SICK PUPPIES!!! This is one of the ONLY bands from the late 90′s and beyond that I truly hold dear to my heart. These guys truly GET IT. Honest, deep-feeling music with no apologies and no boundaries and endless energy. Their studio recordings are amazing in themselves, but to see them live would be a completely unforgettable experience. I finally got to see them in concert on Monday. I had to drive to Austin to do it, but it was worth it. Heck, I would have traveled much farther!
The opening acts were pretty darn good, too. Saving Abel was loud and proud and had some pretty mean deep grooves going on.
Dropping Daylight was great. They brought a ton of energy to the stage and really got the crowd warmed up well. The newest song they played, which talks about suburbia and getting out of its madness was my favorite and has a great guitar riff/hook to it. Check it out.
Here’s a group photo for the tour from last month. From left to right: Dropping Daylight’s bassist, lead singer, lead guitar, drummer, Sick Puppies’ Shimon Moore – guitar and vocals, Mark – drums, Emma Anzai – bass and backing vocals, Saving Abel’s lead singer, drummer, bass player, lead guitarist/ backing vocals.
But the real reason we were there was to meet Emma Anzai in person, I mean, to see the Sick Puppies play live. Can I just tell you how freaking OFF Emma went??? She defies the laws of physics, using her entire petite-sized body to thrash all over the stage during her performance. I used to think I was pretty animated onstage when I played bass for an audience, but DAYUM, girl! You not only make it look so easy, you make it look gooooood! Just check out her moves on the opening song Cancer here on the oart of it that I captured on video. She goes off right from the get-go! The mic on my camera couldn’t handle the wattage being thrown at it, so it is extremely distorted, but you will definitely get the gist of it.
And then from the song Pitiful. She looks almost like she has a pattern for her head-thrashing moves. I love it!
And here you can see her slapping chops on Nothing Really Matters. Just watch the way she makes it look so easy and…well HOT:
And here she flows effortlessly between picking and very fast slapping in Anywhere but Here:
The entire band was TIGHT, I mean, seriously together and able to pull off amazing syncopated rhythms with ease and complete synchronicity. These guys all claim to be self taught, i.e. no formal training in music. This makes me question the years I spent in school dedicated to music. If only I hung out with an undeniably charismatic and funky bass player while I was a drummer, or managed to plug into the live music scene in Hawaii more while in school…But enough about me…Here’s a couple more stills of Emma:
Yes, she sings backup vocals, and it makes this band sound so much different than the stuff you hear out there nowadays.
And if this picture doesn’t show you just how emotionally and physically connected she is to her music…
The Puppies played almost every song from their latest album Dressed Up As Life, and a couple of classics and even a provocative cover of Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name.
The highlights for me: uh…THE WHOLE THING FRICKEN ROCKED!!! But I have a special place in my soul for Anywhere but Here, Cancer and Pitiful. Emma was all over the stage, thumping her relatively new black ash-bodied Warwick 4-string bass. James, the guitar tech (whom I recognized from the King’s tour) showed me Emma’s new rack for her amp heads before the show. These are just the Ampeg SVT-Classic amp heads and a nice Avalon Ultra Five direct box. Also a Fuhrman power conditioner is used, most likely to tame any surges and protect the tubes in these Ampeg heads. The venue, Emo’s, was so small that only one of her rigs was needed and was all that could fit onstage anyway.
Very impressive
James the guitar tech let me in on a secret/rumor/possibility…. Supposedly King’s X is planning to tour in July with Living Colour and Extreme!! WHAT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I would pay 100 bucks to see that show! BTW, the new Extreme is 50% the recently dissolved Dramagods, which kick most incredible ass. I reviewed their album that never officially came out here..
That show, if it really does happen, would be THE show to see this summer, by far. I have seen King’s X and Living Colour before and they both move me immensely with their music and always will be favorites of mine. Add some Dramagods/Extremism to that mix and I just might lose my mind! Let’s hope it’s a go! Thanks for the tip, James!
After the show the Sick Puppies, Shimon, Emma and Mark, hang out as long as they can to sign autographs and take photos with us fans. Fans buy more merchandise. Everybody wins. My friend and I took turns taking pics.
God bless Emo’s and the Sick Puppies for allowing cameras into their concerts! I like this whole connection/intimacy thing that these bands are able to do now. It’s rough on the feet to stand in one spot for about 3 and 1/2 hours straight, but it’s SO worth it! Incredible, really.
And so this ends my review of one of the most incredible concerts I have ever been to. Long live Sick Puppies, and Emma Anzai – you’re my bass-thumping heroine!
-Josh
PS – one of these days I really need to post a deeply and well thought out review on their album. It deserves it for sure.
PPS – Thanks, Justin for the trip, car, room and hanging out!
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sickpuppies1 (not sure if this one is official, but it has some great vids)
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