Re-education (through blogging).
The Rise Against/Alkaline Trio/Thrice/Gaslight Anthem uber-tour kicked off in Cleveland last night -- inexplicably, at an outdoor venue -- and I was there, clad in a not-nearly-thick-enough Draft hoodie and not-nearly-pants-enough khaki shorts, freezing my butt off for rock 'n' roll. Here's what went down.
The Gaslight Anthem took the stage right at 7 o'clock to a thousand or so early arrivals, who just sort of stared at the band throughout their 27-minute set (dudes, you get a half-hour on this tour -- add another song!). Whether it was the cold keep the crowd's energy back or the lack of a confined space (the venue the tour was at, the Tower City Amphitheatre, doesn't really have walls, so the crowd just sorts of dissolves on the sides instead of being packed in by default because of walls, like any good rock club), the band got very little in terms of crowd response during their set, but when they ended (with a killer version of "The Backseat"), the applause from the growing crowd was pretty thunderous. It might take a week or two before Rise Against fans start buzzing on message boards about "Who was that opening band?" but I guarantee it'll happen. Heck, this was only the first night of the tour but already all three other bands on the bill were taking notice: I personally saw Eddie and Dustin from Thrice, Zach and Joe from Rise Against and Matt Skiba all watching parts of the band's well-played set.
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM SETLIST:
Great Expectations
The '59 Sound
Wooderson
Old White Lincoln
Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?
High Lonesome
Say I Won't (Recognize)
The Backseat
Thrice were up next, and were allotted 40 minutes of stage time. They made the most of it, doing very little (if any) stage banter and delivering note-for-note perfect renditions of songs old and new, popular and obscure -- I've seen this band easily close to two dozen times before, and I'd never seen them play "All That's Left," "Blood Clots And Black Holes" or "The Melting Point Of Wax." Plus, this show was the first time they ever played "The Sky Is Falling" off the latest batch of Alchemy Index EPs, and it was pulled off very well. But the true highlight of their set was their absolutely devastating cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." Take a look:
Seriously, you gotta have some big ol' brass ones to take on John, Paul, George and Ringo, and I think Dustin, Teppei, Eddie and Riley did a magnificent job. The crowd responded in kind, giving the band a "ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!" chant when they left the stage after the monstrous "The Earth Will Shake." Consider the show officially stolen.
THRICE SETLIST:
The Messenger
The Melting Point Of Wax
Blood Clots And Black Holes
Firebreather
Broken Lungs
Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
Betrayal Is A Symptom
Of Dust And Nations
The Sky Is Falling (first time played live, according to Dustin)
All That's Left
The Earth Will Shake
One of my all-time faves, Alkaline Trio, were also given 40 minutes to deliver a diverse set to an ever-growing crowd. The Trio always does well in Cleveland, and this show was no exception, with some massive sing-alongs on "Cringe," "This Could Be Love" and "Radio." But the real highlight was Matt Skiba's shoes. Seriously, did any of you fellow attendees see those things?
ALKALINE TRIO SETLIST:
Private Eye
Calling All Skeletons
I Lied My Face Off
Cringe
I Found Away
In Vein
Warbrain
Goodbye Forever
Love Love Kiss Kiss
Help Me
This Could Be Love
Radio
At this point in the night, my joints were achy, my feet were damn near numb and my nose was running faster than Usain Bolt. As much as I was enjoying myself, my body was telling my brain, "Hey asshole, can we please go somewhere that's not cold and rainy and that also serves potato skins as an appetizer?" Because of this, I only made it through a small portion of Rise Against's 85-minute(!) set. The songs I heard sounded awesome (even the new single, "Re-Education (Through Labor)," which I think is pretty darn mediocre recorded), and their light show was insane -- they made use of every last inch of Tower City's gigantic stage, and had their own lighting rig in the scaffolding, too. (It's no surprise they're once again traveling with a semi truck to haul their stage gear.) I don't know how they're gonna cram this show into some of the smaller, indoor venues on this tour, but I bet it'll be impressive no matter where it is.
RISE AGAINST SETLIST (partial):
Drones
Give It All
State Of The Union
Ready To Fall
Injection
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Chamber The Cartridge
(Don't forget to read Jennifer's review of the show, too!)
