Tombs @ Three Kings Tavern, Denver CO, 2019-06-15

 

For today's scare on thatsthethingaboutthat.  What is scarier than graves?  Tombs of course.  Boo!!

Tombs is a blackened metal with some post-punk tendencies.  They hail from Brooklyn New York and are Mike Hill's band.  They have been around since 2007.  A lot of their early releases are on Relapse so I know I would have heard some of those but I forget what I heard first.  I had never seen them before so I was excited to see them as part of the 2019 Electric Funeral Fest.  

In a total coincidence, while I was getting this post ready, I see Tombs has a brand new album coming out tomorrow called Feral Darkness.  The preview tracks sound sick so check that out on bandcamp.

Maybe we will see some live dates behind it.  Good stuff.

Here is their short but sweet set from Denver.  Enjoy.

Tombs

Electric Funeral Fest Vol.IV

Three Kings Tavern

Denver CO (USA)

2019-06-15

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source : MBHO KA-500N - JKLabs - M10

Transfer: M10 - USB - Adobe Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Time: (38:12.73)

01 Monarchy of Shadows

02 November Wolves

03 Obsidian

04 Deceiver

05 Necro Alchemy

06 The World is Made of Fire 

07 Thanatos

08 Path Of Totality

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Smashing Pumpkins @ Balch Fieldhouse, Boulder CO, 2000-05-16

For todays October scare.  What strikes terror in the mind of almost all who hear it?  It's an icy shriek that pierces right to the bone in it's presence.  Is it a Banshee?  Is it a Siren? No it's more terrifying than that.  The one of a kind howl of a young female person.  Are they in danger? Is something horribly wrong?  No it's just excitement to see Billy Corgan.  I descreamafied this as best I could but there is no fully escaping the the creatures of the night.  The tag team of shriekers mostly attack in-between songs so steal yourself for that.  

This was called The Sacred and Profane tour and it was to promote the Machina album.  Jimmy Chamberlin was back in the band but Darcy was out and replaced with Melissa Auf der Maur from Hole for this tour.  The band seemed in a pretty good mood compared to other times I had seen them.  No fighting between James Iha and Billy on stage.  Lots of songs from Machina and a bunch of older classics.  Nice acoustic interlude in the middle.  Bullet With Butterfly Wings is played in a heavy doom style and it goes into the oddest cover of Talking Head's "Once in a Lifetime".  Billy announced less than a week after this show that the band was calling it quits.  That lasted until 2007 when he started playing as the Smashing Pumpkins again.

Balch is a big auditorium and sounds wasn't amazing but for that room I think they did a pretty good job and this is an enjoyable listen.  Minus the shrieking of course.  Enjoy.

Smashing Pumpkins

The Sacred and Profane tour

Balch Fieldhouse

Boulder CO (USA)

2000-05-16

Recorded: Bill Tatina

Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: MBHO KA-200N - JK Labs DVC-V12 - DAT - CDR 

Transfer: CDR - EAC - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Time: (109:54.52)

01 Age of Innocence

02 Glass and the Ghost Children

03 The Everlasting Gaze

04 Heavy Metal Machine

05 - banter 1 -

06 Blew Away

07 Stand Inside Your Love

08 Blue Skies Bring Tears

09 I of the Mourning

10 To Sheila (acoustic)

11 Muzzle (acoustic)

12 Disarm (acoustic)

13 - banter 2 -

14 Ava Adore

15 Rock On (David Essex)

16 Zero

17 - banter 3 -

18 Today

19 Snail

20 With Every Light

21 Bullet With Butterfly Wings 

22 Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads)

23 - encore -

24 Raindrops + Sunshowers

25 Cherub Rock

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Wormrot @ HQ, Denver CO, 2025-05-13

 Here is another for "scary" October posts.  Worms and Rot and Grindcore!!  Oh My!!

Its been 15 years since I last saw the scary good band Wormrot. It was back in 2010 at Blast'O'Mat.  

You can see that here.  WORMROT at Blast'O'Mat 2010

They are from Singapore so it's a big undertaking to even get to the US these days so I wasn't going to miss them when they came to Denver earlier in 2025 with NO/MAS.   They delivered with a catalog spanning set.  We even got an encore with a song from Abuse.  Enjoy.

Wormrot

HQ

Denver CO (USA)

2025-05-13

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: AT933 C - SP-SPSB-1 - M10

Transfer: M10 - USB - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Run time: (40:25.30)

01 No One Gives a Shit

02 The Darkest Burden

03 Behind Closed Doors

04 Fallen Into Disuse

05 Buried the Sun

06 Oblivious Mess

07 Forced Siege

08 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Grind

09 Public Display of Infection

10 Outburst of Annoyance

11 Left to Rot

12 Loathsome Delusions

13 Principle of Puppet Warfare

14 Vicious Circle

15 Murder

16 Breed to Breed

17 Evolved Into Nothing

18 Grieve

19 Pale Moonlight 

20 Seizures

21 Voiceless Choir

22 When Talking Fails, It's Time for Violence

23 Glass Shards

24 - encore -

25 Fix Your Broken Mind

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Atomsmasher @ Bluebird Theatre, Denver CO, 2001-09-13

 

There is something exquisite about look of horror, revulsions and disgust you will see on a persons face who encounters a noise or power electronics act for the first time when they were seeking out. It's a mix of stepping in dogshit and unexpectedly seeing a corpse at the same time.  As they say it's not for everyone.

