SODO Showbox, Seattle, WA, March.14 2009
“Damn, it’s ccc-cold!”, I grumbled through chattering teeth. Standing across from an empty parking lot, I look up the street at the Starbucks Headquarters and can almost hear the gurgling of the steamer as it frothed HOT milk on a Grande’ Mocha. Though I am not much of a Starbucks fan, this was a cold, windy and drizzly afternoon and I was hoping for a good Samaritan to see us freezing and bring some much needed relief. Hope was all it was though, there weren’t any angels carrying the famous white cups with the Starbucks circle on them today.
The unlit neon sign of the Showbox SODO, an old warehouse come nightspot, loomed above me in the rain as I shivered enough that I decided to walk down the road and find something hot to drink; walking is supposed to warm you up afterall.
Five or six blocks down the road, I started to realize that urban legends are just…legends. “There isn’t [i]really[/i] a Starbucks on EVERY corner in Seattle’, I think to myself as I enter a small gas station store. No coffee, no tea, no Canadian cigarettes, I can’t simply click my heels and be back home; I’m here now, on a mission for hot liquid.
I headed back towards the SODO Showbox through the deserted backstreets of South Seattle’s industrial district, realizing that this was the ‘SODO district’ that the Showbox gained its name from. Using my jean jacket I shielded my Bic from the wind to light a smoke and then for double duty as a bottle opener. As I said, there was no coffee or tea at the tiny little gas station in a barren, industrial district but Heineken was on sale all the same; one of the great benefits of being in the US where cold beer is sold pretty much anywhere but MacDonalds.
So with a case of Heineken in one hand, my pack of unfiltered Camels in another [i](10 different packs of Camels on the shelf and I just happened to point to the short, non-filtered ones)[/i], I am now on my way back to the venue, feeling rather disappointed with my search but still somewhat satisfied with the resulting loot.
By the time I get back, supporting acts Archer and DOPE were pulling their buses and trailers around the back for the front-line load-in, there are a few more people hanging around and looking just as cold as me.
Refusing to pay astronomical parking fees, I went back to my truck and moved across the street where I find a single spot to park for free (SCORE!!). Trying to be quiet, so as not to wake up the homeless guy sleeping in the doorway beside my new parking space, I had another couple of Heineken’s with my buddy, Dave, and we make our way to the front of the venue.
Funny how Canadians attract Canadians, the first two people I meet are from Calgary, Alberta; we had time to joke with a few Americans outside about how cold it was in the ‘Great White South’, commenting on how I thought they all lived in igloos in Seattle, by now they have opened the front of the venue so we go to warm up inside.
The secluded venue, with its brick walls down one side and glass walls of the bar running the length of the other, is a bit smaller than Vancouver’s Commodore ballroom and I wondered how the sound engineers would cope with the lack of acoustics. Besides the bonus of having wooden rafters, brick makes sound bounce around like a superball in a clothes dryer, much to the dismay of sound engineers.
Walking up on stage, I manage to get my first look at the array of guitars Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Pride and Glory, Steel Dragon in the movie Rockstar, Derek Sherinian) will be playing during the show, 13 of them according to my photos.
Moving back to the bar area, I realize its only 3PM and they are not going to open and serve me a beer, should have brought them in from the truck but I’m sure the venue would frown on that too. Zakk Wylde tried to convince the young barmaid to cough up a couple of cases of beer but, after calling her boss, all bets were off and I was stuck once again yearning for a hot coffee.
After hearing Zakk tell a couple of insane stories of his escapades with Ozzy, the booming sound check was getting to me, and it was time to go and check into our hotel.
We left the venue and headed up through downtown Seattle, where we found our hotel, made sure all of my camera batteries were charged, had a few more beers then decided to head out for a stroll through town.
Knowing ‘downtown’ Seattle quite well, I showed Dave the usual sights and we ended up in my favourite spot, Pike’s Brewery, in the world famous Pike?s Market. We had a couple of burgers and I finally got a lukewarm tea, I passed on the many home crafted brews available this time, then we headed out to the Showbox once again.
We ran into our new friends from Calgary again, BLS draws a real brotherhood of fans. Finally, after a near strip search are admitted to the show. Inside, the all aged crowd is divided by a series of barriers so they can’t sneak into the bar or people in the bar couldn’t sneak out with drinks. There is an area on the floor near the back where alcohol is permitted but it is like standing and waiting for a bus that isn’t due to come until Tuesday.
We hang at the front of the bar, where a member of the Doom Crew (BLS’s crew) is checking ID’s and shaking his head in jest to every pretty girl as if she had handed him fake ID. For them it is fun, for us the joke got a bit old but it is fun to watch the shocked looks on thier faces still.
During supporting act, Archer, the sound is abysmal. A large group of teenagers on the floor bounce around, just like the sound, knocking each other over and pushing into the much older BLS crowd, only to be mellowed out by some cold, hard looks from their elders; it reminds me of little bear cubs playing and then having mother settle them down and put them back in order.
