Big Speakeasy
Speakeasy, Haji's Kitchen, Bloodties, The Destro and Big Iron on 7-26-03 by James

Club Indigo has very quickly become my favorite place to go in Deep Ellum, if I absolutely have to go to Deep Ellum. While it is not my favorite place to see a show in Dallas, anymore, it is nice to see another nice club doing well in Ellum, for a change. Now if someone could just do something about the lack of parking and overabundance of people down there, I might have more fun in what used to be THE place to go for shows in Dallas. Last Saturday, July 26th, I made the arduous trek into the mayhem to check out Big Iron's CD release show at the aforementioned Club Indigo. With a lineup of Speakeasy, who I had never seen before, Haji's Kitchen, Bloodties, The Destro and Big Iron, I plopped down my ten bucks confident that I was going to have a good time.

Speakeasy left me with mixed emotions. I didn't hate them, by any means, but I wasn't just in awe of them, either. They were a really solid band with some cool songs, but there were only a couple of times when I really got into their set. Now, this probably has a lot to do with them opening the show, as well. I always seem to have a hard time getting into an opening act. They also opened the set with a fairly dark, moody tune, reminiscent of Alice In Chains' better material, in some ways. At the end of the song, you felt so mellowed out that getting real pumped up was tough. I'd like to see them playing a later slot sometime and I would probably have been more into it.

Let me say this loud and clear; Haji's Kitchen may be the most under-appreciated band in Dallas, right now. This is my second time seeing them and they were every bit as impressive as the first time. It just kills me that people don't seem to notice them. Since I gave them a review the last time I wrote one of these, though, I will keep it short. They are great. You need to see them.

Bloodties is a band that features 3/5 of hardcore kings Legions Will Fall's final lineup (D. Brax, Drew and Terry), along with Ronny from Mortifix as the second guitarist. Legions got real big, real fast because they put on an incredible live show and Bloodties will to. Terry makes an impressive, energetic front man and Braxton and Ronny completely shred through every song. Being a huge fan of Hatebreed, they are the first comparison I draw when I see Bloodties perform. Actually, Hatebreed crossed with Slayer is a better way to put it. Songs are short, hard and fast as hell, with the occasional breakdown at the end for good measure. It would have been nice to see more hardcore kids in the pit for them, but I can understand that this was not a hardcore show. I was just really looking forward to seeing a big circle pit. heh heh. There was a good showing, though, and by the end there was a good amount of kids out there getting crazy and doing what hardcore kids do best.

I told Eric and Nick from The Destro this, so I don't mind saying it, here. These guys impressed the hell out of me the first couple of times I saw them, but weren't near as exciting, after that. They went through a period where, I guess, they were trying to define themselves as a band and find their niche. That lead to some material that I just didn't feel was up to what I knew these guys were capable of. As of this show, consider that niche found. This was the most impressive performance I have seen from The Destro since the very first time I saw them. They moved well onstage, got into the music and looked completely relaxed. They played some new material from their upcoming EP and all I can say is wow. You will never hear me fret for the return of Down (released on their second 2 song demo), again. The new shit absolutely slays and is easily the best material they have, at the moment. I spent half their set with my fist in the air, screaming to songs I had never heard before in my life, just because there was no way I could just stand there. My efforts to get a pit going were in pretty much in vain, but at least one guy (Cody from Lesser Known God) got out there with me, so I didn't feel like a total idgit. If you have not heard these guys, recently, I highly recommend trying to catch a show. You will not be disappointed.

Big Iron hit the stage with all the flourish and fanfare you would expect from a band that has been kicking the shit out of Dallas for, what, ten years plus, now? They opened the show with mostly material from their new album, which I am still not sure if I like or not. The new material is good, to be sure, but there is definitely something different there that I can't quite put my finger on. It seems to have more of a hard rock feel to it. Maybe I have just been listening to Tierra Del Diablo for too long. I kept waiting for something like Suffocation to hit me and I never got it. The crowd loved it, though. The whole time I was there, the whole place was going nuts. Not to take away from Big Iron, but the highlight of the whole show was some crazy dude in the pit that had to have been high on something. He pissed off some chick and she proceeded belt him right in the jaw. The guy just stood there and then he asked for another one. She hit him at least three times with what looked like everything she had. Craziness. Anyway, I only stuck around long enough to hear Big Iron play three or four songs from Tierra and then the smoke machine started getting to me, so I ventured into the nightmare that Deep Ellum has become to head home. At least this time I didn't get thrown into a wall....