Concert review: Helmet does "Betty"

The last time I saw Helmet in concert before this past Saturday night was 20 years ago when they opened for Faith No More at the Aragon Ballroom. That night, I got bounced out of the venue while crowd surfing during the second song of Helmet’s set. I had to wait on the mean streets of Uptown while my chums enjoyed the rest of the concert, in addition to missing Mike Patton and the rest of FNM during their heyday.

I had redemption on Aug. 16, at Reggie’s (2105 S. State St., Chicago), where Helmet played “Betty” in its entirety to mark the 20th anniversary of the album’s original release: I’m sure Helmet played many of those same songs that fateful night two decades ago. “Betty” was before its time in 1994 and remains relevant today.

The opening riffage of “Wilma’s Rainbow”--quickly joined by a thudding bass line and crisp, uptempo drumming--signals the start of some of the grooviest, most contagious post-punk, alt-metal ever recorded. The 14-song album (with most songs clocking in at under 3 minutes) was a follow-up to “Meantime,” perhaps one of the most influential alternative albums of the 1990s.

“Betty,” although more polished, retains the ferocity of the other album early on, and Page Hamilton and the guys ripped through them like it was the mid-1990s. “Biscuits For Smut” and "Milquetoast” rocked the packed and sweaty crowd, with frequent outbreaks of mass swaying and headbanging. Five songs in with “Tic,” Hamilton’s voice was showing physical strain as he croaked out “The tic begins!”

Helmet rocks Reggie's

His guitar playing, however, never cracked, and it was a pleasure to see the singer-songwriter-guitarist take the spotlight on the few solos he allows himself. A big part of Helmet’s appeal has been the out-of-the-box arrangements this classically trained  jazz guitarist brings to the metal genre. Hamilton (also a producer and touring guitarist for David Bowie) remains a virtuoso on the axe.

“Betty” isn’t all killer and no filler. A couple songs probably would not make the cut on a normal set list, but the band dutifully played them anyway: “Beautiful Love” merely showcases Hamilton’s jazz guitar skills in a way that doesn’t fit the rest of the album, “The Silver Hawaiian” is a bit goofy in delivery, and “Sam Hell,” with its country-western plucking, is also out of bounds.

At the end of “Betty” Hamilton said they were going to take a break but couldn’t since there was no DJ. So, they soldiered on for set #2 without pause. The song selection favored more recent offerings from albums “Size Matters” (including “Crashing Foreign Cars”), “Monochrome" (2006) and “Seeing Eye Dog" (2010). Hamilton began taking requests, but urgings for “In The Meantime” were left unanswered. Oh, well, maybe next time.

Link to video and audio for "Wilma's Rainbow," the opening track to the album "Betty":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3a8Ow-DoAw

Catching 'Bows On The Rogue

Author and brother on the Rogue

I was only able to fish for two days while on a 17-day Pacific Northwest trip from Seattle to San Francisco this summer. But I made the most of it by catching my limit of rainbow trout from the pristine waters of the Rogue River (Oregon). I camped along the river for one night very near its source, Mount Mazama, which is better known for the massive caldera that crowns its long-ago destroyed volcanic peak: Crater Lake.

I camped in the Umpqua National Forest on Monday, July 21, with my wife and two kids (9 and 7), and with my brother Jonny, his girlfriend Amber and their 1-year-old, the spunky Westly, aka Chunkers, aka Weaseltown. Jon and Amber own and operate Peace of Pizza in nearby Applegate, and they provided all the camping and fishing supplies.The isolated, primitive site we occupied for the night was north of Medford, off Highway 62, about 12 miles past the turnoff for Crater Lake.

The river at this elevation is small, fairly fast flowing and gorgeous. It is full of downed trees. Some served as walkways across the river, but most served to frustrate me early as I was fighting snags nearly every cast.

Jonny and I fished the high mountain haven the first night we set up camp riverside. I hooked up with two trout, but both released early. We didn’t have much luck on a secluded bend of river where Jonny had torn it up only a couple weeks before. Before sunset, I tried a spot in the river closer to our campsite. Battling snags, I finally landed a 9-inch rainbow. It was my first Western trout since catching brookies in Hat Creek, California, circa 1999.

Beautiful Rogue River 'bow

I was using a simple spinning rod set-up, with artificial trout Powerbait and neon-pink artificial eggs on hooks. I would cast above a hole or other promising spot--like a downed tree or above the edges of submerged vegetation--and let the current naturally float the bait downstream.

The next morning I had much better luck. Waking at 6:45 before anyone else, I hit the nearby spot again. The trout were hungry, and I limited out in an hour.  It was a rush every time I hooked up with a ‘bow as each fought and jumped with vigor. All fish caught were 9 to 11 inches long (minimum keeper size is 8). 
When I returned to camp, all were still asleep. When they awoke, we dined on fresh trout, broke camp and headed to Crater Lake.

OTHER TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

1. A night in a yurt near Mount St. Helens, another volcano.

2. A night in a Tiny House Hotel on NW Alberta St. (Alberta Arts District) in Portland (www.tinyhousehotel.com). We also hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls east of Portland along the Columbia River Gorge.

3. Two nights on the Oregon Coast (one in Pacific City and one in Yachats). We spotted dozens of grey whales offshore, some from the balcony of our hotel room in Yachats and some near Yaquina Head. We also saw harbor seals in Depoe Bay (where a scene from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed).

4. Swimming in the Toutle River (south branch) in Washington, swimming in the Illinois River in southern Oregon, and hiking to the Big Foot trap near Applegate Lake.

5. Six days in Applegate, Oregon, working at the pizzeria, disconnecting from grid, hanging with family.

6. Redwood hikes through Fern Canyon, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood Creek trail, Gold Bluff Beach in California.

7. Three nights in a yurt at Bothe-Napa State Park; went to Sterling Winery, V. Sattui and Castello di Amorosa.

8. Took a beach day along Sonoma Coast State Beaches and Dillon Beach; lunched in Bodega Bay.

9. Breweries visited: Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma, Calif., Lucky Labrador Brewery in Portland, Pelican Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon, Caldera Brewery in Ashland, Oregon, Ukiah Brewery in Ukiah, Calif.

10. One night in Seattle on way in (stayed near and toured Space Needle), one night in San Francisco on way out (stayed at Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf and lunched on dim sum in Chinatown).

*2,300 miles driven via rental car over 17 days