MAMMOTH MAKES A STOP AT THE DOME AT TOYOTA OAKDALE THEATRE ON “THE END TOUR”

Photos By: Holly Roy Photography
Review By: Kat Gullage

Mammoth is a rock band formed in LA by Wolfgang Van Halen. It began as a side project during his tenure in the band Van Halen (2007-2020), but became his main focus when the rock and roll world lost his father, legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Wolf is extremely talented in his own right and proved it once again.

I worked my way up to fourth row from the rail. I was trying to get my photographer, the future award winning Holly Borden, to notice me from the photo pit. I tapped the shoulder of a tall guy in front of me and asked if he could help get my friend’s attention. He said “No, I’m blind!” and held up his blind mobility cane. He would hold it up between songs all night, had a buddy that stayed by his side. Blind guy nearly front row in the pit was not on my bingo card.

James and the Cold Gun, an alt rock band from Wales, was the opener. They chose a cover to start, “Split Second” by Hometown Crew. Y’all know, I’m not a fan of covers. This one did not carry the same punk punch as the original even though frontman James Joseph was featured on it. The next five songs were cuts from Face In The Mirror. The foursome performed “Twist The Knife” and “Fragile”. The sound mix made it tough to hear the vocals clearly, needed to be tweaked. Singer/guitarist James connected with the fans, “Connecticut! How we doin? Great to see so many people here on a Sunday night! Thank you! Lemme hear ya scream!” and he got a solid response. There were some loyal fans in the midst. “Above The Lake” switched it up when guitarist James Biss took over lead vocals. I love it when bands flex diversity like that. They’re backed by drummer Benny Bead and a dose of female bad assery with Gaby Elise on bass. “Thank you so much! We’re just all the way from Wales in the UK. Spent the last five years playing small clubs in the UK. Coming here, playing for you, is a dream come true.” James pointed to our blind friend. “I don’t know what’s going on here but I love it.” He intro’d the band members with “This is our first time in Connecticut. Let’s give a big Connecticut Wallingford welcome!” They followed with “Guessing Games” and “Cut The Brakes” which had a punk thread in it. “How ready are you for Mammoth?” The fans proved they were quite ready. “I wanna see everyone off their feet!” I guess this meant jump because the venue was standing room only - no seats. They closed with “Chewing Glass”, a track from their self-titled album, bringing their set to a gritty, fitting end. James and the Cold Gun, whose moniker is the title of a Kate Bush song, gave us a raw garage band performance infused with punk inspired threads. They were a strong choice to get the crowd warmed up for this line up, and could see them filling that role for many other headlining artists.

I was psyched for alt metal band 10 Years. Somehow, they were missing from the list of bands I’ve seen live. The group, formed in Knoxville TN, hit paydirt with their 2005 LP, The Autumn Effect, which reached certified gold status. Their short ten song set pulled from four of their ten studio LPs and two of their multiple EPs. “Russian Roulette” (Division) was the opener followed by “Now Is The Time (Ravenous)”, one of three off of Feeding The Wolves. They sounded so fucking good! The crowd was pumped and seemed on the edge of forming an actual pit but one never did get going. The band broke out one of their better known hits with “Fix This”, followed by “Novacaine” from (How To Live) As Ghosts. 10 Years is Jesse Hasek on lead vocals, Chad Grennor on bass, drummer Pat Gerasia (formerly of Red Sun Rising, loved those guys!) and founders Matt Wantland on rhythm guitar and Brian Vodinh on lead axe. I found Brian to be an essential part of the experience. Not only his musicianship but his back up vocals contributed greatly to the sound that closely resembled the layered studio stuff. They dipped into The Autumn Effect with “Half Life”. OK y’all, gotta reiterate that I’m not a fan of covers. Cuz up next was the band’s interpretation of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box”. They changed the speed of it and performed it with their dreamy ethereal vibe. When the bass hit, it overpowered everything else. I could tell it took fans a minute to figure out what song it was. Once they did, they sang along. Afterward Jesse joked “That’s a brand new song, Heart Shaped Box. Could become a timeless classic.” We got back on track with two from their stash of EPs: “Gravity” (Inner Darkness) and title track “The Optimist”.

