The unofficially dubbed "Last of the Mohicans" tour stopped by the Water Street Music Hall on Thursday, featuring Soulfly and the North Side Kings.
"We call it that because it's a hard life. Radio bands have multimedia to expose themselves. We basically have to tour our ass off. You need to play a lot of shows to allow people to get to know you, who you are, what you're about. We've just tried to do it the hard way," said Marcello Rapp, Soulfly's bassist.
Rapp is no stranger to the road. He was a technician on tour with Sepultura for about 10 years before joining lead singer, Max Cavalerra's new project, Soulfly.
"It's the same business. It's a different job in the same business. I love being able to pursue music," said Rapp.
As a bassist, Rapp naturally sites funk artists as his major musical influences. Some may be a surprised by that, given the intensity and innate rage of Soulfly's music.
"I'm a very peaceful man, myself. My work is my therapy. I wash my soul everyday onstage. I think everybody should have a room where they can go insane for a while," he said.
It's evident when one sees this band in concert that their playing is an absolute emotional release. Mixed between the indescribably aggressive trademark tracks like "Seek'n'Strike" and "No," are contemplative tribal interludes. These breaks include the use of simple instruments created in the days of Brazilian slavery. The birimbau is the one used during the intro to "Back to the Primitive."
"Those are mostly Max (Cavalerra)'s deal. I get in on a lot of the drum tracks. I play a set of antique tom-toms," said Rapp.
At Thursday's show, the band played for several minutes, each band member with his own drum and a member of the crew even came onstage to play along. These drumming interludes are reminiscent of the days of slavery, when, for simple entertainment, a group of slaves would come together to create something beautiful in their ugly life.
Soulfly also uses more advanced techniques of creation.
"As far as my bass goes, I use a Flanger, heavy distortion and G-force. I like to play with effects and create new sounds. I do similar things to what Chi [Cheng] of the Deftones does," said Rapp.
In concert on Thursday, Soulfly was alone on the ballot of even remotely famous bands. Downthesun, a Midwestern Slipknot/Mudvayne disciple, was supposed to be the direct support, but "mechanical failure" (rusty tour bus) prevented their arrival. Filling in on short notice were Mower and Stem.
Mower was the first and most impressive of the three supporting acts. Using a dual-vocalist technique, they started the night off by moving the audience to mosh. The extra-long mohawk sported by one of the singers, and the pentagram worn on the chest of the other, gave the band a very punk look. Their musical stylings, though, were much darker, and more aggressive.
Stem was a local band with something to learn about hardcore. Stripping to the skin is widely looked down upon as a sign of vanity and is especially ineffective in driving the audience to respond when said stripper is on the brink of obesity. Light-colored khakis are for parents bringing their first-graders school-supply shopping, not hardcore vocalists. The man's scream is promising, but his lyrics were lackadaisical. The best part of Stem's performance: "This one goes out to the girls . 'F--- you!'"
The North Side Kings deserve a sitcom. Out of Phoenix, AZ comes this punk act consisting of men no younger than 35, touring for a living. Their front man is quite overweight and proud of it. The lyrics to one song are as follows: Eating food/With your friends/The finer things in life. After playing the final note, the lyricist backs away from the mic rubbing his belly with a satisfied grin.
Soulfly made the crowd wait for almost an hour, including set-up time. Suddenly, an overwhelming bass drone is buffeted through the amps and the lights are turned down. An incredible push from the rear pins members of the crowd against the fence as the band takes the stage and breaks into "Downstroy," an upcoming single from their new album "3."
Unfortunately, the performance peaks with the second song "Seek'n'Strike." After that their intensity levels off and although it never declines, the band just does not make the effort to ration their fury, so that it may boil over and truly erupt later. The song selection left something to be desired as well. Aside from "Roots Bloody Roots," "No," and the closer, "Eye for an Eye," there were few outstanding performances.
The stage set-up consisted of military-issue camouflage, nets and chains. It suggests that as a band, Soulfly feels confined or that they have failed to free themselves thus far. It begs the question, "Free themselves from what?" It could symbolize a creative block, (very little progression is shown in their three albums), or it could symbolize their efforts to escape their pain: Cavalerra's stepbrother was murdered some time ago, and Lynn Strait, lead singer of Snot and a very close acquaintance of Soulfly, died in 1998 in a car crash. One can see that the performance of certain songs is personal, as Cavalerra refuses to open his eyes and when he speaks to the audience he shields his eyes from the spotlight. He holds his hand open to the crowd as if to receive their positive energy and feed off of it.
Overall, it was somewhat of a disappointing night. Downthesun's presence was missed, as the replacement supporting acts were not up to par. Soulfly's song selection was poor, and their level of intensity was too consistent. Perhaps it was an off-night for the Brazilian quartet. But no matter what, one can be sure that it will not faze them long.
With a drive to send their message far and wide through the most primitive means, and a lust for the satisfaction of conquering their inner demons, Soulfly will tour the world relentlessly.
"I'm going to die believing in what I love," says Rapp.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
