HELMET

Supposed to go see Helmet (http://www.helmetmusic.com/) tonight, but my buddy Mike had to bail because his pregnant wife is on bed rest now. Can't blame him, of course, but it sure is tough to find someone else to go with me. Most haven't heard of them (it's been a seven year hiatus for the band, and I guess they weren't exactly huge to begin with; it's tough to be unique sometimes).

Others are scared of the neighborhood (Deep Ellum) or going to the show itself for some reason (I guess it could be a little rough, but where's your sense of adventure, people?).

Warming to Size Matters slowly but surely. What bothers me is that, scanning their old catalog I can think of three, maybe four guitar solos total, and the new record has that many on its own. And I think I understand what they were trying to do. Some of the whipcrack musical maneuvers have been polished a bit. The funny time signatures are there, but every time a chorus comes along it sounds so... normal. It's kind of a predictable pattern after a while.
But I didn't like Aftertaste at first either, and now it's my favorite Helmet record. I do expect Hamilton and the boys to grow and expand. I also expect them to challenge me, and let me tell you, sounding more straightforward is certainly a challenge to these ears.

Anyway, I've been dying to see these guys forever. I don't relish being alone in Deep Ellum at night, but with any luck I won't be utterly alone on some dimly-lit stretch of road. Once I'm inside I'm cool.

If you want to go, email me. Fast.