Live Music Overload?!

no way!

Next week will be one of the best weeks ever for me and live music! On Tuesday, July 14th the Scream the Prayer Tour comes to Denver, showcasing the "B-Team" of Christian metalcore/hardcore. the A-Team would probably be something like underOATH, Dead Poetic, Thrice, Zao and bands like that.

The B-Team featured on this tour? Haste the Day, the Chariot, Oh Sleeper, For Today, Sleeping Giant, Project 86, Corpus Christi, Gwen Stacey, and A Plea For Purging!

This tour alone would be enough awesome music to get me through the summer, but no, on Wednesday night i fly out to Minnesota to attend the Sonshine Festival with my homie AlanB. Who is playing at Sonshine this year? how about big acts like David Crowder, Glorious Unseen, and Family Force 5 and some hardcore bands like For Today, Gwen Stacey, the Chariot, Oh Sleeper, the Showdown, Haste the Day, August Burns Red, Norma Jean, and Canton Jones!!

man it's gonna be crazy, unfortunately i can't Saturday night of Sonshine so i'll miss As I Lay Dying, Austrian Death Machine, and War of Ages, but thats alright because War of Ages is coming through Denver in August on the 10 for $10 Tour with Bane, Madball, Crime in Stereo, This Is Hell and more!!

man i'm pumped!

Sing a Song to Satan?

one of my favorite bands, Oh, Sleeper has a new album coming out this August titled Son of the Morning. For those of you who are unsure, Son of the Morning is a reference to Satan. I definitely don't have a problem with a band singing about Satan, especially when its a "Christian" hardcore band, on a Christian label (Solid State). according to their myspace page:

Oh, Sleeper has crafted a concept album detailing the final battle between the devil (with Micah Kinard screaming in character on the title track) and God (with Kinard answering on "The Finisher," which closes the record) from start to finish

I'm all about concept albums so i have no problem there either. my question comes from the live shows. I'm seeing Oh Sleeper twice next week, and i plan on being up front screaming along with the words, but what happens when they play the title track from the new album? according to their twitter account they are playing Son of the Morning on their current tour. the song is set up as the thought process between Satan and God, with the verses apparently reflecting what Satan would say, and the choruses reflecting God's response. Here are some of the words:

VERSE

Every night I start my rise, climbing high into the morning sky,

but soon after I lose your bride and I damn your son for stealing my light.

This world is mine...

They call me the son of the morning.

I can mound all your fallen past the clouds as they roll in,

and when I do I will claim your throne through all these cowards you call your sons. CHORUS

"If you could see like me you'd see you haven't won anything.

If you could see like me you'd see, it's by my grace that you're breathing."

If you could see like me you'd see you haven't won anything.

If you could see like me you'd see.

So when i'm up front screaming "they call me the Son of the Morning" is that weird?


Before you cast this off as a problem that only screamo/hardcore bands have, "but not my reliable Christian worship bands" i found the same issue with both David Crowder and Third Day.

David Crowder's song We Win is apparently directed/sung right to Satan, with the following words:

"Because we’ve already won
And You don’t have a chance
Yeah we’ve already won
No you don’t have a chance"

and Third Day's popular song I've Always Loved You is song from the perspective of God, so when everyone is singing along they're not actually singing to God, they're singing along with what God might be saying.

I'm not saying any of this is wrong or right, i'm just wondering what people think about these songs.

Show Recap: mewithoutYou @ Marquis

i've never been a big fan of mewithoutYou, i missed it when they started and gained popularity so i felt a little bit out of the loop. Despite that and the fact that their sound takes a little getting used to, i picked up their new album, It's all Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright and i really liked it, but not enough to go to the show.

Until Tahoe came through with an extra ticket and convinced me i should check it out. Best thing Tahoe has done since he signed my marriage certificate as a witness back in the day.

first of all, the show was at the Marquis Theater in downtown Denver, a venue that has become really popular for bands that aren't of large status. Most of the shows i go to down there the place is about 50-200 kids deep, and taking advantage of the PBR Tall Boys served at the bar. This night however, the entire place was full, we were standing at the back wall, with PBRs, and i couldn't even see the stage let alone the band members. from what i had been told, lead singer Aaron Weiss is crazy on stage and i wasn't about to miss that, so Tahoe bore a hole and i got close enough to feel the energy (i couldn't see so much since i'm a short-dude).

This was one of the best shows i've ever been to, seriously, and i only knew a handful of the songs. The energy in the place was crazy, the music was passionate, and the crowd was eating it up. Frontman Aaron was awesome, he reminds me of an instense folk-singer, his story-telling songs and nasal-ly voice were a trip to see. It's so hard to describe mewithoutYou, according to their Wiki they are a prog-rock band, a little bit folksy, a little bit hardcore. They're signed to Tooth & Nail records, a Christian label, but the music is exactly outspoken Jesus music. a lot of the lyrics are metaphors and stories and they take a little bit of brain-power to figure out.

