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All That Remains
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Exit/In
Nashville, TN
1/24/2007
By: J Sherrod
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After meeting Phil Labonte at two o'clock in the afternoon for
what has to be the most fun I've ever had with an interview,
I was looking forward to seeing him and All That Remains rip
up the stage later that night. I asked him after the interview
who would be opening the show since there were no bands
listed on the venue's Web site. He replied that there was no
permanent opener for the tour and that the venue was
supposed to have two or even three local acts lined-up to
kick the night off.
The venues Web site listed doors opening at 6:00. This
couldn't have been farther from the truth as many who
arrived around quarter 'til or earlier waited forever in the
cold until the door opened up around ten past seven. The
line anxiously moved forward only to be greeted by a
doorman who seemed to be having a bad night already. This
was an all-ages show - the venue has changed ownership in
the last month and has yet to re-gain their liquor
license.
Everyone filtered in and stood around as word began to
spread that there were no opening bands booked as of yet. I
walked across the street for a beer and returned at 7:45 to
find a band playing when I walked in. I never got the name
of this band of teens who admitted they had gotten the call
just a mere forty-five minutes before show time. They
played about thirty minutes and were done.
The crowd seemed a little bummed by the lack of another
band but knew All That Remains were on their way up next.
During my interview with Phil he had mentioned that this was
only the second show of the tour and how the night before
was beyond anything they had imagined. This night seemed
doomed before it ever started but the band took the stage to
a small, young and sober crowd. I was literally
front-and-center stage for when the lights went down and
the band stormed the stage.
The band seemed to come out ready to prove that nothing
could stop them from bringing the house down. Phil ripped
onto the stage like a fighter ready to destroy his opponent,
guitarists Oli Herbert and Mike Martin proved that they were
fully capable of performing the astonishing solos I mentioned
in my CD review, and petite bassist Jeanne
Sagan held down
the bottom end with a sound more than three times her own
size.
I must give the most praise to new drummer Jason Costa
who made his second live performance with All That
Remains on this night. Using a stripped down, single-bass kit
- and to top it all off, playing traditional grip (in Heavy Metal,
finding a traditional grip drummer is the needle in a
haystack) - Jason played machine gun-like blast beats
effortlessly and never seemed to break a sweat.
The set largely consisted of songs from the band's new
release including "Six," "This Calling," "Not Alone" and the
enormously heavy "The Weak Willed," in which Phil asked
"are there any Death Metal fans in the crowd?" before
leading into the song.
Though the show was hampered from the beginning by the
venue, ATR proved the most important lesson of all: No
matter how few or many, how old or young, how much they
paid to get in, how drunk or sober or how much the venue
fucks things up, their job is to give the same damn show and
not an ounce less. For a band whose star is becoming
brighter ever day, they did just that, pouring every drop of
passion and energy into their hour-plus set.
I would go back to see All That Remains anytime, any day,
at any venue for any reason because I know what to expect
no matter what odds are stacked against them they will give
me an all-out show. Much love and respect to a band that I
hope will continue to go far.
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