Monday 18th October: ANTI-FLAG at Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona

Got back from Portugal just in time to catch Pittsburgh’s favorite punks at ‘Vans Off The Wall Music Night’, which included The Swellers and Pulled Apart By Horses. Right before the show, Anti-Flag went beyond the traditional ‘Meet & Greet’ and invited Rock Zone magazine and a few lucky fans to join them for lunch at a vegan restaurant. Anyone who’s seen them live can testify that their shows are a tour de force, but unfortunately they weren’t able to fill the venue this time around.

Wednesday 20th October: AVENGED SEVENFOLD at Sant Jordi Club, Barcelona

On the other hand, Avenged Sevenfold sold out in less than a week and had to upgrade the venue. Their first and only concert on Spanish soil made it one of the most highly anticipated gigs of the year (I heard people camped out for three days). Great show. Moving tribute to ‘The Rev’. But honestly, for a band that’s reinventing metal and with five albums under their belts, they should have given us more than 1hr and 15min.

Thursday 21st October: THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM at the Hammersmith Apollo, London

If you’ve never seen these guys live, shame on you! Make damn sure to catch them, next time they come to a town near you. You’ll thank me No bullshit egos, just four guys from New Jersey, playing honest music, filled with heart and soul. I’ve never seen anyone so genuinely happy and grateful to be on stage every night. It was their biggest U.K show to date. Here’s their AMAZING set list:

High Lonesome

Stay Lucky

Bring It On

The Diamond Church Street Choir

Old White Lincoln

Even Cowgirls Get The Blues

Old Haunts

Wherefore Art Thou

Casanova, Baby!

I Coul’da Been A Contender

Miles Davis And The Cool

Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts

Ida Called You Woody, Joe

Angry Johnny And The radio

The Queen Of Lower Chelsea

Film Noir

The Spirit Of Jazz

Señor And The Queen

Great Expectations

The ’59 Sound

We Did It When We Were Young

Encore:

She Loves You

American Slang

The Boxer

The Patient Ferris Wheel

Here’s Lookin’ At You, Kid

The Backseat

Friday 22nd October: ALTER BRIDGE at the Hammersmith Apollo, London

How can anyone not love Alter Bridge? This is a band that has all the great qualities of an 80s hard rock band (remember Bon Jovi? Scorpions? Guns’n'Roses?), those catchy choruses, those power ballads, those heart stopping guitar solos, with the added touch of 90s alternative rock. They’ve got that EPIC arena rock sound. And so what if they’re ‘radio friendly’ or ‘commercial’, so is Incubus, Metallica, hell, even Rammstein! You can’t deny that Myles Kennedy is one of the greatest rock’n'roll singers of all time. His dynamic vocal range is unmatched! London appreciates good music, they practically sold out the Hammersmith Apollo’s 5000 capacity. STELLAR show!

Oh and lets not forget London’s SLAVES TO GRAVITY who supported them on their U.K dates. They rocked that stage like they owned it!

Saturday 23rd October: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE at the Hammersmith Apollo, London

One of the biggest bands of the last decade are ready to contaminate the world with their new record ‘Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys’. This was the very first show of their first tour in three years and it sold out in less than 5min. You can imagine what it was like, complete insanity. Read my full review in next months Rock Zone. Here’s a pretty good recording of the first three songs:

Sunday 24th October: SICK OF IT ALL and MADBALL at Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona

No sleep in 42hrs, but it had to be done if I wanted to make it back down to Barcelona for the ‘New York United’ tour with Sick Of It All and Madball. Hardcore at it’s best!

PHOTOS WILL BE UPLOADED SOON!

Then a couple of months ago, I received a very touching email from one of our readers. His name is Hernán Montenegro and he lives in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. We published his email in the June 2010 issue of Rock Zone. I posted a scan below. Here is the translation:

