Venue: See previous night’s review of the Aragon. It’s a good venue but desperately needs a few well-placed fans. The sound was better last night.
First Opener: The Architects (NR): Previously I’d seen both Neon Trees and The Architects and they weren’t that good. So I was at the merch booth for most of the set. However, when I went back inside I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of what I heard. They’re still basically 80’s revival (and say as much on their site) but the quality of sound improved dramatically
Second Opener: Neon Trees (4/6): Wow. I was blown away by how much this band has improved. I had to go back in the blog to make sure it was the same band. They went from being one of the worst live shows I’ve seen to being a solid show. Frontman Tyler Glenn both engaged the crowd and fellow band mate while singing surprisingly clearly. Neon Trees had solid sound and recognizable lyrics (I knew Animal from the radio). They are catchy enough to be contagious, but not a manufactured sound. Very good radio potential. Their sound was pop punk and fit the show very well. Too often I see bands that are decent but just don’t fit the sound of the evening. These people had the right feel and sound and were decently talented.
Main Act: My Chemical Romance (5/6): I’d heard that My Chemical Romance didn’t put on the best show live, so, I had my hopes set very low. I loved it. I think the people who didn’t like them live were expecting the wrong thing. My Chemical Romance is punk pop, not rock or mainstream pop. They are not a technical band, however, technical finesse is not something that pop punk is really known for. Punk, and particularly pop punk are meant to have scratchy vocals, rough guitar work and a lot of energy with good lyrics.
Is front man Gerard Way’s voice good? Not especially. But energy and lyrics Way has in spades. His dynamic with is his fans are wonderful and he is incredibly gracious. He is also very humble for someone who’s been performing to large audiences for the better part of 10 years.
My Chemical Romance has surprising depth and breadth of song style. Most pop-punk bands are one trick pony, with only the odd slower number. My Chemical Romance has a balance of slower numbers and traditional thrashy punk songs. They have an underlying energy that makes their sound sing and touch people. Particularly live I noticed “Cancer” was heart wrenching and hearing
“I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” (the song that put My Chemical Romance on the map) live was a real treat.
I would go back to see them in a heartbeat. And I encourage others to do so as well, but don’t go expecting clear articulation or precision. Go expecting raw energy and you won’t be disappointed.
April 8, 2011
Three Days Grace with My Darkest Days.
Venue (Riviera Theater--3/6):
Many venues in Chicago are converted theaters or former ballrooms like the Aragon. The Riviera is a smaller such building; while the capacity isn’t listed on their site I’d estimate it’s close to 2000 people at most. The floor itself looked like it had three tiers, which is rare and very useful for people who are shorter. A faded glory, the ceiling was once ornate and now the paint is pealing and chipping. The fake marble is perhaps the most well maintained part of the paint job. It’s clear that the building was not meant to house a concert as the merch. booth and ticking were burred in a corner. I encountered a curious anomaly when I went for water; the price of water is different once you’re on the floor than when you’re at the outside bar. (1$ inside versus 4$ outside) I didn’t see the bathrooms, but I’d expect nothing pleasant.
The sound system was out of balance, like with many smaller venues, the system was bass heavy, and the vocals were not very clear. Unlike many other smaller venues, there wasn’t much compensation for it. One thing I did enjoy about this venue was the fact that they had a spot explicitly railed off for people in wheel chairs. Not every venue does this and I find it very nice.
The Opener (My Darkest Days--3/6):
I had low expectations for these guys and they were met. This band sounded like someone who would open for the opener for Nickelback. They were fun to listen to but, crude and redundant, overall not worth buying an album from. I could predict most of their lyrics (usually something about “light it up” or something about girls). My Darkest days also weren’t the most precise when it comes to the technical work on the instruments. However, there was potential for them to become a radio band, perhaps something on par with Filter. It was easy to sing along and dance to but I found they were trying a bit to hard. The guitarist had decent amounts of talent and could work the crowd better than the frontman. Overall they were decent, but not great.
The Main Act (Three Days Grace--5/6):
This is the second time I’ve seen Three Days Grace live and they have yet to disappoint. Front-man Adam Gontier may not have a perfect voice, but he brings a level of energy few bands these days put forth. A second performance gave me the opportunity to appreciate the rest of the band, especially after My Darkest Days. Hearing that level of clarity and precision was a treat. Gontier loves his fans and they love him back. He is also fearless, in both his original work and his covers. I hadn’t heard three days grace cover anything before so when Gontier came out with Eminem’s “Lose yourself”-- a song of a clearly different genre from his own-- it was gutsy and he managed to pull it off brilliantly. Especially paired with “Home” the song’s ferocity was amplified wonderfully. He then went on to cover Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” which was pleasantly strange. I’ve commented on Goiter’s incredible stage presence before but even when he wasn’t the focus, I felt my eyes drawn to him. The best part of this energy is that he hasn’t grown arrogant about it. He’s still just Adam, there to do a rock show.
Some of the rest of the band could show off last night too. Drummer, Keyboardist, and backup vocalist Neil Sanderson, put on a several minute long drum machine solo, followed by a several minute long standard drum solo. Both solos were absolutely through the roof. Given how powerful Gontier is I hadn’t truly appreciated their drummer until this show. It was amazing. I’m truly impressed.
I am also impressed with the fact that Gontier still does a lot of the guitar work. Most bands where the lead man is also a guitarist you only really hear the lead man doing guitar work on the albums because of how hard it is to do both at once and still really perform. Gontier did, and did so very well. I appreciate his dedication to both aspects of his craft.
Overall, I continue to find three days grace a dynamic force on stage and in their album work. Gontier hinted that they are working on yet another album and I cannot wait to see what these people do next.
