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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Shadows Lie, live at Crash Mansion, February 21, 2009

Heading out on a recent Saturday night to relatively new club Crash Mansion located in downtown NYC, I had a feeling I might be reviewing more than just the one of the bands on that night's bill.

Having checked out in advance all the bands scheduled to perform on the 21st of February, '09 as part of promotion called Gotham Rocks, I was most intrigued to see and hear Shadows Lie.




They describe themselves as a dark, intense blend of heavy guitars reminiscent of Staind, Portishead-like electronics, Days of the New type acoustic guitars, and vocal stylings ranging from Tori Amos to Incubus. The songwriting is distinctive and intensely emotional yet concise and mature at the same time.




The band was started by vocalist Kira Leigh and bassist Cary Tamura.



Rounding out the band are guitarist Frank Grullon and drummer Marco Britti.



Bassist CT is a unique and dynamic player.




I immediately noticed the 5 string bass he played.





Naturally a female fronted progressive-metal band will instantly bring to mind groups like Evanescence and Lacuna Coil


Those were definitely the two biggest bands I was thinking of while listening to them. If you're going to do this kind of music, then that's pretty much right where you want to be.



Check out this live performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtWHmQ-EaOo




In addition to being an outstanding bassist, CT also works as a producer and songwriter for a number of New York-based projects. He has written and produced tracks for RCA Records, DoughZone Records (Universal), TVT Records, Warner Bros Pictures, Rough Nation Films, CBS, MTV, and VH1.




Frank Grullon is experienced in playing both classical and rock guitar. His playing style fuses modern rock with electronica elements.




The ferocity of the moment.




Drummer Marco Britti was rock solid throughout the set. His bio states that he has extensive touring and recording experience all over the world with artists such as Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.




Kira blends prom dresses, rock boots and glam gloves in a way that would please Courtney Love.




Shine on you crazy diamond

Catching up for a quick chat!

You can find out more about Shadows Lie here:

And more about the Gotham Rocks showcases here:

6 comments:

Mr Smork said...

ok, i'm going to be a rough. what i miss in this your review is: the "the show review". you put some sort of bios of all the members. it is more like wikipedia article. i remember that in-store show review which was all about performance. :)
of course i like the video you left. :) and i see you didn't miss chance to pose for pictures with nice looking ladies there... :) oh and i like the photos. :)

Mr Smork said...

n hard feelings. :) you know me. :)

Anonymous said...

cool ;)

DaveCromwell said...

I appreciate your honest feedback, Mr. Smork.

Since this was the first time I've written about this band, I wanted to give some introductory facts about them. I'm glad you like the live video and live photos I included. I feel they help tell the tale of what the show was like. And remember "every picture tells a story" ;-)

Mr Smork said...

you are wright, dave. but it is very helpful when text helps to the photos. :) just wonder how do you rate this band, comparing with others you heard live. :) was there enough sound? was the crowd really turned on? did there happened any interesting incidents (fun) or some sort of stuff? how was the club? i assume it is new, what is your opinion about it?
:)

x said...

Very unusual band, their sound is absolutely unique. Vocals and harmonies remind of Tori Amos. Fantastic review and photographs Dave, thanks for introducing me to yet another interesting band.