Searching for the American Dream...

Coming to Vegas was an escape, 2011 came to close and 2012 was supposed to bring change. Change doesn't come on it's own, it takes a forward action, movement... drive. So I did, spontaneous on a whim, out of the ordinary of normal trait a ticket is purchase for a weekend in the place where all people come to get away from normal lives... Las Vegas.

Landing in Vegas seeing the lights from the air brought a sense of excitement. Sitting on a bus from the airport to my hotel seeing the shops the lights, the casinos the only thing running through my head was "The Wave" speech from Fear and Loathing. I found a drive to write that night... but I waited know it wasn't right.

I once thought I had understood what Hunter S. Thompson meant in his writing, what he found, what he was looking for. I quote a friend "Those Who Have Felt This Will Know," this is true about Vegas. Vegas a town known for Sin, things that are frowned upon in normal society, things a good family would never do at home people come here and do. Sex, alcohol, gambling, gluttony an urge to be excessive. This feeling that you get while walking down the strip is amazing, the size of the buildings are breath taking, everywhere you go there is something sinful to do.

My first two nights in this town were fun, getting drunk, blowing my money that I had allocated for the day. Now in the third day things start to come down, the mind starts to break. Going to the north strip, Circus Circus a "family" casino and entire floor for kids to play games for toys... it hits you hard that this town raises children to gamble. Kids put there quarters into games that don't guaranty a winner it's a gamble in a city that clearly states that no one under 21 can gamble in it's laws. Kids learn the value that if I put my quarter in and lose, I can simply put in another and get my stuffed bear, while their parents are on the Casino floor thinking well if I put my quarter in and lose, I can just put in another and finally hit it big. When the kids get older they'll have the same mentality, maybe not in there every day successful hard working lives... but kids remember that weekend we took you to Vegas and dad lost a month salary that he saved up?

I didn't like it, these are the thoughts I had while walking and making my way through the casino. It was mentally tearing my mind up. I played slots a lot while i was hear in Vegas, this is not something I normally do, on the occasion I do gamble I play games that are more controlled odds then a machine with rolling tumblers. My first day of gambling though I hit 2 jack pots and another 150$ on bonuses on another machine... Vegas had me I was hooked there goes some more money that i had allocated for the day. So i move back to a game i was comfortable with, craps. A game back home i will spend $40 and have a good 3 hours of fun on a good night. But, this time it was different I fall out of pattern again, I move away from my strategy, my mind racing thinking odds and chances how was I going to win back the 20$ I just lost.

Well i'm out of cash for this having that urge to maybe go get another 20$ play another go... my mind made a dreary realization of what Hunter S Thompson was talking about. What he was looking for and what he found when searching for the American Dream. I walked out of the casino and made my way to the bus to get back to my hotel... this is when it all came to me what i wanted to say bout this trip in Vegas... this moment where I understood what one man found and what millions may never realize in this place.

My mind raced with the Fear that a hard working person such as my self, came to Vegas to escape. Someone who has frowned on excessive gambling had a moment of self doubt... you can say no a thousand times but it only takes one time saying yes to turn you around. My justification was I deserve this escape, what I was doing was ok because i'm in the town of Sin. When it all came down I had this moment of self Loathing that this was wrong, I felt dirty, I felt gross, I felt I have spent to much time in this town on a verge of mental collapse.

This is what he meant and just telling someone doesn't give you that understanding. Having to experience it first hand was the only way to really understand the fear of pushing the limit and the loathing of realizing the monster was right there. That is only a basic understanding though, the early 70's when Fear and Loathing was written Vegas was even dirtier, scummier and I can only imagine what it was like with the excessive amount of drugs that were involved in the book...

This all being said, I finally found it. The American Dream ~ I define the American Dream as The dream that greed takes and never gives. That I can hit it big and be rich on chance while being a sloth to society and never work more then needed because my lucky day is around the corner. I can be a glutton and be excessive into a state of acedia and looking for Joy in the wrong places and not being happy until it's found. We will envy those who have more then us, I will pride my self to make it to the top... and when it doesn't come my way wrath is unleashed...

There are four types of people in America, the ones who Live the Dream, the ones who come to Vegas in hopes of getting to a place they have dreamed and continue to search, The ones that realized it's nothing more then a dream and the people who go through life never knowing the dream every existed. I was one that wanted to find it, knowing it was there but thinking that i was above it and when i return home I'll have an experience that I'll never forget and I'll go back to my simple life dreaming but now with a knowing it wont come on chance...

-Anthony

--Side note - when coming to Vegas don't come searching for anything, come have fun see shows be entertained. We've become to fixed on the bells and whistles and the lights that not everyone takes in the sites of the city and stay stuck in casinos 24 hours a day. If gambling, drinking or any other of the sins this towns offers do it responsibly and never go in excess.--

Rammstein!

