The newest episode of Troy Story: A Podcast for the Collar City revisits the first and only time Metallica performed at the RPI Field House, on Wednesday, March 15, 1989, with opening band Queensryche.
Joining host John Salka is world-renowned drummer and lifelong Capital Region resident, Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Category 7), who – a 19-year-old college student at the time – attended the show on a holiday break from Berklee School of Music.
Troy Story: A Podcast for the Collar City is a monthly oral history podcast produced and hosted by John Salka, former Communications Director for the city of Troy and advisor for two mayors, bringing a firsthand perspective to recent Troy history.
Rampaging across America on their “Damaged Justice Tour”, Metallica was in support of their latest studio album (and eventually selling more than 9 million albums) …and Justice for All. The show was also the band’s second-ever performance in the Capital Region.
During the episode, Jason discusses with John, thoughts on the audio production for the “… and Justice for All” LP; speculation on how someone managed to bring a camcorder into the Field House to record the Metallica and Queensryche sets; performing with some of his favorite bands touring the world, including Overkill and Anthrax; the reunion of Shadows Fall, his new band Category 7, and previous work with local Capital Region hardcore band Stigmata; attending Metallica’s 1986 show at the Glens Falls Civic Center with Cliff Burton on bass guitar, and meeting drummer Lars Ulrich for the first time, and seeing other legendary metal bands like Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metal Church at various Capital Region venues.
Live bootleg audio from Metallica and opening act Queensryche at the RPI Field House in Troy is featured throughout the episode to immerse the listener in the story. Additional photos, video and archive materials is available on the Troy Story website.
Future episodes will feature RPI alumni and WRPI DJ Toast Eric Haskins who was part of concert security staff that night, and then-high school student and Metallica fan Kevin O’Connell – both attended the show that night in 1989 and will share their recollections of the gig.
The night was every hard rock fan’s dream. They got a great mix of metal, hard rock and pop-metal while witnessing great live stage performances. Daughtry made a triumphant return to the area after touring Breaking Benjamin and Staind in September and October.
As fans pilled in from the harsh winter cold, the Memphis, Tennessee-native band Devour the Day hopped on stage. Led by Blake Allison on lead vocals, the band blasted into their first tune of the night, “Respect,” off of their Time & Pressure record. The band’s hungriness was apparent from the start. Devour the Day made sure the crowd felt their impact for the seven songs they played. The quartet was the loudest group of the night. They infused post-grunge, nu metal and hard rock influences all into one band that put together a great performance.
Joining Allison who is also the drummer for Pop Evil, is Joey “Chicago” Walser on bass guitar, Justin Kier on drums and Stephen Freeman on guitar. The foursome did an excellent job at getting the – at the time small – crowd ready for the next two acts.
In between Devour the Day and Sleep Theory, there was a brief intermission. But, it wasn’t too long until the houselights dimmed for Sleep Theory. It was fitting that Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” was blasted through the speakers sparking holiday cheer. Sleep Theory, also from Memphis, Tennessee, jumped right into the first song of the evening “Fallout,” off of 2023’s Paper Hearts – EP. Sleep Theory’s style of music was very similar to Devour the Day’s. So, the hard rock and metal theme blossomed during their set.
Lead singer Cullen Moore’s vocals were amazing. Throughout the band’s set, he would walk back and forth on stage and interact with the audience while he belted out the lyrics. There have been few singers who could yell in key. Rob Halford from Judas Priest and Bruce Dickinson are some of the masters. But, Moore was able to be in perfect key while screaming which brought goosebumps to some of the fans.
Unfortunately, Sleep Theory was extremely backlit and at times it was hard to see them on stage. This forced fans to listen rather than gain the whole experience of the show. Nonetheless, just by listening, you could tell that the band was extremely tight and together as one on stage. Because they were excellent musicians, fans were a lot more receptive to them and cheered loudly after every song. Sometimes middle bands don’t receive such generosity so it was great that they did.
In addition to Moore, Sleep Theory consists of Daniel Pruitt on guitar, Paolo Vergara on bass, and Ben Pruitt on drums. The quartet put the fans in the right mood for Daughtry and was an excellent middle band.
By this point, the crowd was in a frenzy for Daughtry and very quickly the band jumped on stage and went straight into “The Reckoning.” For the band’s entire performance, the entire theatre was on their feet and did not sit down for one single minute. There was a buzz in the building for their headline set since the next time the group would be in the area would be on the Creed summer tour in 2025.
Rounding out Daughtry was Chris Daughtry on lead vocals and guitar, Brian Craddock on guitar, Elvio Fernandes on keys, Marty O’Brien on bass and Jeremy Schaffer on drums
Like Moore in Sleep Theory, Daughtry’s vocals were amazing and were the best out of the three. For the time that the band was on stage, you could feel his power and strength. Even though he was as serious as can be while singing, in between songs he charmed the crowd. At one point before “Home” he told the audience to “light up anything that lights up… phones… lightsabers are also welcomed.”
The band kept their stage simple so the audience could focus more on the music. Only a few screens were lit up behind the group with lights draped on the drum riser. It was nice that the band kept their stage simple and did not overwhelm the crowd. Twice during their set, they paid homage to the mighty Led Zeppelin and Journey. During their rendition of “Crashed” there was a snippet of “Kashmir” before they fully jumped into a cover of “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).”
