Show Review

Reason #1,459 why New York City is great. A Monday night benefit for the Red Cross, that manages to showcase two NYC Hardcore Metal crowd pleasers, while raising $2,000 at the same time. Yes sir, I think that is a winning combo for a Monday.

The Knitting Factory in Tribeca played host to the slam dancing crowd who came out from all 5 boroughs and beyond to show their support and hear some great live music. On the under-card were the bands, We’re All Broken, This is Hell and United States. Unfortunately I was late in arriving and missed them, but did manage to see a reformed Home 33 play a short set. While they are not what they were in the mid 90's it is good to see them active again. No Redeeming Social Value was on next and boy do they bring the party.

The official band of Olde English Malt Liquor NRSV, unlike their tough guy counter parts in the metal/punk rock scene, strongly believe humor belongs in music. With stage antics raging from tighty-whitey wearing luchador’s to mysterious men dressed in chicken suits on stage, NRSV would be mistaken for a joke band if it were not for one simple fact, their music is some of the best around. They may deliver some side splitting lyrics (“Your Boyfriends a Guido”), but those lyrics are proclaimed in lead singer Dean Millers powerful voice, which has been fine tuned over the years by a steady diet of dirty brew and chicken. The music itself is streamlined old school punk with melody and stomping’ly hard breakdowns.

NRSV opened with the classic, “More Tattoo’s”, earning a gold star for rhyming scarification with bacitracin. From there they really never looked back. Guitar player Kent Miller fired up the axe and smoked his way through versions of “Fabio” and “I Hate Everyone”, while Scott Cumbo on bass and Glen Lorieo on drums simply shook the Knitting Factory’s walls with the jet blast of an old favorite, “Clueless”. At times you forget that these three were the only ones playing on stage, they join forces like Voltron and create a huge sound that pummels the listener. The crowd lapped up all of the craziness, and showed their appreciation with flying fists and pile on sing-a-long's. Hearing the chorus of “Pussy, Pussy, Pussy” reverberate through a packed club is another thing entirely.

Nothing is off limits to these guys and after performing for years, from Japan to Amsterdam, it is great to see them come out with the same fire for a hometown crowd. The debauchery of “New 64” and the set closing irony of “Skinheads Rule” had the crowd smiling and dancing like maniac’s as Olde-E flew through the air.

After mopping off the stage to clean up the spilled brew, Candiria, perhaps the exact opposite, yet just as unique of a band, entered the fray. The Brooklyn based band carved a name for themselves years ago with an intellectual metal style that combined off time breaks, hip hop beats, jazzy interludes and spine smashing guitars. Never wanting to be pinned down and labeled, they look at music as a breathing organism always growing in some direction. The members may have changed over the years, but their willingness to experiment within (and sometimes outside of) a genre that tends to recycle riffs to the point of oblivion truly makes Candiria stand out from the pack. Their newer sounds have expanded their fan base with some more accessible music, but the crowd on Monday night showed faces of old, who were ready to dive into treasures of past Candiria chaos. Carley Coma can rhyme like an M.C. or caterwaul like a banshee, and often does so in the same verse, always keeping a listener or a dancer in the pit on their toes.

The highlight of the night for the old schoolers in attendance had to be the fury of “Temple of Sickness” from Candiria’s early Surrealistic Madness album, which caused a minor explosion on the dance floor. Kenneth Schalk’s drumming was sniper precise and can turn on a dime, truly the backbone of this band. Michael Maclvor's bass lines bobbed around like Ali Rope-a-Doping, while Eddie Cortez and Steve Fakelman sparred on guitar throughout the set. Instead of a typical sing along encore, they ended their set with an instrumental that would not have been out of place at a "jam band" show. While it is a curious choice and it certainly left the “hardcore” kids wanting, it was a joy to hear and showed that Candiria is not just playing by it’s own rules, it is making up it’s own game as it goes along. The ride will be an exciting one as this band still continues to evolve.

Two band, two separate styles, one great cause…. Sounds like a great Monday night in the city to me.