S.L.R. Magazine

Live Review: Liliac Madness 2023 Tour at Landis Theater in Vineland, NJ on July 9th

The Family that rocks together …. ROCKS! There was a raging storm in Vineland, NJ on July 9. Yes, torrential showers rolled across the flats of South Jersey that evening, but the real thunder was on the stage of Vineland’s historic Landis Theatre. This thunder’s name is Liliac. Written by Jonathan Lane Liliac is a…

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Landis Theatre, Liliac, Madness

The Family that rocks together …. ROCKS!

There was a raging storm in Vineland, NJ on July 9. Yes, torrential showers rolled across the flats of South Jersey that evening, but the real thunder was on the stage of Vineland’s historic Landis Theatre. This thunder’s name is Liliac.

Written by Jonathan Lane

Liliac is a hard-rock band with origins in Los Angeles, comprising five siblings: Front woman Melody, Abigail on drums, Samuel on lead guitar, Ethan on bass and Justin on keys. For this show, Alexa Rae, known for her drum work with Pinktastic Plastixx, subbed for Abigail and did her proud. Rounding out the badass wall of sound was Blake on electric cello.

The band wastes no time getting the crowd to their feet in the plush, spacious Landis with Rise Up from the 2023 Madness album. Rise up assaults with a dark, metal vibe, led by Melody’s raspy, cutting vocals and nice chorus work by the rest of the band. Liliac picks up the pace with straight-up, danceable rocker, Not Afraid – a song you could imagine Joan Jett would (should!) cover.

See full photo gallery of Liliac performance here.

Liliac sizzles throughout the balance of this very satisfying set with a mix of original songs and creative covers from their four-year discography. Covers of rock standards include:

Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train – true to the original with some sweet guitar flourishes and sold performances by the whole band.
Metallica’s Enter Sandman – Every bit as metal as the original with this very worthy tribute.
The band makes The White Stripes’ 7 Nation Army their own while respecting the great melody of the original and serves up a fun cover of DIO’s Holy Diver.

Liliac brings the mood up, down, and around with self-penned tunes – Melody leads the charge whatever the flavor of each of these tracks with her fierce, made-for-rock voice…and she thrills further with death-defying, world-class mic stand twirling throughout. Highlights include: The raw, fast-paced We Fight We Fall; Mars – a big song made for big arenas; Chain of Thorns – which starts out bouncy and evolves into an unadulterated rock anthem; Madness (from 2023 album by the same name), haunts with its heavy beats and riffs, delivering on the promise of its title.

Don’t wait to check out Liliac – sample their impressive output on their YouTube channel and other popular outlets – but better yet – check out these rising rock stars live this year – tour link below.

2023 Album “Madness”