Authority Zero @ Knitting Factory, NYC
Live Reviews | Sep 11th, 2007
Date: September 4th 2007
Opening Bands: The Supervillains
I’ve been a fan of Authority Zero since their first full-length release “A Passage in Time”. I haven’t really had the chance to see the band perform yet, and every time they played in NYC; they weren’t the headliners. They still weren’t the headliners at this current tour but figured I waited long enough to see them. The headlining band was a band called the Expendables, and the opening band were the Supervillains from Florida. I haven’t heard of either band so figured I’d go at least to see AZ.
It was the day after Labor Day, and the show was on a Tuesday night so there wasn’t any traffic on the GW Bridge or Westside Highway. My brother and I arrived at the Knitting Factory and couldn’t believe there wasn’t really anyone at the club. I went to the merch table and got myself an Authority Zero shirt and pin. I got a new camera bag so I need to fill that with new pins so figured I start with something from AZ.
My brother and I went and sat upstairs by ourselves the entire show. It was pitched black up there and I couldn’t even see where anything was. Seeing band members coming and going out of the backstage room, and bumping into things was pretty hilarious. Some of the guys from the Expendables and Supervillains almost ran into me…literally. The first band up was the Supervillains and they were a reggae/ska band from Florida. I was trying out my new 70-200mm lens from the balcony and got some sweet shots there. Since there was no one around, I just ended up going downstairs and taking pictures from the crowd as well. The Supervillains were decent, and they didn’t make me dread coming early or anything. I think the small crowd eventually started to dance for them, towards the end of their set.
Authority Zero were up next and also the last band I saw that evening. I had to get up early for work the next day and just came to see AZ anyway. I didn’t really feel like standing around, and waiting for a band I never heard of to come on. It seemed like a lot of people were there to see Authority Zero and the band certainly got the small crowd into the show. Jason was jumping all over the place, as the rest of the band just chill and play on. I’m not entirely sure of the setlist that was played but I’m 90 percent sure that AZ played “Painted Windows” first, or it was one of the first songs. They played a few songs from each album so that was nice.
I was trying to use my new telephoto lens on the balcony and Jason moved around too fast. So I went down into the crowd to get some closer shots. There was a drunken guy in the crowd, annoying the band beforehand. And then during the set, while I was down in the crowd; he was grabbing Jason’s leg. So Bryan, the guitarist went over and gave him a kick in the head. And then the people in the crowd grabbed him and pushed him outside. It was kind of funny to see him get kicked in the head and then moved out by the fans. The band kept playing on like nothing happened. I was near a mosh pit, taking pictures which was kind of dangerous but nothing happened to my camera thankfully. Just getting bumped here and there. Authority Zero played lots of good stuff like “One More Minute,” “Retreat,” “Mexican Radio,” “Taking on the World,” “Superbitch.”I’m glad someone screamed out “Retreat” because I think that’s one of Authority Zero’s best songs. I think “Find Your Way”is another great song as well but I can’t remember if they played it. AZ played longer than I thought they would so I was really happy to finally have seen them. Jason is a great frontman and the rest of the band are just as good! If you ever get the chance to see a kick ass punk band with ska/reggae influences, definitely go see Authority Zero. After them were the Expendables, but like I said above, I wanted to go home since I had to work early. I wanted to check them out and take pictures but maybe some other time.
