04.10.10: Crime In Stereo. Off With Their Heads. Lowtalker. Robbers.

On this warm Saturday night I biked on over to the Triple Rock to see Crime In Stereo and some other bands. A few friends had made it out, but unfortunately not a whole lot of people showed up at all.

The first band to play was Robbers from New York. They had a decent number of people watching them since one of their members was originally from Waconia I guess. They played a somewhat spacey kind of indie rock. It was pretty boring and reminded me of having to watch Circa Survive one time, which was difficult. A few songs in I walked down to taco bell and got an 89 cent five layer burrito and walked back and there were still about four songs left. Maybe it’s just me but there’s not many bands I can see play for that long and still be stoked on. Even if its bands I like. Finally Robbers was done and I got to see Joel talk to people from high school and get very uncomfortable.

The next band on the bill was Lowtalker. Lowtalker was a four piece pop punk/post punk/ whatever you wanna call it band with members of Comeback Kid and Misery Signals. This band is rad as fuck. Fast, fun, melodic punk rock. It was one of the band’s very first shows and they sounded way tight. Along with their own songs, they covered a Get Up Kids song. I can’t help but feel like everyone else watching was as stoked as I was on Lowtalker’s set. Hopefully these dudes stick with this band despite prior obligations because they definitely have a bright future ahead of them.

Next band was Off With Their Heads. If you live in the Twin Cities and haven’t listened to this band, get off your ass. Super fun and catchy self loathing pop punk. I hadn’t seen them in years and its awesome to see they keep getting better. They played mostly songs from their full length ‘From the Bottom’ (which you should get ASAP if you haven’t already) and a few older ones. Off With Their Heads definitely had the best response of the night and the onstage banter between songs was just as fun as the songs themselves.

Finally was Crime In Stereo. By the time they started most of the people at the show had left and a crowd of maybe thirty was watching them. This would bum out most bands who had been around as long and done as much as Crime In Stereo, but they still managed to put on a great show. They played a decent mix of old and new songs. Unfortunately the new songs sound too much like Brand New for me to get very stoked on. Hearing a few jams off of troubled stateside got me stoked though. Like I said before, Crime In Stereo played their asses off despite the lackluster crowd.
Overall it was an okay show.

The poor turnout is to be expected since the show was promoted as little as it was. We can all thank Mr. Chan (a bigger pain in the Minnesota music scene's ass than The Vault) for that. But there were some sweet bands and a few good friends.

-Brady Mason

04.13.10: Donnybrook!. Grave Maker. Stand Apart. Relentless.

Tonight, we (Relentless) got the chance to jump on a show with Donnybrook!, Grave Maker, Venia, and locals, Stand Apart. Not knowing what to expect out of a show at The Vault in Buffalo, MN on a Tuesday night, I was anxious on the long drive out there. I have left The Vault many times with a horrible taste in my mouth due to terrible promos, bands, and as a result, draw.

Surprisingly, I saw a decent crowd of kids when I arrived and then hoped for the best! Due to circumstances beyond our control, Relentless played first. I am not going to review my own band for the sake of it being a lame thing to do.

Stand Apart played after us and they got some kids moving. Their cover of "Set It Off" got some dudes from the touring bands to mosh a little and also coaxed Bill to destroy some kids.

Venia, the Buffalo heroes (j/k), were awesome and tight as usual. It is fun to watch the kids lose their minds to this band! They are one of the hardest working bands out there today.

Speaking of hardest working bands, newly signed (to Victory Records) Grave Maker took the stage after teasing Ryan, guitarist of Relentless, with some Slayer riffage. Energy! This band exudes it! I was unaware that so many kids were into this band. Lots of people were singing along and moving in the pit. Hearing the song "Vlad the Impaler" live blew me away. Such a good band that is destined for good things.

The night ended with Donnybrook!, featuring members of Terror, Thick as Blood, and Furious Styles (at least tonight). Again, I wasn't sure how this crowd would react to this band since they really haven't been active for close to five years as far as albums and touring. I was personally stoked to see these guys again. Thinking I might be the only person to sing along, I was proved wrong. The younger crowd surprised me! The banter between songs was fun, and gross at times, "Buffalo, you popped our MN cherry!" Things went downhill quick. They played almost everything off of Lions In the Game, including their cover of District 9, which I was super excited about!

