Thunderbrew w/ Bullistic

Thunderbrew is a hard rock/metal band from Wilmington, Delaware, which was formed in 1999 by longtime friends Daran Amos (vocals/lead guitar), Rick Land (lead guitar), Bob Beird (bass) and Joe Panaccione (drums). Thunderbrew formed what would quickly become Delaware's premiere act for their musical genre, which its members often refer to as "beer metal." In early-2004, original drummer Joe Panaccione was replaced by Daniel Kwasizur.

Thunderbrew is currently touring in support of their third release, "Hell's Too Full" (HERE). I've had the pleasure of seeing Thunderbrew perform numerous times and have to say Friday's show was my favorite and most memorable. In my write-up for last week's show in Lindenhurst, NY, I blamed Rick and Daran for my not having taken a picture due to being frozen in an awe-like state as a result of their fingers moving at an almost inhuman speed during one of their songs. As I mentioned - you either record such a moment on film or sit back and live in that moment, which I decided to do. Who would have known that they could have topped that... but they did so on Friday night, along with Bob and Dan. Dan is just brutal on drums and plays them with a passion that's unrivaled by most. Bob was in rare form on Friday, bringing out even more of his personality on stage, which was great to see. Thunderbrew slayed Long Island musically and were asked to do so again on May 11, when they return to DJ Ryders.

Second to hit the stage was Bullistic, hailing from Richmond, Virginia, with members Doug Gibson (vocals), Ed Savoy (lead guitar), John Davis (bass) and Shane Kellis (drums). Bullistic was formed in 2001 and signed with Backstreet Records in February 2005. Thunderbrew and Bullistic touring together makes for a sweet pairing. Doug has an incredible presence on stage and commands your attention with his vocals. Ed's talent was highlighted during several solos and especially so when he played with "Root Man," who is mentioned later in this review. John is quite a character on stage which makes for an enjoyable show, along with Shane, the slaughterer of drumsticks.

Wrapping up the evening was an unexpected pleasure - a gentlemen who goes by the name "Root Man," and who's graced the stage with the likes of Bo Diddley and B.B. King. Words cannot express how incredible this portion of the show was for all the bands and those in the audience; however, "beautiful" is what comes to mind. Now I'm not discounting punch-you-in-the-face metal vocals and playing or the talent and ability it takes to perform such music; however, when you strip it all down, taking away everything else, including the music that you know by heart, and just wing it, only then will the true talent be left standing. Each musician took a turn on stage playing by Root Man's side, while he performed vocals and played his harmonica. As I said, this was an unexpected surprise not only for the audience, but for the musicians as well. This was all unrehearsed. Rick even played bass at one point.

"Beautiful" may seem like a strange word to use to describe this portion of the show, but those who were in attendance would understand my choosing it. Daran, Rick and Ed played from the heart and their talent; that is, natural talent, could not be disputed afterwards. Of course now, they were playing straight-out blues. Rick told me that it was a honor to play alongside Root Man. One of the highest compliments was paid to Rick when Root Man stood back, while watching him play, and then made a gesture to his heart, which I took as his feeling that Rick was playing from his heart. There's no disputing that he was, although it was more like Rick was playing from his soul. Same goes for Daran who truly amazes me each time his fingers hit the strings. You can practice your whole life yet never achieve this level of playing - only a few are blessed with such talent. Having millions of fans and platinum record sales doesn't promise it either. Such blessings are born from within and those in the audience, including myself, were lucky enough to sit back and watch several who have such a gift.

For further more information about the "Beer Metal Invasion" tour with Thunderbrew and Bullistic, please visit:

www.myspace.com/thunderbrew
www.myspace.com/bullistic