Concert Impressions: Warped Tour 09

So once again another Warped Tour has come again, making the 9th one I've been at to date. This year was such a huge departure from the way Warped Tour has been in the past. Obviously rain in August had something to do with that, causing some crazy format changes to keep Warped Tour going. The main stages were moved inside so that the headliners could play without worrying about being rained out, while the smaller stages were moved closer to the building with the exception of the skullcandy booth. Which honestly I think hurt the overall experiencing of Warped Tour, it kinda of lost something with this shuffle. Especially since the acoustics in the Idaho Center are not very good and also with so many people at Warped they were constantly beyond capacity. All in all it was a mess from a set up standpoint...though it had to be done in order to keep the show going.

Still the line up didn't suffer too much and honestly I was surprised how many bands were there I actually wanted to see. Underoath, Chiodos, Bad Religion, Less the Jake, and so many more. Not a lot of huge names, but lots of little bands that it was kinda cool to see without having to worry about missing other bands at the same time. Even discovered a band called The Architects who turned out to be pretty good as well...one thing that I really love about Warped tour, discovering bands like that.

So i started with The Devil Wears Prada inside, one of the many hardcore bands that have dropped into the scene these days. And honestly I was not impressed, they just felt very derivative. Nothing about them really jumped out to me and I felt like I had heard better from other bands. I will give them another chance when I listen to their CD, but my initial impression was that musically they did nothing to set themselves apart from their contemporaries.

I then headed out to the SkullCandy stage to catch the last of a set by The Architects who actually kinda blew me away. They had a very old school punk feel to them that was very reminiscent of when the movement began. Simply guitar chords, a small blistering solo, and strong lyrics about the government and society. I ended up buying their whole catalogue since it was only $30 bucks for all 4 cds. I may review those or just give a second impression on the band after listening to their work.

After that it was back to the main stage to watch Underoath, a hardcore/screamo band that has been getting quite the following. Once again i felt myself really getting into this band, even with their religious background. They definitely had the crowd pumped and were on top of their game as far as the set goes. I really enjoyed them and ended up buying their newest album "Lost in the Sound of Separation".

I quickly hurried outside to the Hurley.com stage to watch Big D and the Kids Table play. Despite being in the rain and mud the crowd was really responding to the band, having a large skanking pit in the middle of a mud. The band definitely knew how to have fun and I still maintain that ska music puts on some of the best shows and brings out a pretty friendly crowd. on a side not the lead singer also looks like Kurt Cobain which was funny, I kept thinking of him as Ska Cobain!

Once again it was back inside as I wanted to check out Chiodos who I had been meaning to see for some time. Let me honestly say they had the second best set of the show, managing a huge crowd that was really into what was going on. The lead singer has a pretty distinctive voice that is always a plus for me, definitely a huge range that I enjoy. The music has a composed feel to it, making them stand out from a lot of metal bands out there. Plus they had more crowd surfers then any other band, even got a wall of death going during one of their songs. Absolutely one of the highlights of the show, i really enjoyed them.

After some downtime since there was a lull where there was no bands I wanted to see, I came back inside for the Bouncing Souls. Now here is a band who has been on the punk scene for quite sometime and they haven't lost any of their talent. The set was dedicated to John Hughes who had died recently and they played a lot of their older stuff. I've always liked watching them on stage, they always seem to have pretty good showmanship.

Then it was outside to go see Black Tide who I had seen before and had really enjoyed. Unfortunately this proved to be the worst set of the show as they had a replacement lead singer who just didn't cut it. One of the great things about Black Tide is that they have a great 80's metal sound with the high vocals and heavy lead guitar. But the lead singer couldn't handle the notes and just ruined it for the band. Without the entire aesthetic they were just another metal band and I left before their set was finished.

Not gonna lie, things get a little hazy here but I do remember eventually seeing Less than Jake, which is another great live band. It's just one of those bands that seems to always have fun when they play and that energy transfers to the crowd. They know how to banter with a crowd, talking just enough to be interesting but not so much that they sacrifice time for their music. I really enjoyed their set.

More downtime then I saw NoFx, who also puts on a hell of a show. Though this year they seemed a little out of it, just didn't hit as hard as it used to. I don't know if it's because they are getting old or they were still feeling whatever made them take a two week hiatus. Either way they were good, but not as good as past years.

