Florida Live
By Matthew Bretz
I’m With The Band!
LYDIA CAN’T BREATHE

We pull up to the Metro Entertainment, an old double screen movie theater cum weekend concert venue, in West Melbourne, Florida. I’m here for a band I’ve been hearing about for a couple of years, but never actually seen. Tonight they are headlining a multiband show…all metal. I’m not the biggest fan of hardcore, but there IS a bar and I’m counting on this band to be different, so I brought some friends to make a night of it.

It’s Saturday night. The music will be provided by Lydia Can’t Breathe. Put on your best black shirt, grab some eye-liner and tell your parents you hate them… this is a metal show and tonight- you’re with the band! Someone asked me the other day how I could write about a genre I hate. It’s not true, I don’t hate metal. I’m just not a blanket fan. I take it on a band-by-band basis and form my opinion according to each artist. Truth is – most of the time it just sounds like the same band to me: loud distorted guitars in a drop-tuning for that dark and ominous tone, fast double-kick and as many cymbal crashes as the drummer can fit in, barely audibly picked bass lines and of course the singer/screamer growling pseudo-poetic lyrics – that you can’t understand - about how bad his life is. That being said… I love Lydia Can’t Breathe. These guys are great musicians. They work hard and their arrangements show it.

This is Lydia: Kyle Bolduc, Dan Wilson, Dirk Grobb, Josh Runfeldt and Shad(rach) Roundy. The first guy I see as I walk in is Kyle Bolduc the lead singer. Right off it’s easy to get a confusing impression of this guy. He has a conservative hairstyle, no visible tattoos or piercings and dresses like a collegiate tennis player. His unassuming style and polite manner throw me some. He doesn’t exactly fit the typical profile of a hardcore lead singer. No ego, no goth make-up. He’s just a normal guy and I love that. As a matter of fact, everyone in this band is very, very nice to me. No one is trying to push a fake image; they are musicians and they play music. “The show is running a little late tonight, but I hope
you can hang out and catch our set”, Kyle says so politely I almost think I hear him say “sir”…but that’s just my imagination.

We grab a table off to the side and dig in with a couple of beers each, ready to wait out the bands ahead of Lydia. Looking around, I realize that the Metro hasn’t changed - ever. I’ve been coming here almost my entire life and it’s always been the same. I came here to see “Back to the Future” for my eightth birthday. The lobby still doubles as a pool hall/bar. It still smells like beer and popcorn. There
are still old movie posters papering the walls. The only addition might be the karaoke stage on the left side of the room. A couple years ago the new owners decided to try and turn the theater into a music venue on Friday and Saturday nights. I’ll be honest and say, I never thought it would work. Because of city ordinance, the bars in West Melbourne have to close by midnight. Thinking that most people don’t even go out until ten-thirty or eleven, I just didn’t think it would last. I was wrong. The Metro hosts shows every weekend and even webcasts them.

Every once in a while, someone walks through the door going in or out of the theater where we are waiting to see Lydia perform in. When they do, we get to hear about 5 seconds of whoever is onstage. I can’t be sure, but sounds to me like the cookie monster is pulling vocal duty with most of the bands playing tonight. All around us the lifestyle is alive, and I can’t help but feel like I’m looking through a window into a foreign world. Everybody is wearing black. Why so much black? Can’t other colors be angry too?

The one I can relate to is how much these people love the bands they are here to see. They are true fans. Of course, there are some kids here that just want to feel wild and out of control… a little dangerous even, but there are bands all over town that play loud and fast - these people came to see
Lydia. Finally it’s time and we head in. The room fills up fast and, once again, I’m vindicated in my decision to come tonight.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this band. I was lucky enough to be part of a very small audience for a very special show in a very small room. That day, when the band was setting up, I remember feeling a little nervous watching two guys carry in Runfeldt’s monstrous drum kit. It’s been my experience that drummers with the least amount of equipment tend to be the tightest. He proved me wrong Rundfeldt holds his band together with fantastic timing and control, and zero overplay. The guys are in full swing now, about halfway through the first number, and I’m thinking about how glad I am that
I was at that private show. In the studio I could hear everything: every lick, kick and lyric. The sound sucks tonight at the Metro. It’s muddy and distorted. The sound guy seems to lean heavy on the low-end side of the dial. Funny thing about that… I can’t hear the bass at all- a disservice to a solid player like Roundy. The biggest disappointment is that I can’t hear the intertwining guitar lines being played
by Wilson and Grobb. That’s what really got my attention in the first place.

Regardless of the sound, the boys still play a great show and everyone is having a good time. Lydia breaks into the crowd favorite of the night - a ditty about indulging in the cronic with a very cool Eminem style scat in the breakdown. I look towards the front of the crowd and see a pretty, red headed girl dancing along to the music. She couldn’t be more than nineteen and doesn’t look like she’s been to a show like this before. I have to chuckle knowing this is probably a ‘walk on the wild side’ for her.

Kyle introduces the next song as a tribute to a fallen friend. And I’m glad they are playing this one because we get to hear him sing…and the boy can. The song begins very melodically and hushed. Then it builds into a controlled chaos. Filled with little Easter egg surprises and very cool timing changes, this is probably MY favorite of the night. Their set isn’t very long tonight, but with all the energy these guys exert, it’s amazing they even went this long. You can tell they love what they do with all their hearts, and those kinds of players will always have a special place with me. Lydia Can’t Breathe is nothing like I thought they would be and I feel stupid for even having a preconceived opinion.

It’s true that this really isn’t my scene. But the boys in Lydia are real musicians - serious musicians - and that makes them my kind of band. I know you’ve seen the bumper stickers around town, I’m sure you’ve seen the t-shirts. If you haven’t seen the band, do yourself a favor and stop missing out. Check out www.myspace.com/lydiacantbreathe for music and info.

Thanks Matt, Lydia Can’t Breathe