(Live Review) LITTLE JOHNNY'S TOP 10 LIVE SETS OF 2024
Finally, I thought I would never get this done. I have absolutely no idea how Beard writes as much as he does. That old man is tireless. I mean, come on Santa, don’t you have presents to deliver or something? Anyway. This is Little Johnny and here are the top ten shows I watched this year. I know Beard has some formula for these, but for me it was how much fun did I have and how crazy did it get.
These were the wildest sets this year.
Top 10 live sets of 2024
10: Hirax 5-4-24 Reggie’s Legions of Metal Festival Chicago, IL
This show had an insane old Black guy singer. I mean he must have been Beard's age, but that dude was crazy energetic. From the time he hit the stage, that guy ran around and gave it everything he had. Beard said their music was “old school crossover thrash”, like I was supposed to know what the #$%@ that meant. What I did know was we were circling and banging throughout that set.
Plus, this dude a couple spots from me at the front passed a full bag of weed to the singer. At least that’s what I think it was. It looked like that anyway. That singer dude sure took it with a smile, but then said “we can’t smoke that in here.” And he gave it to some dude in the back. I still think that was so cool. I liked this festival and certainly this band. I hope Beard doesn’t piss that Bob Byrne promoter guy off and we get to go to this one again next year.
9. Exodus 11-14-24 The Forge Joliet, IL
We had been going to nothing but Beard's old man bands for a month and finally I convinced him to let me book one. This show rocked. The headliners were a band that was bringing the mosh metal before I was even born, and they were still doing it hard today. Exodus was original thrash according to Beard and the crowd was more than ready to get it on for this set.
There were great fast songs that had us all circling and bouncing, but the best part was the encore when that singer dude, (I think Beard called him Zetro or something), parted the crowd into two sides right down the middle, (you know like that Moses dude did in that old movie about the Ten Condominiums), anyway, we are all on each side and then when that singer dropped his arm, man we just flew at each other. It was so freaking intense man. I love that stuff. Made this a huge memorable set for me.
8. King Diamond 11-7-24 Chicago Theater Chicago, IL
Now I KNOW Beard loves this guy, and I am putting him in the top ten, so I agree he is pretty damn awesome. In fact, this show might have gotten higher if we didn’t go see it in a stupid place with all seats and no mosh floor.
Still, King Diamond is like going to a horror movie AND a metal concert at the same time, so that is always gonna be cool as Hell. That dude with all his face paint makes Alice Cooper look normal.
King Diamond was stabbing dolls, electro-shocking chicks in coffins, and stalking around a stage that looked like a giant dollhouse all foggy and spooky and stuff. He does sing in that high pitched squeaky voice (which takes some getting used to), but no question it was a killer set.
7. Possessed 5-18-24 Milwaukee Metalfest Milwaukee, WI
Another band from this killer fest in Wisconsin. The lead singer of this death metal band was in a wheelchair man. He was in a freaking wheelchair and still fronts an amazing death metal band. That is SO cool!
Beard says Possessed and the band Death both started the death metal movement on opposite sides of the country in the late 80’s. Clearly I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t born back then, but I think maybe it’s like a west coast / east coast kind of rivalry. I don’t know which one is really the original (Ed: That would be Possessed, Johnny) but guess what? I don’t much care either. I just know that wheelchair guy was rocking it up there, and when you can circle and bang in a wheelchair, you are a badass dude.
6. Havok 11-14-24 The Forge Joliet, IL
I know Beard talked about one of his shows having all the bands there make his list. That didn’t happen here, but two of these acts were in MY top ten. This band Havok opened for those Exodus dudes, and that set was one of my best crowd surfs of the year. I was already kind of sweating and jacked from the three Red Bulls I had already had and so I pulled my shirt over my head but didn’t take it all the way off, so it was like holding in my hair and acting like a sweatband.
Then I had the crowd get me up in the air and I started doing the swim move while they passed me forward. Havok was playing their song about ABC’s. I don’t really know what it’s supposed to be about, but I was just shouting “ABC’S Mother#@#$#@#$" as they passed me. When I got near the stage some big security guy grabbed me and set me in that little alleyway they have so the crowd don’t rush the stage. I was flinging my “horns” at David Sanchez, and he was shooting em back from the stage. Serious fun set man.
5. Sabaton 9-18-24 Miller High Life Theater Milwaukee, WI
So, this band opened for Judas Priest, (who were really good themselves), and they were awesome!! The drum set was on top of a fricking tank man, like an actual tank. That singer was small, but he had a huge voice, and for one song he dressed up like a cross between a soldier and the Orkin guy when he sprayed my bedroom for bugs.
