Metal Church, Armored Saint 6-05-16 Brick By Brick in San Diego

Just got back from the long drive from San Diego to Mesa, AZ and here’s my review of the show last night. It was at Brick By Brick. I had never been to that venue, but I was impressed. It ran like clockwork. There were four acts and they got the stage sets changed and the next band up quickly. It started right at 8:30 P.M., too. It was a jam-packed night of metal lasting until past midnight.

The first band up was Alchemy out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They had a lot of fans in the crowd. I saw quite a few Alchemy t-shirts. They were a very heavy band with screaming vocals. The next band up was Sin Circus. They played more of an accessible type of metal with clean vocals. One of their songs was a mix of a lot of instrumental parts of classics like “Breaking the Law,” “Bark at the Moon,” “Looks that Kill” (some vocals to that song), “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Hangar 18,” etc. They transitioned from song-to-song with ease. One thing cool about their set-up was they had two platforms for their guitarists and sometimes even the singer to stand up on. If I stood in the back, I would really appreciate that.







Now for the headliners. Metal Church was actually on before Armored Saint which surprised me. I wore the Mike Howe t-shirt I got from the pre-order bundle. It’s Mike Howe’s name in Metal Church block lettering. I posted a thread here a while back because I saw a video where it was said wearing the t-shirt of the band whose concert you’re seeing is lame. Someone posted a movie clip where a guy tells his buddy “Don’t be that guy.” Well, sometimes it pays to be “that guy.” The bundle came with two shirts. The other was the Metal Church XI shirt, but I thought the Mike Howe one would stand out more. Boy, was I right!

I got there right when the doors opened. Fans were already at the stage, so I found a spot on the right side (from my perspective) right up to the stage.  There was no gap between stage and fans. I stayed put for the first two bands and then it was Metal Church’s turn. 3:45 into their first song, “Fake Healer,” Mike Howe crouches down to look right at me (I’m short), and gives a little wave. I figured it was because of the shirt. A couple of times during the set he points towards me and talks to bandmates as if he’s bragging about the shirt. Not kidding!

During “Date With Poverty,” Mike walks over to my corner and crouches down. I was recording and had no idea what was going on. He reaches down with his palm up and I slapped his hand. A low five! Haha! I knew the shirt was a great idea. The fans around me were impressed.





The set was incredible. It was a nice mixture of pre-Howe era, first Howe-era, and new songs. I was happy to hear “Gods of Second Chance” and "No Friend of Mine" off Hanging in the Balance. I figured that might be a forgotten album.  I have a photo of the set list below. I recorded most of the songs if anyone wants me to upload a specific one. Howe had so much energy jumping around, just seemed to have a great time. The rest of the band seemed to feed off Howe’s enthusiasm. The crowd was also really into it and Mike got them involved singing “I’m a healeeeer,” lines from “Start the Fire,” “Watch the Children Pray,” “Date with Poverty,” etc. They were on a long time.





They blazed through the set and didn’t make us wait long for the encores (“Badlands” and “Human Factor”). After the last song, Mike gave copies of the set list to fans. He walked to my side, passed a set list to the outstretched hands and then crouched down and handed me one directly. It seemed like he was making sure I got one. I felt pretty special, I’ll admit.




After their set, they cleaned up and went to the merchandise area to sign autographs and take photos. Again, we didn’t have to wait long. When it was my turn with Mike, I introduced myself as one of the fans he called.  He turned away from me and got his phone. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. He gave his phone to someone and had him take a photo of us. “Make sure you get the shirt,” he said. LOL, kid you not! The guy I gave my phone to took a photo of us posing for the photo taken on Mike’s phone. I asked Mike if he was going to post it anywhere. “Ummmm, maaaaaybeeee. I hadn’t thought of it. Is that OK?” Of course I said, “Sure!” I’m not sure if he will post it but let me know if you see a photo of us anywhere. He signed my setlist, too.






I sacrificed my spot at the stage for Armored Saint to meet Mike Howe, but that was definitely well worth it. I don’t think Armored Saint played as long of a set as Metal Church. They started off blazing with “Win Hands Down” and “March of the Saint.” Other songs I remember: “An Exercise in Debauchery,” “Reign of Fire,” “Symbol of Salvation,” “Muscle Memory,” and “Paydirt.” My favorite, “Can U Deliver” was one of the encores. One fan would hold up the booklet to the CD each song was from. He did that for the WHOLE SET. He was in front of me, so I found it kind of annoying, but he was rewarded. The guitarist tossed him a pick and John Bush invited him up on stage after the show and had a photo taken with him. He also had photos with the other band members. He was obviously a huge fan and looked to be having the time of his life, so I was happy for him. Anyway, it was a great show!

