It’s been a while since Black Label Society passed through the Bay Area, so when they hit San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom on a Sunday night, the fans packed the joint to the rafters for what would prove to be an epic evening of metal.
Portland, Oregon’s Lord Dying kicked things off early (7:30 PM!) to a room that was already filling up nicely. Clear concerns over the Coronavirus hasn’t reached the heavy metal community and by the time Obituary finished pummeling the room with their 40 minute set, plenty of bodily fluids had been sent flying from the pit.
After Obituary wrapped, the crew hoisted a curtain in front of the stage to hide the set change. Unfortunately, the height of the curtain was limited by the balcony to which it was affixed, leaving only “lack Labe” visible to the fans. Not that it mattered anyways, because it was pretty obvious to anyone watching the opening bands that under those black sheets was a wall of speaker cabinets.
A creative mash-up of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” with Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” (“Whole Lotta War Pigs”) blasted over the PA and pumped up the room as the band set up before finally launching into “Genocide Junkies” from 2002’s 1919 Eternal as the curtain dropped. Game on San Francisco!
There was clearly some pent-up demand for BLS, because the San Francisco crowd immediately unleashed as the band chugga-chugged through “Funeral Bell” and “The Rose Petalled Garden.” Crowd surfers spilling over the barricade kept the Regency’s security team on their toes who were likely curious, but having no opportunity to divert their attention to Zakk Wylde when he stepped onto his riser to shred a solo to see if he was going commando under that kilt.
But it wasn’t all guitars, with Wylde stepping behind a grand piano for a few songs including a tribute to Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul with “In This River.” Not one to end things on a downer, Zakk Wylde and guitarist Dario Lorina both made their way into the crowd for battling guitar solos before wrapping the night with “Concrete Jungle” and “Stillborn.” Now that was a show!
LORD DYING
OBITUARY
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
SETLIST
Genocide Junkies
Funeral Bell
The Rose Petalled Garden
Heart of Darkness
Suicide Messiah
Trampled Down Below
Seasons of Falter
Peddlers of Death
Spoke in the Wheel
In This River
The Blessed Hellride
A Love Unreal
Fire It Up
Concrete Jungle
Stillborn
