Lamb Of God -The Palladium, 2/16/07
The capacity crowd was buzzing - literally and figuratively - awaiting the headlining set from Richmond, VA’s Lamb Of God. As good as the sets were from openers Gojira, Machine Head (who rocked the joint) and Trivium, it was clear who this crowd was there to see.
The band hit the stage in a fury, and immediately the Palladium became one giant circle pit. As they banged through songs from throughout their catalog, the frenzy in the pit and energy in the building never seemed to wane. Even a total failure of the PA system before “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For” couldn’t stop them. Front man Randy Blythe simply quipped, “I guess that PA had something to die for!” to the crowd’s delight, as the band ripped back into the song.
Highlights included new single, “Redneck,” “As The Palaces Burn,” “The Subtle Arts of Murder and Persuasion” and “Blacken The Cursed Sun.” Not since Pantera played the Fair Park Coliseum, has a crowd been this into a show from first note to last, and LOG was more than up to the task of satisfying their feeding frenzy. Next time these boys come through, it will be at an even bigger venue, and if you’re a metal fan, you’d better be there, too. (Kevin White)

The Wailers - Gypsy Tea Room’s Ballroom, 2/09/07
This was to be a Bob Marley’s greatest hits show, but it turned out to be so much more. The Wailers showed a packed house why they’ve maintained a long career doing what they do best - performing the finest, most authentic reggae the world has come to love. Musical director/founding member, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, continuously laid down deep solid bass grooves that seemed to send listeners into a hypnotic state of mind.
Bob Marley once stated, “Family Man controls reggae,” (one need only listen to “Bellyful” to get an earful of what Bob was talking about). Lead vocalist, Junior Marvin, conjured up images of the great one himself, as he danced and sang to the ecstatic crowd, “Lively up yourself and move to the beat.” The crowd did exactly that as they gyrated their hips to the Wailers’ intoxicating grooves.
The Wailers had up to 14 members on stage, all playing vital roles to the funky grooves. “Natural Mystic” was heavy as ever, and “Three Little Birds” turned into a great sing-along. But the song that brought the Tea Room down was, “Get Up, Stand Up” which, in a world full of political turmoil, has not lost its potency - as fists were raised into the air. An acoustic solo of “Redemption Song” was a great highlight, but the encore stole the show - a 17–minute powerhouse jam, (yes I timed it) of title song, “Exodus.” Time Magazine named it “Album Of The Century.” Yes my friends, this was more than a great night of reggae. This was a history lesson brought to you by the true ambassadors of reggae music -The Wailers. (Lee Herrera)

Nova Glow - Curtain Club, 2/25/07
Nova Glow, an alternative/acoustic rock group from Ennis, blends melody (courtesy of guitarist Chris Cordsen and singer Eric Marion) with hard-hitting rhythm (bassist Arthur Rodriguez and drummer Mikael Aguilar). Their infectious hooks had the crowd at Curtain Club rocking with undivided attention. Strong song structures and an uplifting message brought a refreshing sound to the sometimes-dismal rock scene.
Opener “The Unfailing” grabbed the crowd’s attention, while songs like “Everything” and “Who We Are” gave them something to groove to. The closer, “At Your Door,” was the highlight of the evening and left the crowd singing its fade out, “It hasn’t stopped raining...” Keep an eye on this group as they are out and about in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area or check them out at myspace.com/marshillbnd. (Mark Beneventi)

The Bone’s 6th Annual Mardi Gras Party: Cheap Trick, Blue Öyster Cult, Mini Kiss, Petty Theft - Fair Park, 2/16/07
This party was big enough to earn the title, “Texas Style,” as a huge turnout came out to rock with The Bone. Openers Petty Theft (Tom Petty Tribute band) got an excellent response. Next was Mini Kiss - the world’s smallest Kiss tribute band, consisting of small people who played air guitar and sang to prerecorded backing tracks, ala karaoke style.
Blue Öyster Cult started off slowly, but finished in grand style. Highlights were “Burnin’ for You,” ”Godzilla,” “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” complete with “more cowbell!” Guitarist/founder Buck Dharma kicked off their well-known songs with fiery licks.
Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander and company put out plenty of energy - constantly running across the stage, delivering hit-after-sing-along hit from their multi-platinum classic albums. Rick Nielson displayed his HUGE collection of one-of-a-kind guitars, playing a different guitar on each song. Highlights were the “70’s Show” theme song, “Surrender,” “The Flame,” “I Want You To Want Me” and closing with “Dream Police.” (Lee Herrera)