After what is a short set and equipment changeover, another support act, DOPE, takes the stage, industrial metal mixed with punk is the best description; after all it’s the industrial, SODO, district so why not industrial metal? The music comes across hard and fast, the energy level is great for a support act and the crowd really seems to enjoy making a gun out of their thumb and forefinger to join in the chants of DIE M***** F***** DIE!! I eventually found myself screaming along with vocalist and front man, Edsel Dope, as he yells ‘What about tomorrow’ with the audience coming back with ‘F*** Tomorrow!’
High energy and with talented guitar work, but a need for some song writing skills besides his knowledge of hooks, makes DOPE a great support act, despite the horrendous venue acoustics.
During the next intermission, it is time for a few more sarsaparilla’s (one thing about US beer, you can drink your weight in beer and still attend church) and a quick break outside to smoke, where lo and behold we run into more and more Canadians.
Getting back inside and standing to the right of the stage, we watch as the most massive ‘trucks in sneakers’ are escorting people outside for a quick chat and to calm them down a bit. I see a really drunk guy leaning on a wall and repetitively yelling ‘I CAN SAY WHAT I WANT, IT’S A FREE COUNTRY!’ Over and over again, ‘I CAN SAY WHAT I WAAAAANT!’ I consider explaining the first amendment to him and how it does not apply so broadly, especially in private buildings; however I figured it would fall on deaf ears as he continued ‘I CAN SAY WHAT I WAAAAANT’. I look to one of the stage-right bouncers who is already on his radio and another truck in sneakers quietly ‘escorts’ our free speaker outside for a little friendly chit-chat before the other crowd members decided to help instead. The bouncers seem to let almost everyone back in, but not until 4 or 5 VERY imposing men had had a bit of a chat and given people time to calm down
A large black banner, adorned with the biker-styled [b]Black Label Society[/b] colours, hangs from the rafters, hiding the stage from the eager eyes as the crew changes the set over. I see a sound tech/emcee walk on and introduce the band in his best monster truck voice. The intro song Crazy, Patsy Cline, is blared over the loudspeakers, apparently this was Zakk’s father’s favourite song.
[i]Zakk’s father, Jerome F. Wielandt, was a WWII veteran who had participated in the D-Day invasion. He passed away this January 19th, due to post surgery complications. Rest in peace Mr. Wielandt and thank you for your sacrifice to help make our world a better place.[/i]
The air raid sirens and red flashing lights let loose, the banner falls to the floor to expose BLS on stage kicking straight into the opening riff of [b]Black Mass Reverends[/b] and then without pause straight into the screeching, pinch harmonics of [b]Destruction Overdrive[/b], with Jon ‘JD’ DeServio and Nick Catanese putting up some big assed backing vocals. [b]Faith is Blind[/b] shows off Craig Nunenmacher’s rock-solid, double kick precision and immaculate meter that has made him the envy of drummers worldwide before they roll straight into [b]The Rose Petalled Garden[/b] (or as the onstage setlist calls it Rose Pedal) and [b]Suicide Messiah[/b] (I think it is Zakk’s guitar tech that handles bullhorn duties this time).
Zakk then slows things down a bit by sitting at the keyboard to play [b]Damage is Done[/b] and [b]In This River[/b], with a banner adorned with DimeBag Darrel?s (Aug.20th 1966 – Dec.08, 2004) image hanging over his Marshall stacks as tribute to our fallen friend. Zakk often kisses his knuckles and points to the sky remembering his friends, Randy Rhodes, Dimebag and, more recently, his father Jerome, only to have the audience join him with their cheers and support.
A band with adoring fans this is not, to call it a brotherhood would also be an understatement, this is [b]Black Label Society[/b] afterall, just hanging with their family; and I really feel like family before the weekend is out.
The Seattle set saw BLS drop [b]New Religion[/b] and [b]Long Time[/b], but they soon pick it up again with Zakk standing high upon a small road case while he belts out the opening licks to [b]Fire It Up[/b] which flows straight into his famous solo including [b]The Star Spangled Banner[/b] before diving straight into his final four of [b]Stoned and Drunk, Hellride, Concrete Jungle[/b] and the finale [b]Stillborn[/b].
It is a busy crowd on an outskirts street so we are really lucky to get outside quickly and find a cab waiting. Back at the hotel, we reminisce on our meeting Zakk, his talent and the amount of effort this hard working ‘Guitar Hero’, puts into his career. Zakk is a straight-up man of strong core values, a dedicated husband and father of three, a hard working musician who helps younger acts get a leg up into the industry and even supports his own band members seeking their own projects and exploring new musical avenues.
Zakk Wylde is a paradigm for musicians worldwide and it was an honour to have met this man whom I have admired for so many years.
My warmest heartfelt thanks go out to Zakk, Craig, John and Nick for being so damned cool and to the Doom Crew Inc. for their incredible brand of hospitality that makes you feel welcomed into the ‘family’ that is [b]The Black Label Society[/b].
Oz Media – [b]SDMF[/b]