E. Town Concrete with God Forbid and Zao
Rating: 4.5 Skulls
Black Sheep's Review (10/3/03, The Downtown, Farmingdale, NY):
It was my first time at the Downtown and apparently it has built itself quite a reputation. I drove through this extremely suburban section of Long Island with the traditional center Village area that is oh-so-cute to find a handful of hardcore kids hanging out outside this club. Inside there is the traditional hassle with the guest list, blah blah blahSum Short and sweet, very nice club. Huge floor and the sound is awesome!
God Forbid
Photos by Black SheepOn to the music - two opening bands that I missed, one local act and Zao, apparently a Christian hardcore band?? I'm not too sure, I know they have a handful of albums out. Regardless, the review from the crowd was not all that good, mostly boos and a couple courtesy claps.
God Forbid
Photos by Black SheepGod Forbid, now these guys on the other hand are something to reckon with. The hype that I had heard about their new album made me really curious to hear the new shit tonite. We all know God Forbid to be rather heavy, now the new shit (which they played five tracks of) was interesting. Heavy, heavy, heavy - a force to be heard! But, every one of the new songs came with a full-fledged clean vocal breakdown. I mean the whole shebang, harmonies and everything, along the lines of KillswitchSum this I am not the biggest fan of. They were short, but there nonetheless. The crowd loved it all.
E. Town Concrete
Photos by Black SheepNow, mind you the crowd is rather divided. There are a bunch of old-school ETC fans that are there for the first two albums and for some good ass beatings, and there are the younger kids who are there to hear the wonderful harmonies and crystal vocals of Renaissance. This may attribute to the warm response God Forbid got. I am a fan, but I have seen them recently and they sucked. This was one of those make-or-break shows for me. Anthony Martini came out as cocky as ever and talking as much shit as possible. I think my favorite line was "If I'm standing rigid, it's probably because I need to shit pretty bad" or "Last time I came to Long Island I thought all of you sucked" - things along that line.
But, the set was punishing, very straightforward and had the pit rocking. This pit was pretty sick compared to a lot of shows. There had to have been 25 kids moshing consistently, all in the good nature of hardcore. Actually, there was an explosion of about six fights throughout the show, and the security is vigilant at this place.
E. Town Concrete
Photos by Black SheepAt about the end of the show, I'm standing next to this guy on the edge of the pit, and one kid is throwing punches around the edge, so another kid goes to kick him away and hits him straight in the face, full force with his Timberland. Blaw, passed out before he could hit the crowd. Away he goes, dripping blood, only to come back into the pit ten minutes later. Hardcore style.
Again, half and half here, old school kids boooed for the new shit and the younger kids sat back for the old shit. Whatever, it rocked. All in all, 4 of 5 for this hardcore extravaganza.
Jotun's Review (10/3/03, The Downtown, Farmingdale, NY):
This isn't the first time that I have seen a show at The Downtown, and I can still say that it is a good venue for seeing live shows. It is a club that's small enough to always give you a great view of the stage. It's in the middle of suburbia, which means there is other stuff to see or do around the venue, including 7-11 for your beer, cigs, food, or otherwise, restaurants, an ice cream place, and more. This all helps when you have to wait on line for 45 minutes to get in. The reason being an intensive search of all who enter the club, so if you go there for a show, make sure to leave all you can in the car.
God Forbid
Photos by JotunMetal shows aren't new to The Downtown. A Long Island radio show, called Fingers' Metal Shop, is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary on the station WBAB. This was another show in celebration of their anniversary. In addition, it was the first time that both E-Town and God Forbid (both big-name bands native to New Jersey) were able to share a stage.
Opening the show was a local band whose name I forget. Overall, I must admit that I don't have a lot to say about them. They were kind of average, although they weren't bad at all. It was your run-of-the-mill metalcore, sharing some similarities to bands like Unearth, Prayer for Cleansing, and/or Undying. The main difference was that this band has a lot less Euro-metal influenceSumbut some still shows through. I will say that they gave it their all and made a good showing for what may have been their first time sharing the stage with some big name heavy hitters. Much respect.
Zao
Photos by JotunNext up was Zao. Originally Candiria was supposed to be in this spot, but I heard or read somewhere that Candiria pulled off the tour to focus on writing and recording their next album. I was confused, yet also excited to hear that Zao was playing instead, even though I really dig Candiria. I was surprised because around the time of their last release All Else Failed, the band declared that they were breaking up. Now, Zao has always been a band that could be regarded as unstable. They used to have a habit of not showing up to shows they booked (including one that I booked them for in college) and a habit of changing members quite often. I was thrilled to see them because of all they offer as a band - a style that continually evolves on each of their releases, an intense sound, and some crazy lyrics.
E. Town Concrete
Photos by JotunWith the inclusion of a new vocalist, who sounds a good amount like former Zao vocalist/bassist Dan Weyandt, the steady members of the band took the stage to rock. And rock they did. They played one or two new tunes, which they had recorded demos of and were selling in the back of the venue that night. They also played a great variety of songs that spread across many of their releases, including Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest, Liberate Te Ex Inferis, Zao, All Else Failed and even one track from their split with Training for Utopia. Their live sound was great, the new vocalist was outstanding, and I am very much looking forward to seeing more from them soon. According to the band, which I spoke with after the show, they will be entering the studio sometime in the near future to record a new album, but first they will be searching for a new label after confirming to me that they will not release anything else on Solid State Records.
God Forbid
Photos by JotunGod Forbid - what can you say about them that hasn't already been said? By now, most people know how intense and tight they are live and how well written their music is from listening to their CDs. I was surprised to hear that all the songs on the night's set list were either new or from Determination. Perhaps it was the foresight of playing before E-Town's fans, many of which haven't heard too much of them. Their new songs - which included "Anti-Hero," "Force Fed," and a song played for live for the first time called "Better Days" - sounded great. Just as guitarist Dallas Coyle said in an interview I did with him earlier this year, the new material has some melodic vocals courtesy of Dallas and brother Doc Coyle, but none of it is cheesy or watered down. The songwriting appears to be just as strong as ever. In addition to their new tracks, the band pounded out some regular features from their live sets, including "Broken Promise," "Divide My Destiny," "Determination Part 1," and "Go Your Own Way." The only downside to the night was when Doc explained to me that they are still having problems getting the final cuts of their new material ready for release. The new album has been pushed back a few times already. I wouldn't be too surprised if it is once or twice more.
Zao
Photos by JotunFinally, I conclude with E-Town Concrete. This is a band that I saw once or twice around the time they first came out in the mid to late 90s. I thought they sounded pretty good, but just an average blend of hip hop and hardcore. Right after they began playing their set last week, it became obvious to me that their sound has grown and matured in the six years since they first shared a stage. I won't try to list a set full of song names, frankly because I don't know many of them and my memory is so short that I couldn't retain 99 percent of the titles. What's more important is the fact that their sound still has the hip hop influence in parts, similar to Candiria. But the real difference between those two bands is while Candiria has a jazz-freestyle angle, E-Town has a jammed-out, almost groovy angle that not only is inventive, but ridiculously infectious. Groove, hip hop, and hardcore doesn't even begin to describe the amalgamation that is their sound. Their style and stage presence was so strong that it actually got me out to buy their most recent album a few days later - and I can't remember the last time a band that I was unfamiliar with did that for me.
Overall, the show was killer, and those living in the area or those interested in the set up that The Downtown has, keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming shows, including a Halloween night show with The Dillinger Escape Plan. Visit them on the Internet at www.thedowntown.com.
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