Thanks to the hard work of several people and some very generous sponsors the Stomp Out Cancer Benefit weekend raised more than $5,000! We want to thank everyone that lent a helping hand including Tim from Thunderdome who got a U of L Electric Guitar donated to raffle at our ROCKTober Fest Concert last Friday. Then on Saturday there was a benefit dance and auction.
Check out the details and catch the pics: www.stompoutcancer.com
I have waited to write this review because I know Mr. Preston is just dying to hear what I have to say. LOL! Well, Ryan here you go…
Since I was so blatantly challenged to the Thunderdome Battlefield by Mr. Preston of the local Thrash Metal Band Overthrone I had no choice but to defend my honor, don my armor (ear plugs, notepad & microphone), drag my fair maiden by the arm and accept the public challenge!
I arrived at the venue early so I could let my adversary know I was present and ready for battle. After the exchange of introductions it was time for me to take my place inside the Dome and prepare for what I was afraid I would hear; another disaster performance. This time I situated myself in the sound booth so I would have a better view of the bands and possibly better sound direction. Then Overthrone took the stage and I braced for the inevitable…
Holy SHIT! I gotta tell you I think they actually practiced before coming to Thunderdome this time! Ryan, I must admit, this time you guys kicked ass! It was a very good performance and the crowd loved it. Good job guys, I knew you wouldn’t let us down. I look forward to the next one.
There was one little incident where Mr. Preston tried to catch me off guard and poke fun at VilleRadio from the stage… Gotcha Ryan! Little did he know I was in the sound booth actually working the lights for the night. Upon his announcement I was prepared as I had the lights in his eyes and microphone in hand for an immediate come back! You should’ve seen the look on his face as he tried to find where I was tainting him from. It was truly in fun and I enjoyed it.
The other bands were awesome too! I must honestly say it was the best night I have had Thunderdome yet. If you haven’t made it to the Dome on Saturday night yet, SHAME on you! Nick, Louie & Tim are doing a great job with bringing great local talent to the venue. I am proud that VilleRadio.com got involved.
Oh, and by the way Mr. Preston, the song you sent me was very good and it has made rotation on the station! Keep up the good work.
Holy crap the “Old Bastard”, as titled by Mr. Preston of Overthrone, finally had a full night of great music at the DOME! Can it be they have finally perfected the scheduling and made a venue that will rock The Ville like the old Brewery did? Hot damn, I think they have!
From the Moon Deck to the hall itself the night totally rocked and the crowd keeps getting larger each week. The wife and I enjoyed all the bands so much we kept wandering between the outside and inside in an effort to take in all the awesome things going on. Louie reiterated their commitment to Independent Artists and local bands during one of the breaks and I totally agree with him. The Ville has plenty of fantastic musicians that could keep the Dome rocking for years to come. This is OUR venue, all of us that live in this great city and if you weren’t there, shame on you!
You couple the great music with the XXX Games on the deck and you have a night of hellacious fun! I had told the wife I thought I was getting a little old for 2 late nights in a row and this was reinforced when we met a young lady in the crowd that asked us if we were somebody’s moms and dad. LOL! I told her we were here for the music and she said that was cool, the old folks kicking to the tunes! Ryan, I guess you were right, I really am officially the Old Bastard of the local music scene. After 28 years in the music industry it might be time for me to retire; NOT!
In my HONEST opinion I think they have a little more room for improvement but they are on the right track. We had a fantastic time last night and listened to some very good music. We gave away a 4 Day 3 Night Bahamas Cruise to a lucky winner. Our station donated 2 trips from one of our sponsors and originally that was going to be all we did as far as giveaways. We had such a good time last night I have changed my mind about that. I have an idea and I haven’t even told the management of the Dome about it yet, so you are the first to hear it from me.
I reported in to the station owner last night after the show (actually it was this morning and I woke his ass up LOL) and told him we needed to do another promotion with The Brewery Thunderdome. He was so impressed with my report he called VIP Travel and we were donated more Bahamas Vacations!
