Cradle of Filth, Type O Negative, Moonspell
Rating: 3.5 Skulls
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Cradle of Filth, Type O Negative, Moonspell
Rating: 3.5 Skulls |
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Death's Review (12/2/03, The Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA):
Type O Negative
Photos by HelI've always liked what I've heard from Type O, but rarely have been inspired to listen. I knew Bloody Kisses fairly well, and have heard some awesome tracks off of October Rust, but I never really got absorbed into one of their records. Honestly, my perception was that their best days had past. But I heard their new album, Life is Killing Me, and I have to admit - it is a masterpiece. Do others hear what I hear? I'm not sure, but this is definitely one of the better albums to have come out in 2003, in my humble opinion. And this fact caught me completely by surprise.
Thinking about it for a moment on the drive over to the venue, I had not seen them perform live much at all, given their veteran status. I caught two shows on the Motley Crue (sans Vince)/King's X/Type O tour back when Bloody Kisses was out, mostly because I was working for the promoter. I also saw Type O open for Queensryche on the Promised Land tour. I also think I caught them on a bill with others at Roseland Ballroom in New York a few years back. But that was it. The result was that I was more excited to see Type O Negative than either Cradle of Filth or openers, Moonspell.
Cradle of FilthI had never been to the Palladium, and while it is a decent venue from the perspective of sightlines and sound, it is absolutely the land of too many rules and too many security people who take themselves far too seriously. We were late, as always (reason, for those who mock my perpetual tardiness: Hollywood traffic sucks during rush hour, and these bands often go on at 7ish - I have a job that does not allow me to leave at 5 pm three times a week to attend these gigs, so I usually end up rolling out at the last possible minute and being left to the mercy of the traffic gods. Newsflash - they hate me.). We might, however, have been able to catch a song or two from Moonspell, but this place was crazy. There was a huge line to get in because they were going nuts with the searching of everyone. The guy in front of me had an asthma inhaler, and they made him take it out and spray a little bit into his mouth before they'd let him take it in. Someone else had a lighter and a pack of smokes, neither of which were allowed inside and the person had to take them back to their car. No matches were allowed either. I had a mint in my mouth and the guy made me open my mouth so he could see it, 'cause they were worried about gum, which of course was not allowed. It was ridiculous.
Type O NegativeWe finally got in - Moonspell was over. It was cool though that they were on this goth metal bill. Anyway, the venue had HUGE black and white signs hanging over the crowd, with all sorts of rules about no stage diving and no having any kind of fun, at all, whatsoever, at any time. OK then. There certainly was no "in and out." Anyway, I got a beer and settled in close to the stage for Type O. Wow. The band was amazing. All wearing orange prison jump suits, with cages around the keyboards and drums, the band displayed a perfect balance of its dry, Brooklyn humour and its gothic, dreamy, and powerfully emotional music. New tracks like single "I Don't Wanna Be Me" were mixed in with classics like "Black No. 1," but it was the more obscure material that packed the greatest punch. Peter Steele may come across as a tool (pun based on his appearance in Playgirl intended), but he has an amazing voice and totally has command of the live stage. I was mesmerized. They even played a little Black Sabbath jam before the encore ("Lord of This World"?). I truly loved this show. Afterward, a friend who has seen the band several times recently told me this was one of their best gigs in a long time. I'm glad I got to see it. Too bad that after all of these years they had to open for Cradle of Filth.
Cradle of FilthThe set change between Type O Negative and Cradle was toturously long, something like 45 minutes, with no opportunity to go back outside. Most of my friends were hooked up with VIP passes, meaning they got to go to a balcony area rumored to be populated by luminaries like Jeff Hanneman of Slayer and Glenn Danzig. Hel and I, proletariat that we are, were relegated to the floor. Still, some cool folk saw fit to descend down into the common folk for a beer or two to pass the time. Eventually, Dani Filth and Co. took the stage. What can I say? I'd seen this act several times before, and after being blown away by Type O I was soon bored. Yes, Cradle plays extreme music for the masses, with an epic stage show, etc., etc., but I seriously was not feeling it this night. In my humble opinion, this show was headlined by the wrong band. Even the crowd disappointed - the expected legions of crazy goth chicks turned out to be few in number. Bottom line: too many rules, a missed opener, no in and out, too long of a set change, no VIP pass and the wrong band headlining made me bitter - but an OK performance by Cradle and an amazing performance by Type O saved the night.
Hel's Review (12/2/03, The Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA):
I have now lived in the Los Angeles area for over a year, and here I am, going to yet another venue I have not previously been to. This place is by far the strictest I've ever encountered, and you know I've complained about quite a few. Every few feet, it seemed, I had to explain the concept of a photo pass to one staff member or another. The security line was like entering Fort Knox, and was extremely time consuming - you were searched not once, but twice, before being allowed inside. The worst part of all, however, was that once inside, there was no leaving and there was no place whatsoever that was pleasant to be hanging out in while waiting for the set changes to conclude. I felt like a prisoner.Death and I got started extra early, planning to arrive in time for Moonspell. Turns out that this venue starts even earlier than all the others, and they were adhering to the schedule as strictly as they adhered to their multitude of other rules. Moonspell's set was alarmingly short, and started so early, it just wasn't going to happen for us. I'm not the biggest Moonspell fan in the world, but their last album surprised me so much, I had been looking forward to checking them out live again. Oh well.
Type O NegativeBut we were in time to see Type O Negative. That was something of a mixed blessing for me. You see, the thing is, I've never liked Type O. The whole moody goth thing has never really done it for me. But I respect them and they certainly provided the audience with an excellent set. The keyboardist and drummer were "imprisoned" behind a chain link fence for much of the set and the entire band was garbed in bright orange prison-style jumpsuits. The keyboardist repeatedly pulled on the fence, and eventually "freed" himself by pulling it down entirely. By the end of the set, he had also jumped down from his perch and pulled down the fencing around the drummer as well. For me, this was the most entertaining part of the set. Undoubtedly the fans in the audience would list the performance, which was quite lengthy due to their "co-headliner" status, but I've already told you how I feel about their music, so...
The irony of Type O's stage set struck me as we wandered around the edges of the venue, seeking anything to alleviate the boredom as we waited 45 minutes for Cradle to grace us with their presence. Though we ultimately found some excellent conversation to fill the space, we were well and truly imprisoned during this time - all we needed was a chain link fence, and the audience could have made an excellent addition to Type O Negative's staging. Fellow prisoners and all... So now that you're as bored as I was during that span of time, we'll jump forward to the part where Cradle of Filth actually took the stage.
Cradle of FilthSeveral minutes before the band emerged, the lights darkened. From my vantage point in the photo pit, I watched two "human gargoyles" (dudes dressed in gargoyle suits) take their places on the stage. The audience went wild. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. Slowly, members of the band took up their places, backs to the audience, until only Dani Filth himself was absent. I was hoping at this point that he'd make a dramatic entrance - the build up was certainly there - but no, he merely sauntered in from the side of the stage. Uh, ok. After all that build up, I just expected something more exciting, I guess.
The gargoyles remained motionless for a bit, and then they capered about occasionally. That was fun, I suppose, though the true focus of my attention was the music. I definitely must give the members of the band a ton of credit for their onstage theatrics, they do a great job of being extremely expressive while delivering a highly technical, well performed set. Most of them proved to be far more entertaining to watch than Dani himself. Dani seemed to be more or less just going through the motions, but his voice was perfect, and really, that matters most. At this point, I've witnessed Cradle perform live a number of times, and to this day, the best performance I ever saw this band give was the very first one I saw: 1998 at Tramps (R.I.P.) in NYC. That night, they took the stage after midnight, and two hours later my friends literally had to drag me away, I was so enthralled by their performance. Today, I still think they put on a good show, but the level of intensity has never quite equaled what I saw that first night. Still, they always give us great costumes and stage sets, and the music is performed extremely well.
Cradle of FilthAfter all that waiting around though, I found myself still bored despite Cradle's efforts to entertain. The whole thing would be over by 11, as boldly stated by the schedule that was prominently posted and strictly kept to. I knew the songs they'd play, even before I read the set list off the stage, so seeing it merely confirmed I was right. I didn't stick around until the bitter end - I was too bitter about my forced confinement to do so - but since I knew what was ahead, I don't feel very bad about missing the last couple of songs.
All in all, I think it would have been a much more enjoyable night if it had been held in a different venue. I am most definitely not a fan of the Hollywood Palladium after my experience there on this night. I do highly recommend that my fellow metal fans check these bands out when they have a chance; in a more fan-friendly environment, you can be assured that you would have a great time.
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