Thursday, October 30, 2008

Live Music Review: The Matches @ The Loft


I believe that The Matches are one of the best bands that no one knows about. They are one of countless bands I have stumbled across at Warped Tour while looking for some shelter form the heat. Since that Warped Tour performance The Matches have gone on to become one of the few bands to hit the scene in the last couple of years that have really grabbed me. There music is a little odd and jumps around a bit. But its hard to find a band that gives as much as they do when they perform. I have never been to a Matches show were the band didn't play their hearts out on stage. Even there roadie comes out and plays guitar and the triangle on a handful of songs. It didn't matter if there was ten or a hundred people in the crowd The Matches played like there was thousand people in attendance. I would like to take a moment to talk about the venue. This was the first time I had ever been to the Loft. Its the venue above the Palladium Ballroom. It could hold may be 200 people. The perfect size for a Matches show. The most impressive thing about the venue was the view of the Dallas sky line from the balcony. I kind of wish they would have more shows at this place. Now back to the Matches. They were on fire this night. They played there best set list by far. I think it was because they had a 40 minute set which gave enough time to play all the songs people wanted here. They played all my favorite songs from E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, Decomposer and A Band in Hope. Every other time I have seen them they had much smaller set times. I'm telling you the Matches are the best band no one knows about. If you don't believe me check them out for yourself. http://www.myspace.com/thematches

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Live Music Review: Alkaline Trio and Thrice @ Red 7 in Austin, TX


A couple of friends and I embarked last Sunday on the trek down to Austin. Hoping to catch the Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice tour. When we walked up to the Austin City Music Hall a sign on the front door said tonight's show was canceled. during the long walk back to the car we met a couple who said that Alkaline Trio and Thrice were going to play at Red 7 a few blocks away. So we jumped in the car and made our way to the club. First thing I would like to point out is that Red 7 is not a very big place and there was no way was no way every person who wanted to was going to get it. Luckily after standing in line for about 45 minutes we were able to get in right as Thrice was walking on to the stage. This is the first time I'd seen Thrice preform live. I had tickets to see them once before but my appendix ruptured and I had to give them away. They were awesome. They lived up to every thing I had heard about there live show. The Alkaline Trio gave an amazing performance as well. The Alkaline Trio are one of my favorite bands of all time and I have seen them a number times before. Overall the show was awesome. It was a rare treat to see two such amazing bands in a small intimate club environment.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Live Music Review: Polysics @ The Prophet Bar

I've managed to see a hand full of Japanese bands over the last couple of years in various cities. The thing I've noticed about Japanese bands is that no matter what style of music they are playing they give great live shows. Always happy to be preforming for you that day. This show was along those lines. The Polysics have this strange electro-clash pop punk sound that would only come out Japan. The band had outstanding stage presence. Any band who is popular enough to travel the globe has to. They used a variety of unique dance moves and talked to the crowd quite a bit through out there show. I was especially entertained by the keyboardist Kayo. Whose performance was similar to that of a robot's. If you are in the mood for some music that's a little different I highly recommend you see them live if you can. That might be hard for some because the band doesn't make to many American appearances. At the very least you can check out some of the bands music on there myspace page. www.myspace.com/polysics

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Bleeding Through - Declaration

I have been of a fan of Bleeding Through since I saw them open for AFI down in Austin in 2003. While I was a fan of the the groups previous album "The Truth" it didn't grab me quite the same way that there metalcore masterpeice "This is Love, This is Muderous" did. Bleeding Through amped up the aggression on this album. The lead singer Brandan Schieppati used his growl more than his medolic voice this time around. The patent Bleeding Through melody is still there on a couple of songs. But not as many as there previous album 'The Truth." When I first put the album in wasn't expecting such a fierce sound. I found it freshing to hear a band become harder as grew older. Instead of the older the softer. This album is a must for any Bleeding Through fan.

Senses Fail - Life is Not a Waiting Room

I when I tell my friends that I’m a fan of Senses Fail I always get puzzled looks. The reason being I’m not normally a fan of screamo/emo type bands. But Senses Fail manages to infuse the screamo sound with a steady dose of post hardcore rifts. Which makes their music a little more aggressive than your average screamo band. The bands lyrics are the one of the first things about Senses Fail that caught my attention. They are about things that just about every body has experienced at some point in their life. This cd slows things down a little bit more (but not a whole lot) than its predecessor "Still Searching". The band takes a more introspective look at the changes a person goes through as they grow older and begin to look at life differently. I don't think this cd will win you over if your not a fan already. But if you are fan and you haven't picked up "Life is Not a Waiting Room" you need to.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Live Music Review: Against Me! at the Ridglea Theater


Against Me is one of those bands I stumbled across by accident. They were playing support for the Alkaline Trio a few years back. Man, am I glad I showed up early to that show. Since that day Against Me has gone on to become one of my favorite bands. I have seen them five times in three different cites over the last couple of years. One of those shows being a very memorable show in Chicago last year. This time around Against Me was on tour for their outstanding album “New Wave”. The thing the gravitated me to this band was how energetic their live show was. Their songs are tailor made to jump around too and sing along with. They also have something to say. Something that I believe missing from most bands these days. Their performance on September 27 at the Ridglea Theater in Ft. Worth had all these attributes. The crowd was far more entertaining than one they had at Warped Tour earlier in the year in Dallas. But Dallas has been know to disappoint. If you haven't heard Against Me yet I highly recommend you give them a listen. You can sample a some of their songs on their MySpace page. www.myspace.com/againstme. If you’re a fan and you haven’t gone to see them live yet; your missing out. Here a couple of videos my brother recorded from the show. Beware though the sound quality isn't so good. Enjoy!!!