Photos/Review: Black Label Society Bring The Heavy To San Francisco
Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society performing at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, CA. March 1, 2020. Photo Credit: Jared Stossel
Black Label Society
w/ Obituary, Lord Dying
The Regency Ballroom
San Francisco, CA
March 1, 2020
Photos and review by Jared Stossel
In the last two months, the Bay Area has been blessed with a heaping of some of the best acts that rock music currently has to offer. Amazing bands like Machine Head and Alter Bridge have taken the stage at numerous venues around the Bay Area over the last two months, and on Sunday evening, Black Label Society kept things moving along at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom, performing a powerhouse set that highlight some of the biggest and best tracks that Zakk Wylde and Co. have produced in the last couple of decades.
The show was opened by sludge/doom metal unit Lord Dying, who got the crowd into the proper headspace of a heavy metal show with an electrifying opening set. Main support for this tour was provided by Florida’s own Obituary, who brought forth an onslaught of death and thrash metal that got the pit opened up and crowd-surfers rolling over the barricades at the front of the stage. Black Label Society took the stage to a roar of applause once the curtain dropped, launching headfirst into “Genocide Junkies”, “Funeral Bell”, and “The Rose Petalled Garden”.
It’s evident from the first note that Zakk Wylde truly is one of the greatest guitar players that’s ever lived. There is no debating this; he plays powerfully, with a tone that’s all his own while still invoking memories of music from a time in history when heavy metal giants like Black Sabbath roamed the Earth and dominated the landscape of rock music. At certain moments, Wylde even sounds a little bit like Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne (whom he plays guitar for in a live setting). Wylde truly is a first class performer, but the credit should also be doled out the musicians that round out the full sound of Black Label Society. Bassist John DeServio, guitarist Dario Lorina, and drummer Jeff Fab elevate the show to a completely different level, and all serve as a masterclass example in how to put on an outstanding metal show.
While a couple of moments throughout the show were slowed down and featured Wylde on piano belting out more of BLS’ ballad-driven tracks (“Spoke In The Wheel”, “In This River”), the best moment of the evening came from guitarist Lorina and Wylde during “Fire It Up”, the second-to-last song of the evening. People up on either side of the Regency Ballroom’s balcony level were in for a treat as both guitarists headed up to their sections, and engaged in what I can only describe as a guitar solo duel (Wylde on one side of the room, Lorina on the other). Both hung their guitars over the balcony and played face-melting solo licks while the crowd below looked upon them in excitement, almost in the way someone would worship the Gods. It made for a truly exciting moment, and an incredible way to close out the evening before the closing track, “Concrete Jungle”.
I hope that Black Label Society continues to be around for years to come. The band is not only comprised of terrific songwriters, but world-class performers. If you’ve never seen them before, you really do walk out of their show feeling like you’ve seen something truly special. In a world that’s plagued with uncertainty, it’s nice to know that you can show up to a Black Label Society show and be treated to an immaculate performance every single time. For that, I am certain.
Black Label Society Set List
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
Black Label Society
www.blacklabelsociety.com
www.facebook.com/blacklabelsociety
Twitter: @ZakkWyldeBLS
Instagram: @ZakkWyldeBLS
Obituary
www.obituary.cc
www.facebook.com/ObituaryBand
Twitter: @obituarytheband
Instagram: @obituaryband
Lord Dying
www.facebook.com/LordDying
Twitter: @lord_dying
Instagram: @lorddying
