Take the flame is literally on fire!!
November 15, 2024, I took a two hour drive to see Richard (from Pull The Curtain) and surprise him at a show in Wallingford, CT. The venue: Cherry Street Station. A place that has that typical underground 1990’s vibe, where the only things that seem modern are the TVs in the bar area, and maybe the register when you walk in. The speakers, amps and everything else, including the beer adverts on the wall, just scream Motley Crue start up. Picture looking at this corner stage, two built-in stage risers at the edge, and a stairway up the center. As you look up the back wall behind the drummer, you see what looks like some bottles screwed into a couple light sockets... I mean, when you think underground, this is pretty on point.
As I was on a hiatus from shooting shows and working, I finally had a chance to enjoy a show and watch the performances. The bill for the night seemed stacked with some decent local names like Syphon, American Amnesia, and Skin Crawl as the openers. The last band, however, was to make their debut and were supported by Pull The Curtain. What was to come next was going to surprise the shit out of me. I expected a few mess ups, maybe a few glitches in the beginning, as this was the band’s first time performing in front of a crowd at a venue, but some of the members being from other bands, they didn’t have that nervousness you’d see from some of the new-to-the-scene bands. But as expected, there were a few small issues throughout the night with the venue having some technical difficulties, if I recall. You know what though? When anticipation builds, the show becomes that much better... and better, it was.
The crowd stares and films as Chris Kallian ponders the next extreme vocal drop on the mic.
But here we are, it’s now the third show I’ve covered for Chris and the guys in Take the Flame and all I can say is the energy, the screams, the riffs — they just get more disgusting, more dirty, and even more addicting with every strum of the strings, every pluck of the bass chords... it truly is a sight to see these guys perform with big stage energy on a tiny platform.
So when I was asked to if I could cover their show for Five Stories Falling’s Album release party on May 17th, I honestly didn’t hesitate to say yes. I think Chris already knew I was ready to go. I had to borrow a camera from my friend Kelly since I didn’t have one at the time, and I took to the road on yet another two-hour drive to Cherry Street and their super underground style set up. Upon my arrival, I’ve never felt so at home being with everyone. Not a single person in the bands for this set had that “lead singer syndome” or entitlement feeling you see from other bands, and that what really makes these bands stand out: they’re poeple, just like us, easy to joke with, easy to chat with, easy to hang out with.
So recently, Take The Flame has been putting out a couple music videos, and between Eric DiCarlo and Peter (who seems to go by Peter J-T on socials) this band couldn’t have picked better artists to work with.
Most recent music video published by Take The Flame filmed by PeterJTmedia
These guys have managed to start gaining a bit of traction in the local scene, but have such potential to be more... this blog post has become more of an artist spotlight with the amount of work the fellas are putting in. One thing I can’t wait for is for the fellas to be on the stage in Worcester! Think we can make that happen as a community? I think so.
Check out more from Take The Flame here,
Listen on Spotify and more,
Watch more on Youtube
and don’t forget to follow them on Instagram if you haven’t already
If you get a chance, let the band know what you think in the comments below. Would you see them on their next show? Have you streamed their music lately? How many of you have been hearing about Take The Flame? Let’s talk below and tell me what you think!!!!!
