Review: Atreyu/Unearth/Norma Jean/Scars of Tomorrow 3/1/05

March 1, 2005
Atreyu
Unearth
Norma Jean
Scars of Tomorrow
9:30 Club, Washington DC

I'm not sure who to vote for among these performers...oh, wait that's a different Tuesday night show...

Starting off the show: Orange County CA natives, Victory Records' own Scars of Tomorrow. I have to admit that I missed the first couple songs because even though I got there really early (I got sweet parking space on the street across from the now $10 paid parking lot) but I didn't want to wait out in the cold so I waited in the car and then a huge line developed between 6:30 and 7:30 so I still had to wait in the cold. Anyway, musically they were pretty much what I expected and they fall into that Atreyu/FATA/Eighteen Visions vein, though probably a little heavier and w/o a second 'clean' vocalist. They kinda look like they might have gotten haircuts from 18V. Per usual, the crowd sucked and looked bored (in fact some dude sat down on my feet while I was taking these notes). Overall I thought it was good though I don't think SoT handles the tempo changes (a/k/a breakdowns) as well as some of the other bands in the genre.
3.75/5

Speaking of tempo changes, Norma Jean was up next representin the ATL. I saw them last fall and kinda didn't know what to think (plus it was after I was so bitterly disappointed by Throwdown's live show and I had a blinding headache). As I said before they're somewhat reminicent of Dillinger Escape Plan. Since I only saw DEP once and I have a hard time listening to their albums I can't really make too many comparisons but it seems to me that NJ is more bass/drum heavy (let's say thundering) while DEP is more guitar focused (let's call it ringing). Anyway, I really enjoyed Norma Jean this time and I think they're one of those bands that will continue to grow on me. Marc from Atreyu came out early in the set to add some screams and a lot of people in the crowd were really into it (including this one dude I always see at the Ottobar but don't talk to since it was one of the chicks in his posse who made fun of me for wearing a Hatebreed shirt once). NJ definitely put on a great performance (what happened to that film/visual thing though? that was cool) and ended their set with one of the guitarists up on top of the stage left speakers, the bass player in the backstage right balcony, and the frontman on a stack next to the drummer. Oh and I dedicate this Homer Simpson quote to you, Norma Jean dudes: Sometimes I nod my head like this - Yes, Yes, Yes, this rocks! And then sometimes I change it up like - No, No, No, don't stop a-rockin!
4.5/5

Up next was Unearth, for whom I didn't stay to see on their headlining tour last fall because I had a fever and sore throat and could barely stand. A good number of people in the crowd seemed to be there just for Unearth and I don't think they were disappointed. These Bostonians fall into the same kind of 'American metal' vein as Lamb of God (though they have a smaller drum kit). I think they were doing some cool stuff on stage but I could only see a small portion of it because it was about this time that the tallest person at the show decided to come stand directly in front of me (why does that always happen?). The drum tech (I think) came out a couple times with a beer funnel for the guitarists, so you know these are real metal dudes (btw if anyone else needs a beer funnel roadie, I could totally do that job). 9:30 Club loses some points with me because there was some serious feedback during this set (it was like taking a hearing test). 9:30 has made all kinds of infrastructural improvements in the last year and usually has excellent sound so I don't know what was going on last night but it was pretty annoying. After the show I finally talked to some of the Ottobar regulars and turns out they were mostly there to see Unearth.
4/5

Ah, Atreyu. They were going with a mostly white clothing theme last night (compared to their normal black/red), so it was like country club night on stage (or possibly the BeeGees). It sounded like both Alex and Brandon were losing their voices but they put on a great set anyway. I'm not sure how long they played because it was like the neverending set list. Now, I'm not complaining or anything (because I go through phases where I listen to nothing but Atreyu for days on end) but all of their songs sound the same live [Though I should probably say they played a 'seamless' set - yeah let's go with that - seamless.] They're definitely a fun band and they actuallly managed to get the lame crowd hyped [freakin' kids: most people use their left hand on the frets while actually playing guitar/bass so when you do your 'fret fingers' in the air you might want to use your left hands.] The finer points (for me anyway) were: Marc spinning his bass around (OK, anything Marc does is a finer point for me); Travis's bowtie (Scott, we need to get working on those metal ties, stat!); all their cheesy 80s-style stage moves including the playing-behind-their-heads-while-standing-on-amps gimmick they always do; and shirtless Alex (.. ... / .. - / .-- .-. --- -. --. / - .... .- - / .. / .-- .- -. - . -.. / .... .. -- / - --- / .- .-.. ... --- / .-. . -- --- ...- . / .... .. ... / .--. .- -. - ...?) Yowza. 4.95/5

OK, so I didn't actually get to talk to any of them after the show (it was too cold to wait around and be one of those girls and I had to go let the dog out since I'm actually getting paid to take care of him) so I'm going to answer my questions for Marc with what I hope he would say.
3 Questions for the Bass Player
1 - if it was the 80's what else would you do besides wear your own band's shirts? (see his post from 1/13)
(what I hope Marc would answer) I would wear tiger-striped spandex and put Brandon in Tommy Lee's revolving drum cage
2 - who would win in a steel cage match between Unearth and Norma Jean?
(what I hope Marc would answer) even though Unearth are pretty physically intimidating, I would give that one to Norma Jean because they're scrappy and they could uses their climbing abilities to their advantage [this Q would have been especially fitting because Alex said on stage that he keeps talking like a pro-wreslter]
3 - who is your favorite band to see live and how many times have you seen them?
I actually have no idea what Marc would say (he's a huge music nerd) so I'm going to say Coheed & Cambria (duh) and 18 times (and counting)

Also after the show I got into the wedding-reception-style-receiving line for Norma Jean (their new album came out 3/1 - buy it today!). While they were signing my copy I gave one of my new Murrain of Swains business cards to them, so if you're reading this Hello, Norma Jean! [when I got home after saying goodbye to Norma Jean Elton John was on Leno, coincidence?] They're also today's pick on Purevolume.com

Oh man, I totally almost forgot about this (because I had four hours of sleep but now I've had lots of coffee and sugar -woo!) I saw this guy with HEAD TATTOOS - and not just one head tattoo but several (although there didn't seem to be a theme - he had a spiderweb, a bar code, an eye, some kind of foreign-language character, and at least one other thing I didn't get a good look at because it was on the opposite side from me). Mmmm...head tattoos