Nov 11th, Chicago - Abbey Pub w Christ Analogue/Glis/Project 44
I had been looking forward to seeing Romell and his crew live for quite some time...well, 2 years to be exact. The last time Romell played out somewhere outside of LA was Hallowed 1 in Cleveland, which I was fortunate enough to catch. Other fans had waited since '99 after the Sacrificed tour to see RIB again, and they'd been ravenous ever since.
The Abbey Pub was a pretty classy looking place, with nice wood floors, lots of seating (including the upstairs) and plenty of floor space in front of an intimate, but not tiny, stage. Christ Analogue took stage first, after a long hiatus from the industrial scene (their last and only album being In Radiant Decay). I somehow thought they should have been further up on the bill, as they are a more established band in my book, and are excellent energetic musicians. These guys put on a great show, playing mostly new stuff off their latest album, but adding in Unclean from the previous release. Wade, the singer, has a violently energetic vibe about him, throwing himself around stage and deliberately violating his bandmates instruments. The keyboardist was the most alive I'd ever seen someone behind a keyboard, jumping off things, tiping his instrument all over the place, and stripping off his suit when things got going. Nice harsh dancey stuff. Too good for an opening band, really.
Glis was up next, and while they were danceable in an EBM kinda way, they were mostly just OK. Not bad, just a little typical for my taste. The blonde vocalist did his industrial civic duty to make sure he look angst ridden, and of course we couldn't understand most of the lyrics, but isn't that what electro industrial is about? ;) The female singer that was brought on later in the set was very good. A friend who bought an album reported to me that the recorded music was actually pretty good, kind of like if VNV went a little more rave. Overall, the band was good, but the music seems to lend itself better to a club, as the live show was so-so.
Project 44 was a nice surprise, a nice HEAVY surprise. A bunch of guys with guitars and a musical vengeance, that's what this band is. Anyone who is fond of metal, or heavy guitar industrial would like these guys. Good show, lots of energy, great music. Their cover of Sympathy for the Devil was good also, but their original stuff is guitar laden crack.
In between sets I dropped by the merch booth, caught Danny and Conor hawking the RIB goodies (Conor being the tour manager this time round), said hello and snatched myself a T shirt and a sticker. There was still some pretty cool stuff available, shot glasses, thongs, guitar pick necklaces, posters, and CDS, etc. The band had gotten there very late thanks to our lovely Chicago highway traffic...my husband actually passed them and waved to them on the way home from work, blasting RIB out his car window. The boys were very hyped though, and glad to be out. Romell was sweet as always, and introduced me to the new guitarist, Phil. Ivan, as always, was also in attendance, although a little preoccupied with getting things settled.
There was a good crowd for RIB, and I should hope so as MK Ultra Mag was promoting this show; lots of people seemed really psyched. I stayed up front the whole time to get photos for ye old webpage, which didn't give me hardly any space to dance, unfortunately. I had waited 2 years and was not disappointed though, Romell and his boys were received warmly and got down to business. I notice there was a distinct change in aura and energy on the stage with Phil up there. Romell is always a show off, and so is Ivan, but Phil is quite a character too and his antics added another layer to the mix. There was a lightness and humor and ease with all of them playing together and I really liked the way it all happened.
RIB broke out with Overflow, a favorite to start with, and then smacked us all into shape with Blush and Share This Poison (two fan favorites). Among other new songs that were played were the wickedly deviant I'll Damage You, Visions, and There Goes My Head. From Sacrificed we heard another fan fav, Never Meant, as well as Master and I've Suffered Long Enough. RIB also played their popular cover of Everything's Gone Green, as well as the classic Cyberium for the encore.
I have two complaints about the show. #1 - I wanted more, and they only did one encore. :( #2, they didn't play Come Back to Me, one of my absolute favorites from off of Damaged. I played that song at my wedding for God's sake. I wanted to hear it live. :( It's a gorgeous song...perhaps Romell was worried that all the females (and maybe some of the males) in the audience would start drooling so much that the entire club would fill with saliva and we'd all drown, and he was just doing us a favor by not doing that song? I know not.
But those are the only complaints I have. The show was wonderfully alive and went by way too fast. Robo-Ivan was doing his fascinating cyber- drumming -angular arm twitching behind his kit when not pounding on it, Phil was nearly doing the spilts with his feather laden rhinestone studded guitar, and Romell was flipping his hair, posing, headbanging, sneering and snarling in that oh so dashing and sexy manner that way too many of us have come to love.
The music was very clean and well mixed together, although lacking the presence of a live keyboardist, but with a seething fervor and and acid bite that you could feel in every guitar chord and drum thud. Is it just me or has Romell's voice gotten prettier? The boy can sing. Doesn't need vocal filters. AT ALL. Nuff said. Liked the backing vocals from Phil too...he's got some range. And course, Ivan is just insane on the drums. There's nothing quite like a stage full of musicians who are also showmen.
I especially loved the chemistry between Romell and Phil during the guitar portions, they play off each other very well. When the crowd demanded an encore, Phil came out with "But I don't know any more songs!!" ;) Conor popped onstage later in the set to take pics of the crowd, and a video camera was rolling onstage, pointed out towards the audience to catch the whole show.
Gracious as always, RIB left the stage and spent quite some time with pens in hand, talking to fans and signing items for them. That's one thing I love about these guys, they're just so damn lovable, good natured and they enjoy meeting and greeting their fans. Sadly, I had to cut out early from the show but I caught up with the boys the next day on their day off, and I wound up hanging out with them, plus a few other people who had met them for the first time and we all had a blast wandering the streets of Chicago unattended.
RIB is a great, talented bunch of guys with a great sense of humor who know how to have fun onstage and off. I'm very happy and honored to see them all again and hear them play...I just hope it won't be another two years until they come back around. I go to so few shows anymore that I really enjoy seeing those rare bands who get the crowd into their music and make them feel like a part of it. If you have not yet seen RIB and have a chance to catch them before this tour is over then get off your god forsaken ass, slap on some vinyl and go see this show. Your only regret will be missing it.