That is friggin' awesome! Glad you had a great time and got to spend some quality time with Mike Howe. Great idea on wearing the MH logo shirt. Cool review.

Sorry, been real busy with work that I haven't been able to comment on this. Great review! Very close to how much I enjoyed the Whisky show the night before. Sadly I never got to meet the band (more on that later). I'll just piggy-back my review onto yours.

VENUE: My second time in the Whisky; my first time was actually onstage guesting guitar with an opening act back in '07. So it was rather cool being on the other side of the stage. For those who haven't actually been in there (I'm assuming everyone here has seen plenty of video), it's pretty tiny with an upstairs loft which houses the soundboard. Darkly lit, great acoustics for rock and metal. The crowd was packed as this show sold out a few weeks before.

VANTAGE POINT: Upstairs, right by the soundboard. Why, since we made it early enough to get up front? Because I'm getting old, haha. Seriously, Shawn and I are fans of watching near the soundboard--since that's where one gets the best sound. And it really was top quality. Besides, the venue is small enough that there was plenty to see.

OPENERS: Meh. I can't recall the first band, but they were an eclectic mix of a long-haired skinny kid who couldn't play to save his life, a drummer whose wardrobe resembled Emenim's, a muscle-bound middle-aged dad with a crew cut and no shortage of shredding skills, and Criss Oliva. Well, okay, it wasn't Criss, but he was sure hell-bent at sheer imitation in both vocal style and, um, girth. They did a bunch of metal covers pretty well but it's like they all belonged in different bands. Sin Circus--post-hardcore band founded by the two sons of MC bassist Steve Unger--were rather awful, I thought, though they had enough skill to play better music. It was just too Hot Topic for me.

METAL CHURCH: I got what I dreamed for since I was 13 for damn sure. These guys were on absolute fire. Kurdt was a beast (how tall is he, anyway?), tearing up a ivory Les Paul through a Marshall JCM head. Rick actually blew me away--as I've stated before I've thought him to be the most lackluster musician Kurdt ever brought on--and he even got a short guitar solo which was a bit of a barn-burner. Steve needs to change up his look a little since he sticks out like a sore thumb with the stoner/biker costume et al, but he was probably the most active musician of the group, walking the stage like a madman. Jeff is a monster drummer and was locked down the entire night. The mix was exceptional except for [COMPLAINT #1] Kurdt's guitar, which was drowning in lows and buried in the mix.

MIKE HOWE: Hell yeah! Dude is back with a VENGEANCE! Mike sounds no different in any way on the classics and even the Wayne material. In fact, compared to the Dynamo gig (you can find on youtube), he actually sounds BETTER. And in case anyone was wondering, no, they did not detune for the set. His most impressive work were the verses on In Mourning and, even more impressively, Reset, where he tops out his range on the verses with every breath. Making matters more intense was his stage presence, amped up a TON from the previous tours. In videos we've been able to see recently, he seemed rather comfortable and laid back, which I thought was fine. Here, however, he was total apeshit, jumping around like a madman, getting down in the crowd, and never missing a bit with his voice. He delivered 100% quality and was the highlight of the evening.

ARMORED SAINT: Now, keep in mind I'm not a mega-fan of Saint like I am Metal Church. My association with them in my teenage years was primarily Symbol of Salvation, which I loved back then (but take issues with today, but that's another story), and some tracks here and there off of March of the Saints and Raising Fear. My issue with this band's discog, save for the past two reunion records, has always been the mix, which lacks essential bite. That said, I now have learned that these guys are a live band through and through, because I felt like I was hearing those songs for the very first time. The muscle was strong with these boys, and the groove was so locked in that I felt driven to join the mosh pit downstairs--and I hate mosh pits! Bush delivered (haha) with aplomb and action, even climbing the cabinets at one point during a solo. What I really couldn't believe was Joey Vera--dude looks like he's 18 and even more active and menacing than Bush and Howe put together! Probably one of the best bassists I've ever seen TBH. All in all, even though I went to see Metal Church, I have to be honest and say that Saint upped the ante a notch.

*Not sure why Metal Church are the openers for this tour, thought that was strange as well.

SETLISTS: Cool that you got a copy; I was hoping to get one for Mike to sign but I was too late. MC's set was [COMPLAINT #2] way too short, sadly. I believe it was the same as the photo posted above, but I was hoping for a couple more from the debut. In fact, the strangest thing was [COMPLAINT #3] the exclusion of the Metal Church SONG. I have no idea what was up with that. They had been performing it for the East Coast tour, and its lack here is mind-boggling. But I was happy with the inclusion of In Mourning and the two tracks from Balance.

