Art of Dying
Alrosa Villa – Columbus, OH
10/19/2016
Review: Cathy Moore
Photos: Shawn Wiseman
Art of Dying burst onto the Alrosa stage in Columbus Wednesday night ready to rock with a small but enthusiastic group of fans, however Mother Nature had other plans.
After starting the show with “All or Nothing” from their latest CD, Nevermore, which dropped September 2nd of this year, the band really got the crowd energized with one of their biggest hits, “Die Trying.” A few more songs into the show, lightning struck and shorted out a piece of equipment and lead singer Jonny Hetherington’s vocals were no longer audible.
Alas…the show must go on. The band grabbed some chairs and settled in for an intimate acoustic performance full of new tunes, old favorites, and crowd requests. They started the acoustic set by welcoming Alexa Kabazie, lead singer of Letters From the Fire, who has been touring with Art of Dying this fall, on stage for a cover of the 1985 hit Broken Wings originally by Mr. Mister. The harmonies on the tune were amazing and there was no turning back at this point. It was going to be Art of Dying Unplugged.
Joined by the rest of the band including Cale Gontier (bass), Tavis Stanley (guitar), and Cody Watkins (drums), Hetherington belted hits from previous releases including Get Thru This and Tear Down The Wall, responded to requests from fans such as Sorry and Best I Can, and introduced tunes from their new CD like Cages and Torn Down.
After injuring his ankle at a show earlier in the tour, Hetherington commented that it was “actually kind of perfect” that he could sit and play for the crowd so that he could rest his ankle. However, there definitely wasn’t a lack of energy even though they were unplugged and not dancing and jumping around the stage in typical Art of Dying fashion. The band was extremely gracious and interactive with the crowd and made the experience unique and memorable for the “die hards” who were lucky enough to be there for this show.
Art of Dying links:
https://www.artofdyingmusic.com/
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