First off, let me say that this was a really cool thing for this band to do. Being a band that has been on Universal Records, has a #4 song on the Billboard chart, and having toured all over the US, it was amazing to see The Hunger playing a small show at a community college for a music production class.

Even though their bassist is a former student of San Jacinto College, it was huge step for them to help out the school in this way. Besides showing up for the event, they played a full show with a full stage set up. I was really impressed with the band.

Having only seen them at various events in the Houston area I wasn't too sure of what to expect. They fell into that trap that most local bands fall into all over, I knew they were from Houston and never really gave them a decent chance. It's the classic story of not being appreciative of what you have.

The band opened with a barrage of strobe lights and some hard riffs. I'm usually not into the whole industrial thing, but they leaned a great deal towards Ministry, who is a favorite band of mine. I had heard some of their older songs on MP3s and wasn't really impressed, but the newer stuff from Devil Thumbs A Ride was recognizable. Live however, the old stuff and the new stuff was off the hook. I was very impressed by the energy this band has and the way they pulled off a tight set with the constant movements of the members. Brothers Jeff and Thomas Wilson kept a steady rotation between singing and playing the synthesizer.

One of the more impressive moments was when the power to the monitors went off and the band just played through it and didn't miss a beat. The sound quality dropped because less speakers were going, but the band never let it hurt their delivery or their power. Seeing how a band deals with problems during their set lets you know what kind of performers they are and what it means to them to put on a show at all costs. Their actions during that setback showed me a lot about their integrity.

I walked away from this show with a respect for The Hunger. I've been far removed from that style of music for a while now, but after seeing them I know why is used to like it. The Hunger is a band that comes out and plays their hardest and has fun performing, which makes them a fun band to watch.

Samuel Barker is Senior Editor. Contact him at suma@rockzone.com.