean Fertita (Guitar, Keyboard, Percussion)

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Karma to Burn with Borracho

Rock & Roll Hotel
Washington DC
September 21, 2011

Karma to Burn blew through the nation's capital last night, laying waste to the Rock & Roll Hotel on their way through town. Fortunately, Heavy Planet was on hand to witness this aural onslaught in all its sonic glory. But before the instrumental trio took the stage, local boys Borracho plowed through an epic set of stoner rock grooves that had the early arrivers moving and sweating by the time they were finished.

The band wasted no time settling into their rhythm as Steve Fisher picked up his guitar and immediately tore into the opening notes of "All In Play". Noah Greenburg followed suit as he seemingly choked the song's riff out of his guitar while simultaneously introducing the Hotel crowd to his gruff, vocal chord straining bark as he demanded…"get your boots on!". Borracho proceeded to run through three fourths of their debut album Splitting Sky during their 45 minute set which was highlighted by the frenetically paced "Concentric Circles" and the doom laden "Bloodsucker". The latter of which featured perhaps the strangest sing-along ever as bassist Tim Martin joined Fisher and Greenburg in pleading "why don't you take off your clothes?"


But nothing compared to the band's closing number, the epic "Grab the Reins". The song required drummer Mario Trubiano to keep the groove firmly in the pocket as Borracho journeyed through multiple tempo shifts and stylistic alterations. The finale easily spanned a quarter of the band's overall set time and showcased their uncommon ability for laying down complex grooves that meander in and out of stoner, doom and classic rock territory all within the span of the same song. This is their signature…this is their knack. And so by the time Fisher, Greenburg and Trubiano waved to the crowd and casually walked offstage, leaving Martin alone as he finished plucking out the song's funky ass bass line, it was as if to say…our job is done here…you people have been thoroughly rocked.


After a quick equipment swap out and sound check, Karma to Burn took the stage and with nary a word…proceeded to rock the fuck out for the next sixty minutes. Being no stranger to instrumental bands…I was left awestruck by how thoroughly entertained I was by this one. The trio didn't just get onstage and jam…they had something else…presence…emotion…they were electric onstage. Not once did I think to myself…"man these guys are good, but they could really use a singer."

Guitarist William Mecum stalked stage left throughout the band's set, at times staring off into the crowd, at others with his back to us as he jammed to his own amplifier. He even left the stage altogether at one point, setting up shop right in front of the folks down front. Rich Mullins camped out on the other side of the stage in a stance very much akin to nearly doing the splits as he ran up and down the frets of his bass, never losing the smile that was plastered on his grill all night long. You think he loves this shit? You're damn right he does.


And that brings us to drummer Rob Oswald, who was a sweaty mess of hair and appendages all flailing around simultaneously. The man played like an absolute maniac beating the shit out of his kit so severely that the band took breaks after every other song to allow him to re-tighten his snare drum. In fact at one point as I held down my spot up front, I thought I felt something dripping on me from the ceiling…turns out it was wood shavings from Rob's drum sticks flying across the stage as he bashed his overhead cymbals…seriously.


With their pummeling riffs and obvious love of their craft, Karma to Burn left quite an impression on the DC crowd. It was evident by the chants of "K to B" that echoed through the Rock & Roll Hotel long after the band had left the stage. But there would be no encore. Karma to Burn had said all they needed to say without actually saying a word at all. And with that, a very kick ass evening of rock and roll in Washington DC came to a very satisfying conclusion.

King Giant and The Crimson Electric...Together Again

Bringing the heavy riffs to Virginia in January are King Giant and The Crimson Electric for a mini tour to end all mini tours! Ok so it's really just two dates in the same state...so what? Pick a venue, show up and get your beard rocked off at what is being billed as the King Crimson mini tour!

