Paul Gilbert House of Blues

I was just starting high school in the mid-80s  when my aunt and uncle took me to my first heavy metal concert (I won’t get into the shows my mom and grandma took me to prior to that).

They took me to the Country Club in Reseda on a Saturday night to see King Kobra with Carmine Appice.    What a scene that was.   All the metal heads sure partied hard back then.   People drinking excessively, women getting naked to impress the bands onstage –  I’d never witnessed anything like that.    4 bands played that night.   The band before King Kobra was Racer X.   I was completely blown away by the guitar wizardry of Bruce Bouillet and Paul Gilbert.   I’d never seen anyone shred like that.     They quickly became my favorite band and I spent all my money finding a way to see them there over…

This show absolutely kicked ass and was one of the best shows of the year, for sure.     The Canyon had a comedy night earlier in the evening (headlined by Dana Carvey), so the doors for this concert didn’t open until after 10:00PM.   The opener played and then Orgy came on at 11:30.   It’s actually a perfect start time for a killer band on a Saturday night.

Orgy was one of the big alternative metal bands to come around in the late 90s.  Bands like Orgy, Deadsy and Julien-K all make some really fantastic music.

The only original member left is Jay Gordon.   Amir Derakh  and Ryan Shuck are now in Julien-K.   They’re an awesome band, but Orgy easily topped their last few performances.   The new guitarists are Carlton Bost (who is also in Berlin with Terri Nunn and also used to be in Deadsy) and Nic Speck and they really…