Covalence at the Open Chord

There is a force to reckoned with here in Knoxville, TN.

It comprises four young men who don't settle for third-rate in what they do. These guys are in a rock band and their name is...

Covalence.

These young men in Covalence (Carter Manson, lead vocals and guitar; Tad Long, guitar; Richard Hodges, drums; and Gabe Carrasco, bass), play as if they've been at this longer than they've been alive. Last night, they had a show for their debut CD Alpha Decay.

What is seeing Covalence like? I'm here to give you an idea of what to expect.

They didn't just appear on the stage. Instead, they started off their show theatrical rock style: emerging onto the stage as a video appeared on the overhead screens and immediately played the songs that they...yes, they...had written.

And it wasn't just with the four of them playing their respective instruments. The band had a fog machine, with awesome lights from the Open Chord crew to enhance it. With that and the energetic talent eliciting from all of them, the packed house at Open Chord got a really big treat from the band.

But the smaller and more meaningful "treats" were the covers they played after playing the songs from Alpha Decay. What made it meaningful was some fans had requested they play hits by the Foo Fighters and Nirvana.

In the few years Covalence has been together, there have been a few personnel changes. Between songs, Carter talked about how they had recently gotten Gabe on board. Richard spoke about how he had joined a few months prior. Then, the surprise Carter had promised the audience: Harrison, their former lead singer, came up on stage toward the end of the show and sang "When God Comes Back," which is one of the favorites from fans.

How do you know this band has made a significant impact on their followers? When they shout for an encore...and the band gives it. Song of choice: "Evenflow" by Pearl Jam.