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The Infamous Mr. White, Infernal Empire,
C420, Perfunktory, and CD Truth
The Phantasy
06-28-03
I basically came out to this show for openers CD Truth
but figured since I was already here I might as well catch a few of the 9
(!) bands scheduled to play. Overall this reminded me of the “jam nights”
that used to be held at the old Temple Tavern (now Voodoo) in Akron when I
was just barely out of high school. There was no real unifying theme to any
of the bands playing. There was punk, psychedelic funk, and various flavors
of metal delivered by bands ranging from professional veterans (C.D. Truth)
to enthusiastic young amateurs (The Infamous Mr. White). Everyone got a
half hour to show what they could do.
C.D. Truth got stuck with the opening slot for some
reason, which seems unfair given the length of time they’ve been on the
scene. They still gave it their all, playing mostly songs from their latest
release ‘Chemically Dependent’ plus a Devo cover. Songs like "Follow Me to
Akron" and "My Friends are Doing Bad Things Again" sounded just as good as
their studio counterparts. I thought they were great but they didn’t
get much reaction from the mostly younger crowd who stayed seated on the
floor for the band’s set. That pretty much set the trend for the night, at
least the portion I caught. Maybe the medium size crowd was waiting for
headliners Local Anesthetic, but I didn’t stick around to find out.
I did stick around for the next four bands, though.
After CD Truth came Perfunktory. The band played a mix of reggae, funk, and
psychedelia that was mostly instrumental. Occasionally the drummer would
provide some lead vocals. I have a feeling this was probably one of their
first shows, if not the first. Not much in the way of stage presence from
this young looking group, and their songwriting was a bit weak, but they
sounded pretty good. I definitely wouldn’t mind hearing more from them once
they get a few more shows under their belts and write a few more songs.
Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the next band,
C420. I just can’t get into this sort of macho posturing metal that seems
to be all the rage these days, but even if I did I there wasn’t much in the
way of originality about this band. They pretty much sounded like a mix of
Pantera and Godsmack. Lots of anger and energy and solid musicianship, but
I just don’t care for the style. Not like they need my support, anyway.
There’s plenty of folks out there who think this sort of thing is the bomb.
Infernal Empire were more my kind of metal. The
bassist/vocalist and guitarist both sported In Flames T-shirts which gave
some indication as to what they sounded like. Sepultura, Slayer, and other
thrash bands seem likely influences as well. The band played well and had
some decent songs, but seemed a bit uncomfortable on stage. Nothing
mindblowing but enjoyable nonetheless. Perhaps in time they’ll cut loose
more and deliver a live show worthy of their obvious talents as musicians.
Their songs were decent but still show their influences a bit too much.
The last band I saw was The Infamous Mr. White. The
mostly girl group (the drummer was the sole male) looked really young, and
their musicianship was spotty, but they had an undeniable energy and sense
of fun about them. The local rock scene could use some more estrogen, so
hopefully this band will keep at it. Since their style was essentially
punk with a sense of humor there’s no need for the band to woodshed until
they can play like Malmsteen, but it wouldn’t hurt them to get a little
tighter. What I heard was fairly enjoyable nonetheless, and considering
some of the crappy bands I was in at their age I can’t be too hard on them.
Still, by
the time Mr. White was nearing the end of their set I had pretty much had my
fill for the evening. Since I didn’t know any of the remaining bands or
even have any idea what styles of music to expect I decided to split. Sorry
to the rest of the bands on the bill, but considering the erratic nature of
what I’d seen up to this point I didn’t really feel like gambling the rest
of my evening away. Personally I don’t think it’s that great an idea to
book this many bands for an all local show unless most of them is top notch,
and for me anyway of the bands I saw only CD Truth were on that level. Perfunktory, Infernal Empire, and Mr. White all have potential to develop
into bands I’d make an effort to see in the future, but only time will
tell. As for C420, they were professional and no doubt will develop a
following among the sort of people who regularly listen to 92.3. That means
I won’t likely be seeing them again. Good luck to them anyway. (Bob
Ignizio)
For pictures click
here.
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