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02.05.2005: Hatrix @ Peabody’s
It never fails. Every time I make the trek to Cleveland to see a show; two things happen. 1. I'll see someone that looks familiar & ask "Isn't that so and so with < insert band name here > ?", only to be told "yes, but now he plays with < insert new band here >. 2. I come away dying to know everything I can about a new band that played. Saturday's Hatrix show at Peabody's was no exception.
Let me start out by saying Saturday night's crowd was definitely my kind of people. I haven't seen that many biker jackets, skin tight jeans (and not just the women), bandanas tied around legs & arms (they weren't always gang wear believe it or not they used to be a fashion statement), or guys with almost waist length hair since I was in high school! Finally I had come home? these were my people. For one night at least time had stopped in 1985 and I couldn't have been happier.
I apologize in advance to the bands on the second stage (aka The Pirates Cove for those of you not in the know (thanks JDogg)). I didn't realize there were bands playing there. Here's my two cents on the bands that played the main stage:
Dream or Nightmare: When my ticket arrived I thought what a great title for this show --- Hatrix: Dream or Nightmare. After all it was a dream come true for me to be able to see Hatrix perform being a relatively newcomer to the Cleveland music scene & one of Jeff Hatrix' biggest fans. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Dream or Nightmare was actually a band. For me they started slow (after all they were the first to perform) but picked up momentum as their set continued. They had the 80's teenage angst sound with a touch of I-want-to-be-a-rebel thrown in for good measure. "When You're Alone" starts off as any coming of age ballad would, but by the end of the song you've put your Bic back in your pocket and resumed headbanging.
Yurek Dauh Alliance: Although I couldn't really understand the name of the band (not sure if it was because of my head cold or the mic) or a lot of what was said, but I REALLY liked these guys. They have an early Europe (the band not the continent) epic-anthem kind of sound to them. The guitar would almost play something totally different from the rest of the band -like a song within a song-but for some reason it worked for them. These 4 guys reminded me of friends that get together just to play - it was hard to tell where one performer ended and another started. Their entire set was strictly instrumental - hard, true, hair band and head banging music at its best. They ended with the non-radio friendly 'Summer Cruise'; one of those 7 minute songs (it seemed) that stay in your ears long after the band's equipment has been moved for the next band.
Garmonbozia: JC's new project. Need I say more? A legend for a number of reasons in the Cleveland scene, JC was one of the first performers I was introduced to during my first trips to C'town. I think this may be his best project to date? not so much for his voice (which I love) but for the people surrounding him as well. They have a DFDesque (or as I was informed Mr. Bungle) sound to them?kind of a funky lounge sound, with lots of song samples. Ironically for me their best songs were "Reflections" (not sure on that title) and the piece they played during their "brief intermission."
Osirus: I couldn't help but wonder how in the devil did these kids (I know I'm old but I swear these guys didn't look old enough to be in Peabody's let alone perform) get lucky enough to play their first show ever opening up for Hatrix?? They even had a pretty good spot - not too early not too late, following a local band with an obvious fan base and enough of us standing around curious enough to find out what they were all about. For me, what they do they do well; they just didn't stand out as anything different. The lead singer had plenty of energy and could sing and scream equally well, but they sounded like (as my less enlightened friends call it) every other "angry" band out there. What they did do better than most of the other bands was get that name recognition out there (singer repeated it after every song and one of the guitarists was wearing a band shirt). They also introduced each song. Keep an ear out for them; they may actually surprise us down the road.
At No End: This was more of the type of hardcore band I expected to see at Peabody's and kind of a surprise considering the "tone" the night seemed to be taking. It didn't take long for the kids to push us old folks to the back and start up a fast, intense pit. I'm not sure if this was the show for them considering the crowd, but I liked them none the less.
Nightcrawlers: Anybody that introduces themselves using a Judas Priest song is ok in my book. For these guys that's the real rock and roll and nothing else will do. Full of question and response with the guitars, epic non-radio friendly length songs - you just expect these guys to wake up with a cold beer in one hand and the guitar (or sticks) in the other. The perfect band to get everyone ready for?
Hatrix: Nearly 24 hours later and still all I can is wow. It's human nature to compare Hatrix to Mushroomhead (especially since Hatrix shares 4 'shroom members in The Felton Brothers, Marko & Jeff), but they are different animals. The kool thing for me as a fan of the voice of Jeff Hatrix is just how different they are. With Hatrix, Jeff has a chance to talk to the crowd, Dave, Kevin & Marko get to show off with a solo or 3 and believe it or not you can actually see Steve back there; arms and legs going at speeds faster than seem humanly possible.
I could go on for pages about the little things that stuck about their performances (like will Marko ever get away from the pole so I can get a decent picture of him?) but I have to showcase my absolute favorite Hatrix song to date, "No One." I have to admit I was a little worried when I found out that Waylon was going to guest on this song - not because I was concerned about his abilities but because this song to me epitomizes Jeff's vocal ability like nothing else I've heard yet.
Within the first few chords I could tell this was not exactly as recorded on Collisioncoursewithnoplace but I couldn't put my finger on the difference. Jeff of course started the song and Waylon came in at the end of a few of the lines kind of like underling a punctuation mark. Pretty neat. The harmony between Jeff and Waylon's voices literally blew me away. Then it hit me in the middle of the song that it had been lowered a notch from the CD. Just when I was expecting everything to go higher it took a dip & incorporated Waylon's growl as if it was originally written to be there. That was the highlight surprise for me.
Dallas Huntley |
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