Keith Caputo--Live, CBGB's 313 Gallery, NYC, 9/21/00 Sep 23 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet It’s not very often in the loud music community that a fan actually gets to see history created. It does happen though. And, in those rare instances when you get to see greatness created right before your eyes, there really is little to do, but thank your lucky stars that you were there to witness it. I’ve been a fan of loud music for many, many years now. I’ve been to many, many shows as well. Often times, I will leave a show thinking to my little Jedi self, ”Yeah, that show was really, really good.”, but rarely do I leave a concert KNOWING that I had experienced something which was extraordinary. On Friday, September 22, 2000, I can safely say not only did I witness something extraordinary, but I may have witnessed the single, best, live performance of my life. I have been a fan of the band Life of Agony for nearly ten years now. From the first time I heard vocalist Keith Caputo breeze through the song ”Plexiglass Gate” many moons ago, I was sold on the band. I managed to follow them from their early demo days, when they were a little known, but still legendary band from Brooklyn, NY to the point when they were selling out Roseland in the heart of New York City. I followed them from the aggressive, bombastic hardcore days of songs like ”River Runs Red” and ”Respect” to the mellow, thought provoking days of songs like ”Let’s Pretend” and ”Weeds”. In fact, I can probably say that throughout the 1990’s, Life of Agony was one of my three favorite bands. When they Keith Caputo left the band a few years ago, I found myself quite saddened that one of my favorite outfits was no more. Only I knew that somebody with the pure talent of Keith Caputo would not stay silent for long. Early this year, Keith released a record on Roadrunner Records called ”Died Laughing”. The record was not released in the United States at all. So, really the only way to get it is to buy it oversees, or to get it in the U.S. as an import. Luckily, I was able to track a copy down, and literally have not removed it from my CD player since. The other day, completely by chance, I was Reading through a copy of The Village Voice during my lunch hour, when my eyes caught a little ad for a show that was taking place later in the week. I did a double take, as I noticed that it was Keith Caputo who would be playing CBGB’s 313 Gallery. Instantly, I knew I had to be there, but what I did not know was the incredible brilliance I would be baring witness to as well. So, enter Friday night. As soon as I left work for the day, I took my little Jedi bootie down to the club, and managed to be first on line. I began to feel a certain vibe in the air as I was standing there. An air of anticipation was certainly there, and as Keith walked past me into the club, you could see on his face, he was extremely excited to be playing this intimate little spot smack dab in the middle of his home town. At around 7:30 they began to let us into the club. As I strolled in and took a seat about two feet from where Keith was to sing, I realized that this little club really had the feeling of an MTV Unplugged session. It was dark, small and intimate. Something I really was not used to. Heck, there rarely are chairs at these hardcore shows I go to, let alone comfortable ones...but I adapted. As the club began to pack full, I began to become more and more excited. Finally, at around 8pm, Keith walked onto the stage along with one acoustic guitarist. The crowd sighed and went into an awe of amazement, as Keith proceeded to open his set up with a brilliant, beautiful cover of my favorite Doors song, ”Waiting For The Sun”. His voice bounced off the club walls with an angelic quality to it. The inflections in his voice and the cadence held within were incredibly remarkable, and equally sensational. To say I was surprised at how good Keith sounded would not be accurate, because he always has had a phenomenal singing voice, but to say I was blown away WOULD be accurate. And, the Doors cover was just the beginning. For a full hour, Keith proceeded to put on a show that was for the lack of a better term, extraordinary. It is rare to see an artist completely at peace and relishing what they are doing. But you could really tell Keith was enjoying himself on this particular night. An d as he sipped a glass of red wine, he proceeded to perform many of the best songs from his debut solo record. Songs like ”Raspberry Mockery”, “New York City” and ”Selfish” all almost sounded better live and acoustic then they do on his record. The song ”Cobain”, though was when you could really see that Keith completely sang his soul out on this particular evening. As his voice bounced of the walls of the gallery, filling it with incredible sound, you could literally hear a pin drop within the largely adult crowd. Everyone could really sense the talent they were baring witness to, and were appreciating it incredibly. As the set was coming to an end, I almost didn’t want it to. Only Keith had one more surprise to unleash on the audience. As one or two people craved for a Life of Agony tune, you knew that would not be suitable or appropriate on this night. What we were treated to as a finale was much more appropriate, and much more appreciated. Keith did a cover of the Annie Lennox song ”Why?”. He began and ended the set with covers, one more awesome then the next. With ”Why?”, his Life of Agony days were now cast aside. The hardcore I had been accustomed to was now replaced by a thought provoking, awe inspiring Keith, that allowed us to bear witness for a brief period of time, at true art, at true musical beauty. As he finished the last song, and walked off the stage, he received a very deserving standing ovation. I wish we could h awe given him more. This was an incredible performance, that I consider myself really lucky to have seen. Like I said above, it is rare to be a part of a really special moment musically. When you get that chance, hold onto it. This past Friday was the Jedi’s chance, and I am quite thankful for it. It is not often you get to see your favorite bands live, let alone in completely awe inspiring fashion. This was by far the best live performance I’ve seen this year. If Keith happens to pass through a city near you. ..don’t pass up the opportunity. You will not be disappointed. ...As always, thanks for reading.

Read all comments (2)|Write your own comment

Write an essay on this topic.