The best way to describe this night would be "raw". the emotion and passion exuded by the band was amazing, it's sort of like how us "non-singers" might feel and sound like if we just let go of our pride and sang as loudly and crazy as we could. Aaron dances back and forth across the stage, swinging his arms in raw emotion, never worried about his apperance or crowd response. the band was handing out percussion instruments to the crowd during songs and it reminded me of a scene out of the Old Testament, maybe like David singing some Psalms in the streets. Powerful.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the crowd, most of the shows i go to end up in a "mosh" pit and everyone sort of rocks out, but this wasn't that style of music. a lot of people just watched in awe, not being able to look away from the antics of the band, some people raised their hands as one would during a worship service. Some danced, others focused on singing the lyrics as loudly as they could, it was an awesome thing to see.

"Oh, my God! I do not exist we faithfully insist while watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew If ever you come near I'll hold up high a mirror Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You"






sorry, my videos aren't the greatest visual quality, it was tough to get close enough to see:

In A Sweater Poorly Knit:


Goodbye, I!

Show Recap: the Audition @ Fox Theatre

i got a chance to catch 2 bands that i've liked for quite a while, the Audition and the Higher. both of these bands don't really fit into the style of music that i enjoy most, but they're fun bands, very poppy/dance /groove style and sometimes you need to enjoy something a little contrasting to lighten things up.

Anyway, this tour was in Colorado Springs a few days earlier and i was really bummed i couldn't make it down there. Luckily my homie Jordan saw that it was coming to Boulder, so i got a chance to see the Audition again (saw them on Warped Tour a few years ago) and a band i've been really trying to see; the Higher.

Both of these bands are signed to labels that don't really represent their sound, Audition to Victory Records and The Higher to Epitaph. Neither band has a big following which was evident as soon as you entered the venue, there were maybe 50 kids in the whole place. By the time The Audition played it had filled up to maybe 100-130, but it was relatively empty compared to other shows.

i wasn't interesed in the first 2 bands, including Runner Runner who was in my opinion, way too cheesy and corny. they were energetic but i couldn't stand them, way too much pop for me. i don't even know who the first band was, it was either In:Aviate or Lives of Famous Men or something like that.

Once the Higher came on i was very intrigued as to what they would represent musically. Their sound is like pop-punk, but less punk than usual, with a real groove to the sound. They were very energetic even though the crowd was a little chill. The lead singer looks super-geeky and his whole feel reminds me of white-gangsta, wankster, whatever. He has a good voice, but it's pretty limited, and i concluded after their set that they would be better in a shorter time frame, like 5-6 songs, instead of the 10 or so they played. The switched up between their first full-length On Fire and their recently released full-length It's Only Natural. The main talent in the band appears to be the drummer, who was trying his best to convince us he was Travis Barker with full upper-body tattoo's, and a punk/hardcore style of drummer.

They played a ton of songs, most of them were good but forgettable, their best song by far is Insurance? off of On Fire which they saved for last and were joined by the dudes from Runner Runner. other songs they played were Rock My Body, Histrionics, Movement, 31 Floors, Insurance?, Try Again, Undertaker, Play With Fire, It's Only Natural, and Closer (cover of Usher?).

Edit this setlist | More The Higher setlists

The headliner was the Audition, a band that i've followed since their first full-length was released on Victory Records, Controversy Loves Company. They've always been a favorite of mine, a lot of fun, and i usually compare them to Fall Out Boy but a little more serious. Last time i saw them they were a 5-piece but this night they were down to 4 band members, which took a little out of the overall sound. According to their wiki page, founding member/bassist Joe Lussa quit the band earlier this year, and has not been replaced.

Lead singer Danny Stevens is definitely a veteran of the game, and the whole band showed their experience through the night. The songs were solid and tight, except for the Jack Daniel's-influenced vocals that seemed to be a little off but nonetheless they were good. Most of the place was dancing and pogo-sticking throughout the set, bobbing their heads to the beat (think a little like the upbeat songs of Maroon 5 with edgey-ness). The bass player was solid, and it was impressive considering he was the rhythm guitarist for the duration of the band until earlier this year, but he was killing it this night.

Near the middle of the set, Danny picked up his acoustic guitar and lead the band in Los Angeles, and slower track off the new album; Self-Titled Album and then into It's Gonna Be Hard which he described as his favorite song they've ever written. It sounded great and it was a good feel before the last few songs. I'm not sure why they chose to play It's Too Late so late in the set as you could tell the crowd didn't really know the song, i'm sure their last two albums are the most popular.

