Show Reviews

Hey, look at that, something new.

So in the past two weeks, I have been to three shows. Alkaline Trio (5/1), Polkadot Cadaver (5/6), and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Surfer Blood (5/11).

All I can say is wow. Holy shit. What amazing concerts. Not only did every band blow me away, but each had an open that was unknown to me that also succeeded in blowing me away. If you ever get the chance to see any of the bands I mention in the following, TAKE IT.

First: Alkaline Trio with River City Extension

This show took place at the Recher Theater in Towson, Maryland. The venue is pretty solid, there's a huge space for people to stand, a couple of bars, a mid-size stage and a guardrail. The floor fills up rather quickly, but it is Alkaline Trio and it is Baltimore (read: every wanna-be teenage in the tri-state area was in attendance).

After the standard 45 minute wait from doors, River City Extension comes up. I'll be honest, my first impression of this band was less than positive. From the looks, it was nothing more than a bunch of hipsters, most of whom looked like they wouldn't be doing more than standing there with an aloof sneer. I have never in my life been happier to be proven wrong. This band is phenomenal. They have an incredibly unique sound and unimaginable energy. This group has, among your typical instruments, a cellist, a trumpeter, and a second percussionist. And it's very rare that I see a group feed off each other as these guys managed to. The first song threw me for a loop because I simply wasn't expecting the sound they had. After that, I was hooked. The band reminds me a bit of Mumford and Sons, in that it has a bit of an English folk feel to it. They manage to build upon that sound by incorporating other instruments, incredibly drums and pure energy into every song. By the time they finished, I was pumped and ready for Alkaline.

Alkaline, to no surprise, rocked it. This was my first time seeing them, but I've been a fan of their music for something like eight years, so it was just awesome. They played quite a few well known songs and did so with energy and a sense of humor. At one point, Dan decided he wanted a drink, so Matt drops his guitar, walks off stage, and comes back a couple minutes later with a bottle of Grey Goose and a Monster. The band was joking with each other and the crowd the entire time and it made for a very personal and enjoyable performance. I especially love it when a band as big as Alkaline Trio does something like that, because it shows that their fame has not really affected them and they simply love what they do.

River City Extension
Alkaline Trio


These next two shows took place at the Ottobar

Polkadot Cadaver and Eat Your Neighbors CD release party with To the Fight!, Asexual Woods, and Groundscore

This was yet another case of VERY solid openers. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Polkadot Cadaver, look them up right now. It is some of the best metal you will find. I've been excited for this show for months and was really looking forward to the new CD (review to come).

I'm going to have to skip on reviewing the three openers, simply because my memory seems to disagree with fact. A trait I recall about one of the three seems to coincide with a different one. So rather than confuse and discredit myself, I'll allow you to make your own judgements on the three openers. The long and short of it is that all three bands are good and worth checking out.

On to Eat Your Neighbors. This is a Baltimore band I had heard of, but never really listened to until this show. They're in a fairly similar vein to Polkadot Cadaver, that is fun alt-metal. The guys put on an awesome, energetic show. I'd say around half the crowd was there for them and was singing along to many songs. They played some rare songs and while I'm not familiar enough with the band to appreciate that, it was still pretty cool. One of the songs was from the band's early days and while it was stylistically different, it was still quite good.

Pdot definitely took the show home for me, though. It was easily one of the most fun concerts I've ever been to. Any song that wasn't new, the entire crowd knew all the words to and was singing along. A particularly awesome personal moment: during "Bring Me the Head of Andy Worhol" I got to strum Jasan's guitar while he was on stage. Awesome. The new songs were pretty goddamn good, in the same vein as Purgatory Dance Party, but I'll get to that in another post.

Asexual Woods
To The Fight!
Groundscore
Eat Your Neighbors
Polkadot Cadaver

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Surfer Blood with the Dialogue, Weekends and True Widow

Man, this has just been such an awesome month for concerts. The openers were not as strong this time around, however.

The Dialogue wasn't bad but I honestly found them to be a bit boring. I wasn't really brought in by the music and ended up playing on my iPod for about half the set. Again, not bad music by any means but simply something I did not find personally captivating. I would be willing to give them another chance though, if it ever came up.

Weekends I am torn on. In some ways they were energetic and unique, but in other ways I just wasn't into it. Its a two man band, one guitar and a drum set. Both members play both instruments, I believe just one of them sings. What threw me off about this band was the consistent use of a tape echo for the vocals. The music was pretty enjoyable, but the fact that they used a heavy tape echo on every song really spoiled it for me. I couldn't make out a single word. I'm currently listening to a song on their myspace and it's not half bad, so I'm going to have to chalk this one up to "I'd have to see them again to make a fair judgement call." It definitely wasn't bad, but there were enough negative things at the time to distract me.

True Widow was AWESOME though. I was not expecting a shoegaze band at all. Especially an awesome one at that. Really awesome droney guitars and songs, good drums, really everything a good shoegaze band should have. Including members only moving when they wanted a drink of beer. This was easily the best opener.

Surfer Blood was incredible. I've been a fan of these guys for years, so it was awesome to finally get a chance to see them play. Almost half of their set was new songs, and man oh man did they nail them. The new songs actually manage to top Astrocoast, so I cannot wait for the new album. Super energetic, great music, reminded me why I love the band.

Trail of Dead (fuck the full name) was astonishing. There is no other word to describe their set. Just wow. It was one of those rare instances where the crowd just became a single entity of energy. The band would just jam and rock out as people screamed and cheered. People would mosh, sort of (it wasn't quite heavy/ violent enough to really be moshing. At least not after the PDot show). The lead singer/ guitarist jumped off stage at one point and just played in the middle of the crowd. I admit I've only been a casual listener of this band until now but after seeing them play...I clearly need to get more involved with knowing what they play.

The Dialogue
Weekends
True Widow
Surfer Blood
Trail of Dead

So there you go. Brief reviews of the shows I've been to this month. Expect reviews of the new Polkadot Cadaver, This Will Destroy You, Explosions in the Sky, and Manchester Orchestra in the next few days. Please check out all the bands mentioned, I'm sure they would love your support.