Review: Zao Concert

The Line-Up: Son of Day, Still Remains, Sinai Beach, Zao

The concert was amazing - and the experience pretty much revolved entirely around Sinai Beach's enticing performance.

The night started off well, with the normal "get the crowd pumped" metal band, Son of Day. They were okay, musically speaking, but my only reason for being at the show was Sinai Beach - so I admit a bit of bias in this area. They utilized dual-vocals and had some fairly catchy guitar riffs - as well as powerful percussion. However, their set was plagued with unacceptable amounts of feedback and clipping. They could have been much better (sound quality wise) but they (in my opinion) were FAR outshadowed by the bands that followed.

Next, in the spot I thought was filled by Sinai, Still Remains came to stage. I bought their E.P. before the show began, because I had heard of them before (they will also be at Ichthus in two weeks). They were really good - but, again, I was "zoning" off. It is very hard to concentrate when the band you have been waiting months to see is only about 1/2 hour away. I intend to give them a listen on the ol' C.D. player here - but I give them their credit...they sounded great (as most of the sound problems had been fixed by then).

Now - for the show stopper. Sinai Beach is a killer live band. Again, a bit of bias, but this might have been the best 30-or-so minutes of live music I have ever seen. These guys give their all on stage - and they are one of the heaviest bands I know. Plus, I was so close to the stage that I felt the wind of the guitarist's hair when he headbanged - and I had my hand on his monitor the entire time. This was the defining moment of the night - and after they finished the one crowd-demanded encore song, I was ready to leave the venue. Enough for me, the concert is over.

It might as well have been. I ended up talking to the drummer of Sinai Beach outside the club for a bit while Zao was playing. I then got C.J. (the lead singer of Sinai) to autograph (and then get the rest of the band to sign) my C.D. jackets. He was really cool about it - willing to take it around to make sure that I got everyone's. I think I was being the crazed fan there for a while, following them around like a lost puppy (kind of)...but all in all it was worth it.

As for Zao (honestly, what little I heard) it was good as well (but not even close to Sinai...). I had actually been around the lead singer the entire night (I just thought he was some tattooed guy who kept coming to the bar for drinks). The drummer had also been walking around all night. Musically, they were good enough to buy - but I was completely out of it after the previous performance - and we ended up leaving early to beat the traffic.

If you are a fan of music (especially metal) and you ever have a chance to see your favorite band(s) at a small club - there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity. The atmosphere was absolutely perfect, the bands were very casual and inviting, and the performances were top knotch. Overall - A+ - and that is just the grade for the Sinai Beach performance.