The crowd let out a thunderous cheer to some of their favorites. “Home” and “It’s Not Over” received the loudest approval with fans taking out their phones to record the song or their favorite moment. It was great that they even played a handful of tunes from their newest record, Dearly Beloved. Their new material was even received positively by the crowd as if it were already setlist staples
When the band walked off stage before the encore, you could hear a low roar for them to come back on stage. It originated at the back of the theatre in the rafters before thrusting its way towards the front. Fans got what they wished for. Daughtry played “The Dam,” “Heavy Is the Crown and “Artificial” as the three encore songs before calling it a night.
When the audience left the building, the buzz was still thriving throughout the crowd. They witnessed a special holiday performance. There aren’t many groups that can put together a short and small holiday tour and knock it out of the park. But, for Daughtry, they delivered one of the best holiday shows in recent memory.
Devour the Day setlist: Respect, Nobody Owns Me, Good Man, Worse Than Death, Outsider, The Bottom, Empty
Sleep Theory setlist: Fallout, Enough, Paralyzed, Static, Hourglass, Gone or Staying, Stuck in My Head, Numb, It’s Over, Another Way
Daughtry setlist: The Reckoning, Changes Are Coming, World on Fire, Crashed, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), Home, Waiting for Superman, Shock to the System, It’s Not Over, Nervous, Pieces, Over You, The Dam, Heavy Is the Crown, Artificial
Dive bars and small clubs are generally the starting point for any fledgling band looking to make it big. Ideally, the goal is to move up to bigger and better venues eventually. Well, today, we celebrate one of the few tiny clubs that became renowned worldwide and a dream destination for any band. CBGB opened its doors 47 years ago,today, and the music world hasn’t been the same since.
Located in the heart of New York City’s Bowery district, CBGB was not always the musical Mecca it would come to be. It was previously a biker bar known as Hilly’s on the Bowery, one of two local establishments that owner Hilly Kristal managed. When his other bar was forced to close, Kristal redirected his efforts to the one left standing and made a life-altering change. On December 10, 1973, the Bowery dive bar officially became CBGB & OMFUG.
The CBGB acronym stands for Country, Bluegrass and Blues, Kristal’s initial vision for the music he wanted played there. The OMFUG supposedly stood for “Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers.” Although a gormandizer is a term often used in reference to someone who eats food ravenously, in this case it would be the music that was being consumed. However, Legs McNeil, one of the true punk music journalists of our time and a CBGB regular in its heyday, claims the “U” in OMFUG was often left open to interpretation.
At its inception, CBGB stayed true to Kristal’s musical vision. But that would soon change, starting in February of 1974 when they booked local act Squeeze. This marked the first shift from country and bluegrass to original rock acts performing there. Another factor that led to the change in format was the nearby Mercer Arts Center burning down in August of 1973. For years, local unsigned bands of all styles had a place to play music there. Now they were in need of a new stage.
Eventually, the bookings at CBGB would lean more and more towards rock. Bands like Television, a local band at the forefront of the newly emerging punk music scene, would begin playing there. Other bands like the Patti Smith Group, Talking Heads, and Angel and the Snake (eventually renamed to Blondie) later got their start here as well. Rock legends The Ramones also played their first gig ever at CBGB in August of 1974 to a comically small crowd in hindsight.
While the early years of the club were rife with bands that would later become nationally known, CBGB was far from a financial success. Per Kristal, it was not until sometime in 1976 that the club started paying for itself. During this time, he also established two “set in stone” rules that would go on to define the ethos of this establishment. Bands had to play original material only and they had to move their own gear. In return, Kristal would allot most of the door money to the bands, encouraging them to develop a following and return.
That first year was an exercise in persistence and a trial in patience. My determination to book only musicians who played their own music instead of copying others, was indomitable. Originality (to me) was prime, technique took second place.
Hilly Kristal
Within a few years, CBGB was a known place for local artists of all kinds to experiment, play and do whatever they want – as long as it was original. It would only be a matter of time before acts based outside of New York City would begin to appear. In 1977, The Damned played a show there that marked the first time a British punk band ever played in America. Elvis Costello later opened shows there and The Police would also play their first American gigs here. As the 1980s rolled on, CBGB became primarily a haven for hardcore punk and metal acts.
With its growing success, the club was able to expand a little and a neighboring storefront soon become the CBGB Record Canteen, a record shop and cafe. In the late 80s, this was converted into an art gallery and second performance space. This would be a place for the “other” musical acts to perform, catering to fans of folk, jazz or experimental music.
Sadly, the turn of the century would begin the downfall of this iconic music venue. CBGB would soon enter into a protracted dispute over allegedly unpaid rent amounts. In 2005, atop its normally paid monthly rent of $19,000, CBGB was sued for some $90,000 in rent allegedly owed to its landlord, Bowery Residents’ Committee. Kristal claimed, and the court would later agree, that he was not properly notified about the increase in rent, marking the debt invalid. However, the two sides were unable to come terms on a new rental agreement and the soon-to-expire lease would not be renewed.
The last show at CBGB took place on October 15, 2006 and was broadcast live on Sirius Satellite Radio. Fittingly, New York City and club legend Patti Smith was the headliner, aided by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Television’s Richard Lloyd. Smith’s rendition of “Gloria” was notably interlaced with snippets of The Ramone’s classic “Blitzkrieg Bop.” And during “Elegie,” the final encore, Smith named musicians and other music figures who had died since playing at CBGB. This marked a somewhat somber end for a venue that was undeniably full of life for decades.
