I woke up at the hotel in Philadelphia yesterday late, after a disturbing dream of a sexual nature and saw, in the angled mirrors of the bathroom, the burgeoning bald spot on the back of my head for the first time. That was a bit of a bummer, but the day picked up from there. I was ridiculously, laughably exhausted after night one of the Small Stone showcase at The M-Room, but with one more night to go, it wasn’t quite time to punch/crash out yet.

Taking the bus down for the day, The Patient Mrs. met me in town (this weekend is our wedding anniversary) and we loafed around for a bit before eventually settling in to do some work, and then eventually I dropped her off at the 30th St. Station, so she could head back north and I could run over to the venue for the start of the show. I’ll confess that despite having seen the Brian Mercer poster above on more than one occasion, I didn’t even remember who was first on the bill, so when I walked in, it was a bit of a surprise to hear Ironweed playing.

We’ll begin with that:

Ironweed: Of all the acts on the Small Stone roster, they’re probably the one I’m the least a fan of, but I’ll hand it to the Upstate New Yorker double-guitar four-piece anyway and say they were tight as hell. Their stuff is just on the other side of commercially accessible from what I really get down with, but they do it well, and though I haven’t listened to their Your World of Tomorrow album since I reviewed it back in April, I still recognized some of the songs from it. That alone should say something about the strength of their songwriting, wherever how they use it might lie on the spectrum of my personal taste.

The Might Could: Don’t even like Pantera anymore. Despite not being able to stand too close to the stage on account of the formidable body odor emitting therefrom, The Might Could were loud enough that I could’ve probably sat on the on-ramp to I-95 a few miles down the road and still heard them. Both guitarists/vocalists Erik Larson and TJ Childers played through full  stacks, and though I think going on earlier didn’t necessarily suit the band’s performance — bassist Rob Gouldman (ex-Lord) mentioned from the stage several times they wanted drink tickets — they killed. There should’ve been more people there to see it, but the songs, the tones, the mix of Southern, stoner and sludge made The Might Could‘s set stand out. They were loose and clearly wanted to be that way, but sounded even fuller live than they did on their self-titled, and Ryan Wolfe started off a string of insanely good drumming that lasted the rest of the night.

Throttlerod: Kevin White continued that string that Ryan Wolfe started, and added a more technical sense to it, some theory to go with the speed. There were different styles throughout the evening, and with people doing different things musically, it’s hard to say who was the best, but White was up there, whatever metric you might want to use. Aside from rocking, Throttlerod‘s set was fascinating because of the noisy course the band’s sound has taken over their last couple records, Nail (2006) and Pig Charmer (2009). Seeing northerners take on a Southern aesthetic is nothing new, but the Virginian three-piece — which as of Pig Charmer featured Brooklyn-based bassist Andrew Schneider, also engineer and co-founder of Coextinction Recordings, who was absent — have gone the opposite route, adopting a start-stop crunch that’s straight out of the classic Amphetamine Reptile playbook. With guitarist/vocalist Matt Whitehead adding melody vocally, it’s a distinctive mix.

Gozu: Their spot on the bill was a clear indication that Scott Hamilton, owner of Small Stone Records, wanted to feature them to the crowd. Otherwise, Throttlerod has been around much longer and The Might Could, though a relatively new band, have added clout owing to their pedigree (Childers plays drums in Inter Arma, Ryan Wolfe was signed to Relapse with Facedowninshit and Erik Larson was in Alabama Thunderpussy), but to Gozu‘s credit, they earned their spot. One of the best aspects of their 2010 Small Stone debut, Locust Season, was the vocals of guitarist Marc Gaffney, and on stage at The M-Room proved no different. Locust Season flew under a lot of people’s radar, I guess because it seems like Gozu came out of nowhere with it, but the record was really strong, and the memorability of the songs held up. Gaffney, playing through a custom Matamp (I think) with “GAFF” on the faceplate, was joined on guitar by Doug Sherman, whose high-slung guitar, angled ballcap and stage demeanor was right out of the New England hardcore scene birthed in Gozu‘s Boston home. Still, with the two guitarists, it was bassist Paul Dallaire‘s low end that dominated the live mix, and coupled with Barry Spillberg‘s intimidating performance on drums, there was no question the band was where they belonged. They played a new song — I believe Sherman said it was called “Bald Bull” (the referential title would be befitting their modus) — that speaks well of what’s to come on their next album.

