RE: Chameleons VOX
Let me preface this by saying, before this year, I am not sure that I had ever heard of the Chameleons, let alone heard their music, or know what Chameleons VOX was supposed to be. I initially was interested in the show because Cleveland post-punk band Pleasure Leftists were on the bill. I really love that band, and the last time they came around here was four years ago - and right before I started to get into them. So I checked out Chameleons (mainly focusing on Script of the Bridge since it was what they were going to play) and really dug what I heard.
I arrived at the show during the second openers last song. The first two things I noticed were that the Metro Gallery was packed to the gills, and that it was extremely hot. It was so hot that the walls were dripping. It was pretty miserable and to top that off, one of the openers had filled the place with their fog machine.
I bolted for the outside, ran into Vas, chilled for a minute, and then took a spot by the stage for Pleasure Leftists. They did not disappoint. Their frontperson Haley was a beast (even if Vas claims she had one move) and basically ran in place/danced/punched the air for around half an hour while howling. The band was tight (though the sound was bass guitar heavy where i was since I was on his side of the stage and getting lots of volume from his amp and the monitors. The set was a nice mix of old and new songs.
After that, I had to get some air, so we went to get Vas popcorn and move my car closer while Chameleons Vox setup.
There was no way I was going anywhere near the stage for their set. It was way too hot, and I knew they were going to play one whole album and an encore of anywhere from three to SEVEN songs... I cant stress how hot this place was; there was no way I could even have had one beer and had to drink three glasses of water AND leave the venue several times during their set to get air (to not get dehydrated; it worked, I was fine this morning). Back to the music. It was great. The songs sounded good and the crowd LOVED it. The average age was 50. They were enthusiastic, and lots of singing and dancing was done. They played for around 100 minutes. I lost count but I think they did four encore songs. I spent most of the set by the side of the stage near the door, but also hung with some people at the back.
After it was finished I hung around and chatted with the singer of Pleasure Leftists (we have a mutual friend) and she even gave me a free CD of her solo project after I told her how much I dig it. I regret not getting a poster, they were nice and only ten dollars, but I did not bring any cash. I did find a poster for last week's UN Fest; thankfully (I have posters for all the UN fest I have attended so far).
It was fun. I am glad I was able to see this music live. I get that it is basically a cover band, but mark is a great frontman and the musicians he had with him were all talented. It was even cool how the new guitarist had to ask about how to play like three of the songs (he was JUST brought on after another guitarist had to drop for an emergency, which Mark also addressed to the crowd).
