Not a lyric was sung as it was a music connoisseur’s night of enjoyment on August 9th, 2017 as Marty Friedman brought his Wall of Sound tour to the Diesel Concert Lounge in Chesterfield, Michigan. Bringing along the bands Scale the Summit and The Fine Constant.
This was my first time going to the Diesel Concert Lounge. The room has a characteristic that most clubs this size don’t have, a down sloping floor leading towards the stage. A beneficial byproduct of formerly having been a theater. This meant those who stood in the back were less likely to have their view obstructed by taller people in front of them. I know I’ll be getting to this place much sooner the next time I cover a show at the Diesel. This place is a pinball lover’s dream, I did take the time to look at every machine, but enough about heavy metal machines, let’s talk about the heavy metal bands.
Kicking off the show was The Fine Constant, who hails out of Madison, Wisconsin. With Sarah Longfield and Dave Dunsire on guitars along with Steve Meyer on drums, these three musicians pick and pound the strings and skins to create a mix of sounds that had you traveling the waves of the rhythms. You could see that as you watch Sarah Longfield close her eyes and sway along to the tempo.Those who are fans of progressive music should give this band a listen, you won’t be disappointed.
Another progressive band took the stage next. Scale the Summit, out of Houston, Texas. A three-piece band with Chris Letchford on guitar, Charlie Engen on drums and Kilian Duarte on bass. Coming off their latest album ‘In A World Of Fear’which was released in May of this year, Scale the Summit had some new jams to add their set. Much like The Fine Constant, Scale the Summit has a dynamic technically precise rhythm going on between each member. The amount of concentration can be seen on display, especially as guitars with many more strings than normal are being manipulated expertly to achieve the musical output. Listening to The Fine Constant and Scale the Summit is much like listening to a movie score. The ebb and flows of intricate musicianship is noticed by fans who appreciate that complexity.
The anticipation grew as we all waited for Marty Friedman to begin. I first became aware of MartyFriedman back when he was part of Megadeth. This guy was a force during the ten years he was in Megadeth and I’m sure like me, that countless metal heads found out that this dude with long curly hair can wail the guitar with the best of them. I hadn’t heard much about Marty since he’d left Megadeth until I seen him a few years ago on That Metal Show when he did a skype interview from Japan and that he lives in Japan and has been doing his solo act. So, when I had the opportunity to attend and cover Marty Friedman’s show, I was delighted to take that offer.
As the lights went down and the intro music played then the lights went back on and out came Marty, I instantly noticed that long curly hair and knew that a guitar god was in our presence, a rock star. Fresh off his latest album release, ‘Wall of Sound’, which hit stores August 4th,giving Martya burst of energy to show audiences his latest creations. He played a couple off the new album, “Self Pollution” and “Whiteworm”, which is also his latest music video. Other songs span from across Marty’s catalogue of thirteen solo albums.
Marty surrounded himself with some excellent talent. With Jordan Ziff on guitar, who has some epic hair himself and can shred the guitar like no one’s business. On bass was Kiyoshi who is animated while playing. Lots of facial expressions and hair whipping, she really gets into the music. On drums was Anup Sastry who is an absolute beast as he pounds the skins, his skills were put on display during the song, “Inferno”.
Watching these guys jam was awesome; the chemistry was great too as Marty interacted with his band members onstage. Later in the show as Marty took time to toast everyone who came out and the band enjoyed a beer, Marty bottle fed Jordan a beer and then a comical moment happened when Kiyoshi took a swig of her beer and then foam shot out of the bottle. The look on Kiyoshi’s face was priceless. Moments like that is what makes me feel good and I hope these guys enjoy many more great nights like this as the tour continues.
A night listening to Marty Friedman live in person is just plain ole fun, a true guitar wizard that any metal head would appreciate. Toss in some progressive rock by The Fine Constant and Scale the Summit, the auditory senses are tickled with joy.