I remember because Beard said I was supposed to give it a day before I slept there again but what does he know? I think it was totally fine. Although, come to think of it, it was after I slept in there that I started realizing those Mohawk birds in the mosh pits were chasing me. Oh well.
So Sabaton sings all their songs about battles, and wars and fighting and stuff, so I love it whenever we get to see them. They are always amazing.
4. Deicide 5-18-24 Milwaukee Metalfest Milwaukee, WI
I had never seen these guys, but Beard said I would probably like them ... and I did. That singer has this voice that sounds like if gravel could talk. The songs were fast and heavy and seemed like they were spending a lot of time talking about Satan. Now I don’t really care about that one way or the other, but the crowd was big time intense and THAT I do care about. Major moshes. Major Pits. Major good time.
3. Sodom 3-23-24 Hell's Heroes Houston, Texas
This three day festival was Beard's favorite, although I didn’t see him much. Old man hides in the VIP balcony for three days and nights. Totally wrong place to be. This place has a ginormous lawn area and thousands of us are out there letting loose. And, in the whole three days, there was no wilder, crazier set than for this German thrash band.
Sodom came out and for an hour they destroyed the White Oak Music Hall. Thunder for sound and Lightning for lights. These dudes played the hardest and fastest music. I didn’t really know their songs. (Beard said they wrote it all before I was born.), but man, it was everything I love about thrash metal. Those guys on stage left it all out there and on the lawn we did the same damn thing. I even saw that promoter dude Beard knows rocking with his shirt off. I can’t believe Beard wussed out and hid in VIP. He misses the best sets. Anyway, Sodom was my Bronze Medal Set of the year.
2. Overkill 5-17-24 Milwaukee Metalfest Milwaukee, WI
Now, I am sure Beard will also have these guys on his list somewhere, but he will probably pick the other time we saw them with that King Diamond dude. Now that was also a killer set, but because it was all seated, it was nowhere near as fun as the one in Milwaukee where we got to rip the roof off with these guys.
Man, I was SO tired after that set. Beard doesn’t know this, but I took a little nap after that while we were watching Hammerfall. I couldn’t help myself, but then I was totally okay the rest of the night. Overkill wore me out and I know that singer up there is like 70 years old or something, so I am impressed with how he still tears it up all set. Overkill was probably the best music I heard all year, but only my second favorite set. Still, for all the bands we got to see, second is great.
Municipal Waste. 5-18-24 Milwaukee Metalfest Milwaukee, WI
There was absolutely no set of music all year more intense than these crazy ass Virginia dudes. I have never been at a crowd that intense. Man, everything was flying that set. The band told us to throw trash cans at them. Security kept taking them away from us, but we tried. Then the band told the crowd to throw US at them and man they tried like hell with that too.
I was surfing up near the front, and these two big guys had me and together they tried to throw me all the way on the stage. I might have made it too except this football linebacker of a security guy intercepted me. That was only the beginning. Right after he caught me, another dude got thrown by the crowd and crashed into us both. So, we all go down in a heap, and I got bodies lying on me and I somehow lost my cap. I NEVER lose my cap.
I am trying to look around, but it’s dark down there and there are bodies everywhere. Legs stamping and arms flailing, so I can’t find my cap. Next thing you know these other security dudes yank me up and shove me down the little walkway near the front of the stage. So, I never did find my cap. My elbow was bleeding, and my knee was bruised for about three days. That had to be like what being in a tornado is like. It was the most awesome set of the entire year.
Municipal Waste wins the Little Johnny solid gold set of the year for 2024. Oh, and the Milwaukee Metalfest owes me a new cap cause I never did find it again.
Okay, that wraps up my top forty for 2024. I know I rip him a lot, but I want to thank Beard for taking me along on these adventures. I know his writing and stuff is the reason we do so much, and I know I am lucky to be a part of it all.
I also want to thank our boss Chris Tighe of Mighty Decibel because if he wasn’t giving Beard a platform, we never could have done all this either. (Ed: Keep rockin' little dude!)
Lastly, I want to thank all my fans, and all the chicks that bought me beers all year. Every single one of you rock. This is a really fun gig, and I have seen more in the last two and a half years than I have the whole rest of my life. Metal concert reviewing is a blast.
So, I hope everyone has a kicking 2025, I know I will. Be sure to check us out on TikTok @thebeard0728 AND follow the old man on Facebook by friending Mark McQueen. Beard says we will soon have our own platform at thebeardandlittlejohnnyreviews.com so I guess start looking for that too in 2025.
Until we meet again this is Little Johnny saying. Beer is Cold and Chicks are Hot and either one will hit the Spot. Horns Up #$%@ers!