NONPOINT BRINGS THEIR “OUTTA CONTROL” TOUR TO THE WEBSTER in CT.

 Photos By: Holly Roy Photography
Review By: Kat Gullage

Thank God NONPOINT always stops in CT cuz I hadn’t seen them live in nine months and we can’t have that! They brought SOiL and Sumo Cyco along to warm us up.

The first time I saw Sumo Cyco they were tucked away in the smaller “Underground” portion of the venue. Seeing them in the main room hit different, their sound and stage presence definitely leveled up. Sumo Cyco is a Canadian female fronted alternative punk metal band led by singer, and bad ass wrapped in sweetness, Fronted by Skye Sweetnam, a badass wrapped in sweetness, the alt punk metal band is made up of guitarist Matt Drake, bassist Oscar Anesetti and drummer Jeff Rinne. The band formed fifteen years ago and have produced four studio albums and multiple singles. Their nine song set pulled from their two latest LPs and included a cover. Y’all know. I’m not a fan of covers in general, they rarely outshine the original. Sumo Cyco tore into it with two from their latest, Neon Void, “ASTEROID” and “SHIVERS” followed by their 2018 single, “Undefeated”, which rolled into Initiation with “Run With The Giants”. The sound quality was great and the energy coming off Matt could not be contained, thought he might have a seizure. It was time for the cover and their choice was Slipknot’s “Duality”. I didn’t hate it and the fans were very receptive to it. Skye asked if they should keep it in the set and I, as well as many others, voted yes. Skye announced “We have a new record out called Neon Void. Here’s a song off that.” They kept it moving with “VILLAINS” before heading back to Initiation with “No Surrender”. Skye utilized every inch of stage space allowed to the opener, in a painted on outfit and I couldn’t help but wonder how she sings and screams like that night after night. In the beginning of “PAIN/LOVE” she sang enticingly “give me pain, give me love, motherfucker” before she gave the finger and got to growling. “Make some fucking noise! How ya feelin tonight?! Make some noise for Soil and Nonpoint!” The crowd delivered. They wrapped with “Bystander” and at one point Skye had everybody crouch low and next thing I knew she was in the middle of the pit low ridin with the rest of em, and then, in the blink of an eye she was back on the stage. So add magician to her list of skills. The band welcomed fans at merch and I was able to chat with Skye. This queen been performing since she was a kid. She opened for Britney Spears on the Onyx Hotel tour. One of her pop rock songs from that time, "Tangled Up In Me” had an edge to it even then. At
one point she stopped the music industry presses and set out on her own trajectory, creating Sumo Cyco. I asked if she had a ritual or some sort of elixir that allowed her to flex her vocal chords night after night. “No secrets, I just do it.” There ya have it, straight from the lips of the fierce frontwoman. Check out Sumo Cyco, motherfucker.

Do y’all remember SOiL? The heavy alt metal band that formed in 1997 in Chicago, but hit paydirt with their 2001 major label debut Scars? If your answer is “Fuck yeah!” then you should definitely catch them on this tour because they played nine of its thirteen tracks. SOiL took the stage and delivered a raw rock and roll show that took their fans back in time. They opened their eleven song set with three from Scars, “Breaking Me Down”, “Need To Feel” and “Wide Open”. Even though they have six studio albums, the only other one they pulled from was Redefine with “Pride”. Ryan McCombs is the current and original lead singer and frontman, although he took a seven year hiatus from the group to front the band Drowning Pool. He was backed by guitarist Adam
Zadel, bassist Tim King and drummer T.J. Taylor. They continued to feed us slices of Scars, delivered with Ryan’s husky, gritty vocals, “Understanding Me”, “My Own” and “Unreal” before they punched us with title track “Redefine”. These guys seemed genuinely happy to be there and grateful to the fans. Ryan was sincere when he gave the obligatory shout out to the other bands on the bill. “Lastly, I haven’t been here in a long time, it was like fifteen fukin years ago. They did an amazing job revitalizing this place! Thank you so much for comin out tonight!” They wrapped with, you guessed it, three from Scars, “The One”, “Black 7” and their biggest hit, “Halo”, which put the crowd into a sing along frenzy. Need to time travel back to 2001? Need a dose of pure
unfiltered no frills raw rock and roll? SOiL has the dirt.