The Brought Low: Like Suplecs and Lo-Pan the night before, it was my second time in a week seeing Small Stone‘s NYC contingent trio. Their set was mostly the same as it had been in Brooklyn, but at the behest of Hamilton, they also included “Vernon Jackson” from 2006′s Right on Time, which happens also to be one of my favorite songs of theirs. Still, it was the ultra-catchy “The Kelly Rose” from their aptly-titled third record, Third Record, that I walked out of The M-Room singing under my breath at the end of the night. Nick Heller continued the night of 1,000 tom hits, and Bob Russell and Ben Smith did right by material both new and old. “Army of Soldiers” was again a killer inclusion, and though it was enjoyable on their Coextinction EP, I hope it winds up on their next album, because it’s worth highlighting and pressing to disc. They had a couple classic Brought Low barn-burners going, and that was right up there with any of them. It wasn’t like I was dying to hear those songs because it had been so long since I’d seen the band, but The Brought Low never fail to please, and Philly was no exception. They tossed around a few joshing Civil War references (a new shirt features the visage of Ulysses S. Grant) in the direction of The Might Could, and it was another enjoyable — day I say “fun?” — set from a rock band in total command of their style and playing.

Roadsaw: They were simply too big for the stage they were playing on. It was my first time seeing the mainstay Boston foursome of vocalist Craig Riggs, bassist Tim Catz, guitarist Ian Ross and drummer Jeremy Hemond since the release of their self-titled back in January, and the quality of those songs was palpable standing in the crowd, much of which had stayed late. There was a second or two there where I thought Riggs — who is a madman on stage — was going to fall right off, and likewise where I thought the microphone which he spins from the cable, was going to pop off the cord and hit someone in the head. Neither happened and the excitement was located entirely within the set, which is fortunate at least from an injury perspective. It was approaching 2AM, which was closing time for The M-Room, so they clipped a few songs off the top. Riggs said after they were done that they prefer it that way anyhow, short and sweet, and I didn’t hear anyone else complaining. Since coming back to active duty with 2008′s See You in Hell!, Roadsaw have emerged as being among a small number of masters of the heavy rock form, and between the Roadsaw record and the showing they gave in Philly, I’d say that anyone across the Atlantic who happens to catch them on their upcoming run with Dixie Witch and Sasquatch would be lucky to do so. A near-perfect combination of energy and experience, and probably the most fitting end the Small Stone showcase could’ve had short of a Halfway to Gone reunion. It was right on right from the start.

But when it was over, it was nigh on ridiculous o’clock, and with the two-hours northbound ahead of me, I made a quick exit and beeline back to the car. I managed to cut some time off the trip (am I the only person who races to shave minutes off their GPS?) and, by some amazing coincidence, fell into bed just in time to completely conk out. It was a hell of a week, and a hell of a weekend, but it capped just right. I won’t be able to make the Chicago showcase next weekend, but it’s Freedom Hawk, Gozu, Sasquatch, Backwoods Payback, Lo-Pan and Suplecs on Oct. 1, so if you can make it, consider this post and yesterday’s a hearty recommendation to do so.

Thanks to Scott Hamilton and all the bands for making it a killer time, and to The Patient Mrs. for being the kind of lady who doesn’t mind it when she calls her husband to say happy seventh anniversary and The Brought Low is rocking in the background.

More pictures after the jump.

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Earlier this week, Orange Goblin frontman Ben Ward described sending tracks across the Atlantic to Roadsaw singer Craig Riggs so he could record a vocal guest appearance. I took that as a cue to hit up Riggs (who also tour managed Orange Goblin on their recent American tour), to see if he had anything to say about the process. The resulting couple paragraphs comprise what I’m thinking of as a bonus track to this whole series, snuck in just before the conclusion this coming week.

Hope you enjoy. To see all the updates on Orange Goblin‘s recording progress, click here. Thanks to Riggs for taking the time out:

After joking in the public eye (Facebook) with Mr. Ward about having me sing some backups on the new OG record, I was pleased to see an email that contained 10 fresh tracks from the band. Ben gave me few instructions on just what they wanted and which songs to sing on. “Focus on these two,” he said. So I went into Mad Oak Recording Studio (I know the owner) with engineer Joe Slibia. We worked on the two songs, and worked on a few more. I put backups on five songs and sent them back UK way. I let Ben know that I was going to lay down as much as I could in the day and the band could use what they wanted and toss out the rest. They seemed pretty happy with most of the stuff, and went onto mixing. So I will soon find out what made the cut, and what hit the floor. I for one am very excited.