The songs i remember them playing were

Edit this setlist | More The Audition setlists

Show Recap: Anberlin @ Boulder Theater

I got to see Anberlin for the fourth time since i've been in Colorado. Anberlin is easily one of the best live bands out there, they always come with a ton of energy, they play a great set, and they're music is energetic and catchy. I stumbled onto Anberlin sort of by accident a few years ago, when they toured with Story of the Year. I had never heard of them, but i really enjoyed their set so i went home and looked them up. i've been a fan ever since!

Last night was one of the better Anberlin shows i've seen. Unfortunately they weren't headlining (Taking Back Sunday was the headliner) so they didn't play more than 35 minutes, and i went by myself which is pretty common out here in Denver for me, apparently people don't like live music as much as i do? Anyway, i got inside just as Envy On The Coast was playing, i've seen them before and they put on a really good live show. I think they're starting to get pretty popular, the crowd was really into them and seemed to know most of the songs. I think EOTC is probably better live than on a cd, i got their album last time i saw them and it was okay, but i'd see them live anytime. the lead guitarist switches between keys and guitar with ease, the lead singer is super energetic with his dreadlocks apparently trying to emulate Zack de la Rocha and doing a pretty good job of it. They don't have a banner on display behind the band like most bands do these days, so instead they wrote their name on some 11 x 8'' paper and hung that, i found it pretty funny.

Next up was Anberlin. After their last album, New Surrender, they've added a laptop dude on stage to add all of the effects and tracks to the show. i like the addition, it made the music much more complete. It's amazing how much energy Anberlin can pack into a 30 minute set. The downside of Anberlin shows is the crowd that follows the band. After years of going to punk shows, Anberlin's crowd base is exactly the type of people who get under my skin, like the 6' jock in front of me that decided to pogo-stick the entire time. and then his buddies decided to try and start a mosh-pit?! Moshing? to Anberlin? hello! so lame.

anyway, they played most of the hits like Readyfuels, Day Late, Whisper & a Clamour, Feel Good Drag, Resistance, Breaking, Dismantle.Repair, Godspeed, and Disappear.

I left before Taking Back Sunday, i'm just not a fan and since i was there by myself i didn't really have a reason to stay. Great Show though, if you get a chance to catch Anberlin you won't be disappointed, no matter what kind of music you're into!

Show Recap: As I Lay Dying @ the Fillmore

Tahoe and I took in the As I Lay Dying show at the Fillmore in Denver this past Tuesday. The tour was billed as the No Fear Energy Tour with Lamb of God headlining and AILD playing in support. Unfortunately AILD was the only band on the bill that we wanted to see, so we showed up about 2 hours after the doors opened, missing God Forbid and Municipal Waste. Children of Bodom was about halfway through their set with AILD on next. it was good timing!

We've seen As I Lay Dying a few times before, and they're always great in concert. they're very tight and very energetic, with a lot of hair flying everywhere. Tim Lembesis is a great frontman, and with the portable stages they take on tour he really gets around the stage. Unfortunately the band hasn't really changed up their setlist over the years despite releasing 3 major records. They played all the basics, Through Struggle, Within Destruction, Meaning in Tradegy, An Ocean Between Us, Confined, 94 Hours, Separation, Forever and the Sound of Truth.

It was a great time, Tim had the crowd in a frenzy and participating in the largest circle-it i've seen in quite awhile. The pits at metal shows are much more violent than i like, plus i'm getting old, so Tahoe and I just stood back and played it safe. The crowd was typical metalheads/jocks/butt-rockers with their ridiculous hair, offending b.o., smoking weed in the crowd, and removing their shirts as if i want to stand next to a topless smelly dude for 40 minutes.

This was probably the best show i've seen at the Fillmore. Usually the sound isn't great, or loud enough, for bands like underOATH or AFI but this show was plenty loud. We stuck around for 2 songs of Lamb of God but i wasn't super-impressed (and i was in the minority with that). Here are some pics and video of the show:













Here are some video. The first one is the best, the Intro and Separation plus a few glimpses of the big circle pit. The 2nd video is of 94 Hours:








The funniest part of the night was Children of Bodom (according to my research/google Bodom is a lake in Finland that is famous due to some murders). They were typical metal but with a keyboard. The keyboardist basically an organ sound, creepy sounding like a horror movie, but pretty lame if you ask me. i took some video to share with everyone:

Shows in Colorado

Well the concert season is almost upon us and there are some great shows coming through the Denver area that you should check out:

As I Lay Dying @ the Fillmore, Tuesday April 28th
Dave Barnes @ the Soiled Dove Underground, Saturday May 2nd
Oh Sleeper @ Marquis Theater, Friday May 22nd
Anberlin @ Boulder Theater, Tuesday May 26th
Death By Stereo / Strung Out @ Ogden Theater, Wednesday June 10th

let me know if you're going, i have tickets already for all of these shows so we should hang out.