Transparent Soul of Knoxville, TN, opened up to a great start last night at the Open Chord/All Things Music in Knoxville. To say this band is "all things music," themselves, wouldn't be far-fetched. I don't know of too many bands who have their set list like that of a bell curve. As their set was increasing in intensity (I feel like I'm talking about a moderate-intensity aerobic workout), they, the rock band they are, did a rap. Matt Sassano, the lead vocalist did do a great job, I do give him props for that. That only set the stage (no pun intended) for "Control Freak." I love the title, I love intensity in the song, I love the theme. It was perfect for the peak of their set!
He also loves him some photographers: he knelt down to and pointed at every one of them.
Check out their music, which is also on an EP on https://www.reverbnation.com/transparentsoul7
Happy birthday to Keith "Pirate" Rudder, the drummer of Belfast Six Pack. You, and the rest of the band, sounded the best you ever have. You never cease to amaze about how animated you are on stage.
It bears mentioning this was an all-ages show. At times, guitarist Rusty "Chief" Coleman played some random guitar solos, or had a truly awesome one during one of their songs that was that, too. I noticed a few young boys playing air guitar. How inspiring!
If you haven't yet had the privilege of playing either air guitar or air drums to their music, here is the link to their music https://www.reverbnation.com/belfast6pack
Killing Grace of Nashville, TN, made their debut appearance in Knoxville. And what better place to do that than Open Chord! Of course, no one there knew what they were in for; the suspense was killing me during sound check. With all due respect, it seemed to take forever. Everyone from this band kept me guessing, especially when I noticed the lead singer, Matt Edmonson, was wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt.
I had a feeling I knew what style of music they'd play.
And I was right...
Old-school metal.
That spoke right to my heart. They even dedicated a song to me...er...us: "17 Scars." The story that inspired the song is very deep. Like any old-school metal band playing live, they played their hits, a few of which were "Nobody's Hero," "Revolution," and "Fight Back," which their label didn't approve for their CD coming out in December...but they played it anyway. Old-school metal at its finest.
They also showed love, the way any metal band would do. How do they do it? Matt hugged both lead guitarist Colt Hendricks and bass player Tony Hindman, but literally picked up Colt.
And they expressed detailed appreciation for every last person there. With that came another song dedication: "Untouchable." I'm now going through my rock ballad library to see what song I can dedicate to you. When I find one, I'll let you know.
If you missed their music, here's their link https://www.reverbnation.com/killinggrace
In the two times I've seen Van Kale, I've noticed they play last. I think I've figured out why. While it's par for the course that they're loud, there's something to the way they do it that keeps the audience alert, awake, and to see who the fans and loyal supporters of local music really are. By this time, it was around 11:30 at night. Not only were they loud, but they were theatrical. They had some musical intro before really getting down-and-dirty loud. A random mix of old and new Van Kale (oldies but goodies), including a new one called "Leave Them Broken" made a great night. Unfortunately, none of us will be able to hear that song on 95.7 the way we did the others. But Van Kale is still cumin' atcha live, and will do so till the bitter end.
Of course, there's always Reverbnation https://www.reverbnation.com/vankale
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