Here’s my idea and we will perfect it sometime this week. EVERYONE who brings at least 15 people with them for at least 3 of the next 6 weeks will get a Bahamas Cruise on the Cruise Ship Discovery! That’s right EVERYBODY! The rules are you must email ticket reservations to thebrewerythunderdome@gmail.com and reserve your tickets in advance. List all the names of the friends you are bringing! You must have at least 15 people on your list show up each week to qualify. Here’s the kicker; If your 15 friends bring 15 friends, they win a cruise too (they must send their own email as well)! The Ville Radio Network at VilleRadio.com is dedicated in our sponsorship of The Brewery Thunderdome and Independent/Local Artists!
I guess Nick and Louie will be surprised when they read this!
Keep Rocking!
Well we gave away our first 4 Day 3 Night Bahamas Cruise at The Brewery Thunderdome last night and still have one more to give away tonight! Follow the instructions on the “Welcome” page and get registered quick. You only have until 7 PM.
Check this out – BEER SPECIALS appeared last night. Now we are really rocking in The Ville! The party was great and if you weren’t there you lost out on a great time.
I spent most of the night on the Moon Deck listening to a very young band called “Leaving the Garden”. They are just starting to leave the garage and I could certainly tell they were very nervous. This is not uncommon with young bands just getting started especially when they are playing at a venue with the history and reputation of Thunderdome.
I think what impressed me the most was the band (I don’t think their oldest member was above the age of 19) didn’t just sing cover music, they actually had originals they had composed themselves. They did a much better job with their originals than with the cover stuff and their style reminded me of the Black Crows. The lead singer really tried hard but needs to remember the microphone and sound system are suppose to do the voice projection for you. He was trying hard to project his voice into the crowd and at one point I went inside and asked the Sound Engineer to come out and adjust the sound to compensate for his efforts. By the third or fourth song of each set he had blown his vocals which made it difficult to sing the ranges (which were on the edge of his abilities anyway) some of the songs required. Again, I attribute this to the nervousness and lack of actual experience outside of Mom & Dad’s basement. In time that will change.
All in all I feel if they stick together and keep writing new songs Louisville will have another winner of a Rock Band in their city.
I can’t wait to see what the deck brings tonight!
As everyone probably already knows by now The Brewery Thunderdome is back! Well it doesn’t hold as many people as it used to, but the quality is still there. We were invited to visit and give our honest opinions so here’s what we came up with.
First off let me tell you a little about the club itself. The Dome holds probably close to 700 people and the stage, lighting and sound is just plain awesome. You step outside onto the Moon Deck and that particular area looks as if it could hold around 300 people comfortably. Cover bands play on the deck stage every weekend and Saturday night it was hopping. The Brewery should be open within the next two weeks. They are just waiting on the final permit on the kitchen. Personally I’m more excited about The Brewery than the rest of it. I look forward to the live acoustical entertainment that has been promised. I do want to complain about the beer prices though. Everyone knows I pull no punches when asked to do a review and give my honest opinion so $3.00 for a canned beer in Louisville, KY is just plain ridiculous. Especially with the demographics the club is after; hey guys take my advice, these kids can’t afford that. Mixed drink prices were reasonable and ranged from $4.00-$5.00. That’s pretty well average for the area. The management has assured me they are working with the owner to run beer specials so our outings to the Dome will be a little more affordable.
Now to the music:
On the Moon Deck the cover band was Stoned Crow from Elizabethtown, KY. It seems the band has been together for about a year now and I would venture to say coming to Thunderdome was probably their biggest gig yet. I arrived early and listened to them warm up and with the sound of the instrumentals thought we were going to be in for a big treat. The lead guitarist was awesome! The bass and drummer kept right in rhythm and I actually found myself moving to the grove per say. All that ended when the lead singer took the stage. In all honesty he couldn’t carry a tune in a bottle. That seems to be a problem all over Louisville with cover bands. The instrumentals sound great but for some reason the 17th largest market in the nation lacks good vocalists. Maybe with more practice and possibly a few voice lessons this group may advance up the ladder a half notch.
