Friday, November 17, 2017

Warped Tour 2005 and Teenage Angst


Fall Out Boy with Blackbear and Jaden Smith
November 15th, 2017
Viejas Arena at SDSU
San Diego, California

Summer of 2005, my red and rusted 91' Toyota Corolla is packed full of screaming sixteen and seventeen-year olds. The smell of teenage angst fills the car as we blast the newly released Fall Out Boy album From Under The Cork Tree. Lyrics like "the ribbon on my wrist says do not open until Christmas" or "why don't you just drop dead" can be heard from the screams echoing in the streets as we cruise around town. We were young, we were emo, and we were proud of it.

Flash forward to 2012. During the courtship of my now wife, I can remember trying to spell out the correct number of "Oh Oh Oh's" from the song "Of All the Gin Joints In All the World". Trying my hardest to serenade her via Facebook messaging (back when it was just an inbox) after finding out Fall Out Boy was her favorite band. Gin Joints would then go on to be our recessional song in our wedding. It was only appropriate to purchase VIP package tickets as a wedding gift for the upcoming tour in our new home on the west coast.



Fall Out Boy, formed in 2001 in Chicago, was set to release their seventh studio album M a n i a this past September but was delayed until early 2018. Tour dates already set, they continued touring the unreleased album and are still releasing tracks every few weeks. I went into the concert with the mindset that they are touring an album that isn't out yet. It silently screams to me someone wasn't happy with the finished product so they headed back into the studio. Call me Negative Nancy, but I feel a band should work hard in the studio then schedule dates to tour their proud finished product. But hey, maybe that's what it takes to keep an emo band from the turn of the century alive and well.

My mom taught me "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Happily following those morals, I will skip over Jaden Smith's opening act completely. 

I only caught the last two songs of Blackbear but from what I heard the hip hop artist seemed to capture the crowd. Impressively, Blackbear supported a full four-piece band with jazzy style. Their Ghostbusters mashup was pretty entertaining as a shirtless keytar player took the stage and filled the arena with 80's nostalgia. 

Rising from the stage, literally, Fall Out Boy opened with "The Phoenix" and pyrotechnics.



Rolling into "Irresistible", "Hum Hallelujah", and the crowd favorite "Sugar We're Going Down", I was presently surprised by the sound quality, production, and great floor seats we had. Strange not having any GA but also nice to not having to fight our way to the front. Also notable, lead singer Patrick Stump's vocals were on point.






The set took a political turn during "American Beauty/American Psycho" displaying "Make America Psycho Again" on stage. Continuing the theme, video screens during "Centuries" showed images of NFL protests, Colin Kaepernick, and Muhammad Ali. Symbolizing this time in America will "go down in history, for centuries". 





Half way through the show the band moved to a B-stage, which as of recently seems to be a trend of live shows. Drummer Andy Hurley rose from a platform at the end of the catwalk and busted into a drum solo. Hurley jammed out to Metallica's "Battery" off Master of Puppets and a huge grin took over my face. Two platforms then rose higher, two members on each to play three songs suspended in the air.






"Dance, Dance" off my personal favorite album, From Under The Cork Tree brought me back to Warped Tour 2005. Dance was the first song I ever crowd surfed to during Fall Out Boy's side stage performance in front of a couple hundred emo kids in Darien Lake, New York. I'm not the only one who has history with this song. My wife (as a teenager) can be seen clapping along to the right in their music video. Check her out at 2:33 seconds. A screen grab from the band's YouTube channel can be seen below. Almost 85 million views?! Right on, babe.



Five tracks off not yet released M a n i a were played, including the live debut of "Hold Me Tight, Or Don't". Unfortunately, I only got two off my summer album of 2005. They did close with an old school favorite "Saturday" off 2003's, Take This To Your Grave. Heartthrob bassist, Pete Wentz featured screaming into the crowd to end the show.



