The Hayloft Revs Up!
This past Saturday night at The Hayloft in downtown Mt Clemens was a local music fan's dream that started around 6pm and didn't stop until the clock struck 2am! Encompassing damn near the entire genre-scape, The Hayloft was host to two fun-filled fan-packed rock & roll lineups that had the early show filled to capacity with nearly 300 kids for an all-ages battle of the bands, while the late show damn near equaled that itself! With the younger Dr2 Crew in tow, we hit up the early show which had 6 bands going head to head, with the winner opening up for The Devil Wears Prada down in Toledo at Headliners in a few weeks. That's all it took to get these bands & their fans in the door, as Deliver the Ghost, This Last Advance, Sights Set Through, A Death Among Heroes, Call It Karma, and All's Quiet literally destroyed the Hayloft for 3 ½ hours before Call It Karma emerged the nights winner. The late show featured some of the areas finest and most definitely some of the hottest bands in the area. Picking up where the battle left off, Broken Day Machine hit the stage with their altrock-driven show that just oozes with upbeat, good time rock & roll, sending us here at Dr2 into euphoria as we have not had the chance to catch these guys since they dropped their sophomore effort "A Place Beyond the Sun", an infectious collection of hook laden tracks, reminding us of why we loved that EP as much as we did!
We all know that Rock Music is defined by drugs, sex & rock n roll, and while Broken Day Machine brought out the rock, these next two bands definitely brought an overdose of the other kind. The Pilz not only deliver a raw, somewhat raucous brand of blistering straight up rock, but toss in their petite-packaged spitfire of a front woman, Dani Katastrophe, and you got yourself one of the most entertaining, and, we must say, eye-pleasing bands in the city! Pouring every ounce of energy into her live performance, Dani effortlessly drew the crowd into her world with a non-stop, action-filled, delivery that had the entire Hayloft crowd glued to the stage. Playing a 40 minute plus set, The Pilz took the opportunity to hit up the crowd with just about every track from their debut release, "Hard to Swallow", and we can attest to the fact they found some new fans along the way as just about everyone was jockeying for position to catch a glimpse of this vibrant young lady as she danced, pranced, and even rolled her way across the stage. Maybe the best Pilz set we've seen to date!
Continuing the raging fire on stage was the Christina Chriss Band, fronted by the equally ferocious Christina Chriss, she slammed the party stickshift into overdrive with a rearranged version of GaGa's Poker Face that sent the Hayloft into dance mode! A definite fashion plate on the scene, Christina brings flair to the stage that seems to be lacking at most local rock shows, as well as an incredible vocal that had the crowd up front of the stage as she launched into an array of original tunes that kept the crowd moving. Supported by an all star band, Christina has that triple threat of looks, voice, and presence that makes her one of thee bands to keep an eye on, and from the response of tonight's crowd, she is certainly on her way! You can check out her & her band by hitting up the Dr2 MySpace page where you'll find them in our Top Friends.
StellarDrive has taken the scene by storm since their debut release, "Where We Are" last summer, filling venues across southeast Michigan on a regular basis, only to be derailed by the inevitable "creative differences" just as their star was taking it's rightful place amongst Detroit's storied past. Not to be devoured over the loss of their lead singer along the way, StellarDrive has somehow managed to keep the fuel burning, trying out a bevy of the most prominent singers this area has to offer, settling on Brett Lee to fill the shoes of their departed singer. Where most bands fail, StellarDrive appears to have succeeded, delivering their 40 minute set without missing a beat. In fact, if you had not known the inner turmoil of the group, you'd be hard pressed to realize that this was the first show with the new singer they chose.....the week before! Dropping a truly Stellar show, that we've become accustomed to, StellarDrive cranked out all their biggest hits including Bed of Nails that has become an anthem of sorts, prompting a sea of fist-pumping arms to emerge across the front of the stage, apparently everyone approved! Be sure to check out all the photos from the night up in the Dr2 Photo Gallery then be sure to catch StellarDrive March 13th at The Emerald Theater where they'll be opening up for Critical Bill's CD Release Party for Underground Kingdom. DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews!