Wednesday, March 13th: Soulfly, Incite, Lody Kong and Dolabra at Bogies.
Bogies was host to another packed house tonight as the Maximum Cavalera tour rolled through Albany on its way to NYC with Soulfly, the brainchild of former Sepultura front man Max Cavalera headlining. Based out Phoenix , Arizona
Taking the stage upon my arrival were local favorites Dolabra. Playing an amalgamated style that combines elements of thrash, hardcore and power metal, Dolabra brought to mind such bands as Sheer Terror, Crumbsuckers, post-“Crossover” DRI and even Slayer. Guitars were tuned to standard-E, something you rarely see with most of today’s hardcore and metal and that gave them an old-school feel. Their vocalist delivered an angry, gravel-toned bark– another convention of “dawn of hardcore” like Black Flag, Sheer Terror and Carnivore. As conventional and typical as this style of vocals may be, their intensity and unremitting delivery fit Dolabra’s dynamic musical range. Structurally, Dolabra’s material alternated between fast, punked-out beats (often heavily laced with guitar leads), four-on-the-floor hardcore verses and devastating mosh parts. If you haven’t had the chance to see or hear Dolabra, be sure to catch them opening for Exodus and Brick By Brick at the Upstate Concert Hall April 22nd. Also, check out their demo at www.reverbnation.com/dolabra .
An event of this magnitude requires careful coordination, and the entire Upstate BNB staff worked diligently to ensure the night was a success. Under the careful supervision of Mike Valente, the transition between acts occurred so swiftly you’d have missed it if you weren’t paying attention. When Lody Kong took the stage I wasn’t sure what to expect. The oldest member of the band couldn’t have been a day over 18. At first, I thought they were local, but after some inquiry I discovered that Lody Kong featured Zyon Cavalera behind the drum kit. After a brief sound check, Lody Kong tore into their set. The band takes the best elements of early grunge like The Melvins or “Bleach”-era Nirvana, heavy alternative like The Used, and Sepultura-influenced metal – no small thanks to their influential mentor – and combined it to produce a unique style all their own. As a hardcore kid, what impressed me the most was the inclusion of heavy mosh parts in each of their songs. There is an immense amount of talent in Lody Kong; though they’ve barely reached the prime of their lives, they have accomplished more musically than most regional and national bands will in their entire careers. Keep an eye on Lody Kong, and don’t let their youth discredit them: nepotism aside, they deserved to be on this tour.
Next up on the roll-call of Cavalera’s was eldest son Richie’s band Incite. This four-piece had a sizeable local following; one member of the audience claimed to have seen them several times prior to this evening. Musically, Incite played a style of early death-core similar to Obituary and Six Feet Under. Richie’s vocal range, however, did not possess the static one-dimensionality associated with the afore-mentioned acts. He growled, shouted, screamed and barked his way through their set.
Incite’s performance that evening set the bar for the chaos that would consume the dance floor for the remainder of the show. Bogies was near maximum capacity at this point, and would be by the end of the night. It is also worth noting that Incite was touring in support of their latest offering, “All Out War”, which was available for purchase at their merch table. The crowd was familiar with their material, and the intensity of the mosh pit was unrelenting. As unruly as they were, I was pleased to see that civility prevailed. Every time someone went down, at least two pairs of arms were there to pick them up.
In the wake of Incite’s performance was the customary break in the action for change-over. By now the entire club was a veritable beehive of activity: from the bar to the barricade, there was no avoiding human contact. The last time I saw Soulfly was thirteen years ago at an outdoor festival, so I was curious to see how their live show would transfer over to a small club setting.
As sound check began, the crowd flocked to the stage area. From my position stage right, I could see no gaps. Later I would wade through a sea of bodies to find the bar area completely empty for Soulfly’s set. When the room lights dimmed and the Upstate Black N Blue staff led the band through the crowd, I found myself momentarily face to face with Max Cavalera, who returned my star-struck smile with a warm one of his own. I was LITERALLY so close I could have touched one of his electric-red dreadlocks. You know you’re jealous!
Soulfly had vastly expanded their repertoire of originals since the first time I saw them. They played such fan favorites as “Back to the Primitive”, “Jump the Fuck Up” and “Eye for an Eye”, along with their own renditions of Sepultura classics like “Refuse/Resist” and “Roots Bloody Roots”. To me and many others, this came as a pleasant surprise: as Sepultura continued to write, record and tour without Max (and recently performed at Bogies as well), I wasn’t sure if they would break out the old jams, but they brought it all the way back to “Beneath the Remains” and other pre-Chaos A.D. efforts. They even threw in tunes from Nailbomb and the Cavalera Conspiracy for posterity’s sake.
To return to my earlier musings regarding Soulfly in a small club, it is fair to say that the dance floor was out of control. I’ve heard stories from my older brother about Biohazard shows at Saratoga Winners back in the day where the entire floor was one huge pit , and it’s safe to say that I was witnessing something similar with Soulfly in Bogies. Rarely ever do I pass up the opportunity to throw down; tonight was definitely one of those moments. Regardless of this fact, the Upstate Black N Blue staff did an excellent job controlling the crowd and diffusing potentially dangerous situations in a tactful, professional manner. My hat’s off to all of them for hard work and diligence in organizing an event of such magnitude. I don’t know if anyone else could’ve pulled it off in such a small space.
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