Dax Riggs: Mercury Lounge, New York, NY – 6/13/07

So you are artist with a decent following in a subgenre, lets say death metal, you decide to change the direction of your career putting out a southern-gothic-blues-rock album, gaining national attention and good reviews with a unique band name.  So you roll with it for about a year or so playing major festivals across the country then drop that and go solo….seem logical?   Maybe not, but such is the career path of Dax Riggs who, with some friends in tow, played to a very receptive crowd on Wednesday night in New York City. 

Three musicians backed him up on guitar, bass/keys and drums, while the set had a much more polished feel then Dax’s last group, deadboy and the Elephantmen, which consisted of Riggs, drummer Tessie Brunet and at times a bassist to hold things down.  With Wednesday night’s performance however the added musicians didn’t take away from the real highlight and appeal of Riggs…his voice.  If anything the new arraignment freed Dax to focus more on projecting his songs, and his dramatic voice is something to behold: a blender mix of Trent Reznor, Jim Morrison, Jeff Buckley, Syd Barrett, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Peter Steele, and Roy Orbison poured into a hurricane glass.  There is a Cajun ghost of enchanted charisma floating around the stage when he performs – gothic soul incarnate. 

While Dax’s voice can successfully range all over the map, his song writing focuses in one realm – darkness.  His soon to be released album is titled We Sing of Only Blood and Love and that sums up the content nicely, with the love being more on the brooding tip as opposed to puppies and flowers.

"Truth in the Dark" opened the show with a swamp howl and other new songs have some real power such as "Radiation Blues" and the flashing "A Spinning Song." Two deadboy tracks were aired, “Stop I’m Already Dead” and “How Long the Night Was,” both receiving a positive response.  The night can get long however and Dax has a tendency to get trapped in the bleak (“Living is Suicide,” “Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain”) while draining the listener.  As Dax continues to grow, hopefully his lyrical focus broadens, because the covers performed tonight were choice selections.  Richard Thompson’s “Wall of Death” rocked and Townes Van Zandt’s “Lungs” proved to be a perfect blend of Dax’s singing and the band’s power playing.          

From death metal to garage rock/blues to a polished solo artist, Dax Riggs keeps evolving, while his engrossing voice and talent is an evolution to keep an eye on.

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