Appropriately, Dax Riggs took to the stage during the witching hour for his compact set of dark rock on Saturday Night/Sunday Morning in lower New York City. The first of two shows in town, Dax was tighter then some past NYC performances which could have to do with his full backing band of Julian Primeaux on guitar, Charley Seiss on drums and bassist Kevin Fitzsimmons.
Dax is currently touring behind his recently-released Say Goodnight to the World, and opened with a tune off the album, “I Hear Satan”. It can’t be denied all of his lyrics live, dwell, mope, and die in the darkness, the magic of Dax’s craft lies in his ability to pull exceptionally-beautiful singing from despair. His voice is his weapon and he uses it to blast out the demons. Tonight he cranked the echo in his microphone (even if he really doesn’t need any) to convey his message on “Night is The Notion” and “Ouroboros”. Other new tunes aired were the basic symbolism of “Let Me Be Your Cigarette” and “Gravedirt On My Blue Suede Shoes”. While he seemed to be disinterested at times during the performance in truth there was nothing particularly exhilarating or painful when the group played their originals.
Where Dax and company always seem to gain extra vibrancy and emotion is when they play the perfectly chosen cover tunes. “Heartbreak Hotel” drips with despair while Dax’s voice warbles out loneliness presenting the Elvis classic in raw form and tonight’s version of “Lungs” would have made Townes Van Zandt raise a whiskey glass and nod. Both were expertly presented yet take bronze and silver respectively to the gold medal cover of Reverend Gary Davis’ “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”. Haunting and jaw-droppingly effective I was in awe of this perfectly crafted cover; starting out barren, the band built tension which slowly allowed Dax’s powerful pleas to reverberate around the venue before buzzing off into the dead of night. Tonights short set showcased what Dax does well and areas where he could grow and flourish as an artist, lets hope he continues to do both.