When the last of the confetti fell, we stormed the front of the stage grabbing a couple picks and the set list. Although the band lacked the same intensity and energy from 2005 I thought they put on a decent show. Especially for a band who has had their ups and downs, including a hiatus from 2010-2012. My wife was happy, and if I've learned anything from almost six months of marriage, that's what matters.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Thrashing and Genny Cream Ale


D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles)
November 10th, 2017
Brick by Brick
San Diego, California


A couple weeks back I was sitting at the bar watching Thursday Night Football when I hear a dude to my left order a Genesee Cream Ale. “Did you just order a Genny in Southern California?!” Turns out my soon to be new friend was brewed from the same place as me and the infamous Genny beer. It probably helps we were at a Buffalo Bills bar, but all the same, we had a common ground.


We got to talking about music and he invited me out in the coming week to see a thrash band. I pegged him for one of those guys who only likes the first three or four Metallica albums and I wasn’t wrong. I’ve been to plenty of rowdy metal shows in my day, but this was a different scene.


I walked into the dirty, sweaty, packed venue alone. I could feel the stares coming at me with my backwards hat and Master of Puppets tee. I thought these guys liked the first three albums? My buddy hadn’t shown up yet so I puffed up my chest and dove into the sea of testosterone.


The crowd was not what I had anticipated. I was envisioning a bunch of fifty year old skinheads, instead it was a diverse ocean of genders, race, and ages. Impressed with the amount of hardcore chicks moshing and throwing down with the rest of them, some even in heels might I add! There was an angry vibe, but controlled. Much like my family of metal heads, it seemed everyone looked after one another. Picking people off the ground and making sure everyone was good even when the pit opened up the whole floor.


My friend showed up and D.R.I. took the stage shortly after. Formed in Houston, Texas in 1982 the thrash metal/hardcore punk/thrashcore band still rosters the original singer and guitarist. The singer actually sits and sells merch during the opening acts, packs everything up and brings the bag onstage, then heads offstage after the set to set up the merch table again. That’s dedication.


The drummer comes on stage, busts out some duct tape and hangs a raggedy banner displaying "D.R.I.". My buddy turns to me and says "This isn't going to be your Metallica show with lasers and pyro".



They opened the set and rip into some of the fastest music I've ever heard live. It was almost like listening to a song on fast forward but instead of Alvin and the Chipmunks vocals they were deep barking growls. “Thrashard” off Thrash Zone was probably my favorite song of the night. The pit was insane, fully carrying out the lyrics from the song. “IN THE PIT, IN THE PIT”





They shredded for over an hour and a half and incredibly only breaking for a minute for a quick swig. They played thirty-five songs. THIRTY-FIVE! Granted, most of them are thirty seconds long, but still that's hardcore.




I have a lot of respect for such a long running band with killer musicians, but thrash just wasn’t really my cup of tea. Besides maybe a couple songs during my cardio sessions at the gym, you probably won't find D.R.I. on any of my playlists. All and all, my stiff neck today is proof of a good time.



Friday, November 10, 2017

King Crimson and Rocking Horses


I love concerts. I've been going since I was in the womb. Born into a family of progressive music loving hippy parents in Rochester, New York in the late 80's. Osmosis of music was a daily routine throughout my years as a toddler. In case you're not familiar with Rochester, there isn't much to do especially during the brutal six months of winter. Much of my nights as a kid can be remembered plugged into my dad's record player, dancing to King Crimson in the living room with my rocking horse, or playing hacky sack with DeadHeads at Phish shows. My first concert ever, btw. Do they still jump on trampolines? My parents started me young, not sure if my ears would agree but I sure am grateful for that.

 

I love concerts. I'm not a musician and I don't know music theory. I don't even know much about music in the grand scheme of things. I'm not a critic, and I'm for sure not saying my taste in music is better than yours. This is more of a place for me to talk about concerts I've attended. Think of it as Julie's Concert Journal. Honestly, it's more for me than it is for you. But thanks for reading anyways.