HardRockChick

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

My Own Summer (Shove It): Deftones, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Le Butcherettes @ AT&T Center San Antonio, 6/3/11

dev@hard
June 7, 2011
4
0

Last summer was the “summer of my discontent“. This summer, I am intent on making it my own.

To do that, I am relocating to LA to be closer to the music, putting an end to the almost monthly back and forth travel I’ve been doing for most of this past year. And I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my last weekend in Texas than with Deftones and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Deftones’ Diamond Eyes will always be associated with the death of my mother; it was what I was listening to most at the time. And DEP represents the chaos and recklessness that I’ve felt for the past year. To tie it all together and make it come full circle is that this weekend marks exactly one year since I found out my mom was sick. I hated that day worse than the day she died; it’s the day everything in my life changed forever.

We baked in the sun for hours in a pseudo line so that we could be right up front. I’ve done several Deftones rails before; but never for DEP; I knew it would be rough and that’s exactly what I wanted. But once inside, I gazed upon the stage to see flowers….a shoe….a container of powdered creamer…I began to wonder what was amuck when I counted the drum kits and realized there must be another opener I was not aware of.


I think I’d heard the name Le Butcherettes but I’d never heard them before. A trio enters the stage, led by a Courtney Love-esque frontwoman. What proceeded to occur confused me in a way that rarely happens…and now that some time has passed since the performance I’m beginning to wonder if that’s a good thing. The frontwoman is so over the top that you don’t even think about the music; all that kept going through my head was, “WTF is she doing?”, “WTF is she thinking?”, and “No….just….no.” She moved, as my friend said, like a rag doll, and scowled at the crowd. She hit herself in the head with the mic. She said strange things and went crowdsurfing. She ended the set by taking the aforementioned powdered creamer and pouring it all in her hair and headbanging so that we all got to inhale that for the next five minutes. It came off as a “she’s trying too hard” performance; I kept getting this vibe that, while I’m the type of person who gets along with everybody, she’d be that one girl in high school that would hate me. At times I noticed that her voice was interesting, but mostly I just thought how the music was a terrible fit with the other bands. However, I will say that she caused a reaction, something openers don’t often do, and would be hard to forget. In a smaller venue I might have felt differently about this.


I get nervous at shows that I really care about, and right before Dillinger came on I felt those butterflies. Not only would it be the first time I’ve seen them in a while, but it would be the first time I’d ever experienced a set from the rail. I’m not one of those dumb girls that thinks she can survive up front at one of their shows; I began to have visions of vocalist Greg Puciato’s well-muscled forearms giving me a black eye as he jumped in the crowd. As the lights dimmed some intense strobe lights started pulsating, and my heart rate synched up with them. They seemed to have taken a page from NIN as they launched into ‘Farewell, Mona Lisa’ and the intensity of the strobes gave way to the intensity of the band. While it was odd to see them on such a big stage, separate from the crowd; it was incredibly awesome for me to be able to watch everything they do without worrying about fighting for my life. Ben Weinman, the guitar ninja, left no corner of the stage untouched as he climbed speakers Matrix style and swung his guitar around on his arm and jumped and slid across the floor on his knees. There was even a moonwalk in there. A MOONWALK. Puciato flew back and forth across the stage, a fear-inducing presence despite his small stature. The setlist was a spectacular mix of old and new; for this set it really all came together for me that I really love the lyrics in their songs….sometimes I forget that because it’s easy to focus on the technicality of the guitar and the energy of the performance. It was interesting to see the crowd go from ‘this is weirdddd’ during the Le Butcherettes set to ‘whoaaaa what is this’ during the DEP set. As they left the stage, I told my friend who’s first DEP set this was that all the craziness she saw tonight, she would feel the next night at their headlining show.

I covered the Deftones set for GRAMMY.com’s The Set List blog series. You can check it out here.

digital bath

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Horror Business: The Original Misfits, Iggy Pop, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Sublime, The Damned @ No Values, Pomona Fairgrounds, 6/8/24

“Too much horror businessDriving late at nightPsycho 78My bathroom is newYou, you don’t go in the bathroom with mePsycho 7812…

July 3, 2024
9
0

A New Level: Metallica, Pantera, and Mammoth VH @ SoFi Stadium Los Angeles, 8/25/23

“Now a new look in my eyes my spirit riseForget the pastPresent tense works and lastsGot shit on, pissed on,…

September 4, 2023
9
0

Gimme Danger: Iggy Pop & The Losers with Grace McKagan @ The Pearl Las Vegas, 4/29/23

“Gimme danger, little strangerAnd I feel with you at easeGimme danger, little strangerAnd I’ll feel your disease There’s nothing in…

May 29, 2023
8
0

Kill or Become: Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Immolation, Black Anvil at House of Blues Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay 11/25/22

“Living out the days and nights in absolute fearNever knowing when and where thethreat of the undead draws nearThoughts of…

December 3, 2022
8
0

Looks That Kill: Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, & Joan Jett & The Blackhearts @ Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, 9/9/22

“Now, listen up She’s a razor sharp If she don’t get her way She’ll slice you apart Now she’s a…

September 19, 2022
10
0

A Dangerous Meeting: Mercyful Fate, High on Fire, Paradise Lost, Fugitive, Suicidal Tendencies, Bone Thugs -n- Harmony, Frozen Soul, Emperor, Mayhem, Carcass, and Wolves in the Throne Room @ Psycho Las Vegas @ Resort World, 8/19-21/22

“Oh, they should have knownNot to play with the powers of HellSome people have lost their waySome people have lost…

August 30, 2022
12
0

Among the Living: Anthrax 40th Anniversary Tour with Black Label Society @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, 7/28/22

“I’m the walking dudeI can see all the worldTwist your minds with fearI’m the man with the powerAmong the living,…

August 19, 2022
6
0

Mad World: Tears for Fears, Garbage @ Kia Forum in Los Angeles, 6/4/22

“And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I’m dying Are…

June 12, 2022
8
0

She Sells Sanctuary: The Cult, Des Roc @ House of Blues Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay 5/8/22

“The sparkle in your eyes Keeps me alive And the sparkle in your eyes Keeps me alive, keeps me alive…

May 27, 2022
5
0

Rock You Like A Hurricane: Scorpions, Skid Row @ Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas 4/3/22

“It’s early morning, the sun comes out Last night was shaking and pretty loud My cat is purring, it scratches…

April 15, 2022
5
0