Life Of Agony 8.16.05

Newport Music Hall

Columbus, Ohio

Review by O.M.O.M.

Photography by Rob Kern.

Myth #1: Tuesdays suck.

Myth #2: When established acts play new songs they go over like a lead balloon. 

Myth #1 Facts: Wednesday is hump day, Thursday is “prime the pump” night in preparation for the weekend, Friday and Saturday, according to Loverboy, are the days everybody is working for.  Sunday is spent resting up from the previous two days, then Monday flies by as you scramble about madly at work.  Which leaves you with Tuesday, nothing to look forward to but 3 more days of work. 

Myth #2 Facts: Go to a Judas Priest, Queensryche, Megadeth or nearly any other long-running bands’ show and watch thousands of eyeballs glaze over at the mention of anything from the “latest release.”  Hell, even the mighty Iron Maiden are playing a “greatest hits” tour on Ozzfest this year to keep the masses from nodding off. 

Life of Agony took an off night from the Gigantour to hit the Newport Music Hall stage in Columbus, Ohio and do their best to dispel those myths.  It’s a small blessing that LOA were even here to perform after vocalist Keith Caputo left the band in 1997, forcing the remaining members to recruit Ugly Kid Joe vocalist Whitfield Crane for a tour, then finally grinding to a halt in 1999.  2003 saw a one-off reunion that was recorded for a live cd/dvd and forced the original members to rethink their decision to put LOA to rest.  The band mounted a tour to back the live release and landed a new home with Sony Records, which released Broken Valley earlier this year. 

Proving this is no ho-hum, money grabbing, run of the mill reunion effort, Life Of Agony hit the stage with all guns firing. Guitarist Joey Z cranked out one dirty, chugging riff after another while bassist Alan Robert leapt about the stage and drummer Sal Abruscato matched the energy level beat for beat.  (A quick side note: Alan Robert wins my award for coolest bowler/porkpie hat thingy.  I try to pull that look off and end up looking like an extra from The Benny Hill Show.)  Vocalist Keith Caputo displayed his impressive pipes and emotion throughout the set, ranging from the full metal anger of “River Runs Red” to the personal energy of new track “Wicked Ways.”  Spend a day at the Warped tour and you’ll see about 35 emo-screamo lead singers trying to pull off intensity and feeling without coming anywhere near the likes of Keith Caputo. 

Which leads us to the busting of myth #2.  When an established band actually releases a cd worth listening to, the crowd will respond.  Tracks such as “Wicked Ways” and “Love To Let You Down” met with just as much enthusiasm from the fans as older classics like “Lost At 22” and “Underground.”  I’ve been to shows before where the playing of a new tune induces mass restroom breaks or a rush to the merch booth.  Not so here, those in attendance could sense that LOA took these songs seriously and responded in kind. 

As far as debunking myth #1, Tuesday’s still suck and possibly the band agree as their set clocked in at just under an hour.  Many in the crowd were hoping for a longer set seeing as Life Of Agony was freed from the time constraints of a multiple act festival such as Gigantour.  Here’s to a longer set the next time Life Of Agony comes to town.

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