The Metro is a venue that is absolutely synonymous with big talent and big turn-outs. Having housed notable acts from nearly every genre and every corner of the musical world, it is indeed a prestigious and brag worthy place to have graced the stage of. Last night it’s collection of local and not-so-local bands lived up and possibly exceeded the standard of excellence such an arena sets. The Felix Culpa played for the release of their recent and much anticipated full-length, Sever Your Roots, joined by Chicago bands Suns and Loyal Divide, as well as Long Islander musicians Robbers. Put together by Rebecca Lopez of Betta Promotions, if anyone had previously doubted this young woman’s knack for creating a note worthy line up, they were surely proven wrong last night. Each of these bands showed considerable talent, so obviously trying to do something different in their music, and it was evident to everyone in the room that they were experiencing something great.
The night appropriately began with the debut of Suns, a new band out of Chicago featuring members of past projects such as
Wax on Radio, Eli, They Found Me The Named Me, and Blame Twilight. Though the bands first official performance in this incarnation, it was anything but amateur. Fronted with vocals that are both non-traditional and surprisingly delicate, Suns instrumental sound follows similar suit, using a spacey-ambient quality that comes across floatingly without sacrificing a tight and close resonance. Able to shift from a softer, ballad-esque track into one complete with a raspy vocal belt, the band offers a variety of style in their songwriting, as well as the ability to kick it up without coming across as grating. Though their movement on stage was relatively low-key, the set was in no way demure and we have to say that this performance was a great first impression, which we greatly look forward to building on as Suns continue to break out in Chicago music.
Following our first act was another debut, this one from East Coast band Robbers, as they humbly played the Metro for the first time. The five piece, composed of three guitars, one bass and drums, have the emotiveness of Mewithoutyou, the distorted-grinding guitar of Devil And God-era Brand New, and whispering gleams of The Cure. Clearly an eclectically influenced group of young men, these musicians have a strong sense of composition as well as showmanship. Fronted by what appeared to be a mad scientist with a mustache, we were completely absorbed in watching his ecstatic expressions, Angus Young kicks and swiveling Elvis hips as he slid from a seamless falsetto to some pseudo-spoken word and took his teal guitar for all it was worth. The band’s cymbal heavy percussion and rolling bass (from a player that was seriously grooving) even had the stone-faced Metro security guards nodding along- so we’d say it was an overall success for these Long Islanders, and we hope the rest of their tour taking place through February is just as prosperous.
“What the hell? Where is this going?” is something we heard from a show go-er standing behind us as the members of Loyal Divide traipsed on stage in costumes that are best described as digital glow-in-the-dark stick figures. What the first timer was soon to learn was that where the band was going was a place of creative intricacy. Taking a moment to look at the crowd a few minutes into the set it was easy to identify those who had seen the band before from those who hadn’t- there was a straight division between the people swaying and bouncing along from the clusters of audience members who were utterly floored and slack jawed while listening.
Very different from the blanket statement of Indie the rest of the bands fell under, but somehow entirely cohesive (again, let’s thank Betta for brewing this one up) Loyal Divide gave a highly percussive and slightly eerie set, implicating the use of synthesizers, keys, and loops, along with the backbone of bass, guitar, and drums. Their set list built on itself, adding intricacies and variation as it went, going everywhere from the more industrial and mechanical to a bongo and shaker instrumental break. Though clearly a technically reliant operation, there is still real rock and rock roll layered within their guitar and bass, as well as a certain theatrical and almost symphonic syncopation. Vocals from Adam Johnson and Chris Sadek were both ghostly and smoky- whispery enough to make the listener learn in, pressing themselves to hear more, but with the ability to break and border the more aggressive and commanding. By the end of the set, the charming young man who was standing behind us and previously confounded by the costumes merely said “That was the shit.” We couldn’t agree more.
Finally came the moment the whole night was building up to. Well, really what the last two years, three months, and roughly 17 days had been building up to. The Felix Culpa took the stage amid cheers from a crowd that was truly beside themselves with excitement, and with the first drumbeat the entire room began to move. Opening with a brief strumming of acoustic and chorus of “Oh no’s” from the band, then diving right into a full bodied song, The Felix Culpa proudly proclaimed “We are still here” with last night’s performance. Joined on stage by band friend Evan Weiss (Check out his project Into it. Over it.) who accompanied the Culpa on guitar, banjo, and a little percussion, along with a few other friends making cameo appearances. There was an real sense of bonding between the band and fans, as well as a certain Culpa closeness in the set, particularly after the band said a few words about the passing of drummer Joel Coan’s father this past week, dedicating the album, and Metro set to a man who had “a heart as big as this room”.
The other new songs from the quartet revealed in the set list (Read our previous review of the ‘teaser tracks’ released earlier this month) proved to be just as entrancing, showing real growth and progression. Aggressive without being entirely abrasive, the band’s melodic rock takes control of its listener, and we don’t think there was a single still body in the entire venue. While Dustin expertly manned both guitar and keys, Joel dominated his drums, and Tristan slapped pounded the bass, Marky crooned and crowed, ending the set on the ground. Bursting into the chorus of ‘An Instrument’ (which the band debuted earlier this month online) - a raucous blend of post-hardcore guitar grind, percussion, and “whoa-oh’s” proved more intensely epic than we could have anticipated, and as much as we could try to give out adjectives describing the consummate creation that are the songs of Sever Your Roots and this performance, we simply could not do it all justice. These four, plus the special edition of Evan Weiss, obviously gave all they had to their performance and created something truly inspirational.
