"Here's how it's gonna go," lectured Daryl Palumbo, the untamed frontman of Head Automatica. "You wanna crowd surf? I know. But we gotta make it like a ride. So you're gonna take the f***ing ride onto the stage, and then you're gonna safely walk off. I know, I know, security won't even touch you."
Steaming with young lust and music packed with ultra-edgy beats, the sold-out Icon hosted the New York City electronica pop-rock group Head Automatica Friday night.
The Icon went wild with crazed screams as the silhouettes of Head Automatica approached the stage from the rear. Youthful crowd surfers enjoyed the waves while the band nonchalantly tossed F-bombs around.
Palumbo greeted the audience with a short vocal solo, which invited the entire band to explode into the intense "At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet." Without any hesitation, Head Automatica went directly into their hit "Brooklyn is Burning." The crowd's fervor was already at peak levels after the initial stimulation.
The mix of sound that poured from the suspended speakers was surprisingly clear and not overwhelmingly loud, with just enough volume to make the performance powerful.
Once familiar with the stage and the audience, Head Automatica was pumping energy into the willing crowd, and it was eagerly received. Palumbo violently thrust the microphone stand back and forth over his head, taunting the contents of the Icon. His hardcore roots were shining through.
Palumbo managed to find a happy medium somewhere between Elvis Costello and his days with Glassjaw.
"This is my first time seeing Head Automatica," said Joe Roberts, 26, from Rochester. "They're definitely tight and sound way better live than on the CD. It's a diverse spectrum of music, from hip-hop to jazz."
In between songs, Palumbo toyed with the crowd and pushed them to the brink of control. Before bursting into Head Automatica's biggest hit, "Beating Heart Baby," he claimed, "this is a Black Sabbath cover." The Icon shuddered from the screams.
Head Automatica donned mostly suits Friday night, except for keyboardist Jesse Nelson who wore a red college sweater with a large embroidered "J" on the front.
"Look at Jesse's f***ing sweater," said Palumbo. "Doesn't he look so cute? That sweater is so f***ing Stanley."
Head Automatica took over the Icon, making it their own by commanding the attention of the crowd for the majority of their performance.
After retuning to the stage for an encore, Head Automatica invited hip-hop singer Cage Kennels from The Weathermen to join Palumbo onstage for a cameo appearance.
Palumbo introduced Kennels.
"This is some special sh** right here," he said. "It takes a lot to get this motherf***er out."
A good portion of the crowd would soon regret those words.
Kennels rapped the verses and Palumbo sang the choruses to the unknown track over the monotonous loop of a drum machine. The faces in the crowd appeared confused, some blas?(c). Many concertgoers even left the Icon. The crowd was uncertain about the hip-hop number, but Head Automatica made up for this dull moment by reassembling onstage and closing the night with their huge hit, "The Razor."
Opening acts, We Are The Fury, Kamu, and Morningwood all sounded tight and were entertaining. Morningwood played their comical 80s spoof video hit, "Nth Degree."
"I've seen Morningwood before, they stripped people naked onstage," said UB senior Richard Song. "But with Head Automatica, the recording just doesn't compare to the experience of seeing and hearing them liv
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
