The rain was barely starting to creep into Long Beach as lagging showgoers shuffled into the Art Theater on 4th St. for an unexpected dose of “Frankenmetal.” There are few times a music critic reserves the right to barf out a supposedly new and exciting genre title, but in this case, Long Beach rockers Bethpage Black kind of deserve it. On the evening of their record release show for Opera Comique, this six-piece of arty, eclectic thrashers entertained a curious, slighlty skeptic audience as they took the stage around 10:30 p.m. Their set was preceeded by a cavalcade of local acts, Ben White, Derock and Eugene and the 1914.
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As intense and inventive as some of their songs were, it seems obvious that BPB is going to have to branch out of LB if they really get the respect they are looking for. And between the musicians ship of drummer Steve Coy, bassist Derock Tucker, guitar shredders Davin Givhan and Michael J. Salter, keyboardist Clancy Cramer and vocalist Matt Charmichael, the band is definitely not without talent. But word to the wise guys: there's other beaches that might be better suited for your sound…. we're putting our money on Newport and Huntington.
