King Diamond and Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats at The Fillmore (Detroit)
November 14th (The Fillmore – Detroit, MI) – Tonight was day two of back-to-back concerts for me, but I still had the energy and excitement to make it just one more day. It was the last day of a week that was jam packed with happenings and even a little vacation thrown in. But It was King Diamond after all, and this would be my 8th or 9th time seeing him live including times with Mercyful Fate. I’ve been a fan since I was around 15 years old. I’d crank it loud and always laughed at the reaction and the look on my mom’s face when she heard King hit the high notes. I always loved the music, the talented musicians and the sound of that band. Here we are 30 some years later and King Diamond is still going strong with his solo career and still has some of the best musicians joining him on albums and for tours. How many people can actually say they’ve been involved with a band that’s always had the most incredible musicians? I guarantee it’s rarer than you think. Anyway, let’s talk about the evening and this night of live music.
Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the first band, Idle Hands. I knew nothing about them and was actually enjoying catching up with some friends and roaming around the venue. Nothing at all against the band, what I could hear sounded pretty good. I was just really into chill mode that first hour that I was there. They are the opening act for the whole King Diamond North American tour so that should say enough about them right there.
The second band of the night was Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. They were a band that I’d heard of, but I didn’t know much about, and had yet to hear a song. A few friends that knew I was going to the show encouraged me to make sure I caught them, at least for a few songs. At first, I was a bit thrown off. Picture if you will the music of Black Sabbath but with Donnie or now Chip from Enuff Z’Nuff doing the lead vocals. It took me the better part of a song, but I finally got to the point where I got it and really enjoyed and understood what the band was doing. It’s the type of music that’s good for the listen but really gets you in the zone and feeling the mood. By the end of the set I was so glad that I took people’s advice and got there in time to catch these guys. I really enjoyed ‘I’ll Cut You Down’ and ‘Death’s Door’. Two great songs to listen to if you’re interested in checking out the band. For more info hit up Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats over at their website. www.uncleacidband.com
A quick run to grab a drink and hit the men’s room and it was time for the King. Seeing the stage show that they had for this tour only got the excitement building quicker. One thing I’ve always loved and respected about King Diamond other than the amazing musicians he always had with him were the incredible stage shows. Tonight was no exception. The props, the extra’s and the parts of the stage used always fit the song that the band was playing. If you’ve never seen a King Diamond show you need to understand the choreography and role playing that goes on throughout the set. It’s really a site to see. It’s almost like a watching a heavy metal musical play. From ‘The Candle’, ‘Funeral’ and ‘A Mansion in Darkness’ to ‘Halloween’, ‘Welcome Home’ and ‘The Invisible Guests’ the night just went on and on. The band was on fire and extremely on their game and the King still sounded incredible after all these years. For him to still be able to sing the way he does, and for close to 40 years now. Just wow! Every person that I ran into throughout the night was blown away at the show and at how great they sounded and looked. A real sobering moment was when they played ‘Black Horsemen’ and sent it out to Timi Hansen. Timi was the bass player for Mercyful Fate and long-time friend of King Diamond. He just lost the fight in his long-time battle with cancer a few weeks ago. RIP always Timi Hansen, hope you’re rocking the heavens. Another cool thing that I’m glad I got to experience was that a friend of mine had a younger fan with him, maybe 16 or 17, and it was his first-time seeing King Diamond live. Let’s just say that when I ran into them after the concert he was smiling from ear to ear. I love when this younger generation understands and will look into the bands and musician’s that influenced some of these newer bands that they are into today. I also must mention that King Diamond’s wife Livia does just an incredible job with the backup vocals and I was so happy to see that Andy LaRocque and Matt Thompson were still in the band. Another epic show from King Diamond.
Another concert that met and exceeded all expectations and another great night out in the city of Detroit. I ran into some good friends, saw some people that I haven’t seen in a long time, got to see a young boy catch King Diamond live for the first time and I even met this amazing girl after the concert. We’ll see how that ends up working out in the weeks and months to come. Thanks for the read!
