Kill Devil Hill Rock The Whisky

Rating:

By Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal, August 10th 2011, Whisky-A-Go-Go, Hollywood CA: I was fortunate enough to witness Kill Devil Hill's first ever live show when they played a solid 40 minute-set at the Key Club last April, and as soon as this particular show at the Whisky was announced, I was excited and eager to see them again, this time at a different venue, and to find out what impact the relatively smaller stage would have on their dynamic as a live band. I also managed to arrange a good quality camera for myself in order to photograph what would turn out to be my first gig as a photographer in more than 3 months. The prospect of getting to photograph such metal heavyweights like Rex Brown and Vinny Appice added further to my excitement and anticipation, and even though I've done my fair share of photo gigs prior to the forced hiatus since May, I could hardly believe that I was actually doing this.

One thing I'd give the Whisky credit for, is the unique stage entrance. The bands walk down through a flight of stairs to take the stage rather than appearing from a 'backstage' area. It makes things more interesting for them as they can see the crowd before taking the stage, and the crowd can also see their favorite musicians walking down the stairs, cheering louder and louder with every step the band members descend. Same was the case tonight, as guitarist Mark Zavon and vocalist Dewey Bragg took the stage with a siren-filled intro playing on the PA, followed closely by Vinny himself. Rex was the last to appear, and the crowd was at its loudest by this point.

Right from the get-go, I was convinced that this was a better show than the one I saw in April. The band was sounding a lot heavier than they did at that Key Club show. Rex Brown's bass was literally blowing me away as I stood near the edge of the stage and felt its sheer thrust on me. The smaller size of the stage turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it added further strength to the already killer stage presence of these musicians and gave fans a chance to get a closer look at them. As a result, I got a close look at not only Rex but also at Dewey and Mark for a change, unlike the previous show. And needless to say, the small stage and lesser distance made for a great photography experience. Dewey definitely brought his own elements in terms of the band's stage presence. The Zakk Wylde-style beard, the tattoos, the biker vest and the mic stand (see picture gallery) gave the frontman a look new school metal fans would have certainly been able to relate to, fans of bands like Black Label Society and Pantera. This was interesting for me to note, because in more ways than one, their collective appearance perfectly represented their musical style, old school blues-oriented heavy rock with modern vocals.

One issue I had with their previous show was their lack of movement, and I was really glad to see that rectified this time. Rex moved around for a large portion of the show, interacting with Dewey and Mark on multiple occasions. Mark also took center stage a few times to display his soloing skills. My only issue with this particular show was the lighting, but that of course had nothing to do with the band, as it's an aspect controlled by the venue. Mark's side of the stage was quite dark and it was hard to see what he was doing unless he came over to the center occasionally. And it was disappointing that even during Vinny Appice's drum solo, the lights didn't focus on him. But this doesn't take away from the fact that the Whisky actually provided a great atmosphere for tonight's show. Even though it wasn't a packed house by any means, the crowd was energetic and loud, starting moshpits for the faster segments of the music. Not every band looks and sounds great at this venue, but Kill Devil Hill sure did.

The band didn't play any cover tunes this time but instead added one or two new songs which sounded as good if not better than the songs I was already familiar with. I feel that they are getting closer and closer towards recording that debut album of theirs, after which I'm sure they'll be planning to hit some bigger stages, tour with bigger bands and play festival gigs and such. But I would still hope that they continue doing these small club shows, because it's at these places where you truly feel the power of their music.

A rocking performance in every sense of the word.

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