REVIEW: Bobaflex Plays Black Friday

Bobaflex is West Virginia’s answer to the finest cut high-octane spit and shine hillbilly rock this side of the rolling river. They came, played, kicked ass and left. They also braved to play on the one day where the rough, riotous crowds and moshpits were more dangerous at any given retail giant than at any sophisticated metal show. Where the fights draw blood, especially with high-heels and the deal/discount diving shoppers have less mercy than angry drunks in a Slayer pit (concert goers at least have the common courtesy to help each other up when they go down before the mauling). They came to Dayton on the blackest of days and the only Friday more infamous and violent than the 13^th.

McGuffy’s  will compensate you, if no one survives Black Friday, Bobaflex. Luckily plenty of people did and showed up for a raucous good time. ViFolly braved the Dayton traffic along with returning Columbus artists Xfactor1 and Dayton’s own Black Cloud Syndrome.

Making their first appearance since Halloween, the out of costume Xfactor1 returned with seven songs that would make great stocking crushers for all the little naughty elves in the family. In Gibson and sunglasses we trust, however QBall just doesn’t look the same without the bloody surgical scrubs, though he performs with the passion of a natural born killer. They open with It’s My Life, because without girls, there’s no guys. Over and Out is more than CB talk, it’s a deep, emotionally played, melodious tune with tone and feeling. QBall pulls out Scott Stapps voice giving it a darker, harder Vedder edge. The light will follow even if they Paint It Black. Who doesn’t wanna be like a Rolling Stone?

The day after Thanksgiving’s the biggest shopping/party day of the year. Time to Live Another Day and find a way to survive. The next song’s about pulling the best part of yourself out and being that person every day because we must believe in ourselves and have Hope For Tomorrow. Whatever technology and industry brings, they can’t tear us away from our humanity or Break You down because no matter how much convenience comes, real-life hard work and passion cannot be faked. They break out Rock on the Range tune Never Live then get a little extra ‘exercise’ putting some metal thumpin power behind the Stroke. Peace love and alcohol.

Straight from Eaton/New Lebanon/Cincinnati, ViFolly bring an impressive resume to the stage: recording music for Bret Michaels’ Rock of Love: Bus and Rock of Love alumni Taya Parker. They’ve also played live at MMA fights in Cleveland and there’s talk about future fights in other states as well.

All songs are written, recorded and pre-produced by ViFolly in their recording studio in Eaton Ohio.  They’ve worked with Bon Jovi’s producer Fab Dupont and will be releasing a new record in March with Dupont at the helm. Playing over 100 shows in 20 states in 2011, they’ve opened for Seven Dust, Jackyl, Drowning Pool, Sick Puppies, Tantric, 60 date tour with Hawthorne Heights, Saliva, members of (Molly Hatchet, Black Foot and Lynrd Skynrd) and the list goes on.

They take a rock sound inserting high, sometimes frantic notes giving an unsettling, melancholy feeling to the music with a mixture of Bush vocals and Tool tones. The guitar whistle’s the opening of Kettle Doll then the guitars go nuts on Crazy. Sweet Revenge has those weird notes, sweating off sanity. The seven minute opus Feathers starts swimming in guitar tranquility, turning up the rock with haunting harmonies, singing us a wicked little nursery rhyme Opeth style. Under scarlet lights we feel the Burn as dreamlike, nightmarish notes escape the stage. They also play tracks from the upcoming CD, All For Nothing and Heaven Help Me. Finishing as King(s) of the Castle, they’ve taken the dark side of the Beach Boys, and adding some of that haunting calm Opeth charm.

Black Cloud Syndrome brings the heavy hard rasp of Shannon’s Bobby Blitz meets David Draiman with R Lee Ermy commanding vocals. They enjoy their Freedom and love to sing it. Music’s in their blood, have another shot; its 100 proof metal strong; it’s a Revolution Rising. There’s some guitar churning, slow heavy groove in this Never Ending War to Exposure the Truth with some heavy drilling sound. Nobody Rides 4 Free, you have to earn your metal keep. I Am has a disturbing influence as Planet X comes to ya live from the shed to the McGuffy’s stage. They finish with the newest F’n song Stand and Fight!

Bobaflex are supporting their newest CD Charlatans Web, now available, with the first single Bad Man charting at #34 (BDS) and #35 on (Mediabase). CW is their follow up to 2011’s Hell In My Heart featuring stage anthem Bury Me With My Guns On (inspired by The Preacher comic), Chemical Valley and the Simon and Garfunkel inspired Sound of Silence. Formed in 1998, the ‘flex is one of the hardest working bands in the country, the heart and soul of the McCoy brothers, Shaun and Martin, actual descendants of the Hatfield/McCoy legacy. Though their side might’ve lost a few more than the other, anyone who’s seen or heard Bobaflex are the real winners. A historic truce was made between families in the early 2000’s. The band had their share of turmoil when an earlier label went bankrupt losing rights to their name and songs to a bank for a few years. Eventually getting them back, Charlatans Web is a satirical shot at the music industry.

And now a few choice words for a former manager… a mix of George Thorogood, Skynrd, Georgia Satellites, The Ramones and Wasp, Bobaflex emerges bringing the black-leather biker pride to the stage with a road-blistering sound. They’re motor-heads on diesel, steroid dust and gasoline dreams straight from the mind altering, booze guzzling Chemical Valley. They keep the loaded ride flowing and going swerving down the disillusioned road of the Low Life.  We take a hit from the chemical valley one more time and Rise to the occasion with a loud battle cry, we’re not one of your kind. Better Than Me is visited from Apologize For Nothing. For all the online stalkers and voyeurs who love getting their sick-fix through the webcast feed, Pretty Little Things is your sweet unfiltered cyberspace song of fantasy, for a fee.

The next single from Charlatans Web, the excessively happy, sick, twisted, conniving glee of I’m Glad You’re Dead, has a nice sing along chorus. Sticking with the dark, decomposing and deadly theme we have a draining visit with the rock n roll Vampire. Life really sucks when you find the wrong succubus that leaches off you. There’s still more sin to indulge in as we get our love-sexy groove on swaggering down the neon lit halls of any said sex club, bottle in hand, working our way into a Slave state of mind, looking for a limber agile pole-rider.

We get down to the bottom of the bottle ready for more dirty behavior with the tambourine shaking, gypsy waltz and some filthy southern brewed blues, playing the Bad Man with the Charlatan watching from above. We get down to back-dirt roads stringed basics singing about Home, where the dream started and the stage, where the dream’s lived.

It’s all about the beautiful sickness we have inside; when we indulge ourselves we lose our minds. We enjoy the peaceful Sound of Silence courtesy of The McCoy’s and Simon and Garfunkel. Charlatan stretches out her treacherous black webbed claws one last time, if you’re entangled, you’ll Never Come Back.  They make their last stand, true outlaw style going out in a blaze of glory, so they can be buried with their guns on. When they get to the other side, they can show what it feels like to die. When they fall from heaven they can shoot the devil right between the eyes, HEY!