Taking in 3 concerts this past week was a little taxing on the body, and as a result I’ve come down with a cold.. Probably caught it while moshing on Monday.
Unfortunately, the camera restrictions put on the Agricom and Rexall place didn’t allow pictures, but I’ll put some pictures up soon of Yellowcard (and friends) at Reds soon.
Seeing Alexisonfire Monday night was incredible, I haven’t moshed that hard in a very long time and we had so much fun. I even had a bruise of a bootprint on my forehead as a demonstration of the chaos on the floor. I lifted 5 or 6 folks, and had to duck/assist another 2 dozen surfers just over my head alone.
Alexisonfire wasn’t the headliner, but as the 3rd band on stage they played for over an hour and were much loved by the screaming fans. The sheer power and energy of the show was off the hook, the guitarists jump around the stage and into each other for the whole set, while playing some stunningly fast bars. The guys were funny and entertaining throughout, I can’t wait to see them again, the music and energy really make them stand out.
Day of Contempt (opening) and Underoath (2nd) both had really great sets. Day of Contempt had a lot of fun (Australians usually do) and I’ll be looking for their music in the future. The closing religious disclaimer by Underoath about loving Jesus and respect for those who don’t seemed an unnecessary use of the stage as a pulpit.
Street Drum Corps (4th) was like a heavy metal version of the Blue-Man-Group and was impressive to see in-person. these guys kept the crowd entertained using some awesome makeshift drums, including metal trash cans, plastic trash cans, and a fire extinguisher, amongst other things.
The Used (headlining) was way too loud (excessively so), with a decent performance and a set of some of their newer music. Their lead singer has a serious God complex, but with the largest fan base present it didn’t seem like anyone minded too much.
We went to System of a Down on Tuesday night, and after a tiring performance by The Mars Volta (they take ‘Rocking Out’ WAAAAAY too far — turning 4min songs into 40min epics) were treated to one of the best concerts I have ever seen. System of a Down was simply fucking awesome.
We didn’t have floor tickets for this show, but the whole coliseum was standing, everyone knowing all the words to every song and having a screaming good time. The stage layout was simple and the least cluttered of any of the shows I have seen and led to much on-stage movement and really put the attention on the band.
On Friday night, I had the fortune of attending a Yellowcard show at Red’s. They were as amazing as ever, and though the crowd was pretty young (all-ages), everyone was still having a good time. There was a bit of Moshing/Crowd Surfing in this show but pretty mild in comparison to the other two shows I saw this week. They played all of the old favorites, some newer stuff, and finished the 3rd Encore with a stunning rendition of Ocean Avenue.
Opening for Yellowcard was Rufio and Moneen; Both had good performances, Rufio had a little more fun and had the crowd enjoying themselves more, but Moneen’s music was harder and more akin to Alexisonfire (who they happen to be releasing a split CD with.)
The ringing in my ears was well worth the fun had this week.
