The 2 opening bands were King Parrot and Bl'ast. King Parrot is a fun live band. Their guitar player takes the "I wear shorts on stage" to a higher level and just wears boxers on stage. They also like to karate kick each other in the face while playing
So that was entertaining. They were playing Peavey amps (5150 and the new XXX). Bl'ast on the hand, was not too good. I never heard of the band before and hopefully I will never hear about them again. Just generic and forgettable. I just walked out and started to drink beer to get ready for Orange Goblin. Anyway, despite the fact that the sound in the Wiltern is never good and the vocals were a echo-y mess, Orange Goblin kicked ass. They're pretty much my favorite "modern" band (using this term loosely as they've been around for a long time now). The guitar tone is awesome and the band is tight as fuck. They also had a solid set list and I knew the lyrics for pretty much every song they played. Joe was using a SG Special with Lace pickups and a 2-channel JCM800. Unfortunately, I could not get close enough to see his pedalboard. But it sounded great.
Down was great as usual. First time I see them without Kirk but Bobby Landgraf is doing a hell of a job replacing him, dude is a great player. Phil sounded really good, a lot better than he did the last time I saw them in '09. Seems like he cleaned up his act a bit, which is good, because the guy is talented as hell.
I really wish it was at a venue with a better sound than the wiltern, but hey it is what it is. Overall, a great show.
