HELMET HIGHLIGHTS ’94 CLASSIC AT VIPER ROOM JULY 11
Hard rock fans will be getting a healthy serving of “Milquetoast” on July 11, when Helmet hits up the Sunset Strip to rock Viper Room with a special performance of Betty in its entirety.
The New York hard rockers are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Helmet’s critically acclaimed 1994 rock classic, which also includes the timeless tracks “Vaccination,” “Wilma’s Rainbow” and “Biscuits for Smut.”
In addition to performing Betty track-for-track, Page Hamilton and crew will likely crank out some of the band’s other amp-shaking killer classics, like “Exactly What You Wanted,” “Unsung,” “Gone,” “See You Dead” and the title track to the band’s latest release, 2010’s Seeing Eye Dog.
Joining band founder and frontman Hamilton in Helmet’s current line up is guitarist Dan Beeman, drummer Kyle Stevenson and bassist Dave Case.
Viper Room is located at 8852 Sunset. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Check Viper Room’s calendar for ticket details.
We spotted this rockin’ and random stencil art confession by prolific L.A. street artist Wrdsmth just off the Sunset Strip, outside Viper Room‘s Larrabee entrance. We imagine that, like us, most Angelenos totally empathize with half of this statement–and occasionally, the other half!
We were walking down Sunset this evening sulking from neglecting to get tickets to see metal gods Metallica play L.A. in May when we spotted the Whisky‘s marquee and two words made us feel better right away: Hollywood Roses, the best GN’R tribute band around will be rocking the Whisky ion February 9.
Then two more words smacked us upside the head: Bullet Boys – on February 15! That, naturally, was followed by another two words: Hell yeah!
The best of late ’80s/early ’90s metal is slicing its way right back to the Sunset Strip and to that we raise our Bic lighters high!
Fellow L.A. rock refugees James Hetfield and Metallica will also be playing L.A. soon, when the iconic band rightfully receives the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award at rock mag Revolver‘s Golden Gods Awards Show at Downtown L.A.’s intimate-sized Club Nokia on May 2.
Also set to perform is Five Finger Death Punch, Dillinger Escape Plan and a bunch of other awesome bands. Tickets to this rockin’ once-in-a-lifetime event, unfortunately, are astronomical — plus, they’re general admission!
Catching Hollywood Roses and Bullet Boys at Whisky is definitely an awesome backup plan. Plus, with all the ca$h we’re saving by skipping the Golden Gods event, here’s all the other Sunset Strip shows we’ll be checkin’ out in the next couple of months:
Warner Drive @ Viper Room • Feb. 6 (and 13, 20 and March 1)
We’re also lookin’ forward to checking out Buckcherry’s support act Cherri Bomb again at Viper Room. OK, we admit we initially cast them off as a Runaways knock off awhile back…but that was when we were drunk and before catching them live and seeing the ladies rock the hell outta the Strip at last summer’s SSMF. Check out some rockin’ anthems below from the band’s that will keep alive the Sunset Strip’s enviable rep as the global anchor of authentic kick-ass rock and roll.
Spotted this freshly posted “Super Street Art” by mysterious art ninja EmSixFive while stumbling home from the Rainbow this evening. The nostalgic ode to hot rods and model car kits covers part of a utility box near the front of the Roxy.
The rockin’ monochromatic graphic captures the essence of an era so vividly that it got us reminiscing about those old model car kits that took all afternoon to build. Then as soon as you proudly placed it on a shelf, its wheels fell off, leaving you with nothing but a mess and fingers you couldn’t separate.
But the residual high from the glue usually made it all better.
Fullerton-launched rockers Social Distortion are bringing the band’s crankin’ collection of hard-rock hits to the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues next week, headlining sold out shows December 13 through 15.
Social D returns to the Strip again for three nights of sold-out shows December 27 through 29.
L.A. fans that couldn’t get tix to any of the December shows can still catch Mike Ness and crew rocking their hits alongside future-classics from Social D’s latest release, Hard Times and NurseryRhymes,at the band’s January 20 H.o.B. show. Unlike their January 19 concert, fans can still get tix to the January 20 gig via House of Blues’ website.
The band’s series of House of Blues shows is being presented by KROQ, the legendary L.A. radio station that championed the O.C. band back in the day long before the sold-out international tours.
Wow! For those keeping score at home, that’s eight mostly sold-out shows at House of Blues! We’d like to see Bieber try to accomplish that s#%t!
GODFATHER OF SOUL GETS A SHOUT OUT ON THE SUNSET STRIP
Late music legend James Brown is the newest icon to receive a rockin’ tribute via Sunset Boulevard’s Gibson Guitar Town outdoor art installation of towering hand-painted guitar sculptures that are ubiquitous throughout the famous Strip, from Doheny to Crescent Heights.
Evocative of the iconic rock-and-soul singer’s electric flair, the fab and funky 10 foot tall Les Paul guitar dedicated to JB features a badass monochromatic portrait and colorful splashes of lightning-blue accents that give added radiance to the black and pink guitar body and fret board.
Appropriately, the tribute to Brown, who passed away in 2006, is set on hollowed ground, on Sunset near Horn, in the former off-site second parking lot of the equally legendary but defunct Tower Records Sunset.
We noticed the curious graphic above on the back of a Sunset Strip stop sign and thought it was cool. Later, we randomly spotted it again in another format and were truly impressed.
Ingeniously, the mystery artist adhered the graphic to a fence in front of the legendary Sunset Tower hotel, dissecting it so that it organically forms into a cohesive image as you pass by. Priceless! Check it out below.
GETTIN’ SOCIAL ON SUNSET: Mike Ness and the band are set to rock the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues Dec. 13-15 and 27-29.
SOCIAL DISTORTION BRINGS H.O.B. TOUR TO THE SUNSET STRIP
Ever-touring punk-rock renegades Social Distortion are kicking off a tour of House of Blues venues across the country beginning October 18 in Cleveland.
Expectedly, Mike Ness and the gang are selling out every stop on the tour, which hits the Sunset Strip’s H.O.B. in December for six shows! The O.C. rockers play three nights from December 13 to 15, then return a few nights later, from December 27 to 29.
The band is playing all over So. Cal, too, in support of Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, headlining H.O.B. shows in The O.C. and San Diego before and after the L.A. dates. They’re also playing Sin City, of course. Get the full tour sched here.
Better yet…Ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan is opening Social D.’s December 29 Sunset Strip show with his smokin’ band Loaded.
Ness has also invited a load of other cool bands, like Caddillac Tramps, to support the iconic punkers out on the road. Check the run down here to see what bands are opening the various shows.
Sunset Strip hot spot Viper Room plastered its side wall, on Larrabee, with a cool new Metallica-inspired graphic Friday night. We don’t know yet what the new Club Lee Roy event, happening at VR on September 28, is going to entail nor what type of music will be shakin’ the woofers. But judging solely on the logo’s salute to Metallica, it already sounds quite promising.
Check back to SunsetandClark.com for upcoming details on the new event.
A slick street artist — and apparent fan of Poe, A Clockwork Orange, Rob Zombie (maybe) and everything Goth — has added some cool pavement art to the Sunset Strip in front of the Viper Room in West Hollywood.
Here’s famous green dude Yoda sporting some cool Isaac Hayes-like shades and Dr. Dre Beats headphones while hanging out on the Sunset Strip. We spotted the slick street art on the pavement on Music Row, near the Guitar Center and Sam Ash.