Q87.7FM Presents.. Sick Puppies with 10 Years and Charming liars at the House of Blues, Chicago

The Venue: I’ve reviewed the House of Blues something like 9 times. Coming to the House of blues is like seeing an old friend after years. I hadn’t been their in a long while and it is far and away my favorite venue, if not my favorite place in Chicago period. It was a second home when I first started to go out to concerts on my own and it still feels like it.

Charming Liars (2/6): The instrumentation saved this band. The drum work was solid and the guitar work was pleasantly showy in places. Their sound was very much in keeping with the rest of the evening--bitter alt. rock with a slightly hardened edge. The frontman made a diligent effort to get the crowd pumped, but they were having none of it. Given that he took half the set to warm up and had a mediocre voice in the first place, it was understandable. The energy and edgy, bitter lyrics were enough to salvage the set, but on the whole they were sub-par.

10 Years (3.5/6):  10 Years was a very pleasant surprise. I’d heard these ages ago, and they didn’t make much of an impression then. It took me until they played “Fix Me”(their big radio song) to even recognize them they’d improved so much. 10 Years  has come a long way as a band. Their bassist is wonderful and has a striking look in addition to his wonderful talent. With, rippling shoulder and waist length dreadlocks and wild head banging, he had more presence than even  the front man. He also attacked the bass with a rare fervor that gave their sound extra fire.

Their drummer was solid as can be and even got a chance to show off a little with  a short solo. Their guitarist wasn’t half bad either.

Their vocals were interesting. On the one hand, their lead vocalist was really good and had a very distinctive sound that really meshed with their overall sound perfectly.
While he was very talented on the guitar, their screamer fell decidedly flat. If you’re going to take the scream-o angle, you need to really go hardcore. There is no middle ground for screamers. In addition to being a mediocre screamer, he had a horrible attitude. Even their front man seemed taken aback when he flat out insulted the  crowd.  He literally compared them to his excrement because they were a very subdued crowd.

That attitude almost made me regret purchasing the album. However, I support the rest of the band whole heartedly and wish them nothing but success.

Sick Puppies(warning, flash): (5/6): These guys have successfully earned the second highest rating I give out. They were absolutely fantastic as always. I was a little nervous about this show as their new album has some pretty serious style changes and is decidedly not sure of itself. I should have had more faith in them. Over the years they've grown from the first line of a four set show to a headliner. They’re a powerhouse of hard-edged rock seeded with inspiring ballads and wonderfully hopeful rock songs. Between Shim Moor’s wonderful vocal control and his brilliant dynamic with the audience, he was wonderful. his guitar work has dramatically improved and he is absolutely frantic on stage.
However, it is very obvious this band is a close-knit team, especially with Emma Emma Anzai’s popularity and her increased partition on the vocals. She has brilliant stage presence, outside of her warm, bell-like voice and her mean bass work. She is far and away the best bassist I’ve seen live.  She is also one of the very few bassets I’ve seen with such popularity among the fans. She is wonderfully gracious and vulnerable yet unbelievably strong. Her playing was the driving source of Sick Puppies’ set.
 I couldn’t talk about sick puppies without touching on their charismatic drummer, Mark Goodman. He is the good humored, subtle yet amazing heart beat of the band and his smile alone is just beautiful.
Overall they impressed yet again and it was a pleasure.

Hail To the King (Tour): Avenged Sevenfold with The Deftones at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL

Venue: I’ve reviewed the Allstate Arena before and it hasn't changed

The Deftones (2/6): I enjoyed the show immensely. There is always a pleasure in a band that takes you back into you childhood. Sadly, the front man’s voice has not aged well. Between  his voice cutting out and breaking on every high note and their needing to do the sound check on the fly, the show was lackluster. Once “My Summer (Shove It)” played. they woke up a lot, however they never got really good.

The vocals were downright bad. Twenty years of screaming into the microphone has not been kind to lead vocalists Chino Moreno’s vocal cords and it really shows. He had a lot of trouble with the whispery high notes he’s known for and definitely needed the autotune that is so common on the albums. In their case, autotune is a good thing and really first their song.

TO give credit where it is due, the guitar work was solid, but that was effectively the highlight.

