The Cornerstone Berkeley in Berkeley, California was filling up the 1,000-capacity, standing-room-only venue in anticipation of the chance to see and hear the bands The Dread Crew of Oddwood, Aether Realm, Trollfest, and TYR On April 15, 2024. The Cornerstone tounts one of the best concert venues in the Bay Area with a Harman / JBL compact Line Array sound system. Along with the great sound, The Cornerstone provides a full-service restaurant, bar, and craft beer garden. The weather was comfortable with temperatures in the low 60s just before showtime. The crowd settled in and were ready to rock!
The Dread Crew of Oddwood were first up at 6:00 Pm. The band seemed to have a mission, and that was to get drunk and have fun doing it. Hailing from San Diego, California, this band knows how to party. Drinking from the start, Follow The Dread Crew of Oddwood plugged through their set and pleased the crowd with their antics. Their pirate base themes and their outfits were over the top. Opening with the set with “Dead Man’s Medley” off their 2016 release Lawful Evil. Their set was short but eventful being filled with color and sound unheard by many within the audience. Busting out the tracks, “Give Me Your Beer” and “Raise Your Pints” to pilfer your beers and “Giant Fucking Demon Crab” and “The Dread Crew of Oddwood” to steal your souls the band thundered on to great applause. The final song “Lawful Evil,” finished up the set and they left with a rash of free beer and good times.
Follow The Dread Crew of Oddwood Band Members:
Wolfbeard O’Brady – accordion, whistles, vocals
Smithy Crow – bass, orchestral strings, vocals
Stark Cordwain – Irish bouzouki, whistles, vocals
Deckard Cordwain – mandolin, ukulele, vocals
Pete – drums
Setlist:
1). Dead Man’s Medley
2). Leather Ship
3). Side Quest
4). Give Me Your Beer
5). Raise Your Pints
6). Binged and Purged
7). Giant Fucking Demon Crab
8). The Dread Crew of Oddwood
9). Lawful Evil
Aether Realm was nest to take the stage, while the audience waited in anticipation for the night’s next visual experience. Aether Realm started their program with songs “Tarot”, “Death” and “The Magician.” They started the show mid-tempo, and quickly the pace increased with every song. The raw energy of Aether Realm ramped up throughout their set. Rocking tunes like “Guardian” and “TMHC” before ending the show with “The Sun, The Moon and The Stars”, was enough to erupt the crowd with cheers and appreciation wanting the band to perform more.
Follow Aether Realm Band Members:
Vincent Jones – bass, vocals
Donny Burbage – guitars
Heinrich Yoshio – guitars
Tyler Gresham – drums
Setlist:
1). Tarot
2). Death
3). The Magician
4). Should I? (New song)
5). Swampwitch
6). She’s Back
7). Guardian
8). TMHC
9). The Sun, the Moon, the Star
Trollfest, a long way from home in Oslo, Norway was welcomed by the crowd, to their new home away from home in Berkeley, California for the night. Trollfest was one of those bands you want to see, but you just don’t know it yet. Starting their set with “Kjettaren Mos Stromman,” released in 2019, the band showed they were ready, willing, and able to rock. Trollfest played with heart and soul through their 13-song set. “Dance Like A Pink Flamingo”, “Twenty Miles An Hour”, “Pina Colada” and “Flamongous” off their 2022 Flamingo Overlord album as they played the new tunes as well as the old. The old songs consisted of “Renkespill” and “Kaptein Kaos” off of the Kaptein Kaos album released in 2014. Overall, a great set.
Follow Trollfest Band Members:
Setlist:
1). Kjettaren mot strømmen
2). Happy Heroes
3). Dance Like a Pink Flamingo
4). Steel Sarah
5). Twenty Miles an Hour
6). Professor Otto
7). Renkespill
8). Piña Colada
9). Kaptein Kaos
10). Flamongous
11). Byttingenes Byttehandel
12). All Drinks on Me
13). Espen Bin Askeladden
Finally it was time for the most anticipated band, TYR . TYR is from the Faroe Islands in Scandinavia which is located North of Scotland and between Iceland and Norway, the true Nordic Country of the Vikings. The hard rock started with their epic song “By The Sword in My Hand”. They continued rocking out their set with “Mare Of My Night”, “Valkyrja” and “Hammered” and the crowd loved it. Rocking through “By the Light of the Northern Star” and the first “Unknown” track, the band was really getting down with it, and then they broke into “Axes” and they were in full swing. The encore took off with “Blood of Heroes” and “Hold the Heathen Hammer High,” the crowd erupted yet again, but the show was over. Everyone who was in attendance was fulfilled and exhausted from the complete night of great rock n roll. The sound system was pretty kick ass too!
Follow TYR band members
Heri Joensen – vocals, guitar
Hans Hammer – lead guitar
Gunnar Thomsen – bass, vocals
Tadeusz Rieckmann – drums
Setlist:
1). By the Sword in My Hand
2). Dragons Never Die
3). Mare of My Night
4). Tróndur Í Gøtu
5). Valkyrja
6). Ragnars Kvæði
7). Hammered
8). The Lay of Thrym
9). By the Light of the Northern Star
10). (Unknown)
11). Axes
12). (Unknown)
Encore:
13). Blood of Heroes
14). Hold the Heathen Hammer High
Follow The Dread Crew of Oddwood on social media:
Follow Aether Realm on social media:
Follow Trollfest on social media:
Follow TYR on social media:
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”.
