I
arrived at the Wiltern around 5:00 PM and waited in line until 6:30
PM before they opened the doors. Luckily, I got the perfect spot. I
was up front against the barricade in the center. The show started
at 7:15 PM with opening band Danava, who were a trio that played
mostly instrumentals. They were interesting to an extent but
couldn't hold my attention for the whole set, even though they only
played 30 minutes.
The next band, Weedeater, started at 8:00 PM and played for the same duration. They didn't impress me much either. However, they had some good hooks and riffs, and were better than Danava.
The Melvins were
next to hit the stage at 9:00 PM. They played for 45 minutes. I
found them to be quite boring and I have no idea why they are on
this tour as the main support band. After a 30 minute wait, Down
hit the stage at 10:15 PM with opener “Eyes Of The South.”
The
crowd was really into it, singing along to each and every song. The
Wiltern wasn’t packed to capacity, but that didn't seem to matter,
as the people who were there more than made up for it! It was
amazing to see Phil Anselmo from so close. After all, this is the
guy who did vocals on all those great Pantera albums from the 90’s
and three Down albums! Down’s bass player Rex Brown was sitting out
the first few shows on the North American tour to address some
personal issues, and ex-Victorian Blitz bassist Danny Theriot was
filling in. I was disappointed, and I’m sure other fans were as
well. I hope he returns soon to full part in the studio for their
upcoming recording in October. They continued the show with songs
like “N.O.D.” and “New Orleans Is A Dying Whore,” after which came
the Dimebag Darrell tribute song titled “Lifer.” This song was the
best of the night in my opinion. I really enjoyed it and everyone
else seemed to enjoy it a lot too. “The Path” followed “Lifer.” Phil
talked a lot in between songs, thanked us for being there and then
introduced the stand-in bassist. Phil has some of the best stage
presence I’ve ever seen. He had the whole crowd under his control.
When he told us to head bang, we did it! When he told us to sing, we
did it! They played “Lysergik Funeral Procession” and “On March
the Saints” after this. Then they went back to the “NOLA” album to
play “Losing All,” another great song. Then came “Beneath the Tides”
from the 2007 album “Over the Under.” “Hail The Leaf” was played
after this. Then another great sing-along “Nothing In Return”
followed.
They
left the stage and came out again for the encore among loud shouts
of “Down! Down! Down!” Phil came back and told us how much he loves
us and playing in L.A. He said that we always give them a great
response, and dedicated “Temptation's Wings" to everyone there. The
crowd went nuts! I heard many people from the back shouting out for
this song the whole time, so I could definitely tell by their volume
that they felt great when it was played! They closed the night with
“Stone the Crow.” I felt their set was too short for a headliner,
but Down only has three albums of material so it must be hard to
make a good set list in terms of selection and duration. Overall,
I don't approve of the supporting line-up, but Down made up for it
with their highly energetic and captivating performance. The
stand-in bassist did a good job. The other members of the band,
guitarists’ Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein and drummer Jimmy Bower
were good on stage, although Phil was the major driving force for
their stage performance. At the end of it all I also managed to
score two Rex Brown bass picks!! I am glad I got to see this show
again on Tuesday, August 18th.
The set list included:
- Eyes of the South
- N.O.D.
- New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
- Lifer
- The Path
- Lysergik Funeral Procession
- On March the Saints
- Losing All
- Beneath the Tides
- Hail the Leaf
- Nothing In Return (Walk Away)
- Temptation's Wings
- Stone the Crow