This new OG record is going to kick ass! from what I gathered, it’s like a perfect blend of Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Lynyrd Skynyrd, yet remains completely Orange Goblin. There is some great melodies and a fine mix of tempos. Even the rough mixes I heard sound killer. Everyone hit this shit at the top of their game. I got excited about the latest Lo-Pan record when I first heard it. I feel the same way about this OG record. I can’t wait till everyone can hear the fuckin’ rock that is Orange Goblin.

Venerable Boston rockers Roadsaw have a new video for the track “Weight in Gold” from their self-titled full-length, released earlier this year. In it we see the four-piece alternating between rocking in a small room and traipsing through the snowy woods wearing gold rush garb and finally coming upon what I can only assume is Marcellus Wallace‘s soul. Good song, good times.

And my goodness, but vocalist Craig Riggs looks just like Orange Goblin‘s tour manager from their shows back in May. That must’ve been some party.

Enjoy the clip:

Thanks to cheech for posting this on the forum.

I haven’t been to SXSW in a couple years, but if I was to get on a plane at this point and go, it would be almost exclusively for the Small Stone Records showcase. I witnessed it personally from 2004-2007 and some of my best show memories ever are of heading down to Austin, drinking Shiner Bock and having my ears blown out by the likes of Sasquatch, Acid King, Suplecs and hometown heroes Dixie Witch.

Ever since the label added the day party, it’s been twice as much debauchery, and as I sit in still-cold New Jersey, I can’t help but think of the sun (and barbecue) in Texas and be a little sad I’m missing out. Especially since Small Stone has put together such a killer lineup this year, with the likes of Lo-Pan and The Might Could making their debut appearances.

In honor of the 2011 Small Stone SXSW showcase, the label has graciously given me permission to host a complete-album stream of the band who’s driving the furthest to get to the festival: Roadsaw, from Boston. Their self-titled full-length was released earlier this year (review here), and is precisely the kind of rock best suited to downing too many beers and hating the music industry. Believe me, I’d know.

It’s an honor and a pleasure to present Roadsaw, by Roadsaw. Hope you dig it:

And in case you haven’t seen them yet, here are the awesome posters for the separate day and night parties, designed by recent-interviewee Brian Mercer:

For the better part of 18 years (there was a lengthy break in there), Boston outfit Roadsaw have produced some of the most definitively American heavy rock the world has ever heard. Their songs are like cars with unrepentantly inefficient engines: loaded with swagger and volume and ready to run your ass over if you get in their way. The latest installment in their discography is Roadsaw, on Small Stone, and it’s an album that’s probably going to surprise some longtime listeners of the band with its maturity. Figuratively and literally, the days of scumbag rock that permeated albums like 1995’s 1,000,000 and 1997’s Nationwide are long gone. There are traces of that kind of thing on Roadsaw’s Roadsaw, but the band, who took a seven year break between their 2001 Rawk ‘n’ Roll and 2008 See You in Hell releases (they also put out the Takin’ out the Trash compilation in 2007), are different people in 2011 than they were then. Founding members Tim Catz (bass) and Craig Riggs (vocals), along with guitarist Ian Ross and drummer Jeremy Hemond (also of Cortez and Black Thai) now present a smooth and intricately-constructed 11-track collection of songs, viciously catchy and tighter than your emo cousin’s pants.

Opener “Dead and Buried” features just one of Roadsaw’s several landmark choruses. I liked See You in Hell well enough, but to be fair, the bulk of my excitement about it was just that there was a new Roadsaw album. With the self-titled, it’s all about the songwriting. Ross’ riffing is prime, and Catz and Hemond prove absolutely lethal when it comes to setting the pace and grounding the tracks, the latter with the kind of taut snare sound that has become one of the trademarks of a Benny Grotto/Mad Oak engineering job (Sean Slade was also brought in to produce), but if any single member of Roadsaw is giving a standout performance on these songs, it has to be Riggs. His vocals maintain the gruff, throaty Southern feel of some of the band’s earlier work, but across “Thinking of Me,” “Long in the Tooth” and late-arriving barn-burner “Too Much is Not Enough,” Riggs counterweighs the rougher approach with several seriously accomplished melodies. “Song X” (you’ll never guess where it appears on the tracklisting) is a heavy pop number that pulls off precisely what the last Fireball Ministry album couldn’t, blending radio-ready accessibility with an underlying heaviness and not sacrificing one in service to the other.

