Show Review:: The Art of Tour 3/25

Photo by Caitlyn Willard

No one ever expects a Tuesday night to be anything more than JUST a Tuesday night. Things change, however, when one of your favorite bands decide to play a venue near you. And then of course, your Tuesday night gets a million times better.

This was one of the first shows in quite some time where I actually got to the venue early enough to catch every single opener – and I was so glad that I did. Walking into Starland Ballroom, there was already a huge crowd formed when openers, The New Royalty, took the stage. We actually interviewed these guys about two years ago (which you can see here). The New Royalty aren’t new to performing in front of large audiences since they’ve performed at Bamboozle and opened for Big Time Rush at Six Flags back in 2011, but this was quite different. Most New Jersey bands dream of performing at Starland Ballroom, a venue that hosted shows for Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Blink 182, and Twisted Sister (this May)! For a band that has been slowly making big strides, the crowd was completely into The New Royalty’s set and their excitement radiated throughout the room.

Following The New Royalty was Crash the Party – a band I had heard of before, but never really listened to. Though you could hear some off-pitch notes here and there, there was so much energy from the band that just made the audience want to hear more. And that’s exactly what they got. Mid-set, Crash the Party announced that their EP released the same day as Frozen…so of course, they covered “Let It Go”….and it was pretty amazing. Makes me really wish that Fearless (or any other label, for that matter) would put together some sort of “Punk Goes Disney” CD. Come on, how awesome would that be?! Regardless, the band put together an awesome set and in conjunction with The New Royalty, the crowd was even rowdier than before!

The last opener was one that I’ve been familiar with for years. I first saw This Century back in 2011 and I honestly have not really listened to them since, but the second they hit the stage and started their set, I immediately regretted it. These guys have grown so much as a band and it was amazing to see how much energy they put into their set. You could really see how much they loved performing in front of a room full of people and just making everyone dance, sing, and have a freakin awesome time! If you haven’t seen or listened to these guys before, please do yourself a favor and check them out because I only expect even bigger and better things to come from them.

Finally, after nearly 2 hours from first walking into the venue, it was time for We The Kings. The room immediately burst into screams and cheers as each member appeared on stage and started off with “Queen of Hearts”, which the band was recording the music video for throughout the tour. Each night, one of the members of We The Kings (or one of the crew-members) would be wearing Google Glass to film the crowd and the bands performance. This was my third time seeing the band perform and this ultimately topped any other performance they’ve given. The band played a mix of songs from their new album, Somewhere Somehow, and even included some old favorites from their first/self-titled album, We The Kings. One of the highlights from the night would be when the band performed “I Feel Alive.” This is probably my favorite song from their latest album, so I was pretty excited when they started to play it. The best part – lead singer, Travis Clark, told the audience prior to performing the song that they would need to know 2 different dance moves: the Sorority Squat and another which including flailing your arms around as if you were going crazy. What I didn’t expect was for the entire audience to actually follow along with both dance moves during the song, but they did and it was one of the most hilarious things I had ever seen.

We the Kings put together an amazing set and ended the night with “Check Yes Juliet,” a definite crowd favorite. During one point of this song, the band had stopped performing and the entire audience was SCREAMING. And I don’t mean that they were screaming for a couple seconds because of how much they loved the song. What I mean is that the entire band literally stopped playing every instrument as the entire crowd screamed for a good minute or two. It was fucking loud. Now, I’m only 21, but I was definitely one of oldest people in the crowd and somehow managed to stand next to all the parents who had taken their kids to the show, and looking at them you could see every parent covering their ears because of how insanely loud it got. And even though it gave me the worst headache afterwards, it made me love the night that much more. The amount of excitement, passion and energy that was in Starland Ballroom that night was incredible and was something you wouldn’t understand unless you were in the room yourself.

The band recently wrapped up their tour, but you can catch We The Kings on Warped Tour this entire summer. Trust me when I say that you’ll definitely want to check them out.

