08 Mar 11 (part 2)

"...best looking crowd on a Tuesday night..." ~ Brian, The Branded


Hey, blogspot readers, the free hugs and Mardi Gras cheer continues! After a quick CTA bus ride from Elbo Room, SouthSide arrived at a packed Double Door just in time to party down to more rockin' music and exciting fun. The lineup featured hot performances by Even Bigger, Trainwreck Symphony and Finley Knight with The Branded making their debut on this venue's stage. BAM! A special "shoutout" to Brian's mom - despite this reviewer's playing teasing about tonight's show, she's happy to report that he was on his best behavior. Also another "shoutout" to the local Who's Who - Ryan Powers, Matthew Alfano (with his fuzzy beard), Beneath The Stares and Bambi Raptor for coming out to support the bands.

This reviewer highly recommends checking out the cool yet unique jazz/rock instrumental fusion by Finley Knight in which its rich sound permeated throughout the venue. The music had an ear-catching vibe popping vibrantly with plenty of funky rhythms and soulful melodies as well as R&B tempo keeping this crowd within its vibin' momentum. SouthSide enjoyed the long aria breaks in between Finley's harmonizing vocals (sometimes there were no vocals to be heard however you could still hear the "lyrics" amongst the notes played) featured in one particular song while in another was a trippy psychedelic groove that had a lively Funkadelic-esque tempo. She highly recommends listening to the rhythmic beat and melody of Talk of the Town and the trippy mystery of Undivided Time. Visit Finley Knight at http://www.reverbnation.com/finleyknight or http://www.finleyknight.com to experience this band's amazing, magical sound as well as grab a copy of their Undivided Time CD.

SouthSide highly recommends reading her expose on this band's recent rockin' show on the February 26 blog however what she witnessed then didn't compared to what she saw at Double Door. After absolving everyone of their sins with Jesus Christ, The Branded got down to the serious business of rocking out this crowd. Brian and the guys did more than simply rock out their Double Door debut, blogspot readers ...they thrilled many while delightfully keeping others within a screaming frenzy until closing with the song, Let's Get Down. To say The Branded performed another good show would be a gross understatement by this reviewer. The band performed one helleva show ...even better than their recent Elbo Room one since the guys had more stage room for more energetic rock sound. Plus it gave Brian a great opportunity to show off some of his charismatic, sexy self to the ladies especially during the song, First Move in which an excitable Monique was brought to the stage dance to with him. This generated was huge crowd response (and yes, he "behaved" like a gentleman while showing off his steamy dance moves) beside the ever popular and funny Merch Booth commercial. The Branded will be touring their way towards SXSW soon so visit http://www.thebrandedmusic.com or http://www.myspace.com/thebrandedmusic for all of the details, blogspot readers. BAM!

What a noticeable difference three months can show from a band, blogspot reades. Trainwreck Symphony at Double Door were nothing like the Trainwreck Symphony at Bottom Lounge ...this was a completely different rock band! Xavier (front man) and the guys, looking so dapper and handsome tonight, came out swinging with a series of one-two punches of hardcore rock sound and energy to the frenzy delight of their fans. During their opening song, SouthSide instantly noticed how much Trainwreck improved. There was more excitable umph heard within the guitar riffs as well as more dynamic vocal power from Xavier especially when adding a bit of screamo to the mix which in turn totally revealed a vulnerable side to him ...drawing out the emotions inside the lyrics. Now there was more meaning behind the words within Trainwreck's songs, blogspot readers, that also fueled the band to follow their leader's lead by matching the emotional angst with rip-roaring guitar rock wrapped inside the melodic rhythms. Looking back at her Bottom Lounge review on this band, SouthSide could clearly say without a doubt Trainwreck was indeed having fun rockinng out the stage as a premiere headliner while continuously evolving towards the band they desire to be. The metal-tastic sound had a vibrant energy that this reviewer literally felt note for note that even rocked harder during the instrumentals ...giving their loyal TWS fans a show they'll never forget. SouthSide, though staying for a few songs, hopes to review more rockin' shows by Trainwreck Symphony like this one soon. In the meantime, visit http://www.myspace.com/trainwrecksymphonymusic for more details about this band.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide