This was my first time at Rams Head, and I liked it a lot. The lack of a separate bar section makes for a more diverse crowd, and there was a great atmosphere. The show was somewhat oversold, though, so many people were stuck in the not one but two balconies-a bit frustrating for a hardcore show. I, however, was down front, so my problem was more along the lines of being crushed against the barrier.
Opening act Emarosa put on a fairly good show, with excellent vocals that for some reason reminded both me and several people around me of an R&B singer (the clean vocals anyway). This might have been part of the frontman's performance style, since he danced around sort of like an R&B singer would.
Next up was Sky Eats Airplane, who were very impressive live. Great crowd interaction, facilitated by platforms built for the frontman's antics, along with some intense breakdowns and excellent screaming made for a great atmosphere.
A large portion of the crowd was there to see A Day To Remember, even more than TDWP. I've never been able to take them completely seriously, considering I first heard them through their cover of "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (which they managed to restrain themselves from playing) and always thought they sounded like a pop punk band with some screaming. Their live show changed my mind completely. Though catchy, they are actually very hardcore, with great breakdowns, especially on their newer material-including one song where Mike from TDWP (who was missing a few teeth) joined them on stage. The crowd was all theirs, singing and screaming along to nearly every lyric, even those from the new album, but especially to closer "The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle".
The Devil Wears Prada has been one of my favorite hardcore bands since I first saw them at Purple Door a couple years ago. They put on an insane live show, and this was no exception. From the moment they ran out on stage, the packed house went nuts. Running through a slew of their older material and a few songs off the soon-to-be-released "With Roots Above and Branches Below", along with their amazing cover of the Big Tymers' "Still Fly" from the Punk Goes Crunk compilation, they closed with an epic encore of "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" My only disappointment was that I had a fractured pinky still in a splint from the Flatfoot 56 show (review here) and couldn't go in the pit. Overall, it was a great night.
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That is hilarious, i've always thought that about Jonny (emarosa), especially before when he was in Dance Gavin Dance, haha.
ReplyDeleteand, ADTR.. is amazing, period.