Baroness!

[Timmah]

I had the opportunity to see these guys a few weeks ago at a smallish show in Boston... they're unreal. Their new record, Purple, is one of the most stunningly powerful and surprisingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard, and the bass playing and bass tone is aggressive as hell and drives the band.
Kerosene:
I've had this album spinning nonstop for probably three weeks now, and I'm not sick of it yet (though I do intersperse my listenings occasionally with their previous releases).

 

[Mark Reccord]

Yeah, Purple is a standout album. I've had it in steady rotation for months. It's massive, melodic and beautiful. I couldn't manage to get up to Montreal to see them earlier this month but hopefully they'll come around again before too long.

 

[newmusicmichael]

Not really in my wheelhouse, but they're playing here in Edmonton on the 27th. I did buy tickets to Savages two days prior, though.

 

[Timmah]

Yeah, Purple is a standout album. I've had it in steady rotation for months. It's massive, melodic and beautiful. I couldn't manage to get up to Montreal to see them earlier this month but hopefully they'll come around again before too long.

Seeing them live is absolutely worth it. I drove 2+ hours for it because a buddy told me it'd be good: it's gotta be in the top three shows I've ever seen, if not the best. They're unbelievably tight, they sound just as massive as they do in the studio, and if you show up an hour before doors you're pretty much guaranteed a spot in the front row- I could reach out and touch Nick Jost's pedalboard. Go to the first show you can, cause if they get as big as they deserve to be, tickets will be $100 before long.

Side note: Their setlist from the night I saw them was all of Purple except Iron Bell (plus like nine old songs), so if you dig the album get out there.

 

[Mark Reccord]

Seeing them live is absolutely worth it. I drove 2+ hours for it because a buddy told me it'd be good: it's gotta be in the top three shows I've ever seen, if not the best. They're unbelievably tight, they sound just as massive as they do in the studio, and if you show up an hour before doors you're pretty much guaranteed a spot in the front row- I could reach out and touch Nick Jost's pedalboard. Go to the first show you can, cause if they get as big as they deserve to be, tickets will be $100 before long.

Side note: Their setlist from the night I saw them was all of Purple except Iron Bell (plus like nine old songs), so if you dig the album get out there.

I have and love all of their albums and you're not the first person who's said that they're excellent live so they're high on the list of bands I need to see. Maybe they'll do a tour with Clutch one of these days. No good bands ever come here because it's off the beaten path with a small population and is therefore cost-prohibitive. I do have access to massively discounted flights (I work for an airline) so it's not too hard for me to shoot off to Halifax, Montreal or Ottawa to see a band but the timing just wasn't feasible this time. Same goes for COC, Clutch and LOG in Toronto thursday night. Grrr.

I've heard a few people complaining that Purple is a big departure for Baroness and that it's not heavy enough. I don't see it. Sure, it's not as heavy as Red but it's easy to see the evolution of their sound in this direction over their whole catalog. And really, it's not like Red isn't melodic and (dare I say) a bit proggy.

 

[OnederTone]

I've been listening to them since Red, but Purple has REALLY captured my attention... it is SO good. I was driving (through a hellacious snow storm) through Pueblo, CO on my way to Santa Fe when "Shock Me" was released, and the local heavy rock station had it on a "smash or trash" competition with something else... Papa Roach maybe... I don't recall... Anyway, the callers were overwhelmingly voting down "Shock Me" and I was flat out appalled. it's a GREAT song. People have no taste.

I finally got to see them last Saturday at Project Pabst in Denver, they had an hour slot and played every single minute of it... lo and behold, "Shock Me" was amazing live and EVERYONE was singing along... hell, the whole set people were singing along. It wasn't long enough. it was at 3:00 in the afternoon... but it was still great. Very, VERY impressed with Nick Jost... he's a talented feller.

Finally- Got to meet JDB at an art showing at a brewery in Denver on Sunday... flippin' nice and humble guy... bought 2 prints and talked with him for a few minutes... My obsession with Baroness is bordering on unhealthy.

 

[Blaargh]

Yeah man, Purple is an amazing album. The new rhythm section absolutely slays as well, I'm gutted the UK tour came nowhere near here (which is fair enough, I don't live very far from where their crash was). It's a shame they never seem to make the Download lineup either, that'd be killer.

Purple though, Purple is just incredible. I really dig John's 'busy' style, same as his artwork. No one writes anything that sounds quite like him.

 

[gregmon79]

I just saw them this past Sunday at the Metro in Chicago. It was an AMAZING show!! They absolutely killed it! Very tight, the sound was on point and the lights were spectacular. Totally blew me away. One of my fav bands for sure.