James Plotkin (aka Atomsmasher on this night) is an American musician and engineer and is probably best know for his involvement in O.L.D. and Khanate.  He also has some new more ambient electronics releases.  Atomsmasher was a mix of those worlds.  I was looking up the credits for the one CD that I knew about and saw on Discogs that Dave Witte of now Municipal Waste fame played live drums that James Plotkin sampled for 2001 CD.    Dave has been in a ton of bands so not a total surprise.

At this show Atomsmasher was opening for Fantomas.  A good fit I thought but not for everyone.  Mr. Plotkin sat at a table with a laptop for his set.  You can't really hear it on this recording but this asshole up front keep hollering "ctrl alt del" during the set.  Code for rebooting a computer.  Haha.  He also would occasionally flick coins towards James and his laptop.   What a fucker.  James didn't react during his set at all.  At the very end though he pushed his table out of the way and jumped off of the stage and punched the guy in the face.  Totally had it coming.

Atomsmasher

Bluebird Theatre

Denver CO (USA)

2001-09-13

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: Coresound CSB's - Sharp 722 minidisc

Transfer: Sony MDS-JE330 (Analog) - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Time: (28:34.69)  

Very beginning of set missing starts about 5 minutes in

01 Phantom Smasher

02 Gilgamesh

03 Skull Shot

04 unknown title

05 unknown title

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Planning for Burial @ Hi Dive, Denver CO, 2025-07-03

 Here is one for scary October posts.  What is more terrifying then contemplating your eventual demise?

So today I present Planning for Burial from Pennsylvania.  This is a one man act fronted by Thom Wasluck.  He has shirts that says "LOUD / QUIET / LOUD / QUIET" and that is a pretty good description.  He gets labeled gloomgaze, post-metal, shoegaze.  

Audio is sounds good I think.  Vocals are a little low but it was loud as hell in there.  Just look at his stage rig in these pictures.  One of the cooler shows I have seen this year.  Enjoy.

Planning for Burial 

Hi Dive

Denver CO (USA)

2025-07-03

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: MBHO KA-200N - JK Labs DVC-V12 - M10 

Transfer: M10 - USB - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Time: (39:53.07)

01 Farm Cat, Watching

02 With Your Sunglasses On Like A Ghoul

03 Warmth of You

04 A Flowing Field Of Green

05 Threadbare

06 (continued)

07 You Think

08 Movement Two

09 (blueberry pop)

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Murder City Devils @ Bluebird Theater, Denver CO, 2001-03-08

 

Unsure on photo credit.  I scrapped these off of the web back in 2001.  

Going into October I figured I would post some more "scary" bands and shows.  This one is a triple threat,  Murder is scary, and Devils are scary, and people that don't live in the city are scared of cities.  Boo!!

Today is a show I know I traded on CDR back in the aughts but it doesn't have a full listing on setlist fm so maybe not very many trades.  I had seen the Murder City Devils 2 or 3 time in 2000.  Then twice in 2001.  They toured a lot those years.  This March 2001 show still had Leslie on keyboards.  She quit the band after this tour I think.  When MCD came back in October of 2001 with Botch she was gone. I recall they announced that that was their last tour ever.  The final Seattle show was going to be it. There is an official live album of that October show called R.I.P.

Out of the gate at this show they play a brand new song "That's What You Get" that ends up on the Thelema EP.  They play every song on that EP except for 365 Days this night.  Some of the lyrics are still in flux.  Not sure when the recorded those songs but Thelema didn't come out until September of 2001.  Spencer apologizes before every new song.  

They still play a lot of the "hits" off the 1st two albums and I think the sound is pretty good on this one.

Enjoy.

Murder City Devils

Bluebird Theatre

Denver CO (USA)

2001-03-08

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: Coresound CSB's - Sharp 722 minidisc

Transfer: Sony MDS-JE330 (Analog) - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Time: (47:56.36)  

01 That's What You Get

02 Idle Hands 

03 One Vision Of May

04 I Want A Lot Now (So Come On)

05 Bear Away

06 Grace That Saves

07 Midnight Service At The Mutter Museum

08 18 Wheels

09 Rum To Whiskey

10 Bride of the Elephant Man

11 Left Hand Right Hand

12 Dance Hall Music

13 Press Gang

14 I Drink The Wine

15 Broken Glass 

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LINK TO YOUTUBE STREAM

Castle Rat @ The Underworld, London UK, 2025-05-18

 

Here is another set I captured at Desert Fest London this year.  This time the mighty Castle Rat.  They are a fantasy metal band from Brooklyn NY.  The music is on point for the style but an audio recording doesn't really give you the full experience.  This band puts on a show with costumes and sword fights.  It's quiet a fun spectacle.  If you get a chance to see this band live do it.

Castle Rat

Desert Fest

The Underworld

London England

2025-05-18

Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx

Source: M10

Transfer: M10 - USB - Audition - CDWave - FLAC 

Run time: (54:06.07)

01 Dagger Dragger

02 - back story 1 -

03 Feed the Dream

04 Resurrector

05 Red Sands

06 - back story 2 -

07 Cry for Me

08 WIZARD

09 Fresh Fur

10 - back story 3 -

11 Nightblood

12 Realm

13 SIREN

LINK TO MP3 DOWNLOAD

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LINK TO YOUTUBE STREAM