7:03 - 30 minutes in line and now I'm inside the Tacoma Dome now waiting til 8

7:23 - just under 40 minutes good place in crowd equals bordum waiting

7:36 - there is a bra being tossed around the crowd

8:18 - I'm not sure who the opening band is, they are like a gothic european metal? I dint think those bands still existed. Not bad, a type of band I would listen to back in the day

8:30 - according to the guy that was wearing all black wearing pants that said "I hate Goths" I assume they arnt goth. Fooled me rammstein approx 30 minutes

Rammstein was simply amazing. The crwd was intense and my up close spot was high priced reality. So I had to push my way back a bit to get into a good spot center of the stage.

The band came out, and broke through a wall and Till cut through making a hole to enter the stage. The show was full of pyro explosions babies with lasers. Oh and a giant bubble spitting penis cannon.

Rammstein played an excellent show in all I don't think the crowd stopped for a minute. The crowd really errupted whe they played songs Americans most know like Link-2-3-4 Du Hast, Ich Will. During Sonne during the 1st encore, Flake who had already been set on fire, kicked around boarded an inflated raft and crowd surfed.

Rammstein left the stage and came back for one more song "Engel". Till rose up from the stage with metal wings attached to him. Thw wings opened to an approx 20ft wing span and shot fire out from the sides. When the song wrapped up the band came on stage and thanked the crowd and took a bow.

The show was fantastic and worth the money I paid too see it. I'm glad several ppl I know were able to go. 10 years of waiting since they last played north american in 2001 was awesome.

System of a Down Review Upcoming Shows

My phone dying at each show sucks. Stupid battery and crappy car charger. However dont let that sway me from such an exciting show.

The trip started out with a nice drive over the pass and my SoaD ticket blowing out the window of my car. After yelling some expletives and coming to terms my ticket was sitting in the middle of I=90 and contemplated turning around.

However I called Ticketmaster and they were able to get me a new ticket printed up at the will call box office. So walked around the Seattle Center picked up the ticket before the show.

So I get back up to the Key Arena just before 8 and was on the floor all of 5 minutes when Gogol Bordello started. I was pretty surprised by them, I didnt really know what to expect since my room mate has been talking about them for the last several months.

Gogol Bordello

They were a mix of everything, I would call it a mix of Gypsie Pirates with Guitars, Bassist, couple vocalist, violin, accordion and some random percussionist. Their broken english lyrics were easy to sing a long to and definitely become a favorite band right away. I would like to see them again in the future from what i've heard they are always a good show. To bad it was only 45 minutes. When Universes Collide, yo!

System of a Down

System of a Down again 10 years i've been waiting to seem System. Chop Suey! was probably the key song to bring me out of the rap/pop radio phase and into a rock varied mix of music. The summer of 2001 I watched that video almost daily on MTv. When Gogol Bordello finished the curtains fell on the stage and a huge System of a Down was shown on the curtain, the crowd went nuts.

System of a Down Logo on the curtain

The lights go down about 9:30pm and the opening to Prison Song started. "WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD A PRISON"

The show was so much fun, they played 29 songs 8 songs from Hypnotize, 8 from Mesmerize 9 from Toxicity and 4 from System of a Down it was almost 2 full hours of music. Toxicity being one of the albums that brought me into metal and them playing 75% of the album really made me happy. I would of like to of heard Pogo because thats just a fun song.

Speaking of fun, you could tell that the entire band was really enjoying the show. I can imagine the amount of touring they did that it would get old. But Serj and Darren really had genuine smiles on their faces. I have to say this show really made me feel 14 again listening to Toxicity again. Nothing beats a reunion tour because you are ensured to see all the hits from the band. I am looking forward whats coming up next for System and a fun album like System of a Down or Toxicity.

They wrapped up the evening with Sugar. That was just a fun song and a great way to wrap up the show.

It was a solid 2 hours and no encore, but I cant really think of any songs they could of played to top the already full set list.

Tonight is Rammstein in Tacoma, I'm about to head that way now for 2 twos on the west coast. Then tomorrow going to see Silverstein and Bayside on monday. this puts me to 12 concerts since the start of 2011 and it just keeps growing. I am currently at 20 concerts up through August. Just added Soundgarden / Queens of the Stone age on July 30th and Taking Back Sunday and Thursday on June 19th.