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Coming off an exceptionally bright 2010 that had killer albums from Red Giant, Gozu, House of Broken Promises and Solace, Detroit‘s Small Stone Records is showing no signs of slowing down. Their first releases of 2011, Suplecs and The Might Could are available now, and there’s more to come in April with Roadsaw and Austin, Texas, improv artists Tia Carrera.

Let’s let the label take it from here:

We hope that you all survived the holidays. We have kept ourselves rather busy here at Small Stone HQ, so here is some quick news to keep you all in the loop.

The brand new recordings (in the CD format) from both The Might Could and Suplecs are now in stock and ready for your consumption… Buy them both, and thank us later. They just smoke, plain and simple!

The brand new recordings from Roadsaw and Tia Carrera are now getting mastered. The new self-titled album from Roadsaw will hit the streets in March, andTia Carrera’s new album Cosmic Priestess will hit the streets in April. Both of these releases will be coming out on the LP and CD formats…

Both of the new albums (coming later this Spring) from Ironweed and Lo-Pan are currently in the mixing process at Mad Oak Studios, with our main man Benny Grotto working his engineering and production mojo on ‘em.

Finally, we are getting all geared up for the 2011 SXSW festival, which will include both a Small Stone Day Party and our official SXSW Evening Showcase… Lot’s of propaganda, details, and hype to soon follow.

Below is the cover for the new self-titled album from Boston rock juggernauts Roadsaw. Note that in combination with the reissue of Lo-Pan‘s Sasquanaut, this’ll be the second album on Small Stone in the last couple months with a monkey spaceman on the cover. A new theme for 2011? Only time will tell…

Click the image to get the full-sized version. Roadsaw‘s Roadsaw is due for release March 22, 2011:

It’s the weekend of my wedding anniversary, but man, the lineup for Small Stone‘s Philadelphia showcase is pretty badass. True, I’ve seen most of these bands, but I don’t imagine House of Broken Promises are going to make a habit of being on the East Coast, Backwoods Payback are buddies, Solace kill every time, Red Giant‘s got a new album coming, I’d really, really like to hear some of the material from Sasquatch‘s third record live, and the Millcreek Tavern has their own home brew. Looks like it could be another test of The Patient Mrs. living up to her name.

Here’s the news from Small Stone:

Small Stone is pleased to announce that we will be doing two back-to-back showcases at The Philadelphia Film & Music Festival in September. Our events will be taking place at the Millcreek Tavern which is located at 4200 Chester Avenue, University City, Philadelphia (215-222-1255). And, now for the lineup:

Friday September 24th: Dixie Witch, The Brought Low, Throttlerod, Lo-Pan, Sun Gods in Exile, Backwoods Payback

Saturday September 25th: Solace, Roadsaw, Sasquatch, House of Broken Promises, Gozu, Red Giant

Ah, Roadsaw. Perfect summertime rock, and that’s about where it’s at today in the valley. Not that I’d know because I’ve been sitting inside in front of the computer all day, but it looks lovely out the window and all reports from the grand outside are in accord. Cool shit. And Roadsaw. This is “Who Do You Think You Are” filmed live at SXSW 2009. R.I.P. Room 710 in Austin.

What a week. Man, what a week. I don’t think I need to do a summary, but man, what a week. It’s good to be home, good to be getting back into the swing of things, good to eat Jersey pasta for dinner last night before crashing out. No complaints.

Stick around next week because I’ll have my interview with Keith Gibbs from Sasquatch posted, a butt-load of reviews (gotta make up for lost time) and hopefully some killer news about those Obelisk shirts I know we’ve all been waiting for. In any case, be well, enjoy your weekend wherever you are, and thanks, thanks, thanks for reading. I bow to you.

Today is the last day of class in my first semester back in school. I’m taking tomorrow (Thursday) off to celebrate. In the meantime though, I have an ass-load of work I’ve been plugging through, and still more to go. Not that I’m out there in the rain/snow/mist/whatever the hell it’s doing that has visibility in the valley about down to nothing, working with my hands in some pit — still in front of the same ol’ keyboard — but somehow Roadsaw seemed appropriate for hard work, and this video of them from their European tour earlier this year in Den Bosch was too good to let slide. Enjoy.