“Are we still having a good time?!?” The energy was coming off the crowd in waves, everyone was really into the performance when they fed us their best known song and fan favorite “Wasteland”. We all happily participated in singing along but Jesse relied on us just enough and gave us what we came to see, a near perfect rendition of the hit. They closed with one of their heavier songs, “Shoot It Out”. I didn’t take many notes during their set which means I was fully into the performance. If you’re a fan of 10 Years, you already know their live gigs are authentic and delivered in pure rock and roll style. Would recommend.

Seeing Mammoth as a headliner just hits different. We caught the eighth night of his twenty date run. We got treated to a robust fifteen song set that hit on all three of his studio LPs: Mammoth WVH, Mammoth II and The End. From the first note we got a crystal clear polished sound as he opened with “One Of A Kind” and “Another Celebration At The End Of The World”. Trippy videos accompanied the music throughout the night, taking up the entire space on the back wall behind the band. Two songs in and already the fans were clapping from the front of the room to the back. They went nuts when he did a mid break killer guitar solo. We were reminded several times he is Eddie Van Halen’s son. He didn’t say it once, but the man’s DNA lives on and shoots out at us while he’s on stage. My notes read: “This kid just keeps getting better which is crazy”. Wolf addressed us, in his humble and quiet yet grateful manner, “Thank you so much. We played here before. We opened for Alter Bridge. This is totally fucking crazy man. I’m having a sinus thing so if my voice just leaves that’s why. Gunna do my best. This is “The Spell”. I honestly wouldn’t have noticed if he didn’t say anything. He sounded nasally when he talked but it didn’t come through when he sang. “How’s everyone doing? Here’s one off of Mammoth II, “Like A Pastime”, it goes like this.” Wolf played the keys for “Epiphany” and resumed the axe for “Stone”. “We released a new album. The cover is like a bookmark. We’re gunna play another new one quickly. This is “Happy”. The fans proved they were already familiar with the song as they cheered and whistled. “Mammoth” was followed by “Resolve”, where Wolf remarked “We got a lotta messages asking why we don’t play that anymore and we wanted to build this set with the cool visuals and stuff. This is resolved.” He picked up an acoustic guitar and proceeded to pulverize our hearts with “Distance”, while images of him and his loving famous parents splashed on that giant screen. We all love and miss his dad. Having lost my own father my heart breaks that Wolf has that very public constant reminder as he processes his journey of grief. Wolf’s emotion in music allows us a glimpse into that path. As the fans trembled and tried to recover, Wolf nonchalantly remarked “Here’s “Something New”.” He surprised us with a snippet of “Right In Tow” by Tool (yuck, not a Tool fan, but he nailed it) that morphed into “Take A Bow”. Mammoth blew the roof off the joint as they closed with “I Really Wanna”, their biggest hit “Don’t Back Down” and fittingly, “The End”. The night of watching his mind blowing complicated riffs and sharing all the feels had come to an end. When I tell people Wolfgang Van Halen is super talented I explain to them that he IS Mammoth. Literally, he writes all of the songs, sings, and plays all of the instruments on all of the albums. He tours with a band, so he was backed by guitarists Frank Sidoris and Jonathan Jourdan, bassist Ronnie Ficarro and drummer Garrett Whitlock. Oh and his “sinus issue” was no joke. The poor guy got the flu and had to reschedule the two dates following our show. Probably ruined his birthday as well, which was the day after our date. We saw the last time he performed at age thirty-four. Happy 35th Wolf, hope you’re feeling better, and thanks for a great time! If you’re considering catching a live performance, don’t sleep on that thought cuz some dates are selling out. Cuz some of us already know what’s in store. A night of rock and roll with an exemplary, polished performance by a top musician.

JAMES AND THE COLD GUN

10 YEARS

MAMMOTH