After returning last Monday from vacation in Portland, I proceeded directly to the Tuesday and Sunday shows of Morrissey's five night stand at the "Frankenstein Ballroom". I was standing outside the venue on Sunday when I heard a passerby say that Girl in a Coma was the new opening band for the remainder of the tour. HOLY SHIT! Their drummer Phanie first got in touch with me through myspace about two years ago to see if Isles were coming through Texas. We maintained a friendly email conversation and I finally got to see and briefly meet them while we were in Austin for SXSW. Its incredibly heartwarming to see fellow musicians, especially comrades, put in a ton of hard work and accomplish something that would have seemed a distant fantasy just a year earlier. Even on that wide and intimidating stage, they fired on all cylinders and melted the cold hearted NYC crowd.Between the two shows I saw, the Moz and company banged out a steaming helping of songs I had been dying to sing along with for many years now. The band was tight, dynamic, and LOUD as all hell. No jingle jangle here, for these are the tools of heavy metal and Broadway. The highlight was the mesmerizing, ever-building dirge of "Death of a Disco Dancer". I had forgotten how great that evil, descending bass line was.
