TYPE O NEGATIVE

November 12, 2003 - Bridge Street Music Hall - Syracuse, NY

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Many people consider them Goth, and many consider them Metal, but the members of Type O Negative don't think of themselves as either. The band combines the elements of both and produces something that is neither.
Type O Negative formed in 1990 out of the remnants of thrash band Carnivore.
Type O Negative is made up of vocalist/bassist Peter Steele, whose deep vampire-like voice is unmistakable, and features guitarist Ken Hickey, keyboardist Josh Silver, and drummer Johnny Kelly.
The band has released five studio albums, including their newest release entitled Life is Killing Me, on Roadrunner Records.
The stop in Syracuse at the Bridge Street Music Hall was the opening night of the five week tour that the band is Co-Headlining with Cradle of Filth who were a huge hit at the 2003 OzzFest. C.O.F. was not at this show, they would join the tour two nights later.
It is not often that a cool band like Type O Negative opens up their concert tour in Syracuse, so this was a lot of fun.
Being there early for the soundcheck was cool, as I got to see the stage crew putting together the final aspects of the show. The stage was set up to look like a prison workout yard, required chainlink fences and sirens and lights to be placed all around the stage.
The chainlink had to be cut to fit that day. The whole process was a blast to see.
After all of the set was in place, the band took the stage and went through a lengthy soundcheck that worked out all the bugs with the sound system and finally met vocalist Peter Steele's approval. The soundcheck ended and the band did a Meet & Greet with contest winners from New Rock 105.1 FM (The Dog). The group of 20 ate pizza and rubbed elbows with the band in the upstairs, "off-limits" part of the club and had a great time.
When all that was over, I went out to the tour bus and sat down with Josh Silver (A.K.A. Mr. Death) and did a great interview.
Finally the band took the stage in front of a capacity-plus crowd that kept chanting, "You Suck!" I have seen MANY shows at Bridge Street Music Hall and this was by far the most people I have ever seen in there.
The stage crew were wearing grey Correctional Facility Staff jumpsuits and when the band took the stage, they were decked out in orange prison jumpsuits emblazoned with the Type O Negative logo.
Peter informed the crowd that the show was to be considered the Type O Negative Work Release Program. The band then blasted into the opening song, which was a slamming cover of Elvis Presley's classic "Jailhouse Rock." It got the crowd going crazy and it just went wild from there. The enthusiastic crowd swayed and moshed as much as possible while the band rocked through classics like their breakthrough hit "Black No. 1" and newer material like " I Don't Wanna Be Me."
About halfway through the set, fences came down and it looked like a prison break was taking place. But the members of the band stayed and did not make their escape. They continued on through songs like "Unsuccessfully Coping With the Natural Beauty of Infidelity" otherwise known as "I Know You're Fucking Someone Else" and "Corpus Cristi" and more while the stage crew attempted to close up the fence. With their set complete, the members of Type O Negative left the stage as the crowd again began to shout, "You Suck!" The band finally returned to the stage and did a three song encore. The band ended the show with a big thanks to all their fans. A great time was had by all.