M Productions presents BlackBox13 at The Whisky A Go Go, Hollywood, California, on January 20, 2012
(Review by Guest Contributor, Marisol Richardson, photos by Karen Mandall and Lan Nguyen)
As you know the saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Well I am glad that BlackBox13 didn’t stay in Vegas because they put on quite a great show. This band is making headway fast in the hard rock scene even though they only formed in September of 2011. BlackBox13 is comprised of Joe Wiehl, Todd Turgeon, Cory Kay, and Joe Nassar. Talk about a perfect fit and jumping right into the fire. These guys definitely deliver. You have Joe Wiehl delivering powerful guitar riffs, Cory Kay with his pounding bass lines, heavy hitting drumming by Todd Turgeon and to top it all off with the deep yet smooth vocals by Joe Nassar.
They played the Whisky during the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Convention week and really rocked the house. It is amazing to see a band bring the crowd off their seats and down to the floor before their first song “Sick World” was even finished. The crowd’s response was lively as the band turned up the energy in the room and made it a rockin’ night at the Whisky. They continued to play old school rock with a modern mood that is well needed by rock fans.
When you watch these four guys play, you can really see that they are enjoying every minute of it and feed off of the crowd’s spirit. You can’t help but smile at Cory Kay as he jumps on the speaker cabinets with his guitar and lays down a thick bass line. Then you look over at Joe Wiehl and see him just make the strings on his guitar dance as he wields out powerful riffs. Todd Turgeon on drums displays intensity with his high energy beat and heavy staggering climatic pauses. Watching Todd’s enthusiasm as he plays, you can only imagine that he must have a personality as big as his drumming. Joe Nassar’s deep vocals are like a cross between Ian Astbury and Glenn Danzig yet providing the mysteriousness and vibrancy of early Layne Staley. Some of the song highlights were “Rise” which is a heavy hitting power rock song and “Out of my Head” which gives a teasing intro into climatic riffs and incredibly smooth vocals. My personal favorites were “Silent Wall” which really highlights Joe’s vocals and gives you such a grooving Alice in Chains rock vibe and their final song of the night “Face Down in the Dirt” Joe Wiehl’s guitar intro will blow you away and it just continues to maintain the heavy hard sound throughout. A night at the Whisky with BlackBox13 playing was everything it should be. Great rock backed with an enthusiastic crowd and non-stop rock and roll.
I highly recommend checking out Blackbox13 and if you have the opportunity to see them live in concert, they are not to be MISSED.
(Special thanks to Marisol Richardson for contributing this article to MusicTourReviews.com. You can find more from Marisol at http://www.musicjunkiepress.blogspot.com)
Connect with BlackBox13 on facebook at www.facebook.com/BlackBox13 for links to their music, videos and more.
