Concert Review: Shadows Fall (Avalon) B

Date of show: 7/29/06
Venue: Avalon (Hollywood)

I had caught Shadows Fall live at last year's Ozz-Fest and walked away relatively unimpressed. They're not one of those 'high energy' acts that really seem to connect with audiences. Plus they played right at sundown, and I couldn't see a damn thing up on stage.

That said, Shadows Fall was technically impressive, and with a better-than-it-should-be B-side album out in stores (Fallout From The War), I was willing to give them another shot, this time headlining Avalon (which many of you oldsters like me better remember as The Palace).

The Massachusetts metallers took the stage around 9pm following openers Throwdown (who seem to have a disproportionally large following) and Poisonblack, both of whom I deliberately missed thanks to Avalon's many lounges and smoking areas.

The set was comprised mainly of material from Fallout and previous release The War Within. That's a good thing as much of their older material really isn't all that great. The first half of the hourlong set was great and moved along quickly. The second half didn't fare so well with older cuts like A Fire In Babylon (off the very uneven The Art Of Balance record) mucking up the proceedings and killing the crowd's energy.

Speaking of the crowd, it was an unusual mix of older Pantera-lovin' types and younger ninety-pound emo kids. And emo kids seem to think kicking and punching the air constitues moshing. They also have no concept of an actual mosh pit. Can someone explain why these munchkins have beat up invisible foes while not in the pit? The whole point of not being in the pit is...well...not having to pit or deal with randomly flailing arms and legs. Why can't emo kids get that and stay in the pit for their annoyiing little displays of aggression?

Anyways, back to the show. Shadows Fall have a very good live sound, they're not lacking in that department. Songs are tight, the mix competent, everything sounds like it does on the record.

But they do lack a certain charisma that makes great live bands great. There's not that special connection with the audience. They're certainly not terrible, I wouldn't walk out on them if they open for someone else I enjoy, but I don't think I'll be rushing to see them headline again.