Hey, blogspot readers, hope you're ready to rock your Saturday night with SouthSide! She's hitting the local scene in full force covering two hot shows in one incredible night. First, this reviewer's checking out the rockin' action at an all-ages Metro show featuring good friends, The Lifeline and Lucid Ground. Then, she's making a mad dash to Elbo Room in time to see Sutured Psyche rock the stage before ending her night around town with a brief "hello" at the "new" Angels & Kings. SouthSide sadly regrets missing the opening performance by Curbside however does highly suggests listening to songs Some Days and an acoustic version of MGMT's Kids (both recorded live from Metro can be found on youtube) as well as Stranger and All Just A Dream (found on their reverbnation page). Visit http://www.curbsidetheband.com or http://www.myspace.com/acousticcurbside for more information and where they're rockin' the stage in February. Meanwhile, she also highly suggests checking out the energetic guitar rock with a poppy feel of Kirkland. What impressed this reviewer the most was the vocal edge of emotions heard from the lead female vocalist. She pumped a lot of dynamic energy out of her voice sparking fierce band and fan momentum song after song. Also Kirkland prided itself with quick attention-grabbing introductions as well as thunderous instrumental bridges that kept many heads banging to the rhythmic beats. For more information, visit Kirkland at http://www.lovekirkland.com or http://www.myspace.com/kirkland.
SouthSide has watched this one particular local band grow over the last four years. They went from a tribute/cover band to a solid figure within Chicago's music scene. And tonight, this reviewer was extremely excited to witness the continuing rise of Lucid Ground performing one of their best shows seen thus far. What blogspot reasers will notice about this band is the heartfelt yet raw emotions heard from front man Karl, the poetic imagery found inside the lyrics from personal/past experiences, and the melodic rock sound within Lucid's music. Sometimes there's usually more melodies and rhythms were the hardcore guitar sound should be off the three guitars rockin' the stage. Performing some songs off upcoming new CD - Somatic (there's a slight delay in its release due to a fire at Chicago Sound Studio), this band absolutely shined in front of a near soldout crowd wowing them with Shaken Crown (SouthSide's favorite in which the melody and Karl's dynamic vocals combine for one emotional rock song), Left Alone (a downtempo ballad with a hot funky rock finish) and Further Down (where Lucid's melodic sound and poetic lyrics meet within a vibrant hardcore guitar riffs). As a Lucid extra, Karl and the guys performed anothr SouthSide favorite - their rendition of Duran Duran's Come Undone (done without any female vocals accompanying Karl's deep falsettos ...it gives that raw emotion to the song told from a male's pov). Visit Lucid Ground at http://www.lucidground.com or http://www.myspace.com/lucidground.
It's been a very long time since SouthSide last reviewed this unique rock band performing live on stage ...so she was in for a special treat. Tonight, The Lifeline were premiering the live version of their new CD - Reflections of Hope which featured a different yet more dynamic tone and sound within this band's music. And SouthSide thoroughly enjoyed hearing the darker side of The Lifeline that gave Rebecca's violin more a vibrant presence this time (especially during her solo which totally fired up the crowd's enthusiasm). After a thunderous crescendo intro to Why So Serious (think Christopher Nolan's Joker using this as his theme song with plenty of razor sharp violin rhythms and guitar rock sound to sink your teeth into), The Lifeline was ready to rock their CD show in front of a packed house. This reviewer was consumed by the dark melodies that drenched the ears with haunting rhythms (especially during Never Enough) and dynamic vocal angst (by front man Ryan) that made you feel the words dripping poetically off the lyrics. Plus as an added bonus, The Lifeline even mixed a little hardcore guitar sound with the darkness heard in the song, Hellboy ...one of few very dramatically intense moments, blogspot readers. Another intense moment happened when band added parts of Pink Floyd's The Wall Part 3 into the lyrics of another particular song which absolutely had Ryan venting his deepest and darkest emotions on stage. Shivers. SouthSide suggests listening to Forgive But Don't Forget and The Alchemist (don't let the subtle intro fool your ears - haunting rhythms are delicately woven into the vibrant sound). Yet the true star of the night besides hearing the live version of their new CD was the band and crowd coming together to rock out Metro with an awesome rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. You simply had to be there to witness voices in unison singing word for word along with The Lifeline ...yes, this band was able to recreate this famous song in its own image (even without the ending gong) - Freddie Mercury would have been proud. Visit http://www.myspace.com/thelifeline for more information about this band and how to snag yourself a copy of their latest CD - Reflections of Hope.
After the mad dash from Metro to Elbo Room (in record CTA "L" train timing), SouthSide arrived just in time to see good friends, Sutured Psyche rock the stage with one of their best shows seen. This band, within a short time, has made quite of impression rockin' the stages with plenty of hardcore guitar riffs and dynamic vocal passion (by front man William). Except tonight there was more - more vocalized falsetto emotion in the voice ...more dynamic hard-hitting guitar riffs ...simply more of everything that kept their fans and crowd rockin' to the metalastic yet melodic rhythms which Sutured is becoming known for. After opening strong with Adolescent Nightmare, SouthSide enjoyed feeling the shredding of steel strings and shivering from the Joker laughter heard within her favorite song, Trickster. The ears were meant to hear the gut-wrenching angst and frustration as Sutured's leader poured a lot of himself emotionally and lyrically during 50th Percentile, Stephen and Ma Gavte La Nada (whew - William certainly had SouthSide feeling raw emotions during that song). Yet, this band was a pleasure to watch as each member visibly put a piece of themself not only into the music but the show as well. Take Ryan, for instance, this heartthrob provided the ladies a little eyecandy in the form of his usual striptease ...whenever he rocks hard the shirt and tie will come off. This and more generated wild fandom amongst the crowd and thanks to Brian Bender (on sound) and Pep (on lights) - this hardworking duo gave Sutured that stadium show feel for their performance. Blogspot readers are highly encouraged to check out good friends Sutured Psyche at their next scheduled show ...be prepared literally to rock and sweat your arse off with this band. Visit http://www.suturedpsyche.com or http://www.myspace.com/suturedpsyche for more information and where the band will be rockin' again.
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Southside,
ReplyDeleteLucid Ground is the band I should be following, even though I've only seen them play one time (that I remember). I'll have to check out their dates and see if I can make one of them.
The Lifeline did a Queen song? I wonder if that is part of their repertoire or if it was that one time performance.
I didn't Bender was in another band. I miss his ear splitting vocals. :-)
Joseph
To answer your questions - The Lifeline's rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody was a one-time performance. Brian Bender is now front man of new band titled The Branded.
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