Article: Upon A Burning Veil at Webster Hall (1/13/15)
January has held good tours compared to last year, with the exception of Stolen Babies touring with Stone Sour of course. With Dark Tranquility and Watain behind me, I returned back to the confides of New York’s Webster Hall. Although this was NOT the grand ballroom this time, the entire tour package made themselves known, that The Marlin Room was the place to be on January 13th.With assignments from both Volumes and Veil of Maya, Gideon and The last ten second of life were not covered. So fair warning, this article is for the last three bands on the bill.
Volumes opened up my side-stage residency, with my photo feet having the best seats in the house, it almost felt like I was covering a New York Hardcore show. The best place for ANY photographer, was on stage. But, only I was allowed. I felt blessed to not be in that general floor, as this room has no photo pit or barricades ready for safety. Its the people vs. the stage. Volumes took clear advantage of that by letting fans on the stage for their last song. In what only became pure pandemonium, I dare you to look at the photos from their set. The show got so humid my camera was absorbing the moisture from the collective heat in the room. For a 19 degree day in Manhattan, we all managed to turn that place into a damn sauna. Check the photos for Volumes right now!
Volumes Photo Gallery:
Moving forward to my good friends in Upon A Burning Body, who ALWAYS put on a fantastic show, front-man Danny Leal was energized and successfully shared it with all his fans and friends whether onstage or backstage. The band performed and wrestled with crowd-surfers that continuously reminded me of the first time at saw them at Gramercy Theater with Atilla, but thank goodness i was on stage this time. Talk about health benefits of work. To make things more interesting, Ice-T came down for the show and was rumored to be present for the show after he released a tweet on his twitter profile early that morning. The duo performed their song “Turn Down For What” which turned the room upside down between mosh pits and crowd surfers. Everyone must of had a cell phone or a GoPro available. From what I witnessed, I bet its already on Youtube somewhere. After the show, Danny explained to me how the crowd was more energized and active than their show at Gramercy Theatre last year with Whitechapel. UABB really blew the lid of this tightly knit room. Funny too, was that once I got on the stage for Veil of Maya, there was already blood on the stage. I guess we can say it was a “Great Success” check the photos below to see what I mean.
Upon A Burning Body Photo Gallery:
Heres a FACT for you. Veil of Maya has not performed in NYC since December 2013. Another FACT… this was new lead singer Lukas Magyar’s debut as Brandon Butler left the band in 2014. While the FNG (F**king New Guy) got a lot of criticism as ALL new members of a band do, his live performance shows a different perspective. The guy can sing, he can growl, and he can interact with fans as if it was going out of style. I never seen the front row lose their minds hard like they did that night and I was very impressed with what I was witnessing. While he is considered “new” in essence, his ability to be comfortable shows at live shows. His writing and the mystery he holds for the new album from Veil of Maya (which should be out by the Fall or Summer I can assume), should unveil his full potential and permanence with the band and within the community. I have been a Veil of Maya fan since my very first show in 2010. I will be around to cover the history for as long as it takes.
Veil Of Maya Photo Gallery:
A very special thank you to Volumes, UABB and Veil of Maya for being the people they are. An amazing bunch of talented individuals who can class up a joint anywhere. I am happy to call these guys my friends, I am happy to call these guys family. Not even four days and im back at Webster Hall. See, what I told you? Catch you on the flip side rockers.
—Derek Soto—
