i buckled over on the cold brooklyn street..

Saturday April 17th was a date I’d been looking forward to for quite awhile. I Am the Avalanche were headlining a soldout show at Webster Hall that night and they just happen to be one of my favorite bands. Like any band I’m excited to see, I’d been listening to them almost constantly for the previous week when I had the chance.

the excitement & anticipation was building...

The day dragged on but 8pm finally rolled around and it was time for me to meet Jules in Williamsburg to pick up some drinks at Turkeys Nest before a short trip on the L train over to Union Square. By the time we made it past the 80s disco upstairs and downstairs into the concert venue there was just enough time to stake out the perfect spot near the stage before IATA took the stage. I have to admit, I was pretty excited and I’m pretty sure I sang the words to every song, bar the new ones they played.

Despite not playing very frequently as a full band, and not having released a full length album since 2005, the fans went crazy. Most of the show the crowd were singing over the top of the band and the crowd surfers didn’t stop the entire set. IATA’s set drew heavily from their self-titled album, including ‘I Took a Beating’, ‘This is Dungeon Music’ and ‘My Second Restraining Order’, as well as three songs that will be on their new album, hopefully coming out sometime this summer.

Check out the video below of ‘Green Eyes’ and the photos from the show below.

They finally took the stage!

Oh hai there I Am the Avalanche

one night we took a trip to astoria & san dimas…

Our night began at Bennys Burritos in the West Village catching up over Mexican food and $3 margaritas. With one last margarita in hand, we made our way over to Webster Hall worried that we would miss the one band that brought us all together that night. We caught the tail end of the third-to-last band and impatiently waited through the next band as well.

This is what we came for

The merch desk was hidden in the back corner of the room and apparently The Ataris had already sold-out of their merch this tour so there was no temptation to spend money. I’m not sure if having their merch sell-out so quick into the tour (there are still 30+ dates left on the tour) is a good sign – either they’re still really popular or they didn’t bring enough merch with them. Anyway, lack of merch aside, the second last band finally finished and the band began setting up.

This is Kris Roe, being a skilled multi-tasker. He sets up AND he sings!

Getting excited at the prospect of seeing Kris Roe & co. PLAY!!!

They had no roadies (they cost money yo!) so they did it all themselves and started playing pretty soon afterwards. They opened with the title track off the 2003 album ‘So Long Astoria’ and my worry that Roe and co. would play a stack of songs from the two most recent albums (both of which I don’t have) were unfounded as they got deeper and deeper into the set. Of the dozen or so songs they played I only didn’t recognize three, one which was a cover.

Just play a song already

The Ataris Setlist:

So Long Astoria

Unopened Letter to the World

Summer Wind Was Always Our Song

1-15-96

The Hero Dies in This One

In This Diary

New Song

Take-offs & Landings

Eight of Nine

Your Boyfriend Sucks

New Song

Broken Promise Ring

Cover Song

San Dimas High School Football Rules

So emo with their flannels

The cute drummer

All in all, it was an awesome night, the only disappointment was when the crowd shouted for ‘Teenage Riot’ and was met with the reply “You’ll have to come to Jersey tomorrow night to hear that one” from Kris Roe.

Mareesha wants to marry Kris

This one was for me

just being a stalkerazzi.

The next few weeks are going to be pretty crazy, – theres lots of shows coming up, SXSW is happening in Texas and Jules is arriving from Australia so there will be many many adventures.

Here’s my calendar of events for the next month or so:

6th March – Blacklisted at the Cakeshop
7th March – Copeland farewell tour with I Can Make a Mess Like Nobodys Business, Person L (Kenny from the Starting Line!!!) & Deas Vail at the Bowery Ballroom
8th March – The Ataris at Webster Hall
9th March – Useless ID, Smartbomb, Money/Paper/Hearts & Lugos at Party Expo
12th March – Alkaline Trio, Cursive, the Dear & Departed at the Nokia Theatre (still not 100% sure on this one, it depends how much money I have left)
16th March – God Loves a Challenge (feat. the singer from Armor for Sleep) at Webster Hall
17th March – FLY OUT TO AUSTIN, TX FOR SXSW!!!!!!!! hopefully make it in time to see Trash Talk
18th March – SXSW – Artery Foundation free show – Evergreen Terrace, Breathe Carolina, A Skylit Drive, I See Stars & more; Full Metal Texas day party – Darkest Hour, Iwrestledabearonce, Iron Age, Your Demise, Lions Lions & more
19th March – SXSW – Heavy Hitter Showcase at Emos – Lions Lions, Acaro, We Are the End, Defeater, Legend, Mychildren Mybride
20th March – SXSW – Alternative Press Party – Sum 41, Never Shout Never, Circa Survive, the Rocket Summer, Title Fight & more
21st March – SXSW
22nd March – fly back to New York City
25th March – Chronic Youth Pary at Union Pool
26th March – United Blood Festival in Richmond, VA -Alpha and Omega, Backtrack, Cruel Hand, Death Threat, Donnybrook, Dryspell, Mother of Mercy, Paint it Black, Title Fight, True Colors, War Hungry, Wasted Time
27th March – United Blood Festival -Blacklisted, Bracewar, Cold World, Concrete Reality, Fire & Ice, Foundation, Free Spirit, Harms Way, Madball, Maximum Penalty, Mind Eraser, Naysayer, Rival Mob, Steel Nation, Swamp Thing
30th March – Jaguar Love at Brooklyn Bowl
2nd April – The Bronx at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

This time next month I’m pretty sure I’ll be very tired and very broke but it will all be worth it!

another night at webster hall

The Revolutions & Resolutions Tour with The Audition/The Dangerous Summer/The Right Coast

01/20/10 Webster Hall NYC

The only band that I had heard of on this line-up was The Audition, but it was a Wednesday night and I was cashed up with Christmas money and the show was only $12 so I really couldn’t say no. There were some local bands on the line-up opening the show but because I had to come from work uptown I missed them and got there just in time to catch the band The Right Coast start playing.

