Dredg/Circa Survive Concert

After every Circa Survive concert that I have been to, I've thought that it was the best concert that I've ever seen, and this time was no exception. They just keep improving their show. They expanded their setlist, added a captivating light show, had glow-stick filled beach balls bouncing over the audience, and as always, displayed their immense musical talent.

Before the actual concert, I was able to attend an acoustic performance with the band where they played "unplugged" versions of Get Out, Imaginary Enemy, I Felt Free, and Every Way. The set had a very personal feeling, with the small stage and crowd, and the band sounded excellent. It was a great beginning for the evening, which just got better from there.

The first opening band at the concert was Animals As Leaders, a band I hadn't heard of before the show, but one that I very much enjoyed. Their lineup of two guitarists and a drummer (who really impressed me with his relentless style) played an intense set of instrumental progressive metal that was quite irresistible live, and I'd definitely recommend checking out. After them Codeseven was up, and, while not as impressive as the first band, they were decent enough.

Dredg was awesome to see live, playing their dynamic style of progressive rock. Their guitarist laid down some catchy hooks while Gavin Hayes' vocals ranged from soothing to shouting, and occasional keyboards added an additional element of complexity. At times mellow, then crescendoing into a heavier rock section, then a dance-ready groove, their set had a lot of variety. This very talented band makes quality music that deserves so much more attention than it gets (so if you haven't heard them listen to them, and I'll review an album of theirs soon,) and they have a new album coming out next year.

At last, it was time for Circa Survive. With a huge banner of the Blue Sky Noise album cover as the backdrop, the band entered the stage, and although I've seen them several times this year, they amazed me yet again. They opened with the first three tracks of their latest album, and from there, played a nice mix of older and newer songs including In Fear And Faith, Mandala, and The Difference Between Medicine and Poison. There were also some unexpected additions, like when Anthony brought out the acoustic guitar for the intimate Spirit Of The Stairwell. The new interludes they played in between some of their songs were fun to hear, and may offer a taste of what The Appendage EP (which is now available for pre-order here and is out November 30) has in store. The music and vocals were perfect, and Anthony provided his entertaining, talkative, and at times hilarious, stage presence I have come to expect. Circa closed with an encore of Compendium and the wistful Dyed In The Wool, which seemed a fitting and satisfying ending for most spectacular concert I've attended.

-T

PS. I still want to see Circa play Fever Dreams live. Hopefully they will next time.

Bayside/Senses Fail Concert

I attended the Bayside concert last Saturday, and they are incredible live. After enduring the mediocre at best opening bands, Bayside played a perfect set featuring a lot of songs off The Walking Wounded, a few off their self titled and Shudder albums, and their new song Already Gone. They are amazingly talented musicians, and Anthony's voice is possibly even better live than on the albums; he sings with an added energy and plenty of help from the audience. One of my favorite parts was watching their unbelievable guitarist Jack O'Shea shred on the solos. One thing I would have changed about the set was their cover of My Name Is Jonas. While it is fun to see a band do a good cover of a song they like, it would have been more satisfactory to see them play another of their own songs (perhaps I and I or Masterpiece.)

I would have loved it if Bayside could have played for the remainder of the concert, but instead their set ended and Senses Fail played next. They played an enjoyable set, but had one problem with their live performance: the vocals. Buddy sounded far better singing the band's newer songs than their older material. I guess he just doesn't have the range he used to, and couldn't hit many of the high notes on songs like The Irony Of Dying On Your Birthday. This is understandable though as it has been about six years since the release of that album, and other than that, they were fun to watch.

-T

Minus the Bear Concert

This weekend has been amazing. Alek and I got to see Minus the Bear and they were very enjoyable. The opening bands were also both great. First was Mini Mansions, a three part band (drums, keyboard, and bass) who put on a very energetic live performance playing unique, groovy jams. Everest played next, with classic rock tinged style, and an awesome drum battle that really got the crowd involved.
Finally it was time for Minus the Bear to play. They put on an engaging show that had us all dancing, singing along, and pumping our fists to the choruses. Minus the Bear played a long set with a satisfying variety of old and new, mellow and dancey songs, and then came back onstage for a three song encore of The Fix, Into The Mirror, and Absinthe Party. Definitely a fun and memorable concert.

-T

Portugal. The Man Concert

Last night I went to see a Portugal. The Man concert. Needless to say, it was amazing. I expected them to be good, but their show completely exceeded my expectations. It started out with a great opening performance by Morning Teleportation. I had never heard of them previous to the show, but they were very enjoyable with both good music and an entertaining performance. Next was The Builders And The Butchers, who were alright, but not as good as the other two bands.