The Dome hosted 3 local Metal Bands for the crowds’ enjoyment. I almost felt sorry for them as they rushed to get their equipment off and on the stage between sets, but they didn’t seem to mind at all. I believe they were just happy to be back performing in the notorious Thunderdome.
Overthrone was the opening band. All I have to say about them is I thought you were supposed to practice before performing in a place like Thunderdome. It was almost as if the left hand didn’t have a clue what the right hand was doing. I guess most would call it harsh Metal as I couldn’t understand one word of the lyrics. Maybe next time they will provide programs with printed lyrics so I can read along as they scream. Needless to say I wasn’t very impressed at all. About halfway through their set I went outside to the Moon Deck figuring I could at least understand Stoned Crow making them the most viable option at the time. While on the deck I was approached by one of the promoters who asked me what I thought so far and I had to honestly tell them they really hadn’t impressed me thus far. He assured me it was about to get better and it did.
Adaptize took the stage and I forced myself to re-enter the dome for their performance. I must say I wasn’t disappointed this time. Obviously these guys have practiced religiously (no pun intended) and it showed in their performance. I could actually understand the words Ryan Dunn was singing and his vocals were very good. Chris Croxton set the pace on the drums and never missed a beat. The instrumentals by Croft (lead guitar) and Bond (bass guitar) were fantastic and each of them complimented the other. If you like Hard Rock I recommend you visit the bands website at Adaptize.net, look at their schedule, and check out their next gig. They play all original music and I have a feeling they will advance highly up the ladder of success in the music industry in the next few years. Their performance left me looking forward to hearing the Headlining Band which was due up next.
Sonic Epitaph took the stage and totally rocked the house! The band is from LaGrange, KY and the crowd was obviously starving for Goth music performed in their style of a European symphonic/power metal similar to the sounds of Nightwish or Lacuna Coil. This style of music is very scarce in Kentucky but those in attendance definitely enjoyed it.
I was actually contacted by Donnie who is the drummer and band manager about a week before the show and he submitted a song that he asked me to review for possible airtime on VilleRadio.com. Since we specialize in Independent Artists especially those from the local Louisville scene I listened just as I do every song submitted (that’s about 100 a week). Once I listened I immediately placed the song into rotation on the station. Since we are sponsoring Thunderdome with 2 Bahamas Cruise Packages I wasn’t actually due to attend performances until July 25th & 26th when we are holding the drawing but as soon as I found out Sonic Epitaph was playing on the 19th I canceled a scheduled outing to the Bats game and the wife and I headed to the dome. I just had to see if this female vocalists was as good as she sounded on the MP3 that was sent or if it had been digitally enhanced. As I said earlier finding good strong vocals in this market is very tough. I listen to local submissions every week and a large majority of the songs end up in my recycle bin, not on the station.
When all was said and done I was mesmerized by excellent vocals, instrumentation and percussion! I think Donnie’s drum set took up the whole back of the stage and I swear he used every piece on the set. I definitely heard more than I was expecting and even though Goth really isn’t my style I sat and listened to the whole performance. I even missed out on the wet t-shirt contest on the Moon Deck because I couldn’t make myself leave Thunderdome.
I would like to wish Cristina (great vocals), Joe, Gene, Amy and Donnie all the best and I will catch another show soon.
The final opinion. Even though I had few grievances to list at the beginning all in all The Brewery Thunderdome ROCKS! They’ve only been operating again for a couple months and I’m quite certain they will get the minor kinks worked out very soon. If you want to listen to some Kick Ass music, the dome is the only place to be (no, they didn’t pay me to say that). I definitely give them two thumbs up for their efforts thus far. I will be there Friday and Saturday this week so I’m sure I’ll have more to write about. Come join me and the whole staff from VilleRadio.com this weekend. Don’t forget to reserve your tickets early by sending an email to thebrewerythunderdome@gmail.com. Put as many names in your email as you want and your tickets will be reserved at the door for only $6.00. Everyone on the list will be registered automatically to win a 4 Day 3 Night Cruise to the Bahamas. Be sure to include your name, the names of the people coming with you and the date of the night you will be attending.
