Converge live. Show review from Riftrock.com.

Rating: 8.5

I arrived at the Chance a good hour before doors opened listening to the crowd of people gathered at the venue discussing which songs they were speculating Converge would play, the usual bums coming up to the line of people asking for change and a radio show host asking me what CD he should put in to blare out his speakers at his radio station's booth. This was the third to last show for the Between The Buried And Me, Cave In and Converge tour, and it was going to be a very impressive night.

After two local Poughkeepsie openers blessed (or cursed) us with their presence, BTBAM took the stage with their new guitarist, ex-ax man from Glass Casket (). With that being the case, they were only able to play four songs, two of which were "Aspirations" and "Mordeci" but they performed them perfect and sounded great. Watching BTBAM live is a great experience because of the band's intricate song structures and pure talent, watching them create it live is jaw dropping. The fact that Dusty from Glass Casket learned those four songs just a week or two before the two is quite a task and it was like the band never even lost a member. Their performance was the first of the night that really set the pit off and it would be up to Cave In to hopefully continue that energy.

Now those of you who are fans of Cave In and know the bands musical history have probably been aching for some really old school Cave In to make an appearance live for the first time in a long time. The band opened with a new song and then went into "Big Riff" after a little bit off "Jupiter" they informed the crowd they would be playing all kinds of stuff. They did indeed give the crowd what they wanted, after the song "Jupiter" the band did some distorted delay and droning effect then ripped right into "Moral Eclipse" the people responded gratefully. This would lead them to play yet another new song entitled "World In Your Way" which sounded good and was a blend between the new material and old. They ended with another "Until Your Heart Stops" classic "Juggernaut" and the pit exploded.

Not wasting any time, Converge came out with their huge backdrop of one of Bannon's masterpieces behind the drum rise and started off with "First Light" which comes off the band's latest effort "You Fail Me" and it would be a very full set of "You Fail Me" songs with a few surprises thrown in the mix. The band performed with their usual passion and intensity, loud, punishing and throwing them selves all over the stage, even stopping for Jake Bannon to throw up where in bassist Nate Newton commented "That's what a Ruby Tuesdays will do to you.". The set contained an array of material, everything from "When Forever Comes Crashing" to "Caring And Killing". The band broke into older songs like "Downpour" and "Conduit" which made for a great Converge set. They played the usual songs off "You Fail Me" those being the title track and "Black Cloud" along with "When Eagles Become Vultures", even adding the songs "Last Light" and "Dropout" to the roster. Converge live is like a punch in the face, figuratively and even literally sometimes, either way, a great time, and the band would go on playing the last card they had up their sleeve breaking out the classic "Saddest Day" which sounds even more crushing live than CD could ever capture. Converge never fail when it comes to a live show.

By Dave Huffy
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