Wednesday, December 7th, 2001

First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota

featuring special guests Of Mice And Men, The Ghost Inside, iwrestledabearonce, and Sylosis

By: Matty

I usually get stoked to see a show at the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This particular venue has been featured in various nationwide publications as being one of the top venues to see a concert in the country.  The atmosphere, the energy of the crowd, and the quality sound in this venue proved just that.  Several years ago, I saw Norma Jean and Between The Buried and Me at this particular venue.  It amazes me how the people that work there love their job and there isn’t a bad seat in the standing room only venue.  Even the balcony provides an undeniable view of the show.  Kudos to First Avenue.  British thrash metal band Sylosis opened this show.

Sylosis is a four piece thrash metal band from the United Kingdom comprised of Josh Middleton(vocals, guitars), Alex Bailey(guitars), Carl Parnell(bass), and Rob Callard on the drums.  Sylosis joined the Decas tour mainly on donations of tour support money from its rabid fanbase.  My best friend couldn’t stop talking about this band, and this was the main reason why he went to this show.  His hyping up the band made me very excited to see what the hype was all about in Sylosis.  This band took the stage early.  Then I heard a sound that was not of this world.  It sounded something like you’d hear out of the most surreal science fiction movie.  It was Josh sweeping through the strings on his guitar with some incredible harmonics.  Josh providing the harmonics with the rhythm section in “Empryreal” sounded like machine guns from war, provided the audience with quite the whiplash.  I stood there in awe, just amazed at what I was hearing.  The instrumental break is an amazing and sick breakdown with incredible guitar work.  The musicianship was incredibly tight, as the tempo changes in the four songs that they played provided smooth and effortless transitions.  By the end of their fourth and final song, entitled “After Lifeless Years”, the crowd was united with fists in the air and headbanging in unison.  What a tremendous way to start off the show.  Texas-based metalcore band iwrestledabearonce was next to follow.

iwrestledabearonce provided a unique combination of humor, headbanging, and chaos in their set.  I remember reading about their rabid underground fanbase and was looking forward to seeing them.  iwrestledabearonce is comprised of Krysta(vocals), Steven(guitar,programming), John(guitar,programming), Rickshaw(bass), and Mikey on the drums.  This is definitely a unique band.  I never thought that I would hear a Super Mario Brothers video game sample into a chaotic metal song.  Something about them I definitely enjoyed.  They started off the show with the famous brief cover of “Jump”, originally done by Van Halen before breaking into “Next Visible Delicious”.  They are known for their quirky song titles and their chaotic unpredictability into their music.  I definitely appreciated the chaos and the passion that Krysta poured onto the stage during their six song performance.  Some of the crowd was taken aback by them, however, they definitely have developed a serious underground following that will allow them to be successful into their career.  They provided humor when the bassist, Rickshaw, played a game with the audience called “The Floor’s Lava”, which was supposed to provide encouragement for people to jump around.  Krysta was wearing black leggings and she sat down and stated that there was a hole in her crotch, which got laughter from the crowd.  “You Ain’t No Family” and “Tastes Like Kevin Bacon” were definitely highlights into the set.  The Ghost Inside won me over in their next set.

My readers will find that I love hardcore and punk music, pretty much more than any genre of music out there.  I have been to several As I Lay Dying concerts and I have really appreciated them bringing out a diverse array of bands to quench the collective palates of all of the concertgoers.  I didn’t know what to expect from The Ghost Inside.  I was eating nachos with my friend and I didn’t realize that I was talking to the drummer after the iwrestledabearonce set.  He seemed like a chill person.  The Ghost Inside, who are signed by Epitaph Records, is comprised of Vigil(vocals), Aaron(guitar,vocals), Zach(guitar), Jim(bass,vocals), and Andrew(drums).  They DEFINITELY had an audience there.  The hardcore fans were out for this band.  I was enamored by Vigil’s stage presence.  He screamed with an intensity and passion, tugged at his chest anytime that he could feel the electrifying energy of the crowd, then the subject content that he was singing about grabbed my attention.  I love bands that sing about overcoming the obstacles of life, rising up after getting knocked down, and standing up unabashed for what you believe in.  The Ghost Inside definitely did that in their songs entitled “Faith Or Forgiveness”, “Chrono”, and “Unspoken”.  I was getting chills up and down my spine during this amazing moment in my personal concert history.  They closed out their set with the song entitled “Between the Lines”.  The guitar harmonics in this song were tingling up and down my spine.  Then, the music stopped and Vigil lets out a primal scream, asking the audience, “What do you stand for?”, followed by a sick breakdown.  The crowd was louder than the singer was during that point.  What an emotional and brutal set put on by The Ghost Inside.  They won me over as a fan.  Of Mice and Men followed after The Ghost Inside.

