live review-new years evil

I got there around 9:30, in time to see Lame, who rocked out pretty hard. I was impressed- they sounded a
lot better live than they did on their CD, and they had a lot of stage presence. Then I headed upstairs in
time to see Burning Mona's acoustic set- I wasn't real impressed- you could tell they were just meant to 
be plugged in. Back downstairs I ran for Dedlock, who didn't really impress me either- their music just 
wasn't mosh-a-ble. I ran back upstairs to see Egress's acoustic set, and that impressed the hell out of 
me! Their music was funk with a hint of reggae. The Guns of August kicked ass! I was headbanging and 
moshing through most of it. They are really good, and were doing a send-off for their old bass player, I
believe. This may have been their last performance- they may be coming back with a new lineup, and a new
name, so look out for that. They brought a ton of people on stage for the countdown, including Robert
Miguel and Cindy Skull, who were great hosts, and audience members (they were rocking out with the rest of
us). Back upstairs, The Sidekick Mafia was doing an okay acoustic set- I just really hate seeing hard rock
bands playing their great electric songs on acoustic-it's like butchering the song! Element Eighty... 
KICKED ASS! Did you expect any less? These guys were rocking out all over the stage, the crowd loved them. 
They were saying goodbye to their bassist too, Roon, who is joining the navy. Contrary to popular belief,
they are not breaking up-they've got a new bass player. They played "Broken Promises" early on in the set,
which surprised me (rock stars usually save their biggest hits for last), but they did plenty of rocking
out with the rest of their music. The crowd was chanting "Roon, Roon, Roon, Roon!" and the "F**k 
Universal! F**k Universal!" ... they even made the band come back out and play some more, until the band
finally just said, "alright- go home already!" This was a kick-ass show, and mad props to Robert Miguel,
Cindy Skull, Element Eighty, The Guns of August, and the rest of the bands for a kick-ass new years eve
show! 

Grady Smith
Ftworthmusic.com Editor
http://screamformedallas.com
http://www.ridgleatheater.com