My first thought upon entering the Studio at Webster Hall was one of surprise and along the lines of “Wow, I didn’t realize The Audition were so popular”. The room was almost completely packed, – very different from the last time I was here to see the Absolutepunk.net tour. The crowd was a mix of high school kids (as well as a few parental chaperones!) and young adults. It was a bit disconcerting to witness a stronger crowd singalong to Ke$ha’s song ‘Tik Tok’ than Jimmy Eat World’s ‘Sweetness’ when they played back to back on the PA system in-between bands.

When fellow Pennsylvanian band The Starting Line announced their indefinite hiatus/break-up early in 2008, my heart broke just a bit. After watching The Right Coast I realized I’d found a band to help mend that broken heart TSL left me with. Their songs are catchy and their all-round obvious enthusiasm towards the crowd, each other and their music is something a lot of bands have forgotten about in their pursuit of fame and fortune. The song ‘Madeline’ was one that particularly stuck in my head.

Next up were the band The Dangerous Summer. They weren’t as poppy as TRC but I still really enjoyed their music. It was genuine and heartfelt and they had the crowd singing along in no time. Sticking to TSL theme for the night, if TRC reminded me of early TSL material, then TDS could be compared to a cross between later TSL material (think the album Direction) and Jimmy Eat World.

By the time The Audition took the stage I was tired and contemplating leaving early because I’d already seen them play on quite a few occasions previously. A few songs into their set and I couldn’t leave; even though most of the songs I knew weren’t played until the tail-end of the set the music won me over. The band are about to release a new album in March so they played a few new songs but kept it balanced with old ones. Some memorable songs of the night include: My Temperature’s Rising, Los Angeles, Baby You Ruined This, It’s Gonna Be Hard (When I’m Gone), Approach the Bench and Don’t Be So Hard.

i can’t see the forest for all the trees.

Absolutepunk.net Tour 09 starring Between the Trees, Farewell, Punchline, Action Item & 5 Cases of a Tragedy

09/08/09 Webster Hall NYC

This show was pop-punk heaven. Five bands for only $12; that works out to be only $2.50 a band or something extremely ridiculous like that. Held in ‘The Studio’ at Webster Hall, (a smaller venue underneath the main theatre) in the East Village in New York City, it’s a picturesque venue with an intimate atmosphere but still large enough not to feel claustrophobic when there’s a crowd. The tables surrounding the dance-floor had lit votive candles strewn across them, adding further to the cozy atmosphere.

First up were New York locals 5 Cases of a Tragedy. While obviously a very young band, both in age and experience, it didn’t stop them from being enthusiastic. When they introduced one of their songs as “an older one”, the difference between their older and newer material became clear and showed exactly how far their sound has progressed, even if it has been over a period of months, not years. While the old material is straight-up three chord pop punk circa the late 90’s, early 00’s, the newer material has some screams, some breakdowns and time signature changes all thrown in for good measure. They band looks young enough to still be in high school but there is definitely some potential.

Action Item took the stage next and showcased guitar/piano driven melodies that were reminiscent of the more upbeat Something Corporate songs. Their set contained super catchy songs that the ever increasing crowd seemed to respond well to. The final song ‘The Boy with the Microphone’ is the kind of song that gets stuck in your head for hours, but in a good way.

Unfortunately, Punchline were the biggest disappointment of the evening. As the middle band on the bill I had high expectations of them but ultimately they failed to deliver. They opened with an instrumental version of a Michael Jackson song, and while I tried not to hold that against them, it was all mediocre from there. This is not to say that they don’t play well, – almost the opposite, – they put on a tight show but nothing to really distinguish them from the hundreds, even thousands of other bands within their genre. The set also included too much (unfunny) banter with the crowd, as well as failed attemepts to get the crowd to clap and wave along to various songs. The second guitarist prolonged their last song by covering the chorus of the Bee Gee’s ‘Night Fever’. Since 95% of this crowd looked to be in their late teens/early twenties, it’s safe to say that they were at least a decade too young to have even been alive when the Gibb brothers were producing their hits, let alone know all the words. Maybe they hoped the crowd had a penchant for listening to their parents records from the disco era.

Farewell were up next and definitely the highlight of the show. They’re a 6 piece band, and managed to fill the stage not only in a physical sense but also exuded a real stage presence that the other bands on the line-up lacked. From the outset, you get the feeling this will be one of the last tours they play in such a small venue. Bands like All Time Low and New Found Glory have carved a niche in the pop punk genre and just like their predecessors Farewell have created songs that are pop punk anthems, – the crowd needed no coaxing to sing, clap and dance along to everything they played. Their newest release had been out for less than a week before this stop in New York but that didn’t stop many people in the audience  from already knowing the words to the new songs. The Greensboro, North Carolina natives reproduced the professional and tight sound of their recordings almost perfectly in their live performance.

Farewell

Headlining band Between the Trees took to the stage in front of a crowded room and put on a great show. They were probably the most out of place band on the line-up as they lean more towards the indie/emo rock sound than the pop punk of the other bands. The first half of the set saw the four-piece perform with two guitars, bass and drums; the second half of the set the singer threw in his guitar for a seat behind the keyboard. The swap meant the later part of the set was a bit mellower; the songs with the keys present were really beautiful and the singer’s powerful voice carried the strong melodies perfectly. The crowd really seemed to appreciate and enjoy them, and Between the Trees proved why they deserved to be a headliner on this tour.

Between the Trees