Overall, the night was a success and left me feeling good about what happened!

-Nick Sanchez

Blacklisted. Harm's Way. Arms Aloft. Getting Even.

The show did pretty well, as was expected. Not an insane amount of people but perfect for a big show at the Beat. A fair amount of Twin Cities kids and a lot of out of area kids came out as well. It was good to see some good friends come from Wisconsin, Fargo, and even as far as Winnipeg for the show.

First band on the Bill was Getting Even. Getting Even is definitely one of the best bands coming out of Minnesota right now. These guys play awesome 80's style hardcore punk in the vein of Negative Approach, Circle Jerks, etc. They played fast and solid with a hell of a lot of energy. The only downside of their set was the fact that, similar to most bands like this, all the songs sounded fairly similar. Regardless of this, check this band out and pick up a demo. You won't regret it.

The next band up was Arms Aloft from Eau Claire. Seeing this band is always a treat. They do a damn good job playing catchy pop punk like a handful of awesome bands from around here like D4 and Off With Their Heads. They played a short but sweet set. Always a little hard to hear the vocals in a Venue like the beat but this aside they sounded pretty good.

Next was Harm’s Way. Harm’s Way is a ridiculously heavy metallic straightedge hardcore band from Chicago. They played pretty much all songs off of their new LP ‘Reality Approaches’ and nothing off of their old 7” which sounds a lot more like Infest. Harm’s Way totally killed it, sounding super tight and super heavy. The mosh was definitely brought, even by my uncoordinated out of shape self. The band sounded awesome and with limited ignorance, everyone seemed to have a pretty damn good time.

Finally was Blacklisted. This band has always blown me away live, and as someone who likes the direction their music went I thought there set was phenomenal. This band over the last few albums has evolved from pretty straight forward hardcore into a strange yet cool post-grunge rock kinda thing. The mix of screaming and raspy singing brings for a much more interesting listen than most bands out there. They sounded fantastic and got a pretty good response, at least for the songs they played off Heavier than Heaven, Lonelier than God. Their set may have disappointed a few of the mosh warriors, but seemed to blow away everyone else. I would have preferred to hear a song or two off of The Beat Goes On (Tourist maybe?) but still loved every second of the set.

Overall it was a good show with a good turnout. I'm new to this whole show review thing and this may have sounded like I was just kissing up to every band, but this was a genuinely a good show where all the bands sounded awesome. Well that’s it. Hopefully people can keep shows going at this level, regardless of the size of the touring bands. Peace the fuck out.

-Brady Mason

Weekend Nachos. Relentless. Much Worse. Bring That Shit. Neverender.

So NEVERENDER opened the show. It was their first show, and I was pleasantly surprised. They play mid-tempo hardcore with some hints of melody. The singer was stoked and had good energy. I think as time goes on they will grow into their own.

Second band to play was BRING THAT SHIT, and they brought that shit! With members of local faves, IN DEFENCE and PANDAMONIUM, BRING THAT SHIT plays fast, sloppy, pissed off hardcore. For me, they were the highlight of the night. As mentioned at the show, Triple Rock kitchen staff were in attendance and they knew how to have fun! That being said, the drummer of BRING THAT SHIT had a little temper tantrum that was way out of fucking line! I don't care if you're drunk or not! Don't disrespect the space by throwing your gear around and smashing it on the stage. Not O.K.!

Third was MUCH WORSE who play fast hardcore, but not your average fast, punk riffs. They have their own personality for sure. Their singer, Max, is a definite wild man. He jumps around and yells as if he's hopped up on goof balls! Definitley check them out if you get a chance.

Fourth was local straight edge mosh heads RELENTLESS. Relentless bring the mosh! They were loud as fuck, and tight as always. Their newer songs have a thrashier feel than their earlier stuff, which to me, is a plus.

