Siliversun Pickups with School of Seven Bells at the Aragon Ballroom: We are Ready For the Siege.

Venue: (4/6) The Aragon Ballroom
This old lady really stepped up her sound system for SSPU. I suspect it was because of Brian Aubert’s ethereal, yet badass, voice. Though the speakers did clip out several times it was worth it for the change in quality. With tweaking, I think the Aragon could really bring up her standard. They also installed more fans in discreet places. It was a much improved show.

School of Seven Bells (4/6):
School of Seven Bells combines an electronic sound with Celtic overtones (Wiki classifies them as “Shoegaze”). Initially it almost sounds like all of their stuff is remixed Celtic music, except that the lyrics are original and the under current is closer in flavor to EDM. Beautiful, lilting vocals mesh seamlessly with a fluttering baseline and heavy keyboard work. Another thing that made this band stand out for me was the fact that it was comprised of a bassist, a keyboardist, a drummer, and a vocalist. There was no lead guitar, which gave them a hollow, spacious sound. Live they also had good energy and a playful demeanor. While it was certainly clear that they were not used to having a big crowd and were more than a little nervous, they pulled through and did an excellent job.

Silversun Pickups (5/6):
I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this show, and this band for that matter. Between Brian Aubret’s ethereal, sharp edged vocals, amazing guitar work and flawless lyrics, he could have been a show unto himself. His energy was explosive, yet always managed to fit the mood of the song. I am, however, convinced if he were forced to sit still he might well explode. The bass work was, as always, phenomenal. What made it even more amazing is that the slight gal slamming away at the bass, and rocking out like the world was ending was their substitute bassist. Their usual bassist is equally small, and massively talent, but she’s just recently given birth to twins. (If you happen to read this, Congratulations, Nikki Monninger!) It is a rare thing to see a substitute or tour member of the band get any applause at all; Sara (whose last name I never caught) got enough applause to bring the show to a halt briefly. She was utterly fantastic, matching Monninger in both energy and style, while still bringing her own attitude to the table. I’ve never seen someone bring who was on par with the original artist like that before. Ace job, Sara, ace job.
And lets not forget their phenomenal drummer, one part Animal of Muppets fame, one part insane metal drummer, and 100% magical, (dude) absolutely killed the drum work. While I’ve always appreciated their drummer, this show brought a new appreciation for exactly how bananas this guy is. Phenomenal job.
The only complaint I had (and it is minor) was that I would have moved “Panic Switch” (their really big) song to the second encore as opposed to being before either encore. It was a positively spectacular, ridiculously long show, with a frenetic, passionate energy that is on par with the best in the business.

My Chemical Romance with Neon Trees and the Architects.

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.

30 Seconds To Mars with Anberlin and CB7(unreivewed)

Venue: The Aragon Ballroom (4/6): The Aragon is one of my usual haunts. It’s a gorgeous venue with an ornately painted ceiling and ornately decorated balconies reminiscent of Spanish architecture, every time I visit the Aragon I notice another little detail in the painting or in the way the balconies are decorated. It is also one of the largest small venues in the area. Most hold about one thousand people, but the Aragon’s capacity is four thousand. It feels crowed even when it’s not that crowed thanks to how disorganized the place is. It is obvious the Aragon was not meant to be a concert venue. First, there is absolutely no ventilation on the floor. I’m not exaggerating. It feels like being outside on a humid day surrounded by people who are packed close together. It is hard to breathe on the floor itself, more so than even being on the floor in an arena. The “bars,” if they can be called that, more closely resemble kiosks at outdoor venues than true bars.
The sound system was particularly out of balance this time, but frankly it’s never been stellar. Everything comes out at the same volume, which often results in the vocals being drowned out.
The Crowd (3.5/6): I should throw in a caveat here; I’m comparing this crowd not to a normal crowd but to a normal Escalon (30 Seconds to Mars’ fan base) Crowd. They are normally quite a wild crowd. Not the case last night. However, part of that I don’t blame the crowd itself for (see below)

The first opener: CB7: I only truly heard one song of so I’m not really going to give a full review. What I did hear was decent but a little discordant. They also lacked energy. If I had to review off of what I saw I’d give them a 2.5/6


Second opener: Anberlin (3/6 live, 4/6 recorded): Oh dear. I was pleased when I heard that Anberlin were touring with 30 Seconds To Mars, as I quite like what I’ve heard of theirs on album. I have a feeling some of the issues I had with them stemmed from the sound system being off balance (example the fact that the instrumentation was not well balanced). Their front man was inarticulate and the band sounded completely uncoordinated and a little cacophonous. Except for the drummers. Plural. That earned them a point all by itself, because they were fantastic and had better timing than the entire rest of the band combined.
They did put forth considerable effort I will give them that. They tried; unfortunately their own issues combined with the sound system’s problems made them fall flat.


