Lillian Axe Live in Dallas
By
Tokemaster General,
Contributor
Friday, June 6, 2003 @ 11:41 AM
| Lillian Axe, Habitual and Chiz
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REVIEW BY: Todduz
It was another fine evening for some of the heaviest rock in Texas.
First of all the venue, the Underworld, is a relatively new club in the Dallas/Fort Worth scene having been open now for about six months. The owners, Kevin Goocher of OMEN and his wife Melanie, have created a club with a real cool vibe. Friendly staff and attentive bartenders keep me coming back to this venue almost as much as the music. Already, the Underworld has played host to a number of national acts including Faster Pussycat, Seven Witches, and Dope. Booked in the month of May are Anthrax, Stereomud and King's X. This is definitely THE place in D/FW for all your rock and roll needs.
I hit the club about 9:30 or so and already the place was rockin'. Onstage for the opening gig was local band Chizzel. The volume in the place was turned up to 11 and Chizzel were laying down some hard and heavy grooves. This was my first time to see this band perform and I was impressed. The website for these guys has some groovy pics and MP3s. They are definitely a band to see now before they hit the big time... check them out www.chizzel.com.
In the middle slot were local faves Habitual. These guys are definite crowd-pleasers and having been playing Dallas for some time now. Their set was comprised of covers as well as originals, which the crowd enjoyed. One highlight of the set included a few minutes of "dueling guitars" with the lead guitarist and vocalist/guitarist trading wicked licks to the approval of all present. I hereby call the contest a draw! Both players have definitely got skills. Habitual has a website where you can catch a quick video and get info about the band... www.habitualonline.com.
Last but not least, the band we were here to see... the incomparable Lillian Axe. As expected, they pummeled the crowd into a frenzy. Ron Taylor continues to prowl the stage like a man possessed and his vocals just seem to get better with time. Steve Blaze kept the crowd on their feet with his hardcore stylings and the fans just ate it up! One of the newest additions to the Axe, Sam Poitevant on guitar, definitely has the skill to keep up with these veterans. Holding up the bottom end are Darrin DeLatte on bass and Ken Koudelka on drums. Darrin stalks the stage like madman pounding out bone-charring bass to convert the non-believers and Ken keeps it all in time with his heavy thumping.
Unfortunately I don't have a set-list to present to the loyal KNAC listeners. I did ask a couple of the members of Lillian Axe for a set list prior to the show but alas it was not forthcoming. Then again … they may have never had such a request before so it's understandable that an extra set list wasn't available. Be that as it may, some highlights of the evening were "Misery Loves Company" from the self-titled debut, "Ghost of Winter" from Love+War, and of course "Cool Innocence" and "True Believer" from Poetic Justice.
Lillian Axe continues to perform in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on occasion and both Ron Taylor and Steve Blaze had additional projects, Velvet Poker Dogs and Near Life Experience (respectively) that perform in D/FW, Houston and New Orleans. The next time you are down this way, if any of these bands are headlining at a club near you, do yourself a favor and GO! I practically guarantee that you will have a great time.
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