How could I forget?!

What am I doing talking about Missy Higgins (see below) when 3OH3! is coming tonight?

Asher introduced me to these guys a few months ago, and all I could do was laugh, cause it's actually good.

Who knows whether or not they started this thing out as a joke or not, but it's not a joke anymore.

3OH3! are white boys from Boulder, CO who rap like Three 6 Mafia. It's actually kind of ridiculous... cause, I'm not kidding, it's good. Really it is. I don't know how. I don't know who they sold their soul to in order to make these beats, but it works. Sometimes I don't believe it, but then I here them on the radio of a retail store in Salt Lake (that actually happened) and I think, I guess people really do like them. How? I just don't know.

My apologies to Missy Higgins, but if you are going to choose a show tonight, I would definitely recommend this one. It'll be way more fun. Really. They'll be at The Avalon theater.



Too funny,
Tim

we're so funny.

the 2008 ap tour stopped by in salt lake last night at the avalon and brought a diverse show with it. starting off the show was forever the sickest kids but, we were less than impressed. they were nothing we haven't heard before. the whole performance looked so planned and came off as a band that is trying too hard: frontman jonathan cook swinging his mic (as if we haven't seen this before) and keyboardist kent garrison doing some half handstands on his keyboard followed by sexual stares into the crowd (not so sexy). we were happy when they finished. up next was former from first to last frontman sonny - say that ten times fast. there's definitely no denying he's talented and can a hold a note. we feel that he was better in fftl but, we applaud the chance sonny has taken with this solo project. we also decided that everyone playing on that stage with sonny was very talented but, when it was all put together something was off. despite that they all had very good stage presence and sonny, especially, looked like he was having a lot of fun - which we like. also, sonny is a wizard and can get from the stage to the middle of the crowd in about .2 seconds...without anybody seeing, or at least me and keni. third up was our first big excitment for the night.....the matches. to put it simply they kicked ass and the only problem we had during their set was the kids next to us. they walked on stage stylish and ready to rock. they were full of energy and sounded as fantastic as ever. to have a voice like frontman shawn harris' and sound as pulled together as they did is a really big deal. their music is a mixture of dance and punk beats and "they brought it. the end. kiss my biast ass. love sam. just kidding. but seriously," sam verbalizes. "so moving on," utters keni. all time low took the stage next and they began with a humorous PSA about the vulgarity of the language that might be included in their set. this proved to be somewhat true but their dirty mouths also produced some good songs such as "coffee shop soundtrack" and "six feet under the stars". all in all they know how to entertain ;). finally, after 5,000 hours, the rocket summer was up. bryce avary came out with much vivacity and a smile already on that seemed to set the upbeat mood of the rest of the night. starting off with "break it out" and ending with "colors" there was no room for disappointment.

love,
sami and keni.

party like a rockstar.

last night the avalon was jam-packed with awesomeness. cry of the afflicted, pierce the veil, as cities burn, mayday parade, and emery played, overall, one hell of a show. i didn't get to see cry of the afflicted play, but from what i've heard off their myspace they are a sweet solid state band with a sound similar to story of the year. you'll definitely want to check them out and snag "take this day"; available to download on their purevolume: here. i got there when pierce the veil started. it took me a minute to decide whether or not i liked them, but after they played their version of michael jackson's "beat it" i was sold. ptv is a band that's all about having fun and rockin' out. frontman vic fuentes has a unique voice that gets their party going. the band as a whole had really good energy while playing and the crowd enjoyed their rock/metal/party sound; as did i. also, feel free to download a couple of songs for you listening pleasure at their myspace: here. to my surprise as cities burn was next. but, even still, they did an absolutely amazing job with their disappointingly short set. they played some of my favorite songs including, but not limited to (ha), "our world is grey" and "bloodsucker pt. II". even without former member, tj bonette's screams it was still a very good performance. i have a lot of respect for acb moving forward and using the talent they still have instead of calling it quits. so all in all it bummed me out that they couldn't play all night. the majority of the kids at this show seemed to be there for the next band up: mayday parade. since the release of their newest album, "a lesson in romantics", word has been spreading of this pop-punk band. frontman derek sanders got into his groove with a mic swinging and hair flipping routine that reminded me of adam lazarra. they were fun to say the least. their dance-a-ble beats were only lacking the unique and powerful vocals of former member, jason lancaster (now frontman for go radio). without him the performance seemed to faulter on certain songs such as "when i get home you're so dead"; deeming the last time i saw them live to be much better. and last, but definitely not least, emery. even the fading size of the crowd after mayday didn't stop emery from putting on one of the best performances i've seen. the way i can best describe the overall feel to this set is chaotic harmony. each band member was doing their own thing, but it all somehow fit together. and with josh head (who was at one point in the crowd being held; standing straight on top of 20-or-so hands), devin shelton, and toby morrel all switching up on the vocals a unique energy pulled the crowd in. and it was this energetic performance that made me quite glad i had attended and also wonder why the new album, "i'm only a man", wasn't getting such great reviews. i figure it's because whoever doesn't enjoy it hasn't seen an emery performance quite like last night. so to sum it all up: there was fun, dancing, singing, screaming, mic-swinging, crowd...standing, and lots of partying rockstars. touché.