Avenged Sevenfold(4.5/6): Avenged Sevenfold was utterly fantastic on stage.  They have really evolved as a band in the past five years. I feel like the death of their drummer James “The rev” Sullivan in ’09 really woke up their passion. They've  risen  from a good, if generic , alt-metal band to a band with fire and a brilliant command of the audience that will no doubt have staying power for many years to come

Front man, M. Shadows, has an intense presence and drive that commands attention. While not the most articulate of vocalist, his powerful, well-coordinated growl is both distinctive and surprisingly versatile. It felt right in both the slower song and the thrashing fast ones.  Shadows never stopped moving for the entire show. It wasn't the breathless running around many artists do. Fists pumping, Shadows strode from one side of the stage to the other the embodiment of power.

His versatile was highlighted when performing “Fiction,” in tribute to their late drummer. There is something about hear a hardened, fearless man’s voice shaking and crack during a song about losing a friend that really hits the listener’s heart. The performance really spoke well of Shadows as both an artist and a person.

Dueling guitarists, Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, were both absolute powerhouses turning out  both brilliant solos and finger tearing duets they tore up the stage like wild animals with  devilish skill.

Drummer Arin Elljay was flawless. Two full drum sets is a lot to manage and Elljay had huge shoes to fill stepping in for Rev. But Elljay was a delicious madman on that stage with a wonderful sense of when to throw down an insane solo and when to keep the beat subtle.

I could not leave the review without commenting the screen work and the pyro. The effects have come a very long way over my lifetime and they were used with perfect sync to the music. Deafening explosions with frequent but not overdone blasts of exquisitely timed pyro from multiple sources on the stage, several set changes that happened without interruption and judicious use of cinematic but not distracting screen work made for a quite a show. 

Overall these guys killed it. 

Streaming live from the Elbo Room(Chicago, IL): Silent Nightmare. "I Will Not Be Denied"

(4/6)
Venue: I can’t rate the venue as I wasn’t per se there, but it felt like the sound quality was a lot clearer.

Watching this show streaming was an interesting first for me. I was able to critique a live performance the way I do an album, but still get a sense of how the band plaid live. I really enjoyed it.

One of the joys of working with such a green band is that you really get to see them evolve.  I've been tracking Silent Nightmare seriously for about a ear and change (look this number up) and watching them go from where they were)(ago to now has been amazing. They have improved every time I’ve been exposed to their work. Even from last show they've improved

One part metal, one part opera, Silent Nightmare is a stripped down version of Northern European symphonic metal. It is a decidedly uncommon  sound that, especially in the US. It’s risky business pioneering a genre as a younger band and these guys seem to be braving the trials with minimal bruising.

Every time I write about Silent Nightmare, I rave about the lovely Tara Duhan. She is the opera train leading lady of the group with an absolutely killer voice. She actually has too much voice for the tiny little venues they’ve been playing (I’ve heard her clip out the speakers more than once, and that is not a bad thing). I cannot wait to hear her strut her stuff in a bigger venue where she has room to belt. Her range is substantial, peaking into the high end of the soprano range and dipping well into the alto range. Where Duhan trips up is projection, specifically projecting on the lower notes. She is strong on the higher notes, but needs more breath support on the lower and mid range notes. What she doesn’t always have in projection she makes up for in passion. It is very clear she’s invested in these songs and believes what she’s singing.  She’s still finding her sound in a lot of ways, experimenting with where to place the growls and where to croon. When she does hit her stride, I have confidence she will explode.
But, if you’ve been reading this blog, you have heard me go on about how talented she is.

The band really improved from last show, especially in the second half of the set. The beginning of the set was on par with the last show and started out a little uncoordinated, I felt like the overall precision really took itself up a notch in the last half (especially in their cover of the cranberries’ Zombie) letting drummer Tim Araujo and guitarist Aleks Jevtic really shine through. Bassist Sonja Petrovic’s talent was a welcome surprise, lending some bounce to the songs.  If they can make the beginning of their sets sound like the second half they will be playing far bigger venues.

I am very interested in seeing what this little band is capable of. Looking forward to more.

Good work guys.

Concert Review: Silent Nightmare, David Wilner Trio

Ultra lounge: (3/6) It feels like a bar, partly because it is one. Dark, but clean this little hole in the wall would be very easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. While the sound system was not the worst I've heard it really did not suit the main act. I suspect the lead vocalist's ridiculously wide range was too much for those speakers.

David Wilner Trio:(3/6) low production pop with heavy-handed metaphors and a an average voice. While it was far from horrible, I didn't find his music caught my attention. The music had a wholesome goody-good feel to it and a nebulously Christian feel. It was bland, but not bad. The keyboard work was decent, if forgettable.

Silent Nightmare (4/6): This little band has come a long way from their debut album back in 2011. They are a little all over the place, combining operatic vocals and nu metal guitar work. I feel like they are still trying to find their sound within a genera that is uncharted territory (there aren’t many operatic metal bands out there that aren’t symphonic). While they are much more cohesive than some bands I’ve seen, I think they really need to focus in and hone what makes their particular style.

Tara Duhan has a voice like a sultry angel and a range that puts most other artists to shame. She’s got the looks to match. While she is still finding her sweet spot, I’m confidant it is there. It is very clear she has both talent and training in spades. Duhan also has a lot more presence than most artists. I don’t think there was a single person in the room that didn’t have their eyes on her.

The music itself was oddly enough where the band got shaky. It took me quiet a while to figure out what was off. First off they haven’t quite gelled into a cohesive sound which will come with time. There were two big issues however. First the guitarist’s skill level varied greatly between songs, some songs he was solid on, others he was just plain off. (I think his g string wasn’t tuned right, I could be miss hearing). It wasn’t just the newer songs that were rough, either. The bassist was flat out subpar. She wasn’t terrible, just not on the caliber the rest of the band. The drummer was the savior of the low end. When the basest didn’t pull through, he was there to fill in the sound.

Fortunately for them, no one other than the critic in the audience was paying attention to the bassist. Duhan was a complete showstopper. Once she really hits her stride, she’s going to be amazing.  

In Praise of "Bad" Music: Nickelback w/ bush, Seether (not reviewed) and My Darkest Days(not reviewed) at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Il

Venue: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL-- (3/6) I’ve never been a big fan of arena shows, but sometimes my bands get popular enough to need them, which makes me happy for them. The Allstate Arena is one of the only really big arenas in the Chicagoland area and it’s really more of a sports arena than an arena meant for concerts. The audio system is basically just a PA system and as a result is flat, has lots of noise and is generally not the best system save for the fact that its loud. Its also one of the dirtier arenas I’ve seen and the concessions and merch are hard to access and shoddy. They are also highly disorganized.

The only real pluses are the pyro and the size. The Allstate Arena can comfortably fit 17,500 people and is laid out well enough that it’s pretty easy to see most places.

And the pyro, oh the pyro. I admit I am a sucker for good pyro. The Allstate has a great pyro and visual effects team, which, while not necessary, adds a certain flare to a rock show.

Speaking of which…

Bush (3.5/6): I came in part way through the set on this one, but my gods it was fun. I have to admit that a large chunk of what contributed to my enjoyment of the show was the nostalgia factor. I hadn’t heard anything new from bush in eleven years. I’d assumed they’d gone the way of many 90s grunge stars. They apparently have a new album, which from what little I’ve heard of it is much in keeping with their old stuff-- grunge with ragged, low fi guitar work and slurred vocals. As someone who grew up when it was in its heyday, I have a big soft spot for grunge. While the instrumentation is not thin to write home about, and Rosedale’s voice is not traditionally a good voice, I found they put on a good show and kept in sprit with their music. There is also something to be said when an artist who hasn’t been big in over a decade can walk into the crowd and still get mobbed. Rosedale owned what he wrote and preformed with a dignity that is not seen in a lot of faded stars.

I feel like this is how my parent’s generation feels when they see bands from the 60s on stage.

Nickelback: (4/6) This is my third Nickelback show, and it always feels like a gigantic party. I find that Nickelback reputation is undeserved. There are far worse artists. Sex, booze and rock and roll are the dominant themes of their music. (A friend of mine compared them justly to AC/DC) Crass, dirty, with a devil may care attitude; Chad Kroger knows how to throw a party. He knows his audience and while far from the emotionally intense leap-into-the-crowd style of many artists, he knows what to say to get the crowd cheering and singing along. He also has a wonderful dynamic with his band-mates. There were multiple occasions where I could see the laughter in guitarist Ryan
Peake's face when he and Kroger played off each other. It is a wonderful thing to see a band with a bond. With how cocky he can be, it is difficult to imagine Kroger deferring to anyone, except maybe to go get more alcohol. However, he was more than willing to let both his guitarists and his drummer have their spot in the limelight.

The think that impressed me at this particular show was that Nickleback has grown up as a band. While the days of carousing booze and sex songs are far from gone, there were a few songs that had a level of thoughtfulness that was distinctly lacking in previous work. I never in my life would have expected piano work to appear on a Nickleback album, let alone in an anti-suicide song. I’m pleased to see Nickelback keeping their swagger but adding a little more depth.

Overall, a great show.

Road Trip Show: Coheed and Cambria with Moving Mountains and Pianos Become Teeth at The Canopy Club in Champaign, IL

Venue (3.5/6): The Canopy Club is my kind of venue. It’s small enough to be cozy but large enough to be a proper crowd. It is neither the nicest, nor the cleanest of venues, though it is far from disgusting. It has its own character and charm. The majority of the space is standing room, but it has a balcony for those who want to sit. The layout was comfortable with ample access to bars and merch.  The floor was also divided in such a way as to keep the pit crowd from running up against those who wanted to stand but not mosh.   This was my second time at The Canopy Club and both times I had a perfect line of sight to the stage. It was nice and intimate.

Where The Canopy Club loses points is the horrid sound system.  While it’s not the worst I’ve heard, it is very unforgiving especially on the vocals and produces a lot of noise.

Overall, it’s a fun venue with an intimate, comfortable feel.

The Show:

Opener, the First: Pianos Become Teeth (1/6)— Oh Gods. I think these guys  are the worst live act I’ve seen. The one point they earned is for the drummer who, despite his other band-mates' complete lack of talent, was actually decent.  I retract any statement I’ve made about screamo not needing talent to be decent.  This was noise.  The front man didn’t even have a strong scream and seemed to be either drunk or high out of his mind.  Being smashed isn’t a problem usually, however it impeded his already tenuous ability to preform. I spent the parts of the show wondering if he was going to simply stager and fall right over.  The screaming was just drunk screeching, not the guttural screams that make scream work.  And the back-up vocals were just as bad.  The guitar work was fair at best and the bass work was just wretched. Despite my usual desire to encourage younger bands I ended up actually falling asleep on my feet during this set.

I took a glance at their album work, as many younger bands don’t preform as well live as recorded.  It was better, however, it was still horrible.

Opener, the second: Moving Mountains (3/6)– In the wake of Pianos Become Teeth’s performance, all Moving Mountains had to do was show up and tune their instruments to be an improvement.  They had a very professional, yet still eager attitude toward performing.  All told they were solid. Front man[dude] has a good scream and still mange’s to make the melodies distinct. The one that surprised me was when their hither to subdued bassist let out an eagle-like scream.   They made a good effort to keep their sound solid and get the crowd moving.

All told decent.

Headliner: Coheed And Cambria. (5/6)– Coheed and Cambria is the band that set the bar in my book for top live show. From how articulate front man Claudio Sanchez is to the technically astonishing guitar work and brilliant stage presence, Coheed and Cambria brings a level of showmanship and talent not seen in many artists.  Sanchez has innate confidence but has a willingness to share the spotlight with his band mates and a young lady who I suspect is his wife. He also has a very strong relationship with the fans and knows exactly how to work with the crowd while not slacking off on performing.  In addition to his phenomenal vocal work Sanchez has a gift for guitar work.  The majority of artists I’ve seen who both play and do vocals stick to rhythm guitar as it is much simpler to do when sinning. Not so with Sanchez, he does a great deal of the lead guitar exquisitely.

Guitarist Travis Stever is a marvel in his own right.  He can do things with guitar work that I didn’t know were possible. He is amazingly talented and brings his own magic to the show. His backing vocals also complement Sanchez’s own tenor voice lending an ethereal quality to their overall sound.

Their energy and sound are always amazing to experience. A Coheed And Cambria show is unlike anything else I’ve seen.