BEFORE THE MACHINE PICKS UP STEAM.

By Crystal Snyder

Far down West Broad Street 11:00pm is oddly quiet for a Friday night in Richmond, cars come and go, few people walk the street, but in their hurried rush to get to various clubs and bars they miss my destination, a small pool hall called The Triple.

Upon approaching this unlikely venue, I see several familiar faces, one in particular of the man who had me coming out here in the first place, Seth Nicholls (also of Red Clay Village). Seth was excited, I could tell that from down the street, and his voice belied his cool demeanor as we talked before entering the club. He told me about the bands that were playing that night, and about his new band, the one I came to see, Before the Machine.

I quickly took stock of my surroundings as we entered the bar, blood red walls, a cool tile floor, billiards in the back, and the familiar smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke encompassed my senses, as the first bands music assaulted my ears. I looked for the familiar faces I had seen outside, the other members of Before the Machine, Johnny Throckmorton, Jeb Mease, Chris Ratterree and Mike Lester. Knowing the superb talent they showed in other bands, I felt that this new project had a lot to live up to, I knew then this was going to make for an interesting night.

As the second band took the floor, I talked to some of the other patrons of the bar, all of them excited to see Before the Machine. This was their second show, and as the second band’s set drew to a close, the tension grew thicker, almost suffocating as the guys picked up the instruments that had been so patiently waiting in the corner.

Sound check and tuning commenced as people rose from their various perches like bones rising from the dead, waiting to pass judgment. Then it happened, the first note, the first chord , and Throckmorton took the mic. With a quick shout out of “What’s up RICHMOND?!?!?” Before the Machine had arrived, and even in the Intro it was apparent they were at no less than 110%.

As they slipped into “Blissful“, “Mikie’s Song” and “Eye if the World“, the crowd reaction went from swaying bodies and nodding heads to a full on mosh pit. Mease’s drumming was right on, never once skipping a beat, the phenomenal guitar work of Ratterree and Lester surpassed my expectations, and Nicholls’s bass work rounded out the whole outstanding package.

They ended the night with “Silent Movie” and “The New Song”. Even as the clock approached 2:00am all five members never lost the breakout energy of the Intro. Before the Machine is a ton of talent a mile outside of the box and a live show should not be missed, find out where you can catch them next near you on their MySpace Page!



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Morrissey and Mia Riddle

Christy Sheppard
Richmond.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Scene + Heard Concert Review: Morrissey at the National and Mia Riddle at Poe's

Sometimes you look forward to a show for a long time and you end up disappointed. Sometimes you hear a band's recorded music and are bummed when you hear them live. Sometimes, though, reality exceeds your expectations.

I saw two shows last week that were excellent. I see a lot of shows. Shows about which I don't usually care enough to write.

These two shows I didn't want to let fade from my ever-waning memory without putting down in writing for all of you (and all of the world!) to see. Hey, I'm a giver.

First, I caught Mia Riddle and Her Band as they stopped through Richmond via Poe's Pub on their way to Austin's SXSW, promoting their album, Tumble and Drag.

I arrived around 8:15 (because I thought the show as supposed to start at 8) and around 10 o'clock all preparation was complete and Mia's band was ready to go.

I'd been listening to their myspace playlist for a few days prior to the event because I never like going to show completely in the blind, and Mia's band is new to me. She sounded just as great in person as she did in recording. She was pop and she was rock, and she was a little country ... a delightful mixture.

Mia's voice continually reminded me of Jenny Lewis'; a comparison most would welcome. Although she did sound a little raspy and admitted she was battling a cold, it didn't distract from her performance and her voice was strong and pleasant.

I don't know if you've ever seen a show at Poe's but the "stage" is rather small. On several occasions I felt like the band really wanted to rock out but were hindered by the size of the stage. Despite the space limitations, they made the most of the night, and our attention spans.

Everyone but Dave Wyss (bass) had a mic; geez, he must really be a bad singer, huh? I kid.

The rest of the band consisted of Amy Merrill (keys, back-up vocals), Dan Barry (guitar, back-up vocals) and Jeff Neuberger (drums, back-up vocals). Mia stuck to singing and the guitar although she also plays the glockenspiel and keys.

Amy and Mia harmonized well and sounded sweet together. At the risk of sounding creepy, Amy had these super delicate fingers that looked as if they were sculpted just for the keys or for rescuing objects that have fallen into really tight spaces (or for stealing food from the vending machine). She had a funny smirk on her face that lasted most of the set. Apparently we were all having a great time.

As a testament to their songwriting skills, I recognized "Grandchildren", "City Song" and "Open Wide" right away and (happily) was even able to sing along.

In red flats that matched Amy's keyboard, Mia stomped and played her way though the set. I'm compelled to liken her to actor-turned-singer Zooey Deschanel; but Mia has a stonger voice and she's cuter, too. Sorry, I'm only into She & Him sans the "She &" part.

This was the first stop on their tour, so naturally they had a few blips here and there but they easily laughed them off. I've seen bands make a big deal out of mistakes and, frankly, peeps, most of us won't notice unless you don't call attention to your screw-ups.

I kept thinking to myself that this little performance deserved more of an audience and perhaps a larger venue. I won't complain, though, I'm glad they stopped by and I'm hoping they'll return. Maybe one day soon, they'll have ample opportunity to show off their talent to larger crowds.

