Bayside and the Victory Records Tour
The trouble with winter shows is that waiting outside for the doors to open is kind of a pain when it's 30 degrees outside, and you know that when you get inside you are not going to want the twelve layers of fleece, wool, and down you could have been wearing so you opt for a parka, a tee and some armwarmers and realize too late that you did want that hoodie after all.
But I digress. I arrived at the Middle East, an optional T-stop away, and got in line behind a bunch of semi-obnoxious kids. Oh, the trials of the all-ages show. I noticed right away that the crowd was young, but not unusually so; and consisted of not only the typical sce/mo brigade but also some relatively jock/skaterish looking dudes with baseball caps. I also saw something that I had hitherto not thought possible: a guy in skinny jeans who was sagging. I kid you not. I wanted to hand him a belt until I saw he was already wearing one. Then I just wanted to hand him a sandwich.
The Middle East is a great venue for getting up close and personal, if the acoustics left a little to be desired. A Day To Remember came on first. They made it clear from the get go that this is a genuine hardcore band. The floor, which was not yet quite at full capacity, opened into a genuine pit with genuine hardcore dancing. I just love to watch that. It's better than ninja fights in anime. It's what I imagine electrons doing when they randomly pop up in different places at every instant. I have a hard time getting into hardcore musically, but being there live was awesome. Apparently a sizeable pack of people -- the jockish guys from the line -- had shown up just for ADTR. The rest of the lineup was too "emotive" and not "hxc" enough for them I guess. I overheard a couple of boys saying, "Dude, let's go. I kinda don't want to see the rest of the show." Good riddance if you ask me. This species of fans are a little too much like a sports team for me to want to be wedged in between them for more than an hour. ADTM was pretty fun, though, and played a couple songs I liked the sound of and some rousing covers.
Next up was June, the only act that didn't enthrall me completely. It is too bad, because I think I might really enjoy their style if I had been able to hear the vocals (which were clearly meant to be heard) over the guitars. They played a kind of generic punky pop, sung by a guy who looked like a taller, manlier version of Elijah Wood, and the lead guitarist was bouncy and flaily and vaguely seemed to wish it were the 1970s. He was the best thing about the set, exploding all over the stage and all but hacking into the crowd with his guitar like a hatchet. The sound mixing just killed any personality the songs themselves might have had, but I'll probably check them out online anyway.
My loyalties are forever with Bayside, but I really must say that The Sleeping stole the show. Their brand of progressive screamo was made for live performance. The singer, Doug Robinson, looked like the deranged love child (as if there would be any other kind) of Jack Black and King Kong himself. This is not to say he was bad looking, just something about his large face, shaggy hair, beady wild eyes, and primal energy said cave-man on speed. He stared out at the audience with an intesely manic gaze, standing up on the barrier and practically swinging from the pipe attached to the low-hanging ceiling. The music was pretty rocking too (a song called "The Climb" was particularly memorable), and I made a note to add them to my ever-growing list of watched bands. The crowed went wild for these guys, and since there was not enough room for dancing anymore, we had kind of a static overstuffed mosh-pit that most closely resembled the garbage compactor from that scene in Star Wars. I had never gotten so pushed around, not even at MCR, or at the O.A.R. Spring Fling show. I probably should have left my headband at home, as I almost lost it several times. At one point I literally imagined I was underwater. But it was great fun. Doug crowd surfed over us and I touched his arm. They're on the way to being much bigger.
Bayside came on at last, blasting into the froward-surging crowd with "They're Not Horses, They're Unicorns." They were a very chatty and grateful band onstage, which is almost mandatory in a venue that small. Singer Anthony Raneri mentioned that they had played in Boston every time they toured, and that they had played the Middle East a few times, but only on the small auxiliary stage "Upstairs." They had always wanted to play Downstairs, and now they finally were. They played a mix of tracks from their past three albums, especially this year's The Walking Wounded. "Duality," the hit single, and "Carry On," which they announced to be the next single, maintained the energetic vibe that had built during The Sleeping's set. Lead guitarist Jack O'Shea is skillful in a way that sets Bayside apart from some of the clone army of similar bands, and fortunately the mics were better coordinated so that both his parts and Anthony's spot-on vocals were clear. They played two or three songs from their first album which I don't own, and they sounded so young and fresh and punktastic. The maturity in the new tracks is audible, though. "Landing Feet First" was introduced as a heartfelt love song, and everyone swayed and sang along. The classics "Blame It On Bad Luck" and "Montauk" were injected with new life, and Anthony dedicated the triumphant "I and I" to all the other bands that had played before them. The finale was "The Walking Wounded," my favorite Bayside song, and to top it all off, they returned for an encore that included "Devotion and Desire," the signature hit from their self-titled sophomore disk. It was a fantastic crowd-rousing, almost shiver-inducing moment, when he let the crowd sing the buildup "You're not ready / you're not ready /Please, stop acting like you are." During the last round of chorus, the singers from ADTR and The Sleeeping sat on the top of the crowd, facing outward, and joined in the singing. It was a fantastic end to what truly seemed to be a label tour made of friends. Bayside is tight and approachable live, and I was glad they played such a chronologically diverse set. The only other song I really missed was "Dear Your Holiness," but you can't win them all. What a deal of a show night. Victory indeed.
Tomorrow I'm off to Lowell to see Brand New, Thrice, and mewithoutyou. Super whoot! I'm trying to work hard today because have SO MUCH work to do this week and I can't make myself do it. I have presentations on Wednesday and Thursday, a paper due Wednesday, and an exam Friday. After that though, I'm basically free of deadlines until mid January. Just keep breathing.
