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with Special Guests: Kyng, Eve To Adam, and Cilver
Aprill 22, 2014 @ Westcott Theater - Syracuse, NY

We had been told that were would be chatting with Cristina Scabbia, but when we arrived, we were brought in to Andrea Ferro. He was extremely friendly, as he has been both times I have met him, and he smiles constantly. I admitted to Andrea that many of my questions were written specifically for Cristina, because that was what we were told, and he was really cool about it. He offered to answer as many of our questions as he could, and would ask Cristina to join us when we got to those questions.
So, I sat down with Andrea and the first thing we discussed was Lacuna Coil's short, 3-song, acoustic set they performed at the old Half Penny Pub before their 2009 show in Syracuse. When asked if they might consider doing a full acoustic tour, Andrea said they might consider an acoustic EP in the future, but no plans for a full acoustic tour any time soon. Cristina felt pretty much the same way.
We discussed the tour and the new record. He was very friendly, and eager to talk about the band's tour, saying that fan response to the early release singles has been very positive.
When asked what he enjoyed doing when not on the road, Andrea answered that he enjoyed hanging out with his family and friends doing such activities as going out to dinner, or to the movies. When asked the same question, independently, Cristina said almost exactly the same thing, stating that they spend all their work time in bars and a steady party atmosphere, so when they have time off they want to enjoy the "normal life."

When we finished, we thanked them for their time and went into the Westcott Theater to see the opening bands.
First up was Cilver from New York City. Though not as heavy as Lacuna Coil, the five member band Cilver, with their more straight rock sound still made for a fitting opener for the show. Vocalist Uliana Cilver, has a great voice, and, like tour mate Cristina Scabbia, has been listed as one of the Hottest Chicks in Rock by Revolver Magazine. I had never hear or seen Cilver before this, so it was a learning experience for me. Their performance was excellent. They definitely had a few fans in the audience. Many could be seen singing along and dancing as Cilver performed tunes from their In My Head CD. Their short set was over too soon. They are definitely a band to watch. I am sure we will be seeing more of them in the future.
When their set was done, the retired to their mercandise booth, where they remained for pretty much the rest of the night, posing for snapshots with fans and signing autographs.
Later in the night, after the entire show was over and fans lined up to meet Lacuna Coil, Uliana and her band mates were walking around talking to people and selling merch to those waiting in line. When we got over to her, she chatted with us for a few moments. I told her it was an excellent show, and we snapped a quick photo together. She was really friendly.

Up next was Eve To Adam, whom we saw recently while they were on tour with Pop Evil.
Originally from Florida, the band now calls new York City home. The band is touring in support of the latest release Locked & Loaded.
As they have done every time I have seen them, front man Taki Sassaris and his band mates played a great set! They rock, HARD! It's never a dull moment watching them and Taki is constantly in motion! (Which makes him hard to photograph. LOL)
As the band ripped through their set, the crowd really got into, singing along on pumping their fists.
Of course they played "Immortal" and "Bender" and, my favorite by them: "Straightjacket Supermodel", but, one thing that really got my attention was their cover of the Billy Idol song "Rebel Yell."
Eve To Adam's take on the classic song was really well done, and I liked it a lot. (And if you know me, you know I am a harsh critic of cover songs unless the band really makes it their own.)
Taki's voice sounded great and he didn't try to mimic Billy's version, which scored huge points with me.
A few songs later, they left the stage.
After their set, I went out for a smoke and found Taki outside chatting with others that were smoking. Chris and I walked over and intrduced ourselves and started talking with him.
Taki told us to contact their people and we could set up an interview with him sometime in the near future. I look forward to talking with him in an interview setting!

Finally, it was time for Lacuna Coil.
The crowd was excited as the band came to the stage, which was decorated rather sparsely with images from the new album Broken Crown Halo. All the male band members dressed in quasi-military garb resembling some sort of Royal Guard.
Cristina's voice was haunting, and a great juxtaposition to the gruff style of Adrea. The band was solid and on point.
The played a good deal of material from the new disc as well as favorites from albums past and the crowd enjoyed every song. They enjoyed it so much, they band was called back for multiple encores.
In the end, I scored one of Lacuna Coil's set lists, which I added to the two Eve To Adam picks, and a Kyng pick that I had gotten earlier in the night.
When the show finished, most of the crowd cleared out, except for the first 100 people that had made a purchase at Lacuna Coil's merch table. They were each given a ticket for a meet & greet with the band, following the show. Chris Besaw was one of the lucky 100 and had a skull ready and waiting for the band to sign to add to his cool Syracuse Skull Collector project. I had them all sign my set list.
When we were done, we thanked Cristina and Andrea for the interview, complimented them on the fine show, and wished them a safe journey.
We also thanked the band's tour manager for everything and made our way to the car.
It was a great night for Rock & Roll in Syracuse!
Check out the video of the interview and the live performance of "I Don't Believe In Tomorrow."

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