 

[Mark Reccord]

I just saw them this past Sunday at the Metro in Chicago. It was an AMAZING show!! They absolutely killed it! Very tight, the sound was on point and the lights were spectacular. Totally blew me away. One of my fav bands for sure.

So happy to hear so many great reviews for Baroness live. I'm going to see them in Orlando on Sept. 6. Stoked!

 

[Timmah]

You won't regret it, Mark. I got to see them for a second time in Rhode Island last week, and they KILLED IT. Amazing show, and the whole band is incredibly friendly to their fans, which is awesome.

Side note: If you can, get yourself to one of the Pop-Up Shops beforehand, Baizley sits around with whoever comes in and talks about coffee, art and music. He's an awesomely insightful and down to earth guy and it's great to pick his brain/converse (pick up a couple prints or a fuzz pedal too, his art is amazing).

 

[Mark Reccord]

You won't regret it, Mark. I got to see them for a second time in Rhode Island last week, and they KILLED IT. Amazing show, and the whole band is incredibly friendly to their fans, which is awesome.

Side note: If you can, get yourself to one of the Pop-Up Shops beforehand, Baizley sits around with whoever comes in and talks about coffee, art and music. He's an awesomely insightful and down to earth guy and it's great to pick his brain/converse (pick up a couple prints or a fuzz pedal too, his art is amazing).

I'd like to do that but I fear logistics might make it difficult. How long before the show do these happen? I'm vacationing with my family and we're staying a solid 30 minutes drive or more away. Doors are at 7 and I don't want to leave my wife with the kids for too long...

We booked the trip months ago and when the Orlando date popped up on the Baroness facebook page I just about lost my marbles! I'm doing pretty well with Orlando. Managed to catch Clutch there in 2013 on a vacation as well, though it was close. We landed at 7 and I just had time to dump the family at our resort and go to the show. Got to the House of Blues about 10 minutes before they went on.

Really looking forward to seeing Baroness live. I'll report my impressions here after.

 

[Thuddy Waters]

I had the opportunity to see these guys a few weeks ago at a smallish show in Boston... they're unreal. Their new record, Purple, is one of the most stunningly powerful and surprisingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard, and the bass playing and bass tone is aggressive as hell and drives the band.
Kerosene:
I've had this album spinning nonstop for probably three weeks now, and I'm not sick of it yet (though I do intersperse my listenings occasionally with their previous releases).

That song sounds like this song:

 

[Mark Reccord]

That song sounds like this song:

Hahaha! There's definitely some similarity in spots.

I just saw them this past Sunday at the Metro in Chicago. It was an AMAZING show!! They absolutely killed it! Very tight, the sound was on point and the lights were spectacular. Totally blew me away. One of my fav bands for sure.

You won't regret it, Mark. I got to see them for a second time in Rhode Island last week, and they KILLED IT. Amazing show, and the whole band is incredibly friendly to their fans, which is awesome.

Side note: If you can, get yourself to one of the Pop-Up Shops beforehand, Baizley sits around with whoever comes in and talks about coffee, art and music. He's an awesomely insightful and down to earth guy and it's great to pick his brain/converse (pick up a couple prints or a fuzz pedal too, his art is amazing).

Yeah, you guys weren't kidding. I went to their show at The Social in downtown Orlando on the 6th. Small venue, about 400 people. I was a bit nervous about going to a strange bar in an unfamiliar city but it ended up being great. The crowd was really mellow and friendly. Had a bunch of conversations with complete strangers. In short, Baroness were stunningly good. One of the best bands I've ever seen live (and after 20-odd years active at all levels of the industry I've seen a few). Lots of bands have a hard time capturing their recorded sound live but Baroness really nailed it and they played with such energy and enthusiasm that you could almost see it coming off the stage. Crowd sang along to almost all of the tunes and you could tell the band appreciated that. Their live performance would win over even their harshest critics, I think. You can tell that they care deeply about the quality of their performance and about their live sound, which was excellent BTW (and I am a harsh critic of that). Great show, I'd heartily recommend seeing them live. I also quite enjoyed the opener, Pallbearer. Great doomy metal with clean vocals. Their sound mix was quite good as well.

 

[*ToNeS*]

I so desperately want to like these guys, but always felt like they were a bit close to Mastodon initially and that's sorta tarred it for me. What am I missing? Ridiculously huge fan of Baizley's art, though. Have about a million shirts and even a piece (signed at SXSW! He refers to me as a rude word!) hanging up in the lounge room. Tal-ent-ed mo-fo.