Last night at Chocolate Park, Reckoning rocked the sleepy little town of Cascade, Maryland and Chocolate Park rocked them right back. From the very first song, the fans were on the dance floor shaking their groove things, banging their heads and waving horns. It was a show to remember.
A polished metal band, Tammy (singer), Mark (guitar), Paul (bass) and Keith (drums) play favorites from Judas Priest, Godsmack, Puddle of Mudd and more and even throw in some originals. They transition smoothly from song to song blending one to the next. It is obvious they intend to thrill the audience and keep them moving.
With a raw hard metal edge, Tammy sings songs that are predominately male and still manages to keep a sexy feminine air about her performance. Guitar riffs that will peal your skin, bass lines that bust a gut and drum rolls that rattle your skin all support her vocals with the masculinity to keep Reckoning's renditions balanced so as not to loose the original feelings in the songs the perform. Toward the end of the evening, Tammy stated that she has been asked, " When is she going to sing some 'girl shit?' " At that, Reckoning burned out Heart's Barracuda with a fire that that would have made the Wilson girls proud. With Tammy's infectious smile and an occasional holler of "Social!", the band keeps the tone playful.
My favorites of the evening were Nickleback's Figure You Out and Ozzie's War Pigs. During Figure You Out, Paul made his rounds through the crowd on his wireless bass getting up in people's faces for a one on one rock out while Tammy wandered the dance floor to dance with others. Ozzie's maniacal laugh at the beginning of War Pigs was perfectly duplicated and later in the song, Tammy prompted the fans to sing along. It is always an awesome show when the fans feel as if they are a part of what is happening.
Reckoning has been supporters of various benevolent causes in the past and this night, they were collecting money for a person who suffered a bike accident and they wanted to help this person have a merrier Christmas. A jar for collecting change was stationed at the bar and periodically, Tammy reminded people to drop their change.
Always the gracious hosts, Reckoning greeted fans between songs, made sure everyone had something to drink and believe it or not, emptied ashtrays. A menial task some might see as humbling, but in this writer's opinion, it just shows how much this band cares for those who come to listen. Sometimes the small things mean even more.
* My apologies for loosing my last posting to those of you who were looking for it. Peace!