Talking Heads play CBGB in 1977
Even though no more music is played here, the legacy of CBGB continues to live on. It remained open as CBGB Fashions—retail store, wholesale department, and an online store—until October 31, 2006. And in 2008, fashion designer John Varvatos opened a store there, although in tasteful fashion. Aside from a few needed upgrades, the entire interior of the club remained the same – stickers, graffiti and all – as it housed CBGB memorabilia and clothes for sale. It even has its own movie that came out in 2013.
Aside from the venue itself, CBGB Radio would later launch on the iHeartRadio platform in 2010. CBGB music festivals would later begin to sprout in 2012. And the following year, the building itself at 315 Bowery was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Bowery Historic District.
CBGB was founded in 1973 on the Bowery, in a former nineteenth-century saloon on the first floor of the Palace Lodging House. The legendary music venue fostered new genres of American music, including punk and art rock, that defined the culture of downtown Manhattan in the 1970s, and that still resonate today. In this role as cultural incubator, CBGB served the same function as the theaters and concert halls of the Bowery’s storied past.
National Park Service nomination form
The spirit of CBGB and the early punk era also lives on through new forms of audio storytelling like the immersive audio walks created by arts and culture app, Gesso. Their Punks + Poets audio walk begins in Washington Square Park and ends in Tompkins Square Park, illuminating the birth of punk music in the area.
It’s truly amazing that such a small club could leave such a big impact on society. The music it inspired and the artists it gave a home to read like a Who’s Who of rock music. Kristal’s willingness to pivot from his original vision and adapt to the surge of new wave and punk rock that the 70s and 80s brought with it helped define a generation of music.
For one last look at CBGB the way it was, check out the video below.
Prog Metal legends System Of A Down have announced three stadium events for Summer 2025.
The first will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on August 27 and 28 with Korn; the second show to be held atSoldier Field in Chicago, IL, on August 31 with Avenged Sevenfold, and the final show at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, ON, on September 3 with Deftones. Special guests Polyphia and Wisp will open for all three shows.
As the most inspired, impactful, and inimitable rock band of the 21st century, System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide, earned a GRAMMY® Award, and headlined arenas, festivals, and stadiums on multiple continents, worldwide. Formed in Los Angeles, the group have soundtracked personal, political, sonic, and spiritual revolution since the 1998 release of their multi-platinum self-titled debut. The quartet have consistently sold out shows worldwide and regularly register over 23.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, making them one of the most-listened to rock/alternative bands in the world. System of a Down is Daron Malakian [guitars, vocals], Serj Tankian [vocals, keys], Shavo Odadjian [bass], and John Dolmayan [drums].
Korn changed the world with the release of their self-titled debut album. It was a record that would pioneer a genre, while the band’s enduring success points to a larger timeless, cultural moment. Since forming, Korn has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, collected two GRAMMY®s, toured the world countless times, and set many records in the process that will likely never be surpassed. Korn has continued to push the limits of the rock, alternative and metal genres, while remaining a pillar of influence for legions of fans and generations of artists around the globe.
Korn – Albany, March 2022 – photo by Zak Radick
Avenged Sevenfold have sold millions of albums worldwide, earned two consecutive No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart (2010’s Nightmare and 2013’s Hail To The King), have over a billion video views and a billion-plus Spotify streams, as well as multiple No. 1 singles on rock radio. The band (comprising M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ and Brooks Wackerman) is equally known for their spectacular live shows, selling out arenas and headlining the world’s most prestigious rock festivals as well as always being at the forefront of rapidly changing technology, cultural mile markers, and new ways for communities to engage.
Formed in Sacramento, CA in 1988, Deftones are one of the most influential alternative bands in the world. The band, comprised of Chino Moreno, Frank Delgado, Stephen Carpenter, and Abe Cunningham, has released nine studio albums, with the most recent release being GRAMMY®-nominated Ohms. Deftones’ culture is revered as one of the most fervent that exists.
Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning on Wednesday, December 11. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on Friday, December 13 at 12 pm at LiveNation.com
Nineteen eighty-seven was undoubtedly “the year of the Anthrax.” The Queens thrash metal band released their third album, Among The Living, which elevated them from underground thrash metal heroes to wider acclaim.
The first show of that tour was at a club in Rochester, in May 1987. In Albany they played a half-filled Palace Theatre that same month and then toured both nationally and internationally for the rest of the year. Among the Living garnered wider record sales and great reviews, and they had a surprise hit when b-side hip-hop/metal crossover song “I’m The Man” broke big. By December 1987 Anthrax were headlining large theaters and small arenas – including this packed-out show at Poughkeepsie’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center.
This show had a bulletproof triple-bill, with two fantastic opening acts: Bay Area thrashers Exodus, promoting second album Pleasures Of The Flesh, and the mighty Swiss heavies, Celtic Frost on their Into The Pandemonium tour.
