A diverse crowd of metalheads materialized at Hollywood's Key Club on Sunday, February 10th, for the Los Angeles installment of the hard-rocking "Guerrilla Carnival" tour, headlined by the "manic Hispanics" from the East Coast, Ill Niño. Second on the evening's bill was Droid, hailing from Long Beach, California, and the roster was rounded out by another crew from Cali, Fight The War, out of Valencia, plus Florida's EkoTren. Self-expressive variety was evident everywhere, as longhairs rubbed shoulders with buzzcuts, skinheads, and dreadlocks, both onstage and throughout the house, during a show that screamed and shouted fiercely enough for the faithful to forget about the Grammy presentations going on elsewhere that same evening.
Fight The War got the ball rolling, four loud lads from the Canyon Country area whose group's initials, coincide with a popular anti-authority biker slogan ("F" The World). The band maintained a spirit of hearty rebellion through a set that was accented by two scantily-clad dancing girls, who shimmied and shook from the onset of the second song, "Underneath My Flesh." Headbanded singer Jason Kaufman stated his desire to see some action in the pit, spinning his finger in an inciting motion that was quickly heeded as the band plunged into "From Within." The cut featured strong harmonic work from guitarist Phillip Paschall, backed by Cody Brill on bass and Jonathan "Twinkle Toes" Paschall on drums. Fight The War continued with "Everything Is Lost," complete with a spicy fan-dance, and went on to "Love Your Hate" and the romantically-titled closer, "Behind Those Beautiful Eyes," a driving ditty that was complemented by sinuous writing from the two tart terpsichoreans.
The Cape Coral quintet called EkoTren opened up with a keyboard intro from Steve Chin (comically clad in a vintage Poison t-shirt), leading into John Sheldon's potent scream. John's vocals were joined by Keith Finnell's 7-string guitar, Derek DeSantis's bass, and shirtless Erik Pottle's drums, through a set that included angry anthems such as "Light the Fire" and "The Tables Have Turned." Like FTW's Jason, John expressed his longing "to see some movement," and he, too, got his wish. The singer said something about being a little bit sick (on a bill with Ill Niño, how apt!), but he insisted that if necessary, he'd "play dead," a trouper to the end. Later, he asked if anyone in the audience had ever heard of something called a chupacabra, and after the resulting roar made it clear that the L.A. crowd was not unfamiliar with the spooky Mexican goat-biter, the band played their song of the same name. EkoTren then ended with "On the Way," accompanied by a shout-out dedication to the evening's headliners.
Long Beach's Droid began with a symphonic electronic swell, as iron-throated James Eason strode to the forefront, wearing both a hooded sweatshirt and a ball-cap when he commenced singing. But the hood and hat were off by the time the fivesome plunged into "Fueled By Hate," the song (and video) which proved so popular on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. To the right of James was bearded guitarist Bruce Childress, to his left was Droid's other founding axeman, the dreadlocked Jamie Teissere, and anchoring the beat was buff bassist Duke, in time with drummer Nick McWells. James referred to the band's recent trouble on the road in Nebraska -- two wrecks in one day! -- before kicking off "The Resurrection," after which he gave good props to the other bands on the bill. Heading into "Behind Dead Eyes," James urged, like the singers before him, for movement on the floor, and a core of dedicated moshers -- a mosh corps?!? -- kept the circle turbulating. Indeed, throughout the set, Droid laid down driving grooves that consistently energized the attentive house. James noted that he and his bandmates were no strangers to the Strip, having plied their metallic trade from Sunset to the sea for the past decade or so, as commemorated in "Built to Last." Droid concluded with "My Oath," and when James aired his hope that the combined clamor of musicians and audience could be heard all the way to the Whisky-a-Go-Go, he was gratified by the ensuing raucous applause.
Ill Niño, the acclaimed sextet from New Jersey, waded onstage last, opening with a frenzied onslaught that was a tad reminiscent of Iron Maiden. By the time their second song kicked in, the Key Club was shaking from the vibrations of the crowd's jumping, stomping feet, in conjunction with the fury generated by guitarists Diego Verduzco and Ahrue Luster, bassist Lazaro Pina, and percussionists Dave Chavarri and Daniel Couto. Ill Niño's staging delivered the sight, sound, and feel of a big-venue production, eliciting celebratory motion and moshing throughout the house, priming fans for tastes of the band's upcoming release, tentatively scheduled to come out in March. And so, with many days yet to go on this whirlwind Guerrilla Carnival tour, the boys in Ill Niño proved themselves to be at the top of their form, along with their able and resilient road companions in Droid, plus EkoTren and energetic newcomers Fight The War, all of whom helped to fill the mid-sized Key Club with some super-sized sound and spectacle.
