Baroness have grown leaps and bounds as a live band. It’s been a cool experience to watch this band mature over the past 2 years or so… from an adrenaline and sweat-filled room in a makeshift venue in the back of a Mexican restaurant, to a poised but still unsure-of-themselves band on a bigger stage a year later, to bonafide rockstars at the end of 2009. Baroness looked completely comfortable on the stage of the Bowery Ballroom, effortlessly commanding the attention of the sold out 550-capacity venue. They’ve now made the ascension from scrappy new band to the big leagues… of course there’s still a long way to go, but last Friday they proved that they’re fully capable.

This wasn’t the kind of show where Brooklyn hipsters’ eyes were constantly darting around for their friends or folks back by the bar were mindlessly chatting during the band’s set… everyone was there to see Baroness, and everyone was paying attention. New or old material, it didn’t matter; the audience was just as transfixed. I’m not as big of a fan of Blue Record as Axl is (though I like it), but seeing the band play those songs live brought me that much closer to the music. The band was tight and crisp, the sound was solid, the performance amazing. Everything was right.

Frontman/guitarist John Baizley now has the stage persona of a true rockstar. You can’t pinpoint it, but you know it when you see it. It’s that cool, calm, commanding charisma that screams “watch ME” without any effort at all. He’s still a crazy beardo with a scruffy appearance — as in, he hasn’t gone all Scott Weiland on us — but the guy’s really learned to command an audience, and it’s impressive. His presence as the band’s voice and frontman is seductive enough on his own, but his live guitar interplay with new guitarist Peter Adams is positively mesmerizing. When the rhythm section of Allen Blickle (drums) and Summer Welch (bass) locks into a groove and the two guitarists wail, the energy is just electric.

As Blue Record continues to see even more praise and more people become hip to Baroness — from both inside and outside the metal community — it’ll be fun to once again watch Baroness rise to the next level. If there’s a current metal band that can do it, it’s definitely Baroness.

Openers Earthless were damn good as well. They played one 40-minute long “jam,” which I’m assuming incorporated various parts from their proper songs, though I can’t say for sure. Even if you’re not necessarily a fan of jamming,  any fans of Baroness should enjoy Earthless’ set. The extended jam had peaks and valleys, highs and lows, fast parts and slow parts… it was basically a regular multi-song set, just without the breaks in between songs. When this tour hits your town, make sure you arrive early for Earthless.

-VN