Sixx AM and Apocalyptica at the Bomb Factory, Dallas
DALLAS – On April 17, 2015, the recently re-opened historic venue The Bomb Factory would be hosting a very special gig. Apocalyptica and Vamps were in town in support of Sixx: A.M. on their first ever headlining tour. The Bomb Factory is a 50,000 square foot state of the art music venue located in the heart of historic Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas. A couple of hours before show time, one was pleasantly surprised to see a line of ambitious metal heads and rockers stretching around the building. Upon entering the venue, you could see it featured a state of the art sound and lighting system, multiple VIP areas, and the stage was completely obstruction free from almost any vantage point. Most importantly, it was not difficult to find a drink with five separate bars.
As the clocked ticked to 8:00 p.m. the show was just starting when the Vamps, a hard rock band from Tokyo, Japan hit the stage. The Vamps were formed in 2008 by vocalist/guitarist Hyde and lead guitarist K.A.Z. Since 2008, the Vamps have released four studio albums and toured the world extensively. Their live experience helped them to deliver a rock solid performance full of energy. They slowly gained the crowds approval with a beautiful cover of Motley Crϋe’s “Live Wire”.
Apocalyptica hit the stage storming into a perfect live version of their newest single “Cold Blood” from their recently released album Shadowmaker. It was obvious from the first song that Apocalyptica has continued to evolve with their newest record. Shadowmaker marks the first time that the band has worked with a single singer to provide all vocals for an entire album. Apocalyptica’s new vocalist Franky Perez has added a whole new element to their live performance. It is not that easy to add a new element to such a unique sound, the sound of three cellos on steroids, but Franky Perez does it. As the band concluded “Cold Blood” the crowd gave their overwhelming approval. Apocalyptica then launched into their epic song “Grace”. After the first two songsc cellist Eicca Toppinen asked the crowdc “Where are the metal heads at?!” as they ripped into a very unique version of Speultura’s “Inquisition Symphony.” Not to worry…. Apocalyptica then slowed things down a bit as they played a very soothing almost “elevator version” of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” with the entire crowd providing vocals. The transition was flawless as they began their next song with Franky Perez back on vocals for “Shadowmaker,” the title track from their most recent album. The chugging and building of the song increased the energy level of the crowd which remained through the next song “I Don’t Care.” The song was originally recorded with Three Days Grace vocalist Adam Gontier providing vocal duties, but Franky Perez had no problem owning it and making it his own. To conclude their set cellist Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén ripped into their version of Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Apocalyptica’s set was full of energy with a uniqueness that cannot be found elsewhere. F
From their debut album The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, there was never any real intention of being a full on touring band. The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack was recorded to simply serve as a soundtrack to bassist Nikki Sixx’s book The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, which details Nikki Sixx’s severe heroin addiction from December 1986 to December 1987. Because of Nikki Sixx’s huge fan base from Motley Crϋe and the brutally honest lyrics from their music fans demanded to see them live. After more than a seven year wait fans had the opportunity to see Sixx: A.M. live! As Nikki Sixx and Sixx: A.M. were taking the stage “X-Mas in Hell” was playing over the sound system. “X-Mas in Hell” is the first track from Sixx: A.M.’s debut album. The brutally honest spoken lyrics are taken directly from the opening lines of Nikki Sixx’s diary which starts on Christmas day of 1986 and details his severe heroin addiction over the next year of his life. The song set the mood for the remainder of Sixx: A.M.’s set. The crowd was immediately involved with chants of “Hey, Hey” with the opening lines of “Let’s Go.” The first three songs, “Let’s Go,” “Give Me a Love,” and “Relief” were from Sixx: A.M.’s most recent album Modern Vintage. The crowd was already going crazy when Sixx: A.M. gave them a taste of The Heroin Diaries with the next two songs “This Is Gonna Hurt,” and “Pray for Me.” Between the songs lead singer James Michael stated how fun it was playing tracks from the debut album The Heroin Diaries. Michael then went into how they all come from a broken place as they ripped into “Dead Man’s Ballet,” then “Accidents Can Happen.” Just before the next song “Miracle,” guitarist DJ Ashba grabbed the mic thanking the crowd for coming out and waiting so long to see them live. The next three songs “Accidents Can Happen,” “Live Forever,” and “Gotta Get It Right,” kept the blistering pace. A piano was brought center stage for singer James Michael as they slowed things down a bit with the next tune, a beautiful cover of The Cars “Drive.” At the conclusion of the song, Nikki Sixx grabbed the mic and took a seat creating a real intimate conversion with the crowd. He thanked them numerous times and explained the formation of the band and that there was never any real intention of Sixx: A.M. being a touring band or being anything more than the one off album as a soundtrack for the book. He stated that the band found themselves as messengers of hope and have embraced it. The next three songs “Help Is on the Way,” “Goodbye My Friends,” and “Lies of the Beautiful People,” had the crowd in an absolute frenzy. They finished their set with the current single “Stars” from their most recent album Modern Vintage as confetti rained down on the crowd. It was a fantastic set and you just knew that there was nothing left in their tanks as the entire band had given it their all during the set. However, the crowd demanded an encore and Sixx: A.M. didn’t disappoint as the band retook the stage to perform an encore with the ballad “Skin,” but ended the show on a high note with their hard rocking hit “Life Is Beautiful.”
Sixx: A.M. gave the fans more than the money’s worth. Their sound was as big and the performance as polished as any band that I have ever witnessed. With Nikki Sixx’s main band Motley Crue calling it a career at the end of the year, he will have plenty of time on his hands. Nikki Sixx announced via his twitter account that Sixx: A.M. has plans for a new album and a world tour in 2016.
THANK YOU FOR THE BEST TIME OF OUR LIVES.WE WILL BE BACK WITH A NEW ALBUM AND WORLD TOUR IN 2016 #ModernVintageTour @SixxAM
— Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) April 30, 2015
About Author