Show Review:: Take Action Tour; 3/30

Take Action Tour
3/30/2014 – 7pm. 
Upstate Concert Hall 

The end of winter is always a pretty disgusting time. It rains constantly, which means all of the snow is melting into this gross, sloshy mess. There’s not really any grass yet, so tramping around in mud becomes a daily thing. And it’s grey. Everything is grey. All the time. 

That’s what it was like outside on the day of the Take Action! Tour in Clifton Park; gloomy, dull, dreary, bleak.

Luckily, inside, it was a much different story – pack wall-to-wall with bright, lively, anticipatory chatter.

When I first reviewed Dangerkids’ debut album a while back, there were the wary critics that warned about their sound coming off as gimmicky. I kept this in mind, but very soon found myself not concerned with this, drawn in by how well it was executed. As taken as I was, I didn’t take into consideration how well their intensity and energy would translate to a live show. And that was a mistake. Their set, which ran just short of thirty minutes, brought their rap/rock sound and their hardcore mindset to life beautifully and was easily one of the better opening acts I’ve seen. There was an undeniable buzz throughout the building, where established fans mixed with people who had just watched a band they were now going to spend time following – perfect execution from an opening act. 

To follow, Australia’s I Killed the Prom Queen, kept things rolling along. Being regulars to the area, I had seen this band perform a handful of times. But, something each time just hadn’t clicked before. Since their last round, either I’ve become a better listener or they’ve honed their sound since their last visit, probably both, but this time was their best performance to date. Despite a minor technical flaw, leaving the clean vocal microphone inaudible and low, they still managed. They left nothing on the table for closer “Say Goodbye” which turned out to be their strongest moment. This can be taken two ways – on a positive note, the band finished impressively strong, though during the rest of their time, they just couldn’t match what they produced at the end. 

If there was any indication of a lull or a calming within the crowd between acts, The Ghost Inside shattered it in seconds. It had been a year or two since the last time I got to watch this band (Warped 2012 I believe?) and I think I forgot just how great it is to see then perform. Hearing the crowd shout “What do you stand for?” in unison during “Between the Lines,” fists in the air and house-lights flashing, brought chills. 

Jonathan Vigil took a moment to thank a young girl’s father for bringing her to the show, holding her hand from over the barricade and telling him that it’s more than just screaming, that there’s love and passion in the music. It isn’t just violence, like some would think; it’s about being comfortable with who you are, and more than that, proud of yourself. 

At this point, The Ghost Inside had unquestionably been the best band of the night. 

But, headliner The Devil Wears Prada were not going to allow themselves to be outshined. 

By this point in the night, I had progressively made my way about midway into the center of the venue. Just before the lights went off, a girl found her way into the pit next to me. She was by herself, with X’s on her hands, dressed in a worn TDWP t-shirt that had visibly been shown a lot of attention. She was shaking, excitedly telling me that this was the first time she had ever been able to see her favorite band on her own. 

Then the lights dropped. 
And she started crying. 
She wasn’t crying in a way that was intentional, but it was just that she was smiling so widely that her eyes were watering. 

Entering the stage under low lights, their triangular logo pulsing neon green in the background, they began with “Sailor’s Prayer,“ kicking off an hour-long set that ran nearly uninterrupted, segmented only by waves of applause. 

Favorites like "War,” “Born to Lose, and “Assistant to the Regional Manager” gave extra life to the crowd, as the recorded sample introduction to “Zombie” built tension and eagerness before the song began.

Regardless of my varied pasts with whichever band that was performing, having seen them repeatedly like I Killed the Prom Queen, every once in a while like The Ghost Inside or The Devil Wears Prada, or watching them for the first time like Dangerkids, the night itself was one that I hadn’t experienced in months – no camera slung over my shoulder, no equipment bag hanging at my side, no fear over ruining some of my most-valued possessions.

Just a crowd, a stage, and bands. And it felt remarkable. 

As if the performances weren’t enough, 10% of all ticket sales from Take Action! were donated to charity, furthering Vigil’s conviction that it’s about love and passion, further supporting Dangerkids’ Tyler Smyth’s earlier plea that, even if there are people holding you back or keeping you down, there will always be those who support you, and to never let people tell you that you can’t be yourself. 

