Drowning Pool - Live in Concert

Middle East Night Club in Cambridge, MA

 

September 24th 2007

Drowning Pool is currently on the road on their,” This Is For The Soldiers Tour with support act The Exies. Both bands have new albums out on Eleven Seven Music including Drowning Pool’s,” Full Circle" and The Exies,"The Modern Way Of Living With The Truth". The "This Is For The Soldiers Tour" made a stop at the Middle East in Cambridge on September 24th. The great thing about about this tour is that it is giving something back to the men and women who are fighting for our freedom. For each ticket sold on the "This is for the Soldiers Tour", Drowning Pool is donating one dollar to the IAVA and USO (.50¢ going to IAVA and .50¢ going to USO).

The Exies hit the stage at 9:00 P.M. and performed a much heavier set than the last time they strolled through town. Performing a few new songs of their latest release including,” Different Than You", the band has a much heavier appeal due to the return of original guitarist  Chris Skane, Hoss on drums, and Freddy Herrera on bass.  When I asked lead front man Scott Stevens about their new album,” A Modern Way Of Looking At The truth" he told me,” It is more about the life reflection. It is how to justify about what is happening. It is also like the state of the world. It is a world that doesn't have much belief, or we are searching for belief.  We are searching for hope. We are searching for what is real. That is what it is. We are all in search of the truth. This has kind of become the modern way of doing that through media I guess."  I was really looking forward to hearing Drowning Pool perform tonight because it was my first time I have seen the band since the tragic death of Dave Williams in 2002.

Drowning Pool live - Rebel Yell

Drowning Pool has new front man Ryan McCombs, who joined the band in 2005 after Jason "Gong" James, departed in 2004. It seems the band has come,” Full Circle" with their new release and trying to carry on and trying to rekindle the vibe that once present in the height of their career. Actually, Ryan and Drowning Pool have an extensive history together, as the ex-Soil singer and Drowning Pool have been road warriors for a long time. When Dave passed away, Ryan even wrote a song for Dave and recorded it with Soil called,” Remember". This is what exactly Ryan did tonight at Drowning Pool's concert, as he payed tribute to Dave's legacy throughout the set. The band hit the stage at 10 PM. and performed a heavy, foot stomping set of early Drowning Pool ranging from their debut, "Sinner" in 2001 to the their recent release,” Full Circle".

Ryan McCombs on the mic

Opening with "Sinner", Drowning Pool took the stage with a revenge paying homage to our troops, and never forgetting their Texas roots my opinion, Ryan has a very good stage personality, as he tries to get the audience involved in every song. His vocal style is very strong, and actually technically maybe even better than Dave Williams at times.  It was good to see the Drowning Pool perform a huge selection of tunes from their recent release including,” Full Circle", Enemy", and the radio played song,” Soldiers". During this song, Ryan asked the audience to, "Remember our troops and if you see a man or woman who is in uniform to shake their hands and Thank them for fighting for our freedom, because it is not getting any better." Guitarist C.J.Pierce has a great style of shredding out the heavy, guitar chords and solos that give Drowning Pool their signature grunge-hard rock sound. The rhythm section of Stevie Benton and drummer Mike Luce was thunderous. It was also Mike’s birthday tonight, so the band was in a great mood. Mosh pits formed all night, but especially on their hit,” Bodies". As literally bodies did hit the floor in a mad vengeance. One of the most spontaneous parts of the set was Drowning Pool's version of the Pantera song,” Cowboys From Hell". Ryan told the crowd, "We are from Texas, Dime country." Just as Dime, was ever so true to his fans, Drowning Pool is carrying on his hospitality by their generosity and respect that they share with the audience. Ryan yelled, "We never forgot our roots, and Thank you for being here with us tonight".  He said he knew that there were a lot of fans that enjoyed early Drowning Pool. As he prompted the crowd into a sing along of,” Tear Away" and said," I want you guys to sing this song like Dave Williams did every night". It was a great feeling to see that Ryan was not trying to take his place and give Drowning Pool a whole new sound, but indeed his goal is to carry on the best way he can in memory of his friend Dave Williams. Sure the band may have a new singer, but the roots are still there and ever so obvious tonight. I also enjoyed their rendition of Billy Idols song,” Rebel Yell". Picture a revved up version of the song on speed control. The Middle East is a great club to see National acts and tonight Drowning Pool and The Exies, two bands that have been around the block a few times and have a whole new outlook on life, and are making a statement with their music, and proved tonight that they are not afraid to show their controversial side to their fans.  Be sure to check out Drowning Pool on the,” This Is For The Soldiers Tour" this fall. As guitarist C.J. Pierce told me," I am 35 years old, and I can't say I have seen it all. But I have seen a lot. I have seen what the Soldiers are going through. This tour is to give the Veterans better health care, when they return home. This is not a political campaign or tour. It is for our troops. Drowning Pool visited Capital Hill last week. We got 25,000 signatures in support of the Lane Evans Bill. We met with Hilary Clinton and Obama.  I live in Texas, and I am originally from New Orleans. The best part about being on tour is going home and performing to your hometown fans. This tour is all about family and our Brothers and Sisters, and our troops." Drowning Pool Set List:  Sinner Full Circle Enemy Step Up Shame Reminded Soldiers Reborn Pity Cowboys From Hell Bodies Tear Away Rebel Yell

Review by Debby Rao