Capital City Chaos

Saturday night was the Capital City Chaos show at The Loft in downtown Lansing. Seven local bands showed off their diversity, skills, and love for what they do.

The first band on stage was Shell Shock Brigade, which I actually didn't get to see. Adam Ray, singer of Endless Aisle and the one who put the show together, was saying that he was having problems with getting in touch with the band. When Ray did talk to SSB they were saying that they wanted to go on first because their rhythm guitarist might be quitting... So I wasn't in a rush to get over to the show to make sure to catch them.

Hillside Barrier was up next. They were keeping the crowd engaged in a tame tapping along to the beat sort of way, but they never really grabbed the majority of the crowd. There were a few fans up front by the stage, but my guess is that they were friends of the band- which still counts, don't get me wrong, but it's important for a band to suck in new listeners. At one point the people started getting really into it because they played one of Slayer's new songs, "World Painted Blood." It may not have been an original but the execution of the song was definitely worthy of The Loft's reaction.

A great follow up to Hillside Barrier was Black Hearts Now Sing. Like the band before them, and the bands after, the small group of dedicated fans was right in front of the stage, fueling the band and showing them that what they're doing matters and is paying off. "Decipher" was my favorite song the band played. It was just a song that the band and venue could rage out to, and what's better is that the music and technicality of playing made it hard NOT to get into it. BHNS's drummer, Sam Groves, provides back-up vocals throughout the performance, which is always a cool thing to see considering that very few drummers sing too. The band's set ended one song early when the guitarist was having technical difficulties, but their point was made... They can pull their weight in shows, rage out, and the crowd enjoys them.

On a side note, I've realized that a black t-shirt, shorts, and black Adidas is the uniform for most of the bands in the Lansing metal scene. Although there were jeans thrown into the mix, and the shoes weren't always Adidas, someone can tell when one of the guys is in the band.

Next up was One Without Reason, who showed another side to metal. The vocals, combining Richy Nix and Chester Bennington, added a unique style to this rap metal... but unlike other nu-metal/rap metal bands, the singer also screams. The band describes their influences from progressive metal to alternative rock with a hip hop appeal, according to their Facebook page. During their set I overheard the term "homeboy rock" used to describe OWR, which is an adequate description, but not in the negative sense some might take it. This "homeboy rock" feel was epitomized during "Asleep at the wheel." Starting off with a more Kid Rock rock sound, and once again not in the negative way, the band then segued into the heavier metal style that continued throughout the set. The people were definitely digging it, and I would love to have the play a bonfire one night. Some of the people front and center gave off the white trash vibe to "homeboy rock," rocking the socks with flip flops, wife-beaters, and large cargo shorts that hung down to mid-calf. But all in all this was a great band to throw into the mix, and a great style of metal to hear for the first time. "The Trash Can Song" was a gripping way to end the set, and left people wanting more- which is the point of performing in the first place. The song followed the style of the rest of the performance but then, at the end, Aaron (singer, and no last name was posted on the band's pages) used a bashed up trash can for percussion and it was a version of "Stomp" that I would actually go see.

After the ingenuity of the trash can drums at the end of OWR's set, the next band, As They Sleep was a let down. This Detroit based metal band, signed to Solid State Records, put on a great performance. Watching them is a treat, all members of the band are loving what they are doing and thrashing around and the power stances are in effect, but sadly the music didn't stack up to the people. This band clearly has talent, but for me there was something... just off, almost as if they were trying to be death metal but the music didn't match, or they were thrash but the vocals didn't go. It's kind of hard to explain, but I urge you to check them out anyway (just like all the bands I talk about) and make up your own mind. ATS experienced some technical difficulties which the singer, Aaron Bridgewater, said gives him "much more time to say stupid shit." Their song "Revelations" was a lot better as far as music goes, it seems that the conflicting styles kind of disappeared during this song, but a lot of people went outside to E. Michigan Ave during the set. The rest of the songs set aside, the point where I lost interest for this band was when they performed their cover of "Walk the Line," and yes, i mean the Johnny Cash song in case you can't believe it. I don't know if I need to explain more on this but I will. Covering Johnny Cash in a heavy metal way automatically rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Covers are tricky, especially when you're changing the initial sound, and screaming one of Cash's most famous songs doesn't give the crowd the chance to enjoy the song. In my book, I would leave this one out of the set list next time.

Endless Aisle hit the stage in the true fashion, by coming on strong right from the get-go and getting the audience pumped. This is my second time seeing EA, and both shows were a blast. With heart-pounding guitar and drums, it's hard not to find yourself headbanging along. At one point Adam Ray, the singer, had a child-like longing stare towards bassist Greg Maher, with his toes pointed inward and a cute grin on his face, it showed a vulnerability in this hardcore band, and it's always nice to see them humanized and not just performing.

"How many people in this crowd are Richard Bernstein'd right now? Okay... 4 people," said Ray. This ongoing joke, that Blacktooth Brigade started, has permeated into the shows. It's hard to explain what the joke is about, but pretty much being "Richard Bernstein'd" means being really wasted. Their song, "Clutch," had a nice slow start to it, but then broke into the hard hitting jam thrash that explains EA's style.

Sadly, Blacktooth Brigade was the last band up and started their set at about 1:30 am. For some reason the music began at 9 pm, even though seven bands had to play. BTB got a horrible spot in the line-up and most people had left by the time they went on... but the band put on their blacktooth grins and rocked The Loft until the security guard stopped their set and started forcing people to leave. Saturday at The Loft was the last stop on Blacktooth's Lansing Circuit tour and getting their time cut short was a bad note, but the intimacy of the crowd allowed everyone to have an amazing time. This was my eighth BTB show, but the first show I've seen with their new bassist, Steve Brower, and it was not a disappointment. There was no difference between the old and new bass parts, which is important. And I think once the band becomes more integrated, we can expect some cool things coming from BTB. Ray made a guest appearance and accompanied Clint Cox on vocals. You couldn't really hear Ray in the crowd, but that might have been better. I saw them pair up once before and the two singers just have very different styles of singing which makes for a weird combination. This time though it seemed to work, but Ray was also missing some of the words and staying quiet due to the fact that he was a little "Bernstein'd." The close group of friends that made up the crowd for BTB's set was loving every second of it, and it didn't matter to them that they've heard the band play a bunch of times, the music and the people mixed well... maybe next time Blacktooth will get a better slot and pick up some new fans, which would be well deserved.

Ray says that he hopes to do the Capital City Chaos twice a year, and with the support of the fans who in turn support the local scene, I think it will be possible... And I hope that it does happen.