Nothing More @ 20 Monroe Live Review

What an amazing performance Wednesday night from Nothing More at 20 Monroe Live and what a great audience!

There is definitely no shortage of great shows that come to Grand Rapids and Wednesday night proved to be another great lineup at 20 Monroe Live.

The night kicked off with Palisades which is a band from New Jersey. I would like to say they are a new band and they may be a new band to you but they have been around nearly 10 years and have 4 albums out.

Palisades highlight songs were Let Down and Erase the Pain. The band led vocally by Lou Miceli got quite a bit a help vocally by bassist Brandon Elgar who also had a killer bass guitar tone.

I think we all witnessed something special with Badflower. A band that may not have fit the line up did not let that stop them. They powered through a very original set of material that I believe when people look back at this show they will go, I remember seeing that band, this being after they rise to much larger audiences.

Badflower, fronted by a very charismatic singer/guitarist Josh Katz. Katz didn't fall into the typical frontman stuff and really letting the music do the talking. It was one of the more dynamic performances I have seen from a band in a long time. The audience recognized the radio songs, Ghost and Heroin, but all the songs performed were solid and really took us all on a ride. I just wish the sound guy would have had them dialed in earlier in the set but that just gives me a reason to go see them again.

Katz asked the audience if you like the music will you go buy a cd...and that is exactly what I did and it was so worth it. I highly recommend you do the same.

Of Mice & Men were up next and boy did they perform a hammering set. I haven't seen the band since the original singer, Austin Carlile, was in the band. Of Mice & Men have had several member changes over the years but didn't miss a beat last night at all. Bassist Aaron Pauley did an amazing job covering the heavy and clean vocals and could snap back between the two effortlessly. If you haven't seen Of Mice & Men in a while, make sure and pay them a visit next time they wheel through G.R.

The headliner for the sold out show, Nothing More, proved why they were on top of the bill. A band with only two albums under its belt is growing fast and a fan base super fast.

Nothing More hale from Texas and they are continuing the legacy of such acts at ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kings X and Pantera with their own sound and stage performance carving out their very own Texas signature.

The show started with a white banner hung in front of the stage. Singer Jonny Hawkins could be seen with a silouette spray painting the Nothing More, NM logo, onto the banner. Then he climbed on some crazy ladder that had an old fire horn on top that he hand cranked as the curtain fell.

Fans of Tool and any prog rock band could really appreciate the musical skills of all four members of Nothing More not to mention Hawkins incredible vocal abilities. Their show is so hard to explain because they are so original in how they put their songs together and are all top notch musicians at their craft.

Nothing More played every song fans wanted to hear and then some. At times the show was super emotional because they fans on such a fierce musical roller coaster ride. The band will be wrapping up their tour soon for a small break and then back to album number 3. If you missed Nothing More, all I can say is don't miss them next time and you will agree that you have never scene nothing like Nothing More.

I didn't explain everything that happened during Nothing More's performance because I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen them yet but a lot of crowd participation went on and quite of few musical segments that happened were one of a kind. Nothing More will only continue to rise.