Live: Chevelle in Indianapolis

While the cold winter winds whipped around the Old National Centre in Indianapolis, Chevelle, 10 Years and Aeges roared through one powerful song after another inside the packed Egyptian Room. Kicking off the evening was Aeges, a four-piece band from LA.

The high-energy set by Kemble Walters (vocals, guitar), Cory Clark (guitar), Tony Baumeister (bass) and Dylan Howard (drums), was melodic and edgy at the same time. The band came out swinging to draw in the crowd, then kept them close through a great mix of songs from all three of their albums, including their latest release, Weightless.

10 Years was next, a band I had seen twice already this fall, under less than ideal conditions. The first was a show in Cape Coral, FL, which was switched from an outdoor gig to an indoor acoustic set at the last minute due to monsoon rains; the second was at the Vogue in Indianapolis, when lead singer Jesse Hasek was suffering from laryngitis and was under doctor’s orders not to sing that night.

Although the band rocked both venues, I was really looking forward to seeing what they could do at full power. I was not disappointed. From the first haunting notes of “Russian Roulette” to the last sustained note of “Actions and Motives.” Knoxville-based 10 Years enthralled the audience with their genre-defying post-grunge, alt-metal, hard rock, nu-metal sound.

Jesse Hasek’s vocals were strong and intense, as was his almost-constant interaction with the crowd. Matt Wantland (guitar), Brian Vodinh (guitar) Kyle Mayer (drums), and bassist Tony Carboney (“borrowed” for this tour from Otherwise), performed with equal passion.

Their set included several crowd favorites such as “ Wasteland” and “Fix Me,” as well as three cuts from their brand-new album, (How to Live) as Ghosts. Their cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box,” performed under eerie red lights, was a show-stopper, as was their new hit single, “Novacaine,” which has made a lightning-quick climb to the top of the charts.

The crowd, which was already pressed close the barrier, got even closer when Chevelle took the stage, tearing into “Young Wicked” from the 2016 release, The North Corridor. To be perfectly honest, I was so dazzled by the lights and sound that I had a hard time figuring out where to focus my camera.

Chevelle’s Pete Loeffler (vocals, guitar), Joe Loeffler (drums) and Dean Bernardini (bass) threw themselves into a 15-song set that featured classics such as “Take Out the Gunman,” “Vitamin R,” “Jars,” and “I Get It,” as well as newer songs such as “Joy Ride” and “Door to Door Cannibals” from The North Corridor. The well-chosen mix of songs took the audience through a a range of emotion, including anger, angst, regret, fear, and triumph. And although the pace and tone of the songs changed throughout the set, the intensity of the band never did, which made for a fantastic experience.

When the Chicago-based trio closed with “Hats Off to the Bull,” the audience nearly lost their minds. There was an encore, of course, and when Chevelle came out to play “The Red,” “Comfortable Liar,” and finally, “Send the Pain Below,” they were rewarded with adulation befitting the legends they have become.

-Laura Fox

\"Click \"\" \"Click