This past Friday night I had the occasion to step out and catch some good local bands at House of Blues’s NOLA Rocks show. I was especially happy to see a relatively new band named Finfox in the line up! I had seen these guys playing at Twist of Lime on New Years Eve, and when my girlfriend found out they would be at HOB NOLA she grab a couple tickets for us. After almost a whole week of work, rain, and tyranny from the Louisiana legislature it was good to get out and get good dose of booming bass and overdriven guitars.
The first band in the line up was a group out of Mississippi called Shaken. These guys had a very versatile singer and a lot of good chunky guitar riffs. They were tight and did a good job of starting out the evening.
Next up was the band we went to see, Finfox, a heavy alternative rock power trio from Metairie. They have a very interesting sound that draws on many of their influences such as Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups (my current favorite indie band) and combine it with a hard rock sound reminiscent of classic RUSH and Incubus. They opened their set with their signature song called Arm my Heart and followed it up with five or six original tunes. They were pretty tight and put on a good show. I look forward to seeing more of them in the future. They will be playing this coming Friday night at Banks Street Bar, so be sure to go check them out, as they do not disappoint. Listen to Arm my Heart at www.reverbnation.com/finfox.
Finfox
David Latino – Guitar/Vocals
John Crabtree – Bass/Vocals
Ash Hendley – Drums
The surprise of the evening came in the form of a heavy metal band out of Baton Rouge called Ventruss! These guys hit the stage and started ripping it up right away causing an impromptu mosh pit to form. This resulted in my Tito’s Vodka and Red Bull landing all over my girlfriend. Ventruss is fronted by a tall and imposing vocalist named Ben Jewell. They seem to be a very mature and well rehearsed band in the classic five piece form of vocalist, two guitars, bass and drums. I also look forward to seeing more of them as well. If you are in the Baton Rouge area you can catch them at Culture Bar on Friday and The Varsity on Saturday.
Ventruss
Ben Jewell – Vocals
Spencer Chandler – Guitar/Screams
Shawn Saizan – Guitar
Jake Chenevert – Bass
Tom Jarreau – Drums
After their sets I had a chance to chat with Finfox Bassist John Crabtree and Ventruss vocalist Ben Jewell. Both were nice, down to earth guys with great attitudes. It is very clear that they love what they do, and were very gracious.
Unfortunately I had to skip out on the headlining band, Cathercist from Gulfport, MS but I am sure I will catch up with them sooner or later. It was a great evening of rock and roll!
For more info on Finfox visit them their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/finfoxnola, and for more info on Ventruss check them out at www.facebook.com/Ventruss.
Zander From NOLA 