Take Action! is winding down soon, but you can, and should, catch three of these (no IKTPQ) bands on the Vans Warped Tour this summer.

The Devil Wears Prada played:
Sailor’s Prayer
Escape
Untidaled
Assistant to the Regional Manager
Gloom
Care More
Martyrs
Outnumbered
Kansas
War
Born to Lose
8:18
First Sight
~~
Mammoth
Danger: Wildman

–
Written By: Eric Riley

Show Review:: Dropkick Murphys – Matinee Show 3/15

Dropkick Murphys
Lucero
Skinny Lister
3/15/14; 2:00 pm 
House of Blues; Boston, MA.

I seem to have a tendency to work shows on very busy days in the city. A few months ago, I was down here for Game One when the Red Sox were in the World Series. Now, it’s the Dropkick Murphys, on Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, in Boston. Even with my freckled, pale-skinned heritage and the redhead I dated for a year, I’m pretty sure this is the most Irish I’ve ever felt. 

Early shows are a rare treat. With the exception of Warped Tour and festivals and such, I don’t typically get to work during the day. But getting to leave the venue and walk into 55* weather after a pretty crappy winter will certainly not draw any complaints from me.

With Boston traffic being the blessing it always is, this meant I unfortunately missed the opening sets from Lucero and Skinny Lister. But, asking around throughout the crowd, the collective opinion is that they were both pretty solid. (And thanks to some lovely fans, you can check out videos of both Lucero and Skinny Lister from that night!)

But, what’s out of my control is out of my control, so I couldn’t allow my mood to be completely torn down by this. And besides, there was still a band to be very eager to see.

It was about 3:00 when the chants starting picking up. And when Dropkick took the stage at around 3:25, the crowd made it clear that they didn’t wear out their energy and voices just during the intermission. 

Taking the stage bathed in blue lights and backed by bagpipes, the House of Blues erupted as hometown favorites showed their faces to a familiar stage. 

When the full lights came up, the greens and golds that the weekend’s festivities are famous for flooded the stage. 

During this batch of shows – which runs Thursday through Sunday, with two shows on Saturday, the band played 27 songs on the first night. The next day, the setlist was 27 songs again, with 22 of those being different from the first night. 

For today’s early show, they built another 27-track list, with 18 of them being songs that hadn’t been played at either previous show. 

The roar that came from the piano intro into “Tessie” was probably audible across the street in Fenway Park, and Bruins’ anthem “Time to Go” had people cheering for the black and gold while a montage of hockey brawls and goals played on the backdrop. (The Bruins won 5-1 today, too. That’s 8 in a row.)

The band utilized their banjos and acoustics guitars for a few songs near the midpoint, unplugging their set “for the little kids and the cool grandmas out there.” The lull, if you can call it that, ended soon, as they got back to their “more rowdy” stuff. 

They ended their initial set with “Dirty Water” overlapping directly into “Shipping Up to Boston,” which featured a group of stepdancers and the crowd singing every word on their own. 

They stormed the stage after a short break, leading their four song encore with “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen." 

For "End of the Night,” the band filled the stage with people pulled from the audience, turning the final two songs into a party on stage and pushing the band into the photo pit while the fans took over. 

There’s something special about witnessing a band playing a hometown show. And there’s always a certain intensity that comes along with a sold-out performance. But these two factors combined – the packed house and the group’s return to Landsdowne, along with it being a matinee show, made for an experience the likes of which I had never been a part of. And to think that they’ll be taking the same stage again in the next few hours has me wondering what else they could possibly have in store. But, whatever they have left in their tank, which I’m sure is plenty, is sure to make Boston proud. 

… Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go stab Caesar twenty-three times. Happy Idea of March, everyone.

Check out a photo of the setlist from the Matinee show below

–

Photo & Written By: Eric Riley

Show Review:: The Greatest Generation Tour | Clifton Park, NY | 3.5.14

Sometimes, a tour can need a few shows before it really picks up steam. Other times, it can hit the ground running and not look back.

If it hadn’t been mentioned a handful of times throughout the night, nobody in the crowd would have guessed that tonight was the first performance on the Greatest Generation Tour. And the night needed no assistance in regards to steam, turning a below-freezing night outside into a sweat-soaked circle pit.

