Review: strhess tour 2006

I don't know what happened to my mobile post....

#31
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Still Remains
Bury Your Dead
Darkest Hour
9:30 Club

So this was the Strhess Tour. I think I would have preferred a different lineup (HIMSA instead of Poison the Well at least - I was only interested in the opening bands). I'm fairly indifferent to headliners Shadows Fall, though I would have watched them if they hadn't been immediately preceed by Poison the Well, whom I refuse to watch again this year.

My 7th viewing of Still Remains (first time outside of Jaxx or Ottobar). They had yet another new guy - this time a new bass player. The only person who is still in the band from the first time I saw them is Jordan.

Mmmm...Bury Your Dead. Eric is now my cell phone wall paper.

This is the first time I've seen Darkest Hour in our hometown. Represent! I like them and own their albums but tend to forget they exist.

Review: still remains 4.26.06

Blogging from jaxx! It's like a poorly executed episode of 24. Missed demiricous - no loss. If hope dies i think i saw b4. Nodes of ranvier is pronounced like the french. Some dude just slapped my leg & told me 2 'wake up' - c? Real time blogging!

Post-show blogging:
If Hope Dies (above)- I have no idea if I've seen them before. I think they've definitely been on the bill of something I've been to. It was adequate metal-core. I don't need to know about their gastro-intestinal problems though. One of them has a neck tattoo.

Nodes of Ranvier are one of those singing drummer bands. Don't we already have enough? Whatever. Your frontman is cute. I can't believe I didn't recognize your name from my NYU 'Science for Dummies' class about the brain. Dr. Azmitia must hate me even more now.



Finally, for the whatever-eth time, Still Remains. (it's the 6th for them too. Do you realize I saw All That Remains twice last year and Still Remains 4 times? Weird) This time, TJ looks completely different yet familiar. Their new drummer is in place. He hadn't yet joined the band last time I saw them, possibly because he had not yet been born. Seriously, kid is young.
Also, while I do enjoy their music - their songs are too long! Too long! They need a good producer to just chop off about 2 minutes each. I mean, if you're not doing something different just stop. 'Recovery' is my favorite one and I can never tell when it's going to end. After the first breakdown it just keeps going, then there's another breakdown and then it's still not over. And they just play/sing the same part again. Oy vey, Christians!

Review: Bullet for My Valentine + Still Remains 11/20/05

#46
November 20, 2005
Bullet for My Valentine
Still Remains
Scars of Tomorrow
It Dies Today
Jacknife
Make Your Stand
Ottobar

OK, Sunday night for me is party night but it makes Mondays even more horrible especially when there are endless, pointless meetings, multi-hour commutes to-and-from said meetings, and then endless pointless forms to fill out when you get back in the office. And it was dark at 4 pm and pouring rain. *sigh* It's not that I regret going out, it's that I resent working.

Anyway...I couldn't figure out what time this show started (different everywhere I checked) or if Still Remains was playing at all (only two of the four sites I checked had them listed - their own record company had not updated their tour info for quite some time...). In any case, setting my arrival for 7:30 worked whether the show started at 6:30 with several local openers or if it started at 7:30. It apparently did start at 6:30 so I was also able to catch one of the locals - Dillinger-esque Make Your Stand (I refuse to type those stupid straight-edge xhardcorex letters in their name). They were pretty good. I'm generally happy to see a 'metalcore' band that doesn't sound like Underoath or As I Lay Dying (esp AILD - one of those is plenty, thanks). Though the Dillinger/Norma Jean sound is getting kind of old now too. Maybe bands should restart some kind of psychadellic pseudometal and sing songs about childrens literature. Oh, wait somebody already did that.

I couldn't figure out what Jacknife was going to sound like and when they started setting up a big drum rack, I started to get worried (no more Lamb of God sound-alikes needed either!). However, I do think that having a good bit of the equipment attached to a collapsable dealie is a good idea and functional. Drummers have so much crap - it just saves time. Jacknife's singer looks like a professional wrestler (w/neck tattoos!) - he kept talking like a wrestler too - trying to egg the crowd into doing something. I dunno though...metal shows at Ottobar are kinda weird since it's more of a hardcore/indie rock venue. Put any old hardcore band on and the place will be packed with crazy dancing mofos. And with this kind of metal, most of these little Christian kids just stand around. Plus it was still only like 8 pm and it was Sunday night and I don't know if many in the crowd had heard any of their songs before. I didn't think it was bad (and these dudes are awesome to hang with, if a little aggressive for my personal taste); I just wasn't blown away. I would definitely do shots with them again though, cuz they're awesome. And the singer is kinda hot. And neck tattooed.

