Tour de Force

I’m Czo Czar-ry for You if You Miss Czar (& Killing Joke) Live

  • Kip Wingerschmidt
0

czar_lbl

Holy wienerballs!  Surely at least SOME of you dingdongs recall my foaming at the mouth over Czar‘s excellent 2011 album Vertical Mass Grave, right?  Well don’t call me Shirley and I’ll elaborate…

Said album graced the most important annual year-end list we have in the metal community and simply fucking SLAYS.  Consider Czar a mixture of Mastodon, Gojira, and Helmet, but add in several dashes of Chicago-ian forward-thinking melodies and sonic layering as well.  Overall Czar sounds very much like themselves, which is oft hard to say these days.

Now combine this retardly awesome heavy band with seminal post-punk/new wave legends Killing Joke, and you’ve got yourself quite an interesting tour.  I’m not going to say the pairing makes perfect sense, but it doesn’t not make sense.  Initially Killing Joke had plenty of rockin elements to their sound, and were influences to SO many great artists — their song “Change” was totally ripped off by James Murphy & LCD Soundsystem, and if Kurt Cobain didn’t essentially steal the guitar part on “The 80s” for  Nirvana classic “Come As You Are”, well then the collective unconscious was working overtime on that one.  I’m curious to see what KJ sounds like these days; I caught Gang of Four, another seminal British post-punk band from W.B.W. (way back when) a few years ago at SXSW and they ruled face over most of the young turks I caught that week.  I’m just sayin.

But regardless Czar is worth the price of admission alone.  Their tour starts tomorrow, dates (most with but some without Killing Joke) are below.  I’ll be at the NYC show, wearing my oversized 80s sunglasses and diaper on the outside of my jeans as per uzsh…

April 18 – Smiling Moose – Pittsburgh PA – w/ SLAVES BC + THE MOLECULE PARTY
April 19 – Irving Plaza – New York NY – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 20 – Paradise – Boston MA – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 21 – Union Transfer – Phila PA – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 23 – Cafe Campus – Montreal QC – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 24 – Lees Palace- Toronto ONT – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 26 – Empty Bottle- Chicago IL – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 27 – Empty Bottle- Chicago IL – w/ KILLING JOKE
April 28 – Subterranean – CO Springs CO – w/ ACUCRACK + ELETE + UNDUN + FIST FIGHT
April 30 – Neumos – Seattle WA – w/ KILLING JOKE
May 01  – Rickshaw – Vancouver BC – w/ KILLING JOKE
May 02  – Tonic Room – Portland OR – w/ ACUCRACK + DEAD ANIMAL ASSEMBLY PLANT
May 03  – Filmore – San Francisco CA – w/ KILLING JOKE
May 04  – Brick by Brick – San Diego CA – w/ KILLING JOKE
May 05  – Henry Fonda Theater – LA CA – w/ KILLING JOKE
May 06  – The Launch Pad – Albequerque NM – w/ ACUCRACK + DIVERJE + ALCHEMICAL BURN

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