OVER THE TOP!

That is even an understatement of the show tonight at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle. We all went to see the “Feel This Tour” with Sleeping With Sirens, Breathe Carolina, Issues and Our Last Night. Memphis May Fire was supposed to be there as well but apparently had a better gig somewhere in the UK…too bad for them. This was one absolutely Killer show.

First off, Nicki and I were part of the meet and greet autograph, pre-show so we were able to get into the show a bit earlier than Toni, Ryan and Nicki’s friend Jenna. We arrived at the venue early of course at around 3:30 and were to meet at the front entrance for our early entry at 4:30. It was very cold on this winter Seattle night.. I think it must have gotten down into the lower 40’s to high 30’s. As usual with these early entries, they tell you to get there at a certain time and then make you wait for over an hour before they let you in…but at least we got in around 5:30. Toni, Ryan and Jenna couldn’t get in until after 6:30, and probably closer to 7:00. They were REAL cold.

We were able to get the band to pose for a picture with Nicki (although she won’t let me post it here, even though it’s a great pic) and they also signed a couple of posters for us. Nicki brought something special for them to sign, but they wouldn’t have much to do with signing anything but the posters. Needless to say Nicki was pretty bummed about that.

Once we got in, we immediately claimed our favorite spot against the wall near the restroom about 25 yards from the stage. There seemed to be a steady stream of people coming in through at least the first opening act, and the place got packed. As it turned out the show was sold out. Tonight seemed exceptionally crowded however. We have been to sold out shows at the Showbox before and have always had a little room around us to breath, but not tonight. We were jammed in like sardines. It was uncomfortably  hot in there tonight too. Even the bands were saying how hot it was. I think their AC must have not been working or something.. Poor David Schmitt (vocals for Breathe Carolina) was about to pass out after their set. He actually commented that this show was the hottest show that they had ever done and that he had never sweat more during a show than tonight.

The show started at about 7:00pm with Our Last Night opening and playing a great set. I have never heard them before, and they had a good sound to them with a powerful lead guitar, very talented bassist and great vocals.

Issues came on next and they were as good as the last time Nicki and I saw them at this same venue back in April opening for A Day to Remember. They are definitely a heavier band with a good mix of melodic vocals and trashing screams. They played songs from their first album of course, but also some new music which we hadn’t heard before. During their set, they really got the crowd pumped. I think I counted more than 7 crowd surfers all going at once and there were even a couple of body catapults. They really rocked the place out. These guys will definitely be around for a while.

Breathe Carolina came on next and they were quite a surprise to me (although Nicki and Jenna have heard their music before). Their vibe was a mix of dance/club and thrash metal…very interesting. I think the highlight of their set was a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. Not only was it dead on when they wanted it to be, but they mixed it up and added their touch of thrash to it which I think made it better than the original. These guys had a great light show as well, made you feel as though you were in a Rave with black light strobes and very loud bass pounding the room..

Sleeping with Sirens came on around 9:30 or so and played 10 songs I believe, plus one encore. The guys put on a great show I thought, however Toni thought their WARPED 2013 performance was better. Kellin Quinn sounded great and despite the band missing their guitarist Jesse Lawson who left the band exactly one month ago (Oct 16), they rocked it. Kellin mixed it up a bit between each song with personal stories and positive messages, and then one weird rant around a bottle of water, which we all thought was a bit strange (you had to be there). They were definitely the highlight of the night for us and the rest of the crowd.

Set-list of Sleeping With Sirens:

1. Here We Go
2. Congratulations
3. Low
4. Free Now
5. The Best There Ever Was
6. If I’m James Dean, Then You’re Audrey Hepburn
7. A Trophy Father’s Trophy Son
8. Scene Five: With Ears to See, and Eyes to Hear
9. Do It Now Remember It Later
10. Satellites
11. If You Can’t Hang

Last night we went to a new venue in Seattle called The VERA Project. This is a small little place on the grounds of Seattle center just north of the Key Arena. We have been going to concerts in Seattle for years and we never knew this place existed. Vera is an all-ages volunteer fueled music and arts venue. There are studios, classes and other areas for learning the music and entertainment production trade for young people in the area. Vera engages thousands in the arts, develops the future of the music industry and supports the vibrant Seattle culture. You can learn more by visiting their website at http://theveraproject.org.

