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Dry Kill Logic Live in Hollywood By Tokemaster General, Contributor Friday, November 19, 2004 @ 3:16 AM
If you have ever been to the Whisky on the famed Sunset Strip, you know that it is a small place. The stage barely fits a five-piece band, and the floor holds probably 250 people if they were all squashed together. In such an intimate atmosphere, you would think that *any* band could easily fill the room.
Dry Kill Logic not only filled the room, they blew the doors off the place.
Triumphantly returning with possibly one of the best records of 2004, The Dead and the Dreaming, DKL arrived on the scene battered, bruised, and stronger than ever before. Losing two of their original members to the three-year hiatus caused by dropping their label and recording the album *they* wanted to write would shake any band to its core. Yet, this seems to have strengthened their resolve to kick ass.
Opening with "200 Years," DKL immediately got the entire floor moving, bouncing, and moshing like mad. Cliff Rigano, DKL's intense singer, easily hit the growls and snarls present on this fast-tempoed middle finger to adversity.
Thanking us for coming out to see the show, they launched into another Dead track, "With Deepest Regrets..." On this track, Cliff showed off his vocal prowess of being able to switch from gravel-throated intensity to melodic choruses. Their new guitarist and bassist, Jason Bozzi and Danny Horboychuk, melded perfectly on the intricate choruses and pounding verses. They managed to pump up the sides of the crowd while Cliff stalked the stage, exhorting the pit to move faster.
They then segued into "Paper Tiger," one of the best cuts from the Dead album. At this point, the crowd was off and running. Fans sang back to the band, which only made them play harder and more intensely. Then, they hit "Pain" off of "The Darker Side of Nonsense," which we all responded to with the intro cadence of "Enough Pussy Shit!!!" The sound was intense as Danny and Jason merged perfectly with Phil Arcuri, the drummer. Cliff has this intense stare when he is not singing that he uses to get even the most flat-footed fan (myself included) off his ass and rocking out with the band.
Things slowed down some and got more melodic with "Feel The Break." Jason effortlessly switched from the slow, fuzzed-out intro to the heavier choruses while Phil looked like he was having the time of his life. Another Darker track, "Nightmare," followed. While it did not have the quasi-sampling intro, the band tore into it, the crowd screaming the chorus back to them, receiving one of Cliff's rare smiles for our effort.
Switching back to Dead, the band pulled out "Buckles," one of the album's fastest and most intense tracks. I was curious to see if the band could keep up the intensity found on the album, and I was not disappointed. If anything, they played it faster, if that was even possible.
Pausing for a few seconds before playing another song, Cliff explained, "Many bands have what's called a radio hit. We're no different. This is our love song. We don't see it as selling out. We like to see it as buying in." They kicked off "Lost," which we all laughed at. We had no time to savor the joke since the double-time intro kicked the pit back into an intense frenzy. The participants were kicking ass, but, they were not out to hurt people, which was a nice surprise. Afterwards, one of the moshers was overheard saying, "Fuck, man. I wanna fall in love that way!"
However, the song that got the strongest crowd response was "Rot." The slow build of the intro to the verse got every person in the joint to raise our fists, sing along, and go nuts. They closed with "Perfect Enemy" and "Assfault," two perfect songs to close the night. They all thanked us for coming out, and they hauled ass, leaving us exhausted, tired, and completely happy.
But, the night was not yet over.
Both Jason and Phil appeared soon after outside, signing whatever was put in front of them. I happened to have the liner notes with me, and they seemed genuinely appreciative that we showed up to welcome them back to LA after such a long hiatus. Unlike many other bands these days, they were glad to sign stuff for us and talk to us.
It was a nice cap on a kick-ass evening. ,p>
On a side note, I was trying in vain to remember the setlist for the night so I could write an accurate review. I took a chance and sent the band an email from their website, and not 20 minutes later, Jason wrote me back and gave me the setlist for the night.
This band is something special. Get your ass out and see them or pick up the album if you haven't already. You will not be disappointed.
 Send your live reviews to [email protected]
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