Exodus guitarists Rick Hunholt and Gary Holt – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Exodus and Celtic Frost switched playing first and second throughout this tour, and in Poughkeepsie Exodus opened. They blasted through a quick 6-song set, mostly tracks from the new Pleasures album like “Faster Than You’ll Ever Live to Be,” but some tracks from that classic first album Bonded By Blood (“Piranha,” “And Then There Were None”) and a cover of AC/DC’s “Overdose” dedicated to Celtic Frost drummer Reed St. Mark, for his birthday.
Exodus vocalist Steve Souza – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Celtic Frost played next, and this was their classic Tom Warrior/Martin Ain/Reed St. Mark lineup, and they were amazing. They opened with “The Usurper,” from second album To Mega Therion, an absolute blast of real metal greatness and played a mix from all three of their records. Then-new album, Into The Pandemonium, was different from the guttural early thrash of the first two records, definitely not a sell-out or commercial compromise (they’d do that the next year with the shitty Cold Lake record), but kind of adventurously artsy-fartsy, or “avant garde” as all the reviews called it.
However, the adventurous third record didn’t translate live as well as those earlier songs, so the set had a few new songs (including their cover of Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio,” and the more traditionally thrash “Inner Sanctum”) but relied more on earlier songs like the crushing “Circle of the Tyrants” and the chugging, head-stomping show-closer “Procreation (of the Wicked).”
Celtic Frost drummer Reed St. Mark – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Drummer Reed received a “Happy Birthday” salute-song onstage, with silly string from the other bands, before Frost concluded their set. Great stuff from a band at their peak, but sadly this lineup’s last show was a few days later when this tour ended, after which drummer St. Mark and iconic bassist Martin Ain departed the band, and mainman Tom Warrior assembled a new lineup which would produce the 1988 blunder Cold Lake, an ill-advised foray into hair metal which destroyed the band’s reputation for some time.
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Anthrax then hit the stage to huge mosh pits with new album title track “Among The Living,” and played mostly songs from their second and third records: “Caught in a Mosh,” “Indians,” “Medusa,” “Armed & Dangerous,” etc., with only “Metal Thrashing Mad” from first album, Fistful of Metal. The response was huge, and the set finished with key thrasher “A.I.R.,” which had a mid-song sidetrack into “I’m The Man” (singer Joey Belladonna taking over drums while the other band members took the mic and guitarist Danny Spitz chugged along on guitar), back into “A.I.R.,” followed by an encore cover of the Sex Pistols’ “God Save The Queen” and the total thrash of “Gung-Ho!” to conclude the night. A ripping set, and a legendary thrash metal triple-bill.
Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Anthrax setlist: Among The Living, Caught In A Mosh, Metal Thrashing Mad, I Am The Law, Madhouse, Indians, Medusa, NFL, Armed & Dangerous, A.I.R., I’m The Man, A.I.R. (cont’d), God Save The Queen, Imitation of Life/Gung Ho!
On a late-fall Sunday evening in Albany, Nine Inch Nails brought their “Further Down the Spiral Tour” to the Knickerbocker Arena (now MVP Arena). The December 4, 1994 performance was notable not just for the opening acts – Marilyn Manson and Jim Rose Circus – but also a show cut short when a fan threw a shoe at the head of NIN drummer, Chris Vrenna.
Ticket stub – Nine Inch Nails, Albany, NY – December 4, 1994
The second part of Nine Inch Nails’ Self Destruct Tour saw shows in Buffalo and New York City coming on either side of the Albany show, and following the release of the critically acclaimed album The Downward Spiral. With recent performances that summer – not only the legendary mud show at Woodstock 94, but also in Poughkeepsie at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center a few weeks prior on August 3, 1994 – the Albany show was hotly anticipated by grunge loving teens.
And while this show’s openers were Marilyn Manson and Jim Rose Circus, other openers this tour included bands from the grunge era – Hole, The Melvins and Pop Will Eat Itself.
Manson and his band were introduced onto the stage by the Jim Rose Circus, with a lineup including serial killer inspired aliases – Daisy Berkowitz (guitar), Twiggy Ramirez (bass), Madonna Wayne Gacy (keyboard) and Sara Lee Lucas (drums). This was among the first times fans could see the controversial Marilyn Manson live, and while memories of the opening set are fleeting – the 30 minute set likely began close to the ticket time of 7:30pm, with many fans still waiting to get inside – one fan recalls from Manson’s set a vulgar tirade directed at a young woman in the crowd.
Both before, during and especially after Manson’s set, hundreds of fans in seated sections rushed down the aisles past security, packing the floor to nearly uncomfortable levels even before Jim Rose Circus took the stage. The ensuing snarl of bodies on the floor meant the circus – a freak show, really – meant that there were many more eyes on the stage for graphic stunts. The modern-day circus freak show that first made its name at Lollapalooza 1992, had interjections from Rose who kept the crowd on the hook as ringmaster, guiding the captive audience through a series of tricks and stunts taking place across the stage.
Early 1994 NIN Tour After-Show Pass
Among the acts were swallowing and regurgitating razor blades, smashing a cinder block on a strongman’s chest, ‘eating’ sparks from a grinding machine, and one member of the circus taking a unstrung 1970s tennis racket (smaller than today) and squeezing his entire body through the racket, slowly but surely dislocating appendages and succeeding in the act. For the more adventurous, click here to see what the performance included, but for those in attendance, time has thankfully aided in forgetting some of this set.
