Category: Long Island

Going into Easter weekend, I took another weekend to visit Long Island and there I went to another kick ass venue The Emporium in Patchogue on Long Island.  A rather big and spacious for a medium-sized venue that holds about 1100 people, multiple bars, serves food, with a decent sized pit are in front of the stage.  The overall sound is great, so I would highly recommend to see a metal show there or any genre of music there.

American Head Charge was originally billed to appear on the lineup but was not there.  No word on why.  Not long after the doors opened, Saint Ridley from Detroit, Michigan opened the night with five songs.  They were pretty good, excellent chemistry together.  You could tell they were enjoying themselves on stage.  They had guitar issues on stage, but they did an excellent job of not letting that interfere with their performance.  I thought they were a darker version of Angels and Airwaves but more metal than punk.

Combichrist graced the stage afterwards.  They were by far the most energetic band of the night.  I didn’t know what to expect from them.  I have never purchased an album or seen any videos, all I knew was they were a very dark and industrial band.  To me, their sound and presence was a mix of Orgy, Nine Inch Nails, and Mindless Self Indulgence.  They were absolutely superb.  All their synthesizers were played on stage, not a prerecorded track over the PA.  Some of the songs they played were “We Were Made To Love You”, “Maggots At The Party” and closed with “What The Fuck Is Wrong With You.”  They definitely made me a fan after their set was over.

Filter certainly made an impression that night as well.  Although the crowd was a lot more calm and tame compared to Combichrist, I absolutely loved what Filter did during their set.  They chose to go deep into their catalog and play some obscure song sand tell the audience what each song was about.  Interesting note: again, Filter has a new lineup.  vocalist and mastermind Richard Patrick (younger brother of actor Robert Patrick and once an original member of Nine Inch Nails)  has a different band around him;  Oumi Kapila on guitar, Ashley Dzerigan on bass, Bobby Miller on keyboards and programming, and Chris Reeve on Drums.  Funny thing about this lineup…Richard Patrick went on a few rants about how much he hates the current pop music scene in the US, and Ashley Dzerigan has played bass in lots of pop music groups such as Adam Lambert and Cee Lo Green.  However, this lineup fits the music of Filters past, and now I’m curious to see if Richard Patrick will use this lineup for the upcoming Filter album that was recently announced.  They opened with “You Walk Away” off The Amalgamut, then into “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do,” off the movie soundtrack of Spawn.  But the real highlight of the night was the other obscure classic “Jurassitol.”  Every song performed Richard gave it his all, the use of fog machines and lights gave their set a trippy atmosphere.  Filter closed their set with their original hit “Hey Man, Nice Shot” before ending with Title Of Record’s “Welcome To The Fold.”  This band still has lots left in the tank.  A headlining tour is eminent in their future.

The anticipation was killing me for Coal Chamber to rock the stage.  And man did they bring it.  Although they did a U.S. tour a couple of years ago, it still seemed that they were away from metal for way too long.  And as soon as they stormed the stage with their anthem “Loco,” the chemistry and magic that this band had twenty years ago seemed to have never fade away.  This time, their production was much, much bigger from their previous US tour.  They had 2 large video screens behind them showcasing clips and montages of random b-movie horror films.  The big highlights of their set had to have been “Rowboat,” brand new song from their upcoming album “Rivals,” and their disturbing classic “I.”  They played a full fifteen song set with no encore.  Their crowd was absolute bananas during every song.  Frontman Dez Fafara even had to tell an audience member to calm the fuck down and stop taking cheap shots in the mosh pit.  That was entertaining.  Also the rest of band was so damn clutch, but it was drummer Mikey Cox who was an absolute machine behind the kit.

I would certainly hope that Coal Chamber is going to take advantage from the recaptured momentum that they have and with the new album Rivals due mid May, I believe the future is bright for Coal Chamber and every band that is part of this tour.