Show Reviews
Cannibal Corpse USA Tour 2022 – Portland, Oregon
Cannibal Corpse with Whitechapel, Revocation, Shadow of Intent – Portland, Oregon – March 8, 2022 – Hawthorne Theater Photo by Alex Morgan The first time I saw Cannibal Corpse was at the tiny, now defunct, legendary, Satyricon in Portland; it remains one of my all-time favorite shows. Intimate. Scary. Life altering. There was vomit, urine, sweat, beer, and [...]
Nile: The Age of Vile Divinities US Tour 2022 – Show Review
Nile - Portland, Oregon - February 18, 2022 - Hawthorne Theatre I was so excited for this show. I love watching Karl Sanders play. Smooth, happy, deliberate. One of my favorites to interview, I decided no in person interviews for a while due to the pandemic. My brother died of covid, and I was still a bit leery. I found [...]
Soulfly USA Tour 2022 – Show Review – Portland, Oregon
Soulfy - Portland, Oregon - February 17, 2022 - BossaNova Ballroom Soulfly is always exciting to see live. Max Cavalera is the epitome of a rock star. Humble, approachable, and appears to live and breathe music. I arrived timely and met up with my friend Mandi. A quick search and proof of vaccination with ID was conducted and then we [...]
Dark Tranquillity North American Moments 2022 – Portland, Oregon
Dark Tranquillity - Portland, Oregon - February 13, 2022 -Bossanova Ballroom It was a beautiful day in Portland, Oregon and I was so excited to see Johan Reinhold, one of the guitarists for Dark Tranquillity. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of taking a summertime walk with a group of Dark Tranquillity’s crew and Johan came along. He’s [...]
KISS – Ridgefield, Washington – September 17, 2021 – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
KISS - Ridgefield, Washington - September 17, 2021 - RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater You wanted the best, you got the best! Truly, in rock n’ roll, nothing seems to compare to the legendary and iconic band, KISS. KISS has basically created an empire. Why? Because the fans demanded it and the members (past and present) are talented both [...]
Lindsey Stirling – Portland, Oregon – September 6, 2021 – Moda Center
Lindsey Stirling - Portland, Oregon - September 6, 2021 - Moda Center It was a great Labor Day weekend for music in Portland, Oregon this year. Eighteen long months of not going to any live music concerts, and then I got my metal fix on Saturday with an amazing concert at the Moda Center with Megadeth, followed by a [...]
Megadeth | Lamb of God | Trivium | Hatebreed – Portland, Oregon – September 4, 2021 – Moda Center
Megadeth | Lamb of God | Trivium | Hatebreed - Portland, Oregon - September 4, 2021 - Moda Center It's been a long, long, 18 months since the last time I was at a concert. Five hundred and fifty-five days to be exact. The last live concert MIRP attended was KoRn at the Moda Center, February 27, 2020. As [...]
KoRn | Breaking Benjamin | Bones UK | – Portland, Oregon – February 27, 2020 – Moda Center
KoRn, Breaking Benjamin, Bones UK – Winter Tour - Thursday, Feb. 27th, 2019 - Moda Center - Portland, Oregon KoRn is one of my favorite bands of all time and definitely one of my favorite acts to see live. I've seen them twelve or more times, but this show really special to me because it was the first show my [...]
GWAR, Sacred Reich, Toxic Holocaust, Against the Grain – Portland, Oregon – October 18, 2019 – Roseland Theater
Gwar. I am not sure why I keep going to their show. I’m pretty hard to offend…but they manage to offend me every single time. Let’s start at the beginning. Against the Grain started the show. Looking like they just got off work at the local mechanic shop and ran straight to practice to play tribute to their favorite bands: [...]
Show Review: Jjinjer | Othrys | Vintersea | Von Doom – Portland, Oregon – 2018
It was one of those special nights when all of the Portland Metal scene came together for one purpose. Metal. Jerimia and I arrived early to conduct the interview with Tatiana and Eugene of Jinjer. After a successful and pleasant half hour with the duo, we found our spot inside the Paris theater. Up first was one of my favorite [...]
Puddle of Mudd – Portland, Oregon – September 27, 2019 – Bossanova Ballroom
Puddle of Mudd – Show Review – September 27th, 2019 – Portland, Oregon I’m a metal girl, and I really wanted this show. There are few bands in the genre of Puddle of Mudd that I like. Tantric, Saliva, Fuel, Seether and Chevelle are the ones I’d name…but Puddle of Mudd has always stood out to me as my [...]
Periphery/Veil of Maya/Covet – Portland, Oregon – September 28, 2019 – Hawthorne Theater
I’ve seen Periphery quite a few times, but sadly I hadn’t picked up the new album yet. Every single time I looked at the tour flyer or the merch on site, I saw "HAIL SATAN." That is what my brain saw every time. So when Veil of Maya cleared the stage, I saw “HA IL” on the left side of [...]
Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Dorothy, and Diamante Review – September 21 – Sunlight Supply Amphitheater – Ridgefield, Washington Review
The debate on the way home between my-self and MIRP co-founder and photographer Jer was who was better: Chevelle or Three Days Grace. I was Team Chevelle, he was arguing for Three Days Grace, but I think Breaking Benjamin actually won. As always, we were provided with amazing seats just a few rows back from the stage. Warm enough not [...]
Incubus – 20 Years of Make Yourself and Beyond Tour – September 20, 2019 – Portland, Oregon – Keller
New York’s Dub Trio opened the show with a mix of nearly every type of music. Technically great, this instrumental trio gave a worthy performance opening up for Incubus. Combining rock, punk, jazz, experimental, ambient, electronic, and heavy metal sounds, they did a nice job setting the tone for our beloved Incubus…but truth be told, we were really just [...]
Disturbed/In This Moment – Show Review – Moda Center Portland, OR
Disturbed In This Moment Moda Center - Aug 3, 2019 “This is where my people are -- metal heads and rockers! This is where I feel at home. Nearly everyone is wearing their favorite band shirt in black; It’s a sea of black. People just seem to be happy. Whenever I’m at non rock/metal shows, I tend to feel [...]
Twins of Evil “RockFest” Show Review – August 2, 2019 – Portland, Oregon – Moda Center
I’d never seen Marilyn Manson before. I knew the hits and was well versed in Marilyn Manson history because my God Daughter was a huge fan. She’d show me DVDs of Marilyn Manson; I’d show her Pantera. You know that feeling that you have of a band…that perception? Well, until I’d met John 5 a few years ago, I [...]
Backstreet Boys show review – DNA Tour 2019 – Portland, Oregon
When I heard that I was seeing Backstreet Boys I couldn't help but be giddy. It's all that I could talk about. The pre-teen me would have tried to play it cool because my back in the day devotion was to another boy band, but I was aware of Backstreet Boys, and they held a special place in my [...]
Gojira Show Review – July 30, 2019 – Portland, Oregon – Roseland Theater
First, just let me say that seeing Ligature Marks live is always a pleasure. But seeing Gojira and Ligature Marks…well, it was a fantastic evening for sure. Gojira, hitting Portland on a one-off show the day before Seattle’s Pain In The Grass, was truly unbelievable. I’d seen them many times before (and they are one of my all-time favorite [...]
Judas Priest and Uriah Heap, June 22, 2019 – Moda Center – Portland, Oregon
Few shows are as nostalgic as Judas Priest and Uriah Heap. I remember being barely a teen and hearing “Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)” for the first time, standing in the laundry room of my childhood home. That was a defining moment for me, and helped to define my life-long love affair with metal. Back in the 1980s, [...]
Combichrist, Show Review – May 14, 2019 – Hawthorne – Portland, Oregon
Combichrist’s "One Fire World Tour" made a stop in Portland, Oregon, and it was nothing short of amazing. One notable difference was the absence of Joe Lentz. However, it wasn't that noticeable. Normally the drumming duo are front and center performing their drumming skills with a side of antics in full costume. I was worried how the new [...]
New Kids on the Block show review – Portland, Oregon
I can't think of a better way to have spent a Sunday night. This was a show that I am so grateful to have witnessed. Every young girl has that 'boy band' that they love to sing along to, argue with their girlfriends over which member is cutest, and learn the dance moves to, and it was those little [...]
Children of Bodom, Swallow The Sun, Wolfheart Show Review | Portland, Oregon | March 30, 2019
I was fortunate enough to sit down with Janne of Children of Bodom prior to the show. I also am possibly Portland’s biggest Wolfheart fan. So, prior to arriving, I stopped at the local store to buy some fresh Oregon products for both bands. I decided on Rainer Honeycrisp apples, and Moonstruck chocolates. I awaited Janne in the bar, [...]
In Flames, Smash Into Pieces Show Review | March 14, 2019 | Roseland Theater | Portland, Oregon
To say I was excited for this show is an understatement. I love In Flames. In Flames is a band that seems to walk alongside me, providing the soundtrack of my life. They supply the vehicle that allows me to show others how I'm feeling or what I’m going through (and their music just plain rules!) It’s the perfect [...]
Show Review | Rebecca Black and Man Man |March 15, 2019 | Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon
This show was gifted to me by my partner who likes to try to find things other than metal to expose me to, or to torment me; sometimes I’m not sure. I did my research on Rebecca Black. I watched old music videos and any interview I could get my hands on. I saw the spoofs and comments, and then [...]
Soulfly and Unearth Show Review – Bossanova Ballroom – Portland, Oregon – February 24, 2019
The excitement surrounding Max Cavalera and his band Soulfly was audible on this very cold February night in Portland, Oregon. I’d interviewed Max previously and it was the greatest mistake in my journalism career. It was a fantastic interview…one of those organic and inspiring interviews…and the recorder failed. When I got home, I plugged in my trusted recorder, and the [...]