The Gaslight Anthem took the stage right at 7 o'clock to a thousand or so early arrivals, who just sort of stared at the band throughout their 27-minute set (dudes, you get a half-hour on this tour -- add another song!). Whether it was the cold keep the crowd's energy back or the lack of a confined space (the venue the tour was at, the Tower City Amphitheatre, doesn't really have walls, so the crowd just sorts of dissolves on the sides instead of being packed in by default because of walls, like any good rock club), the band got very little in terms of crowd response during their set, but when they ended (with a killer version of "The Backseat"), the applause from the growing crowd was pretty thunderous. It might take a week or two before Rise Against fans start buzzing on message boards about "Who was that opening band?" but I guarantee it'll happen. Heck, this was only the first night of the tour but already all three other bands on the bill were taking notice: I personally saw Eddie and Dustin from Thrice, Zach and Joe from Rise Against and Matt Skiba all watching parts of the band's well-played set.
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM SETLIST:
Great Expectations
The '59 Sound
Wooderson
Old White Lincoln
Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?
High Lonesome
Say I Won't (Recognize)
The Backseat
Thrice were up next, and were allotted 40 minutes of stage time. They made the most of it, doing very little (if any) stage banter and delivering note-for-note perfect renditions of songs old and new, popular and obscure -- I've seen this band easily close to two dozen times before, and I'd never seen them play "All That's Left," "Blood Clots And Black Holes" or "The Melting Point Of Wax." Plus, this show was the first time they ever played "The Sky Is Falling" off the latest batch of Alchemy Index EPs, and it was pulled off very well. But the true highlight of their set was their absolutely devastating cover of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." Take a look:
Seriously, you gotta have some big ol' brass ones to take on John, Paul, George and Ringo, and I think Dustin, Teppei, Eddie and Riley did a magnificent job. The crowd responded in kind, giving the band a "ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!" chant when they left the stage after the monstrous "The Earth Will Shake." Consider the show officially stolen.
THRICE SETLIST:
The Messenger
The Melting Point Of Wax
Blood Clots And Black Holes
Firebreather
Broken Lungs
Helter Skelter (Beatles cover)
Betrayal Is A Symptom
Of Dust And Nations
The Sky Is Falling (first time played live, according to Dustin)
All That's Left
The Earth Will Shake
One of my all-time faves, Alkaline Trio, were also given 40 minutes to deliver a diverse set to an ever-growing crowd. The Trio always does well in Cleveland, and this show was no exception, with some massive sing-alongs on "Cringe," "This Could Be Love" and "Radio." But the real highlight was Matt Skiba's shoes. Seriously, did any of you fellow attendees see those things?
ALKALINE TRIO SETLIST:
Private Eye
Calling All Skeletons
I Lied My Face Off
Cringe
I Found Away
In Vein
Warbrain
Goodbye Forever
Love Love Kiss Kiss
Help Me
This Could Be Love
Radio
At this point in the night, my joints were achy, my feet were damn near numb and my nose was running faster than Usain Bolt. As much as I was enjoying myself, my body was telling my brain, "Hey asshole, can we please go somewhere that's not cold and rainy and that also serves potato skins as an appetizer?" Because of this, I only made it through a small portion of Rise Against's 85-minute(!) set. The songs I heard sounded awesome (even the new single, "Re-Education (Through Labor)," which I think is pretty darn mediocre recorded), and their light show was insane -- they made use of every last inch of Tower City's gigantic stage, and had their own lighting rig in the scaffolding, too. (It's no surprise they're once again traveling with a semi truck to haul their stage gear.) I don't know how they're gonna cram this show into some of the smaller, indoor venues on this tour, but I bet it'll be impressive no matter where it is.
RISE AGAINST SETLIST (partial):
Drones
Give It All
State Of The Union
Ready To Fall
Injection
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Chamber The Cartridge
(Don't forget to read Jennifer's review of the show, too!)
posted by Scott Heisel at
11:35 AM
1 Comments:
On a somewhat related note, I was looking at allmusic.com the other day, and I saw an ad for this tour on the front page. What makes this interesting is the fact that, not only is this tour more or less comprised of bands that I like, but the date that the ad was promoting was in Worcester, MA, which, although it's a 7 hour drive, is undoubtedly the closest that this tour will come to me. So to sum up, I went to a website and just happened to see an ad for a tour I'd like to see in a place that's as close to me as said tour is going to get. Either this is a coincidence, or the internet is spying on me. Not sure I like the implications of this...
Post a Comment
<< Home