Of Mice and Men is touring in support of their album entitled “The Flood”, in which I gave it a positive review on the other website.  I was particularly looking forward to this band.  Of Mice And Men are comprised of Austin Carlile(vocals), Valentino Arteaga(drums), Shayley Bourget(vocals, bass), Phil Manansala(guitars), and Alan Ashby on guitars.  Of Mice And Men opened their set with the track entitled “Purified”.  I immediately was impressed with Shayley’s work on the clean vocals.  He sounded just like on the CD when he provided the clean vocals.  They did keep the audience going and warmed up for As I Lay Dying on this amazing night of music.  This band continues to establish a well-rounded legion of followers with their blistering live performance and seemingly endless amounts of energy.  They definitely got the crowd moving with the songs entitled “Ohio Is For Lovers”, “Second And Sebring”, and “Still Ydg’n”. They closed out their set with an interesting rendition of “Hard In The Paint”, originally done by rap artist Waka Flocka Flame.  As I Lay Dying closed out the show.

This is the biggest challenge for me writing up this particular review, is trying not to sound like an insane fanboy.  This was my third As I Lay Dying show.  I’ve seen them getting a standing ovation at the 8,000 seated capacity crowd Roy Wilkins Auditorium opening for Deftones, Thrice, and Story Of The Year.  I’ve also seen them headline with August Burns Red and Evergreen Terrace providing direct support.  As I Lay Dying is comprised of Tim Lambesis(vocals), Jordan Mancino(drums), Nick Hipa(guitar), Phil Sgrosso(guitar), and Josh Gilbert providing bass and clean vocals.  After a haunting intro, they all-out blitzed into their set with the song entitled “The Sound of Truth”.  I was drawn into this song by the catchy, yet incredible guitar riff done by Nick on the guitars.  In my opinion, Nick Hipa is a very underrated guitarist.  He doesn’t necessarily provide the most mindblowing guitar solos or guitar riffs, however, they seem to fit the music like pieces to a puzzle.  Josh Gilbert was on top of his game providing the clean vocals, which have helped catapult As I Lay Dying as the new kings of metalcore.  In order to celebrate their ten years as a band, they decided to let the fans vote for which songs that they wanted to hear live.  This all but guaranteed me that they were going to be playing their popular songs like “Parallels”, “The Darkest Nights”, “Forever”, and “94 Hours”.  I personally love it when a band busts out some of their lesser known material to satisfy the palate of their hardcore fanbase, however, a band does play their most popular songs to pacify both the hardcore and casual fanbase.  Tim Lambesis has this energy that makes the “arm-folders” in the back to get up and move.  They brought the chaos and definitely showed why they have been a band for ten years.  Their music is accessible to the hardcore music junkies to the mainstream rock fans because of their melodic vocals to go along with the death metal growls.  They closed out the set with “Confined”, hearing the crowd sing “how quickly I forget that this is meaningless” was emotional for me because at the end of the day, life is meant to be shared with the ones that you love and for standing up for what you believe in.  As I Lay Dying is a living testament that a band can melt faces with their music yet deliver a positive message definitely does have a solid niche in this world for music.  There is few feelings in the world like your body aching and leaving a show soaked with sweat and a raspy voice.  Thanks for reading.

May 22nd, 2010

Rumorz, Clear Lake, Iowa

www.gofundme.com/traverser donate to help them produce “Redshift”

www.facebook.com/Traverserband “like” the band on Facebook

By: Matty

The date was May 22nd, 2010.  My personal mission was to bring live music back to the hometown area.  In the North Iowa area, it seems to me if you’re not a classic rock cover band or a country music act, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, the music fans of the North Iowa area don’t want anything to do with you.  I played a role in helping to orchestrate my very first show.  Keep in mind that I don’t have a college degree in public relations or the music business.  I also understood that there was an absolute craving and a desire to bring hard rock music live to the North Iowa area.  My reader and my friends, I want to encourage all of you to support local music and your local establishments that make the effort to bring local/unsigned music to your area.  Through my cousin, who is the Vice President of independent label Octave Match Records, (keep in mind that they no longer work with Traverser, but look up the bands Not Tonight Josephine and Fall of Envy, who are both under Octave Match Records), I was put on a mission to schedule a couple of shows to Iowa.  I helped play a role in getting Traverser an opening gig for My Darkest Days and One Less Reason at The Wheelhouse(R.I.P.) in Cedar Falls, Iowa and I also helped bring live music to Clear Lake.  Local Mason City, Iowa band Cloverfield cancelled the night before and Traverser was the first band to take the stage at Rumorz.

Rumorz is your typical small-town bar.  The stage was only big enough to have the drum kit up there, so the band had to play on the floor, and with it being a small venue, there wasn’t really room for moshpits or crowd-surfing to be engaged.  Traverser is a four-piece band from Orlando, Florida comprised of David Medairos(guitars,vocals), Jon Shaffer(guitars), David Shaw(drums), and Robert Spence on the bass guitar.  Traverser draw their primary influences from Tool, Rush, Chevelle, and Textures.  With them going on their first nationwide tour, Traverser had something to prove, that they were a band that was on a mission to take it to the next level, and did they ever.

Atmospheric harmonics started off the show, which provided a smooth transition into their song “Burn In”.  “Burn In” has achieved moderate success on college and their local radio stations, and the crowd was moving and watching in awe of Traverser playing their music.  There were roughly 75 people at Rumorz on a Wednesday night, not bad considering the venue holds approximately 125 people. The Traverser ripped through their set and showed gratitude of their small, yet seemingly growing following in Iowa of all places.    Traverser primarily played cuts off of their “Telemetry” album and also introduced fans to a cover of “Digging In The Dirt”, originally done by Peter Gabriel, which to me, anyone that can cover Peter Gabriel are great musicians, and they played a new song, which will be on their latest record entitled “Redshift” called “Varicose”.  Traverser was quite well-received in Iowa.  Their tight musicianship, harmonics, and intelligent songwriting will allow Traverser to do very well for themselves in the future.  This is evident by them recently picking up opening gigs to open for Sponge and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

In essence, Traverser has a project to produce their entire new record on their own through the Go Fund Me website.  They are going to be purchasing new gear, new equipment for producing, and up-to-date computers and monitors with the proceeds.  With a particular set donation amount, you will receive a copy of “Redshift” with your name in the liner notes, an opportunity to win David Medairos’ personal guitar, and other incentives, depending on the dollar amount.  Also, please “like” the band on Facebook.

Spicoli’s Grill and Reverb Rock Garden

Waterloo, Iowa

Date of Show: October 1st, 2010

By: Matty

The anticipation was killing me and racking at my brain during the week leading up to the Helmet concert.  Not only have I wanted to see this band live due to their legendary influential status, but I was stoked to learn the week of the show that I was going to interview legendary Helmet frontman Page Hamilton.  My readers, I do have a confession to make.  I didn’t really learn of Helmet until I heard their song entitled “Unsung” from the Grand Theft Auto video game series. That song really stuck with me ever since.  It was the catchy guitar riff and the noticeably tight musicianship that the band possesses.  The more I educated myself on their music, the more I understood why today’s bands such as Norma Jean, Chevelle, Deftones, and Korn all list Helmet as a major influence of their music.  Opening for Helmet were local Cedar Valley bands Bleedchain and Hazer.