Then the moment I had been anticipating all evening. The stage filled with fog and then, in the midst of it, Portugal. The Man started their set. They sounded just as good, possibly even better, than on their albums. Their live performance had so much energy, which really brought the music to life. It was accompanied by a dope light show, which matched their music perfectly, and was one of the best light shows I have seen. They played a good variety of songs, both newer (The Sun, Do You, People Say) and older (Chicago,) and they even played an epic version of my favorite song of theirs, AKA M80 The Wolf complete with an improvised jam session in the middle. They played this song last, and when they finished the last crowd assisted, "I am but a man, but a proud, proud man," the place erupted in applause and then chanting for one more song. Portugal. The Man was happy to return to stage to play the beautiful acousic song Created, and then 1989, which was a great closer for the night. I'd recommend definitely attending Portugal. The Man when they play near you; I know I'll be going back to their next show.

-T

Best Concert Ever!

As I expected, the Coheed & Cambria and Circa Survive concert was incredible! To start the night off, me and my friends attended an acoustic performance and signing by Coheed at Graywhale music store. After quite a wait in line, we finally made it into the store and crowded around the stage. Coheed played a three song set, Here We Are Juggernaut, which sounded really cool acoustic, Pearl Of The Stars, and closed with Welcome Home. They sounded great acoustic, and this got me really pumped for the actual concert, which we headed over to after getting some stuff signed.

We got there just before Circa Survive started playing, and pushed up to the front. The band came onto the stage amidst a roar of applause and Anthony announced "We're Circa Survive and this song is called Get Out!" and then started jamming. It was a great opener to their set, which included some songs off their new album like Glass Arrows, Strange Terrain, Through The Desert Alone, and Imaginary Enemy, and some off their older albums like The Glorious Nosebleed, In Fear And Faith, The Great Golden Baby, Stop The Car, Living Together, and In The Morning And Amazing. They have so much energy in their onstage presence, which makes watching them really fun, plus they sound just as boss as they do on their albums, if not better. Anthony Green is a perfect entertainer, with his top notch singing, dancing across the stage, and talking to the crowd, and the entire band really showed off how truly talented they are. I would have enjoyed listening to them for at least twice as long as they played, but unfortunately their set had to end.

Then it was Coheed's turn to rock my face off, and they did just that, starting with One and The Broken. Then they proceded to play many of my favorite songs of theirs, some old some new. Off of Second Stage they played Time Consumer and Everything Evil, off of In Keeping Secrets they played the title track, Three Evils, Al The Killer, A Favor House Atlantic, and 2113, off Good Apollo they played Welcome Home, and off No World For Tomorrow they played the title track, and off Year of the Black Rainbow, they played Here We Are Juggernaut, Pearl of the Stars, Made Out Of Nothing, World of Lines, Guns of Summer, and a beautiful acoustic version of Far. Claudio and his hair did great on the vocals, with backup vocals from the crowd on every song, and all of the band put on a great performance full of mind blowing solos, a great encore, and sounded just as epic, if not more, than they do on their albums. I loved every minute of this concert and eagerly await the return of both bands. If you want to hear the best music you'll ever hear, get their albums and go see them when they come to your area! If not, why are you reading this?



-T

Coheed And Circa Concert Tonight!!

Ahh! So excited for tonight! Gonna see my two favorite bands, Coheed & Cambria and Circa Survive, play and going to an acoustic Coheed set before the show, so it should be an amazing evening. I would recommend everyone join me at this concert (or go see Coheed and Circa when they come to your area) as it is sure to be epic.

Also, we never posted anything on PPSK about The Fall of Troy concert that Alek and I attended a few weeks ago, so just wanted to give them a shout out and say thanks for the incredible performance and wish them luck with their future projects. We got to meet them and talk to them after and they were the coolest guys!

-T

Scary Kids Scaring Kids!

We are going to see Scary Kids Scaring Kids! So pumped to see them in concert again, the show's definitely gonna be awesome, they always put on an great show live. We'll write a post about it after we see them, and y'all should go see them as well since this is their farewell tour! So go support one of the best bands out there and see Scary Kids Scaring Kids one last time. I guarentee it'll be worth it!

Check out tour dates and listen to Scary Kids on their myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/scarykids

PS. Scary Kids Scaring Kids is definitely one of the coolest band names ever.

-T