Being a long time fan of Accept it never seemed to be the right time. On this night it was the perfect time to see Accept at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California on Thursday, September 7th live for the first time, touring behind their recent release The Rise of Chaos via Nuclear Blast Records.
Also, a first at the Saban Theatre, as I’m standing down at the stage seeing all the fans comfy in their seats, thinking no way these metalheads can stay seated during the show. The fans didn’t disappoint, lights went down, the cheers went up and anybody that could rush to the front of the stage, did.
Drummer Christopher Williams, guitarist Uwe Lulis, founding members bassist Peter Baltes and guitarist Wolf Hoffmann, kick it in gear as frontman Mark Tornillo hits the stage opening with Die by the Sword from their recent release The Rise of Chaos, followed by Stalingrad from the album of the same name, and rounding out the first three songs, the title track Restless and Wild. Continuing with London Leatherboys from Balls To The Wall and one of my favorite songs, a theme of the evening Living For Tonite off Metal Heart.
Accept played an important roll in the development of the German Metal scene, it’s evident why. Eleven studio albums from inception 1979 to 1996, a fourteen-year hiatus, band member changes, adding frontman Mark Tornillo (T.T. Quick) to begin the resurgence in 2010, releasing Blood Of The Nations, Stalingrad in 2012, Blind Rage in 2014 and the recent release The Rise of Chaos released on August 4, 2017 adding another four studio album to their discography and not looking back. Celebrating the recent release at the Wacken Open Air Festival in front of 85,000+ fans. Within two weeks of their release, the album hit the charts in various parts of the world, including the USA #140, #3 Hard Music, #11 Rock, #27 Top Currents.
Eighteen songs in the main set took us through a time capsule, adding songs in order. Koolaid, which is in reference to the iconic Jonestown massacre with cyanide-tainted Koolaid: “Don’t drink the Koolaid, no matter what the preacher says” could apply to the world as we speak. Carry The Weight: “If you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders it will turn your heart to stone “, Analog Man: “My cell phone is smarter than me… I’m just an old school sonofabitch” and No Regrets: “Sometimes the pleasure isn’t worth the pain it brings, But in the end I wouldn’t change a thing” off the recent release The Rise of Chaos. Great choice of songs!
The fans couldn’t get enough of their musicianship as each member plays their part very well, guitarist Uwe Lulis hides behind his hair, reminds me of cousin “Itt” of the “Addams Family” but don’t let that fool you, he’s a great guitarist. He does emerge from behind the hair with a smile, drummer Christopher Williams phenomenal, very animated and powerful behind the skins having a great time with laughter and smiles. Frontman Mark Tornillo’s presence demands your attention, not flashy but has that aura, the voice the damn he’s good!! Founding members guitarist Wolf Hoffmann and bassist Peter Baltes the dueling guitars really it’s a bass and guitar, Baltes lays down some serious groove, if I didn’t know any better I would think it was two guitars. Hoffmann’s guitar solos, respect!!! The laughter, challenging each other, blocking each other’s path It’s evident they were having a good time.
After a brief break and the fans cheering till they lost their voices, Hoffmann, Baltes, Lulis, Williams, and Tornillo re-enter the stage for a three-song encore: Metal Heart from the album of the same name, Teutonic Terror from Blood Of the Nations then ending with the iconic Accept song Balls To The Wall.
As I stated at the beginning, I am a long time fan of Accept, which can go either way seeing them for the first time. I could be disappointed or thoroughly impressed. I’m very happy to say I loved it, smiling every step of the way. Accept is kicking off their worldwide tour to Japan, Australia, Europe and South America till February 2018. At this time there will only be four additional North American dates:
September 26th – Irvine Plaza, New York
September 28th – White Oak Music Hall, Houston, Texas
September 29th – The Arcade, St. Charles, Illinois
September 30th – The Rose, Pasadena, California.
Catch one of these shows, they’ll rock your world!!
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Setlist:
Die by The Sword
Stalingrad
Restless and Wild
London Leatherboys
Living for Tonite
Koolaid
Carry the Weight
Analong Man
No Regrets
Final Journey
Shadow Soldiers
Neon Nights
Princess of the Dawn
Midnight Mover
Up to the Limit
Objection Overruled
Pandemic
Fast as a Shark
Encore:
Metal Heart
Teutonic Terror
Balls to The Wall
All photos by Tammy Greene
©2017. Please DO NOT copy or use without permission.
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