FatmaNapalooza 2011 is in full swing. Here is some additional videos and my Picasa Album

2011 The Year of Decade Long Waits

I've come to realize that so many of the bands I'm seeing this year I've waited Nine- Ten years to wait and see. So far I really havent been too disappointed, which is a chance to take building up a band for a decade in your mind. So far the bands I've wanted to see perform live that I'm seeing for the first time and have been waiting since 2001-2002 are:

Papa Roach
Mushroomhead
System of a Down
Rammstein
Finger Eleven
Taproot
Stone Sour
Eminem

That is a pretty good chunk of the shows that I'm seeing this year. Nothing better then reliving your youth and I will always have a soft place in my heart for Nu-Metal oh and Eminem. I know I probably wouldnt see Eminem givening a normal circumstance. But He's heading Lollapalooza in Chicago and I will admit I had an Eminem phase of my life and would still like to see him live.

In other concert news, it looks like I'm getting to the prime of my concert going this year. It is now May first and I've attended Seven Concerts and have 5 lined up in May and 1 the first week of June. Then hopefully a 3 week break until I head up north to Canada for NoFX in July. Then Lollapalooza in Chicago the first week of August. And of course Mayhem Festival and Warped Tour in there in July and August. That gets me right through the summer.

We'll see what this fall brings around the Northwest, so far I'm at 18 concerts and would ideally like to hit 20. Thats all for now, keep checking back for updates, live blog this Friday for Coheed and Cambria. Phone will be a full charge this time so I can update :)

-FatmaN

Lollapalooza Line Up Announced

Lolla is now less than 100 days away. August I have a feeling will be coming up a lot faster then I am anticipating. But still I have very excited about the line up and think this is going to be a fun and awesome experience. Here is a the full list of Lollapalooza my bands that I particularlly want to see are in black.

http://lineup.lollapalooza.com/fatman06/bands

Papa Roach / Finger 11 this Friday - Check back for Live Blog.

Taproot The Rock Reactor Kennewick Wa

Show starts at 8.
7:46 All Gaussied Up playing now. Night 4 of concerts

8:17 all gaussied up was good local band from around here. Will deffinately reccomend listening to them support local music

8:28 45th parrallel another loca band go!

10:26 Absolution is playing now then Taproot!!

10:46 Absolution is probably the best band so far the other opening bands were very basic metal not a lot too them. Taproot coming up.

Mushroomhead and Hed PE Knitting Factory Spokane Wa

8:18 here way late. Bad cold, tired. Just shitty. But looks like mushroom head is up next.
9:20 have you ever been inside the new master piece? Worth the 9 years of waiting to hear this song live.
9:47 the one thing about wanting to see something for so long and from a band that mainly tours the midwest and east coast it can go extremely well or be horrible. Let me just say MH was fn amazing. They did not disappoint. When they came out they were compared to slipknot being called second rate. That is in no way true, they put a lot out for the fans giving us there all. The lead singer even stage dived into the crowd. When was the last time you saw Slipknot do that? 99? Great fucking performance and the mosh cleard my sinuses. He'd Pe coming up
10:29 HED PE! What?!
10:34 oh ah we want some hed ohah we want some hed!
10:56 "Hed Pe isn't just about choking a bitch and slammin her head into the head board come bitch come"

Final Review - So In all I have to say I really enjoyed the show as a whole. Mushroomhead by far being the better of the two bands. I like Hed PE and they have good crowd interaction. But One thing that will always annoy me about a band and really makes me less interested in their show is bring up politic and world conspiracies at a rock concert. After they played a few songs from their early albums and then started bringing up where the world is going 1 world economies, aliens, etc. I really lost a lot of interest in the show.

Mushroomhead though, great vibe. They kept coming at us with more and more energy in each song ensuring the crowd was still with them. A thing about a band that contains 8 members is making everything they do sound good together. With a Guitarist, bassist, drummer, 2 percussionist, a Keyboardist and 2 vocalist it's a lot to fit into a song.

I really did enjoy though the two secondary percussionist, they were on either sides of the stage playing on drums that appeared to have strobes below them that went with the drum hits. They kept in time with each other and was very synchronized. In songs that didnt have the additional percussionist they did various things such as an additional keyboardist or running around on stage with a camcorder, which according to the band this performance was broadcasted online which I will need to locate and post.

I think given a little more time to really catch up on new Mushroomhead Songs, sadly most of the songs I knew and was able to sing-a-long too were off their first CD and from soundtracks I purchased. Oddly seeing Mushroomhead in Spokane, Spokane was were I found a used copy of the first release of the Mushroomhead (Approx 10,000 copies of this CD were printed before being signed). I think their newer stuff has gotten a little edgier but also a little more solid, given that more time to really listen to the songs I would love to see them in concert again. I hope that the do tour the west coast again because I know normally they do only tour the midwest.

Anyways, pictures from my phone during the show are below. I'm currently uploading my Pics to Picasa now from my camera. Next Show is Taproot this Thursday in Kennewick. Then off a couple weeks til Coheed and Cambria in Portland first week of May.

Full Video of Mushroomheads show courtesy of The Knitting Factory Spokane - Here is the Setlist

Watch live streaming video from theknitspokane at livestream.com