“The Audition” no longer just makes you a nervous wreck…

On January 16, 2008, Victory Records band The Audition headlined the first show of the Pac Sun tour PacTour with supporting bands Another Day Late, Danger Radio, and Envy on the Coast. Although the Alternative/Emo scene is not normally where you would find me, I had a great time at this show!

The first band to hit the stage was Southern California Alternative band, Another Day Late. Typically, this style of music would not be one I would really be listening to or experiencing in concert form, but I was pretty impressed by the show they put on. Despite being crammed onto a small stage, this five-piece proceeded to get the show started displaying great showmanship and musicianship. After their set, I had a chance to speak to 4 of the members and was pleasantly surprised to see how awesome these guys really are!

The next band to take the stage was Washington state band, Danger Radio. This six-piece band was quite a sight to experience. Their innovative mix of Alternative and Funk style provided great tunes that were easy for the crowd to dance too. This band is definitely a good hype band. On top of easy-to-dance-to music, their energy was felt throughout the venue as the crowd began to really get settled into the show. Unfortunately, I was unable to communicate with any of the members, but this band is quite an experience to witness.

The third and next to last band to work the crowd was Long Island band, Envy on the Coast. Being another band I had not heard previous to this show, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this five-piece, but I was quickly impressed by the musicianship and talent presented during their set. The energy and feeling exerted through their music was felt by all who were in attendance, and they received a, much deserved, great response from the crowd on their first night back on the road in quite some time. Unfortunately, I was not able to converse with members from this band either, but I was fulfilled with them just by seeing them perform live.

Finally, the time that everyone was waiting for came after Envy on the Coast had cleared the stage and everything was set. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Alternative band The Audition took the stage with massive amounts of energy! The practically packed Brewery erupted with cheers as the band went into their first song of the set, “Edinboro”. Playing through a set consisting of 11 songs (including titles such as “Smoke & Mirrors”, “Shady Business”, and “Don’t Be So Hard”), The Audition had the crowd rolling the whole time. Even I was enjoying the Alternative style while snapping pictures left and right. Not having heard much of this band’s music prior to the show put me in a situation where I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Ultimately, I was impressed with every aspect this five-piece put on display. I was able to catch up with 3 members of the band after the show and I got to have a short interview with lead singer Danny Stevens. In the interview I found out that the new record was influenced by Country, R&B, and Southern Soul. Putting these influences together with their Alternative style, The Audition’s new album “Champion” is a great album!

Overall, this first show of PacTour was a great show and I’m glad I got experience it. Try to catch these bands on tour if they come near your city, it will be an experience you won’t forget!

The Junior Varsity – Cinematographic
Victory Records

(3/5)

Cinematographic by The Junior varsity is not an album I would normally purchase for my listening pleasure; however, after listening to it, that may change. This style is definitely not my preferred Heavy metal, but I definitely liked this album. Typically, I look for music to get me pumped up and ready to rock, but this album helped get me a little more calm. It’s definitely good for background music when working on that important assignment, or maybe even for just lounging around the house. It is definitely heavier than an easy listening group, but the Alternative aspect of this band helps create, perhaps, a less violent or even energetic environment. Overall, I would recommend this album to anyone looking for a good band to listen to while just hanging out or even trying to relax before going to sleep at night.

The Autumn Offering – Fear Will Cast No Shadow
Victory Records

(5/5)

The Autumn Offering has done it again! Fear Will Cast No Shadow is one of the best new Metal albums I have heard in quite some time. Despite having changed vocalists before this album, TAO has once again taken me for a pretty brutal ride that is continuing on the momentum from Embrace the Gutter. Matt McChesney has successfully put his use of clean vocals and screaming together with ingeniously masterminded guitars and the incredible double bass technique used by drummer, Allen Royal. Right now, no specific tracks have come forth to me as being outstandingly better than any of the others, but that just shows how extraordinary and vital every track is to making this such a great album to own. Overall, I’d say that if you’re looking for an album to take you from the feeling of just hanging out listening to some Alternative rock to headbanging with some Heavy metal, this album is for you!

Arise and Ruin – The Final Dawn
Victory Records

(4/5)

The Final Dawn definitely is high on the list of the latest good metal albums I have heard recently. Arise and Ruin not being a name I have heard before, I am now convinced that Victory Records still has good Metal bands putting out good Metal albums. The variation on the genre that AR has achieved is not an unheard of issue. I definitely enjoyed listening to this album, but there were a few things that would have made it a little better for me. One such issue is if the lack of more breakdowns such as the one in the tracks “End of the Road” and “Always the Same”. Although not every Metal band has a bunch of breakdowns, I believe that more in that same style would have made this record score even higher in my books. Overall, I really enjoyed this album and I believe it is a good album for any metalhead out there to pick up. I can’t wait to see what AR comes out with next album!

Ok so we are brand new and there really isn’t anything here yet but give us a break already!

We just set the site up last night and went to 2 shows.

We went to the Audition on Wednesday and did a short interview and took a whole bunch of photos.

Then last night it was Killswitch Engage headlining with Every Time I Die and Dillinger Escape Plan.

So we have a bunch of photos and a couple of reviews on some great live shows.

So just hang out for a minute or so more and Adam our happy concert and cd reviewer will get everything up while I the happy webmaster work on making this thing look a bit more like a rock concert review page.

More soon….