Finally. I've been wanting Disturbed to come to my town ever since I discovered The Sickness so many years ago. The wait is now over, they have come and they have conquered.
I got to the civic center at about 7pm, just in time for the announced door open time. I would have gotten there earlier, had I not forgotten my ear plugs, necessitating a detour to pickup some more. The last thing I wanted was to worry about not being able to listen to them down the road!
Anyway, I parked my car and made my way to the front of the building. It was progressing inside at a decent pace, so I followed it, looking for the end. I kept walking, and walking, making my way almost all the way around the building. This was easily the longest line that I have witnessed for a concert. It took about an hour, but I finally got inside.
After getting inside, I took a quick look at the merch table, then made my way out to the floor. The floor was getting pretty full, so I hung back standing on the first row of bleachers. Good view of the stage, but still pretty far away.
Before going any further, I must mention something about the venue. The Mid-Hudson Civic Center is good for one thing, it's open floor. The sound quality is not terribly good, get those amps up to metal concert level and the sound just starts to bounce off the concrete walls and lose definition pretty quick. Still, with the right band it isn't hard to get into the live music!
8:25 rolls around, the lights go out, the crowd starts to cheer, a voice is heard in the darkness, the lights come up, Ill Nino is upon us! This is the third time I have seen them live, and each time they get better. I have to admit, that while I am a fan of Ill Nino, I am very poor at my song identification, to the point of non-existence. Ill Nino put on a great live show. They display a raw energy which is just amazing. They tear through their songs with a reckless abandon, focusing that raw energy into a focused wave of Latin flavored metal. They have a sound that stands out from metal crowd giving us a unique voice on the heavy scene. The dual percussionists have a lot to do with that great sound, watching them go is a sight to see. Dave Chavarri's wild drumming, combined with Danny Couto on percussion produce a thick rhythm unmatched by most other bands. Add to that Ahrue Luster's acoustic guitar on some songs, and you add just another dimension to their sound. It is amazing to watch all of these elements fuse into that Ill Nino wall of sound live on stage. Christian Machado's voice rising above to deliver his combination of screams and singing sounded fantastic. At one point taking those in the back bleachers to task for not standing, rather choosing to sit complacently in the back.
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