Last was WEEKEND NACHOS. I still don't understand how this band can bring out pure violence in people. It's something else! First note they played kids started going apeshit. With no real rhythm, which is hilarious! WEEKEND NACHOS blasted through their brand of fast noisy hardcore, and Caution's vocals still sound like MONSTER X, if you're into that sort of thing. Ha!

All in all it was a good night, and a good amount of kids for the Twin Cities on a Sunday night.

- Kevin Herwig

Outbreak. Forfeit. Burning Empires. Ambush. In Defence. High Hopes.

I was looking forward to this show for a while because I wanted to crush my curiosity about a couple of things. First, do people attend shows with mid-level touring bands during the week? Second, what type of people would come out to see Andy Hurley, of Fall Out Boy, play drums in Burning Empires?

I had to roll up to Kinhdo for a pre-game meal, which as always does

not disappoint. Unfortunately, I missed the opener, High Hopes, so I apologize because they are one of the few local bands I have yet to see.

In Defence was the first band I saw. They remind me of early Agnostic Front mixed with some mid-80's crossover bands. This band seems to play a lot of shows in the area but the majority of their local fan base was not in attendance. At times, they received a good response but I thought their set was too long. One thing that stood out to me was that they covered Ready to Fight by Negative Approach. Which got me thinking, why do so many bands cover this song? I would love to hear Tied Down, Can't Tell No One, or even Evacuate. In Defence has been tight every time I’ve seen them although I can’t understand why their front man never stops talking about tacos.

I altogether missed the Ambush set because I was catching up with some friends from Milwaukee that I have not seen in awhile. They sounded decent but I don’t think I missed out on too much.

While Burning Empires set up the room filled with kids wanting to bow at the alter of Andy Hurley. I went in with an open mind because I have been friends with the majority of the band for years but did not want them to be a “good dude” band. The crowd was mixed with core show regulars and your typical teenage Warped Tour combatants. Burning Empires started out pretty weak vocally at first and the guitars were way too low. As the set went on, the vocals became stronger but the guitars continued to be weak. I guess I should not complain because it was in a coffee house after all. Vocalist, Ryan Morgan (Misery Signals), took the time to explain each song, which is something I don’t see many bands do anymore. Of course you do not have to stand up there and give a workshop, but hardcore is built with substance and expressing thoughts and ideals you feel strongly about. Overall, Burning Empires has their own sound that reminds me of Comeback Kid mixed with weirdo elements of Helmet. In the end, they left a good impression on me. I just hope they don't waste their time being a band that loses their identity and passion on package tours.

As expected, some people left after the Hurley experience, but there were a lot of kids that actually stuck around to see the last two bands even though they had probably never heard of them before.

Forfeit from Syracuse, NY came next. I have never seen them before and I'm not into their recordings but I wanted to see if they could kill it live. Kids were totally into it from the first note. You would have thought No Warning was playing because this band had all their moves down. The singer did say that people put way too much into how they look and who cares if you are fat, skinny, or ugly because everyone has bigger problems to deal with. They got the best response of the night for sure, maybe not as many people watching as Burning Empires, but they had sing-a-long’s, bad moshing, and overall your typical late 2000's show action.

Outbreak had their work cut out for them by headlining the evening. I have never been into Outbreak because a few years ago I was tired of how hyped they were yet I thought they were just okay. At this point in the show, the only people left were there to see them. I assume they were playing new songs at the beginning because people were not that into it. When they busted into older songs it seemed to rejuvenate the crowd. The best part about their entire set was this kid who was wearing a Blink-182 shirt and the worst shoes ever, just head banging the whole time. He probably had the most fun of anyone there and I back that because he was just hanging…not trying to flex or impress but just be there to scope bands! Anyway, at times Outbreak were too sloppy for my liking, and maybe that is what they are going for, but they did not really do it for me. Tonight did not change my opinion of them but they do give 100% when they play.

Overall, it was probably the best smaller hardcore show I have been to since moving here. Hopefully kids continue to come out to good hardcore shows and make bands thankful they decided to play in the Twin Cities.

- Jim Grimes

View the CALENDAR for details + even more shows!



Fatal error: Call to a member function asXML() on a non-object in /home/content/46/4763546/html/ssbar.php on line 178