Ice Cream Man

On a Thursday night May, a very brave Knitting Factory may have learned what it means to rock. Maria and I headed down to the venue to experience first hand what all the talk was about. The story behind Category Sixx, Greatest Air band in the world, is the stuff legends are made of. William Ocean, the reigning U.S. air guitar champion, made it his mission to assemble the greatest air instrumentalists this world had to offer into one air super group. In touring from city to city he encountered the hidden greats of air rock that would band together to make Category Sixx. So that night at the Knitting Factory, we witnessed not only the fruits of this journey but also its swan song.

So we rolled up to find a Sparks production through and through. Brightly tinted tongues, the lights on stage were that melted orange Popsicle color, not to mention the crowd was practically glowing under the Sparks influence. It was great though, people were revved up and ready to party with abandon. Before the storm hit the stage we were rocked by two openers. The first band was Gods of Fire, a New York City metal band that performs face melting songs under pseudonyms such as Prometheus, Evil Thunder and my personal favorite, DJ Blood Sacrifice. They had props and costumes and all sorts of theatrics. If this sounds like your thing you can catch them later this summer playing Don Hills and Arlenes Grocery. The second opener was Lyxx, quite the cover band. They rocked pretty hard, playing crowd pleasers and they even came back on for a second set after Category Sixx. I guess you could call that the after party.

Category Sixx was so much more than I expected. For example, their range alone was something to behold. The band went in and out of songs- transitioning like old pros with musical choices reflecting maturity and experience. They spanned from Green Day to Barry White all the way to Warrant and Seal. There were also costume changes galore and blistering air solos. Shreddy Mercury on vocals was nearly too much to handle and I believe this may have been my first time seeing air sax. My favorite number by far was Separate Ways as it really represented a clear homage to what might be the most classic of all air band moments. To conclude, I will say, Journey might have done it first, but Category Sixx did it better.