Well to start off the night I missed the up and coming local favorite Pinsky. Caught the tail end of their last song of the set which sounded great. I'm sure they put on a great show because those boys never ever disappoint in any of the times that I have seen them. Much love to them and hopefully I will get to see them again soon. Next up was Ocean is Theory out of Atlanta, Georgia. They put on a fantastic set mixing post hardcore with indie elements. I really dug their sound as I hadn't really listened to much of them in the past. Surprised that they aren't signed yet, I see a lot of potential in them to make a really solid record in the future.
Next came Gabriel The Marine, probably one of the most up and coming talented bands to grace this scene. Mixing tons of sounds and creating something truly original these guys go unmatched by all. Their sound is like a mix of a pop orientated Manchester Orchestra meets As Tall As Lions meets Anthony Green who also plays violin while he howls. For being so young this band is extremely tight live and played each and every song note for note, even better than studio quality at times. Michael, the singer shows incredible range for someone who is only a year out of high school, something reminiscent of old school Anthony Green. It seems like they have been doing this for years but in all reality they are still learning the ropes but prove to be one band you need to keep your finger on. If you ever get the chance to see these boys any where near you do not think about it twice, they will prove you wrong time and time again. This is one of New Yorks next big bands to break with The Republic of Wolves. Here are some pictures my friend took.
Finally John Nolan played. One of my personal heroes who has wrote music that has been influential to me since I was a young angsty teenager up until now a growing and confused college kid. Let's just get this out of the way and say that Taking Back Sunday died when John Nolan left the band. This man was the reason they released a classic record, and it shows when he plays live. His voice just contains so much raw emotion and passion that it's chilling. I'm glad that he left to pursue the music he wanted to make because it is honestly a 1000 steps up from what he use to do. Even though it was just him on stage with his acoustic guitar he controlled the stage and serenaded a small crowd of about 30 but in a fashion that the number witnessing wasn't important at all. After playing some solo songs, some Straylight Run songs, and an Elliot Smith cover John finished up his set with his first single off of Height with Gabriel The Marine as his backing band and a phenomenal one at that. Everything was spot on and they completely killed it. After the show I talked with John and he was such a nice and humble musician, a true class act. Same to be said for Gabriel The Marine, these kids with the right connections will be on their way to the top. Mark my words and jump on the bandwagon now before it's too late.
Michael, Myself, and John.
All pictures are courtesy of Emma Lichtman, everyone check out her other pictures. She's majoring in photography and would love the support.
In the same vein as my last blog post I'm still amped about getting to see John Mayer so I have been watching him live all night. So for anyone else who is up drinking kombucha green tea, baking my mom a birthday cake, and finishing up my year end list.
Albums of the year tomorrow probably. I hope people actually like it, I took quite some time with this.
I don't want this to sound like a typical parent complaining blog but I just need to vent. I told my parents about a month ago that I was going to three shows in one week. They gave me the okay, no real issues. So this week comes along and what do ya know, they changed their minds. My mom said 3 shows was a little excessive for a school week, which I understood. So I told her I would cut out the Dance Gavin Dance show. That left me with All Time Low and Sparks The Rescue on Monday night and Ben Folds on Tuesday. Well after work I came home to my father screaming at me telling me two shows in one week is too much so I need to choose. The kicker is, I bought two tickets for Ben Folds, but I would have rather gone to All Time Low. That was last night when he broke this news to me. I tried to dump my BF tickets all day today, I cut the price, offered people the chance to pay later, let them use my GPS to find their way there and nothing worked out. As I was leaving school I happened to ask a teacher what she was doing Tuesday night, and she asked me why? I told her I had two tickets to Ben Folds and she was in awe that something like this could happen to her. She told me that she had been trying to win a pair of tickets on the radio and was asking people if they wanted to go with her if she won. So I gave her my number (oh yeahhhh) and told her to give me a call by 5 because I needed to know in time to make ATL. She never called me, so I'm stuck with my BF tickets, which I'm happy with. I have just been dying to see ATL for years now.
So I decide to go to a local restaurant with friends to get it off my mind. I get on my laptop and check my twitter to find a tweet from Jack (ATL) saying that they are going to play old songs tonight. You fucking kidding me? The ATL I fell in love with, and I'm missing it. So just when I think things couldn't get worse, I get a text message. It came from A Skylit Drive, who I don't even really listen to. But they had a contest thing for whoever signed up for their mobile street team would be added in a contest for two free tickets to their show in your town. Lucky me, I fucking won. So I have tickets to see BF and I won tickets to go see Dance Gavin Dance. Now I have to try to get my parents to let me go.
That Keith Goodwin, Daniel Schwartz, and Tim Arnold are angels. I have no other explanation for how amazing they are at what they do.
Last night (12/18/08) I witnessed Good Old War perform for the second time in less then six months. My loss of words is most likely the best way to describe their live performance. The first time that I saw them they played all of their instruments and made a completely pop folk album sound so heavy and amazing. But last night was a completely different atmosphere. The crowd probably consisted of about a good 50 people as they performed an acoustic set. On top of the fact they they perform better live then they do on record isn't why last night was such an amazing experience. The fact that they made you feel at home while they played gave you the feeling you were a part of the band. It was also a great moment when a good number of the people in attendance new the majority of the words creating a heavenly chorus for the guys. I think the best way to prove that they have mastered their music is when they played "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" a Crosby, Stills, and Nash cover and did the legends justice by outdoing the original by far.
When it comes to music I don't think there is anything Good Old War can't do, but I will be there to witness every bit of it.
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