Fri, Jan. 28 - Richmond, VA (Venue TBA) with Pike Possum

Sat, Jan. 29 - Falls Church, VA (The State Theatre) with Throwdown Syndicate and Death Penalty

King Giant
The Crimson Electric

CoC – Blind with Age of Despair, Compression, The Ghost of Saturday Nite and Wrath of Typhon

Ottobar
Baltimore, MD
June 19th, 2010

Wrath of Typhon
When York, Pennsylvania’s Wrath of Typhon took the stage on Saturday night, only a handful of folks had arrived at Baltimore’s out of the way, dingy and altogether perfect rock club, known as Ottobar, to witness their opening set. Upon noticing the Stinking Lizaveta t-shirt adorning the band’s bassist and the homage to the recently departed Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.) plastered on their vocalist, I figured I was in for an interesting blend of metal styles. Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed when Wrath of Typhon churned out a chugging, crunchy, riff-fest courtesy of their Pepper Keenan look-alike (weird coincidence…considering) guitarist that, when combined with the singer’s wail (not to mention his stage antics like pointing his finger to the sky or grasping the imaginary evil orb), recalled Dio-era Sabbath to a tee. Wrath of Typhon’s sound isn’t anything altogether new, but it certainly isn’t one that ever gets old either. All told, the band was a worthwhile opener for the evening and a nice treat for the early arrivers.

The Ghost of Saturday Nite
The next act on the bill was the three-piece hardcore/punk act The Ghost of Saturday Nite, who are one of the Raleigh, North Carolina bands (along with Age of Despair) currently touring with CoC – Blind. As the band walked onstage, their vocalist/guitarist warned the decidedly “metal” crowd that they were in for something slightly different, saying “we play punk rock…it’s like metal on heroin…you’re gonna love it”. What followed was a fun and energetic set from the band that undeservedly got absolutely no crowd response whatsoever. Regardless, The Ghost of Saturday Nite’s punk rock swagger and don’t give a fuck attitude shone through as they soldiered on from one blistering song to another, smiling and laughing all the while. The band blended the sounds and styles of SoCal bands like Social D and The Bronx to perfection and in my opinion, offered a nice break in the evening’s lineup for something a little different.

Compression
Local Baltimore natives Compression occupied the middle slot of tonight’s five band lineup. What followed was the type of unique performance that could easily be dubbed a show stealer. Mix the aural tapestries found in the music of bands like Isis and Pelican, the spaz-core freak-outs associated with The Dillinger Escape Plan and throw in a dash of the rhythm and groove of Clutch for good measure and you’ll have an idea of what took place at Ottobar during Compression’s set. People…this may be the discovery of a new genre altogether…let me be the first to dub it Stoner-Math-Post-Metal.

At times utilizing an effects pedal to create echoing loops in his vocals, Greg Scelsi stalked the stage screeching and grunting over the cacophony happening all around him. Meanwhile, guitarist Paul Joyce managed to cram unbelievable solos somewhere within the nooks and crannies of his heavy ass riffs and the thunderous low end created by bassist Mike Albi. To top it all off, drummer Lou Hill delivered an absolute ass beating to his kit, which was situated sideways so the crowd could witness the action in all its pummeling glory. The cracks and missing chunks in the cymbals proof positive that this drum set was no stranger to such behavior. Compression are the real deal my friends, check these guys out if you get an opportunity.

Age of Despair
After such a rousing set from the local boys in Compression, I had my doubts about whether the next band could keep the momentum going for the headliners. Led by former Confessor guitarist Shawn McCoy and featuring guitarist Marcus Williams, bassist Ali Lugo, drummer Abdala Saghir and vocals courtesy of Brian Zucarro, Age of Despair are a throwback to the early 90’s heyday of bands like Sepultura and Pantera. Throw a few sludgy, Crowbar-esque doom riffs into the formula and you have the tasty metal concoction created by these five North Carolinians.

From the minute the guys hijacked the stage on Saturday night, they pummeled the now full Ottobar crowd with the aural equivalent of a military assault. Zucarro led the attack by getting up close and personal, sticking his Doc Marten right on top of the feedback amp and leaning out over the first row of the audience as he unleashed a demonic howl reminiscent of Devin Townsend (which is a very, very good thing). Meanwhile, to his left, Williams and Lugo did their best to make up for their singer’s lack of hair by flailing their impressive mops all over the stage. On the opposite side of Zucarro, McCoy took every opportunity to remind everyone that he is in fact the metal veteran of the group, as he ripped through solo after blistering solo with surprising ease.

