VNV NATION, AND ONE

One of my goals for 2007, was to get out and explore my other musical passion more, the Gothic Industrial scene. It has certainly proved to be an awesome year for that so far. My son, too, despite being a metal head, has a passion for Industrial music and the show we have been looking forward to was the VNV Nation show at Irving Plaza, NYC in April. Then one day on the VNV site I happened upon the news that the show was sold out. Shiiiiaaatt!!! I didn't get tickets in advance cause I just planned on buying them at the door. Fortunately, Metropolis Records has an awesome director of publicity, so I got in touch with Shannon to see if I could get us on the guest list. She had hooked me up before, but her list was full, not only for NYC, but for Philadelphia too. Shiiiaaattt!!! Then she contacted me back and said she had plenty of room in New Haven, CT. Shiiiiaaattt! A 315 mile round trip to see VNV. I love you Shannon!! She added a plus one for my son and a photo pass and we were on our way for a father/son roadtrip to New Haven Cee Tee!! You rule Shannon!!

It would have been a nice scenic drive if not for the monsoon-like rains that made it so I could only see five feet in front of my car the whole six hours of drive time. The biggest N'or easter in 20 years carved a path up the coast and slammed us for the entire trip. We made great time though and actually got there before the club opened. A tiny little place on the Yale campus named Toad's Place. I heard a lot about it and loved it as soon as I walked in. Small stage with no barriers. Sahweet. It would be my son's first electronic Industrial show with no guitars in the house. The German band AND ONE started the party and they were awesome. I do love the Germans and they rocked the place and got everyone jumpin'. They did “Military Fashion Show”, my favorite song, and really had a good upbeat set. A good start to a great night in the making. I've seen VNV live before and knew their shows are exhilarating. I bought their new cd “Judgement” for the ride and it has quickly become my favorite VNV cd.

I hoped they would open with “The Farthest Star” off the new cd and they did and it jacked the crowd up from the start. Ronan has an amazing crowd presence and won us over from the start. Ronan Harris is THE man!! They also did “Temptation” from the new one, which has become my favorite VNV song ever, especially after experiencing it live. Mr. Jackson was his usual crowd pleasing self on the drums. Everybody loves Mr. Jackson. For a small place, the crowd roared thunderously with V-N-V chants throughout. The new single “Nemesis” brought the house down and they also did “Descent” and “Illusion” from the new cd. Every song, the crowd sang along and Ronan grabbed my hand and put the mic in front of me as I sang “Perpetual”. It was amazing. I was right down in front jumpin' and stompin' and taking pics. They did all their old classics like “Standing” and “Legion” from the Empires cd. They were amazing. “Darkangel” too. Freakin' amazing!! “Chrome” from Matter and Form removed the roof. They left to a roaring crowd after an amazing set and the crowd chanted and stomped until they returned with a rousing encore that ended with “Arena” blowing out the walls of the club. The crowd roared thunderously for more, chanting and stomping their feet and they returned with “Beloved” to end an amazing and enlightnening performance that certainly made every near death experience on I-95 worth it. Afterwards, they topped it all off by coming out and signing autographs and meeting the fans and took a bad ass pic with me and my son. It was an honour to meet the man at the top of the food chain in the Industrial field, Ronan Harris. On the way home, the storm raged on and we ended up in water up over my car's tires on I-287, but she made it through and the next day, I read that it was the worst storm in twenty years and I guy actually drowned in his car when he got stuck in deep water under an underpass. Freakin' nuts!!! People I knew from New York couldn't even get home cause of the flooding. Certainly a memorable roadtrip for the books, and one of the best performances I've seen this year.

Be sure to check out the awesome live pics in the Gallery of both bands.