10 p.m. and the Ritz was virtually empty. In the few hours before ICON took the stage, some people did show up, but the club was far from full. There may have been a hundred fans present in all. The band was understandably disappointed by the small turnout, but that didn't stop them from putting on a highly entertaining show for those who were wise enough to attend.
Opening with "UNDER MY GUN", one of the best songs from their debut album, it was clear that ICON is a very special band who play a hard-edged brand of melodic metal and display a classy stage presence to boot. Stephen Clifford, a fine singer, commands proceedings without having to resort to the false toughness of so many other frontmen in metal.
The two mid-tempo rockers "I'm Alive" and "Killer Machine" preceeded the shows quietest moment, "Iconoclast", a brief instrumental which serves as the intro to "Rock 'n' Roll Maniac". "On Fire" was the first of five songs performed which are not featured on the band's album. Next was the epic number "World War".
The band closed out their set with the anthemic "(Rock On) Through The Night", "Hot Desert Night" which was inspired by the band's home state of Arizona, and, finally, their video song "On Your Feet".
ICON returned for an encore playing two more unreleased numbers:"We're Gonna Rock" and "Pedal To The Metal". The latter is especially memorable with a chorus catchy enough to have you singing along even if you've never heard it before.
After seeing ICON I got the feeling that the next time they played in the area it would be to a larger audience. That came sooner than expected. A week and a half after the Ritz show, ICON was playing in Brooklyn. The word of mouth excitement generated by those who had already seen the band, not to mention that it was a Saturday night ("live in New York" no less) assured Icon of a better turnout than they had received just a few days before.
The audience's enthusiasm drove the band to greater heights. At the end of the show, they were inspired to come out for an unplanned encore, something rare indeed. I wondered what song they'd play. Would they repeat one of the numbers that had been performed earlier? No. ICON surprised everyone by going into a blazing rendition of Deep Purple's "Highway Star" - - an exciting conclusion to another excellent show by a band destined for bigger and better things.