Thursday started off as a wintery mess, it left New York City blanked in
white and making for horrendous conditions maneuvering around any borough.
While the snow and cold piled on for a majority of the day, it seemed as if the
music gods were smiling on Big Apple crowd trying to get to a gig, any gig,
whether it was Broadway or ✝
✝ ✝ (Crosses) in Brooklyn,
which was our destination.
The night before at Santos Party Haus, Deftones frontman
Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, and musician Chuck Doom, backed by
various touring musicians, made their NYC debut with ✝ ✝
✝ (Crosses). On Thursday,
it was their time to shine at Music Hall
of Williamsburg across the East River
in Brooklyn. Taking the stage at 11 p.m., the
crowd inside who braved the cold and weather conditions turned up the heat and
were ready to see what this band could do. It was as if they had been following
✝ ✝ ✝
(Crosses) for decades the way they were seething with anticipation, rather than
the handful of years the band has been together. Backed by three giant light up
crosses to play off the bands three founding members and cover of their
just-released debut, it set a dark and ominous tone before they even played a
note. Moreno
walked on stage with a hoodie as if he was entering a boxing ring ready to go
12 rounds as he took his mic. The music of this band is as ominous, moody, and
dark as the tone they set on stage. It is not Deftones, it is not Far, it
contains some elements of those bands, but it is a long way away of being
anything like them. Taking a dark electronic / cold-wave vibe, with inspiration
from bands like Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, and Jesus and Mary Chain.
After plowing through 30 minutes, which included songs like “The
Eulogy,” and “Bitch’s Brew,” which were played earlier in the week on Jimmy
Kimmel Live!, a few technical glitches sidelined the band for a bit. However, Moreno and Doom made up
for it, in a freestyle jam session. “It means a fuckin’ lot to us that you came
out on this fucked up day,” Moreno
said to the crowd. Once the technical issues were fixed, a clearly frustrated
Lopez, took to his guitar and the band went back to work. Playing for
90-minutes, including the encore, ✝
✝ ✝ (Crosses) showed what they were made of.
While it was a night that belonged to ✝ ✝
✝ (Crosses), another side
project opened the evening. Color Film, which featured Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo
on vocals, made a rare live appearance opening for their friends. Color Film’s
sound is as if Palumbo fronted The Cure, in keeping with ✝ ✝
✝ (Crosses) 80’s
influences, they were perfect openers. Palumbo even brought along the Glassjaw rhythm
section to back up his latest effort. With only a 7” under their belt, it was a
tast for fans of what was to come, and we are hoping for great things.
