Four distinctly different New York based bands rocked a strong weeknight crowd at the intimate concert space of the cozy Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side of the city that never sleeps on Thursday night.
Up first was Bodyface, a power trio with a hammering precise Chevelle-like musical attack filled with the the angsty soul of 90’s rock. Playing mostly in the shadows of the wide dark stage, they delivered a half a dozen intense songs driven by their tight rhythm section and singer Jared Kerr’s growling vocals and jagged guitar riffs. They have a new album due out soon but check out their song “Sunrise” to get an idea of their sound.
Oxzana performed next bringing their fierce Ukraine-via-Brooklyn industrial hard rock to a crowd that surged forward when they took the stage. Singer Aksana Serjia’s passionate vocals and emotional and energetic performance mixed with the intense riffs and grooves of the band to fire up the crowd and bring the excitement level in the room up a couple of notches.They were joined for most of their set by violinist Cassandra Sotos, who added some searing violin while rocking a white electric violin that resembled a white Gibson Flying V guitar. Check out Oxzana’s very theatrical video for “Crimes of Love.”
Breakage Rising played next, pleasing the crowd with their aggressive but groovy hard rock. They were led by mic-stand swinging and fedora topped singer Hunter. His part soulful/part growling vocals soared over the hardcore foundation laid down by guitarist Klyph, bassist Chris and drummer Dan while lead guitarist Sonny delivered blazing solos mixed with some Van Halen-esque tapping. The band won the unofficial award for “best song title of the night” with a swaggering rap/metal ode to bro-dom called “Sumo Karate Chop.”
Headliners Charetta took the stage a little after eleven PM and delivered a crushing set of metal to the eager crowd, kicking off with their set with a pounding “Lights Out.” Feisty singer Angelina DelCarmen stalked the stage headbanging and waving her green and black hair while leaning out over the crowd and unleashing her powerful sometimes-sweet/sometimes-anguished vocals. Behind her bass player Richard Mollo and drummer Adonis Sanchez locked into a loud powerful groove that drove the band. On opposite sides of the stage guitarist Chris Fullam slammed out riff after riff and lead guitarist Pablo LaFrossia fired off stinging laser-like leads. The group played all of last year’s excellent Kickstarter funded EP Apocalypse with one highlight being “This Is Your Fall” showcasing DelCarmen’s anguished wail and the bands staggering stop-and-go riffs. Late in the set came another highlight from Apocalypse when the band delivered the ballad “Not Made Of Stone,” which was a memorable moment of quiet beauty in what otherwise was a loud night. Their setlist included some older material too, including a thundering mid-set “Runs In The Blood” and encoring with a lightning fast blitz through “The Truth Is Out” when the crowd chanted for more. The band joked about not having an encore prepared because they are used to opening for other bands, they should be prepared to play lots of encores in the future given the quality of their live performance on this night.
Charetta Setlist:
Intro
Lights Out
I’m Not Your Bitch
Runs In The Blood
The Apocalypse Is Here
Love Your Lies
Not Made Of Stone
This Is Your Fall
Watch It Burn
Encore:
The Truth Is Out
see more Charetta photos here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets/72157644199695935/
see Oxzana photos here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets/72157644199846594/
see Breakage Rising photos here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets/72157644186943331/
see Bodyface photos here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/petryfrompa/sets/72157644186321212/