I frequented the venue known as Spicoli’s Grill and the Reverb Rock Garden quite a few times in my college days.  I had several friends that were in local bands and every now and then, the Cedar Valley would be treated to a national act.  When they moved to the new location, they have repeat offender national acts such as Hed (P.E.), Destrophy(R.I.P.), Anew Revolution, Tantric, and they even got Filter to play there this past summer.  Considering the venue holds approximately 250 people, that’s quite the accomplishment.  I recommend going to a show at this venue.  The food is excellent(especially their pizzaburgers) and the bartenders have an edgy, yet really friendly disposition about them.  It’s understandable how they expanded their business from the hole in the wall that held 100 people above Toad’s Bar and Grill on Main Street to this much cleaner location.  I got there in time to check out Hazer’s set.

Hazer is a local Cedar Valley band comprised of Brian Anderson, Wes, Dana Dzick, and Ryan Krider.  I know that Dana plays the bass, Wes is the frontman/guitarist, Ryan is the rhythm guitarist, and Brian plays drums in the band.  They started in 2009 out of Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Go to www.facebook.com/Hazer and “like” their page.  They have 49 likes as of press time and they could use a lot more likes than that.  I decided to have a completely open mind about the local acts supporting Helmet, and I rather enjoyed this band.  I am a sucker for 90s alternative rock.  I could listen to bands like Nada Surf, The Toadies, and Spacehog all day long, and Hazer was heavily influenced by those acts.  I would say that one could put The Pixies meets the Toadies and you would get Hazer.  I enjoyed their melodies and musicianship.  The notes that they played and the words that they sang fit the music.  I know that they are establishing a nice fanbase in the Cedar Valley.  Personally, I feel that if they polished their sound up and gained more confidence in themselves in terms of their stage presence, I feel that Hazer could develop into one of the main rock acts to see in Iowa.  Next up is Bleedchain.

Bleedchain is a five-piece metal band comprised of Jayme Whitehall(vocals), Mike Tucker(guitars), Mark Wubbena(drums), and Scott Carey(bass).  Their EP entitled “Rise of the Godless” has sold a significant amount of copies amongst the metal faithful in the Cedar Valley.  For a local band, they have over 2,500 likes on their Facebook page.  I recommend that you check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Bleedchain, and there you get to check out four tracks from the EP.  Bleedchain has previously opened for national acts Psychostick, Mushroomhead, Kittie, Texas Hippie Coalition, and caught their biggest break opening for rising national touring band Devildriver at their tour stop in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Unfortunately, I did miss some of their set because I was conducting an interview with Page Hamilton.  However, I noticed that Page was drinking a beer and bobbing his head to the music during their set.  I noticed that some of the core Bleedchain fans had a moshpit going during their song entitled “Saddle Up”.  Moshing isn’t allowed at this particular venue.  Bleedchain’s music packed a Floyd Mayweather Jr. type of punch.  Their grooves were at breakneck speeds at times and then a steady groove that would cause the most timid concertgoer the temptation to join the moshpit.  I enjoyed their metal grooves.  This band is for fans of Corrosion of Conformity meets Lamb of God with mixes of Slayer and Black Label Society in there.  Next up is Helmet.

Interviewing Page Hamilton was one of my favorite interviews I have ever done.  It was the first legend of rock I interviewed and he made this amateur interviewer feel right at home and even offered encouragement in this particular field.  This is why I do this, to talk about music and hopefully open up a dialogue with my readers.  Helmet took the stage and played a full 90 minute to 2 hour set.  There were maybe 100 people there on a Saturday night.  I’m telling you, the state of Iowa needs to get more educated on music, but I digress.  Helmet played material off of their latest record entitled “Seeing Eye Dog”, which will be an upcoming review for MUEN Magazine.  Helmet also played their classics such as “Milquetoast” and closed the set with “Unsung”.  They ripped through their set.  In terms of musicianship, it was one of the tightest sets I have ever seen.  Page Hamilton literally puts on a clinic when he picks up that guitar.  After my interview with him, I developed an understanding of him talking about his jazz guitar influences.  Page offers complicated and unusual timing and rhythm in his guitar playing.  They also offered humor in the crowd.  Several years ago, Helmet opened for Guns N Roses.  During their tour stop at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa(which is the location of Iowa State University).  Helmet ended up playing a two hour set before the Suicide Girls took the stage and Page cracked a joke that he wanted this crowd to be better than the one in Ames.  I guess Helmet had beer thrown at them during their set and were booed off the stage in Ames.  I especially enjoyed Helmet’s set.  It was a no-frills set, no pyrotechnics, no strobe light shows that causes the audience to go through a collective seizure.  Just music.  I strongly recommend going to see Helmet live.