There were a few other bands but honestly they aren't really worth mentioning because the best set of the night happened to be the last one of the night. Bad Religion is still one of my favorite live bands to see, they are simply amazing. From showmanship to how together they were with their set. It's one of the few bands that sound just as good as they do on cd, which lets you know it's them and not machines that make that band great. I honestly would have paid the $40 just to see them, they are that good.

And that was Warped tour in a nut shell more or less...there is so much more to say but honestly this article would never end if I did that. While not as good as some years I still say 09 was a success and wasn't disappointed that I went. I hope next year the weather gets it together and we have the true Warped Tour experience, but in any case another year down and another tour under my belt!

Concert impression: Smile Empty Soul at the Knitting Factory in Boise Idaho

   So here is my first concert review, i just got back from a free concert featuring Sindicate, Malakai, Abrubt Edge, and Smile Empty Soul at the Knitting Factory in Boise, Idaho.  And for a free concert the latter half was pretty damn awesome, enough to wear I wouldn't have felt bad paying money for it.  It definitely has been the highlight of the week and a turned out to be a better experience then I had initially thought.

   Sindicate and Malakai opened the night and both were not really something I was into.  Sindicate sounded a lot like White Zombie, but definitely not the same caliber.  Their songs were very repetitive and the lead singer left a lot to be desired.  Also their lyrics were very high school and i could not relate to them at all.  Malakai was just as dismal, again a band that is less then their influences and just make you want to listen to the original bands instead.  I have a feeling they will be the new Trashing Andy where I see them open for every concert at the Knitting Factory and they play the exact same set every time.  They definitely did not fit with the rest of bands with their very indie/coldplay feel.

     The band that surprised me (and i feel may have had the best set) was Abrubt Edge.  They came out practically swinging and i found myself headbanging as early as the first song.  Their lyrics are not the greatest but their Pierce the Veil like singer was pretty amazing and their guitar riffs had that 90's rock feel that seemed head and shoulders above the other openers.  I immediatly grabbed their EP "Born" straight afterward and will attend their CD release party on July 10th.  They had a very strong showing and have some real talent for a local band, hopefully a label picks them up.

    The headliner was also a surprise for me.  Smile Empty Soul has gotten a lot better since I last listened to them, which was like 6 years ago in high school.  They play a lot like Puddle of Mudd but with a softer edge, though it was still sharp enough to get me dancing.  With very personal lyrics and some pretty hot licks on the guitar they have definitely come a long way.  I was disappointed that I could not purchase their albums at the show but I definitely will pick up their new album up in August.  They definitely had a great stage presence and were very energetic on stage.  They also didn't waste a lot of time talking but got straight to the songs, which I like in a band since that is what I came to see.  

   All in all the latter half of the show blew me away.  Not only did I discover some great local talent with Abrubt Edge, but also found that Smile Empty Soul (while not terribly original) is still a great band that I want to add to my music collection.   Definitely had a blast...

Review: "21st Century Breakdown" by Green Day

And so Green Day again returns with the follow up to "American Idiot". Once more they have shed their old style and moved into the realm of concept albums. The question you gotta ask is does it hold up as well as the rest of their work? Unfortunately yours truly feels that it doesn't quite meet the same standards as albums like "Dookie" or "Nimrod". Instead we are presented with what is basically"American Idiot" part 2, which if you liked the first one is great but if your like me it falls short of your expectations for the band.

There are some good things about this album, such as the song "Viva La Gloria". Some of the songs have great hooks and the album is quite as heavy handed in it's message as it's predecessor. And Billie Joe seems as good as ever, sounding just like he has on every Green Day album. But the album still seems to suffer under the weight of it's own pretentiousness. The lyrics just don't seem to hit like they used to, feeling forced rather then natural. Almost as if they were trying to be intentionally controversial and heavy simply for the sake of being controversial and heavy. Also their sound just doesn't seem to have evolved to fit this style of music, so it seems hollow in the face of the epic production that is straining to evoke. I don't know when it became a fad as an older band to "mature" your sound but it seems we are presented with another victim of this trend.

