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Taproot Support
act: Pulse ultra 29-01-2003 Melkweg,
Amsterdam Taproot
gathered quite the fan base with their first album “Gift” and it’s sequel
“Welcome”, but the band never really gained the same popularity in Europe as
it did in the US. Only once has the band played in the Netherlands before,
were it as the opening act for the Deftones. After two years of practise,
Taproot finally returned to show our country just how capable they are. |
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Opening for the befriended Taproot, Pulse ultra
owes a lot to tonight’s headliner. Not only has Taproot landed them a record
deal, but they also gave the band a little push in the back by dragging them
across the globe in their tour to support the new “Welcome.” Pulse ultra
themselves also have a new record to promote. The debut album “headspace”
received some nice reviews in Dutch music magazines, and it seems that many
crowd members already own the record since songs such as “Glass Door”, “Never
the Culprit” and “Slip in Sin” are sang/shouted along by some fans at the front. The live
performance does give the Pulse ultra’s songs a dimension that the album
seems to miss. When guitarist Dominic Cifarelli and bassist Jeff Feldman
release their quick finger tapping techniques upon their instruments, you
can’t help but stare and listen with eyes, mouth and especially ears wide open.
The song structures |
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and way of
playing aren’t all that original, but the extra edge that the band gives
their material during a per-formance seems to make up for this. Musically,
the band has many different influences. Incubus, Def-tones and Taproot pop in
mind when listening to their songs, but the own creativity and influence do
not show as well on the album as it does live. A very nice and well-played
warm up for the big boys! Critics will
argument that Taproot is just another nu-metal |
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band, but few
bands give a crowd a stage performance like Taproot does. The band seemed to
enjoy playing tonight, judging by front man Stephen Richards’ behaviour Crowd
pleasers “I” from Gift and “Poem” from Welcome are the songs that really turn
the audience berserk. Even vocalist Stephen puts in his share of adrenaline
by stage diving of the balcony (balcony diving?) and by putting up his dukes
and joining in the mosh-pit. The band wring every drop of energy in their
material out on stage and their stamina seemed to improve as the concert went
on. Seldom does it occur that we go home with as much satisfaction as we did
this night. Taproot offers a great show by hitting us with every ounce of
electrical violence that their instruments contain. Pulse Ultra seems to be
right up their alley and is a well-chosen opener. -stefray- |
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