Chicago, IL 3/8/07
by Michael Mcnichols

With a name like “BeneathMe,” you’d expect the band to be composed of the emo freaks dressed in tight, see-through black who work at Hot Topic. Thankfully, at the Double Door last Thursday night, the band proved to be actual hard-working rock musicians.

Lead singer M. Tex Clark writhed about like a snake charmer on crack, easily commanding the audience’s attention. His body language reminded me a lot of Josh Todd from Buckcherry, except Clark didn’t look like he’d gotten his nose broken crawling out of an opium den. He also displayed an impressively wide vocal range, switching between bellowing out lyrics forcefully and a softer, more melodic tone.

The music also showed similarly great range. I couldn’t tell whether Clark was keeping up with the rest of the band or if they were keeping up with him, which is how it should be.

Johnny Drugan on bass and guitarists George Sack and Mikey Vujasin all possessed frontman-like charisma by themselves. Instead of standing off in a corner just doing their thing, they all owned the stage together, jamming and twisting around with Clark.

Wisely, they set two short platforms up at the front of the stage so not only could they leap up there and pose (they’re a rock band, they have to), but get out of each other’s way. Interestingly, the band rarely turned their backs on the crowd. Everyone saw what they were doing and they should have. It’s not like they were secreting away the silver chalice of eternal life. They were playing instruments! Let everyone see how hard you’re working!

One of the few times Clark turned around it was to acknowledge Andy Vujasin (Mikey’s brother) on drums. It’s easy to forget any band’s drummer with them sitting in the back, especially in BeneathMe’s case where everyone else is spasming all over the stage. And I mean “spasm” in a good, rocking out kind of way.

Vujasin, however, set the frenzied pace with his drums that the rest of the band had to match, plowing through every song without slowing down. Despite this high-paced temp, no one missed a beat, clearly showing the band has a lot of polish.

Songs like “Caged” and “Shattered” could easily have become nasally whining ballads in the hands of lesser bands. BeneathMe provided a harder edge, yet kept up the melody.

They struck the right balance between going too hardcore that they’d have left everyone’s ears bleeding and trying to be too appealing to disenfranchised youths too depressed not to sleep through school.

With the flickering lights, the posing, the never-ending drums, guitar riffs, melodic singing, and head banging, a lot went on during their show. BeneathMe had ample showmanship, but backed it up with their music. There’s something for almost any audience to pick and enjoy.