| Late
last Thursday night, I went to Emo’s to catch New Orleans’
Soilent Green. On may way there I ran into Beth, one of Rank
and Revue’s photographers. She told me she was just
leaving Emo’s and that Soilent Green was a bit to harsh
for her tastes, she had stuck around for a couple of songs
worth of photos and the headed out. I got to Emos’ a
bit after one a.m. The newly five piece band is a hybrid breed
of metal band, drawing on the wide range of metal music out
there, from grindcore to death metal to sludge rock. The place
was pretty crowded, with a small pit in front of the stage.
The first three songs I hardly got me going, the bands violent
tempo changes were a bit hard to follow at first. The guitarists
Brian Patton and Tony White and bassist Scott Crochet stood
almost motionless as lead singer Ben Falgoust growled out
his vocals over the bands sometime frenetic sometimes straight
groovin’ Rock. Four songs into the set I realized the
guitar and bass players weren’t moving much because
the music they were playing was so intensely complicated they
needed all their concentration to stay on top of what was
going on. The pick hands of both guitarists were a blur at
certain points, making me appreciate their talents. The drumme,
Tommy Buckley was also a whir of percussive activity, keeping
time for his bandmates with unerring efficiency. Before the
last two songs of Soilent Greens’ set, Falgoust urged
the crowd to make some noise and move towards the stage. A
few in the crowd stepped forward while most stayed put as
SG gave it their all for the audience.
At
the end of the show I was surely glad I had gone to see Soilent
Green. Watch these pages to know when they next pass through
town. Check out their cool website at www.soilentgreen.net
to learn more about them and hear some of their
music.
-James
E
Rise
Against/Shai Halud/Avenged Sevenfold/At All Cost
: Emo’s : August 22, 2003
Friday
at Emo’s was an evening of musical calisthenics for
mosh consumption. The night kicked off with At All Cost warming
up the crowd with their blend of rock and roll exercising.
The lead singer began with push ups and jumping jacks and
the rest of the band proceeded to energize the crowd while
simultaneously playing and kickboxing. I think I lost ten
pounds just watching them perform and another ten pounds watching
people moshing all over the place.
Next
up, Avenged Sevenfold with sensually, soulful singing mingled
with skillful screaming literally had the crowd spinning.
If you can say that phrase five times fast you get a prize.
Check out their new CD, Waking the Fallen, which came out
on the 26th. It won’t disappoint.
Shai
Halud then took to the stage and pumped the crowd up even
further. I didn’t believe this was possible, but this
crowd had a lot of pent up energy. This night was unmistakably
a moshing marathon that could have gone on all night. Shai
Halud’s frenzied drumming left me mesmerized by their
upbeat sound. The lead singer packed a powerful punch with
his jumping and explosive wailing.
Last
but certainly not least Chicago boys, Rise Against. Their
sound is extremely multifaceted and expansive, going from
punk to thrash in a heartbeat. They kept a fast pace all through
their set that actually picked up more and more speed as they
progressed. It definitely kept the crowd going wild and begging
for more. The crowd was so into moshing that night several
people even lost their beers creating a huge mess up front.
A good time seemed to be had by fans, spectators, and bands
alike.
-Misty
Sweet
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