The company that brought us Mario and Luigi is now bringing enough amplifiers and distortion pedals to Milwaukee to make Belltone a Fortune 500 company overnight. The Nintendo Fusion Tour, a concert/product-promotion tour rolls into Milwaukee for a gig at the Eagles Ballroom tonight, starting at 8 p.m.
Visitors will get to hear the sounds of a slew of melodic rock acts and check out all the latest games, gear and promotions the company that made “Duck Hunt” a national phenomenon has to offer.
Headlining is Evanescence, a quartet from Little Rock, Ark., who’ve made about as big an impression on the fledgling mainstream rock field in the past year as any other artist. Fronted by the alluring Amy Lee, a 20-year-old vocalist inspired by Tori Amos, the quartet’s debut, “Fallen,” currently lands at number five on the Billboard top 200 after 27 weeks of chart longevity.
The group’s dark melodies first scored a hit with the ubiquitously well-liked “Bring Me To Life,” which lit up the charts and made these once-unknowns recognizable on a national level. Guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody’s simplistic, arching melodies may not change the world or the musical landscape, but they’re dark and satisfying, like the popcorn flick you went to see last weekend.
The group’s current single, “Going Under,” has less of a novelty feel than “Bring Me To Life” and will likely serve as a ground-rattling opener for the Milwaukee gig.
Fresh off the heels of coming up with any reason possible to get away from the doomed Lollapalooza tour, Cold makes its return to Wisconsin in support of its strong new effort, Year of the Spider. Vocalist Scooter Ward and his eclectic compadres offer driving, hard-rock anthems that are better than those of most of the groups’ with whom Cold is aligned.
New tracks like the aggressive “Remedy,” reflective “Cure My Tragedy” and pummeling “Stupid Girl,” make the group’s latest a solid listen. But these songs were made for the live setting, Cold’s greatest strength, so to fully appreciate them they must be experienced in person.
One of the great “under the radar” surprises in the mainstream rock category has been Revis, another act which will also take part in the show tonight. The group’s debut, Places For Breathing, is one of the best modern-rock CDs of the past year. The Carbondale, Ill. natives may not have the indie credibility to make themselves critical favorites, but their songs speak for themselves.
There are no duds on Places For Breathing; every song is a single, and the group tours like a rabbit with a carrot dangling in front of its nose. Whether or not it has slept in the last year is up for debate, but not enough can be said about this group.
Revis’ live performance is electrifying, with frenetic guitarist Robert Davis going wild as guitarist Nathaniel Cox keeps pace for Justin Holman to lay his spot-on, if not slightly derivative lyrics on live audiences. Revis is a great band that, alone would be worth the price of admission.
Canada’s hard-rock heroes Finger Eleven will hit the stage in the earlier portion of the evening. The group’s latest self-titled effort is not nearly as strong as previous efforts “Tip” and “The Greyest of Blue Skies,” but its always-energetic live show and back catalogue of excellent material make it a welcome addition to this well-collaborated tour.
None of these groups, with the exception of Evanescence, may be selling a ton of records, but they play with passion and energy, touring endlessly in devotion to music. And that’s something that not even Nintendo can program into a person’s composition.
Evanescence, Cold, Revis and Finger Eleven play an all-ages show at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are available through the Rave website at www.therave.com.