If this had been another band I would have given this more leeway, but since it's Green Day there is a foundation and expectation that has been built. Normally in my eyes when a band has a greatest hits that tends to be the end of their career. And in this case it was the death of Green Day as we knew them and now we live in the wake of their reboot. If your a fan of the new sound then you'll probably love this album but if your an old fan like myself you may want to save your money and put in "Kerplunk" or something instead.

2 out of 5 stars And just for you my friend...."Wal-Mart fans aren't missing much either"

Review: "Intimacy" by Bloc Party

So I got passed this album by a friend at work and thought I would review it. I had never been exposed to Bloc Party before so the whole album is pretty new to me.

I will say this album comes out swinging at you with the sonically intense "Ares". The song is pretty overwhelming as there is a whole lot going on instrumentally and you almost feel assaulted by sound. But get past that song and the rest of the album comes together pretty well. "Mercury" starts a trend that continues over the next few songs with lots of energy, a range of instruments, and a lot of energy all at once. "Halo" is probably the strongest song on the album with a quick tempo and some pretty deep hooks that keep you thinking about the song long after it has finished. Definitely something different in a very enjoyable way. The vocals are pretty strong despite the strong english accent and the production on the songs is pretty tight.

One thing I dislike is the lyrics seem very obtuse and it tends to be a bit unclear what the song really is about. I don't know if they are being vague to make a point and allow for interpretation or to make an attempt at being clever. Also there is a lot happening in their music, I don't know if it's just this cd or their music in general, but I feel like the whole album was a fever dream. It hits with a lot of craziness and by the time it's over you wonder if that album was real and actually happened. I could see this turning off some people who prefer a more uniform feel to their albums.

As far as the album goes it feels pretty strong in my opinion. It takes a slow burn approach in that it starts off hot on the first half of the album but winds down and shifts at the second half. This isn't a bad thing though as it adds to the overall dynamic of the album itself. I could easily recommend this if you are looking for something outside of the norm. It reminds me of bands like Radiohead or artists like Bjork who stray from convention to try something unique. It makes me want to check out Bloc Party's previous albums.

4 out of 5 stars. Very solid and worth checking out, can't go wrong with purchasing this album.

Review: "Someday Came Suddenly" by Attack Attack!

So I ended up hearing these guys at an Escape the Fate concert I attended awhile back and their set was so good I ended up picking up the album. Honestly I haven't been able to put it down since, definitely some of the best new music I have heard in quite some time.

The thing that really makes Attack Attack! work and separates them from other bands in the metal genre is their fusion of dance beats. From the first break down in "Stick Stickley" to the synthed intro of "Catfish Soup" the band really shows off it's unique sound. It definitely adds a certain appeal to their music, giving it a fresh hook that a lot of bands are lacking these days. With the inclusion of auto-tuned singing mixed with their heavy metal riffs and screamer lead singer you get something that is pretty solid sonically. In fact I found the whole album solid as a whole and haven't really stopped listening since I saw them.

Still with such positive sound there are a few flaws. One is the writing, which is very simple and overly Christian. I have no issue with the religious significance of it but if you dissect the words they begin to sound like something you would write in high school and come off as trite or cliched. They definitely could heighten the concept some and more depth to their lyrics. Also i have small pet peeve with song titles that have nothing to do with the song itself (for example "Bro, Ashley's Here").

What definitely makes this band is the execution of the mixed styles, it definitely comes off as their strongest asset. You might question if the concept could hold up for a second album but honestly you won't really think about that cause you'll be too busy rocking out to this one. I recommend this to anyone looking for a taste of something new in a genre that is slowly becoming stale with "Me too!" bands. Strong hooks, choruses that will stick in your head for some time, and those crazy dance beats will definitely infest your mind quite some time.

4 out of 5 stars Very solid album

Review: "Take It How You Want It" by Self Against City

So i figured i would do something a little obscure for my first review...try not to go with something obvious and also this album is new to me. I happen to run across this band while listening to my Pandora station and thought they were interesting. And so i took a listen to an EP they released in 2005. The band is called Self Against City and the EP is titled "Take It How You Want It".

So right off the bat you can tell they come from the emo school of rock. The singer has that tenor voice that a lot of these bands have, but at least it's not sung from his nose. Actually it's a pretty decent voice and he uses it well. The music also has a very Mayday Parade feel to it, simply power cords and picked chords that come together quite nicely. Nothing too crazy or technical but it is arranged well and compliments the singer.

