Show Update #26 - "Surf and Skate Kick-Off" at the Starland Ballroom
I would never have imagined that at a show I would end up soaked in perspiration after such a homophonic entanglement.
It started with cars and motorcycles; tricks and wipe outs, being depicted on a giant white screen in front of us (in front of the stage), for no apparent reason at all. I imagine that without this primal form of entertainment the wait, for the first band, would have seemed even longer. Anyway after a couple "Check, check!" the screen raised, the audience cheered, the annorexic gothic to my right jumped up and down, and Spitalfield, from Chicago, announced their arrival.
Joey expressed his anticipation that this band, he thought, was some really bad popiness. They turned out to be not all that bad and after a couple songs I felt like the only guy there who didn't know the lyrics. The only annoying thing of course was the lanky girl over to my right who kept jumping up and down, I thought she was going to die from all the physical labor she was putting herself through. Anyway, the lead singer had a nice voice, I didn't really think there was much behind the lyrics (a lot of them were repeated) but whatever...the overall sound was good. The bassist spent most of the time going crazy and the guitarist humped the singer with his bum. All the members of the band played a part in singing. Although in the beginning the bass and guitars were overpowering everything so that you couldn't hear much, someone seemed to figure out the proper levels by the end.
I guess you could say they were indie rock, even though I heard almost pop punk type guitar riffs repeated throughout their performance. Their style wasn't something I could really label or quell, but I'm not really sure how much I liked it. I was already full of Joey's biases. Ah well, they definitely weren't bad, but they weren't great either.
The shining, white screen was once more lowered as Spitalfield left and the next band began to tune. When the screen was lifted cheers were reborn and Engine Down took the stage. They successfully combined elements of hardcore with the long lost harder elements of grunge. The vocalist had a unique voice that hit a roughness I enjoyed being there to share the experience.
They did well with their stage appearance sporting one weird-looking guy on bass. He looked a little like a messed up John Malcovitch, and he had the drunken inspired faces to coax laughter out of any one. Every five seconds he gave a new face or closed his eyes and let his tongue hang out. He actually managed to beat out some nice riffs. In many of their songs there was a beautiful entrance done by the drums and then joined in by the bass guitar. The band also managed some neat effects on the lead singers guitar. It sounded like chimes a couple times, kind of cosmic, if you may. I want to say Cave In as to who popped into my head first as an influence or similarity, when I was listening. I was sort of surprised when the people in the back had to be persuaded to dance. This was pretty good music to get into, even rock out to.
The guys voice had a pretty falsetto and the harmonies sang by the guitarist were trance like. They played a couple old songs and then some random songs off their new cd that they just got out of the studio for. The band played well and when their set was over I was happy I had been able to pick up a free sticker on my way around the merch area. They were pretty sick, I think they're best quoted by a girl behind me somewhere, "Engine Down fucking rocks!"
The crowd surge that resulted in Poison the Well setting up was almost unbearable. I felt the air leave my lungs as I was forced between two substantially large bodies and my ribs creaked under the pressure. It was like flying as one shift sent the masses leaning in this or that direction. By the end of the set I was surrounded by gross bodies and in a completely different spot than what originally had been ordained mine. It was fun though, after I got used to the whole wedged between bodies in the crowd and not having any control as to where I was going thing. Suddenly that fan above became a gift rather than a detriment to my health. The pit was pretty big, thats why the crowd continued to surge as they spread the pit in multiple directions. Most of the little, annorexic gothics who kept freaking out all over the place didn't seem to understand this and had to be crowd surfed out.
Poison the Well was sick. Their lead singer looked like a rat, but he sang some pretty hard stuff. I recognized some of the songs even though my knowledge of the Poison the Well discography isn't something to be proud about. They are pretty heavy, thats the best word I can use to describe them. A lot of people were really into the band and were jumping on each others backs to scream out lyrics. There were a bunch of people who crowd surfed up front which was quite a problem for me since I was about a head taller than anyone else in the audience. I couldn't help but nod my head and get into it, myself. It was good stuff, made me want to dance.
I spent half that set trying to protect this asian girl that only came up to my waist, from being squashed by the crowd or by me. Before the set began I was kind of tired from standing for so long. By the end of the set I was a bit tired from flying and having to protect the air in my lungs for so long. Fun stuff, I was kind of looking forward to it being over, but of course it had only just begun.
So the headliner was all that was left and already the crowd was surging for Thursday to come on, as some people tried to make it up front and others tried to stand their ground. Of course I was excited, Thursday live was something to be ecstatic over. When they announced they were going to play some old stuff, meaning pre-War All the Time it was a pretty good deal. I was passed through the crowd in all directions and eventually I just got tired out and decided to let myself drift towards the back of the room where I hoped it was would be a little more peaceful.
As the lead singer was screaming and singing, pits broke out and were made larger. The band was going crazy and jumping all over the stage. The music that came out was kind of hard, kind of screamo, but for the most part just Thursday. I liked how the lead singer sported a The Cure tee, since they're an excellent band that have recently been a stimulus for my expression. Thursday dedicated one of their songs to a victim of hate crimes recently, saying "I thought this country was the land of the free, not a country where you are persecuted for whether you're gay or not". Also they told us that they had to remake a video for the song "War All the Time", because the already existing music video was deemed too politically incorrect. I didn't really ever think that Thursday had a mission or a political message or anything like that, and the lead singer remarked that the band was never meant to be political, nor were its songs. I really liked how they made their set more than just a band playing and us listening to it. It was more like you were experiencing something important in your lifetime.
The crowd was going crazy for the whole set. I danced a little in the mosh, not because I wanted to, always, but because I originally kept getting pushed in. By the end of the set I was drenched in perspiration and I hardly had enough energy to keep going, I was running on left over adrenaline. The music was so great, I didn't really care whether the things Thursday said were things they say to almost everyone. It wouldn't have made a difference, it was a thrill anyway. Thursday is a great band, better than I thought they would be. Some bands just can't pull off the energy live, that you feel when you listen to their CD. This was different, I was consumed by the energy they pushed forth through the amplifiers and PA System that was so well designed at the Starland Ballroom. Man, I can't wait till Warped Tour, hopefully I'll see Thursday again.
Let's all use vulgarities so that I will write more show reviews, yeah, like that makes sense. You guys are idiots and patience is a virtue, so let's all try a little harder to be closer to God or atleast a little smarter, ok?
