Review Tuesday: Lacuna Coil @ Gramercy Theatre, NYC

Lacuna Coil

Stitched Up Heart, 9 Electric, Painted Wives

Jun 09, 2016 Thu 6:30 PM EDT

Gramercy Theatre, NYC

Every tour now seems to consist of four bands. I guess the music industry has fallen onto such bad times that acts need to be bundled this way in order for the tour to make a profit. However, it's kind of annoying to have the doors open up at a venue at 6:30 PM and the band you want to see won't go on until 10, but you have to be there early in order to get a good spot on the floor to see your favorite band.

 
Painted Wives

The first act up was PAINTED WIVES. I never heard of them before. They played some good, solid heavy rock music and had a good sound. The singer seemed like a really nice guy and was unusually soft spoken and even polite on stage. They were very loose and casual during their set. My joke about this band is that they could call themselves "OBI-WAN" since they all looked like Jesus Christ. Jokes aside, I really liked them.

9Electric

I had previously heard of 9Electric and you could tell they had experience. Their entire stage presence was more involved and developed than PAINTED WIVES. These guys even had GOGO dancers! They were very much like one of mt favorite bands STATIC-X, similar type of "evil disco" that can drag you in with its ultra-heavy beats. The singer was distracting to me because he reminded me of a young Billy Idol with a mohawk, but not the voice. Their set was fine and very listenable but I didn't feel inspired to buy their record from their performance.  

Stitched Up Heart

Another band I never heard of was up third. STITCHED UP HEART seemed to have a good sized following as the crowd really got excited for this set. Or perhaps they were leghumpers excited for the singer's set. Vocals Alecia Mixi Demner, a very attractive blond woman. Before they hit the stage the theater was reasonably calm. You could stand and watch the bands perform and enjoy the music. During their set, Demner told the crowd she expected to see a pit erupt for their hardest song, and it happened. Their set? Meh.

Lacuna Coil

This was either the third or fourth time that have gone to see Lacuna Coil. Cristina's beautiful melodic voice is like that of a siren drawing fans to come and see the band. The new drummer and guitarist fit in perfectly. The band took to the stage at 10:00, being simulcast by Livenation over Yahoo. You can watch the show HERE. Unfortunately, the cat was already out of the bag. The thick-skulled empty headed jerks were given their pass to behave badly and they did so. Easily one third of the floor was swallowed up in violence and mayhem as aging metalheads with less hair than brain cells started slamming around. In many case purposely slamming into other concert-goers for a laugh. It was a bummer because it's terribly difficult to enjoy the musical performance when you have to keep aware of your surroundings for a sweaty, smelly body coming in to slam into your own. And does anyone actually watch the show anymore? Everyone was busy recording everything on their phones! Despite the shenanigans, the show was quite enjoyable. 

Setlist

1. Nothing Stands in Our Way
2. Die & Rise
3. Kill the Light
4. Victims
5. Spellbound
6. The House of Shame
7. Heaven's a Lie
8. Upsidedown
9. Swamped
10. Ghost in the Mist
11. Intoxicated
12. Cybersleep
13. Delirium
14. Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode cover)

Encore:

1. Trip the Darkness
2. Zombies
3. Our Truth

While I felt that the band is in top form, I wonder if I will ever go to a Lacuna Coil standing-room-only show. I'm getting too old for this shit. I want to relax and enjoy the musicians playing their music, not wait for the next crowd surfer to come swooshing by.