show review: Finch What It Is To Burn 10 year anniversary tour

I did something last night that i haven't done in a really long time. I purposely left my camera at home when i left for the show. I have one crappy cell phone picture to remember the night by, but i decided that i didn't really need pictures because this album is pretty ingrained already, and these 10 year anniversary shows have been more of a time machine for me than anything else i can remember.

The show was pretty freaking awesome, but i had to work to get to the good parts.

The opening band was awful. So, so terrible. Now, I know that "blue mixing" is a thing, and i have to believe that that was some of the problem with this band, but i don't know that a perfect mix could have saved them. Let's start with the name. When it takes longer to say the name of your band than it does to sing the lyrics of one of your songs, you are doing it wrong. "The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die." yes. well, no. because a few songs in, i tweeted, "dear opening band. no. love, genesis." It was seriously painful to sit though. The singer sounded a lot like myself. That is NOT a compliment. I cannot carry a tune in a bucket, so to speak. the lyrics themselves, at least what i could make out, were juvenile at best. the only member of the 8 piece band that i could see on the stage was the keyboardist, and she looked like she was terrified. if i heard that this was her time in front of people ever i would not be surprised.

I hate bagging on artists. Criticism vs. Creation, you know? but my God, if you are going to assault my ears like that you had better best that i might find a negative thing or two to say about your gig. Honestly, i spent the better part of the set watching the hockey game, and if you know me at all, you know how much i despise the NHL these days.

The Almost came up next. I was never a big fan of UnderOath but for whatever reason, i have always had a soft spot in my heart for Aaron Gillespie. I spent most of the set trying to remember when i had seen them before, and i knew it was at the Stone Pony but i couldn't remember the specifics. about halfway through, it came to me, and i announced it in the middle of a song. I had seen them at a Myspace secret show with the starting line several years ago. i don't know why it bugged me so much not knowing, but i was glad when i realized it. The Almost is still a bit too screamy for my tastes, but after that first band, it was almost welcomed.

The first notes of the album rung out through the sound system and i was instantly a college kid again. my biggest concerns were trivial at best, and i was hanging out with my roommates. like i said, music is the best kind of time machine. I stood there watching the crowd, being the crowd, and thought about the fact that like myself, most of us were in that room pretending that we were in our late teens and early twenties again, not pushing thirty or into our mid-thirties. I think what i loved most about this show was that finch didn't do another good thing after this album, so there was never really a chance for them to gain new fans. these people, for the most part, were people that had been into the band since their inception, and loved that album as much as i do. everyone was singing every word (except for the one girl that kept getting drug past me by her boyfriend. she looked like she would have rather been tied to train tracks or something. seriously. most sourpuss face i have seen at a concert in ages.)

so the band played through almost the entire album, and thanked us and left the stage. they did everything but the hidden track, which is ironically where the album gets its name. we all cheered, knowing that they would be back out for an encore. they played a few of their other songs (but really, lets face it, no one likes those songs. sorry guys.) and i stood around debating leaving, but decided that because i didn't want to walk through Philly alone that late at night, i would wait and leave when everyone else did. i am glad that i stayed, because they played what it is to burn (finally) and it was a pretty exciting moment. everyone in that room was so *there* and living that moment. from the front of the house to the back, top to bottom, every single person in that room was engaged in the act of singing along. those are the moments that make going to shows so worth it for me. i can walk into a show feeling so alone, but for the few hours that we are in there, we are all part of one big whole. everyone has one purpose and one motive, and the sound of hundreds or thousands of voices joined together is one of life's greatest pleasures.

show review:Delta Rae at the TLA 3/6/13

I have been mostly a big pile of jerk lately. I have not wanted to do anything, go anywhere, be bothered with anyone. I have my reasons for feeling the way I do, and I'm not about to vent about all of that here. I mention this merely to let you know how very little I wanted to attend this concert last week. Like, I did not care at all. It was supposed to snow somewhere between 0 and 32345533 inches that night, and I was pulling for the latter, simply so that I would have an easy out, because as much as I don't want to do things, I am terrible at saying "no."

