It is always a pleasure to see my friends KrashKarma when they are on tour. This past Friday night the Wild Goose Saloon in Parker, Colorado welcomed KrashKarma. The Wild Goose Saloon is a brand new venue which opened this past July 9th, 2021. Located just Southeast of Denver, the indoor venue has a 450-person capacity. The outdoor patio has a smaller stage, and can hold another 350 people. The indoor stage is very roomy with an excellent lighting and a quality sound system. Click HERE to see more of this excellent venue.
Co-headlining this evening with KrashKarma was the husband and wife duo, Warriors of Light featuring LVictoria (Laura Victoria) and Braden. “Warriors of Light is a faith-base, American Industrial Metal Band”. They started their set with, ‘Wake the Bride’ and Laura wasted no time showing skills with the guitar and made her way down to the floor to play among her fans. From their website, “THE WARRIORS OF LIGHT MISSION & MESSAGES FOCUS ON THE ONGOING BATTLE AGAINST THE PRINCIPALITIES OF DARKNESS, FEAR & DESPAIR BY USING MUSIC AS A WEAPON TO SHED TRUTH, LIGHT & VICTORY TO ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.” This can be heard through their vocals and very powerful industrial sound. Both Laura and Braden vocals can be very deep and dark as can be heard in the song, W.A.R. Within their song, Fear Is A Lie, I believe their journey through their music is one of not preaching but informing. Finishing their set with Serpentslayer, which brought an end to a very interesting mix of music and lyrics. This was my first time seeing Warriors of Light, and enjoyed them very much.
Warriors of Light are:
LVictoria – Guitars and vocals
Braden – percussion pad
Set List:
1.) Wake The Bride
2.) No Weapon
3.) W.A.R.
4.) Fear Is A Lie
5.) Power
6.) Serpentslayer
After a short break, the stage was ready and so were Ralf Dietel and Niki Skistimas of KrashKrama. Starting their set with ‘Gone’ , from their 2021 album Storm, a night of high energy and fun got under way. Their lighting was set low in front of them, giving them that look of holding a flashlight close under your chin look. Both of them put a lot of emphasis on their movements when they play, so their arms, legs and hair go in many directions which is fun to watch, as well as fun for me to photograph. As the duo moved through their music, they interacted with the crowd and themselves as well. Before during or after any show, you will always see them enjoying their friends and fans. That is a big part of who they are and their fans love them for it. They both share the vocals and the harmonica as well. Ralf can get really going with moving in circles and throwing his dreads as did during the song, ‘Footsteps of a Lemming’ from their 2018 album, Morph.
Then it’s time for Niki to pick up something a little larger than a drum stick, The hammer with the smiley face on the head. And the song to go with it, ‘Girl with a Hammer’ from their 2021 album Storm. She walks across the stage hammering a cymbal on the floor. Meanwhile Ralf is jumping up and down as his fingers work their magic on the guitar. As the set was winding down, Niki moved to the front of the stage and knelt down while she sang interacting with fans. ‘Tears of Gasoline‘ was their finally song going back in time to their 2010 album, Straight to the Blood. But they did add a little extra ending to their show with Niki moving around thumping hard on her drums while Ralf with crashing riffs to close out their night.
Immediately they came off stage and started mingling with their fans and the new fans they had just made. When I ask people who have seen them for the first time, the response is almost always the same, they are fun and I enjoy their music. And I can’t think of a better reason to catch KrashKarma on tour.
Krashkarma are:
Ralf Dietel lead singer, harmonica, and an ESP E-II Stream guitar modified so he can play both guitar and bass at the same time.
Niki Skistimas on drums, vocals, harmonica and Hammer
Follow Warriors of Light here:
Follow LVictoria here:
Follow KrashKarma here:
I have been dabbling in photography since I was a kid. Box cameras, instamatics, then 35mm film cameras. In the late 70’s I went to a concert and took pictures, no one cared at first. That came to end in 1980. When the first digital cameras came out, I got more interested and serious about photography. For years I did nothing but landscape and even started selling my work with some success. In May of 2014, I walked into a small concert venue and asked about photographing a band that was going to play there. Little did I know then how my life was about to change. My 2 passions, music and photography turned into a wonderful journey. 7+ years later, I have meet artists from all over the world, photographed bands from over 20 different countries. I am living the dream of being a concert photographer. To this day, when I step in front of the stage to cover a show, I still get as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!
