Egypt Central – The Alley
When we both saw the line-up Egypt Central, Burn Halo, and Red Line Chemistry on the same bill we were beyond beside ourselves. Some of our favorite bands all on one bill…this is AMAZINGl?!? To us this was more exciting than any ROCK festival that has happened this year. There was just one problem, there was not a date set in California where we live. This has become increasingly more of a problem since the flip of 3 major rock stations on the West Coast; thus seriously putting a cramp in the frequency in which we go to shows. Needless to say we are a bit of road warriors ourselves and felt it necessary for us to make the 5-hour trek to Sparks, Nevada to see these SOLID bands. These are three bands that have put out some of our favorite albums this year! Not to mention their stage performances are like none other. The anticipation level when we arrived in Sparks, Nevada at The Alley (pretty random we know) was about an 11.
Red Line Chemistry started the night of right!!! Even though there was not that many people at The Alley that did not hinder Brett’s energy level one bit. There was not a bad song on the set list, opening with Dumb Luck followed by Vicious Cycles, Knock Down Drag out, not to mention they covered Tom Petty’s “Running Down A Dream” which was totally fun! That got the crowd all pumped up and ready for our favorite “Ultragigantor”! There has not been a time yet that we walk away seeing these guys just saying “Wow! They are so incredibly good”. If you have not seen RLC yet you have to put this on your rock music bucket list.
Next up was Burn Halo. After having listened to “Up from The Ashes” on repeat for over a week we were so ready to see Burn Halo bring it! As we know they always do. James is such a captivating front man the minute he steps on stage the crowd is his.
Joey Roxx has to be one of the best shredders out there right now. When he went into his guitar solo we just stood there in awe. That kid can do some amazing things with his fingers. When they burst into “Dirty Little Girl” there was not a girl in the house that was not swaying their hips from side to side… but seriously, how can you resist? Of course we were really excited to see them perform “Tear it Down” since we have not seen them perform that live yet, it was awesome but when they busted into “I Won’t Back down” you felt that rock your soul. It was hard hitting and intense… throw a guitar solo in there… it was heaven; everything we LOVE in a great performance. We could have left two happy girls having seen these two awesome bands but oh wait, there was one more band that happens to be one of our favorites (which is very rare for the both of us to agree on a band).
When Egypt Central hit the stage you could find us in the front row vying for some prime concert real estate. The minute John Falls hits the stage he commands your attention, flanked by Patrick Swayze look-alike, bassist Joey Chicago to his left and the perfectly toned Jeff James to his right. Providing the backbone of the band is Blake Allison on drums, providing double duty as back-up vocalist as well.
The crowd was beyond stoked when EC played some hits off of their self-titled debut like “The Way”, “Over And Under” and “You Make Me Sick” while peppering in some awesome tracks off of their new album, “White Rabbit”. Their energy level never falters throughout their performance, while John is singing and Blake is banging away on the drums, you’ll find Jeff James rocking out in his own little world as if no one is watching while Joey Chicago is bouncing around the stage like a Mexican jumping bean. The guys didn’t even miss a beat when an overzealous fan kept pawing at them from the front of the stage, even jumping on the stage for a moment before briskly running off and back into the crowd. Before “Kick Ass”, their rumored second single, drummer Blake Allison got the crowd in a tizzy banging feverently on the drum while demanding the crowd to, “get ready you mother-fuckers!” which got them more than amped! You could just feel the energy emanating from their fists pumping away to this hard-hitting anthmatic song!
If you want to see a solid rock act that won’t disappoint, go see Egypt Central and go buy their album. In fact go buy Burn Halo’s and Red Line Chemistry’s too! After all, concerts are far more fun when you can chant along to the lyrics that are sure to reach down into your core and drag out that feeling that is buried so low, the only cure is not only hearing, but seeing and feeling these songs come to life the way only a true rock band can deliver. And believe us, these three bands know how to bring it!
