Rating: 5 Skulls
Reviewed by Chainheart (1/3 & 1/4/03, Irving Plaza, NYC):
This was the moment that I have been waiting years for as Life Of Agony would finally reunite to play two sold-out hometown shows. I always told myself that if LOA ever got back together, I would fly anywhere in the world to see them. Luckily, I only had to fly to NYC and spend around $125 for two tickets, but this soon proved to have been well worth it. This would mark the first time in over 6 years that all original members Keith Caputo, Alan Robert, Joey Z, and Sal Abruscato would share the same stage together. There were many reasons why LOA broke up in the first place and problems started occurring after the poorly received third studio offering Soul Searching Sun in 1997. Keith grew unhappy with his involvement in the band and decided to pursue a solo career in which the musical direction leaned away from the more heavier aspects he dealt with in LOA. Other members Joey Z (guitars) went onto form Stereomud with LOA drummer Dan Richardson and Alan Robert (bass) formed Among Thieves but everyone still had hopes an LOA reunion would eventually take place.Both of these reunion shows sold out in less than 30 minutes and it was great to see that there was still such a huge fanbase for this band. I headed into NYC on Friday January 3rd for the first show and it was a brutal 20 degrees outside, which made the wait to get inside even longer. I was really interested in checking out the openers Among Thieves because they have always put on a killer show and they recently added new drummer Danny Schuler (Biohazard) to their line-up. At 9PM the place was packed and Among Thieves was ready to take the stage. As soon as Alan Robert came out people went nuts and the band was on fire. Their vocalist Rob Brock is an extremely talented and versatile vocalist that can also get the crowd moving with his energetic stage performance. They debuted a few new songs such as "Consequence" and "Problems Of My Own," while also performing other staple songs "Pass Me By" and "My Mistake". With similar LOA elements in their music, such as catchy melodies and a groove that will hit you like a freight train, it makes me wonder why this band remains unsigned. Newcomers Shinedown (Atlantic Records) took the stage next to a very unenthusiastic response. This band was extremely uninteresting and was so unoriginal that nobody really cared. It gave me some time to relax and get ready for the mighty LOA to take the stage.
Once Shinedown was done I managed to work my way up to the front of the floor to make sure that I had a perfect spot. This was one show that I could not believe was actually taking place and I was more than ready for it. The lights went down and the intro music began to roll and the anticipation began to build. As soon as the band walked onstage they kicked into "River Run Red" and the place went nuts. The band was tighter than ever and Keith came out with more energy and emotion behind his vocal delivery than I had ever expected. They suddenly went right into "This Time" and this NYC crowd was more than ready, the whole place became a huge pit. This led into one of my favorites, "The Other Side Of The River," and this got the whole place jumping up and down. It was as if this band had never stopped playing together and you could tell that they were blown away from the crowd response that they were receiving. They soon went into "Hope", the first track off of Soul Searching Sun, and it sounded better then ever. What I really liked most about this show was that they were not afraid to play songs off of Soul Searching Sun because they know it is a true LOA release and they proudly stand behind it as they should.
The setlist contained a well distributed mix of tracks off of all three studio releases and some of these tracks I never thought I would get a chance to hear. One song that I was excited to hear played was "Weeds" because it is a song that never got the full attention that it deserved. This might have been the catchiest rock hit that never was due to commercial radio being as lame as it is. After hearing such classics as "How It Would Be," "I Regret" and "Method Of Groove," the show came to an abrupt stop as Alan Robert's bass rig had some problems. In this time Keith and Joey Z just played around and Keith was about to do some solo material, but opted to play "Let's Pretend." This was stopped short as well due to his guitar being out of tune (the song would be played in its entirety the next night). Alan's bass was quickly fixed and the show went on without anymore problems as they soon went into "Seasons," "Bad Seed" and "Lost At 22." There was a moment in the set where Keith announced that his father passed away as a result of his heroin addiction and he proceeded to dedicate "Heroin Dreams" to him. Even the slower songs they played this night had such an intensity behind them that you could feel the energy that was coming from the stage. The band looked very happy to just be able to be onstage together again and have the opportunity to play for everyone there.
They closed the set with "Underground," "My Eyes" and "Through and Through" from River Runs Red and it was easy to see that there will be more LOA shows in the future. Once the intro bass line to "Through and Through" started the place exploded once again and people went flying in every direction. It was a true experience seeing this band in front of a NYC crowd. Both of these shows were recorded for a live DVD and CD to be released later this year through a label that is yet to be determined, but it is a new LOA studio record that people will be anxiously awaiting. Their set lasted an hour and a half and the energy from the band and the crowd never let up for a moment. They could have played over two hours and people would have been begging for more. Every member played flawlessly and it was easily the best LOA shows I have ever seen. The second night's show also had the same setlist, but the songs were played in a different order.
I would have to give both of these shows a five out of five due to the amazing setlist, length of the set, and the raw energy of each member. Sal especially stood out as he added even more of a groove and intensity to the Soul Searching Sun material proving further that he is currently one of the best drummers around who does not get enough credit for his work. They played almost every song that I had expected them to play and you could not possibly ask for more. I also found out that the band did not have that much time to rehearse for these shows and after seeing them both you would have thought they never broke up. These shows were extremely special and it was great to be able to say that I was there to experience it.
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