Losing Scarlet at Durty Nellies (1-29-10)

Post #131
You may recall my review of Losing Scarlet when they won the reader's poll for unsigned bands on myspace.com back in '09. Well, shortly after they won that poll, I had the pleasure of seeing one of their live shows, as they played a small venue in my area along with 4 or 5 other local bands. It was an excellent show!

The venue was Durty Nellie's in Palatine, IL. I made sure to arrive early so as not to miss Losing Scarlet, as they were scheduled as the opening act. While waiting for the show to start, I wandered around the floor and looked over some of the merchandise for sale. Besides Losing Scarlet, a few other bands had music for sale. I picked up a free sample from one of the bands (Inn Cinema). Then I got a drink and waited for the show to start...

Losing Scarlet came out and got the night rolling with 'On Display', one of my favorite tracks from their independent debut album. Scott Haith led out of the gates with the thrashy riff, then the band joined in, followed soon by Jodi Kell's emotional vocals. Having listened to their CD several times, I was pleased that I recognized most of the songs. They delivered near-flawless renditions of their recorded songs. As I have mentioned before, they're like a blend of Disturbed's heaviness, and vocals similar to Evanescence or Lacuna Coil.

They played a good long set of their self-described 'pretty metal'. Scott jamming out killer riffs on guitar, Petra Sith providing melodic bass-lines and backing vocals, Conor McCann drumming intensely, and Jodi singing lines that were sometimes sexy, and other times cathartic. Most of the songs were from their self-titled debut, but they had some surprises in store for me and the rest of the audience, as they played a number of new songs, presumably to be included on their upcoming second album 'Learning to Bleed'. One particular treat was their cover of Blondie's 'Call Me'. It turned out to be a real crowd-pleaser, and got more people active in the crowd.

They closed their set with 2 of their new songs, including one that has become the title track for their upcoming 2nd CD, 'Learning to Bleed'. I was a bit sad that their set was over already, but a great night of music was still in store. Next up was Inn Cinema, who played a bit more aggressive style of music, but still with catchy melodies. Other bands I recall were The Crossing, and Beyond the Red. A great night of music through and through.

1-29-10 Durty Nellie's Losing Scarlet setlist:
-On Display
-All I Am
-Left to Burn
-Shameless Prayer
-Call Me (Blondie cover)
-With This We Fight
-Shade of Hate
-Learning to Bleed
-Inclusions