Many venues in Chicago are converted theaters or former ballrooms like the Aragon. The Riviera is a smaller such building; while the capacity isn’t listed on their site I’d estimate it’s close to 2000 people at most. The floor itself looked like it had three tiers, which is rare and very useful for people who are shorter. A faded glory, the ceiling was once ornate and now the paint is pealing and chipping. The fake marble is perhaps the most well maintained part of the paint job. It’s clear that the building was not meant to house a concert as the merch. booth and ticking were burred in a corner. I encountered a curious anomaly when I went for water; the price of water is different once you’re on the floor than when you’re at the outside bar. (1$ inside versus 4$ outside) I didn’t see the bathrooms, but I’d expect nothing pleasant.
The sound system was out of balance, like with many smaller venues, the system was bass heavy, and the vocals were not very clear. Unlike many other smaller venues, there wasn’t much compensation for it. One thing I did enjoy about this venue was the fact that they had a spot explicitly railed off for people in wheel chairs. Not every venue does this and I find it very nice.
The Opener (My Darkest Days--3/6):
I had low expectations for these guys and they were met. This band sounded like someone who would open for the opener for Nickelback. They were fun to listen to but, crude and redundant, overall not worth buying an album from. I could predict most of their lyrics (usually something about “light it up” or something about girls). My Darkest days also weren’t the most precise when it comes to the technical work on the instruments. However, there was potential for them to become a radio band, perhaps something on par with Filter. It was easy to sing along and dance to but I found they were trying a bit to hard. The guitarist had decent amounts of talent and could work the crowd better than the frontman. Overall they were decent, but not great.
The Main Act (Three Days Grace--5/6):
This is the second time I’ve seen Three Days Grace live and they have yet to disappoint. Front-man Adam Gontier may not have a perfect voice, but he brings a level of energy few bands these days put forth. A second performance gave me the opportunity to appreciate the rest of the band, especially after My Darkest Days. Hearing that level of clarity and precision was a treat. Gontier loves his fans and they love him back. He is also fearless, in both his original work and his covers. I hadn’t heard three days grace cover anything before so when Gontier came out with Eminem’s “Lose yourself”-- a song of a clearly different genre from his own-- it was gutsy and he managed to pull it off brilliantly. Especially paired with “Home” the song’s ferocity was amplified wonderfully. He then went on to cover Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” which was pleasantly strange. I’ve commented on Goiter’s incredible stage presence before but even when he wasn’t the focus, I felt my eyes drawn to him. The best part of this energy is that he hasn’t grown arrogant about it. He’s still just Adam, there to do a rock show.
Some of the rest of the band could show off last night too. Drummer, Keyboardist, and backup vocalist Neil Sanderson, put on a several minute long drum machine solo, followed by a several minute long standard drum solo. Both solos were absolutely through the roof. Given how powerful Gontier is I hadn’t truly appreciated their drummer until this show. It was amazing. I’m truly impressed.
I am also impressed with the fact that Gontier still does a lot of the guitar work. Most bands where the lead man is also a guitarist you only really hear the lead man doing guitar work on the albums because of how hard it is to do both at once and still really perform. Gontier did, and did so very well. I appreciate his dedication to both aspects of his craft.
Overall, I continue to find three days grace a dynamic force on stage and in their album work. Gontier hinted that they are working on yet another album and I cannot wait to see what these people do next.
April 1, 2011
Album Review: Within Temptation, The Unforgiving
Within Temptation has set the bar very high with their previous albums (notably The Heart of Everything (2007)). This Dutch band considers themselves symphonic rock with various other influences. To most fans they are closer to the edge of symphonic metal with heavy fantasy metal influences, though they are a lot smoother than most metal. Front woman Shannon Del Adel has an operatic voice with a powerful range hitting notes that would make sopranos jealous and extends deep into the alto range.. Her voice is a force. I had the privilege of being introduced to the band via a live performance and I’ve not heard voices like that in American rock.
The Unforgiving took a little warming up as it has a more modern edge and sounds like the score to an action packed film. No surprise when you consider that it was inspired by a comic book. The band also incorporates a strong bass line that wasn’t present in pervious albums.
It starts off more like a traditional metal album and I confess I was a little disappointed, missing the symphonic sound and they’re above average emotional content.
A few tracks in came the song “Iron” which sounded like it should have had some rugged death grunts and scream work layered in with Del Adel’s voice. It didn’t but the guitar work was absolutely wonderful. A traditional metal song from a symphonic band that proved interesting and quite catching.
I noticed the male vocals were more prevalent on “Murder” which added a nice bottom to Del Adel’s voice resulting in a deeper, richer sound.
The layering that was common practice in their previous albums was subtler on The Unforgiving but still very much present and still brought the symphonic sound Within Temptation fans have come to expect and love. The addition of spoken word to these layers created an eerie magical feel.
Solid album over all. 4/5
The Unforgiving took a little warming up as it has a more modern edge and sounds like the score to an action packed film. No surprise when you consider that it was inspired by a comic book. The band also incorporates a strong bass line that wasn’t present in pervious albums.
It starts off more like a traditional metal album and I confess I was a little disappointed, missing the symphonic sound and they’re above average emotional content.
A few tracks in came the song “Iron” which sounded like it should have had some rugged death grunts and scream work layered in with Del Adel’s voice. It didn’t but the guitar work was absolutely wonderful. A traditional metal song from a symphonic band that proved interesting and quite catching.
I noticed the male vocals were more prevalent on “Murder” which added a nice bottom to Del Adel’s voice resulting in a deeper, richer sound.
The layering that was common practice in their previous albums was subtler on The Unforgiving but still very much present and still brought the symphonic sound Within Temptation fans have come to expect and love. The addition of spoken word to these layers created an eerie magical feel.
Solid album over all. 4/5
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