Concert Review Overkill October 5, 2003 By: PwrMtl Sunday 9/14/03 at Northern Lights (Clifton Park, NY) I have seen Overkill a few times over the last 15 years so I initially went to this concert expecting to see a good show, but nothing "out of the ordinary" or earth shattering. However, I left the venue totally blown away by the commitment and professionalism of the band to putting on a killer show under less than prime conditions. I missed the first two local openers, and I wish I missed the third one too. They were called Glued and would have fit in much better opening for whatever rock bands Mtv has deemed cool at the moment. Definitely not a band that should have been playing with Overkill. Next up was Havochate and they were a much better fit. Old school thrash (think Slayer, Testament, or even Overkill themselves) mixed with a little bit of the Swedish death metal sound. I didn't know any of the music, but I was impressed enough to want to pick up the album they were selling (unfortunately I didn't have enough money, but I'll put it on my list). Now for the main event. First of all this show was added at the last minute so there was only about a week's worth of promotion. Couple that with it being on a Sunday night and there ended up being, maybe, 150 to 200 people in the audience for a club that holds about 900. Not a very auspicious beginning. The band didn't seem to let it faze them though and came out blasting with "Devil By The Tail". A few songs, in Blitz made a comment regarding the size of the crowd; "We don't seem to have a lot of friends here, but we do seem to have some good ones". This, of course, got a huge cheer from the small crowd. About a third of the way through the set we found out how truly cool a band they really are. The club is fairly new, but somehow ended up springing a leak from the ceiling right above the drum kit. It was fairly small at first, but quickly became a pretty steady stream of water. A lot of bands would have probably cancelled the rest of the show right there, and many others would have drastically reduced the length of the show. Overkill threw a few towels and blankets over the front of the drums and on the floor and carried right on with the show. Hell they were already drenched in sweat (especially Blitz), so I guess a little water wasn't going to matter much. Speaking of Blitz, I have seen a LOT of concerts but I have to say that I have seen very few singers project that much energy for the entire show. He was up there headbanging and just generally going nuts like he was playing to a sold out show at Madison Square Garden. And you've got to love all of the gestures he uses to accent certain parts of the songs. The rest of the band wasn’t too far behind him either. Very tight, and very enthusiastic. The show itself was a good mixture of old songs, new fan favorites, and deep album cuts. They played for a solid hour and a half. No solo’s and no ego trips, just one killer song after another. Quote of the night (from Blitz): "They laugh at us because we are different, but we’re laughing at them because they’re all the same." I’d say that sums things up pretty nicely, and that most reading this feel a similar sentiment. Set List: DEVIL BY THE TAIL NECROSHINE HAMMERHEAD/POWERSURGE INFECTIOUS HELLO FROM THE GUTTER DAMNED THUNDERHEAD BASTARD NATION SUPERSONIC HATE UNHOLY LONG TIME DYIN' EVIL NEVER DIES BATTLE ROTTEN TO THE CORE Encore: NEW MACHINE ELIMINATION @#%$ YOU Back to The Gathering of Souls Get Information on the Premium Package