JULY 7, 2014
ROCKWiRED CONCERT WATCH: KELEN HELLER WiTH SOMETHiNG CLEVER,  SKiNN JAKKiT, AND RED EYED ROMANCE
WRiTTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEREMY GiLLEY

Tonight, the night of Saturday June 28th, I had the absolute pleasure of seeing SOMETHING CLEVER, SKINN JAKKIT, RED EYED ROMANCE, and KELEN HELLER and THE WIZARD SALOON in HICKORY NC. The venue was really nice and I am looking forward to returning in the near future for a few upcoming shows.


Now about the show, first up on the set was SOMETHING CLEVER who absolutely rocked out. Unfortunately I don't feel as though they got the recognition that they deserve, especially for the show that they put on but it's typically for opening bands not to get as much love. I don't understand this gap that people leave in between the band and the stage as if the band has SARS. ADAM very well could have bird flu and I'm out of the loop on it but despite a fear of bird flu/ sars, their set was pretty awesome. They brought a lot of energy and you could see that on stage that they were having a lot of fun. Each individual brought their own personal brand of awesome. Unfortunately I am new to the band so I wasn't as into the show as I could have been but that isn't their fault. That is my fault for not listening to them adequately prior to the show but after this show I'm going to try seeing them whenever possible so I have a lot of inititive now to learn their songs and lyrics. Speaking of songs that I know the lyrics to, at some point during the set, they did do a cover of END OF HEARTACHE by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE which they absolutely nailed it. Outside of that their original songs were pretty good. Also there was this hilarious point in the show when COLT knocked over his mic stand and it hit me. I believe recently that they released their new single FREAKS LIKE YOU which I recognized from a link they posted on Facebook and I am convinced that a portion of the lyrics were inspired by the film FINDING NEMO. I would list out the lyrics and the quote from the film for comparison but that would be too easy. You should take your roody poo candy ass over to their Facebook page and give them a like. Then check out the single.
Members of the band include
ADAM NELSON (Vocals)
KELLY FLUSK (Lead Guitar)
BRETT BAKER(Guitar)
COLT CREVAR (Bass/Vocals)
DYLAN ROLES (Drums)


Next to hit the stage was SKINN JAKKIT and my friend CHRIS from a band called THE DAYS REMAIN that you will read about in the near future bought me a Jack and Coke so much thanks to him for that. Needless to say SKINN JAKKIT had a pretty good set, a great follow up to SOMETHING CLEVER but I wish that I had paid more attention to them while their set was going on. My lack of attention had absolutely nothing to do with how they were playing but I zoned out for a while starting at these little disco lights dancing around on the floor. It was mezmorizing. I recall that they did a cover of HALO by SOIL which I'm unfamiliar with that band. There was a chick dancing through their set which that should tell you that they were doing a great job. Which on two seperate occasions I did walk up next to her and begin dancing. I'm not sure what the first dance was called, I believe it was called the Cabbage Patch? The second of which was the Carlton and in both instances I got her to indulge in the fun. I apologize to the band though that I don't have much to say in regards to their set as well as their fans but despite that, don't take my word for it, go see them live.
The members of this band are
GREG STEPHENS (vocals)
BILLY HAMBY (drums)
JEFF HAYWORTH (bass)
SHANE FARRIS (guitars)
BARRY SAMS (guitars)

ADVERTiSEMENT

Next to take the stage was the band RED EYED ROMANCE which was fucking awesome but before I describe to you the reader their performance, I have to take an interlude to tell you about the lead guitarist EFRUM from KELEN HELLER. He does not speak at all and wears a mask, it's amazing but despite everyone telling me that I would not get him to talk the entire show, I attempted to get him to crack but failed. So when we were outside, I broke out a final attempt to get him to crack; I started singing "I WANT IT THAT WAY" by THE BACKSTREET BOYS. Everyone around us was woo'd but EFRUM...FUCKING EFRUM remained uncracked. Despite that, it was so awesome to meet him, he's a kick ass guy. Now back on topic, when RED EYED ROMANCE hit the stage it was clear what their intentions were which were to rock and fuck stuff which aside from rocking the joint, I am very sure that they induced orgasms throughout the audience with their music alone. The set was also a huge recovery after the bass player had a slight mishap earlier in the night. Other than that they absolutely blew it away, they played straight up ROCK. Which if you aren't familiar with what rock is, it is breaking the chains of opression that bind, it is sticking it to the man, not some sad boo hooing shit fest which gets mislabled as rock. That is just people being sissies. These guys were larger than life up on stage doing what they do best and I hope to have the chance to make it out to more of their shows in the future because with how well they did at this one like ROSiE O DONNELS thoughts when she runs out of Cheeseburgers; I want more. I highly recommend that if this band is in your area for you to check them out. If you don't then you're probably some sort of stupid idiot that jacks it to cartoon porn.


Finally closing out the show was KELEN HELLER which I had never heard of prior to this show and when I googled them to listen to their music I kept typing in HELLEN KELLER which after about the 4th time you get as frustrated as HELLEN KELLER with a basketball but I finally got to give them a listen and they were pretty awesome. Pretty much this is a band that I'm going to contact in the future for an interview. This evening I met them for the very first time and they are a gnarly bunch. I had a pretty deep conversation with the drummer KEVIN, he is an overall swell guy and I tried conversing with EFRUM but as I said earlier, he doesn't talk at all. In speaking with all of them I can confrim as stated earlier that they are gnarly. Their live show was bloody fantastic, I absolutely enjoyed how they mingled on stage while playing. It was particularly funny to see the vocalist RICKY and EFRUM go back and forth picking on one another. Each member brought so much charisma to the show, the best word to describe it was "Brilliant". It was bloody brilliant. All though with the combined efforts of so many good bands leading into this ones set they pretty much had the turkey cooked and basted, ready to eat. That they did;they devoured the attention of the audience.
Band members
Vocals - Ricky Shuler
Drums - Kevin Wall
Lead Guitar - Efrum
Guitar - Mark Frey
Bass - Brandon Moore

Last but not least, I have to give it up to the fans because without each of you these bands wouldn't be able to do what they do. Thank you for all coming out and enjoying the show. I hope to see many of you in the future at shows. Please continue your support of locals and live in the moment. Come out to shows when you're able, have a Jack and Coke, don't waste your nights masturbating to cartoon porn or crying all alone watching The Notebook. You are an essential piece to every show. Have fun and live a little. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.