Rating: Excellent
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2005
Time: 8:30 P.M.-1:00 (ish) A.M. the next morning
Location: Colfax, Louisiana
Venue: Colfax Civic Center
View pics here.
Concert-band review/personal account
If Nothing Else, otherwise known to their legion of enthusiastic fans simply as "INE," knows how to rock a room. While that may seem to be too generic a description, it summarizes perfectly the energy and talent that the central Louisiana band projects.
My friend and fellow music enthusiast, Melissa Scarborough, accompanied me on what was INE's first ever DVD documentary and video shoot, Saturday, March 12, 2005. It was the first time for both of us to attend a concert by this band. For this reason, I arrived with an open mind - or ear, if you will. I could not wait to hear what these guys had to offer. Plus, I hadn't been to a concert in far too long, so I was looking forward to rockin' out again.
As we got out of the car, I immediately noticed that quite a large crowd had gathered outside, and more were inside the building. Everyone from kids to perhaps even grandparents were just chilling out, enjoying themselves and waiting for the local rock stars to officially kick off what was certain to be a memorable night for all.
In the meantime, Melissa and I mingled with some fans. In the process, something became very clear to me: INE has no shortage of interesting and even entertaining fans!
Those fans included one particularly unforgettable little man that Melissa and I dubbed "Uncle Charlie." Aside from (cough) clearly enjoying his spirits, "good time Charlie" was among the most enthusiastic of us.
There were many very approachable, very pleasant people present, as well, who were just fabulous to hang out with or briefly talk to. We even had the pleasure of meeting Elliot and Mark, a couple of friends of the band.
The first actual band member we had the pleasure of meeting was one of the guitarists, Robie McVea. I somehow knew he was with the band. I do recall him asking how I could rock out in heels. Hopefully, after some warming up (it's been a while since I've been to a concert!) and some coaching from Melissa, I proved that it CAN be accomplished (albeit care is taken so as to not *ahem* topple over).
In addition, we were also excited to meet vocalist, Brent Taylor. I kind of knew Brent already, sort of, since we communicated a few times on MySpace. It was great to be able to finally meet the person I had been talking to there!
A little bit of a delay proved to be well worth the minimal wait. My sources told me that the band was "good," but "good" doesn't stretch far enough to cover the talent and energy these musicians possess. I can honestly say that the guys' music totally blew me away. (And how they successfully jumped around so much without tripping over cords will continue to baffle me for a long time to come.)
The solid stylings of Mark Taylor's bass playing were complimentary to the craftsmenship and skill of Josh Frost and Robbie's lead guitar sounds.
As far as vocals are concerned, Brent brings it.
Chadillac, the drummer for INE, packs a thunderous punch while keeping the beat.
In between takes, Melissa and I met Josh, and Robbie threw down a glow in the dark bracelet for me.
Once the documentary part of the evening was finished, which we were all involved in, the production of the music video began.
Everyone got up on tables for the shoot, except for Melissa, myself, and a handful of other skittish people. Some of the ones on the tables were a little worried about falling over and off the things, including us behind them. Well, in the middle of getting everyone together to begin the music video shots, we heard a LOUD BANG. You guessed it: people fell down!
Chad eventually put us up front for the shoot, and the video shoot was a success.
After the last camera light went out at approximately 1:00 A.M., we finally met Mark and Chadillac! I asked if we could take pictures, and they kindly obliged. In addition, Melissa and I EACH got our own drumstick! Melissa got us both INE bumper stickers for our cars, as well.
As uncool as it may sound to some, both of us were tired, and since she insisted that we leave...we cut out early.
Practically all the way back to Alexandria, Melissa and I raved about how much fun we had and how fantastic the band was. (That and laughing about dear old "Uncle Charlie"!)
All in all, I have to say that it's been at least a year since I've had THAT much fun. It made my weekend, being there.
But all good times aside, it was most definitely an immense pleasure to be able to come and support local music. Alexandria and the entire central Louisiana area really needs to start appreciating music more.
I would like to also take the time to express my gratitude to the guys of INE for showing all of us present a great time! It's like I always say: musicians are my favorite people.
I encourage everyone here in central Louisiana, and even those of you not in this immediate area, to support local music and explore new music from all over.
So go out and see INE sometime soon. After all, they ROCK -- if nothing else...
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