September 18, 2005

Concert Review: Disturbed w/ Ill Nino 9/16/05

Finally. I've been wanting Disturbed to come to my town ever since I discovered The Sickness so many years ago. The wait is now over, they have come and they have conquered.

I got to the civic center at about 7pm, just in time for the announced door open time. I would have gotten there earlier, had I not forgotten my ear plugs, necessitating a detour to pickup some more. The last thing I wanted was to worry about not being able to listen to them down the road!

Anyway, I parked my car and made my way to the front of the building. It was progressing inside at a decent pace, so I followed it, looking for the end. I kept walking, and walking, making my way almost all the way around the building. This was easily the longest line that I have witnessed for a concert. It took about an hour, but I finally got inside.

After getting inside, I took a quick look at the merch table, then made my way out to the floor. The floor was getting pretty full, so I hung back standing on the first row of bleachers. Good view of the stage, but still pretty far away.

Before going any further, I must mention something about the venue. The Mid-Hudson Civic Center is good for one thing, it's open floor. The sound quality is not terribly good, get those amps up to metal concert level and the sound just starts to bounce off the concrete walls and lose definition pretty quick. Still, with the right band it isn't hard to get into the live music!

Image hosted by Photobucket.com8:25 rolls around, the lights go out, the crowd starts to cheer, a voice is heard in the darkness, the lights come up, Ill Nino is upon us! This is the third time I have seen them live, and each time they get better. I have to admit, that while I am a fan of Ill Nino, I am very poor at my song identification, to the point of non-existence. Ill Nino put on a great live show. They display a raw energy which is just amazing. They tear through their songs with a reckless abandon, focusing that raw energy into a focused wave of Latin flavored metal. They have a sound that stands out from metal crowd giving us a unique voice on the heavy scene. The dual percussionists have a lot to do with that great sound, watching them go is a sight to see. Dave Chavarri's wild drumming, combined with Danny Couto on percussion produce a thick rhythm unmatched by most other bands. Add to that Ahrue Luster's acoustic guitar on some songs, and you add just another dimension to their sound. It is amazing to watch all of these elements fuse into that Ill Nino wall of sound live on stage. Christian Machado's voice rising above to deliver his combination of screams and singing sounded fantastic. At one point taking those in the back bleachers to task for not standing, rather choosing to sit complacently in the back.

Ill Nino is an intense band to see live. The crowd by the stage was berserk, the house was full, all working towards a great set. They are definitely a band to see live. Their set ended at about 9:10, leaving the crowd begging for more, but anxious for what was yet to come.

At this point, all we could do was wait. I decided to switch sides, for some reason I always seem to end up to the right of the stage. I made my way around the perimeter of the crowd and was able to get a spot at the guard rail off to the left, not exactly in front of the stage, but good enough to have a clear view of the stage.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com9:50, the lights go out once again, the cheers dwarfing those for Ill Nino. We knew what time it was. We watched as the shadowy figures of Disturbed took the stage in the near pitch black stage as the cheers grew louder. Then the lights came up, the music started, and the pit went insane. David and crew brought their charismatic intensity to the stage, electrifying everyone there. Then something amazing happened, David noticed two fans who were front and center in the pit who were in wheel chairs, he had security bring them across the barricade and get them up onstage to watch from there. It was an amazing thing, showing them respect for the courage to be at the front of the surging mass flesh around them. It was a great moment. Once they were onstage, the music continued. They tore through tracks off the first two albums, mixing in a couple of cuts from the upcoming album. We heard "Prayer," "Believe," "Voices," "Conflict," "Down with the Sickness," and more.

Image hosted by Photobucket.comThe energy given from the stage was unmatched, I just wish the venue was better for sound. For as good as they were, the hall was not terribly kind. Bass was up a little high and reverberated a bit much, and the guitars seemed to be overpowered at times, fortunately David's voice rose above and was clear the entire time.

Mid-set, David took the bleacher bums to task, much like Christian did during Ill Nino's set, for sitting in the back. The Disturbed crew was a little more successful than Ill Nino was. It wasn't long before everyone was on their feet yelling for more. He also took the time to talk about the new album, Ten Thousand Fists, talking about how the fist is a symbol of power and defiance before going into another song.

Towards the end of the set, there was a fan in front of the stage who was apparently giving David some grief, flipping him off or some such nonsense. The show stopped as David pointed him out saying that he wouldn't be disrespected and if he didn't like the show he could leave. He then went a step further and offered to help, he had security remove him from the building.

Image hosted by Photobucket.comThe show picked back up with "The Game." Quickly making us forget the fan removal that had just occurred. The energy picked up and lasted right through to the end of the set, which ended just before 11:00. It didn't take long before they returned to the stage for a two song encore. First up was the new single from Ten Thousand Fists, "Stricken." It was a heavy tune that I look forward to hearing on the album. Then the question came up, "What song do you want to hear?" The answer came back unanimously "Stupify!" The song that brought them fame, and the main song that we had not yet heard. They were more than happy to comply. Great way to end a show on a high note.

Overall, it was a great show. It was great to see Ill Nino again, they just keep getting better each time I see them. It took awhile, but now I can say I've seen Disturbed live, and hopefully will again, they are an intense live act.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds like a bad ass show..
glad you enjoyed it :]

Anonymous said...

yeah it was pretty friggin awesome!

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