The stage area was actually quite small and for a band with more than 3 members, quite confining and a bit dangerous when aggressively  expressing their musical vigor. Lighting was a bit dark making it difficult to take good photographs, but the sounds was decent when the instruments and microphones were leveled properly (it took a while).

Being a relatively small budgeted show meant more to expose these newer bands to audiences throughout the country, all bands with the exception of Ghost Town brought out and set-up their own instruments and did the sound checks live before the crowd. It was actually kind of nice to see the band members in this capacity. I am sure even the Rolling Stones must have started out this way fifty some odd years ago.

The crowd size was very small, with what we estimated were to be no more than 100-125 people on the floor at any one time. But they were no less excited to see the bands and showed the same level of verbal and physical passion to the music as any large arena. There was a small group of 14-17 year old girls who moshed heavier than most of the bigger shows that I have seen this year. I actually thought that they were fighting, but where looking at their faces, they all had huge smiles.

The show was opened up with a band named Say We Can Fly  followed by quite a surprising good band named Oh No Fiasco. The guys  came out dressed in argyle socks, cardigan sweaters and capri pants. The lead singer (Lindsey Stamey) was dressed like a very proper young lady.. huh? This isn’t the look of metal, but they were very good, with music reminiscent of 30’s retro splashed with rock and a flare of metal. Nicki and Toni actually bought two of their CDs at their Merch. table.  We actually met some member of the band and Nicki was able to get her picture taken with a few of them. Following Oh No Fiasco was Modern Day Escape.  The put on a great performance, very powerful and energetic. These guys are clearly an up and coming band with great potential. One of Nicki’s music idols (drummer – Sandra Alvarenga) is in this band, and she was able to meet them after the show, talk with Sandra and get her picture with the entire group.. quite an experience for Nicki. On next was Her Bright Skies, who I hadn’t heard before, but also were an incredible band. We also met and talked with them after their set. The final act and headliner for the night was Ghost Town, and of course they ROCKED!. It was clear that this was the band most in the audience came to see.

All in all, this was a great little, intimate show. We were very excited to be able to meet and talk with the bands after their sets. Not too many shows you can do that, even with the smaller bands. Bryan Stars did his thing throughout the show, introducing and presenting the bands (not sure how he got his gig, but I have to hand it to him).

Well, it been over a week since the show, but need to post due to another show happening tomorrow night.

Nick, Toni and I attended The House Party Tour Tuesday September 17th at the WaMu theater in Seattle, We had the VIP acoustic set package where we were able to see A Day to Remember do a private two song acoustic set back stage before the show. We we able to ask questions and converse with them for about 40 minutes. They were a great bunch of guys. Only three of them came out to perform they were lead singer Jeremy McKinnon, rhythm guitarist Neil Westfall and lead guitarist Kevin Skaff. The other two,  drummer Alex Shelnutt and bass Joshua Woodard came out for the question and answer time and they were all quite entertaining.

Following the acoustic set, we were all escorted back out to enter the venue with the rest of the crowd, albeit first in line.

The show started  at around 6:00pm with The Wonder Years who were actually quite good and opened the show with a lot of energy, getting the crowd really pumped up. Next up Pierce the Veil came on next (which was who we were actually there to see the most) and put on a great show playing for just under an hour. Nicki really appreciated and admired Tony Perry’s head banging , most prevalent during the song King for Day. Our favorite song Caraphenalia which stood out as their best song of the night, although the put on an incredible show all together. Around 8:00pm All Time Low came on and really brought the place to a new level. They rocked hard with our favorite song of their set being Love Like War. Toni was very impressed with their live sound and how different it is than their recorded sound. These guys really put on a good show. It was really special when Vic Fuentes (Pierce The Veil) came out and performed Love Like War with them. Last up was A Day To Remember. These guys are big time with their own full stage show. They started out the show with a short video showing the band preparing for a house party, surprising lead singer Jeremy McKinnon. They informed him that they were supposed to go out to the garage and start practicing so they could perform at the party. The video ended with them entering the garage which was ended up being the stage. They had a full size house set as the back-drop for their show with pyrotechnics and all…..big time.

