It was a chilly, gloomy night heading into Midtown Sacramento this past Sunday. The selection du jour was two local Sacramento bands, Redwood Cemetery and Volrahven, along with Salem’s Childe in support of the legendary Doyle. Goldfield Trading Post was only about half full but the energy was at capacity. Even mother nature got into it keeping it gloomy and rainy all night.
First up was Redwood Cemetery. The local punk rock band played a solid set despite having a stand in drummer for the night. I have always been a fan of punk rock bands that don’t look punk rock. It is supposed to be about the music right? These guys were pretty solid and well received by the crowd.
Redwood Cemetery band members
Volrahven was up next. Killer band with an awesome drum set. At the beginning of the night, there were two massive drum sets. Volrahven had the larger of the two. This was a seriously powerful band. As much as the crowd was into it, I think the drummer was even more into it, Total showman. The rest of the band was right there with him the whole way. These guys are going places!
The third band was Salem’s Childe. They are with Doyle for the whole tour. Hailing from North-Central Indiana, this metal quintet rocked the small stage like it was a festival stage. This band had the second biggest drum set of the night. and their drummer used every bit of it with skill. Salem’s Childe’s singer reminded me of a metal version of Dio. Not in sound but in style. These guys all shred and I see a headlining tour in their future. Solid band with a solid sound.
Salem’s Childe band members
Johnny Oravsky – vocals
Rob Salem – guitar
Aaron Crick – guitar
James Gates – bass
Scott Earley – drums
When Doyle hit the stage, you could feel the intensity spike. Alex came out in a black luchador mask pumping up the crowd, while Doyle himself, committed assault and battery on his guitars. The night was filled with “love songs you can dance to” according to lead singer Alex. This couldn’t have been farther from the truth as they crunched through their horror rock set. The set consisted of about 50% each of Abominator and II and As We Die and the only downside was, I wished it lasted longer. Doyle is an amazing show man and even if the genre isn’t your cup of tea, I recommend you check him out just for the show. 10/10 rating!
Doyle band members
Alex “Wolfman” Story – vocals
Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein – Guitar
Wade Murff – Drums
Brandon Strate – Bass
Doyle set list
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