Modern Baseball opened the night at around 6:30, drawing in a lot of fan interaction and earning a later mention from Dan Campbell, saying that they remind him of The Wonder Years when they were that age.

After a quick set, around a half-hour or so, Citizen took over, bringing a heavier brand of a hardcore/punk mix with them. Their crowd was active and relentless, and the buzz throughout the venue stuck from that point on.

Fireworks took the stage, and with them came a sense that, if The Wonder Years ever had to miss a show, these guys could seamlessly step into the role as headliner. As the lights dropped just before their entrance, the venue erupted with applause and “FI-RE-WORKS” chants.

But, and no offense meant to them, there’s a reason these three were openers. The stage went dark, a stream of spotlight hit Campbell’s face, and he lead into “There, There,” a fitting introductory song not only because it begins The Greatest Generation, but its gentle start quickly rips into “Passing Through A Screen Door.” The audience’s intensity was instant, causing the venue’s security to clear the photo pit midway through the second song rather than after three entire tracks.

About half of The Greatest Generation was performed, as well as other staples like “Melrose Diner,” “Woke Up Older,” and “Local Man Ruins Everything.” The band took advantage of their newly-restored headlining role (after spending the fall as an opener for A Day to Remember, Pierce the Veil, and All Time Low) to reach back into their catalog for a rare b-side, “Me Vs. the Highway.”

The emotion that made The Greatest Generation so memorable translated brilliantly to the live performance. Following the quick, aggressive “Dynamite Shovel,” the lights fell again and Campbell knelt down on a monitor. “There are certain things that you can’t change about yourself,” he said, “and there are certain things that you don’t want to change. But these are the things that make you who you are.” He paused and the audience silently waited. “This is a song about the devil in my bloodstream.” While Campbell sang, his voice was nearly entirely drowned out by the crowd singing back to him.

The band closed with “Came Out Swinging,” sending the crowd into a last-effort frenzy. They took a quick recess from the stage, returning with “I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral” as their grand finale. The seven-minute closer left every person there with their arms raised, shouting and regaining their breath as the music faded out and the lights came back on.

I always expect something special from The Wonder Years. But even with that those high expectations, I’m still a little surprised that tonight was the first night of this tour. All four bands on the bill captured the audience’s attention throughout their time onstage, and the focus grew stronger with each group. Seeing how great the tour was on its first night, I can only imagine how it’s going to be by the time it closes.

