The Rock Tribune

Berkeley, CA rockers BENVENUE stormed onto The Sunset Strip, pounding out a short but fierce, energetic set Friday night (2/25) at The Roxy Theatre. Seamlessly blending rock, metal, and alternative with crunching guitars and soaring vocals, fans–including Green Bay Packers quarterback and Super Bowl 2011 MVP Aaron Rodgers–crowded in to hear tracks off the band’s 2010 self-released, critically-praised EP, Jean Elizabeth.

OCReloaded.com’s Paul Lyons was there to take in the scene: “NoCal alternative hard rock band Benvenue played a blistering short and sweet six-song set…[the band] came out guns-a-blazing with a high-powered performancefeaturing songs from their 2010 debut album Jean Elizabeth. With a sound reminiscent of Living Color, mixed with theaggressiveness of Alice In Chains, and the melodic edge of Incubus, Benvenue hit the stage with everything they got…Benvenue is a really exciting live band.  I actually felt the stage shaking when Moon pounded those drums, Sid Slater leaped off the ground with his guitar, and Francis Blay prowled the boards with his commanding presence.  Six songs were not enough for me.” (2/26/11)

Additionally, Ed Hannigan of LifeAbove11.com wrote, “Tight, bluesy with a bit of jazzy alternative metal, a driving bass, and even then a bit heavier riffs then you thought, Benvenue brought their unique sound to the Sunset Strip Friday night…The deeply layered sound that Benvenue seems to have adopted has so much more life in it, so much more depth that most bands that dare go as heavy as Benvenue does…One could pick up some Rage Against The Machine in their sound, a bit of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and some very early Pearl Jam thrown in there…[they] have not forgotten that guitars matter, that a clean slick bass line is never a bad thing, and that when you can rock the Roxy, your doing something right. Well done, boys, well done.” (2/28/11)

FRANCIS BLAY (vocals), SID SLATER (guitar, vocals), TOMMY ALDO SONIN (bass) and MOON (drums) will return to Los Angeles on Friday, April 8 for another high-energy show at The Viper Room. Check out a video of a recent performance at The Mint in Los Angeles here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FuFiLFbaHs.

Jean Elizabeth–released October 5, 2010–includes the first single “She Did”–and two newer songs, “No Way” and “Be Your Own.” “No Way,” is a vortex of emotions, deep, dark and angry.  Written during a break-up, the rollercoaster of emotions SLATER felt was shifted into song. The weighty intro captures you immediately and glides you into the melodic guitar, combined into a semi-mysterious, ethereal way of painting feelings as a scene. With “Be Your Own,” BENVENUEbrings out their heavy metal side with hard-hitting, high-energy throughout.  This has quickly become a fan favorite at shows and one of BENVENUE’s favorite tracks to perform live.

“Benvenue slide a little jazz and funk into propulsive hard rock on their debut EP, Jean Elizabeth, noted Rick Florino ofArtistDirect.com. “It’s a one-two punch of guitars, drums, bass, and vocals that’s pummeling and potent. It’s also stylistically the NorCal quartet’s alone. While heavy music trends endlessly ebb and flow, Benvenue wave the flag for when metal was just a little more daring and experimental. You’ll remember the name Jean Elizabeth after one listen toBenvenue…”

http://www.benvenueband.com
http://www.myspace.com/benvenue
http://twitter.com/benvenueband
http://www.facebook.com/BenvenueMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/BenvenueTV

This entry was posted on March 2, 2011 at 2:24 pm and is filed under News with tags Aaron Rodgers, Benvenue, Roxy Theatre, The Rock Tribune. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.