Figured this would come...Show reviews #1-4

I have been meaning to find a way to keep track of all of the shows I attend. And might as well review em too. It'll help me remember what bands to avoid like the plague.

For 2009, I've only attended 4 gigs. Would have been more had I not contracted the flu and was thus forced to stay out of commission for a few weeks. These reviews will be a little short, but the ones in the future will be more detailed.

Calling on Revenge @ Luckys Pub 01/02/09
Virgins/Gatorface/Battle! @ The Soapbox (Downstairs) 01/26/09
Indifference (final show)/Soul Control/Roam Alone/Nations @ The Hazmat 02/08/09
Catalepsy/Oceano/Acirema/A Sunset Mourning @ Luckys Pub 02/12/09


#1:
Calling on Revenge-It was fun set to shoot, and every person in this band is pretty righteous. Well, at least the people I know. I just can't get over how this band used to be the Ivy League, and now they sound like He is Legend now. I didn't watch any of the other bands on the bill, nor did I have interest to. Jimbo (the bassist for COR) said the next time I go to one of their shows, he'll put me on the guestlist. Cool.


#2:
This was in the soapbox downstairs, much to my surprise. I really thought more people would show up for Battle!, but I guess most of their fans from town were waiting to see them with Indifference the next day. They did a good job, did a cover that I couldn't remember. Gatorface was kinda standard stuff. Got some pretty cool shots of them. I enjoyed Virgins' set, wish I could have bought one of their records. Kinda reminded me of a more controlled Paint it Black at times.


#3:
I really wasn't too ecstatic on this show, but when I heard it was Indifference's final gig, I decided to travel down. First off, the Hazmat (which is basically a warehouse that doubles as a practice space) rules. Very DIY, all good dudes running it. Photographers would have a blast there. Nations were awesome, band is so heavy. Roam Alone were cool, too much mosh at times for me. The crowd went bananas for em. They drove up at the last minute to play when they heard Indifference were calling it quits. Soul Control were pretty good. Very melodic, real change of pace from Roam Alone. I didn't know they were sporting a new singer. They closed with a cover of Refused's "Rather Be Dead." That makes two times in 3 months I've heard that cover, the other who performed it was FC5. Indifference closed the show, and two songs in, their singer Patrick gets punched in the face (it's debatable if it was intentional or not) and breaks his nose. He's out for a few tracks, while Justin, the old singer from At Half-Mast, and some other dude I didn't recognize, took over vocal duties. Justin sang the cover of "The Storm" by Judge and Patrick came in for the last two songs. They closed with a cover of "AM/PM" by American Nightmare, where Patrick gave the mic for the chorus two separate times to those who knew the lyrics. For a brief time period, I was a frontman. And man did it drain my voice. But it ruled. Everyone hugged at the end, but the good vibes were brought down once you went outside. Patrick and some members of this crew called "Get Wrecked Hate Crew" were loudly arguing over the punch. It was a bummer to see such negativity after something so tremendous, but mercifully no fights broke out. R.I.P. Indifference.

#4:
This show was just laughably bad. I had a debate: either go to this and watch Acirema play as a 3 piece, or go see the new Friday the 13th film, which I had no real desire to see unless it was with other people (and if I was preferably intoxicated). I chose the former. I got there a little late, hoping I'd missed A Sunset Mourning. Found out Too Pure to Die, who were supposed to headline, dropped off due to a van mishap. Oh well. I've been to a few gigs with these guys on the bill, and managed to avoid them every time. Not this time. I suppose it had to come sooner or later. It was really bad deathcore, with all the little kids from Shallotte who you never see at shows mawshin' it up. Acirema went on after them and man, they really need a singer. I know Dave just quit and all, but this was just...not very good. The bassist situation be damned, I've seen these boys almost 20 times, and this was their weakest performance by far. Some random dude got up to do vocals on the last song. Oceano were up next. I remember seeing their bassist wearing a Harm's Way shirt in their promos, and I thought that was kinda rad. That's the only good thing I could say about this band. BREAKDOWN AFTER BREAKDOWN AFTER BREAKDOWN AFTER BREAKDOWN. These guys are on the same label that used to have Morbid Angel and Napalm Death. I keep repeating this to myself. And feeling sad. When you're even more monotonous than Emmure, that's saying something. I didn't know if I should stick around or go home, until I saw that Catalepsy had two singers. That was enough to convince to go home and read comics for the remainder of the night. I guess the only good thing I got out of this show was watching all the band dancing and moshing and spotting a couple of cute scene girls. That's it.