Live Review: Morning / Lift the Decade / The Sun Thugs of Rebellion / Negasilver @ The Palace 3-26-10

Morning...@ The Palace

The Negalution Begins at the Palace in Sparta NJ.

photos & review by rozlyn smith

A new venue in Sparta called 'The Palace' is hosting shows with local New Jersey bands. The promoters book bands in the rock genre, except for metal. However, a venue specifically for "harder" bands will be around sometime in the future. For a venue that opened less than a month ago, it seems to be thriving. The first show on March 5th sold out in advance. With all ages shows on Friday nights, this venue certainly gives kids in the area a place to discover new music and go hang out with their friends.

This show featured a band who was playing their first show outside of a cafe. The band, Negasilver, is made up of Mark Peteroy on acoustic guitar and vocals and Marcus Ramirez on electric guitar. Negasilver has been around since August 2008 and started playing in cafes late that winter. The band has graced the stages at such venues as Piano's Bar and Grill in Bloomfield and Van Gogh's Ear Cafe in Union, both in New Jersey. The band's sound is largely influenced by artists and bands such as Buckethead, Chris Cornell, and Candlemass. Though they have some heavy influences, the band has a very melodic sound to them varying between songs with vocals and strictly instrumental songs. The band seems to write songs influenced by some of their close friends; including an instrumental song called “Cape May Sunset” which was written for the band's friend, Franco, and also another instrumental song titled “Bloom” that was written for singer Mark's girlfriend (who is referred to from time to time as the Nega-Muse).

Live Review: Black Gold / Sherwood / Reece / Morning @ School of Rock, South Hackensack, NJ

Black Gold @ School of Rock 3-16-10

Photos and story by Rozlyn Smith

I had the pleasure of seeing Black Gold perform at the School of Rock in South Hackensack, NJ. on March 10th. When Black Gold took the stage, my mouth started to water over Erick Ronick's (ex-Panic! At the Disco keyboardist) keyboard-it is gorgeous! With the amount of dancing that went on, it surely seemed that the crowd responded very well to their set list, which included “Detroit,” “Shine,” and “The Come Down.” I must say Eric Ronick is an amazing vocalist and keyboardist and Than Luu really knows how to play the drums. I could not believe how much heart and soul this band put into their performance. 

Though their bassist had some technical difficulties the band managed to push through the challenge at hand and put on an amazing show. The talent this duo has left me speechless. What I listened to on their MySpace page, and what I heard live blew me out of the water (and that's a good thing). I even picked up a copy of their CD Rush and I can't stop listening to it. This duo is one to watch out for. With their energy and talent there is nothing they can't do or achieve!