RED
The Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY
October 17th, 2011

In what would be their first ever headlining performance in New York City, Nashville, Tennessee quartet Red took the stage at the Gramercy Theatre last night amid a small pool of some of their more raucous fans. Dubbed a Christian rock act, the twice Grammy nominated band showed only a relentless refusal to be labeled as such, taking the intimate crowd through the highs and lows of their first three albums in one of the more unique and intricate flat out rock shows to come through our area in quite some time. Meshing a perfect hybrid of metal and hard rock with lyrics that explore their values, Red proved last night to be one of the most explosive young acts in rock music today and showed a normally tough to please Manhattan crowd just why they might be destined for bigger things, especially in light of the genre’s current plight.

SiriusXM jockeys Cane and Kayla Riley were out promptly at 10:30pm to bring Red out to the stage. After three openers, the last of which being former Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch, the anticipation for Red to begin their set had reached a feverous pitch. Equipped with enough lighting gear to illuminate an 18,000 seat ampitheater, or so it seemed, the band, led by frontman Michael Barnes confidently emerged onto the dark platform, opening with the intensely energetic “Feed the Machine,” a head pounding version of “The Outside,” and the indescribable “Let Go,” with the entire crowd meeting the singer’s vocals with the words of their own, leading to an ultimate cacophony of support and sound. Beneath the blinding strobes and quickly moving colored lights revealed an entire stage covered in red (hardly a pun)- from the drum kit to the stage draping, to the mic stand, to the colored t-shirt Barnes was wearing. While the band brought a flashy setup with them, they hardly needed it- their frenetic energy and utter command of that small stage allowed their live performance to do the talking for them. Singles like “Already Over” and “Death of Me” exemplified Barnes’ complete command of his stage and his audience, who only fueled his already vigorous fire.

As each song progressed, Red showed an incredible amount of live versatility mixing a different nuance into whichever came next. They alternated between the heavy- “Faceless” was especially grinding- and the melodic- “Pieces” brought out guitarist Anthony Armstrong’s acoustic guitar, while bass player and identical twin brother Randy sat down comfortably at the keys as the ballad built. Meanwhile Barnes commanded an entire crowd to “get down on the floor” (which we followed like sheep) before jumping around in unison during “Confession.” After a fantastic drum solo which saw drummer Joe Rickard playing along with hip hop favorites by Diddy, Outkast, and Imogen Heap behind a light show, Barnes this time took to the crowd and literally stood among a sea of moshers, encouraging a ‘washing machine’ movement of people during the pulverizing “Shadows.”

As the clock inched closer to midnight, the crowd- none of whom had left- chanted for an encore, and the band seemed genuinely more than happy to oblige, closing with their breakthrough hit “Breathe Into Me” from 2005’s debut album “The End of Silence.” As per usual in New York, bands of this ilk are largely and shockingly ignored. With a dearth of popular modern rock artists able to sell tickets in our area- forget about Christian rock- it’s a shame that fans did not pack the place in true appreciation for a band that is really coming into their own as song writers and live performers. But those fortunate enough to have been on hand for last night’s show realize that we witnessed something special. And something tells us, for Red, the band, the best is still yet to come.

RED- Live at The Gramercy Theatre

New York, NY

October 17th, 2011

1. Feed the Machine
2. The Outside
3. Let Go
4. Already Over
5. Lie to Me (Denial)
6. Not Alone
7. Drum Solo
8. Faceless
9. Confession
10. Shadows
11. Best is Yet to Come
12. Death of Me
13. Break Me Down
14. Pieces
15. Breathe Into Me

- Jane Van Arsdale