But I digress. I arrived at the Middle East, an optional T-stop away, and got in line behind a bunch of semi-obnoxious kids. Oh, the trials of the all-ages show. I noticed right away that the crowd was young, but not unusually so; and consisted of not only the typical sce/mo brigade but also some relatively jock/skaterish looking dudes with baseball caps. I also saw something that I had hitherto not thought possible: a guy in skinny jeans who was sagging. I kid you not. I wanted to hand him a belt until I saw he was already wearing one. Then I just wanted to hand him a sandwich.
The Middle East is a great venue for getting up close and personal, if the acoustics left a little to be desired. A Day To Remember came on first. They made it clear from the get go that this is a genuine hardcore band. The floor, which was not yet quite at full capacity, opened into a genuine pit with genuine hardcore dancing. I just love to watch that. It's better than ninja fights in anime. It's what I imagine electrons doing when they randomly pop up in different places at every instant. I have a hard time getting into hardcore musically, but being there live was awesome. Apparently a sizeable pack of people -- the jockish guys from the line -- had shown up just for ADTR. The rest of the lineup was too "emotive" and not "hxc" enough for them I guess. I overheard a couple of boys saying, "Dude, let's go. I kinda don't want to see the rest of the show." Good riddance if you ask me. This species of fans are a little too much like a sports team for me to want to be wedged in between them for more than an hour. ADTM was pretty fun, though, and played a couple songs I liked the sound of and some rousing covers.
Next up was June, the only act that didn't enthrall me completely. It is too bad, because I think I might really enjoy their style if I had been able to hear the vocals (which were clearly meant to be heard) over the guitars. They played a kind of generic punky pop, sung by a guy who looked like a taller, manlier version of Elijah Wood, and the lead guitarist was bouncy and flaily and vaguely seemed to wish it were the 1970s. He was the best thing about the set, exploding all over the stage and all but hacking into the crowd with his guitar like a hatchet. The sound mixing just killed any personality the songs themselves might have had, but I'll probably check them out online anyway.
My loyalties are forever with Bayside, but I really must say that The Sleeping stole the show. Their brand of progressive screamo was made for live performance. The singer, Doug Robinson, looked like the deranged love child (as if there would be any other kind) of Jack Black and King Kong himself. This is not to say he was bad looking, just something about his large face, shaggy hair, beady wild eyes, and primal energy said cave-man on speed. He stared out at the audience with an intesely manic gaze, standing up on the barrier and practically swinging from the pipe attached to the low-hanging ceiling. The music was pretty rocking too (a song called "The Climb" was particularly memorable), and I made a note to add them to my ever-growing list of watched bands. The crowed went wild for these guys, and since there was not enough room for dancing anymore, we had kind of a static overstuffed mosh-pit that most closely resembled the garbage compactor from that scene in Star Wars. I had never gotten so pushed around, not even at MCR, or at the O.A.R. Spring Fling show. I probably should have left my headband at home, as I almost lost it several times. At one point I literally imagined I was underwater. But it was great fun. Doug crowd surfed over us and I touched his arm. They're on the way to being much bigger.
Bayside came on at last, blasting into the froward-surging crowd with "They're Not Horses, They're Unicorns." They were a very chatty and grateful band onstage, which is almost mandatory in a venue that small. Singer Anthony Raneri mentioned that they had played in Boston every time they toured, and that they had played the Middle East a few times, but only on the small auxiliary stage "Upstairs." They had always wanted to play Downstairs, and now they finally were. They played a mix of tracks from their past three albums, especially this year's The Walking Wounded. "Duality," the hit single, and "Carry On," which they announced to be the next single, maintained the energetic vibe that had built during The Sleeping's set. Lead guitarist Jack O'Shea is skillful in a way that sets Bayside apart from some of the clone army of similar bands, and fortunately the mics were better coordinated so that both his parts and Anthony's spot-on vocals were clear. They played two or three songs from their first album which I don't own, and they sounded so young and fresh and punktastic. The maturity in the new tracks is audible, though. "Landing Feet First" was introduced as a heartfelt love song, and everyone swayed and sang along. The classics "Blame It On Bad Luck" and "Montauk" were injected with new life, and Anthony dedicated the triumphant "I and I" to all the other bands that had played before them. The finale was "The Walking Wounded," my favorite Bayside song, and to top it all off, they returned for an encore that included "Devotion and Desire," the signature hit from their self-titled sophomore disk. It was a fantastic crowd-rousing, almost shiver-inducing moment, when he let the crowd sing the buildup "You're not ready / you're not ready /Please, stop acting like you are." During the last round of chorus, the singers from ADTR and The Sleeeping sat on the top of the crowd, facing outward, and joined in the singing. It was a fantastic end to what truly seemed to be a label tour made of friends. Bayside is tight and approachable live, and I was glad they played such a chronologically diverse set. The only other song I really missed was "Dear Your Holiness," but you can't win them all. What a deal of a show night. Victory indeed.
Tomorrow I'm off to Lowell to see Brand New, Thrice, and mewithoutyou. Super whoot! I'm trying to work hard today because have SO MUCH work to do this week and I can't make myself do it. I have presentations on Wednesday and Thursday, a paper due Wednesday, and an exam Friday. After that though, I'm basically free of deadlines until mid January. Just keep breathing.