This is my third show review in as many days and I am clean out of attempts at clever intros. Sorry. The crowd at this show was not as energetic as the night before for Aiden, but it would be asking a bit much to expect a repeat of that show.
The show started with a set by Cry of the Afflicted. The band is a five-piece Canadian group that played a solid set of four-ish songs. Their sound sits squarely in the melodic hardcore genre and is a bit screamy for me, but the energy was high and they did a solid job kicking off the show. The crowd was unfamiliar with the music, but in a good mood and receptive. Cry of the Afflicted isn’t the chattiest on stage, but lead singer Garrett Packer was engaged with the audience and played off the feedback pretty well.
Cry of the Afflicted was followed by Pierce the Veil, a slightly screamy act out of San Diego. Pierce the Veil plays high-drama emo with some decorative screaming thrown in for good measure. The sound is unique, relying mostly on lead singer Vic Fuentes theatrical vocals. The set was precisely performed and the audience got into it almost immediately, despite the fact that the band seemed disengaged for the first couple numbers. Pierce The Veil warmed up quickly, though, and as soon as they started to turn up the intensity the crowd went berserk. A good portion of the audience was familiar with the songs and singing along.
Next up was As Cities Burn, playing a set that came as a bit of a shock. Before I go to a show, I make sure I’m at least familiar with the bands playing (or try to, it doesn’t always happen). I checked As Cities Burn out when I bought tickets for the show, and I wasn’t thrilled with what I heard. Fortunately, their live set was nothing like what I remembered listening to online. On the new album, they’ve mostly ditched the screaming and settled into a very indie-rock, obscure vibe. The change killed the energy in the crowd a bit, but the new sound is much more mature than their earlier work. As Cities Burn wasn’t exactly disengaged, but they were a little distant on stage. They did tell the crowd about the $700 parking ticket/towing fee Cry of the Afflicted managed to pick up (we’re serious about our parking laws in California) and asked the audience to help the band out. I don’t know how many of them did, but Cry of the Afflicted’s tip jar looked pretty full back in the merch section so I think a good portion of the audience decided to help out.
As Cities Burn was followed by Mayday Parade. I’ve been slightly obsessed (in a good, play-the-album-on-repeat way, not a stalker way) for a couple months and completely ruined my voice during this set. The band loses some of their technical precision live – the soaring interplay between the two vocalists isn’t nearly as tight – but made up for it in energy. The band focused on A Lesson In Romantics but tossed in a couple songs of Tales Told By Dead Friends, and even played some of the slower numbers. Lead singer Derek Sanders made up for spending half the set singing with his hair in his eyes by walking the barricade on “You Be the Anchor,” one of my favorite songs and one I didn’t think they’d do, since it’s a bit slow. The audience was pretty familiar with the songs and sang along for most of the set.
Emery closed the show with the most raucous set of the night. There was a sense as soon as they took the stage that the audience had been waiting out the opening acts because the place exploded. The band is impressive on stage. Lead singer Toby Morrell is much more impressive live than on the albums. Emery is a band in transition, and nowhere is that more apparent than in their live act. You expect to see a certain amount of growth over a bands lifespan, and Emery loses some of their disjointedness on stage. The set focused on songs from their latest album, I’m Only A Man, but you still get the distinct impression that the band hasn’t quite made up their mind which way their heading. The more melodic songs play very well on stage, but the band doesn’t seem comfortable shedding the hardcore-screamo image they have of themselves. The set was generous, about an hour, especially considering that almost every band member apologized for being sick and not quite on their game.
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