And then...for the first time in the US: the lovely Welsh quartet, Bullet for My Valentine. Yay! They might not be the best looking of the overhyped Welshies, but they're definitely the most metal. And Matt - singing lead and playing lead guitar and headbanging with 3 broken ribs - is fucking hardcore. Very short set - mostly from the non-US-released full-length album 'The Poison'.
Before they hit the stage I was chatting with Matt - and this guy DudeyourbandisthegreatesetbandeverandI'monyourstreetteamand - freakin gets right between us, about 6 inches from Matt's face and starts fucking talking. Gah! What the hell is wrong with people. If I was a really hot chick there would be none of that happening. Or if I was with Coheed - they don't let dicks pull shit like that in the middle of a conversation. Anyway. That put me in a bad mood for the rest of the show. Considering what happened next though I'm surprised I didn't engage in any shirt-ripping, pant-tattering She-Hulk type of tantrum: I thought all my batteries were charged - regular set, back-up set. I was all excited to take hundreds of photos of BFMV and then: 'Change the Batteries' -camera totally dead. Argh. [apparently it's the battery-charger that's broken - I put both sets of batteries in when I got home and they seem to be fully charged] Hence the stolen John Waters 'Scene Missing' photo above.
Still though, BFMV is awesome and I would recommend them to anyone who likes Welshmen, metal, or muscle shirts.

Next up in this metalcoreapalooza, Scars of Tomorrow. I thought that I'd seen them before and then recognized none of them. Which is I guess because it's only one guy from the other band called Scars of Tomorrow that I saw back in March.

Band member confusion continues with Still Remains. At first I thought they had yet another singer, but really TJ just had yet another hair-do. They are about to get a new drummer though (their third). Mike Church (yes, that apparently is his real name and he is the second second guitar player) was not wearing make-up this time, although he was admiring my pyrotechnic eyeliner. Interesting footwear choices - Zack has those Misfits vans and AJ was just wearing socks. Great set - pretty sure it was the same as last time. They get pretty crazy on stage.

I didn't pay much attention to It Dies Today because I was attempting (once again) to talk to BFMV and chatting with the Jacknife guys. From now on I'm going to carry a back-up camera like a real photographer and possibly even a camera phone (T-Mobile has a prepaid Sidekick if I can get over my deep hatred of them).

Review: Still Remains 10/3/05

#35
October 3, 2005
Still Remains
Underminded
The Ottobar

I missed Aiden and this was their last stop on this tour. Actually I don't think I missed anything - a bunch of dudes wearing make-up...no thanks. I could actually see this band getting pretty big though, but it's not my thing.

Sadly, I did manage to catch Underminded. Musically I thought they were OK (hardcore/metalcore) but their singer was so obnoxious. Ugh.

Finally, for the 4th time: Still Remains. You know I have a hard enough time identifying them on a normal day and bringing a different singer really doesn't help. They were all wearing make-up too (hopefully only in tribute to Aiden). Those chicks from the afternoon Haste the Day show were there - although they were more appropriately dressed this time. [BTW the Return the the Pit guy has some awesome photos of Still Remains...so apparently I am the reason mine all look like ass]

Having been in all those other venues last week just makes me love the Ottobar even more.

Review: Still Remains 8 7 05

Hello new beardo! Haste the Day 8 7 05

#24
August 7 2005
Haste the Day
Stretch Arm Strong
Still Remains
Ottobar
Photo album

So I wanted to check out Still Remains and find out what they're all about (JC) and get the dirt on 3 Inches of Blood (they're 'sweet guys'), so I finally forced myself to get dressed and drive to Baltimore by 8:30 pm (since I can never seem to get there for the opening band anyway). Also, as you may have noticed, I finally figured out how to use the black & white setting on my camera. The b&w shots all look great too. I think b&w is better because it gets rid of the contrast with the colored stage lights.

