Friday, August 19, 2005

New Addition to The Lonely Note

The musical tricycle known as The Lonely Note has recently gone to the mechanic's and decided to undertake a noticable change...a change that will give it the power of 4-wheel drive. It's not that we feel the trike is broken, but rather that a fourth wheel will give it some added stability.
Without further vehicular references, and on behalf of the three of us, I'd like to welcome our new contributor,
Hank, to the team. As a special features writer, Hank will be updating us on the latest in concert reviews and street news. As an introduction, I have posted his first article below, but any future pieces will come straight from the horses mouth. Welcome aboard!
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Hank here, The Lonely Note's street reporter/special features writer. I will be reporting on concerts I attend and other things of that sort. Enjoy!

Breaking Benjamin, No Address, and Salt of Society - August 10, 2005

The opening band at the Val Air Ballroom (www.valairballroom.com) was Salt of Society, a local band from Knoxville, IA. Although they just won a recent Battle of the Bands, this 5 piece has been a band since 1992. The band describes their sound as "straight up rock with sheer and brutal sincerity." I thought of them as band with good riffs and a good clean sound. They opened up with 'Luck of the Draw' off their upcoming EP of the same name. They played other favorites such as 'I Never Said He Stole My Money,' 'Ain't Life Grand,' and closed with 'Wrong Side.' The lead singer has a nasal-sounding voice something like a sober Scott Weiland or a Wes Scantlin. The songs sounded like good songs to sing drunk too, "karaoke-like". I think they deserve a listen. Check them out at www.saltofsociety.com

The 5-piece Tallahassee-based No Address (www.no-address.net) opened with 'Perfect.' A Lazer 103.3 dj put their sound best: "Easy listening...it won't want to make you put your head through a wall." Although not on the same level, the lead singer (Ben Lauren) has a Chris Cornell-like ability to successfully change from low and soulful to loud and abrasive. They played other favorites such as 'Lasting Words,' 'Too Proud,' and the radio single 'When I'm Gone.' I thought they sounded kind of like Jet, and his voice would often remind me of Liam Gallagher. I thought their best song of the night was 'Pretty Girl,' a bluesy track which shows their versalitity--- the guitars sounded Rolling Stones, and I couldn't help thinking of Van Morrison when Lauren crooned the vocals. They closed with 'How Could I Live.'

The soberest (and best) band of the night was Breaking Benjamin(www.breakingbenjamin.com). This clean-cut Pennsylvania quartet screams post-grunge, listing influences such as Nirvana, Bush, Live, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots. The guitarist claims he learned how to play guitar listening to Nevermind. A local paper described their style as similar to Creed and Nickleback. They opened the show, backs turned, bass thumping through my chest with 'Natural Life.' They played all of their favorites like 'Polyamorous' off of 2002's Saturate, and of course 'So Cold,' 'Sooner or Later,' and closed with 'Rain' off of 2004's We Are Not Alone. On 'Water' I thought Ben Burnley sounded especially like Gavin Rossdale(in a good way) when he screamed the refrain "...Shut up I know." The crowd's favorite song of the night was a killer rendition of 'Firefly.' Burnley even busted into a scarily perfect version of Chevelle's 'Closure' for a verse. Since Chevelle is coming to the Val Air next week, I had to check my ticket to make sure I was at the right concert! Breaking Benjamin are great musicians and I was pleasantly surprised how amazing they were in concert. They brought raw energy to the 105 degree Val Air (no lie!) Do yourself a favor and check them out, you'll be glad you did. Check out concert photos at Lazer 103.3.

Next week: Chevelle, Index Case, and Waiting for the Fall.

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