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Well…..the night started off horribly. My ride was an hour late to pick me up and there was traffic the whole way there. We didn’t even arrive at the El Rey until 7:30pm and the doors were “supposed” to open at 8pm. Luckily, to my surprise and rejoice, when I arrived only 4 people were in line……2 of which I had previously met 2 months ago at the Black Flag “Reunion”. So, needless to say, I was psyched.

The doors really didn’t open till about 8:30 pm, due to a late sound check by the headliners, the legendary “Killing Joke”. So, I get in at 8:30 and proceed to pick a spot directly under the vocalist’s microphone….great, right up front and I’m not moving till it’s done. So, I wait until 9:30 and finally Amen graces the stage. What happens next makes up for the whole hassle it was to drive down, the money, the bitching, the waiting…hell, it makes up for anything.

Amen hit the stage like a fucking hurricane, those who knew Amen were having a blast…those who didn’t and were there for KJ were either utterly terrified or amazed. The audience seemed to consist of many different kinds of people. There were age old punkers, goths, metalheads, young punks, and some people that looked like they walked into the wrong building, dressed in suits and ties.

Casey Chaos must be the most physical singer I have ever seen live, Casey is an absolute MADMAN - by the end of the show he was bleeding (and I’m not talking little scrapes, real blood), he was cut up from damaging himself and rolling around and jumping and a whole lot of other crazy shit. His vocals were right on the whole time, fierce and violent. The band was tight as hell…..even when Casey would attack his fellow members! They played some of my favorite tracks, I don't remember the exact set list, but they played "Justified", "Coma America", "Piss Virus", "The Waiting", "Whores Of Hollywood", a new song "Hello", "Price Of Reality", "Mayday", and "Refuse Amen". Casey made some humorous comments about "Ahnuld" and the local police. I got to sing into the mic a couple times and Casey grabbed me and started singing/screaming in my face. And, to top things off, something rather unfortunate, yet further proof of Casey’s commitment to the music and live performance, happened. Casey was jumping and freaking out so much that he fell behind the drums and broke his ankle at the end of the set, making him have to finish the last song while being held up by one of his road crew members.

What I saw tonight was complete and total punk rock anarchy on stage like I’ve never seen it before, the best show I have ever seen. For fucks sake, Casey destroyed a speaker, knocked a bunch of them on the floor, climbed the walls, broke the drum set…fuck…..total insanity and I loved it. I was getting flashbacks to videos I had seen of the Germs, Black Flag and other such bands from the early '80's. It was the most violent show I'd ever had the pleasure of attending.

Anyway, Amen was the primary reason I had gone but since I had paid the ticket price and was digging Killing Joke's new self-titled album, I decided to stay for the remainder of the show. After a bit of a wait and a whole lot more people cramming into the tiny El Rey, Killing Joke took the stage. They put on a great show, very tight and direct. They played a lot from the latest album and some older classics as well. It was great but I couldn't help but feel that Amen had definitely stole the show, without a doubt. Nothing really eventful during their set happened, the audience was really into it and everybody looked to be having a great time. Killing Joke played for about 2 hours and then left the stage. I wasn't sure if they were gonna pull off an encore or not, but nonetheless I had work in the morning so I decided to scram. Anyway, I clamored out, called my ride and was off to sleep by midnight. The end of one intense night.



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    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 2, 2006 at 11:21 AM (EST)

    whoops i accidentally pressed post anyway
    2. kiling joke isnt about killing being a joke but killing joke
    as i said before what a retard i bet theyjust saw the name amen having never herd of them n presumed they were a load of god botherers

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, January 2, 2006 at 11:19 AM (EST)

    "This review was good, but here's how I'd make it better:

    1. Isn't it weird that killing joke is with a christian rock band, like Amen?

    2. More importantly, Killing is no joke."

    hahahaha what a fucking retard 2 things

    1. amen are not a christian rock band- hence lyrics like " take your bible burn it alive"

    2.

    Posted by Maheekat on 2004-05-22 12:48:19
    My Score:

    Does any body realize that Killing Joke started the heavy devil voice thing? there first album was in 1978...the words are for world to here, telling how f---cked up everything is. Jaz is not trying to do anything but tell it like it is...How many of you were born when first album came out? Most of the time this new "Punk" music sounds like angry country western music with the lead yeller throwing up his urban fast food.

