Carnival of Souls

Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
October 28th, 2005

Carnival of Souls' debut New Jersey show plays to capacity crowd at the first Rockeyez sponsored show.

Who would have thought that a new band like CARNIVAL OF SOULS could cause such a stir in such a small club such as Dingbatz. 

I had October 28th marked down on my calendar with three big wide letters, “RGA”.  Those three letters were important, especially for that Friday because I knew for a fact that the show was going to be a night I would never forget, so I didn’t need to put “COS” on my calendar at all. Read on.

The show was set up in a venue called Dingbatz located in Clifton, NJ. Now, I have heard about Dingbatz before and I had my doubts about the place being able to hold the likes of Carnival of Souls.  I arrived a little late, around 8:30, and brought two friends with me who have never heard of the band before.  Virgins, yum. 

When we arrived, the second band was already on and I only wished that we arrived even later.  I didn’t catch the band’s name but, boy, did they suck.  And so did the 3rd band.  The only thing going on in my head listening to these musicians* was that I only wanted to let them know that if they could sound better than a flushing toilet then their lives would have some sort of meaning. 

The band HAVOC, the co-headliner, was a big relief to my ears.  HAVOC was a cover band who played hit songs from bands such as PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, TOOL and even IRON MAIDEN.  The songs served as a sort of a release from all the crappy noise that was being generated from the prior bands.  How did they perform?  Beautiful, they almost sounded like the original bands, especially when they performed, “Evenflow” by PEARL JAM.  I was very impressed by their performance.

Now, for CARNIVAL OF SOULS…

Dingbatz had a small stage but the band was able to have their gothic city background in the back of Bobby Rock’s drum set.  It was midnight and the place was already getting crowded with fans and new comers.  The place went dark and a mysterious intro came on.  Within an instant, Gene Hunter, Rob DeForge and Bobby Rock rushed in followed by Lee Cee and Damien with the song “Grey”.  I creamed my pants.  If you were lucky to be at the show, you would know what I mean.  CARNIVAL OF SOULS was on fire!  I completely lost myself in the show, “Grey” is one of those songs you just can’t sit around and listen to, you have to move. Hearing Lee Cee’s voice again was a treat to my ears.  Lee and Damien’s voice combined make a chilling mixture. Right after “Grey” came “Come Alive”, which was a song I’ve only heard live once before and it’s one of those songs that make you say that if the song sounds amazing live then I can’t imagine what it’ll sound like on a studio album. 

The band went on to play “Break Free”, “Won’t See You Cry” and “Walk Away” which were beautifully performed and made the crowd go wild.  The small stage didn’t stop COS from showing everybody their undying energy and vigor.  Next up was Rob DeForge’s guitar solo, which you’ll know why the band calls him “The Machine”; I was greatly impressed with Rob’s shredding. After the solo was my utter most favorite song, “Darkest Hour”.  By then, I felt fatigued, but that didn’t stop me from jumping around like a crazy maniac. 

Bobby Rock’s drum solo came right after the ballad, “Why”, and let me tell you something – I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH AN INTENSE DRUM SOLO.  I’ve had my fair share of witnessing drum solos in the past, but I’ve never seen anything like Bobby Rock’s.  To even describe it would be hard to believe; even people around me had their mouths open including my own.  Bobby is a force to be reckoned with, beware!  CARNIVAL OF SOULS ended the night with the already classic, “We All Fall Down” and with an encore of the song, “See All Evil”. 

By the end of the night, it was safe to say CARNIVAL OF SOULS created new recruits for their legion of Soulgers, COS fans as the band would like to call them. Also, my constant head-banging gave me a sore neck and that’s where the “RGA” came in, Remember Get Aspirins.

The RockEyez staff would like to thank the band for mentioning the website on stage and for inviting us to such an amazing show.  You guys rule!  Rock On!

Official Carnival of Souls website: http://www.carnivalofsoulsonline.com/