NYS Music 2024

Tag: Show Reviews

  • Bar Italia Brings Buzz to NYC for Two Nights on Path to Coachella Debut

    Bar Italia made their highly anticipated return to NYC with a cigarette-tinged concert at Warsaw in Brooklyn on March 15. Touring with their new album, The Twits, and making their way across the US to their Coachella debut, the band gave one of their best performances to date. The band entered the stage cast in warm, low-key lighting to an ecstatic crowd and filled the room with guitar buzz and imagery-filled lyrics.

    The British shoegaze/post-punk trio, signed to Matador Records, includes Sam Fenton and Jezmi Fehmi of Double Virgo and singer-songwriter Nina Cristante. They formed in 2020 to instant recognition but stayed away from the press until late last year, even keeping their names hidden from fans. This garnered them a mysterious image that they are now attempting to shed. They also added a new drummer, Liam Toon, just days before the show.

    The band has garnered a strong following in New York after making two trips from the UK last year. For an international band of their size, they have made a particular effort to play in NYC, and it has paid off for them, as Friday’s show was more than packed with eager fans. Now they’re off to continue across the US, eventually making stops on the West Coast, including two days at Coachella.

    Opening for them was Scarlet Rae, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who did a great job of setting the tone for the show and got a lively reaction from the crowd.

    It’s a feat how Bar Italia can get a crowd moving and cheering without almost any audience interaction. They uttered about 10 words between songs the entire show, but the audience was there for the music, and the music was electric. That’s not to say the band was closed off. They were full of smiles the whole night and didn’t hold back, showing a lot of emotion on stage.

    The interaction between the trio’s vocals formed a texture that cannot be compared to any other act. Sam Fenton and Jezmi Fehmi’s distorted guitar riffs reverberated through the venue as they played “My Little Tony,” wallowing in their dramatic vocals before being lifted up by Nina Cristante and her tambourine in the chorus. The song’s lyrics connect deeply, focusing on imagery that conjures small, intimate scenes that convey displeasure for how our generation has learned to socialize.

    They capped off the main set with “World’s Greatest Emoter,” a song title referencing an interview in which Liam Payne described actor Will Smith as the “world’s best emoter” after he slapped the comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. The room was pounding with this song, and it only got more intense as they faked the audience out, ending the song multiple times, only to drop right back in seconds later at twice the volume. This was a highlight for the band’s new drummer, Liam Toon, whose skilled playing helped balance the song’s instrumentation with the song’s dense vocals and guitar.

    The crowd was feverish by the time the band said thank you and walked off stage, only to walk back on moments later unceremoniously. The band capitalized on this, playing three of their most popular songs. They capped the concert off with “Skylinny,” which had the entire crowd of 1,100 people chanting, “Run-a-runaway, Run-a-runaway.”

    This was the kind of concert that made you stop for a minute after to take in your surroundings and breathe. Hopefully, Coachella brings good things for Bar Italia because we are sure NY would be happy to welcome them back whenever they feel like hopping the pond again.

    Bar Italia – Warsaw, Brooklyn – March 15, 2024

    Setlist: Friends, my little tony, calm down with me, Real house vibes (desperate house vibes), twist, Jelsy, Brush w Faith, harpee, Nurse!, punkt, glory hunter, my kiss era, Polly Amour, worlds greatest emoter

    Encore: Banks, changer, Skylinny

  • Ten Thousand Fists In The Air With Disturbed At Mohegan Sun Arena

    It was a headbangers ball on Saturday, Feb. 10, as Disturbed brought their Take Back Your Life Tour to the sold-out Mohegan Sun Arena in support of their new record, Divisive which was released last year. Disturbed’s tour was announced back in October of 2023 and featured 23 cities, with this show in Uncasville, Connecticut, being the halfway marker.

    Disturbed, out of Chicago, Illinois, features Dan Donegan on guitar, Mike Wengren on the drums, with David Draiman on lead vocals and John Moyer on bass. This lineup has been together since 2004 after Moyer replaced Steve “Fuzz” Kmak.

    As fans took a pause from their slot machines and rolling dice and filled into the arena, which sits at the heart of the casino, fans were greeted with the first of three bands of the night. The first group was the all-female band Plush. As the female foursome plugged in their guitars, they created a wall of sound behind the beautiful vocals of lead singer, Moriah Formica.

