New Heroes of Hard Rock, Achilles @ North Bar with Silent Redemption and Harvey Fox
Achilles
It's the end of summer and indie bands throughout the midwest are getting in their final few shows before it's over. Tonight North Bar is playing host for a collection of some local hard rock bands. Headlining is Achilles, a five piece rock band out of Mundelein, IL who's Facebook page is ridiculously hard to search for, so click this link right here, or below to access their page. Seriously guys, I even liked it on Facebook as my blog page and they won't pop up in the search bar. But back to the band at hand, Achilles was founded in 2008, and since has gone through several lineups without losing their original core members, Alex Nambo, Estaban Nambo, and Jesus Pacheco. With the addition of Rob Ochoa on vocals and Andrew Bonczkowski on drums, the band is able to deliver a full rock punch straight to the gut. Bonczkowski's drumming is particularly slap-you-in-the-face, and Alex's lead guitar riffs are those of someone who has put an incredible amount of time and dedication to perfecting.
They open with an original number, "Strange Case," and then "Remedy" by Seether," a Nirvana influenced garage rocker. Metallica's "Enter Sandman," gets the crowd into the performance literally as Ochoa encourages them to sing along. Towards the middle of the set, Alex steps up on vocals during an acoustic portion of songs that help break the set up from monotonous rock. Ochoa rejoins the band following the acoustic numbers and tells the crowd to "jam the fuck out!" which they obligingly do as he rips into the chorus of "Reincarnate." The band continues their onstage odyssey of blending classic rock of the 60's and 70's with today's metal and hard rock scene, even playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," before ending with "Slither." It's a strong performance of a band that has a lot to offer in musicianship as well as original material. I look forward to hearing more of them and hopefully they'll have an album coming out sometime in the future here.
Photos by Achilles
Silent Redemption
Hard Rock fans should rejoice, as this is my first real introduction, not counting a half day gig working WIIL ROCK last year, to the aggressive buzzsaws of an electric guitar, the residual thump-thump-thump of toms in between the sharp crack of a snare that is hardcore rock. I say rejoice because Silent Redemption, the modern rock trio from Dubuque, Iowa formed in 2013 and consisting of a new drummer and bass player to back up lead guitarist and singer James Robinson, is killing it tonight, and by the time their set is over I'm left wanting more, more high energy, more attitude, more ROCK!
Robinson is an impressive singer with a powerful strength and confidence in his own ability as the voice of the band. He's found himself two young, gifted musicians in Robbie Bauer and William Fish on bass and drums respectively. The set features several songs off their EP "Back To Basics," which they were giving out to fans for free, cause they're fricking awesome, as well as some unreleased songs. After opening with "Fade," the band dives into "Caught," a catchy tune that showcases Robinson's talent as a vocalist and had some radio success when it was released. Besides the originals, the band provides some ambitious and aggressive takes on contemporary pop, ripping into an edgy version of Bruno Mars' "Grenade." Robinson feeds off both his bandmates and the audience to keep the energy and fire in the room. The band continues their set, never letting up playing their impressive set of songs, among them "Fury & Fight," "Raise Em High," and "Streets." I am genuinely impressed when they have finished, not just by how they've introduced me to a genre I have very little previous exposure to, but in the ever growing number of local musicians who exceed my expectations of the level of talent that's out there. They're website is "dot rocks" for crying out loud, and they tour in a hearse. How much more hardcore can you get?
Photo and Artwork by Silent Redemption
Harvey Fox
I'm always excited to see what these guys live though I've seen them at numerous venues before including The House Cafe, Empty Bottle, and House Of Blues. They're one of the hardest working bands, bringing new songs, sometimes still works-in-progress to their gigs. Tonight is no exception, and the band is so confident in their new material that they open with one of their latest "Tonight We Live Forever." Before the applause from the crowd has faded they rip into "Doin' The Mannequin," a personal favorite of mine thanks to some finely crafted lyrics on lead singer Colin Borows' part as well as the nod to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Even on "Mannequin" the band continues to work on their sound and performance, adding an introduction of electrified guitars and bass not featured on their album.
Another new song follows. "She Reads Bukowski" plays to the Wicker Park vibe of hipsters and late night scenes. A mixture of classic and indie, the song offers Beatlesque melodies at one moment, garage noise the next, but it never loses itself in the rambling, chaotic thoughts of its subject. A triplet of songs from their debut album "Party Music For The Sad Kids," "Mammoth," "Teenager," and "Lose My Mind" provide a beautiful mix of what the band offers sonically and visually. Dario Velazquez crushes it with some tight drum playing in back with Andrew Piras jumping between keys, electric guitar, and a slide guitar while bassist Tom Garvey and Borows put on a show at the front of the stage.
One more new song, "Chasing The Porcupine," is played for the lucky crowd tonight. It is, according to the band, the direction in which they're next batch of songs, and likely album, are going. I get the shakes just thinking about this, as it is without a doubt one of the finest songs the band has written in terms of sonic exploration and psychedelia. The news songs taken as a whole shines even more light on the possibility of what their next project will sound like when it's complete. I'm always excited to see what my favorite bands are creating, and I'm glad to see Harvey Fox embracing a more psychedelic and at times abstract soundscape without getting in the way of the catchy melodies and lyrical hooks they work tirelessly to create. Speaking of catchy melodies, the band closes the night with arguably their two popiest songs, "Uh-Uh" and "Dance Like Everybody's Watching." The timing of the musicians songcraft skills of the entire band are in full swing, the audience, many of whom came for Harvey Fox, sing along and dance as the guys bring another fantastic and fun and fresh show to an end. You can catch them this Friday at The Elbo Room, their last show on the radar for now.
Photo by katemillerphotography.com
Artwork by Harvey Fox
