The performance was not perfect, Katsoudas' voice seemed to falter a couple of times, but nothing that ruined the show. Frankly, I was quite taken with their sound. I look forward to them releasing a full length album. Their set ended with the keyboardist taking a dive through Crahan's kit, knocking everything to the ground.
The Rabbits gave way to the final warm up act, Sydonia, hailing from Australia. Their set opened with them striking an interesting stage dynamic. The first song was driven primarily through percussion. In addition to the drummer, the guitarist and bassist put down their stringed instruments in favor of a pair of drumsticks. Attached to the drum kit were a couple of extra toms and a cymbal on each side that the two made effective use of.
Following the opening, the two would return to those drums a few more times throughout their set. Sydonia was good, not great, but solid and decidedly different from the other two acts. Their sound could probably be called alternative stoner rock, or something along those lines. They were not overpowering, or even terribly heavy (although they definitely had their moments), but the sound was definitely interesting in the use of percussion and the openly sparse arrangements. I cannot say that I am, or will be, a big fan of theirs, but I would not be averse to checking out their debut album, Given to Destroyers. They ended with a bang in what was the heaviest cut, "Incoming."
Stone Sour took the stage just past 10:00, and proceeded to deliver one of the finest sets of rock music I have seen this year. I saw them the last time they came through Poughkeepsie. It was December 8, 2002 (it was Corey's birthday, as he reminded us on this night) and they were touring in support of their debut album. It was an intense show highlighted by the hits "Bother" and "Get Inside."
As good as they were then, they are even better now. It was some explosive combination of electricity flowing through crowd and the energy being given off by the band on stage. This was definitely a special night, with the crowd singing along with every song, and the songs being executed in near perfect fashion, that is, except for when the monitors went out briefly during "Hell & Consequences."
The set began with the excellent first single, "30/30-150." That got the crowd going in short order. Corey proceeded to lead us through Come What(ever) May from start to finish. That's right, their stylist was the album. Highlights include "sillyworld," "Made of Scars," "Through Glass," and "1st Person." As good as those songs were, what really made this show so special was still to come.
Article comments
1 - Brian THrasher
Man this gives me chill bumps. I get to see them tonight and you just psyched me up big time.