Sleep in Seattle, the riff-filled land

Sleep: supreme riffage. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Cat Rose

I just wanted to huddle underneath the covers after seeing the gut-wrenching "Walking Dead" season 7 opener last Sunday.  When they killed Abraham that was one thing, but after Glenn, that was it, I didn't feel like going to a show. I really did want to go to sleep, but thankfully we went to Sleep at the Showbox in Seattle instead and the gut wrenching continued, but this time in the right way.

The healing began with Helen Money's haunting, wailing cello -- with distortion effects -- and went from there.

We had not seen Sleep since we lived in San Jose in the early '90s and would watch them play at the Cactus Club when they were just starting to nap. (Besides seeing them at the Cactus, we spotted one of the guys in the aisles of Lucky's Market on East Santa Clara Street on Thanksgiving picking out some treats for the day.)    

The therapy commenced when Sleep hit the stage with "Dragonaut" and followed up with "Holy Mountain," etc.  The blazing up began in the venue in more ways than one, of course. The riffage could have torn Negan's face off, which would have been sweet and vicious revenge.

Here are some shots I got from our buddy hooking us up with a photo pass:

HELEN MONEY:

Storm of doom: Saint Vitus reigns in Seattle

Dave Chandler of Saint Vitus in Seattle. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy and Cat

Seattleites were braced for Stormageddon. Batten down the hatches, mates, we’re gonna get blown to smithereens and yanked into the great unknown on a “Wizard of Oz”-like excursion, or something like that.

And then … a little wind and rain, that’s all we got. So we were safe for the night, right?

I call bullshit on that because doom kings Saint Vitus were in town along with ex-Trouble guys in The Skull, Witch Mountain and Ancient Warlocks, summoning us out of our abodes last Saturday evening for a gathering of all things heavy and righteous at El Corazon. It was as if magically, umbrellas were turned into sledgehammers and El Diablo was at the helm of the weather desk: Forecast — destruction of ears and melting of minds.

So, Ancient Warlocks and Witch Mountain properly ripped the skin away from the first layers of the evening, drawing blood with vicious riffs and searing vocals. Southpaw Rob Wrong notched bonus points for unveiling his guitaristry for both Witch Mountain and The Skull.

The Skull -- featuring former Troublers Eric Wagner on vocals and Ron Holzner on bass -- were a bit weak in spots, but picked up massive steam when the Trouble songs kicked into gear in the form of “Pray for the Dead,” "Assassin," "At the End of My Daze" and "The Tempter."

With original singer Scott Reagers back on board, Saint Vitus dug into some early classics like “War is Our Destiny,” “White Magic/Black Magic,” “White Stallions,” “Zombie Hunger” and much more. Reagers, whom I haven’t seen vigorously manning the stage since 1985 at Dancing Waters in San Pedro, CA, was in fine form and roared through each song with much more power than any wind outside.

Let's call the night Doomageddon.

Cat Rose photos:


SAINT VITUS

THE SKULL

WITCH MOUNTAIN

ANCIENT WARLOCKS

Two Cow Garage raise a 'Brand New Flag'

Two Cow Garage in Seattle. (All Cat Rose photos)

What a most excellent way to cap off the evening.

Two Cow Garage hit the spot with their rollicking rock and roll tuneage at the Funhouse in Seattle last night as part of their cross-country jaunt. New songs and old favorites were on tap as the band kicked it out high-octane style. Check out their new album, "Brand New Flag."

Earlier in the night, we spent some quality time next door at El Corazon with doom kings Saint Vitus along with being administered a heavy dose of The Skull (ex-Trouble singer and bassist), Witch Mountain and Ancient Warlocks. (Photos to come this week.)

Here's some Two Cow photos from Cat Rose: