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BROKEN VEGAS Releases New Studio Album.
BROKEN VEGAS Releases New Studio Album.
Report and Photos by Mario Salazar.
On Saturday, June 26th, the Yorkville-based band, Broken Vegas celebrated the release of their newest effort, the highly-anticipated and aptly titled "All In" with a show at Ballydoyle's in the west Chicago suburb of Aurora. The album comes in following their critically acclaimed 2007 release Royal Flush which established the band as a worthy contender in the Chicago and national original hard rock music market. The album, produced by Rae Nimeh and the band, is a definite step forward for the band in both technical and musical aspects. While staying true to their rock & heavy metal style, 'All In' offers in my opinion, a nice variety that has something for even the most discriminating taste.
The evening's celebration started shortly after 7 PM with a meet-and-greet between the band and a group of fans, family, friends and other VIPs who shared stories, laughs and lots of camraderie while awaiting the show that was to follow.
At around 9:30 PM the band took the stage in a very casual manner, not as Broken Vegas per se, but as "the opening guys" warming up the crowd for the big act. For the next 45 minutes, they proceeded to play a variety of cover tunes ranging from artists such as Rage Against the Machine to Whitesnake. The band did great in showing their versatility and skill playing those songs and the crowd enjoyed the performance, although many seemed anxious to hear the band's original material. So after about a 20-minute intermission, the stage lights dimmed, the opening bass licks of 'Louder' ripped thru the house PA system and Broken Vegas exploded on stage performing the new album in its entirety. Several in the audience were familiar with the songs due in part to advance-copies of the new record and promotional previews, so you could see many in the audience not quite singing along but mouthing the words as things progressed. The variety of styles and tempos in the songs kept things interesting musically speaking and gave each of the songs its own space -or room to breathe if you will. Metal and hardcore fans enjoyed the aggression and heaviness of songs such as the aforementioned 'Louder' and 'Overflow', while other fans with a more mainstream taste enjoyed 'Lay Down', the radio-friendly 'All In' or the I'm-ready-for-a-Margarita 'One Night In Cabo' which the band had been playing for a while now and the crowd just absolutely loved it.
At around 9:30 PM the band took the stage in a very casual manner, not as Broken Vegas per se, but as "the opening guys" warming up the crowd for the big act. For the next 45 minutes, they proceeded to play a variety of cover tunes ranging from artists such as Rage Against the Machine to Whitesnake. The band did great in showing their versatility and skill playing those songs and the crowd enjoyed the performance, although many seemed anxious to hear the band's original material. So after about a 20-minute intermission, the stage lights dimmed, the opening bass licks of 'Louder' ripped thru the house PA system and Broken Vegas exploded on stage performing the new album in its entirety. Several in the audience were familiar with the songs due in part to advance-copies of the new record and promotional previews, so you could see many in the audience not quite singing along but mouthing the words as things progressed. The variety of styles and tempos in the songs kept things interesting musically speaking and gave each of the songs its own space -or room to breathe if you will. Metal and hardcore fans enjoyed the aggression and heaviness of songs such as the aforementioned 'Louder' and 'Overflow', while other fans with a more mainstream taste enjoyed 'Lay Down', the radio-friendly 'All In' or the I'm-ready-for-a-Margarita 'One Night In Cabo' which the band had been playing for a while now and the crowd just absolutely loved it.
The new album, 'All In'.
The band, led by Mike Vester on lead vocals and guitar, Ricky Rolon on lead guitar and background vocals, Beau Carbonneau on bass and background vocals and Matt "Rock" Cowen on drums, are hitting the local stages hard this summer and you can get more information on their upcoming shows at their website --> www.brokenvegasband.com and thru our Show/Events Calendar. The new album will be available at every one of their shows, as well as online and thru Amazon.com, iTunes and other digital distribution outlets.
My rating for Broken Vegas and 'All In' after this experience (out of 5):
I now leave you with a couple of photos from the show and other miscellaneous file photos. Enjoy and see you next time.
My rating for Broken Vegas and 'All In' after this experience (out of 5):
I now leave you with a couple of photos from the show and other miscellaneous file photos. Enjoy and see you next time.
Matt Cowen
Ricky Rolon
Mike Vester
Beau Carbonneau
Photo by Ryan Salazar.