“Rock Zone, I want to introduce myself. My name is Hernán Montenegro, I’m 18 years old and I live in Mar Del Plata, part of Buenos Aires in Argentina. A few days ago, I was walking through the streets of my city, while passing a news stand, I noticed a copy of last years Rock Zone magazine (the one with Muse on the cover). What drew my attention was not Muse, but the smaller photograph: my four heroes and second from left, the love of my life, Mr. Havok. I don’t know if you’re aware of the devaluation of my country’s currency and how your money is worth four times the amount, but that didn’t matter to me and it didn’t stop me from purchasing the magazine. And when I saw the interview by Ms. Nadia Natario, I knew that it was worth every cent. I know that this is going to sound unbelievable, but this is the first time in my life that I hold in my hands a magazine with an interview of AFI (obviously they are not well known in my country) and after reading the (Crash Love) review by Jordi Meya, of the band that had a real impact on me, I’m going to explain myself. I first heard of AFI when I was 14 years old, thanks to a friends’ compilation which included the song ‘File 13′. You can imagine what it was like for me when I realized that it was the same band that wrote ‘Miss Murder’. But thanks to bootlegs, I was able to get ‘Shut You Mouth And Open Your Eyes’ and it blew me away! Then I got ‘Black Sails In The Sunset’, ‘The Art Of Drowning’, ‘Answer That And Stay Fashionable’, ‘Very Proud Of Ya’, ‘All Hallows’…every song I could hear on You Tube or download. Later on I got ‘Sing The Sorrow’ and ‘Decemberunderground’. I remember how excited I got with every song, the joy I felt listening to them when I was sad, the urge I felt to go on stage and sing and the wish I had to see them live. My search for original copies of AFI began with ‘Decemberunderground’ and then ‘Sing The Sorrow’, the only two records that are actually released in my country. But, I didn’t give up and I finally found an import of ‘Black Sails In The Sunset’ for $100 (in your country it would be a CD for 100€), but just like the magazine, I didn’t think about it and bought it. Looking at the CD booklet and listening to the actual record was amazing. Not owning an original copy of ‘Crash Love’ like I want to, still hurts, but I would need to save 120 pesos to order it. Being able to see AFI live in Argentina seems like a lost cause, but I never give up hope. They are my favorite band, the first band that I was devoted to, the band that introduced me to straight edge and veganism. They were my first tattoo, my first extremely expensive CD, the first band that made me laugh and cry, the band that gave me the courage to get on stage and sing without carrying about my image or how my voice sounded. They are the band that pushed me to make my own demos. I just wanted to thank you for giving me the chance to see AFI in a magazine and to read this interview. And for once, it’s something that gave my heart a moment of joy in this country in which AFI appear not to exist. Regards to you all.” (Hernán Montenegro)

Unfortunately, I didn’t make Rage Against The Machine’s victorious ‘Rage Factor’ event at Finsbury Park, but still had a blast at the ‘After-Party’. Now, if London wants to reach the same level of awesomeness as that of New York City, then they better start running their tube all night. It sucks having to leave a party early in order to catch the last train at…11:30?!?! Please, that’s just not cool.

The most exciting U.K hardcore/punk band, Gallows were supporting Cypress Hill at Brixton, so I was thrilled to be able to see them and shoot them again, the second time in two weeks. If you’ve never been to a Gallows gig, then you haven’t really lived. I’m serious; it’s a life changing experience. Make sure you have their albums ‘Grey Britain’ and ‘Orchestra Of Wolves’ and if not, go out and buy them NOW! There’s only one way to own an album and that’s the physical kind!! I also had a chance to interview Lags and Stu before the show. They are rad dudes. So make sure to pick up a copy of July’s Rock Zone magazine for news on the band. And for those of you in España, you can catch them at the Resurrection Fest; I’ll be there for sure

The following day I shot Stone Temple Pilots and I swear I never thought I’d see the day. I bought ‘Core’ the moment it hit the shelves, so it was a night of nostalgia. After seeing Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the early 90s, now I kind of feel ‘complete’. They were on top of their game; lets just hope it stays that way.

A few days ago, I flew back down to Barcelona, just in time to shoot Placebo Over the last 10 years, I’ve photographed them numerous times in 6 different countries, so I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! Their shows are always memorable. I spoke to Stefan about they’re incredible discography, which will also be out in Rock Zone.

Now I’ve got just enough time to repack my bags before a 14hr road trip to Switzerland and Germany. I’m getting used to living out of a suite-case, it’s not that bad, really.

Here are some Gallows for ya!

I’ve been a busy bee, spent the first half of the month in London covering AFI‘s return to Europe with a brilliant show at Brixton Academy (you can read my review in next months Rock Zone magazine). Once again, I had the pleasure of interviewing the fabulous Davey Havok (also for Rock Zone). We spoke about the making of ‘Sing The Sorrow‘. Some interesting points were revealed, so look out for that issue.

While in London, I also interviewed and photographed Dan Smith of The Dear & Departed. If you haven’t heard their new record ‘Chapters‘, go get it now! Trust me, you’ll love it. We had a chat about his musical influences, his record collection, our mutual love of Morrissey and his wicked tattoos. In case you didn’t know, Dan is also a tattooer currently working at High Voltage on La Brea in Los Angeles (you can also check him out alongside Kat Von D on the show LA Ink). So, if you’re in the area, drop by the shop.

I just about recovered from an insane weekend at Groezrock in Belgium, a two-day festival that almost got ruined by the volcano incident. Hung out with friends and shot some legendary punk/hardcore bands: Bad Religion, H2O, AFI, Pennywise and The Bronx to name a few.

All photos will be posted on my website shortly, so keep your eyes peeled, but for now, I leave you with the most memorable moment of Groezrock 2010, ‘What Happened’ during H2O’s set (I was on stage, it was EPIC):