    Despite the band only having a short seven-song setlist, they left their impact on the crowd. Fans who weren’t familiar with them were won over after hearing the group’s rendition of “Barracuda” by Heart which originally appeared on the band’s 1977 record, Little Queen. By the end of the set, fans headbanging and raising their fists in the air. It would be a surprise to no one if in a few years from now, Plush worked their way up the band bill to becoming the middle act and graduating to larger venues.

    Rounding out Plush with Formica is Bella Perron on lead guitar, Ashley Suppa on bass guitar, and Faith Powell on the drums.

    Following Plush’s set was the 2008 band Falling in Reverse. While the band is slightly different from the metal genre of Disturbed, Falling in Reverse brought hard rock and catchy choruses to the crowd and played their part well as the middle act. While lead singer Ronnie Radke is the only original member left, his energy alone was awe-inspiring. 

    Radke took fans down memory lane citing that the band used to play at the legendary Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut, before upgrading to the Mohegan Sun Arena. Throughout the hour-long set, some mega fans in the general admission pit were screaming along to every song until the band took their final bow of the night. 

    Joining Radke in Falling in Reverse is Max Georgiev and Christian Thompson on guitars, with Tyler Burgess on bass and touring drummer Luke Holland.

    As the clock struck 9 p.m. and the house lights dimmed to show a blank curtain with the shadows of the band, the thunderous roar from the crowd surged from the back and upper rafters to the front of the stage as the spotlights shot on. The curtain dropped and the metal masters of Disturbed greeted the Uncasville audience.

    The band kicked off their pre-Super Bowl party with “Hey You,” off of the aforementioned Divisive. The band played 17 songs with at least one song off every album of theirs being played, making sure to accommodate every fan of every era of the band. In KISS-like fashion, a spectacular light show was rigged behind them with pyrotechnics and fire beaming out throughout the night.

    As the band plunged further into their set, Donegan sat down at a piano with the top on fire and was accompanied by two string orchestra players. The band then began to play their famous cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence,” which can be heard on Disturbed’s 2015 album, Immortalized. The bone-chilling cover of this classic song also featured Wengren on giant symphony drums as the crowd once again screamed and cheered for a song they know extremely well.

    As the band played on into the night they came to song number 15 in their set which was “Don’t Tell Me.” The studio version of their new album features Ann Wilson of Heart but this time, Moriah Formica of Plush made her triumphant return to the stage for her curtain call duet with Draiman. Throughout the night, Draiman would preach to the fans about fighting addiction and illness and claiming fans are “not alone” in the fight against mental illness which provided a sense of comradery and togetherness amongst the sold-out crowd.

    As the band was transitioning into the second to last song of the set, Draiman hopped off stage to approach a young fan along the barricade in the front who, for the entire night, was holding a photo of a boy. The girl, who went by the name of Kailey, announced to the crowd that the boy’s name was Mark Rivers and he “lost his battle with addiction.” 

    While the two were interacting, what once was a loud arena filled with the sounds of heavy metal became as quiet as a church, you could hear the breath of fans around you. Before the band played “The Light,” Draiman brought Kailey on stage and dedicated the song to Rivers. Around the arena, you could see people shedding tears and embracing their loved ones beside them as they witnessed the heartfelt moment between the band and a fan in front of them.

    As the band played their final notes, a moment of realization clicked in. Music is a force that joins people together. Music and concerts, in general, are an event and spectacle that bring out their emotions as a force that can heal fans no matter what they’re going through. The moment that a person’s favorite band is on stage, the music has the utmost power to heal and guide fans out of the darkest holes they might be in.

    Disturbed was no different, through the headbanging and mosh pits of the GA section, to the harmony brought on by the band and one girl’s unifying story. Fans of all bands and all music, whether it was their first or ninth time seeing Disturbed, left Mohegan Sun Arena with hope and love in their hearts as Disturbed not only brought metal to Connecticut but a lasting impression that there is still good left in the world.