Note – I was a week away from turning 17, and still to this day, have only rushed the floor at a concert once. While the Nine Inch Nails performance was as memorable as could be, the Jim Rose Circus interlude has stuck with me for 30 years. I don’t know where my seats actually were for the show, but they sure weren’t on the floor. Of all the times to rush the floor and crowd near the stage…
photo by Paul Carter
And for the next 20 minutes or so as the freak show went away and a screen lowered behind Nine Inch Nails’ gear, the anticipation grew steadily for an already GRAMMY-winning band (Best Metal Performance – “Wish”) to play songs from the new album, as well as the previous seven ‘halos‘. What would amount to a 74-minute show due to the aforementioned shoe to the head, was nothing short of memorable, albiet confusing at the end.
The Nine Inch Nails lineup for this tour included frontman Trent Reznor (vocals, guitar, keys), Robin Finck (guitar, keys, backing vocals), Danny Lohner (bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Chris Vrenna (drums), and James Woolley (keys, programming, backing vocals). With a sepia-toned screen/banner behind the band, projections followed along with the music as themes of darkness, death and generally disturbing imagery were shone, adding a visual layer to a band that drew heavily on imagery in music videos for “Closer” and “Hurt,” in addition to previous videos.
Ticket stub – Nine Inch Nails, Albany, NY – December 4, 1994
The band went through the setlist (seen below) as they likely did for many shows that tour – a good deal of The Downward Spiral songs, plus some older songs, and the anger-filled anthem “Head Like a Hole” closing the show. It was during this song that someone in the audience threw a shoe (rumored to be a boot, but alas, a sneaker) and hit drummer Chris Vrenna in the head. Presumably, someone threw someone else’s shoe, making it easier to avoid being caught for the offending toss.
Vrenna finished the song, the band left the stage, and a few moments later, an announcement would come over the public address system, saying “The drummer suffered a concussion. The band is unable to continue.â With that, the lights were up and the show was over. Confusion abounded but the crowd was shuffled out towards South Pearl Street, an abrupt ending to an epic evening.
Without a basis for pop-culture shoe-throwing references, this notable tennis shoe toss was relegated to urban legend status, as the incident took place a full three years before Austin Powers coined the phrase “Who throws a shoe, honestly?” and 14 years before an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at then-President Bush.
photo by Paul Carter
On December 17, 1994, the Daily Gazette gave brief mention of the show in the “Spotlight” section of the paper by writer M.L., under the heading “Really Nailed.”
“For Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna, the show ends when the shoe hits him in the head. The Nails refused to come back for an encore after their Dec. 4 show at the Knickerbocker Arena when Vrenna was beaned in the noggin by a sneaker thrown by rowdy fans, according to Soo Hyun, a music publicist in New York City.”
It does not seem though that Vrenna had a concussion, but given the circumstances and sudden stopping of the show, giving the audience a reason was paramount at the time.
This author’s NIN cap from the 90s, still in good/used condition
M.L. continues, “Although the show left a nice bruise on Vrenna’s head, it seems the offending sneaker injured the drummer’s pride more than his body, Hyun said. “There was no damage, it was just a shoe,” Hyun said. “He’s played while bleeding before without any problems.”
The show marked a first for Vrenna, as it was the first time he had been hit while performing on stage by fan throw items. Hyun continued “While fans often chuck objects at the band during their shows, the Knick concert was the first time that Vrenna has been struck while playing. They really expect this kind of stuff to happen.
Luckily, two audience recordings of this show are available here (Sony ECM-155 + Aiwa J505) and here (Sonic Studio DSM6 Mics + Sony TCD-D7). The recordings are decent for the time period, with a little chatter over ambient sections of songs. A close listen to “Head Like a Hole” may indicate when in the song Vrenna was struck – Head, meet Sole – but kept playing til the end.
The memory of the non-encore stands out, and looking back on setlists of the tour, “Closer” and “Something I Can Never Have” were among the songs the crowd missed out on. Still, between rushing the floor, a musical freak, a freak show, and Nine Inch Nails, the night of December 4, 1994 at the Knickerbocker Arena was nothing short of memorable.
Ticket stub – Nine Inch Nails, Albany, NY – December 4, 1994
While no video footage of the show exists, you can view the Nine Inch Nails performance a few days later at Madison Square Garden, on December 7 and 9, 1994, which shows what the entire show in Albany would have been like, encore and all.
Nine Inch Nails – December 4, 1994 – The Knickerbocker Arena, Albany
Setlist: Pinion. Mr. Self Destruct, Sin, March of the Pigs, Piggy, Reptile, Gave Up, Happiness in Slavery, Eraser, Hurt, The Downward Spiral, Wish, Suck, The Only Time, Down In It, Head Like a Hole
You want a rock concert? A mosh-pitting, floor-bouncing, head-yelling, crowd-surfing rock show? That’s exactly what Telescreens brought to Webster Hall on November 19. Hometown fans crowded the 1,500-person Grand Ballroom and for a few hours were swept up in the power of rock.
Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
Telescreens formed after frontman and lead guitarist Jackson Hamm moved to New York to attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. There he met keyboardist Josiah Valerius and bassist/keyboardist Austin Brenner in 2016. The final member of the band, drummer Oliver Graf, joined the other three in 2019 – adding to their explosive sound. The band started playing gigs around the city before COVID-19 but was forced to stop because of the pandemic. Since their return to live touring, they’ve played Austin City Limits and Governor’s Ball.
