Off The Wagon Rocks The Capitol Sunday Night

Off The Wagon Rocks The Capitol Sunday Night
by Michael Bernard
For The Corner News
Published July 9, 2008

In the very shadow of the Alabama Capitol building, Off The Wagon hosted another in their long line of musical showcases sunday evening. Featuring Veil of Maya, A Life Once Lost, and Emmure in support each's new album, the music was hard and heavy.

Veil of Maya of Chicago, Illinois, began the night with their powerful riffs and gutteral vocals, and it was apparent to all that this was going to be a special concert. Off The Wagon was nearing capacity before the end of Veil of Maya's set, and I was among the many who felt like Veil of Maya had a chance to steal the entire show. Veil of Maya's new album, The Common Man's Collapse, is currently available via special release at Hot Topic.

"We've been around for about four years," Brandon, Veil of Maya's vocalist, said, "We were signed to Sumerian in September and have been on tour non-stop since November. It's really been a blast to be all around the country with all the other acts."

"This is our second show in Montgomery," Marc, Veil of Maya's guitarist, said, "The fans have been really supportive here and we look forward to coming back again."

Next up was A Life Once Lost of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in addition to the blistering music, additional lighting and stage effects added to their adrenaline fueled performance. The Tony Danza TapDance Extravaganza was scheduled to play next, but they were unfortunately unable to perform.

Also facing their own challenges, concert headliner Emmure suffered the loss of lead singer Frankie for the night and the stand-in, who presumably is a member of the band's technical team, did a remarkably spot-on performance of Emmure's set mix of hits and songs off of the new album, The Respect Issue.

"This is one of the better venues in Montgomery," Joey Keith of Auburn said after the performance, "It's all ages and just the right size to get you close to the band."