Supagroup, Christpuncher provide ear-splitting night
Ben Erwin
Issue date: 4/23/04 Section: The Verge
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Opening the show was Pana's Hot Iron Skillet, who had played ECHOfest earlier in the night. If the band was tired, however, it didn't show in the group's all-too-short half-hour set.
Skillet singer John Hicks quickly proclaimed himself John the Baptist and began baptizing the uninitiated in the audience. While Hicks may not hold as prestigious a place in the books of Matthew or Luke as his namesake that night, his wide-eyed, manic delivery had as much fire as any Pentecostal revivalist. The rest of the band steamrolled through the set without showing any evidence of playing merely hours earlier.
Christpuncher followed by careening through a drum-tight set of speedmetal accented by staccato guitar solos and guttural vocals. The band rolled from one tune to the next, typically without stopping as the chugging power chords and double-bass drum kick bled together in a cacophony of loud guitar and pounding rhythms.
Friends & Co. may not be the optimum place to see metal that extreme, but Christpuncher pulled it off with tight arrangements and the musicianship of its members.
Headlining the show was New Orleans transplants Supagroup, who ripped through a set anchored by the group's self-titled Foodchain Records release.
While the band is energetic but tight on record, the group's live show is truly indicative of the fun Supagroup has on stage. With a sneer and a smile, singer/guitarist Chris Lee belted out self-explanatory tunes like "Rock And Roll Tried To Ruin My Life" and "One Better." Likewise, Lee's younger brother Benji is a freewheeling, modern adaptation of AC/DC's Angus Young, complete with histrionic guitar solos and a well-crafted stage presence that belies his age.
If Benji Lee's goal is to revive the concept of a guitar hero with equal parts bravado and chops, he's well on his way to bringing a former musical staple back to rock.
To put it mildly, Supagroup is simple, straightforward rock. To some, such a statement might be tantamount to an insult, but it's the highest compliment I can pay a band that simply plays undiluted rock and roll.
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