Setlist:
There, There
Passing Through A Screen Door
Local Man Ruins Everything
Woke Up Older
Me Vs. the Highway
Melrose Diner
A Raindance in Traffic
Everything I Own Fits in this Backpack
Dynamite Shovel
The Devil in my Bloodstream
Cul de Sac
Dismantling Summer
Don’t Let Me Cave In
Washington Square Park
Came Out Swinging
~~~
I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral 

–
Written and photos by: Eric Riley

Show Review:: The Unconditional Tour

The Unconditional Tour made its fifth stop of the tour for a sold out show at the House of Blues Orlando in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Memphis May Fire was the headliner for this tour. They are promoting their upcoming album, Unconditional, which is being released March 25th.

To check out a review of the show (plus photos of each band), check out Caitlyn’s review by clicking “Read More”!

The show started off with a lot of energy from the opening act, Beartooth.  From the band’s first song, “Set Me on Fire”, until their last song, “I Have a Problem”, fans were crowd surfing and opening up the pit to mosh. It’s rare to see an opening band get this intense of a reaction from the crowd, but Beartooth accomplished it. The highlight song of their performance for me was “Dead”, when bassist, Nick Reed and guitarist, Kam Bradbury came into the crowd and played the first portion of the song as the crowd held them up. The energy kept up even after Reed and Bradbury hopped back on stage to continue playing. The crowd jumped, moshed and crowd surfed until the very end of their set. 

Hands Like Houses, who hail from Canberra, Australia, were next on the list. The crowd had a much slower reaction to HLH, than openers, Beartooth. This is probably due to the fact that they are the least hardcore of all the bands on this tour. Personally, I enjoyed their performance very much and loved the high energy that they brought. I think they have a great stage presence and are very active, jumping and running around on stage. It wasn’t until about the third song that the crowd started getting more into their set. The crowd surfers began to accumulate and people started to bop their head to the beat. There were definitely fans amongst the crowd though. This was very clear when HLH played their final song, “Introduced Species”, a track off their latest album titled Unimagine. The crowd sang along and was pretty loud during the choruses. I believe HLH ended up leaving the show with more fans than came in. 

A Skylit Drive came out full throttle. The room instantly became more upbeat shortly into their first song, “Crazy”. Front man Michael Jagmin has amazing energy and really loves interacting with the crowd. At one point he hopped off stage and stood up on the barricade to reach out and sing into the crowd. This had the fans around him beaming with joy. It’s definitely thrilling to have one of your favorite artists that close to you during a show, so I can see why they were so excited. Before their second to last song, Jagmin asked “Who has been a fan of A Skylit Drive since 2008?” The crowd screamed and raised their hands with excitement. He then said “This next song goes out to all of you”, and went into playing “Wires and the Concept of Breathing”, from the band’s first album. The crowd instantly became very excited and was singing every word as loudly as possible. 

I have never seen The Word Alive in concert before and I only know a few of their songs, but I thought their set was amazingly entertaining despite this. Lead vocalist “Telle” Tyler Smith really knows how to rally the crowd. There were non-stop crowd surfers from the beginning to end of their set. It definitely felt like the most rowdy set of the night from both band and crowd. TWA also treated fans to a new song debut, “Play the Victim”, off their forthcoming album due to be released this spring. 

This was my seventh time seeing Memphis May Fire and they did not disappoint. They opened up their set with two fan favorites, “The Sinner” and “Alive in the Lights”. This had fans going crazy right from the beginning. They brought along their own set of stage lights which cast a moodier silhouette effect for most of the show. MMF’s set list included two new songs, “No Ordinary Love” and “Sleepless Nights”, off their soon to be released album. About half way through the set, vocalist Matty Mullins said he “wanted to slow things down and dedicate this next song to all the military families” and the band broke into their popular ballad “Miles Away”. Guest vocals on the original track were provided by Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, but since he was not there, Jagmin from A Skylit Drive sang along. Their voices worked well together and I think Jagmin did a fantastic job filling in for Quinn’s part. MMF finished their 10 song set and left to go backstage. Instantly the crowd began to chant “Memphis! Memphis!” until the band returned to play two encore songs, “Prove Me Right” and “Legacy”. I think these were two great songs to close with. They were definitely crowd pleasers, and it gave fans one last chance to release any little bit of energy they had left.

Overall, I think this was a great line up for this tour. The energy kept building throughout the night and the crowd was definitely having a wonderful time. All the bands were very active and entertaining on stage and the fans definitely got their money’s worth.

To check out more photos from the show, click here!
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Photos & Written By: Caitlyn Willard

Show Review:: Yellowcard | Starland Ballroom 1/31/14