i apologize for my delay.

wednesday night i went to the avalon to see straylight run perform. the opening bands for the night were cassino, dear and the headlights, and the color fred. friends of mine wanted to get there early so the front row is where i ended up. and considering how little standing room seems to be left in the venue after poor re-modeling this was a very good thing. cassino came on first. their music was very chill and relaxing, but their performance was somewhat disappointing. my friends argued amongst themseleves about whether or not the band actually was happy about being there. personally, i'm on the side that they weren't. the most energy from the band came from their drummer. i loved watching her play. apart from that they came on, played, and went off - minus a few attempts at self-promotion. telling everyone the location of their merch was all that they said. i didn't even know who they were until dear and the headlights went on and process of elimination came into play. the other side of this argument was: hey, maybe they have just had a bad night and they aren't really up to playing a show right now. it's possible. the show was moved back an hour and a half to begin with due to weather conditions the bands went through to get to ol' utah. also, the keyboardist was drinking/drunk the entire time. so i guess we'll never know. anyway, moving on. dear and the headlights went up next. from the moment they stepped on stage the entire atmosphere changed. they were all energetic, plus looking very excited and happy. they were a really good surprise. i'd heard the name before, but unfortunately until the other night i've never had the pleasure of hearing them. they have an upbeat indie sound with clever lyrics. this music is also good for some dancing, if you're into that. frontman ian metzger was really getting into it: dancing and clapping, you know - putting off a good vibe. i also really enjoyed watching how pj waxman (guitars, vocals) and chuckie duff (bass, keys) interacted with one another. it was like a brotherly sort of thing and they were just having a good time. needless to say i did purchase the cd and now it's my recent obsession. the color fred was after them and he was another one of those bands i'd heard of but not heard. i was looking forward to it because a side project of taking back sunday has to be interesting, right? and he was very good - an alternative/powerpopish (can i say that?) sound. fred mascherino even played one of his songs acoustic without his band. the only problem i had with this set wasn't anything to do with him at all, just the sound. the mics seemed to be turned down and the guitars were turned up. a very killah guitar solo was thrown in there, but making out the lyrics the rest of the time was difficult. in a way i still have yet to actually hear fred. so to start off for straylight run: i really wanted this show to be better. the last time seeing them was just...alright. nothing compared to what i expected after being in love with their self-titled album that was so powerful and amazing. can i throw in really fast that i find this band beautiful? they came on looking great and responded to the crowd in a very cool, collected, and caring manner. after every song john nolan wouldn't waste time genuinely thanking everyone for showing up and and listening to their music. the set couldn't have been better, unless of course they played "another word for desperate". but, besides that, the set was a good mix of old and new material. their newer songs are more...cheery (i suppose you could say) and poppy than the old, but still very nice and with an upside of more vocals from the ever lovely michelle darosa. my favorite song played was "hands in the sky (big shot)" and an acoustic version of "your name here (sunrise highway)" played solo by mr. nolan. maybe it's just those songs with parenthesis that i like so much. they finished by peforming the songs they would've used for an encore. this way when they actually did come back on for an encore it was more spontaneous. for this spontaneous encore they played "the perfect ending" (i'd say so...ha) and "tool sheds and hot tubs". those are two songs i didn't expect to see live so all in all their set was very much appreciated by myself and the rest of the crowd. the power that was lacking in the last straylight show i saw was made up for in this one by a long shot. i just noticed how long this article turned out to be. sorry for that. if only i could put this much effort into my english papers...