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10 Years @ The Underground

For the second time in 5 months I was able to catch 10 Years, a rock band from Knoxville, in concert. This time they were the headliner at The Underground in Charlotte. They were joined by Charlotte’s own Killakoi, who will also be playing with 10 Years on two more dates in late May including 10 Years’s hometown show at the International in Knoxville. The Wednesday night crowd was about 250 people, which is respectable in a venue the size of The Underground for a Wednesday night. With Carolina Rebellion, a large 3-day rock music festival beginning on Friday in nearby Concord, the crowd wasn’t as big as it could have been for a band of this statue and with a popular hometown band in support. But those who came out were true fans and it showed in the attention they gave the bands from start to finish. The Underground is The Fillmore’s little brother and was recently renovated with some well thought out improvements to the audience areas. Killakoi took the stage at about 8:30 and played a very energetic set of their six, soon to be released originals from their debut EP titled Pangea as well as a cover of Alice In Chains’ version of Them Bones. I must disclose my close personal relationship with this band in the review and cannot possibly be un-biased. I’ve watched them come from music school pre-teens to a full on professional group of young men who know what they want and have the talent, drive and determination to go after it. I watched the opening song, Pangea, from the side stage and then moved to the back to observe the crowd’s reaction. Because I cannot be unbiased, I will tell you the crowds response. They stayed with them from start to finish watching, filming and singing along where they could. They were approving with applause and attention. The feedback I heard directly was very strong approval. The band who are comprised of Jordan Mattacchione-Vocals and Guitar, Robbie Reimer-Lead Guitar, Sam Ocheltree-Bass and Michael Russo-Drums, delivered an outstanding, high energy performance and were met by a lot of new fans after their set. They gave out tickets to the EP Release party coming up on June 2nd, at the same venue. Killakoi’s upcoming EP was produced by Sahaj Ticotin, of the band RA. They have been working with some industry pro’s including Mungo Creative Group on Video and Art. There are very big things happening with this band and I strongly advise that you stay tuned to their social media outlets for more news, video and music. 10 Years came on at 9:30 and unlike the December performance next door at the Fillmore, this time it was an intimate setting where fans could get close to the band and watch as well as hear everything. 10 Years has been touring in support of their eighth Studio Album, (How to Live) As Ghost which was released in November. The first single, Novacain preceded the full release in August and recently reached number 9 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs chart. The set started with Halos from the new Album. They played 19 songs in all including 5 from the new Album as well as popular older hits from Division, Feeding the Wolves, Minus the Machine and The Autumn Effect albums. The set also included a Master of Puppets jam and their own version of Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box. Their version of the Nirvana song is eerie and creepy and completely wonderful. They slow it down some and bring in deep haunting melodies for a version of the song that I like better than the original. Wasteland, their big hit from their first major release in 2005 was played 14 songs into the set with the entire crowd singing along. The final two songs were the current hit, Novacain and the high energy song, Shoot it Out which also engaged the entire crowd. Vocalist Jesse Hasek broke the holder on the mic stand and was playful about it with the mic and with the audience throughout the performance. The small but mighty crowd that came to see one or both of these bands were there till the end and were all in with singing along, crowd participation, and of course applause. And because this venue gives the fan a personal feel for the band 10 Years was just the band capitalize on that and give their fans a great live experience. After the show a lot of people lined up at the merch stand for an opportunity to buy (How to Live) As Ghosts on CD and Vinyl.
Karen Corzine- The Riptide Review