    Plush Setlist: Athena, Champion, Run, Barracuda (Heart cover), Hate, Hope It Hurts, Left Behind

    Falling in Reverse Setlist: Zombified, I’m Not a Vampire, Losing My Mind, Fuck You and All Your Friends, The Drug in Me Is You, Just Like You, Popular Monster, Voices in My Head, Watch the World Burn

    Disturbed Setlist: Hey You, Stupify, Ten Thousand Fists, Prayer, The Vengeful One, Bad Man, A Reason to Fight, Land of Confusion (Genisis cover), The Game, The Sound of Silence, Indestructible, Don’t Tell Me, The Light, Stricken, Unstoppable, Down With the Sickness, Inside the Fire

  • Shinedown Closes Out 2023 With Thrilling Show At Foxwoods Resort

    Post-holiday depression was not in abundance on Friday, December 30, as Shinedown performed their last show of 2023 to a jam-packed, sold-out crowd at the Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. This show differs from the rest of the band’s fall tour as they have mainly been in arenas but decided to have a one-off show in a smaller, more intimate venue to close out the 2023 calendar year.

    Shinedown consists of Barry Kerch on drums, Eric Bass on the bass guitar and piano, Zach Myers on guitar, and Brent Smith on lead vocals. Kerch and Smith are the only two members left from the founding lineup which released their debut record, Leave a Whisper in 2003. 

    As Outkast’s “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)” blasted through the speakers, fans settled into their red cushioned chairs as the house lights dimmed. The relaxation didn’t last long as all four members ran out on stage, greeted the audience, and blasted into “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)” off of 2008’s The Sound of Madness as the crowd jumped out of their seats with a thunderous cheer.

    From the first riff, fans were in for a treat as the show was not shaping out to be like any regular casino show. One thing that has enhanced Shinedown’s live performances is their use of pyrotechnics/explosives, and their stage setup which gives fans exactly what they want. Though on a smaller scale, Shinedown was able to wow the sold-out crowd and make their last show of the year an unforgettable one.

    Shinedown played a total of 17 songs that lasted just under two hours of post-grunge hard rock that made the band so popular. Throughout the show, in between commanding the crowd with an iron fist as all eyes watched Smith run around on stage, he also announced to the crowd that during their set, they were going to play a mix of “old school and new school.” The band pulled out songs from their entire discography from the debut aforementioned Leave a Whisper album to their newest release, 2022’s Planet Zero.

    Touring as a musician can be tough but Shinedown put in a lot of work on stage. For the entirety of the two hours that they played, they were constantly running around. The band’s presence on stage is inspiring. Each member of the band interacts with the crowd differently yet at the same time, they work together as one delivering and making sure the fans get their pennies worth. When all was said and done, it felt like the band ran a marathon after all the moving they did on stage. By the end of the show, the band was dripping in sweat just showing the dedication to their fans to make sure they went home happy.

    At multiple points in the show, the band got into a deep groove. At the end of “45,” Myers stood on the body of his red, white, and blue guitar and played with his feet as the song came to a close. At another point in the show, the band was headbanging in unison that would even make the most hardcore headbanger smile.

    At the end of their smash hit song, “Second Chance,” the band stopped the show to present a birthday cake and sing “Happy Birthday” for one of the members of their crew. The celebrations did stop there as during the show, the president of Foxwoods Casino came out announcing that from the meet and greets, they were able to raise $92,600 for the City of Hope charity. At the same time, the band was gifted plaques to commemorate all their songs to go No. 1 and reach the top five and 10 on the charts.

    On top of the band performing their classic songs, they were also able to squeeze a couple of cover songs into the setlist for the show. With Myers on lead vocals, the band, minus Smith performed “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World as well as their bone-chilling rendition of “Simple Man,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd performed by just Smith and Myers. With the help of the crowd belting out the chorus, the theater rang loud of the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd tune.

    As fans left the Premier Theater back out to the casino floor, they left with eardrums ringing and faces melted from the sheer magnitude of Shinedown’s show. As 2023 creeps towards an end, fans already made their 2024 concert plans to catch Shinedown on their next tour after witnessing an arena-level show in a small yet intimate theater that made everyone in the last row feel like they were upfront.

    Setlist: Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom), Dead Don’t Die, I’ll Follow You, State of My Head, Devil, Unity, 45, Enemies, Sound of Madness, A Symptom of Being Human, Planet Zero, Second Chance, The Middle, Daylight/Get Up, Simple Man, Monsters, Cut the Cord