Ocean Avenue was released on July 22^nd, 2003. I was 11 years old. From that moment on, I knew that this band would leave a permanent mark on me. There was something about their sound and how different they were from every other band that made me fall so in love with them. In 2012, my 11 year old self was ecstatic when I had the opportunity to catch a small portion of Yellocard’s set at the Vans Warped Tour stop in Holmdel, New Jersey. Unfortunately, I had to leave their set early, but for those few songs I caught, I was over the moon.

When the band announced they would be doing an acoustic tour in honor of the 10-year release of Ocean Avenue, I was so excited…until I saw that there was no New Jersey dates and both of the New York dates had sold out. For months, I was frustrated and patiently waiting for the band to announce some other tour so I could finally catch a full set of theirs. Thankfully, the band announced they would be doing a second round of dates for the acoustic tour and one of them was at a favorite venue of mine, Starland Ballroom. I wasn’t missing this show for the world. And even though I had to leave their set early – AGAIN – right after their acoustic set (for reasons beyond my control), just seeing and hearing them play live made me fall in love with them all over again.

Openers, What’s Eating Gilbert, immediately had the crowd’s attention from the moment they stepped foot on stage. This was my first time seeing or hearing the band, for that matter, and I was extremely impressed! Not to mention that their cover of “Pretty Woman” was nothing but pure genius. Seriously. If you’re doubting me, go google their cover. Fantastic. And their snazzy wardrobe was definitely a perk as well.

Once they left the stage, the crowd was stuck with nothing to do but wait for Yellowcard to start their set. Well…that’s not completely true. One of the many reasons that I love Starland Ballroom? They play the best handful of songs in between sets that call for the most awesome sing-alongs you’ll ever be a part of. The songs that night included The Starting Line, Blink 182, and even some old school Panic! At The Disco. After the sing-alongs and 5 minutes worth of $3.50 shots (yeah, that was a thing), the band I had loved since I was 11 hit the stage. The lights dimmed and the stage was covered in selectively placed lights to truly make this acoustic set one that was very intimate.

Lead singer, Ryan Key, outlined four rules for the night. Two of the most important rules? 1. Sing along until you lose your voice and 2. Enjoy the show through your eyes rather than your phone. As the first few chords of “Way Away” began to play, you could feel the atmosphere change. There was nothing but excitement, adrenaline and love for the band on stage that was holding every single persons attention. And even though this was technically an acoustic set, that didn’t stop people from crowd-surfing through the first few songs. Hey, we’re from Jersey. We go hard!

Now there’s a lot that could be said about this band, this album, and this performance. The first thing that comes to mind though? Incredible. As the band played through the album, from “Way Away” to “Ocean Avenue” to what Key likes to call “number 6” to “View From Heaven” and “One Year, Six Months” – it was all clear: this band creates music for the fans. For anyone in attendance of the show that night, you would hear the members of the band constantly repeat how appreciative they were for every single person in the room that was singing (and even screaming) those lyrics back to them. They were appreciative that people wanted to spend their Friday nights in a crowded, sweaty room, just to hear a band play some songs. But to me, and I’m sure to most of the people in that crowd, Yellowcard will never be JUST a band playing some songs. They’re the reason why I fell in love with music. They’re a band that always gave me hope when nothing else did. They changed my life and I’m sure they’ve touched and changed the lives of many others as well.

Although I was initially disappointed with the acoustic release of this album (I had expected nothing but Key’s vocals and some acoustic guitars, not a full band), the live performance was one for the record books. The energy from both the band and the crowd bounced off each other and kept the night that much more exciting. And even though the band just wrapped up their acoustic tour, do yourself a favor and make it a goal of yours to see Yellowcard at least once in your life. Trust me – you’ll thank me later.

As I mentioned, I unfortunately did not get to stay for Yellowcard’s electric set, but I have found some videos from the show (props to the guy that recorded them for such great quality!) of some of my favorite songs which I will include below. Enjoy! Even though this contradicts one of the rules Key listed…oops?

Paper Walls | With You Around | Awakening | Lights & Sounds/Ocean Avenue 

Show Review:: Walk The Moon 9/20

Walk the Moon returned to Boston, MA for the first time in two years on Friday, September 20^th. Fans stood in line at the House of Blues with their faces painted, waiting for the doors to open. Painted faces is now a trademark of the band since the release of their video “Anna Sun”.

The show started off with a bang as Magic Man, a synth rock band from Boston, opened the show. They performed songs from their recently released EP titled, You Are Here. “Texas,” “Every Day,” and “Paris” were a few of the fun and upbeat songs they performed. Alex, the lead singer, was energetic as he jumped and danced on stage during the entire set. The band expressed how happy they were to be home, even though it was just for the night. Magic Man were the perfect band to open for Walk the Moon because they had a similar sound to them along with a lively performance.

