Carfax Abbey: Albany, NY 11-20-04

Making over a three hour drive to Albany NY, from Philadelphia were gothic rockers Carfax Abbey. It was a dark damp rainy night in Albany, NY but that did not stop them from totally rocking out at Valentines to a small crowd, which should consider themselves very lucky to see this top notch gothic rock band. Carfax Abbey took the stage just about 10: 55p.m. as their electronics started to kick in and they started to get into their mind set. The crowd looked up and there was Gary Billings, who had his face painted in a tribal face mask with blood red eyes with blood dripping down his face. This is not the same guy I saw just an hour ago sitting at the bar talking with fans. This was a whole new Gary on stage. Gary is such a great front man because he is so energetic on stage and really connects to the music while he is up there. At times, Gary would go over to Noel, the bass player, and would sit down and rest his head up against the bass as he was singing. Gary also would lean against the speakers and would bounce back up. You never knew what Gary would do next from jumping, sitting, or crawling. He is very entertaining and you could tell he was having a good time even if it was a small crowd. John Ruszin was to the right of Gary and totally rocked out on his guitar. Most of the time you could not see his face because of his long dark hair and wondered how can he see to play? He kind of reminded me of Slash from GNR but way better. John, at times would hug his guitar close to him as he really rocked out to a song. John pushed out a ton of killer melodies and really worked it. You could tell John was also feeling the music. Carfax Abbey did not just rely on their dark electronics to do all the work. I also loved how they had live drums and did not depend on a machine to do all the work. Byron Nelson was so intense back there on the drums that he even broke a cymbal as I saw it afterwards. Noel was over on bass and he was dressed all in a grey/black suit. He mostly stayed off to the side but did move to the front of the stage a couple of times. He kept the darkness alive through his powerful bass playing. The band played many of their tracks from their latest album called "Second Skin". They played songs such as, "Gifted Life", "Second Skin", and "Spitshine", and a crowd favorite and a request of "Cry Little Sister". This was my second time seeing Carfax Abbey and it was great to hear the songs from "Second Skin" live. Carfax Abbey totally rocked Albany, and it did not matter if there was a small crowd or not they played hard. I would of liked to seen more people at the show to support the band. The band ended their set just after 11:30, so I am guessing they played a forty-five minute set. As they announced their last song I was left wanting more and I was not the only person who felt that way as I later found our from others at the show. If Carfax Abbey ever is in your area I strongly recommend seeing them live. Please check their website at Carfax Abbey for more information about this talented and powerful gothic rock band. Thanks for coming to Albany, NY! See you again soon!