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LIVE IN CONCERT! |
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AMAZING
MEET PROJECT |
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Review and Photos By
Dana Schwartz
The Bitter End
New York, NY
4/29/99 |
When I was asked by AMZ to review "The
Amazing Meet Project" at The Bitter End, I was so excited.
First of all, I've never been to The Bitter End, and second,
I remembered some of the members of AMP from "Love In Reverse,"
and I was eager to see what they were up to now.
A few hours later, the chairs and booths are filled with all
kinds of people, young old, pierced and in black, unpierced and
in black (typical New York bar crowd) ready to listen to "Amazing
Meet Project." Formerly of the band, "Love In Reverse,"
lead singer Michael Ferentino and bass/guitarist Andes Karu,
formed their most recent band in November 1998, adding more members
along the way. I wish I could say I remembered what song they
opened up with, but I was too busy snapping pictures of this
funky looking and sounding band to take anything more than mental
notes. But I do know that during their powerful performance they
played some of my favorite songs, "Thing Ghost Girl,"
"Vegetarian Blues," "Victory Is No One's,"
"Martini," "Stupid of Me" and "There
You Are." |
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AMP From L. - R.:
Andres, Michael, Johnny, Kathy, Joie |
Michael was looking charming and nasty with
his shaved head and strategically shorn facial hair. Smoldering
in all black, he took off his dark-rimmed glasses, grabbed the
microphone and alternated between crooning, scowling, grinning
and singing. The rest of the band joined in, including Kathy
Harrison on backup vocals, whose deep, rich voice sounded almost
like gospel, as she belted out the songs with an equal passion.
Her voice undulates to the music, pitching higher and lower,
but always strong. Joie, who looks like a glamorous extra from
Grease with her 50's style straight black hair with cut across
bangs, drummed rhythmically on her bongos in her high heels (which
incidentally and stylishly matched her leopard print bongo set).
Andres sat on a stool, playing guitar and swinging his streaked
hair back and forth as he played, and Johnny Crisis drummed in
the back, bouncing his own dyed-on-the-top-blonde brown hair.
"Amazing Meet Project" has a diverse sound that can't
help but sink into you, deeply. The funky rhythm of the bongos
and hand percussion combined with the rock-out guitars and sometimes
harsh/sometimes smooth vocals of Michael and Kathy makes for
an intriguing sound. While "Victory Is No One's" might
make you want to groove to the catchy beat and easy lyrics, "Boy
you're out of time/ Victory is no one's baby. . .da da da da"
(you really have to be there for the "da, da's" - they
sound so good when Michael croons them), "Martini"
is more hardcore, starting out with lots of guitar and quickly
leading into percussion. Michael's voice has an electronic edge
to it, and the pace is much faster and relentless than the other
songs they played. |
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Amazing Meet Project |
One of the more fun songs was "Vegetarian
Blues," inspired by being vegetarian in New Orleans (if
I remember correctly). Apparently there aren't many options,
as the song explains, in its bluesy/angry vegetarian way. It
was a fun song to watch them perform, with Kathy starting it
off, and then Michael joining in.
One of my favorite songs that they performed was "Thing
Ghost Girl." I think the band really shows their range in
this funky ballad. Their energy throughout the set was impressive
and infectious. Even if you hadn't heard of "Amazing Meet
Project" or "Love In Reverse" before, you were
definitely mentally marking their upcoming album, "Undrugged,"
on your to-buy list. I would have, but luckily I already have
it. |
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