The Lifeline Live in Dekalb, Illinois, March, 2010 Review by Travis Jensen
Northern Illinois has always been a Mecca for music; mainly because of Chicago, Rockford and Rosemont, which have hosted most of the greatest rock bands in the world. However, the last fifteen years or so have given way to the smaller venues as the age of rock has come full circle. There are many club venues popping up all over and in-between the arena shows, and Otto’s nightclub in Downtown Dekalb is certainly no exception. Dekalb is really coming into its own as a town that plays host to many of the up incoming working bands with such event venues as The House Café, Starbuster’s and Otto’s, of course. As many bands do, you have to start out with “paying your dues” on the smaller circuit tours and work your way up. As many times that I’ve been to Otto’s, I don’t believe that I’ve seen a band quite like The Lifeline.
What I mean is that they have cohesiveness between them that is almost surrealistic on stage. It’s like they are a larger-than-life band playing for such a small group of people. I can picture them playing in a stadium in my mind, but in reality they are ten feet away from me on a small stage. I had the pleasure to meet this fabulous group of musicians before the show. My first impression of them was that they must be college-taught musicians, as their talent can match that of Dream Theater or perhaps even Queensryche. To my surprise, they have achieved their incredible talent through nothing but practice and diligent hard work. As it turns out, they are very ambitious, yet humble people that just like to hang out with the fans and get the message out to the public that is…The Lifeline