Tag Archives: The Gaslight Anthem

Rise Against Inspire Crowd, Re-Connect With Hometown Fans

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Local favorites Alkaline Trio and Rise Against packed the Congress Theatre Saturday Night with fellow rockers Thrice and The Gaslight Anthem.  

To warm up the incoming crowd The Gaslight Anthem started things off with a decent set complete with an oldschool cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”.  By 8 p.m. more than 250 people filled the floor level of the theatre.  Front man Brian Fallon delivered a solid performance, but the energy required to inspire the crowd just wasn’t there.  

Thrice was up next, finally bringing life to the audience.  Also a decent set…the contents of which escapes me.  

Alkaline Trio finally graced the stage, and the crowd went absolutely wild.  Fists in the air, screaming their lungs out in anticipation of what the Chicago-bred rockers were about to offer them.  In true form Trio did not disappoint.  They played a short, but grade-A set complete with old favorites like Private Eye and a Misfits cover everyone seemed to love.  Of course the band focused on new material, playing “Calling All Skeletons,” “In Vein,” and “I Found A Way.”  Frontman Matt Skiba was nothing short of amazing, and completely on point vocally.  Dan rocked it out, and Derek was as talented as ever behind those drums.  When the set was over, the crowd screamed for an encore, but none was given…I hear that’s standard practice for Trio.

After about a half an hour of waiting, the house lights were dimmed and Rise Against in all their glory stepped onto the stage.  Their first song of the night came in the form of the Appeal To Reason’s first track “Collapse-Post Amerika” which brought down the house, and set the tone for the remainder of the show.  I was absolutely blown away by Tim McIlrath’s performance.  Not once did he falter, and with a voice that would be expectedly sub-par live, he completely overcame that expectation.  For an hour and a half Rise Against punched the audience in the face with their energetic, passionate set full of anti-government/anti-war songs that inspire so many young people across the world.  

As an avid listener and fan I was so happy to see both bands (Trio/Rise) perform so solidly live, especially in an era where live performances have taken a backseat to commerciality.  Thanks Trio/Rise for re-inspiring me and allowing me to reconnect with music I love so much.  

If you didn’t get a chance to catch Rise Against with Alkaline Trio, The Gaslight Anthem, and Thrice, you missed the best rock show of 2008!  Unfortunately the bands are off to the UK for now.  Hopefully more U.S. dates will be added in the spring.  One can only hope.

Bayside Rules!

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Hey Friends!  Posts have been sparse, but fear not.  This week I would like to introduce you to Bayside. :)

 

                                                                      Photo from mtv.com

Sounds like:

Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, The Gaslight Anthem, Senses Fail, Escape The Fate, or any other punk/rock/emo band with a darker side.

 

Currently on tour with our friends The Matches, Bayside headlines with more intensity and energy than I’ve seen in a while.  What comes across as raw and somewhat reckless in audio format translates into pure mayhem live…and that’s why they rock!  The simple truth is that this band should be seen live, end of story.  Their ability to move a crowd as one, even during an acoustic break dedicated to late drummer John “Beatz” Holohan, is impressive.  They’re loud, and garish, and in your face, but when front man Anthony Raneri sings about obsession and self-loathing, there’s a vulnerability that’s all too often absent in rock music today.  You’d have to clean them up, but you could bring these boys home to mamma.

The October 22 release of Shudder, the band’s fifth studio release since conception around 2000, is sure to please anyone searching for an ear-full of silky punk riffs, mildly dark subject matter, and incredibly catch-you-off-guard-catchy melodies.  These are the songs you’re going to be humming days later without being able to remember where the melody came from.  ”Shudder” has classic Bayside energy and classic Bayside hooks with a more polished sound that best represents what you would hear live, and that’s something a lot of people take for granted these days.  

*Tangent*

Since when did it become acceptable for your favorite band to suck live?  Guess it’s been brewing since Britney started lip synching, but the fact of the matter is that when you find a band that’s actually better live than they are in the studio, you’ve struck gold!  

*Tangent II*

Dear random ass kid using the computers in my classroom,

When you have headphones on and you sing, EVERYONE CAN STILL HEAR YOU!!!!

 

Back to the important stuff…

I’m not exactly sure what the whole Bayside.Is.A.Cult thing is all about because the page won’t load, but I can tell you, based upon the energy of the crowd at both west coast shows, I would say the band is well on their way to having a cult following.  The name may be new to you, but Bayside isn’t going anywhere but up, and because of that it’s a name you need to remember.

Get a full list of tour dates, and band info at http://www.myspace.com/bayside

Rise Against Shows Off For Mainstream, Satisfies Hardcore Audience Too

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This week we look at Rise Against’s “Appeal To Reason”.  

With the release of their much anticipated fifth full-length album “Appeal To Reason” Chicago hardcore rockers Rise Against prove they’re more than drum rolls and angry lyrics.  With the help of producer Bill Stevenson, the band manages to push their power-punk roots to the side, trading jagged edges for a shiny pop sheen without blindsiding fans or forgetting where they came from.