Still Remains - I finally got confirmation that they toured last summer with Across Five Aprils, so this was my third viewing. They seem to look different every time...maybe it was just the humidity or something. I don't know. They rock though and I bumped them up a couple tenths this time.
4.6298/5

Stretch Arm Strong are old skool style hardcore from South Carolina. They put on a very energetic set and are a fun band. Plus the singer is hott.
4/5

Haste the Day are from Indianapolis and are another one of these newfangled Christian metal(core) bands. How come when I was all keen on Jesus and went to concerts with my church youth group all we ever saw was Michael W. Smith and Carman? And there weren't any hot guys either. Whatever. All I can say about Haste the Day is that they blew me away. Rock! Full-body headbanging. Crazy metal riffs. A cute bearded guy. Awesome. I will definitely check them out in the future.
4.2085/5

I was talking to the bouncers at the door about feeling old and one of them said that Coheed is 'radio rock' - have they really sunk that low and I just didn't notice? Ew.

Review: Trivium/3 Inches of Blood/Still Remains/The Agony Scene, 3/12/05

March12, 2005
Trivium
3 Inches of Blood
Still Remains
The Agony Scene
Jaxx, Springfield VA

This review is dedicated to our dear departed Jasmine: may she find the coziest lap for all eternity.

This show is part of the Roadrunner Records 'Road Rage Tour' and y'all already know how I feel about Jaxx (though they were somewhat redeemed tonight). Special thanks to my fellow VIPs for hangin' wit me and especially to my personal photographer Miss L (photos possibly coming soon!).

We walked in just in time for 3 Inches of Blood, the best Canadian band I've seen this week. Now there are three things that will endear me to any band: double-bass drumming, high-pitched male vocals, and growling/screaming vocals. Add to that songs about outer-space warfare (either by cyborgs or by comic book characters) and I'm hooked. In my retro-review-a-palooza I called 3IoB 'groin-grabbingly good' and I stand by that, because, really I can think of no higher complement. 3IoB has an old skool 80's metal feel that incorporates elements from hardcore/screamo/punk just to keep things fresh and interesting. They're excellent musicians and put on a fun live show for the very enthusiastic crowd up front. Also, while I usually work to keep those guys busy doing something else, I do understand that 'warheads are the only way to stop the Wykydtron' so if future space cyborgs try to kill us, I know who to consult. After the show (thanks to our VIP status) I got to talk to Jamie a little bit and gave him a shirt I made for him with a picture of the White House with 'This Castle is Set to Burn' and 'DC *hearts* 3IoB' - may he wear it in good health and away from the Secret Service.
5/5

I think I'd seen The Agony Scene before...I missed their set because I was busy drinking Coronas (even though I was still limed-out from Wednesday's drink disaster). I'd probably check them out in the future - they remind me of a lot of other metal-core stuff that's out right now. That one guy that I always see at the Ottobar was there in the bar too (see Atreyu show post).

Still Remains may or may not be the same Still Remains I saw with Across Five Aprils over the summer. All I remember about that is that two of them were hott! not that this Still Remains is without it's charms. I also find it hard to believe that Still Remains would be that popular of a name for a band that there would be two. I was going to ask the singer if they toured with AFA over the summer but I felt he was kind of unapproachable. Whatever. They could almost be classified as 'one of those keyboard bands' but they're way heavier than most of those. I just put on the EP I bought so I could describe their music a little better. It's like metal-core meets goth keyboards, but good. Very high energy set and there were definitely some fans in the pit for their set.
4.429/5

Finally, the big headliners (one of this year's 100 bands to know for 2005) Trivium. I'd only heard one of their songs before (in the same Revolver magazine download which introduced me to my new loves 3IoB) and I really like the singer's voice on the clear vocals. The guitar player can shred too. I think I like their brand of metal more than Unearth, whom I saw last week. Overall I thought they put on an excellent set and I would definitely check them out again (esp. if it wasn't at Jaxx). Plus the drummer's got some sexy neck tattoos... I almost forgot to mention that they had a big banner and some back-lit screen thingies with their logo on it which were pretty cool. It's probably neat on a bigger stage where they're not so brightly lit.
4.307/5

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