Billy Talent 9.16.09 | Metro | Chicago, IL by Ashley Snider photos by Annette Essey One of my favorite things about watching a band perform is getting a glimpse into exactly what they feel when they play a certain beat, strum a certain chord, sing a certain lyric. You can tell a lot about how genuine a band is by the way they perform their music. Canada’s own Billy Talent provide a deep look into just how much they feel the music they’re playing at their live shows. Billy Talent isn’t a single person, as some people assume when they hear the name. There are actually four guys in this band. Ben Kowalewicz, Ian D’Sa, Jon Gallant, and Aaron Solowoniuk are Billy Talent. They bring to the stage a pound of energy, add in a dash of grittiness, and mix that all together with the screech that is Ben Kowalewicz’s vocal power and you've got a recipe for a show full of feeling.
The band’s opening song, “Devil In A Midnight Mass,” was the perfect choice. Aggressive from the start, it turned the crowd’s collective amp up to 11 immediately. The song quiets down in the middle, leaving Kowalewicz whispering, then he catapults into his wail of a scream, the whispered line now an all out howl. The crowd felt that one, and we all happily jumped on the ride for the next hour. During that hour, the band played four tracks from their new album Billy Talent III, coming out September 22nd in the US, that were extremely impressive, eerie, and true to the Billy Talent sound fans expect. The old favorites, like “Line & Sinker” and “Try Honesty” didn’t lose any of their spasm inducing qualities, and ending with “Red Flag” is the best decision they could have made.
The main thing I noticed with Billy Talent’s performance was the way every emotion behind every note and lyric of every song could be read on the member’s faces. When Ian D’Sa launched into one of his many impressive solos, his jaw moved with each note, his expression forming the sound his guitar created. And let’s not even get started on the facial expressions of frontman Ben Kowalewicz. Making eye contact with this man while he’s singing the line “I’m insane. It’s your fault” is terrifying. His eyes rolled back in his head, his hand was contorting; you believed his claims of insanity. Kowalewicz moves around the stage like a spider monkey, and then suddenly leans over the crowd. He sings with an astonishing amount of conviction. This feeds the crowd’s fire until the room is lit up with a flame that can’t even be extinguished upon leaving the venue. There was a palpable intensity amongst the fans as they filtered out of the Metro. Billy Talent displayed everything their music makes them feel during their hour on stage, and that’s something that is contagious. The intensity of their performance is so strong, you might be inclined to start screech screaming at everyone who gets in your way as you trek home from the show. Playing with that much emotion is something to be appreciated in an artist, as long as it doesn’t result in any arrests. Check out the full set of Billy Talent pics. >> www.myspace.com/billytalent