Check out their video for "Open Wide" on YouTube.

The next night, myself and a few friends ventured our way out to the National to see the legendary Morrissey.

I've said this before, but I've never been a really big fan of his or of the Smiths, the band he used to front. This only means I had no idea what to expect and that I was blown away by what I saw and heard.

The guy is pushing 50 and he ran that stage like it was his, umm ... let's just say he showed everyone who was boss. Looking like a mixture between Dr. Troy McNamara (Nip/Tuck) and Robin Williams (in looks and in stage presence, respectively) he commanded the attention of every face in the crowd.

The stage was set up so the Moz had plenty of space to stalk around, whipping the mic cord to and fro. Picture a bullfighter with his cape ... with imaginary bulls coming at him from every direction.

I recognized more songs than I'd expected to, and when that insane riff from "How Soon Is Now?" started, nearly everyone in the sold out crowd of 1,500 took to their feet.

As big a ham as Morrissey was, his band wasn't leaving without making its presence felt. Drummer Matt Walker rocked an impressive set of drums that included an 18-wheeler-tire-sized bass and even a gong. Chris Bopst said recently, "The larger the drum set, the more likely the band is going blow." Sorry, Chris, but in at least this instance, that argument fails. (read the article here)

Moz sang the line 'But then you open your eyes and you see someone that you physically despise' from "Let Me Kiss You" at the precise moment he decided to remove shirt number two of three for the evening (if the timing was unintentional I'll eat my chucks). He'd already briefly left the stage long enough to change from a blue and white checkered print into the black dress shirt he was currently removing.

When he took off said black dress shirt, it was just too much for one excited fan to handle. This super-fan squeezed his way through a team of scowling security guards and chased Morrissey off-stage, dragging annoyed staff-members along with him. In line with the theme of the night (Morrissey is touring in support of his latest album, Years of Refusal), this eager-beaver wasn't giving up without a fight.

An unphased Morrissey reappeared in less than 5; donning another button-down ... this one pink.

Everything about the show was huge: the sound, the production, the enthusiasm, the egos.

All week I'd been a little skeptical as to whether he'd even show up (many shows had been cancelled prior to this one). Luckily he didn't let us down. Maybe he showed because it was Friday the 13th, maybe not. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I was there.

Morrissey on myspace | Mia Riddle on myspace


NOTE: Christy Sheppard is an established writer with publications like Richmond.com and was kind enough to share this article with us. We look forward to many more of Christy Sheppards writing contributions. Keep watching.



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Rob Zombie - by Bridget Taylor

Gig Review: 01/07/2008
Headliner: Rob Zombie
Support: In This Moment
Venue: Toads Place
By Bridget Taylor

Rob Zombie with In This Moment.

A living legend and a band who spent all of last year touring their asses off. Playing together in the legendary Toad's Place, people had already started a line at 6 pm, an hour before the doors were scheduled to open. I say "scheduled" because they didn't open the place until 7:30pm. The show roughly ended at 11:15pm.

In This Moment came on for a full 30 minute set. Donned in a shiny light blue puffy dress with white outlinings, Maria Brinks stood apart from her band members (who were all dressed in black and band shirts). While screaming out the lyrics to her songs, she would occasionally rock side-to-side or lean on the ground to headbang. Honestly, she didn't do too many antics. They performed songs from their CD "Beautiful Tragedy" including Ashes and Beautiful Tragedy (saved as the last song).

One of the more spectacular sights to see was the drummer. Right before Beautiful Tragedy, he held a solo on stage, including a section where he had the audience clap as he drummed out a beat with them.

Overall, as this was my first time seeing them, it was a decent performance. My only rants are: Maria didn't seem to get into the "metal spirit" (She basically stood and walked, with occasional body twirls); Also, Maria has to choose between singing or screaming. While it works on the CD, she seems to lose her singing voice because she's prepping for a scream. The last twitch: In This Moment left after they played, so no fan sightings or autographs.

At almost 10pm, it was time for the big man: Rob Zombie. He started the show off in a bad way: His "Halloween" music came on, with pumpkins flashing on the television screens on stage (5 in total; two big ones on the stage, three small on the edge), and the audience roared. Five minutes later, it cut off, leaving another ten minutes until he actually started to perform. When Rob Zombie actually did start, the first song was "American Witch". Images of vixens and women flooded the screens; Two women dancers were in the background in corsets. Rob had the crowd riled up, jumping from speaker to speaker, letting them sing along with the songs (he stopped singing and pointed the mic out to the crowd). Also did a lot of interaction and talking to the crowd. At one point, a fan was holding up a sign, and he ripped it out her hands, saying she was crazy to hold a sign up for long, and made a reference to "American Idol".

He played a mixture of both his songs and previous White Zombie songs, such as "Living Dead Girl", "Thunderkiss '65", "The Devil's Rejects", and ending with "Dragula". Before the big finale, though, he asked John 5 (guitarist, formerly of Marilyn Manson) to "pick the next song". This led into impromptu covers of "Enter Sandman" by Metallica and "Sweet Dreams" originally by Eurythmics.

Zombie lived up to his legend of putting on a great show, but the only problem was his singing: Even though most of it WAS audible, there were times where his voice completely blended into the music. He also had fans wait outside for an hour to see him, but he once never left the tour bus. Great night. If by some chance you've had no time to see either of these bands, what are you waiting for?!

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