Show Update #23 - Friday Night at the Trinity Cathedral
Pop Punk bands turned Screamo and the end result not very satisfying and a night full of bands where one didn't know where one set began and the other ended; Soon Enough and Cat War were great though.
The show was a little late getting started as usual for a Trinity show. The band Soon Enough was first up. Formerly Arrow Three, I was anticipating the new songs and style that the band would play. Also I was very enthusiastic over the news that their songs were to be accompanied by vocals by not just Brian but the whole band. Brian and Joe on guitar, Yapes on bass, and Charolette on drums; they kicked off their first song and it was definitely worthy of a new band name. Instead of just repeating the same riffs over and over it seemed like the song actually went somewhere. Brian's Chris Connelly-sounding vocals were backed up by screams given by Yapes on bass. Joe emitted from his guitar some kick ass solos that grabbed the attention of your ears and deserved much applause.
The stage performance was also much more aggressive than in earlier times. Both Yapes and Brian fell all over between the times they sang, and they were playing hard the whole time. By the end of their set Brian's elbow was slashed and bleeding, mic stands were knocked over and put back up, and a mosh pit had erupted with not just friends, but complete strangers running through the entanglements. The band had definitely improved their technique and as result the overall sound was even more interesting to listen to. Plus this time they lacked earlier noticeable mistakes such as the band loosing their timing and falling apart. With a sound that has been described as Post-hardcore, not emo and not hardcore but both, or a successful try for an At the Drive-In sound; it's worth a listen too.

After some schedule changes due to bands being dicks and not showing up on time, Cat War was named as next on the list. The lights dimmed, and a group of 6 or 7 fans took their places around the room, unnoticed by the crowd. We knelt down, placed the red bandanas over our faces, and tied them in the back. As we stood up, the hoodies were drawn just in time for the music to begin.
The crowd seperated and formed a circle as Matt screamed and his fans pushed them aside, dressed in Terror style outfits (hoodies, red bandanas, etc). The mosh was amazing, the adrenaline was rushing, 6 or 7 bandits dancing all at the same time. Spreading the crowd, being thrown down by jerks in the corner, we all found the rhythm in Cat War and could do nothing other than thrash about. Some bands have fans that build fucking cardboard tanks to suprise the band with (Local Demise: 121303), others have girls that expose their bras to their favorite band and stand half nude in front (Down and Out: 011704). Cat War had what is now being described as the red scare, a group of 6-7 kids, Terror style accessories, dancing their hearts out in front. If only the crowd reacted more positively. I think they were scared of us, even though some of them did join us in the pit.
The band is freaking amazing, they always have been, even when they wrote songs criticizing different people and different cliches as The Never New Johnnies. Ian on bass has always been able to put out riffs that take your eyes all over the bass as you follow his hand. Matt on guitar, now equipped with an even sweeter pedal with some crazy effects, makes some significant chords that just catch your attention and are worthy of praise. Finally Chris on drums has always been crazy whether it be copying James Lemming Style or whatever. The vocals on everything have improved so much. Matt has seemingly found his scream and it can heard as a finely polished dedication to his God, instead of the rough, less empowering yells that can were heard at their last performance. Now it seems like it comes from deep within, and has been centralized into a strong force to be exuded from his mouth. Ian also can be heard with strong back up vocals that if absent would leave the band incomplete.
The performance quality for its viewers was probably affected by the bunch of crazy Terror kids circling in front, but on stage nothing was different. The band was flipping out, the needed energy to match their music. They even had a cover of MeWithoutYou with everything required to do it well. I'm not even entirely sure what type of lyrics are sung on the CD or at a live show by Cat War. I'm not that great with catching lyrics anyway, I'll only pick up on every other word and the result is me being confused about the true message of the song. Well I'm not sure how they're praising their God, or what Bible stories and fables they use to make a cryptic image of our Lord, but with noticeable influences such as MeWithoutYou and Norma Jean, they are a very good example of how good and hard Christian rock can be. Buy their CD, better yet, also buy their shirts. Its more than worth it.

Geez I don't know what happened to the next band to play, Aberdeen. Back when they were Next to Nothing they had that Pop Punk/Emo sound that you might be ashamed for nodding your head to, if you really care about things like that; but you just have to admit it's good. I thought they just changed their name because someone else had the same name, not they completely changed their line-up and sound. I recognized only half the members from when I saw them last, I guess they might've cut their hair they use to have fros. I was dissapointed when instead of the unique anthems of the past, they played a new entirely over-played Screamo sound. Every band sounds like this, these days, why add to it? What were they thinking?!
They weren't even able to make up songs that would sound seperate from the others. I got lost in where songs ended and where a new one began. They brought in a crowd, but their new sound just had me ticked off, let down, and unimpressed.

When Never the Less began this popped into my head: What the fuck happened?! Did every fucking Pop punk/Emo band that was doing fine the way they were, get a fucking screamer? It's like everyone listened to Taking Back Sunday and said 'HOT DAMN! Let's copy that!', only they said it a year to late. Come on guys just because the image that you were trying for isn't popular anymore and hardcore is the in thing doesn't mean you have to change your style just too continue "being". Just be individuals let your influences, influence you, not fucking control you.
Unfortunately I really like the voice of Drew, the guitarist. For the style the band plays it fits really well. Brian, the bassist, has a suprisingly good "pop" scream. Mike's talent is not fully exposed through the band. He's a good drummer that can fill in the simple punk, rock beat that he has to play, but it's simple. Everything is simple about the band. Fuck I'm listening to the CD that they handed out for free, I find myself liking it for what it is. At the show though, the band just sounded whiney. It's just not my style. If you like them, kudos to you, but there's a lot more out there that isn't any where close to their genre, but to me is so much more.

Well it was Trinity's third try at a stereotypical band with Pop punk origins, vocals, and a screamer (In the future Trinity needs a bit more variety). Atleast this one, Boxing at Sunset, was able to pull it off a little better. They had not one, but two trumpets; which was pretty cool. It wasn't actually ska, but between the trumpets, the guitar licks, and the lead vocal types, it was similarly good. With more instruments there was also a lot more complexity compared to the last 2 bands that had played. It was an interesting sound that had been done before, many times, but whatever they did it well.
They had slow songs that I kind of was bored towards and sat back down during. Then they would have the stereotypical combination of quick paced ska licks, drums, and trumpets and a not so stereotypical scream. I made my advance to the center where some kids were dancing and danced with them. The band was having fun, thats what counts. On one song it was really cool, they all backed away from the mics, lowered their instruments, and sang as a group at the top of their lungs. I suggest more screams and less slow songs that lose my interest, haha. Nah they were good. Something that stuck out during the show. What were they I wonder, Skreamo? Screamo-ska? They weren't skacore...too much emo in there.

Not the greatest Trinity show ever, the best was in the beginning (not saved for last)...and I'm not being biased. The Pennyroyals were next. Who ever said they were Punk rock or made me believe they were Punk rock was an idiot and if I had a knife they'd be dead. The Pennyroyals made me lose interest in the show super quick. They experimented with so many styles of metal and alternative rock that my ADD (note: I don't really have ADD or atleast not a diagnosed case) got so bad I needed some SunnyD. I went on many journeys to the basement of Trinity during The Pennyroyals' set. That was sure much more enjoyable.
If you want to know more about them, check out their website. They had Metallica (the new weak, sucky Metallica) qualities about them. I would call the band nu Metal with the skin boots spelling and everything. If you're a gothic or a skinhead, enjoy.