The Cadillac gangsters known as Volbeat returned to Southern California on March 15, 2013 for a show at the House of Blues Sunset, and once again, they sold out the venue. Los Angeles and Anaheim both love this band, and it’s not surprising to hear about a sold out show from them, no matter what line up they stroll through town with.
Once it was time for the band to hit the stage, the band played Born to Raise Hell by Motörhead, a great way to hype up the crowd who was already hyped to see them. The crowd was chanting the bands name, and soon the band hit the stage, playing the opening riffs to Hallelujah Goat, paused and then singer, Michael Poulsen said “Thank you and goodnight, ” all while smiling. It’s been under a year since we’ve last seen him, but damn, have we missed his charm! After the quick pause and charm, we get back into the song and soon the House of Blues dance floor became a mosh pit.
After about a few songs, Poulsen introduced Rob Caggiano, a new addition to the band. Recently, Rob left Anthrax to go into producing, and while helping Volbeat with their new release, he had joined the band. While this might seem like a controversial situation, the former Anthrax guitarist fits in perfectly with the Danish rockabilly-punk metalers. His guitar-playing skills adds a whole new level of excitement to the live shows, it’s almost euphoric how perfect he sounds with the band.
Throughout the night, Volbeat executed a show that will be talked about for years to come. This show definitely is a top contender for show of the year, and it’s because of the love Volbeat and the crowd were giving each other. One could tell by the smiles and smirks during their performance that they were enjoying every minute of the show. The only problem from this show didn’t come from the band, it came with some of those in attendance. A lot of people were getting kicked out for bad behavior, including fighting and other stupid reasons. We’ve been to a lot of hard-hitting shows this year, and we haven’t seen that many people get escorted out by security in a single show. By the way, BIG props to the House of Blues security staff for making the night more enjoyable for some of the people trying to enjoy this show.
The set list for this show included a lot of their classic hits as expected, but what wasn’t expected were the covers that were added to this tour. The covers the band covered were Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, Slayer’s Raining Blood, Judas Priest’s Breaking the Law, and a full cover of Anglefuck by The Mitfits featuring Danko Jones. Songs from the night included Sad Man’s Tongue, 16 Dollars, Heaven Nor Hell, Still Counting, and many, many more classic Volbeat songs. Also on the set list was 3 songs from the upcoming Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies album including Lola Montez, The Hangman’s Body Count, and My Body, a Young the Giant cover that sounded even better thanks to Poulsen’s vocals.
This band is without a doubt a phenomenal band, and bythe way they’ve been going, they’ll be around for a long time. Volbeat will reach new heights with the addition of Rob Caggiano, who has come from a legendary band to a band who is rapidly gaining momentum. Just imagine the possibilities of Volbeat with Caggiano, it’s practically endless! Check out Volbeat’s new album Outlaw Gentlemen and Outlaw Ladies, out April 9th at a store near you. Also, make sure to buy your tickets for this tour before they sell out, otherwise you’ll be drowning in a pool of booze, booze, booza.
Review by: Alex Lucero