Telescreens Credit Aidan Lukomnik
On Tuesday, hometown bands Skorts and Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun opened the show. Skorts amped the crowd up with head-banging energy and a light show with more than enough fog to fill the room. The one problem was Skorts’ drummer hidden in a wall of mist. Following Skorts, the multi-hyphenate singer/ comedian/ interviewer Kareem Rahma came on stage with his trademark sunglasses – which he never took off. Playing off his success as a video creator, the band’s song “Content Machine” got the audience jumping as the singer poked fun at his other jobs.
Kareem Rahma Credit Aidan Lukomnik
By the time Telescreens came on, the audience was ready, and a moshpit formed almost immediately. Within the first two songs Jackson Hamm jumped from the stage into the crowd to re-form the pit in the middle of the room. Once he was back on stage, moshing started again, and the floor of the ballroom roiled like the ocean – visibly shaking and bouncing from the audience’s movement.
Throughout the night, Hamm encouraged the audience to lose themselves to the music, asking them to “take this as an opportunity to push yourself a little out of your comfort zone.” The lead singer also admonished wallflowers who weren’t engaging with the music, “You on the sides, why do you wanna be so fucking cool?”
Jackson Hamm reforms the Moshpit, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
It’s clear that Hamm believes in the power of rock. Throughout the set, the singer and guitarist worked up a sweat and, at one point, said: This [Rock and Roll] is like a religion. You have to believe it will make you feel better. You’re not supposed to stand there with your arms crossed. You’re supposed to move your feet. You’re supposed to get your heart rate up.
Telescreens, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
As the night wore on, mosh pits formed and closed, and dozens of people crowd surfed, egged on by Hamm, who said, “Keep crowd surfing, that shit feels good, I promise.” As crowd surfing escalated, Webster Hall had to call in extra security to ensure everyone was safe.
A crowd surfer, Credit Aidan Lukomnik
Telescreens ended their set with Hamm ripping chords, jumping from the stage to the crowd and back (again), and the band leaving it all out for their hometown fans.
The first and most comprehensive history of the birthplace of punk music, CBGB, has just been re-issued by Trouser Press Books, an all-music imprint headed by veteran music journalist Ira Robbins.
A History of CBGB – by Roman Kozak
Originally published in 1988 and out of print for decades, This Ain’t No Disco: The Story of CBGB is a warts-and-all history of the legendary Bowery venue related by nearly 100 of the insiders who performed, worked and braved pre-gentrification Downtown NYC to witness the birth of punk music. Written long before the legend overtook the reality — while the club was still open and most of the principals alive — this is the real story told in gritty, outrageous and sometimes hilarious detail by onetime Billboard Magazine editor, the late Roman Kozak. The 2024 edition includes a new forward by Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, 12 pages of photos by Ebet Roberts, and a post-script by Ira Robbins that takes the story forward from 1988 to the October 2006 shuttering of the club.
Kozak’s book includes unguarded quotes from CBGB found Hilly Kristal, Joey and Dee Dee Ramone (the Ramones), Chris Stein and Clem Burke (Blondie), Richard Hell and Richard Lloyd (Television), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Annie Golden (The Shirts), David Byrne (Talking Heads), Seymour Stein (Sire Records) and many more.
As a member of several of the more than 10,000 bands that performed at the club in its 33-year run, it was a treat to take a trip back … without having to once again experience the foul ambiance of its legendary and always-broken bathrooms!
CBGB came about when its owner, Hilly Kristal, a wannabe singer, left his former bar in the West Village for the grimy Lower East Side to escape the noise complaints of his Greenwich Village neighbors. His short-lived attempt at a country music venue, one with sure to fail breakfast time gigs, would be shelved when Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd of Television lied their way into a performance in March 1974. Television’s stint would shortly attract other bands, including The Ramones, the first act signed to a major label, a quartet that could crank out 20-song sets in 17 minutes or less. By the end of the year, CBGB, which would initially feature other kinds of music along with comedians, would become an all-rock venue.
The first two years of CBGB would be hand-to-mouth, with Hilly living on a cot in the back of the club and supplementing his income by buying a truck and starting a moving business, one that employed his favorite starving musicians like the members of The Shirts. Various musicians and staffers humorously relate memories of dodging the many “care packages” left on the floor by Hilly’s dog, Jonathan, and the suspect quality of Hilly’s infamous chili and hamburgers. Mink Deville claims Jonathan was the source of the crabs he got four times in the seedy but beloved club. And there is much talk in the book about the decrepit bathrooms, for their sub-Third World sanitary conditions and where the truly brave might partake in the classic drug-and-sex combo. “You could always see four feet in the bathroom stall,” said Dick Manitoba.
The book contains interesting facts about the humble and initially stumbling beginnings of the early CB’s bands who would become legends, including Blondie and Talking Heads. Elda Stiletto and busy backup singers/present-day cosmetic company giants, Tish and Snooky, tell of Blondie’s early days, the gestation in Elda’s band, and false starts as Angel and Blondie and the Banzai Babies before settling on a firm lineup anchored by drummer Clem Burke. Another memorable night was when Talking Heads and The Shirts auditioned together. Hilly loved the first because they were “neat” and carried “very little equipment.” And though they didn’t reach the commercial heights of other early CBGB bands, The Shirts would prove Kristal’s favorite. He would go on to manage them, secure their three-album deal with Capital Records, and a role for their lead singer, the now busy actress Annie Golden, in Milos Foreman’s movie version of the Broadway musical Hair.