Once Walk the Moon came on stage, there was a different feeling in the room. Fans moved closer to the stage, eager for their set to begin. Everyone was united as they sang “Quesadilla” at the top of their lungs. With a fifteen song set list, Walk the Moon did not neglect any songs off their self-titled album. Playing favorites like “Shiver Shiver,” “Tightrope,” and “Anna Sun,” the crowd was mesmerized by how talented the band was. Their catchy choruses and fun sounds from Nicholas’ synthesizer kept the crowd wanting more from the band. Fans were more than happy to hear new material from the band as they performed two brand new songs!

Emotions ran wild while the band performed one of their more popular songs, “Fixin.” After the song ended, Nicholas Petricca (lead singer), was so full of joy he started crying. Nicholas explained that the song was about his father who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Hearing everyone sing along to the song that Nicholas wrote for his father was too much for him to handle. Eli Maiman, the guitarist, had to give him a hug to calm him down. It was a bittersweet moment, but Nicholas did not let his crying ruin the mood of the show.

Before playing “I Can Lift a Car,” Nicholas told the crowd that they should forget their troubles and enjoy everything that was happening in that moment. He wanted everyone to forget anything that stressed them out like school and work. The crowd was captivated by his passionate performance during that song. “I Can Lift a Car” was the best song played that night because it helped everyone throw away their problems and only focus on what was happening at that point in time.

Walk the Moon played “Jenny” for their encore. By that time, the crowd had let loose and let the music consume them. At one point, Nicholas stood on the edge of the stage and fans pushed as hard as they could to get closer to him. The band left fans with the memory of a fantastic concert that would not be forgotten.

–
Written By: Kerianne Wilson

Show Review:: Arctic Monkeys 9/17/13

The Arctic Monkeys recently set out on a worldwide tour to promote their fifth studio album, AM. The English indie rock band performed a sold out show in Boston on Tuesday, September 17^th at the Paradise Rock Club. Known for performing in arenas, it was unlike the band to play in such a small venue that could hold less than 1,000 people.

Performing for the first time in Boston, the punk band Drowners started the show. They performed songs off their EP Between Us Girls, which was released last February. The lead singer, Matt Hitt, was an upbeat and sassy performer as he swayed his hips to the beat of every song. Hitt wore an Arctic Monkeys shirt when he performed and did not stop thanking the band for having them on their tour. He was clearly gracious and excited to be performing and it made their set even more enjoyable. Singing all types of songs about love, Drowners proved their talent when their performance got the crowd moving even though most had never heard their songs. After playing for a little over a half hour, the band finished their outstanding set.

The crowd started to get antsy waiting for the Arctic Monkeys to get on stage. Once the stage was set up and the instruments were in place, everyone started cheering for the Arctic Monkeys to perform. You could feel the excitement in the room as each fan stood, waiting for the music over the speakers in the club to stop, and for each band member to appear from the left side of the stage. Once the highly anticipated moment came, the crowd roared as Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, Nick O’Malley, and Alex Turner were suddenly right in front of them in a tiny nightclub.

Opening with, “Do I Wanna Know?” a single from their newest album, the crowd immediately started singing. Seeing as the song was not too upbeat, no one was moving around that much. That quickly changed when the Arctic Monkeys played songs including “Teddy Picker” and “Pretty Visitors”, which had fans jumping and screaming as Alex Turner sang. The once introverted Turner was happy to show his fairly new confidence as he sported his Elvis-inspired hairstyle. A few fans started crowd surfing, with one of them making it to the stage and immediately jumping back on the crowd. Fans especially went crazy when the band performed their first single, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.”

The Arctic Monkeys made sure not to neglect any of their five albums, performing songs from each. Most songs were off their newest album since it had been released a week prior to the concert. Some fans started requesting songs to be played, even though the band obviously had a set list planned out for their performance.

Fans would not stop freaking out when the Arctic Monkeys left the stage after performing 17 songs. They were ready for the encore and had no patience waiting for it. After fans chanted, “Arctic Monkeys” for a few minutes, the four members came back on stage to finish their set. Ending the night with, “One for the Road,” “Fluorescent Adolescent,” and “505,” the crowd sang as loud as they could knowing the show was almost over.

The Arctic Monkeys did not disappoint during their trip to Boston, once again proving they were an exceptionally talented group of men that could put on a memorable show.

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Written By: Kerianne Wilson