We got to Green Bay on Thursday, and went to Doubles to try to get tickets, but they didn’t have them yet. There was a band playing, and it was SO loud that we could hear it perfectly out in the parking lot. When we were inside the building, we were in pain without our earplugs, so we had to leave.
We went back Friday afternoon to see if they had the tickets yet, but they didn’t. They said someone would be bringing them a little later, so we decided to stick around for awhile. We saw that the merch table was set up already, so we checked out the items. While we were looking, Marty came over to say hi. He seemed surprised and pleased to see us there. We asked him which of the shirts he had helped design, and he said that none of the ones that are currently available are that design. He said those shirts will be available in a couple of weeks.
The venue was sort of like a cleaner version of CBGB’s—about the same size, and with a black background in the stage area. LA Guns were all set up and about to start soundcheck, so Marty loped over to the stage. We asked the guys if they wanted us to leave, and they said, “No, go ahead and listen to soundcheck and rehearsal. You get a freebie!” So we sat right down and enjoyed.
As soon as Marty started singing, it was obvious how ready for a change he had been. This was one of the new songs, called “The Sound”. His voice was clear and strong, filled with energy, excitement, and passion. I *REALLY* like this song! It is very deep and emotional.
The venue’s sound system seemed to have a lot of issues. They had to keep tracking down sources of feedback and hum in the interfaces between the band’s gear and the venue’s system. Marty was very involved with the technical aspects of soundcheck. At one point, he told Al that his mike would have to be rotated away from the side stage monitor to prevent feedback. Marty was instructing the venue’s sound crew on adjustments to the inputs and levels for the various instruments and mikes, to get the sound he wanted for the band. Tracii didn’t seem to have a problem with this, and in fact, he was looking on with a smile, almost like a proud papa.
I know that people want the Marty fashion report, too, so at soundcheck, he was dressed casually in his plain white western-looking shirt over a white sleeveless undershirt, and faded jeans. I didn’t take photos at soundcheck—it felt more natural to just hang out there and enjoy.
They played through all or parts of 5 or 6 songs. Marty spent some time getting everyone coordinated on the verse/chorus/solo transitions in “Trees”. He actually was conducting, and not just for the stage act. He was facing the band and directing each player on their part.
When they played “STFU”, which is a Brides of Destruction song that Jeremy sings, Marty proceeded to play the theremin by interacting with it in a dramatic fashion with his fingers, hands, and arms. It produced wild sounds in response to his movements.
After soundcheck was over, we got to talk to Marty for about a half an hour, while still waiting for the tickets to arrive. They were finally delivered, so then we got to go find some dinner.
Back at the venue, there were 3 opening bands before LA Guns. Quite a few Hammerheads came to this show. I counted 10, including ourselves—Yak, JoMarty, Angie, Lisa (Angie’s sister?), Steph D., Joan, Lyn (HY), and her hubby Larry.
LA Guns finally got to go on at around midnight. Before they started, one of them (I think either Chad or Tracii—I was working with my camera, so I wasn’t looking) gave a very nice intro about how glad they were to have Marty Casey on board as their new lead singer, songwriter, and “commandant” (I think that was the word they used).
Then they launched into “No Mercy”, and Marty was in full-on Marty mode, totally doing his thing. He was not holding back at all, or being any different than his usual stage self. The sound level was EXTREMELY loud, like it had been there the previous night, but this time we were prepared. I had some industrial strength earplugs to put in, and I found that with them in, I could hear better than with them out. Without them, it was all a sonic overload mess, and I couldn’t even pick out the vocals. With the earplugs, I could distinguish all the individual sounds, and had no problem hearing Marty’s vocals, He sounded really good!
The stage lighting wasn’t very good, so there wasn’t enough light to shoot without flash. Thankfully, the venue didn’t have a problem with flash photos, so I was able to at least document the show. I would have liked to have done more artistic type shots, but that wasn’t possible with the lighting situation there. I didn’t get very many shots of Al—sorry dude, I’ll get ya next time! My flash wasn’t making it over to his side, and I didn’t want to go stand over there because there were some ‘interesting’ local characters on that side of the room. A fight broke out among those folks later in the set, so I was glad I wasn’t right there at the time!
OK, Marty fashion report for the show: He had his green leather jacket on during the first song, but it went off pretty quickly because it was so hot in there. He had on his black shirt/jacket with the red stripes around the arm and all the buttons on the front, over the white undershirt. He had red tape on his fingers, and had even put some red tape on his pant leg. He was wearing his black lace-up pants. He had a red and blue tie tied to the back belt loops. He had sneakers that looked like Chucks (couldn’t tell the brand for sure) that were red with black trim. He was wearing one of his “Trees” pendants, along with the 2 new necklaces I gave him after soundcheck. One is his Libra symbol, and the other has the letter “X” on it.
The set list:
No Mercy
Fire It Up (new song)
Sex Action
One More Reason
This Town
Wish You Were Here (Marty solo acoustic)
Ballad of Jayne
STFU (Jeremy on vocals)
The Sound (New song)
Black Majesty (New song)
Never Enough
Trees
Rip and Tear
>>>Note—they played part of Paint It Black during one song, but I can’t remember
which one.
There was no encore—it was 1:37 AM by then. All the guys came out afterward to talk to the fans, and I met everyone but Al. We had a nice conversation with Tracii—he seems like a really cool guy, and had some interesting insights. Marty told me which songs were the new ones he wrote.
I really enjoyed this show. Marty was clearly energized and excited to be doing something new, and all the guys seemed to be having a lot of fun onstage, and really getting into the music. There was a lot of interaction with each other. While Marty was doing WYWH, Tracii was standing to the side, grooving to it with a blissful look on his face. I did get a photo of that, and I will be sure to post it. This is the start of a whole new future for this band, and they most definitely do not sound like an eighties cover band! This is a band that’s living in the now, not the past.
They do have a tour bus, with a trailer. Marty said they will travel down to Florida in it, fly to Puerto Rico to do their thing there, and then return to Florida to continue the tour from there in the bus. We will most definitely be catching more shows on this tour!
Photos will be coming later this week--I'm still in Green Bay at a Kinko's on a rented computer, and I think I'm going to run out of time before I can post any.
P.S.--I don't recall Tracii having to restart Trees 4 times. I think he was just playing around and being silly.
P.P.S.--would someone please carry this review over to the Sisterhood? Thanks!
You're welcome, everybody. 
I am slipping, I know. 
. You were always so good with that, lol. 
Wow Nancy, that was an AWESOME review!! You didn't leave a detail out and I felt as though i was in the room!! I know you are an awesome photographer but you should be a writer as well!!!! 