I lost count of how many times I’ve seen Nonpoint, but it’s never enough. Hailing from Florida, they formed in 1997 and released their first studio LP, Statement in 2000 that spawned the hit “What A Day”. They have continued to create and release their signature sound over ten studio albums and relentless touring. Their eleventh record, The Last Word, is due out late this summer. On this night the boys wasted no time getting down to business as they detonated their fourteen song set with the title track off their 2021 EP “Ruthless”. An EP the band refers to as “its most irresponsible music ever”. Lead singer and frontman Elias Soriano announced “We got new music comin.” The fans cheered enthusiastically. “Wanna hear some?” Elias teased as they performed their new single “Is It”. Wow, there are a lot of lyrics packed into that song, like a novel’s worth. Imma hafta listen to it more carefully to properly digest it. Psyched to hear it live prior to the album
release though. Nonpoint pulled from across their catalog, hitting us with cuts from eight different releases. “Breaking Skin” (The Return) and “The Truth” (Recoil) kept the momentum rollin. “Are we all warmed up? Bullshit! Are we all warmed up Hartford?!?” The response? Loud enough to prove it. “You guys are loud! Who was here last time?” Lotsa hands shot up. “First timers?” Another fair share of fists in the air. “Are you ready to partake? Can you give me more? C’mon Hartford, show me whatcha got!” They unleashed two high powered cuts from X with “Dodge Your Destiny” and “Chaos And Earthquakes”, which triggered a fully engaged circle pit that kept going for “What A Day” (Statement). “Give it up for Sumo Cyco! We love them, they are good kind hearted people, we’ve toured with em before. I’m showing a little leg.” Elias pointed to his calves, exposed by his long shorts. “Make some fukin noise for our brothers in SOiL!” We got a deeper cut off of X with “Milestone”. Elias took a moment and dedicated the next track to “Eric, a big Nonpoint fan that passed, his dad is here tonight”. It was “My Last Dying Breath” (The Poison Red). A powerful moment indeed. Next was a cover, “In The Air Tonight” originally by Phil Collins. Here’s a fun fact. The original version was played on the first episode of the TV show Miami Vice in 1984. Nonpoint recorded their version in 2004 on Recoil, and it was chosen to appear in the 2006 film Miami Vice. One of my faves from the album Nonpoint was up next, and
Skye from Sumo Cyco joined em, for “That Day”. Skye stayed on board for another new single “Red Yeti”. The set wrapped, too soon with two from “To The Pain”, “Alive And Kicking” and “Bullet With A Name” where they signed off with their signature jump, done in unison. I didn’t realize I could be satisfied yet still wanting more, but that’s how I felt. Nonpoint, the word, can be defined as ‘not confined to a single point or identifiable source’. Nonpoint the band is made up of five talented, hard working, enthusiastic, musicians. Elias Soriano, lead vocalist and frontman. Saw him at the bus, he explained the story behind the Dying Breath dedication .Eric died in an accident, Elias met his dad before the gig, heard his story, found out Eric was a big Nonpoint fan, and that is what led to the heartfelt gesture. Not planned, just real. Asked Elias how he belts out those lyrics
constantly, he tries to rest his voice after shows. (hint hint) Wildman Adam Woloszyn is the bassist and cannot be confined, he bounds all over the stage. Jaysin Zeilstra has been the lead guitarist since 2019. He’s still handsome even though he cut his dreads and I may have texted my photographer a pic and asked “Who dis?” before the event. Rasheed Thomas is the rhythm guitarist and exudes the Nonpoint vibe. Talented, gracious and kind, he saw me outside and remembered that I interviewed him last year. I mentioned I thought the set was heavy and he commented “Glad ya like it”. Robb Rivera is our sideways set up (never change!) Thor of percussion. Caught Robb going upstairs, told him I thought the setlist was heavy, asked him which song was the toughest one for him to play. He replied “None of em” and flashed one of his guns. That thing was the size of a grapefruit. Or small basketball. The guys are just as genuine offstage. I encourage y’all to come out and support all of these bands. Everyone deserves to have fun at a rock show, to let go, to get Outta Control. There’s a few more stops in May and a coupla summer festival dates. Catch the tour and stay tuned for new Nonpoint!

SUMO CYCO

SOIL

NONPOINT