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Wednesday Oct 31, 2012.     By Jeff D. Min

Music Feed

Superman passes Wonder Woman and says nothing. Alice Cooper plays with bodysuitman, and they have chemistry. Luigi crosses the street, and Mario is nowhere to be seen. A potato sack serves beer to a bunny. Metz is headlining. Radar Eyes and Absolutely Free are opening.

The show is lively, not capacity, but well attended. The fuss of Halloween takes on a different air in the Empty Bottle. People are participating. Ms. Pacman remains untouched. Absolutely Free is good, one of the best opening acts in recent memory. They play with fervor and intensity. They maintain a pace and style of play that’s both consistent and without a shred of pretentiousness.

Radar Eyes is different, much more theatrical, and they thrive off of it—it makes them better. Instead of a drum-centric outfit like Absolutely Free it’s a clash of guitars, well done and composed with just enough order to make the recklessness tangible. Balanced communication.

Metz hits the stage and wastes no time. This is what people came to see—a wall of sound collapsing over the Empty Bottle. No room for empty space, every lick hits the ear directly, and wraps itself around the eardrum tight. Never lets go. Red line all the way—from the guitars to the drums. Edkins screams into the mic, but at this point it’s more an instrument than anything else.

Metz rabidly carries on, but never quite extinguishes Radar Eyes and Absolutely Free. Nor are they outclassed. No one is. They are all so different. And each represents a unique style of play. And they engage in different ways too—found homes in different strata’s of music. The show is a survey. Depending on your tastes each band could take you down a rabbit hole to which you may never comeback. Or perhaps in the shadows of Halloween, maybe it’ll bring you back full circle. Same person with a completely different soul.