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.

On Hard Core Shows And Their Loyal Scene Kids

lawrence (new sound guy at the cafe and guitarist from bastian) and i went to the hardcore show tonight at saltair. among the nineteen bands on the bill, we saw the devil wears prada, scary kids scaring kids and emery.

i am not a hardcore screamo kid, but went to see some old friends and had a great time seeing them. here's what i learned about hardcore shows and the scenesters that make it tick.

1. if underoath ever dies we have a spare (besides every screamo band of the last few years). the devil wears prada is good, but they're awfully similar to uo.

2. one raver can wreck a show for 1,000 kids. seriously who thinks that anything at saltair is a rave? if you see 50 other tweakers busting out their glow sticks, then please, join them. if you're the only one though, keep it in your pocket and wait til you're in front your hallway mirror.

3. scene kids = black t-shirts. it's been a few years since my last hardcore show, are we really still on black t-shirts? really?

4. emery should get another guitarist if they want to continue as a band. one guitar for a hard band is not enough to win over a 1,000 kiddos just waiting around to hear "walls" before the next band one takes the stage.

5. sexy dancing should never happen. especially at a hardcore show. if alcohol makes you want to sexy dance with your lady, then don't drink at a hardcore show.

6. hardcore bands = weird keyboardists. keyboarders? keyists? whatever they're called, you better have one and he'd better dance around like he has a fish in his pants and play about four notes per song. if possible, he should at some point, crowd surf during a guitar solo.

i'm going to mewithoutyou and brand new and thrice on saturday, so i may have a part two to this blog. and as a side note, why is mewithoutyou touring with hard bands?