The Main Act: 30 Seconds To Mars:(4/6): What Happened? This is the band that made me extend my rating scale to six. They set the bar very high with their last two performances, so I was expecting a lot more than they put out. Don’t get me wrong the show was still amazing. 30 Seconds To Mars is always amazing, but front man Jared Leto relied entirely too much on the crowd for support. I love crowd sings they can be very cathartic and give a wonderful intimacy when done right. I’ve never before seen a band where I found there was too much crowd interaction. However, when the crowd is singing more of the songs consistently than the singer is there is a problem. Granted if any group of fans can carry that, it’s the Echelon, but we paid to hear the band, not our drunk fellow fans. It seems to me that Leto needs a break from touring to get his energy and his voice back in shape. He has a lovely, clear voice. The strain was audible. Leto still gave everything he had, but he didn’t have the usual explosive energy he brings to a show.

On the other hand, there was a lot of fan interaction and it was clear that Leto was putting fort the effort at least. What impressed me most was an odd bit of circumstance. This was drummer Shannon Leto’s first show back after being hospitalized for an extended period of time. I couldn’t tell. Normally when one of the members is ill or injured things are a little off. The drumming was flawless as usual. Bravo.

I should also add that it was still a good solid rock show, Jared Leto was a diva as always. I will come back if they do.

Concert revew: Flogging Molly with, The Architectsand Frank turner at the Aragon Ballrom

Venue: The Aragon Ballroom (4/5) The most beautiful venue I've ever seen. The pictures on the site don't come close to doing it justice. Originally a legit ball room  in the twenties, the Aragon is a larger venue than most (Holding up to 4,500 people, compared to the House of Blues at 1000people ).  The entry way is a little cramped, and has an appearance of converted movie theater. there's one bar as you walk in across from the merch booth. You walk up the stairs into a beautifully painted and molded  dance floor with  balconies and little towers ornately carved and painted in oranges and creams.  Each turret has intricately carved windows.  I'm neglecting however, the most breathtaking element.
The ceiling is high and arced a little giving the place avery airy open feel. It is painted  like a night sky with swirling blue clouds and a white moon toward the stage. The top of the stage is framed with swords. If that wasn't enough, when the houselights go down, little stars appear, winking in and out alternately. The orange windows in the turrets reflect onto the ceiling reminiscent of citylights.  The total effect transports you to a Spanish plaza, rather than a concert venue jammed in the bar district.

There is a coat check, i didn't use it, nothing to report on that or the bathrooms.

The bars were irritating. Rather than wristband you when you enter,  they wrist band you on your way to the bar, thus creating huge lines, and causing those of us who just want water undue amounts of hassle. The bars are also more like kiosks than real bars.  And I was charged $3 for an 8oz bottle of water.  Irritating.

There were only two problems with the floor itself. The first was minor, That being because there is very little variation (no steps, et.) and its a larger venue its very hard to see from the back.  I'm five foot one so I'm use to this problem.
However, they are in desperate need of fans, and better ventilation. I'm a stubborn concert goer once I'm in the crowd and the main act is on  i break for nothing except illness.  I had to go out for water, after already having some at the start of the show. It was ridiculously stuffy.

The crowd: (2.5/5)The problem of such a large space is that the crowd varies wildly and I didn't get as much of a chance to weave through as I had a wonderful group of friends with me. For being such a great band, the crowd was tame. They were amicable, but very relaxed.  However, I was in a bit of a dead zone for part of the show. I find just standing there bored absolutely rude, especially when you're over six feet and toward the middle of the crowd.

on to the show.

First Act: Frank Turner (3/5) All the way from Manchester, it was just Frank Turner and his guitar for this show, though according to his myspace he has a backup band. I have to confess, for part of his act I was distracted by the gorgeous venue. His music was enjoyable with the occasional lyric that made me grin and a few others that I sympathized with.  A little relaxed for what was to come,  with a more ethnic engish feel to it, Turner's music  was a perfect warm up for a band like Flogging Molly.

Second Act: The Architects (2.5/5). There are  three bands easily found on the internet with that name, and if your forming a band in this day and age it pays to check these things.  It made them harder to track down.  Not that I especially wanted to.  While they significantly improved over the course of these set, they were out of place in that they sounded much more like mainstream rock/metal than  the Irish flavored music of the evening.   They were thrashy, hard to understand  and the numbers of theirs that caught my attention were either covers, or stylistic rip off of other bands. They aren't half  bad recorded however, with some decent lyrics. On stage, they were discordant and inarticulate. Worth dancing to, very much not worth buying a CD from.

The Main Act: Flogging Molly (3.5/5) Great live show, good solid sound. For those of you who may be new to this  band they are  about two parts traditional Irish music.  This band manages to keep to their Irish roots,  while still engaging  with modern politics and more importantly a modern audience.  These guys may be in their late fifties, but they still no how to rock without coming across as clinging to their younger days.  The sound they make is insane, and unmistakably their own.  Even front man, Dave king, doesn't quite know what genera to put them in, nor does he care.  I would have been happy indeed with the guitar work with the mandolin and banjo work, but then the fiddle came in.
And let me tell you something,  you've never seen or heard anything quite like an electric fiddle player rocking out, let alone one dueling with a guitarist.  It was intense.  The lyrics are serious and at times irreverent. Its wonderful to see a band that's been around as long as they have keeping the edge sharp politically and musically.

While predominantly thrashy, they do have their share of ballads that are equally strong and more articulate.

 Where they lose points is that they are a bit of a one trick pony.  Most of their stuff sounds similar weather its from 2002 or 2010. However, it's quite an enjoyable trick and  a  lot of fun.