Live

Lacuna Coil

Although Tucson was left off the Jagermeister Tour schedule, Shadows Fall and Lacuna Coil made sure the Old Pueblo was not forgotten Thursday night.

Before Italy's Lacuna Coil set foot on the Rialto Theatre's stage, the goth-metal band made a stop at Guitars Etc. for a special acoustic performance. The sextet performed a unique and mesmerizing set of some of their classic songs in an unusually emotional and intricate way.

Fast-forward four hours, to the moment when the plugged-in group ripped into "To the Edge" from their latest release, Karmacode. The crowd moved to the disco-beat drums and crunching guitars, while the men drooled upon first sight of co-lead singer Cristina Scabbia.

"Do you guys know this song?," Scabbia asked the crowd before the intro to the group's breakthrough hit "Swamped" played over the sound system. The crowd roared in appreciation, and thanks to the song's constant airplay on KLPX FM 96.1's Area 51, they had no problem singing along. Drummer Cristiano Mozzati displayed his skills with thunderous beats and Tommy Lee-esque stick twirls.

Anyone who had a camera phone began to immediately take pictures of Scabbia, an activity that continued throughout the rest of the 55-minute set.

During "Fragile," the crowd headbanged in unison with Lacuna Coil's guitarists, and circle pits erupted for the first time in the evening. The group's vocal duo of Scabbia and Andrea Ferro shone in the chorus, with Ferro's anger and Scabbia's harmonies blending well.

A funny moment occurred while Scabbia was introducing "Invisible Light." Scabbia asked the crowd to get out their lighters and cell phones to create light for their next song, "Within Me," which the band had already played. Noticing that she had read the set list wrong, Ferro laughed and quickly corrected Scabbia.

Once the lighters and cell phones were out, Scabbia embarrassingly told the crowd, "This looks beautiful," before the "Invisible Light" chorus.

Even though most of the young crowd was not alive when the next song was originally released, they responded loudly to the band's cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence."

Lacuna Coil's night came to a close with "Our Truth," which was highlighted by a spectacular light display. Scabbia and Ferro gratefully thanked the crowd for the opportunity to play before them and promised a return.