The Dead Boys – photo by Ebet Roberts – the History of CBGB
CBGB began to pick up steam with the arrival of Patti Smith, who had a four-day-a-week, seven-week residency in Spring 1975. Kristal compares the excitement to comic Lenny Bruce’s residency at the Village Vanguard when Hilly was helping manage the club for owner Max Gordon. The two-week CBGB Rock Festival in July 1975 wouldn’t bring in a huge amount of cash, but it generated tons of press from outlets like The Soho Weekly News, Village Voice, etc. Writer Legs McNeil, the man who popularized the term “punk” appropriated from a favorite term of TV’s Kojack, called CBGB “a juvenile delinquent hangout, where everyone was equal because they were broke.” To Richard Lloyd, it gained traction because “it was a reaction to hippie stadium music.” By 1976, the club started making money, and one of the essential ingredients of success began to happen: the girls started coming in droves, according to Tish and Snooky. In July 1976, CBGB invested in a new sound system, which would be ripped off then replaced, making it the best-sounding live room in New York City and maybe the world. It became a venue that would attract artists from around the globe, including the then-unsigned Police, who played for an audience of 10 in July 1977.
There is lots of good dish on Hilly’s failed ventures, like his short-lived CBGB Theater on Second Avenue, the proposed punk rock sitcom, TVCBGB and his ill-fated management of another popular attraction, The Dead Boys. The book also relates how CBGB’s slow burn rep as the birthplace of punk was usurped a bit by the UK – the rapid rise of the Sex Pistol and the appropriation of the spiked hair and torn t-shirt originated by Richard Hell. When the club launched it was the only game in town for bands playing original music, a refuge where virtually anyone could get a shot at their Monday audition nights. But by the 1980s, CBGB would have competition from new clubs like Hurrah, The Ritz, Danceteria, The Peppermint Lounge, the Mudd Club and more. But most would not survive the decade.
But even with all this buzz, CBGB-style punk was “poison as far as record companies were concerned.” Except for Blondie, whose breakthrough came from a disco infusion in their #1 singer “Heart of Glass,” CBGB bands didn’t move platinum units of vinyl or CDs or get much radio airplay. Bands like latter-day favorites, the chainsaw-wielding, car-blowing-up Wendy Williams and her Plasmatics, had to make their living on the road.
The History of CBGB – Owner Hilly Kristal, photo by Ebet Roberts
In the mid- and late-1980s, CBGB would birth another musical genre – hardcore. It’s Sunday hardcore matinees did big business at the door but not much at the bar, as many devotees were underage or straight arrows who didn’t drink beer. One CBGB barkeep recalls: “We could make $2,000 at the door and only $200 at the bar.” Bands like Murphy’s Law, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Bad Brains, The Beastie Boys, and Damage were featured; some also on cassette-only releases of live performances on a CBGB imprint created with Celluloid Records. Many of these and other new artists would have their albums featured at a new satellite, CBGB’s Record Canteen.
Kozak wraps up his history in 1988, well before the legend was glammed up via the 2013 feature film and the ridiculously “reopened CBGB” restaurant at Newark Airport. Trouser Press’s Ira Robbins provides a coda detailing Hilly’s losing battle with his landlord and the August 2006 benefit concert that attempted to save the club. (Note: this reporter did PR for that event pro-bono during his agency days. He also had his electric mandolin stolen at the club! The first gig by my long-running project, Spaghetti Eastern Music, took place at CBGB Gallery in 2003).
Kozak’s tale concludes with one of many significant observations in the book from guitarist/writer/record producer Lenny Kaye, a thought posited on the Lower East Side’s new monied residents.
“The key and glory of CBGB is that they’ve never gotten too big for their britches. They’ve never gone above their own Bowery station…even though the Bowery is above its own station now.”
Papa Roach and Rise Against Announce the Rise of the Roach North American Tour. They will hit Syracuse on Sep. 11 and Wantagh on Sep. 13, 2025.
Papa Roach will join forces with Rise Against and special guest Underoath to embark on the first North American legs of the Rise of the Roach Tour in the spring and fall of 2025, marking a significant milestone as the two legendary rock bands unite for their first-ever outing together.
After the original, sold-out, UK and Europe legs of the tour, Rise of the Roach now continues throughout North America in 2025. The tour will hit over 30 major cities through the U.S. across two legs, including a stop at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, on Saturday, Sep. 13, and Empower FCU Amphitheater in Syracuse on Wednesday, Sep. 11.
Papa Roach will celebrate 25 years of their debut album Infest on tour by playing iconic tracks and fan-favorite deep cuts from their entire catalog. Rise Against is also celebrating 25 years since their formation and will be performing fan favorites and hits from its whole catalog. This tour will see the biggest production from Papa Roach to date. Both Papa Roach and Rise Against will perform some of the biggest hits in the Alternative Hard Rock genre on one stage every night.
