Friday 17/11/06 Ph8, e(v)olocity, Kicking K8 @ The Rock, Tucson Arizona

The Rock in Tucson is an upgrade in quality from your average club. Its dark moody interior has a chain link fence separating the drinking from the pit and is surprisingly clean with a most friendly staff. We settle in and fiddle with the camera whilst the bands set up.

We first saw the progressive metal band Kicking K8 play with Disturbed and they had put on one hell of a show. But how would they do in a club atmosphere? The answer comes with the lost and remorseful song ‘In The Dark.’ The lads work the crowd with ease and Frank’s vocals are just as bad ass as his looks. The place is filling up, beer flows and ‘Disaster’ gets the girls screaming. ‘Rage’ roars onto the scene. Mark Evans does a phenomenal lick, then Frank powers out his vox hard and loud. The audience is jumping and fully into Kicking K8.

E(v)olocity seems to always have the best lighting and sound. They introduce a new piece ‘The Rode Home.’ It’s a great song and the band puts on a high energy performance working every inch of the stage whilst the audience cheers then on. ‘Pyramids’ is a well written piece with an exotic flavor to the melody. Aaron’s voice, twists and turns, mesmerizes and builds. The crowd loves it, rocks away and sings along. It’s obvious the band is having a good time on stage and so is everyone else. “What? You don’t like to make toys?” rings out and e(v)olocity ends their set with ‘Herbie,’ an off the wall and driven song about conformity and complacency.

Steeped in a variety of metal modes Ph8  is a band in demand. Some clubs won’t let them play their venues because of the devoted rowdy horde that follows them in mass. What the heck? We think a moshing, rocking and screaming crowd is a good thing! The floor packs in tight as Marcus Davis proceeds to sear our ears with the rampaging anger of ‘That One Song.’ They charge full force into ‘Breaking The Tension’ then take a breather. A nervous yet determined lad comes up on stage and tells us why he loves his lass then in a truly beautiful move, proposes to her. She accepts, the rabble cheers, sheds a few tears and the band plays a heartfelt ‘Anything.’

A sweet lick precedes a killer roar then the most excellent ‘Shallow And Cynical’ takes over. They leave the stage and the jam packed crowd chants “fate” until they return. They give us what we’re begging for in the song ‘Choice.’ Before we know it this song takes us captive, switches gears and leads us on an intense metal journey. Ph8 is dynamic, intelligent and polished. They’ve won us over and inducted yet more followers into their rowdy fold.