With all that chaos surrounding him, you would think Saghir would have struggled just to keep the rhythm of such a furious onslaught. Quite the opposite, the Columbian born drummer seemed to take it all in stride, laying down the beats for this maelstrom with a surprisingly calm and collected demeanor. By the time Age of Despair dove into a stunning rendition of Sepultura’s “Roots” for their finale, the entire room had become a swirling frenzy of bodies, and any doubts I had about the band carrying on the momentum of the evening, were in fact put to rest.

CoC - Blind
If you’re at all familiar with Corrosion of Conformity, then you know that there have been multiple variations of the band that are all very different from one another in both style and sound. Arguments abound as to which version is better…is it the early hardcore days featuring Mike Dean on vocals…or is it the more recent Southern rock sounds of the Pepper Keenan fronted lineup? Well, for my money it’s actually neither. My favorite variety of CoC is in fact the lineup that recorded the legendary “Blind” album (my personal favorite from this band), featuring Karl Agell on vocals, Pepper Keenan and Woody Weatherman on guitars, Phil Swisher on bass and of course, the ever present Reed Mullin on drums.

So when I heard that Mullin and Agell had actually reunited for a tour that would feature “Blind” being played in its entirety, there was no doubt in my mind that I’d be there. Of course, this newer version of that classic lineup isn’t complete, as it doesn’t include Keenan, Weatherman or Swisher. The replacement players are Scott Little (guitar) from Agell’s band Leadfoot and Jason Browning (guitar) and Jerry Barrett (bass), who both play in the solo band of legendary Bad Brains vocalist HR (who happened to be in attendance tonight…how cool is that?). Given that these last three aren’t “official” members of CoC, this version of the band was touring under the moniker CoC – Blind. Confused yet?

The band walked onstage to the eerie sounds of the album opener “These Shrouded Temples…” before Mullin’s shotgun blast drum rolls signaled the beginning to the political anthem “Damned For All Time”, the lyrics of which sadly seem appropriate nearly 20 years later. It didn’t take the crowd long to catch on, as it was evident that nearly everyone in attendance was there to sing along word for word to one of their favorite albums. And so when the band kept things rolling right into “Dance of the Dead”, you could barely hear Agell over the audience members as they sang the opening line in unison…”You’re Dead…”.

The band did a great job of recreating the album live, as I heard no noticeable flaws. Little, Browning and Barrett all played their parts sufficiently enough that, had I not already known the history of this band, I would have had no reason to suspect they weren’t original members. Mullin, who was always an impressive drummer, doesn’t appear to have lost a step in the slightest, as he demonstrated tonight with his maniacal fills and beats. As for Agell, his vocals on the “Blind” album were uniquely different from those of any other era of the CoC legacy, mixing equal parts heavy metal snarl with down home Southern soul. Tonight he recreated those vocals to perfection, stopping only occasionally to let a fan sing a line or two, or to simply say thanks to the crowd for showing up. His appreciation for being able to play with Mullin and sing these songs again was strikingly evident.

As CoC – Blind pressed on, I began to realize with each passing song that the “Blind” album is one that was way ahead of it’s time. The material sounded incredibly fresh to my ears (and by the looks of it, the rest of the crowd agreed with me) and stood firmly alongside all of the great bands I had already seen tonight. This was never more evident than when the band played the most well known of the songs from the album, “Vote with a Bullet”. On the album, the song is actually sung by Pepper Keenan, so I was curious to hear how it would translate with Agell pulling vocal duties. As with the rest of the set, it was amazing to just hear the song live and with the entire crowd singing word for word, it honestly didn’t really matter who was singing.


CoC – Blind threw a few treats into the set as well, like a fun little Rage Against the Machine teaser (the intro to “Killing In the Name Of…”) which they buried between two songs, and their blitzkrieg version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades”, which turned out to be an impressive crowd scream-along. And when the dust settled on the “Blind” album, the applause and cheers from the crowd left each of the band members smiling as they exited the stage. But none more so than Agell, who stuck around long after the others had left, shaking hands, sharing old rock n’ roll war stories and signing those well worn copies of “Blind” for fans who thought they very well may never get to hear those songs live again.