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Thor with Amps II Eleven and The
Subtones
The Beachland Tavern
08-11-05
Although the artist known as Thor has been around since
the mid seventies playing his brand of theatrical metal, this was the first
time in his career that he’s performed in Cleveland. This was also the
first show for the newly retooled Amps II Eleven, boasting a new guitar
player and drummer. So I had two very good reasons to be at The Beachland
Tavern this evening.
But before that, The Subtones got to play a short set
of Dead Boys/Stooges style punk rock. The band rocks hard and tight, and
clearly has a lot of enthusiasm for what they do. For me, however, their
songs were only about average.
With the latest additions to the band having come on
board only recently, it was to be expected that Amps II Eleven would be a
little less tight than usual. But not by much. The band tore through a set
of tunes from their self titled Smogveil CD with their customary fury, and
pretty well proved to any doubters that they’re more than capable of
carrying on.
Thor took the stage decked out like a true
superhero/Norse God, adorned in armor, cape, and helmet and hoisting his
weapon in the air as the band tore into “The Coming of Thor”, one of very
few songs from his latest CD, ‘Thor Against the World’, that was played this
night. As mentioned earlier, this was Thor’s first time in Cleveland, so
he treated the Viking rock starved fans to a lot of old favorites like
“Thunder in the Tundra”, “Let the Blood Run Red”, and “Knock ‘em Down”.
In addition to his music Thor is known for his stage
antics, and he didn’t disappoint on that front, either. He bent a steel bar
with his teeth, “fought” a “monster” with a rubber sword, and went through a
few costume changes. You want to dismiss it as cheesy, that’s your
business, but you’re only missing out on the fun. And fun is exactly what
everyone in the mixed crowd of metalheads and punks, young and old, had at
this show. (Bob Ignizio)
For pictures
click here.
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