Show Chronicles: The BEST night in a LONG TIME!

What is better on a summer night than great music?  After the heat of the day, the nasty sweat, working, stress and longing for those who were so far away from me, the energy from a live show is what I was grappling for.  An energetic release of pent up negative energy.  I was fortunate enough that a metal show was about to start… What better way to cap off an awful summer day?

AWESOME FUCKING ROCK!!  Live.  I had been looking forward to seeing another band you all know I love, Sonic Cocaine, and the bands that they shared the stage with at Goathead that night gave me a renewed confidence in local rock.  Of course, Sonic Cocaine was not a let-down, as always, and as self-admittedly “sober and better sounding” than previous shows, the boys tore up the stage for the stragglers in the club after midnight.  After week after week of missed shows and checking out local hip hop I was in a rock mood… needing a fix only a furious guitar and voxtastic vocals can provide for the rawk monster inside me.  A wave of colorful musical aptitude filled with upbeat and heavy songs, the atmosphere was a fantastic cloud of energy.  Ahhhh, how much I’ve missed a good hardcore guitar and melodic vocals.  Ones that were as epic to the ear as aesthetically pleasing with the eyes.  This… yes, this show… fulfilled the hole in my soul I had been missing for the past couple of months. 

The siren that took the stage first was a furious femme with a back ripped shirt and short skirt.  My first impression of her during warm up was she was nervous and shy, however once the warm up was out of the way and after onstage banter and burns the real music started.  Slow and strangely hypnotic, she burst forth with a set of lungs and verb that started my heart pounding.  Akin to an Evanescence type vocal she transformed into a moving wonder of the stage.  Shar also provided a strongly versatile set of vox, unlike the afore mentioned lady of mainstream.  My favorite song of the night was an SOAD cover, Sugar.  I am not normally a fan of covers but when you take a song and make it your own, its absolutely fantabulous!  Originality comes from the soul; yes, the lyrics and melody is the same, however turned from first off a masculine vocal to a femme vocal that rivals the original, Shar… I salute you. 

The instrumentals in this band were just as matching in originality and creativeness.  The strings played fantastic solos and rhythm, with a flailing set of sticks.  They currently don’t have any music recorded online, however they have a youtube channel… click here to see a Spirit Level Video!!  Besides the SOAD cover, which I recommend hearing, their song Fall Never is one to check out as well.  With the mixture of the siren vox, both melodic and extremely metal, the quality of instrumentals match her verve and ambition.  The videos do them no justice, there is watching a band online, and then there is seeing one live.  The Dirty Librarian recommends you see them live.  I know Ima hit up their next show if possible. 

The second band to grace the Goathead stage was Hollow.  An energetic and audience encompassing entity from here in the valley, Hollow’s set and stage presence was exactly what I needed that night.  Getting the crowd amped up for music and simple enjoyment, interaction at the very most, I have to say both bands pulled a crowd that filled the club pretty well.  Loyal fans and friends, including one new one you all know and love, filled the empty space above the heads to the ceiling during Hollows performance with shouts and exuberant SCREAMS!!!  Another great example of rock diversity, they go from great strings heavy songs which you can hear on their Facebook page “Break Me” and “Lie to Me”, to a fun audience inducing song “Come Alive”. 

As for the talent in Hollow, they provide a purely energetic portrayal of stringplay and vocals.  Independant of the stage they contribute to the massacre of the floorboards, getting down and grungy with the fans.  A continuous casual catastrophic assault of the virgin mind, there was no awkwardness, fauxpas or taboo with this band.   At one point, an individual, forgive me as I have forgotten the name, joined Hollow on stage and was a match in angst and passionate veracity for the music he expressed from his face.  His band, Element a440, is a band I am very much excited to see live.  I checked em out on FB and if you like industrial, you'll like these guys.  Back to my night... Check out Hollow!

HOLLOW FANS ARE AWESOME!!

The last band was, of course, the boys at Sonic Cocaine.  Playing after midnight, there was less of a crowd than the previous bands but that is not an indication of the talent and energy of these guys.  Another great show, playing with ferocity and vigor, they made the audience scream as much as any other show. 

To the talent that performed that night at Goathead Saloon… Cheers!!  I look forward to seeing more of you and I say THANK YOU for putting on a great show and sharing your passion.  For all you musical anti-nemasai, check out Spirit Level, Hollow, and if you haven’t already, Sonic Cocaine!