Armored Saint's list seemed a bit longer (Bush remarked in the middle that they were gonna start pulling songs out of their ass haha, not sure if that was planned or not) but all the songs were familiar headbangers for the most part. There was a good chunk off of Delirious Nomad, which I'm only slightly acquainted with. A good number from Symbol as well (Reign of Fire, Tribal Dance, and the title track if I recall). Two singles from Win Hands Down (my two favorites from that album, actually). The single from La Raza (why do people have such an issue with that album??). And a number from March and Raising.

On both bands' sets there was a TON of sing-along shouting from the crowd, including yours truly haha.

The biggest bummer [FINAL COMPLAINT] was that both bands never came out for the meet. I had the debut and XI CDs with me to be signed but there was no sign of them. My guess is that the opportune time to find them, as others did, was before the show since they were probably clubbing it up on the strip at that time.

The big bonus for that weekend was being able to all of Downtown LA and Hollywood Blvd with Shawn. It was my second time down there with him, he's a great dude and makes for quite the tour guide with endless history and information. Even learning the LA transit lines was a hoot. I can say he enjoyed the show as much as I did.

Terrible photo below; Shawn and I are up atop the staircase by the two blinding lights. Yeah, you can't see us haha.



Props to anyone who took the time to get through that mess of a review.

corplhicks Great review! You can get a lot more technical than I can. I don't have any knowledge of the equipment.

I have to be right up in front, if I can. I don't care that much about the sound. I don't have that sophisticated of an ear. I want to SEE the bands and maybe be lucky enough to get a hand slap, or have a guitar pick thrown my way.

A fan that stood next to me showed me a photo with Mike. He had met up with fans before the show. I thought maybe I had missed my chance. Metal Church's Facebook page said they would meet fans after the show, so that's what I expected and didn't arrive super early. Mike Howe announced during their set that they would meet by the merchandise table after their set (before Armored Saint). I was relieved to hear that. Sorry that didn't happen at your show.

80s Metal Lady wrote:

corplhicks Great review! You can get a lot more technical than I can. I don't have any knowledge of the equipment.

I have to be right up in front, if I can. I don't care that much about the sound. I don't have that sophisticated of an ear. I want to SEE the bands and maybe be lucky enough to get a hand slap, or have a guitar pick thrown my way.

A fan that stood next to me showed me a photo with Mike. He had met up with fans before the show. I thought maybe I had missed my chance. Metal Church's Facebook page said they would meet fans after the show, so that's what I expected and didn't arrive super early. Mike Howe announced during their set that they would meet by the merchandise table after their set (before Armored Saint). I was relieved to hear that. Sorry that didn't happen at your show.

I think they really overran their time. We didn't get out until 2:30 AM. The whole show was over two hours late. I thought that was kinda strange for a venue that both bands were so used to. But ergo the lack of meet and greet (lucky you! lol). Whisky is weird; they f*cked our band over a great deal when we played.

You know, I'm kinda weird with placement at shows. When Death Angel came to town I was front and center--sounded great, got to give Mark a high five--it was heaven. And here we chose soundboard position for the sake of sound (having played at the Whisky, I can acertain there is truth to this). Yet now in 20/20 hindsight, I kinda wish I would've been close enough to give Howe a high-five.

Sorry I am late to the party ( haven't got much free time since my daughter was born, ha) but that was a great review! Glad you enjoyed yourself, Shay. I had no clue you ever played the Whisky. Cool.

the sentinel wrote:

Sorry I am late to the party ( haven't got much free time since my daughter was born, ha) but that was a great review! Glad you enjoyed yourself, Shay. I had no clue you ever played the Whisky. Cool.

Thx m8. Yeah my experience was a bit of a rotten egg actually. The sound techs really nailed our rehearsal but completely screwed us over for the actual set. It sounded pretty bad even though we were on target performance-wise (we were kind of a Pearl Jam-Pink Floyd-Ramones hybrid). On one hand it was neat to be on the same stage that many of my heroes got to experience--as well as the green room--but on the other hand it turned out to be a rushed, incoherent dud thanks to the incompetence of the staff. Plus we opened for an emo band. Oil and water, I tell ya.

corplhicks wrote:

I think they really overran their time. We didn't get out until 2:30 AM. The whole show was over two hours late.

Two hours late?! That sucked! I would've been so disappointed, especially not getting to meet Mike Howe after all that. I was very lucky I went to the Brick By Brick show as it ran like clockwork. The other option for me would have been Vegas. Not sure how that show went, but can't imagine my experience would've been as good as San Diego.

Great reviews!!! I hate the east coast didn't get this tour. I've seen Armored Saint 3 times. But iI have never had the chance to see Metal Church before.

Well god in heaven. Looks like the Church is coming to Fresno. I get to see them a second time! And with how cramped the venue is (it's seriously like a room) I'll be front and center this time. With Suicidal Tendencies!

I'd love to see either one of these bands just once in my life.