Streamlining?
Last Friday was totally awesome, because I found myself back in Philadelphia for a show opportunity from a band that rarely tours these days. Plus, I saw Ellen, and a friend of hers in a Coalesce shirt (like I was wearing) and a Snapcase hoodie. Always good to meet new friends, and even better to go to shows with them, since that's where they were headed as well. I had to abandon a CD shopping run in the city since I have no idea where I'm going down there half the time. I picked up something at the show, so it was all good.
TRAP THEM-If Converge would ever fall off the face of the earth (and I hope they don't; Axe To Fall is amazing), Trap Them will undoubtedly be wearing the crown of blazingly fast and sludgy, heavy punk/metal/hardcore. They should have some sort of title on their own, because the new stuff they demoed here holds up on its own, right alongside of the tons of material from their past records. TT songs are mad short, so they can stuff tons of them into a set. When they were almost done, someone asked who they were. They announced that, and then the guy said that he had to know, because he came in late.
"I'm Jim." "Oh, hey, nice to meet you, Jim. This is our last song, Mission Convincers. It's dedicated to late Jim."
Top notch dialogue in a show right there. And it was right of him to ask who they were. People need to know this band.
NARROWS-Dave Verellen from Botch does vocals for this group, and as a fan of that band that never got to see them live, it's great to experience his screaming live. Even better was the fact that the guy standing next to me got to experience Dave's crotch in his face as the vocalist put his foot on the guy's shoulder at the beginning of the set. The singer plowed through the rest of the set with vicious screams, and jump kicks from the PA system in front of him, and even stated that we could make fun of him since he was much fatter than the last time he played The Church in Philly. This was true--it was like seeing one of my friend's little league baseball coach dad moving around onstage. The rest of the band-comprised partially of Unbroken and Some Girls dudes-did a hell of a job onstage as well. They played their asses off, and considering that the first and penultimate song were instrumentals, I don't want to shy away from giving them credit since they deserve a lot of it. They covered almost all the songs off the LP, some others from the vinyl and the EP, and even one new one. This band rules, and I hope they make it to this end of the U.S. again, since I'll be in attendance when they do.
CAVE IN-These guys headlined, and again, I'm hoping for more from these dudes. They played new stuff, newer stuff, and only a couple older ones. Their bassist takes over all screaming vocals from front and center, and Steve Brodsky now stands contentedly to the right while sharing small vocal duties with the group's other guitarist. Make no mistake about it-Cave In haven't lost any intensity because of this shift, and their songwriting remains leagues ahead of modern metalcore contemporaries.The band played an outstanding set, and got people moving unexpectedly. People went really crazy at the end. I almost had the PA tower fall over on me due to somebody attempting to climb it. Cave In bought an amazing energy and unbeatable high to the show, and I hope they're back for good, because modern music needs them.
After the show, I talked to Cave In dudes about how glad I am that they reunited, and talked with Dave about how cool it was to be here, and how things were back in Seattle. I got a new hoodie at the show, and talked to Ellen about how she'll be at Russian Circles. This is good, because I might call Josh and drag him down to the city for that. I exited the venue and caught the last train ride in.
In unrelated news, I'm on Thanksgiving break now, and have a ton of writing/research to do during this time. I have two group presentations going after the break, one of which will never meet. Awesome.
I have to work most of the break as well, and won't get to see my family any more than I already do. Oh well. They'll be fine.
I have to get off of here before I go in for 10, because I work until (?), which means I could be there all day.
TRAP THEM-If Converge would ever fall off the face of the earth (and I hope they don't; Axe To Fall is amazing), Trap Them will undoubtedly be wearing the crown of blazingly fast and sludgy, heavy punk/metal/hardcore. They should have some sort of title on their own, because the new stuff they demoed here holds up on its own, right alongside of the tons of material from their past records. TT songs are mad short, so they can stuff tons of them into a set. When they were almost done, someone asked who they were. They announced that, and then the guy said that he had to know, because he came in late.
"I'm Jim." "Oh, hey, nice to meet you, Jim. This is our last song, Mission Convincers. It's dedicated to late Jim."
Top notch dialogue in a show right there. And it was right of him to ask who they were. People need to know this band.
NARROWS-Dave Verellen from Botch does vocals for this group, and as a fan of that band that never got to see them live, it's great to experience his screaming live. Even better was the fact that the guy standing next to me got to experience Dave's crotch in his face as the vocalist put his foot on the guy's shoulder at the beginning of the set. The singer plowed through the rest of the set with vicious screams, and jump kicks from the PA system in front of him, and even stated that we could make fun of him since he was much fatter than the last time he played The Church in Philly. This was true--it was like seeing one of my friend's little league baseball coach dad moving around onstage. The rest of the band-comprised partially of Unbroken and Some Girls dudes-did a hell of a job onstage as well. They played their asses off, and considering that the first and penultimate song were instrumentals, I don't want to shy away from giving them credit since they deserve a lot of it. They covered almost all the songs off the LP, some others from the vinyl and the EP, and even one new one. This band rules, and I hope they make it to this end of the U.S. again, since I'll be in attendance when they do.
CAVE IN-These guys headlined, and again, I'm hoping for more from these dudes. They played new stuff, newer stuff, and only a couple older ones. Their bassist takes over all screaming vocals from front and center, and Steve Brodsky now stands contentedly to the right while sharing small vocal duties with the group's other guitarist. Make no mistake about it-Cave In haven't lost any intensity because of this shift, and their songwriting remains leagues ahead of modern metalcore contemporaries.The band played an outstanding set, and got people moving unexpectedly. People went really crazy at the end. I almost had the PA tower fall over on me due to somebody attempting to climb it. Cave In bought an amazing energy and unbeatable high to the show, and I hope they're back for good, because modern music needs them.
After the show, I talked to Cave In dudes about how glad I am that they reunited, and talked with Dave about how cool it was to be here, and how things were back in Seattle. I got a new hoodie at the show, and talked to Ellen about how she'll be at Russian Circles. This is good, because I might call Josh and drag him down to the city for that. I exited the venue and caught the last train ride in.
In unrelated news, I'm on Thanksgiving break now, and have a ton of writing/research to do during this time. I have two group presentations going after the break, one of which will never meet. Awesome.
I have to work most of the break as well, and won't get to see my family any more than I already do. Oh well. They'll be fine.
I have to get off of here before I go in for 10, because I work until (?), which means I could be there all day.