Audio By Carbonatix
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Band: RTB2
Venue: Dan’s Silverleaf
Time: 10 p.m.
When RTB2 bashed out the first few thunderous thumps of the appropriately titled “When Hammer Hits Stone,” the Dentonites almost seemed to be shooting the starting pistol for NX35.
Ryan Thomas Becker writhed and jerked so frantically that, at one point, his glasses flew off entirely and landed on the stage he was literally leaping across.
And that was all within the first two minutes of the duo’s set.
The frenzied, extended opener led into a few tunes that were practical ballads by comparison. While “Death and Taxes” slowed the proceedings down a tad, there wasn’t a yawn to be heard in the packed-out Silverleaf.
The duo’s rhythmic symbiosis seemed second nature to them, as the interplay between Becker and drummer Grady Don Sandlin was sharp and focused throughout the scorching 40-minute set.
RTB2’s controlled–but still slightly chaotic–bombast will almost always be bigger than the room it’s playing. Especially if this, and the duo’s charismatic performance from last year’s NX35 (a live recording of which was being sold at this show) serves as any indication.