Anyway, I left work and went to LB's house, where we proceeded to head to Philly, I forgot my left from my right while giving directions (yes, seriously. i resorted to pointing because I had both of us so confused. I still don't know what that was about.) and then went and got some real live Philly Cheesesteaks from Jim's on South. (seriously, if you are going to Philly and ask where you should go for a steak, that is where i will send you. best.)

We finally mosey on over to the TLA, where we stood around a while and took note of the crowd. When we walked through the door, the first thing we saw was a family with a couple of young girls (who I learned later were 7 and 10) and then a few feet later, we were in the 55+ section. The crowd was definitely diverse, to say the least.

I am pretty sure that I have made this clear before, but I kind of hate opening acts. I hate the atmosphere of the room, I hate the waiting for the act that I am there to see. I just hate the whole idea. I mean, I absolutely understand it, and would have missed out on a lot of my favorite bands had I never gone to see an opener, but mostly, I just get annoyed and want the opener to shut up so that the person that I paid to see can come onstage. So the opener comes out, and its this guy called Martin Harley. I decided before I knew anything about him that I wasn't going to like him. I am an asshole. I was blown away. My only complaint about his set was that because he had to sit down to play his instrument, I couldn't see him, so i felt like i was listening to a radio. Anyway, I was really impressed.

next up was ZZ Ward. LB had played me a few of her songs the night before, and I was bored. All I could hear was Adele with an electropop background. I just wasn't digging it. Seeing her live changed my mind, too. I actually had LB burn me her CD and have been bumping it in the car for the past few days. I guess sometimes it is the context of when we are listening to something that lends to how we perceive it. I need to actually remember that because i tend to try to push a lot of music on people in the car while we are talking. maybe this isn't the best strategy. who knows. I still hate the way she pronounces her "O" sound in the song im about to post, though.

What was really fun was during her set, i tweeted a friend of mine to ask if she'd ever heard of ZZ because i felt like it was her kind of music. turns out that not only had she heard of her, but she had some musical connections as well. small world, you know?

I was so pleased by the first two acts that I was actually okay with waiting through them to get to Delta Rae, though i did get frustrated because for whatever reason it took like 40 minutes between sets to change the stage. that is a lot of standing around doing nothing.

i dont remember the first time i heard Delta Rae's single, "bottom of the river," but i do remember the first time i heard "bottom of the river." i was on my way home from school and had xpn on the radio (as i usually do). Delta Rae was their artist of the month, and i couldn't move. my car was in the driveway, i was home, but i was stuck in my car because i just needed to hear that song. as soon as it was over i ran inside and posted a video of it (which i thought was pretty incredible in its own right) for "everyone" on my facebook to see. (im not stupid. i know no one actually watches the stuff that i post. you should though. you are missing out on some great stuff.)

as much as i loved that song, though, i never got around to getting my hands on their album. But since LB asked me to go to this show with her, and since i had a bunch of iTunes gift cards that i had no idea what to buy with, i bought it. i listened to it for a week straight. i love the album.

anyway, the show kicked ass. afterwards, we got to meet the band (fangirl squee!) and i told the guys that i thought it was so ballsy of them to play "bottom of the river" in the middle of the set. LB and i were talking about it and the consensus was that they know that their entire catalog is that good that they can play their single halfway through and people aren't going to storm the doors, leaving them to play the last half of the set to an empty room. the guys seemed pretty blown away by that, so that was cool. also, this happened:

so that was cool.

the encore of the night was definitely my favorite part of the night. the band came out onto the floor and played "hey hey hey" in the round, just out there in the crowd with all of us. they aren't afraid of their fans, and something about that showed me that they really care about us. i dunno. anyway, here is a video of that, if you'd like to see it.

the night was, in fact, not a bust. im glad that i don't generally follow through with being an asshole, and that i go to these things even when i feel like i would rather come home and watch one tree hill.

also, sorry, this was quite possibly the laziest blog post i have ever written. don't hate me.