13 Mar 09

“…welcome to the phone booth…” 6 Degrees of Separation


Hey, Fearless fans, the luck of the Irish was smiling on SouthSide tonight! She got an early start to her St. Patty’s Day fun with a rockin’ show at US Beer Co. A few members of Chicago Noise Machine were in attendance to support good friends 6 Degrees of Separation. (A)bakus rocked the stage along with The Brass Beans, Cavalry and Sanguine Means (www.myspace.com/sanguinemeans). Fearless fans can expect a full review on Collin (ex-White Hot Knife guitarist) and his band, Cavalry (www.myspace.com/cavalry) from Cobra Lounge next month. The Brass Beans (www.myspace.com/thebrassbeans) wowed this reviewer with their energetic punk rock set.

SouthSide’s sad to report that 6 Degrees of Separation was nothing like the fire and energy felt during their Elbo Room show two months ago. It wasn’t the band, Fearless fans, that lacked the spunk in their classic rock sound. It was the sound system itself which weighed down their set. However, this band managed to put on a good show for fans Friday night. After performing Just Wake Up and Tear It Down, 6DOS woke the audience with some social consciousness and awareness in Cruel Nation. The song had that psychedelic feel from the 60s yet the message remained the same in 2009 as it did back then. The lyrics represented to the hearts and minds of the generation. Also the audience was given a harsh reality check in Pennies For Heroes. It was a ballad about performing live shows from a band’s personal point of view. You definitely could feel the angst in Rich’s vocal during this song. SouthSide enjoyed listening to Seven, a song about the pain and hurt felt of a love gone cold. As for an encore, 6 DOS wowed the audience with their cover version of Mississippi Queen for Karl (of Lucid Ground). Despite the sound system not fully amplifying their music in a way it should be heard, SouthSide highly recommends fans checking out this band. They know how to bring the classic rock for the new generation. For more information about 6 Degrees of Separation, visit them at www.6degreestheband.com or www.myspace.com6degreestheband.

What SouthSide liked about this band was they know how to take you from one extreme to the next in their hardcore/metal sound. For example, take (A)bakus’ opening song, Voices. It was a rock experience of guitar riff changes one after the other that you could forget it was a metal song. That’s how SouthSide remembered them from their last US Beer Co show in 2008. This band doesn’t hold anything back from their music – fans were treated to a mixture of metal, hardcore rock and screamin’ angst. Sometimes there’s much more which doesn’t break their electrified rock vibe. During Reasons, the (A)bakus ballad somehow kept the feel of a headbanger’s song without breaking that energetic metal tone. Fans felt the frustration and angst from El Torito without him resorting to inaudible screaming. It was another type of set metalheads could sink their teeth into. And just like 6 Degrees of Separation’s set, (A)bakus managed to perform another exciting set despite problems with the venue’s sound system. For their set, it didn’t allow the audience to enjoy the full effect of this band’s music. The best place to hear both vocals and music was standing underneath the speaker near the back. Though it lacked the sound needed for their set, SouthSide still highly recommends fans checking out this band. For more information about (A)bakus, visit them at www.myspace.com/abakus.

Until next time, Fearless fans, support local indie artists and music.

Peace
SouthSide