If you grew up in the 90s, then you know what Jackass is. You’ve seen the show, the 3D movie, you’ve played the video game. You’ve seen Johnny Knoxville as one of the bad guys in Men in Black 2 and you said to yourself, “Hey, I’ve seen that guy get hit in the nuts a whole bunch of times!” But before Jackass, there was CKY. These home videos, made by Bam Margera and his neighbors in Westchester, PA, were named after the band that Bam’s brother, Jesse, drummed for. The rock band has been around for just short of twenty years and is back playing for fans all over the world.
I first saw CKY when I was in high school. They played at The Palladium in Worcester, MA at an event known as Skate Fest. The concert had very little skateboarding involved in it, but it made sense that CKY was there. I was a huge fan of the band. I remember hearing them on Tony Hawk 3 back in the day and loving their music and who they were. I mostly listened to pop-punk and emo, but CKY and their heaviness got my attention.
When I heard that CKY and HIM were playing a show together I couldn’t believe it. I always put the two bands in the same category, rock bands that I discovered thanks to Bam Margera, and I was more than excited to see them share a stage. I was looking forward to the guitar-shredding and long-hair rocking I was about to experience in one of my favorite venues in Colorado.
CKY’s set list consisted of hits like “Flesh into Gear,” “Attached at the Hip,” and “96 Quite Bitter Beings,” which the band quieted their instruments towards the end of, so the audience could sing an a Capella rendition of the guitar riff.
The show sold out only minutes after tickets went on sale. Tickets were going for hundreds of dollars online and the place was absolutely packed. Upset fans were posting in the Facebook event how the event belonged at a bigger venue, so more people could get the chance to see these bands together. The venue was filled with people dressed in all black. There to see CKY for the third time or HIM for the first. Almost everyone there had a CKY or HIM shirt. And these weren’t just shirts they got that night from the merch table. These were shirts sold at Hot Topic back in the day or on Bam Margera’s website.
When HIM hit the stage, the crowd lost it. Over 1,000 people threw their arms up in the air to welcome the Finnish rockers to Denver. Women throughout the crowd swooned for a man that was once voted the biggest sex symbol in the world and the “Hottest Dude in Hard Rock and Metal.”
Frontman Ville Valo serenaded the audience with his baritone voice. For a man that possesses the eight-highest vocal range for any known singer, he somehow makes it seem effortless, as he makes it way around the stage singing his lyrics of the past quarter-decade.
The set listed consisted of classics like “Join Me in Death,” “Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly,” and “Right Here in My Arms,” and featured covers of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and the rocker’s encore, Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.” Boasting a 22-song set list, the Finnish rockers did not let down their fans that sold out the Summit Music Hall that night. There are many
You must be logged in to post a comment.