Live-Metal.Net - Concerts: Rob Zombie, Lacuna Coil

9:30 Club
Washington, DC
March 26, 2006

By JASON PRICE

With veteran rocker Rob Zombie promoting his new album Educated Horses with Lacuna Coil in support, ittook only minutes for the venue to sell out. One thousand two hundred fans hungry to see Rob Zombie and hear songs from his first new release since 2001's The Sinister Urge filled the 9:30 Club. They would not be disappointed.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Hailing from the UK, Bullet for My Valentine are new to U.S. fans and are currently supporting their first full-length album, The Poison. As the lights dimmed, the band took the stage one by one. In an instant, they launched into their first song. Intense guitar work, chest-thumping double-bass drumming and lead singer Matthew Tuck's vocals started the night on a positive note for concert-goers. As with any band with a smaller fan base, Bullet for My Valentine spent the next 30 minutes trying to win over the crowd. The band encouraged crowd participation, but there were few takers. This was not the fault of the band, but more a result of an aging Rob Zombie crowd fearing injury that would prevent them to making it to work on Monday. It was an uphill battle, but the tide turned in the band's favor with one of their last songs. Introduced as "a ballad," "Tears Don’t Fall,” with its alternating vocal styles and fresh sound took many in the audience by surprise. I am certain the band’s powerful live sound sold them many a CD this particular night. With the band’s current videos starting to receive airplay, this is could just be the first of many more rounds of U.S. touring for the boys in the band.

LACUNA COIL
For Lacuna Coil, the past several years have been nothing short of complete success. In 2002, the band released Comalies to much acclaim. After relentless touring and some time off for recording new material, the band is back with Karmacode. The band took the stage and easily commanded the attention of all in attendance.

Musically, the six member band worked together seamlessly on stage, which is no small feat when you put that many people in a small area. The fan reaction was overwhelming as the band played their first song. Nothing screams "rock concert" like synchronized headbanging and Lacuna Coil deliver in that area. The way the band swings there heavy metal hair in unison is a thing of beauty for any fan of the genre. The band played several songs from the new album, such as "Fragile," "Our Truth," "To The Edge" and "The Game." The new music was well received by the fans. As the show went on vocalist Cristina Scabbia invited the capacity crowd to sing along with the band's cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence." Lacuna Coil gave the song new life and made it their own before pulling out hits from "Comalies." Fans cheered and sang along to "Swamped” and "Heaven's a Lie."

The band’s sound was decent and the new material was not disappointing. The only flaw was that on this night (one of the first shows of the tour), the band is still learning to move on stage with the new music. With more touring ahead of them, numerous festival appearances and maybe a U.S. headlining tour in their future, 2006 may be yet another groundbreaking year for this band.

ROB ZOMBIE
There is no doubt that Rob Zombie is a master showman. On previous tours, you could say he was the P.T. Barnum of rock. The previous tours featured elaborate sets, pyro and lighting. Zombie has now returned to the stage in a more stripped down form that still delivers. The stage featured large mermaid torsos, freakish clown heads, candles and a stars and stripes background. The sound equipment featured images ranging from Charles Manson to ‘70s pinups to Frankenstein. Dead center in the stage were the numbers 6-6-6, that looked as if they were from an old carnival ride (and that Zombie would later bash with his mic stand in true rock n' roll fashion). Zombie's directorial side also could be felt with a large screen in front of the backdrop that displayed video montages during the songs. All in all, the stage summed up what Rob Zombie is at this time: musician, horror fanatic, child of the ‘70s.

The lights of the venue dimmed and all that could be seen were a few candles burning on stage. The crowd went wild as the show began. Dr. Hook's "Cover of The Rolling Stone" began to play and even produced a hand-clapping session from the crowd. After the song finished, the video screen came to life with images of horses running as the first track from Educated Horses, "Sawdust in The Blood," began to thump. The band took the stage one by one wearing skeleton masks and launched into "American Witch." The crowd began to move at a fever pitch and mosh pits erupted, which had not happened during the opening acts.

Since Zombie has such an extensive catalog of music, he was able to touch on a bit of everything with his current set list. Music ranged from White Zombie, his previous solo releases and his latest album. Zombie never stopped moving during songs. He effortlessly leaped from platform to platform, whipping the fans into a frenzy. Zombie was joined on stage for "More Human Than Human" by a 10-foot robot (which is based on the robot from the Bela Lugosi film "The Phantom Creeps"). Zombie would go on to recount his early experiences at the original 9:30 Club, where the band was taped for a feature on metal bands. The footage ended up being an attack on metal music aired by the 700 Club.

The band was tight and featured the expert skills of former Marilyn Manson guitarist John Five. He launched into a guitar solo highlighted by his performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” with his tongue. When asked by Zombie to play some "hot licks", John Five and the band launched into "Thunderkiss '65." Other classic songs included "Dragula," "Superbeast," "House of 1000 Corpses," "Living Dead Girl," "Never Gonna Stop." They also broke out the new tracks "Foxy Foxy" and "Let It All Bleed Out." The show ended with the White Zombie tune "Blood, Milk and Sky".

Rob Zombie has always provided top-notch entertainment for your concert dollar. This tour, almost a “greatest hits” show, is no exception. The Educated Horses Tour is definitely worth checking out when it rolls into a city near you.