Tim McIlrath’s vocals are pristine. Stevenson has finally managed to find a happy medium between the gargling rasp of previous albums and the Nickleback-esque vocals a pop-ier influence would produce.  A perfect example is track 8, “Audience of One.”  Without polishing things up too much, the verses still manage the grit Rise Against is known and loved for.  Then as the hook builds, a more refined Rise Against steps into the spotlight, and Tim sings–not screams, not wails, not howls…sings!–”We ran away.  Now all my friends are gone.  Maybe we’ve outgrown all the things that we once loved.  Run away.  But what are we running from?  A show of hands from those in this audience of one.  Where have they gone?”  As members reach the ripe old age of 30, there’s no doubt this track questions relationships and goals, and how they change and evolve over the years.  Everyone has a point in their life when they look around and realize they’re not surrounded by the people they thought would be there for them.  ”Audience of One” addresses the questions associated with growing up and growing apart.

Other standout tracks from “Appeal to Reason” include “Long Forgotten Sons”–pretty typical Rise Against on this one.  Todays children of divorce will appreciate it most.–and “The Dirt Whispered” which reminds me of “The Sufferer and The Wittness’” “The Good Left Undone.”  This time around, however Rise Against hit the ball out of the park with a much stronger chorus, melodically speaking, and a lyrical story line that’s easy to follow and almost impossible not to relate to.  

In true Rise Against form the band makes a loud statement with their only acoustic release since “Swing Life Away” with the anti-war/pro-soldier anthem “Hero Of War”.  McIlrath wrote this one after hearing first-hand accounts of the war in Iraq from the men and women serving our country.  The song traces a the hypothetical journey of a soldier from enlistment to battle and back home, all the while questioning the idea of a ‘hero of war’.  More than anything else, the emotionally cumbersome track addresses the brutality of war and a question I’m sure every soldier has asked him/herself at one point in time, “Why am I fighting this fight?”  I would argue this is one of Rise Against’s most effective politically-driven songs, and even if you’re not in love with chicago hardcore you need to hear this one!

Personally, my favorite track from “Appeal to Reason” is hidden just after “Hero of War”.  Track 11 is entitled “Savior” and is the classic good-girl-wants-to-save-bad-boy-before-he-self-implodes story.  Instead of allowing himself to be her clay-to-be-molded however, he assures her that he’s “not the answer to the questions [she] still has.”  The chorus is incredibly catchy and the power is back in McIlrath’s vocal after taking a short break during the previous track.  

Overall, old-school fans with enjoy the last half of the album more, but newcomers will definitely appreciate Stevenson’s influence on the first 8 or 9 songs.  With “Appeal to Reason” Rise Against has created a masterpiece worthy of mainstream radio and dare I say it, MTV.  

Check out Rise Against on tour with Alkaline Trio and The Gaslight Anthem in a city near you.  It’ll be a live show to remember!

“Hello World!”-Alkaline Trio

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I don’t know where people have been for the last twelve years, but unfortunately they haven’t been knocking at Alkaline Trio’s doorstep…until recently that is.  The chicago-based punk/rock band has been doing the dark and twisted thing since they broke onto the local chicago rock scene back in the mid nineties.  Ever since their sound has grown and evolved as flawlessly and seamlessly as any artist could hope for.  Their recent release, “Agony & Irony” dropped July 1st, 2008 and has already made a big splash in the world of–you guessed it–popular music.  

The release of their fourth full-length album came after months of blood, sweat and tears, fighting with record labels, and finalizing contracts.  The record itself, however, was fairly effortless for the threesome.  In a recent interview with FUSE frontman Matt Skiba revealed that “Agony & Irony” is probably one of the most straightforward records the band has made since Goddamnit.  ”We got a good cut and we we’re like, ‘great. keep it. let’s move on.’”  Thanks to their minimalist approach to production the record comes across as an incredibly honest effort that seems to fit the band like a glove.  Considering the chicago-based rockers have been doing this for quite some time now (since 1996 to be exact) it makes sense that their music take a more mature, intimate turn addressing issues like war and the ultimate emotion, love.  Thankfully Alkaline Trio have managed to harness the raw energy of “Goddamnit” and and cross-breed it with the more polished hooks of “Crimson” which seems to be the magic formula considering the success the album has had.  Since it’s release “Agony & Irony” has been a feature on FUSE’s “Incoming!” a staple on TRL and has been nominated for a Video Music Award for Best Rock Video.  The Trio is also heading out on the road, as we speak, to tour North America with fellow rockers Rise Against, The Gaslight Anthem, and Thrice.  (November 20th Caroline!! wink wink!)  Dates are scheduled nationally so go buy tickets now!  It’s going to be a fantastic show, and I’m so excited to finally see Trio play a full-length set and Rise Against is a personal favorite of mine so that’ll be an added bonus. Long live Alkaline Trio!