By: Matty

I have been to literally hundreds of concerts.  Live music is my drug.  As a recovering alcoholic, music is such a therapy for me.  Music is a healer and a cleanser as well.  There are a small handful of bands that I thoroughly enjoy and have waited an eternity to see in concert.  The Foo Fighters is one of those bands.  They have guitar hooks that pack a punch, and their melodies are powerful and meaningful.  In fact, their single off of “Wasting Light” entitled “Walk”, has been my personal anthem lately.  On September 14th, a friend of mine took me to the Foo Fighters concert as a belated birthday present.  I have followed the Foo Fighters since their inception(“Big Me” anyone).

First of all, the XCEL Energy Center is a beautiful venue.  It’s the venue that houses the Minnesota Wild hockey team.  This particular venue seats approximately 20,000 people, and the luxury boxes are incredible.  I wasn’t fortunate enough to witness this concert in a luxury box, but in the upper deck.  This gave me an opportunity to just take in the show and to watch a rock legend such as Dave Grohl become a rock god before our very eyes.  The sound is off the charts in this venue as well.  There is not a bad seat in the place either.  Kudos to whoever designed and constructed the XCEL Energy Center.  I would recommend anyone to go to a show in this particular venue.

Rise Against became the first of the two bands to hit the stage.  Rise Against is another one of my favorite bands.  Those that will get to know my writing will understand that I love music that has a deep, profound meaning to it, especially when the meaning is idealistic and the message behind it makes you want to storm Capitol Hill and Wall Street and demand for change at the top of one’s lungs.  I’m not going to get political on here obviously.  This website is about promoting the bands and artists that we love.  To tell you the truth, my readers, I am a “bandwagoner” when it comes to Rise Against.  I didn’t start getting to know this band from Chicago until their song “Prayer of the Refugee”.  Rise Against started reaching their claim to fame with their song entitled “Make It Stop (September’s Children)”, their fame reached such a level that they were nominated for an award for the MTV VMAs for that song, and even featured on CNN for that song.  Rise Against came out to a very lively crowd, people remember seeing them perform in basements in Minneapolis, and they proceeded to rattle off the different bars and clubs that they played in the Twin Cities.  They played a 45 minute set, they mainly covered their popular songs and their latest record, entitled “Endgame”.  The energy from this band was electric, and the emotion displayed from frontman Tim McIlrath is uncanny.  The sound was a touch distorted, but this band nailed through their 45 minute set with “Help Is On The Way”, “Savior”, “Prayer of the Refugee”, “Audience of One”, amongst their other hits.  This is a band that lives what they sing about.  They’re all straight edge, with the exception of Brandon Barnes, the drummer, they’ve been recognized in a positive light by PETA, and they’re all vegetarians.  I definitely want to see them in a headlining show in the future.  The Foo Fighters came out next.

I have seen Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, Stone Temple Pilots, Killswitch Engage, and many other bands in concert.  Hands down, the Foo Fighters put on the most incredible performance I have ever seen.  “You don’t see us up here with computers and turntables, you see people making music with instruments and our own songwriting, and if you put your mind to it, someday you can be up here too” said Dave Grohl during the middle of their three hour marathon of a set.  The anticipation filled the air, as if something never before seen was going to take place.  The almost sold out audience of 20,000 plus on hand were screaming every word to every song, whether it was “My Hero” or songs from their current record, entitled “Wasting Light”.  The Foo Fighters started out with the song “Bridge Burning”.  This song is the perfect concert opener.  It’s got a killer-driving beat, and when Dave Grohl screams “These are my famous last words”, and it breaks into the first verse, you can’t help but dance with glee. Dave Grohl does have his trademark “bounce” when he sings and plays the guitar.  This is a man that has unbridled and contagious passion when it comes to music.  He sings every word, he doesn’t have crowds sing the hits while he gives his voice a rest, he’s singing with the crowd.  I was literally awestruck by his performance as a frontman. They ripped into “Rope”, “The Pretender”, “My Hero”, and “Learn to Fly”.  Because of “Wasting Light”, there’s been so many dynamics added with the addition of Pat Smear as a permanent member of the Foo Fighters.

