Sevendust & Insolence

Being in the media definitely has it’s advantages. For example, when Atlanta, Georgia’s Sevendust was somehow reeled into Chico’s The Brick Works by one slick club promoter, Justin (nice job), I was privileged enough to witness the raw power of a Sevendust sound check. Erecting walls with all of their equipment, portions of the normally-accessible crowd area were riddled with stacks of amplifiers, speakers and monitors, indicative of a band with the world-renowned popularity and daily-rotation MTV status as Sevendust has.

With so much equipment supporting their massive voluminations, it takes but a mere stroke of his open strings for Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery to evoke hair-raising emanations. But such is typical of the awesome positive force that this band is to the heavy music scene with its post scale-oriented guitar approach. Lowery is as adept as The Father of Rock and The King of Surf Rock, Dick Dale is at getting primal emotions out of his instrument without really playing any scales. Add (other guitarist) John Connolly’s compatible, thrash-like stylings and bassist Vince Hornsby’s ground-dragging bass lines, and Sevendust was blowing the roof off of the venue at 4:00 PM.

As they toyed around with the title track of their latest CD Home (now over a year old), the guys frolicked on stage as if they were children. Then, after a riveting rendition of sed tune, they began to noodle around as if unsure what to play next. Startlingly, this somehow evolved into a cover of L.L. Cool J’s late ‘80s hit "Goin Back to Cali." I could have left a happy man after that.

"We just recorded that one," said a tired Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose after the show. "L. L. heard it and he loved it!"

It was the most exciting thing I’ve seen in heavy music in at least a year and it was only the sound check, which didn’t leave much time for San Jose’s hard core 6-piece Insolence to set up and have their own sound check. In fact, they wound up skipping it all together.

"They didn’t give a shit about us [the opening act]," said Insolence drummer Mando. "It was all geared for Sevendust. It was bullshit. When they couldn’t get our second mic going, they all just disappeared. We’re bringing our own guy when we come back here July 6. That’s for fucking sure!"

After repeated chastisement of the sound guys (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons) by both of Insolence’s lead singers, the more hip-hop influenced Mark Herman and the definitely more hard core Billy Rosenthal, Rosenthal allegedly cold-cocked one of the unlucky (apparently unskilled and probably unemployed) engineers. Tough night at the office, eh?

It just wasn’t that bad though. Sure one of their normally two microphones was out, but after they quit unnecessarily bitching, they started to make do with what they had. And it worked. They audience responded to such tunes as "I’ll Take You There" and "Jump Up," both on their latest release (check it out at www.insolence.com). No, it wasn’t their true sound, as Rosenthal hammered home on several occasions, but it was their energy that the young crowd was responding to, not necessarily the technicality of the set. Don’t worry guys, you’ll be welcomed with open arms upon your return.

When Sevendust finally came out, a roar was heard that you just don’t hear very often at shows in Chico. Heavy and with just enough melody to be singable, Sevendust’s sound ranges from 70’s soul croonings of lead singer Lajon to as-hard-as-it-gets grinds. Songs like "Denial," "Black" and "Bitch" are easy enough to go mainstream but have therapeutic grind sessions within that allow the ultimate in emotional release for the listener. It’s the perfect mix. On the deeply heavy side was "So Close to Hate," "Ego Trip" and "Crumble."

We didn’t get to hear "Goin Back to Cali" though. I swear if you kiddies knew what an encore was, you’d be dangerous. But since the audience didn’t make any noise when they said that they were leaving, they just left. You have to make some noise if you want them to play longer! Duh?! They did, however, stay around for about an hour talking with fans and connecting on a real personal level, something for which they are known and beloved by heavy music connoisseurs of all ages.

If you were one of those numskulls that didn’t think that this show would be worth the $18 ticket price, then you are indeed numb. Show me a person that didn’t like this show and I’ll show you a person that is out of touch with the cutting edge evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music. (Visit www.sevendust.com)

-Bret Lueder

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