General on-sale beginning on Thursday, November 14 at 10 am. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
Papa Roach & Rise Against: “Rise of the Roach” Tour Dates:
Thu Mar 20 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sat Mar 22 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
Sun Mar 23 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Tue Mar 25 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Wed Mar 26 – San Diego, CA – Gallagher Square at Petco Park
Fri Mar 28 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
Sat Mar 29 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
Mon Mar 31 – Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Tue Apr 01 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Thu Apr 03 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
Sat Apr 05 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
In the 1980s, Iron Maiden led the charge in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, guiding heavy metal music into a resurgence in popularity. A younger generation of hard rock fans embraced Iron Maiden and other NWOBHM bands that injected the intensity of punk rock into the more polished heavy metal sound of the 1970s.
As impactful as that new genre of music became in the 1980s, few bands survived beyond that era. Decades later, Iron Maiden still rules the heavy metal world. Forming in 1975 in London, England, Iron Maiden reached its widest mainstream appeal with a series of platinum albums and arena-headlining tours in the 1980s. Perhaps indicating another possible resurgence, the band’s 17th and most recent album, Senjutsu, recorded in 2019 and released in 2021, proved to be Iron Maiden’s highest-charting album in the United States.
Senjutsu (Japanese: 戦術, “Tactics”) was the band’s first album of new songs in six years. Despite fluctuating record sales, Iron Maiden’s tours have maintained high drawing power. Part of the success of the band’s tours in the 2000s was the return of vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the fold in 1999. Since their return, Iron Maiden stabilized as a sextet, with founder and bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Dave Murray and Janick Gers, and drummer Nicko McBrain, who is touring despite suffering a stroke in January 2023.
The latter part of Iron Maiden’s The Legacy of the Beast World Tour in 2022 introduced audiences to three songs from Senjutsu, but the overall setlist was largely a retrospective repertoire. The current The Future Past World Tour, which began in Europe in 2023 and will end this December in South America, includes five songs from Senjutsu, five songs from 1986’s Somewhere in Time, and five other songs, mostly from the 1980s. Fan favorites like “Run for the Hills” were omitted on this tour.
At Barclay Center, as at other tour stops, the house music blasted at 8:50 p.m. with UFO’s “Doctor Doctor,” followed by Vangelis’ instrumental “End Titles” from the 1982 science fiction film BladeRunner. Indeed, the graphics of the stage setting soon referenced the futuristic cyberpunk style associated with that film. The center back of the stage showed two animated videos of Iron Maiden’s mascot, Eddie the Head, the cyborg version on the left and the samurai on the right. Within seconds, a center panel revealed an artistic rendition of a barren, dystopian-looking city street in Japan in the dark of night.
The musicians began the synthesized bass and guitar introduction of “Caught Somewhere in Time,” the opening track from the 1986 album, Somewhere in Time. The front line of Harris, Smith, Murray and Gers immediately made use of the entire stage, pacing everywhere as they played their instruments. Wearing dark goggles and an open calf-length coat, Dickinson ran onto the stage, spun his microphone stand high above him, and added to the high energy. The now-standing audience sang loudly to the repetitive one-line chorus.
Dickinson was remarkable on stage. The 66-year-old’s soaring, operatic-style vocals were remarkably strong and brilliantly clear, especially considering that he has survived bouts of cancer on his tongue, neck and throat. He also moved amazingly well, continuously leaping across the stage, thanks to a recent hip replacement and five and a half inches of titanium hammered into his femur. Iron Maiden’s three-guitar structure extended nearly every song to showcase the talents in the band. Flighty solos, harmonious twin and triple guitar leads, and even a few brief duels superbly filled out the songs. Several times, Dickinson took advantage of these interludes to walk offstage and change his wardrobe.
In addition to all the futuristic visuals that accompanied Iron Maiden’s music, a 10-foot-tall Eddie made three appearances. The creature’s first cameo was during the second song, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Appearing as a cyborg, parts of his internal musculature were exposed and his eyes glowed bright under his cowboy hat. Eddie returned to the stage during “Heaven Can Wait” and engaged with Dickinson in a gun battle, illuminated by pyrotechnics. Eddie’s final cameo was during the song “Iron Maiden,” in which he appeared as a samurai, threatening Gers with a giant katana sword.
Iron Maiden concluded the main set with the song “Iron Maiden,” which was recorded when Paul Di’Anno was the lead singer. Di’Anno died this past October 21 at age 66. The cause of death has not been disclosed, but he suffered health issues in recent years that restricted him to performing in a wheelchair. The band returned on stage for a three-song encore. The musicians and their fans maintained the same high level of energy for two hours. As the musicians took their final bows, a recording of the Monty Python song, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” played through the arena’s speakers, finally reducing the temperature of the event.
Iron Maiden is far from finished. Although the band has no plans for recording new music between now and then, Iron Maiden this past September announced its next tour. The Run for Your Lives world tour will begin in May 2025 in Budapest, Hungary. The tour will celebrate Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary with an elaborate stage show and a setlist comprised of selected songs exclusively from the band’s first nine albums, from 1980’s Iron Maiden to 1992’s Fear of the Dark. American dates have not yet been announced.
Iron Maiden – Barclays Center, Brooklyn – Saturday, November 2, 2024
Setlist: Caught Somewhere in Time, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Writing on the Wall, Days of Future Past, The Time Machine, The Prisoner, Death of the Celts, Can I Play with Madness, Heaven Can Wait, Alexander the Great, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, Hell on Earth, The Trooper, Wasted Years
