Have you ever gone to a show with no expectations and been completely knocked off your feet by what you saw? I’ve only had that experience twice in my life and they were both at the same place, the Palace Theater in New Haven, CT. One was Joe Satriani and the other was Melissa Etheridge. Ok, maybe a possible third time was the first time I saw Van Halen live. In general though, the live shows I’ve been to were good but nothing that left a lasting impression.
I went to see Antigone Rising play a free show as part of the city of Stamford, Connecticut’s “Live At Five” concert series on June 29th 2006 and as it turns out, I have to add another show to my list because I was blown away.
If you’re not yet familiar with Antigone Rising don’t feel too bad…
Antigone Rising is made up of five extraordinary musicians from the New York and New Jersey area. Cassidy on lead vocals, Cathy Henderson & Kristen Henderson on guitar and backup vocals ,Dena Tauriello on drums and Jen Zielenbach on Bass
They have released several independent albums including New And Used, Rock Album and Antigone Rising’s Traveling Circus. Their most recent album, From The Ground Up, was release by Lava/Hear Music and if you’ve ever entered a Starbucks coffee shop on the planet Earth, you’ve seen it for sale.
They have toured all over the States with some people you may have heard of like Joan Jett, moe, Rob Thomas, The Allman Brothers, Aerosmith and a little band called the Rolling Stones…oh, and they’ve also played the Lilith Fair and South by Southwest music festivals.
Remember when I said to not feel too bad, I lied…feel bad. Ok, Ok…don’t feel bad, but go to their website and buy their albums.
Back to the show…Antigone Rising came out and played a mix of old and new songs to a crowd of a few thousand. Taken individually, each member of Antigone was tremendous on their instrument. Each performance on drums, bass and guitar was powerful and spot on. The energy that radiated from Cathy, Kristen, Dena and Jen was something that you could actually see as well as feel.
Cassidy’s vocals were also powerful…inspiringly so, actually. As far “front men” go Cassidy can absolutely hang with any of them that I’ve ever seen. She has an all encompassing stage presence, that when combined with the familiarity of material and the apparent friendship of the band members, gives the person in the audience the impression that no stage is big enough to hold her.
The only thing that I can recommend is that you go see them…as soon as humanly possible. Seeing them outdoors was one thing, but with all the energy they give off during a performance seeing them in a club could only be an amazing experience. They only have a few dates listed on their site right now, but as with all bands they’re always on the road playing somewhere. Go find out where!!!
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