Having Pat Smear becoming a permanent member of the band has really added a new dynamic to the Foo Fighters sound.  He really provides a new sense of urgency and a new dynamic to their live performances as well.  Hearing and witnessing the crowd go absolutely ballistic during “The Pretender”, is one of those few concert moments I will never forget.  They really changed up the music when they played their big hits into jam sessions. People tend to forget how brilliant of musicians Dave Grohl and company really are.  They also played pretty much their entire “Wasting Light” record, and their other hits.  They also incorporated brilliant covers by original artists Husker Du, Tom Petty, and Queen.

Their encore was brilliant.  Dave Grohl came out and did acoustic versions of “See You”, “The Best Of You”, and my favorite Foo Fighters song, “Times Like These”.  The Foo Fighters are the only band that I know of that could pull of making an arena rock concert feel like an intimate setting in a club or lounge.  No frills, no pyro, just music.  That’s what it’s about.  Then, they closed with “Everlong”.  After three hours, everyone was still on their feet clapping, singing, dancing, and even some crowdsurfing.

The energy, the electric atmosphere, the crowd participation, and Dave Grohl being Dave Grohl makes the Foo Fighters a once-in-a-lifetime concert experience, that I’m going to tell my kids and grandkids about when I’m old, frail, and decrepid.  This review simply does not do justice to how amazing this experience was.  Thanks for reading this.

Fuel “Born Again” Show Review, The Wheelhouse, August 30^th, 2011

By: Matty

Recently, I had the opportunity to take my significant other and my two friends out for a special birthday party. This friend, whom we shall call Tim, recently turned 30 years old. We decided to go check out Fuel with opening acts Park Lane and Man Made Machine at The Wheelhouse in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

First of all, I have never experienced better acoustics in a venue than I have in The Wheelhouse. It had a club atmosphere, in fact it used to be known as Shag’s, however, they decided to create a concert venue in an effort to bring more live bands, acts to Iowa. I just wanted to give mad props to the owners of The Wheelhouse for embarking on this new venture. It’s a club that holds approximately 500 to 700 people, yet they’ve received some big name bands there such as My Darkest Days, Puddle of Mudd, and Bobaflex. The lighting also provided a big concert atmosphere at such an intimate venue.

With the concert being on a Tuesday night, I was still expecting a sellout, however there was maybe 150 people at the show. After all, Fuel obtained huge amounts of popularity with the songs “Bittersweet”, “Falls On Me”, “Bad Day”, and their most well known song “Hemmorhage(In My Hands)”, which received an increased amount of notoriety when Chris Daughtry performed that song on the hit television show “American Idol”, and Fuel asked Daughtry to assume the lead vocal duties when Brett Scallions left the band to pursue other musical endeavors. Fuel recently reunited with Brett Scallions as the vocalist/rhythm guitarist in the band. Fuel has added some new members to the band, gone are the two other original members Carl Bell and Jeff Abercrombie, and replacing Carl and Jeff are Andy Andersson on lead guitars and on bass Brad Stewart, who was formerly a member of Shinedown. Fuel also obtained Kevin Schalk on the drums, replacing Tommy Stewart, who used to drum in Godsmack, Lo-Pro, and Everclear. I was wondering if some “Fuelies”, (Fuel’s fan base) would be disappointed in the departure of Carl and Jeff. More on Fuel later.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa based band Undisclosed opened up the show. I really enjoy concerts where the local, unsigned talent receives opportunities to showcase their talents by sharing the stage with nationally touring bands. Undisclosed did just that. Picture the sound of Lamb of God meets All That Remains, with modern-rock tendencies like Breaking Benjamin(R.I.P.) and you get Undisclosed. I was impressed with their tight musicianship, and their confident stage presence. Undisclosed is comprised of John Silhacek(guitars/vocals), Kris Wagner(guitars/vocals), Tyler Nesvik(bassist/vocals), and Tom Cranston(drums). I see Undisclosed doing very well for themselves in the future. Usually local bands tend to be nervous and also have the tendency to “try too hard” getting the crowd involved, but Undisclosed didn’t fall into that trap. They had quality musicianship, a confident stage presence, and they even found their niche with an audience that was there for a “radio-rock” concert. Please go to www.facebook.com/undisclosedonline and “like” their page please. I also noticed that members of Man Made Machine and Park Lane were impressed with Undisclosed. After Undisclosed, Man Made Machine came out on the stage.

Man Made Machine is a five-piece band based out of Chandler, Arizona. The Razor & Tie group was produced by Chad Gray, who is known for being the vocalist for Mudvayne, V-Shaped Mind, and Hellyeah, and mixed by Jeremy Parker, who is known for working with Evanescence and Godsmack. Man Made Machine seemed quite confident in their stage presence. I can tell that they are an extremely hard working band. They’ve toured with a wide range of acts from Escape The Fate, to Dr. Acula to Winds of Plague. They built a niche by working hard and performing well during this concert. I was impressed with the confidence and vocal range that vocalist Joe Cotela possesses. Their music offers a wide range of topics ranging from partying to the meaning of life. Apparently, they want to showcase their collective personalities and display that to the audience, and they did just that. I noticed some of the crowd sang along to their single that’s currently receiving airplay entitled “Victim”. Please check them out at www.facebook.com/manmademachine and hit the “like” button. Park Lane was next.

Park Lane stole the night! I was completely impressed with their set. I even added the guitarist Mike Keller to my Facebook. I could tell that this was their dream and that they were living it. Park Lane is a band from Bay Area, California. Park Lane has Carley Coma as their vocalist. If you’ve heard of genre-breaking metal band Candiria, then you’ve heard of Carley Coma, as he was the vocalist for Candiria. Park Lane is also comprised of Mike Keller and Grayson Hurd on the guitars, Clayton Wages on the bass, and Cameron Stucky on the drums. The five piece band, who I’m hoping to interview for MUEN Magazine in the near future, brought it! I really look for musicianship instead of a band jumping around and going crazy during a show. Park Lane brought just that. I remember getting goosebumps when they played the song entitled “The Edge”. The harmonics on the guitar were jazz influenced, yet had a psychedelic feel to it, the riffs are unforgettable, the bass and drums flow together like two raging rivers colliding, and you get Park Lane. Park Lane is a band that I HAD to get to immediately know after their set. I was blown away by Park Lane. Park Lane definitely had the crowd warmed up for Fuel. Please check out Park Lane at www.facebook.com/PLband. Also, if you haven’t picked up “Letters From The Fire” yet, I highly recommend you do so on I-Tunes or Amazon.

Fuel, with original front man Brett Scallions, took the stage. I remember seeing Fuel providing direct support for 3 Doors Down in Mankato, Minnesota. I remember Brett Scallions climbing on the speakers like a madman while pouring his heart and soul into the music at the show in Mankato. Fuel does that, they played that night like they had a chip on their shoulder. Fuel was throw off to the wayside like yesterday’s newspaper when Brett Scallions left the band. Fuel reminded the fans that they’re back with a vengeance. They opened up the show with “Last Time”, which flowed effortlessly into “Empty Spaces”. Fuel ripped through the classics such as “Bittersweet”, “Shimmer”, “Jesus Or A Gun”, and so much more. They incorporated more musicianship than they did when they provided direct support for 3 Doors Down. Andy, Brad, and Kevin seemed to be quality replacements for Carl Bell, Jeff Abercrombie, and Brad Stewart. Fuel played like they had something to prove, and that is that they’re back. They did play a couple of new songs to “road test” the new material, and I was impressed with the musicianship and a heavier feel to the Fuel sound in the new material. The crowd only seemed to be heavily involved when Fuel played their two biggest hits entitled “Bad Day” and “Hemorrhage”, in which that’s how they closed their set. It was a great night of music. I really hope that you enjoyed reading the review.