Interestingly i find the writing style of the lyrics refreshingly simple, especially from this genre. Yeah it's still your high school diary type subject matter, but it's not couched in obtuse metaphors or ridiculous imagery. It's actually pretty down to earth and straight to the point, you can definitely tell what the song is about without having to analyze every word for meaning

The problem I find after listening to the 6 songs on this album is that nothing really stands out for me. Nothing has a really strong hook that keeps you coming back for me, no song makes you wanna put it on repeat over and over again. As a whole the album is nice, but it's not going to wow you by any means. Also if your not really fan of this type of music, this won't really convert you. Granted the album is four years old but it still sounds like an also ran to me. It's the kind of music you listen to once and then kinda put it into the rotation. It's good in that I like it, if it comes on during shuffle or something I'm still gonna turn it up and listen, but nothing really jumps at me and says "You want to listen to more of this album!"

If your a fan of the genre or looking for something in the emo genre I recommend giving this a listen, especially since you can pick it up on itunes for 4 bucks. if your taste dies lie this way then I would suggest passing this up as there is better music out there to cut your teeth on. I think I'm gonna still Giantbomb's system and give this 3 out of 5 starts. It's a little bit of okay my friends...

Let the experiment begin!

So i finally got around to a project a good friend of mine has been pushing me to do, blogging about music to kinda of get me more immersed in it. So let's begin this experiment eh? Don't mind the name of the blog, i just went with something rather then waste hours trying to be clever and whatnot. I may change it right now, i figured I would rather have content over style at the moment.

So the first part is to lay down the foundation I suppose. Again things are still more in the planning stage then anything and i don't really have a structure set down. So pretty much anything that comes to mind regarding music will go up here and any time i feel like updating it really. Once I work out the kinks i'll let you kids know, hopefully this thing takes off somewhat. I'll definitely have reviews of albums i'm listening to, the critic in my couldn't do anything less. I don't know if I'll have a score system or anything yet, right now I am going to focus simply stating what I do and don't like about the album and whether I would recommend it or not. I'll do my best to thorough and back up my opinions with concrete examples so you can get a sense of what I'm talking about. Also I'll try to avoid using obtuse language and fluff that really doesn't mean anything more then window dressing. Just remember this is all opinion writing..really gut check stuff. I won't try to make my view the definite one or say that others aren't valid, i just want to put another perspective out there and explore music as well.

I'll try to review concerts too but I don't know how well those will go. I tend to be pretty drunk at those things, so i tend not to remember much of the set list and sometimes I forget the bands as well. With those I'll try to do more of an impression of the atmosphere, the band, and whether it was worth the money I spent or not. Again not sure how well those will go as alcohol tends to warp perception as we all know heh.

Outside of reviews I'll just write about things that interest me in the happenings of music or simply share a musing or two about music. I am definitely keeping to that realm and will actively work to keep within those bounds.

For a sense of what kinds of things you will mostly see in here I'll give some of my music background. Rather then tell you what I listen to genre-wise (i really hate the way genres in music are defined sometimes) i'll list my top 5 albums.

1. "Dear Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" By Coheed and Cambria

2. "Gordon" by Barenaked Ladies

3. "Nevermind" by Nirvana

4. "The Wall" by Pink Floyd

5. "Commit This to Memory" by Motion City Soundtrack

That should give a taste of the music I tend to enjoy. If ya need more then visit my myspace at http://www.myspace.com/jaymorgoth. In fact I will let that define me as a person too. There you can see my limited ability to play guitar (sometimes I can even make music come out of it, if i try hard enough. ) As well as other things too tedious to write in this little introduction that is already too long for my taste.

I'll try to have my first review up soon, actually listening to the album I'm going to review right now. And while I tend to be pretty stuck in my ways about music, I am willing to give any band a chance. Even country or rap, which are the genres I tend to avoid. So if you want me to review something or even just check it out let me know or send me some and I'll get on that! Just know that if I don't like it I am going to say so cause I honestly listen to albums. In fact my first listen through an album I just sit and take it in. That way if you ask me why I hate a band or song I can say "cause I listened to them and here is why".

So here's to the beginning of this little experiment...hopefully you guys enjoy it.