Uncut, Brain in a Cage & Fingers of Passion

In an effort to welcome the returning college demographic into our lovely town last Wednesday, the kind folks at LaSalle's decided to throw a rock show - to which I decided to show up fashionably late. That was a mistake. A word to the wise: never show up to a rock show fashionably late because you will beat the opening band to the punch by about half an hour. Show up horrendously late and, with any luck, you'll find yourself enjoying the first sip of your tasty alcoholic beverage around the same time that first distortion-soaked, palm-muted E chord is struck.
Kicking off that particular event was Fingers of Passion, a three-piece with a lighter style of rock than the evening's closers, which made for a good beginning to the night. As the crowd became progressively denser, the Fingers became progressively more passionate. The energy in the room peaked with a cover of EMF's "Unbelievable," during which the singer belted out the only line that anyone remembers from that damn song in a voice that sounded like a poor impression of Fat Albert. It was nice to see that the band didn't take themselves too seriously to have a good time. After striking a final chord and thanking the crowd, Fingers of Passion began clearing the stage for the next act of the night, Thumbs of Ecstasy.
Actually, next on the bill was Brain in a Cage, a metal group comprised of Kirk Willimas, Nik Burman and Cor Vaspra - none of whom are old enough to purchase alcohol on their own and all of whom know how to kick some serious ass up on stage. It was the first time the trio had been invited to play LaSalle's and though their show wasn't quite as animated as usual - Cor damaged his leg and had to sit through the set - the crowd didn't seem to mind. Actually, considering the fact that almost none of Brain in a Cage's pre-existing fanbase could have made it past the bouncers, the response Brain was getting from the audience that night was amazing. Among the best of their set was "Talking Heads of the Aftermath" and a new number oddly entitled "Pining for the Fjords." If you enjoy bone-crushing guitar riffs and the thundering punch of a double-kick, be sure you make it to Brain in a Cage's next show. If you don't, the Metal Gods will hate you.
Closing the night was Uncut, a four-piece in the general punk-rock vein with enough melodic sensibility to slow down their set in places while still managing to keep the crowd happily bobbing around. Three mics were set up for the group and they used all of them, creating another layer to of depth in their music not exactly common in local rock shows. Their set went late into the night and when all was said and done, the college demographic definitely felt a warm welcome back. Or maybe that was the alcohol.

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