    "Punk" is a state of mind, not a bunch of kids trying to out do each other with violence.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, December 13, 2003 at 9:35 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Hey this is Lewis AGAIN! Iv been reading some of the shit peaple have writen. And the guy that said thatAmen were just Snot members...well if i can just say go and do the world a favour and pull your lip over your head a swallow! You dont no shit boy..Casey kept Amen his and didnt let the fact of all the old members leave bother him......CASEY YOU ARE A GOD!!!!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, December 6, 2003 at 8:41 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Hey guys, my real name is Lewis, thats all you need to know! Iv been a Amen fan for about 3 years now, and iv seen them only once, that was in Scotland(Thats where i live...oh fucking joy)and can i just say they fucking woke up this fucking place up..Casey is a fucking god, and in a realy weird way i feel sorry for him, with the loss of band members and Virgin and RoadRunner being such Retards for letting a great band like Amen go, your insane, oh dont for get they have Nickleback(FUCK OFF!). And Iv heard some stuff by Killing Joke and its ok (ish)but I still think Amen Made those U.S. gigs happen, no one can buy that. Well Im going to fuck off now.....Partyboy_954@hotmail.com thats if you guys want to bitch at me or anything...well good bye

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 1, 2003 at 9:05 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Actually, Tumor (Bass) and Sonny (guitars) were in Snot, but no longer in Amen. I had the unique opprotunity to interview Casey Choas at the Detroit show;

    Download the RTF here;

    http://www.msnusers.com/TheUngratefulDead/Documents/Hall oween Chaos.rtf

    or read it on the web with a shitload of typos here;

    http://www.geocities.com/comaparents

    Not to suck my own penis or anything, but if you like Amen, you have to read this. It's in-depth, lengthy, and has a lot of info on the band and the new album.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, December 1, 2003 at 4:24 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Too true...I caught the show in Minneapolis, and my ass was sufficiently kicked.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 at 5:57 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    man, i wish id seen that show...
    Amen are one of the most original and best bands around.
    oh, and that superdude guy rocks :D

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 21, 2003 at 6:17 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Why is it a shitty pop band like Blink has so many fucking readers and one of the greatest punk bands alive today, Amen, has barely any...fuck you people....you don't know what punk rock IS."

    Hey brother, you're preaching to the converted...
    -Janelle

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 7:34 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Who else notices that the riff in Nirvana's "Come As You Are" is a total rip off of Killing Joke's "Eighties"?

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 4:52 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Actually I paid to see the good bands that were on the same bill. Believe me, if My Morning Jacket wasn't up next, I would've left.

    The lead singer is sad and old. He tries to be scary but he reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne (current version)."

    Hahahahahahahaha. This score is for your taste in music.

    -BSD

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 6:54 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Killing Joke rock. Please don't tell me you were so pathetic as to not have heard them before you paid to see them..."

    Actually I paid to see the good bands that were on the same bill. Believe me, if My Morning Jacket wasn't up next, I would've left.

    The lead singer is sad and old. He tries to be scary but he reminds me of Ozzy Osbourne (current version).

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 1:40 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    I love superdude. He's the new savior of punknews.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 12:27 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Why is it a shitty pop band like Blink has so many fucking readers and one of the greatest punk bands alive today, Amen, has barely any...fuck you people....you don't know what punk rock IS.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 20, 2003 at 12:13 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    The only member of Amen that is original is Casey Chaos...and he is all Amen really is...the Snot guys were only in the band for about a year...Amen has been around since '93 and Casey has been making hardcore punk since 1984.....longer than almost any of the shit that gets reviewed on this site. And plus only 1 member of snot was in the band. But who really cares? Plus, the lineup the past 2 years is completely new.

    Posted by notfeelingcreative on 2003-11-19 23:17:38
    My Score:

    Is Amen the same band that has/had former members of snot?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 19, 2003 at 7:58 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "Saw Killing Joke at CMJ...what a fucking joke. Boring predictable slow riffs. Stupid, stupid lyrics. But a ton of people were loving them. Morons."

    Killing Joke rock. Please don't tell me you were so pathetic as to not have heard them before you paid to see them...

    -BSD

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 3:48 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Wow....I hope the guy below is being sarcastic. Amen is the most anti-Christian (or any western religion) band I have ever heard.

    Posted by superdude on 2003-11-18 15:31:28
    My Score:

    This review was good, but here's how I'd make it better:

    1. Isn't it weird that killing joke is with a christian rock band, like Amen?

    2. More importantly, Killing is no joke.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 2:12 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Amen is one of the only true saviors of punk rock!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 2:11 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    If Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Dashboard Confessional, or...hist...any of that emo crap can get reviewed on this site then of course a band like killing joke, whose a billion times more punk than those bands, can.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 1:55 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    oh no, not the punk police!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 12:43 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Saw Killing Joke at CMJ...what a fucking joke. Boring predictable slow riffs. Stupid, stupid lyrics. But a ton of people were loving them. Morons.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 at 12:30 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Killing Joke is not punk.

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