Another great show, now on to the next.

Well, Nicki and I went to see Three Days Grace at the Showbox (Sodo) in Seattle last night. This venue is one which we have been to a number of times in the past and is one where the smaller bands typically visit when coming through Seattle. It is a standing room only venue (unless you are over 21 and lucky enough to get a table at the bar), and as this was an all-ages show, it seemed like the seats in that area were not as premium as when I have been here for 21+ shows. Never the less, Nicki and I found ourselves a nice quiet wall along the side, mid-way back from the stage. We got in early, and while most people who wait to get in early rush to hang on the rail and get as close to the stage as possible, we find the best wall area (which happens to be to side opposite the entry door). We like to hangout against a wall so as to not be completely surrounded by people during the show, and it is typically away from any spontaneous outbreaks of mosh.

As usual, we left for the show early in order to get the best possible parking spot..but ended up in private lot near Century Link Field due to the Mariner game that was going on at SafeCo field near the venue. We decided to walk up to find dinner, originally planning to go to the Hard Rock Café, but ended up at McCormick & Schmick’s instead which was a very good alternative. We did have plenty of time before they started letting in for the show at around 7:30, so could relax and even order desert. Always fun to walk through Pioneer Square for the unique ambiance of downtown Seattle.

Three Days Grace is a band that I ran across a few years ago when I heard their song “Animal I Have Become” on the radio on the way home from work one summer day with the windows down. It is such a powerful song with an incredible lead-in bass riff and pounding guitar followed by lead singer Adam Gontier’s amazingly raspy voice.. I went and bought the CD “One X”, which I found was one of the best albums I have ever heard…each song is unique and amazing. There is even a softer ballad “Over and Over” which resets you after some of the heavier songs and then of course their most popular song off the album (and their biggest hit to date), “Pain” which was number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in 2007 – AWESOME!

The show itself was great. I have to say the opening act Otherwise was very impressive and I think surprised the entire crowd how good they really were. They had a ton of energy, got the crowd hyped and played for about an hour. Both Nicki and I said that after seeing them, we both want to go and get their album and we would definitely go and see them again when they come back to town. Three Days Grace came on around 10:00pm and started out with their song “Chalk Line” which is their first release off of their latest album “Transit of Venus”. I was a bit surprised to learn that their lead singer was replaced recently with the lead singer Matt Walst of a band called “My Darkest Days”.. We were a little apprehensive as Adam Gontier’s voice is pretty distinctive, but he pulled it off. They then played many of their previous hits including my and Nicki’s favorites which were awesome. “World So Cold” and “Animal I Have Become” (Nicki’s favorites were toward the end of the main set and Never Too Late (which was my favorite of the night) was the first song of their encore. There was the predictable and inevitable drum solo, but they did do it a little different by  interjecting and interweaving a piano solo into it. It was quite unique and very good.  The show was not sold out, so there was room to move around when we wanted, although when we left our prime wall area, it was occupied when we came back. The crowd was really energized and into the show. There were a few mosh breakouts and a number of crowd surfers throughout the night.

I have to also point out how organized and well controlled the Showbox maintained the show. There were a few times when I saw folks sparking up, but security quickly ran over to them and told them to stop. Anytime something looked like it was going to get out of control, security was there to prevent it. It made for a great environment to see and listen to the music. The ordered atmosphere may have also had something to do with their separating the drinking area from the main stage area, but whatever it is it works, and we always like to see shows at the Showbox.

Set List

1. Chalk Outline
2. Just Like You
3. Pain
4. The High Road
5. Home
6. Get Out Alive
7. Break
8. The Good Life
9. Piano/Drum Solo
10. Misery Loves My Company
11. World So Cold
12. I Hate Everything About You
13. Break Stuff  (Limp Bizkit cover)
14. Animal I Have Become

Encore:

1. Never Too Late
2. Riot