Monday, February 15, 2010

POV: The Emptiness Tour! Valentine's Day at the Palladium!

Last night, I made it out to the Palladium in Worcester for the second date of the Emptiness Tour, Alesana's first headlining tour in support of the new album with the same namesake. It was a packed crowd of about 1,500 kids and with the bands that were playing on this tour, it was understandable why.
To have We Came As Romans, Of Mice and Men, The Word Alive, A Skylit Drive and Alesana all on the same bill is a little insane and when I walked into the venue, the pit had already filled up. I had never been at a show at the Palladium Downstairs before and in comparison to the upstairs room, it's strange to think that the two are even in the same building!

The night started off with We Came As Romans. I got the chance to sit down with Joshua, Lou and Kyle before doors opened where we talked about everything from their tour plans (watch out for those dates soon!) to if they were a conversation heart, what would they say.
Their set itself set off with a huge bang. As is the style today, there are two vocalists in this band with one doing the screaming and Kyle singing. The mixing of the two in their tracks really is something that makes them different from others in their genre and may be one of the reasons the crowd was so into their set from start to finish. They made a great start to the night and definitely had some fans in the audience!

Next up was Of Mice and Men. The band and The Word Alive alternate playing the second and third slots. Earlier in the evening, I also sat down with a few members of the band being Jaxin, Shayley, Tino and Phil. With their debut full length album coming out March 9th of this year, there was plenty of serious things to talk about but we also covered such important things as what "Snarf" is. Snarf is a collaboration between these guys and Nick and Joey from A Skylit Drive, which as I learned can also be used as an adjective or a verb and involves actual pigs in some way. We also talked about some of their first shows as kids along with who would be a dream tour for them. The interview was also the first one Shayley had ever done with Of Mice and Men so it was great to be a part of that experience!

As I saw them come on stage as the second band of the night, there were a few technical difficulties but the crowd soon forgot them as Jaxin talked to the crowd through it. The crowd progressively improved and got more into the show. The band has a lot to prove due to for a long time just having two songs on their myspace..and one of them was a cover but with their debut album coming out in just under three weeks the crowd was definitely liking what they were hearing, especially when it came to Gaga time. Switching off vocals with Austin who was providing the screams, their cover of Pokerface illuminated the kids. The contrast between Austin and Shayley in this song is great and the crowd was definitely into it. I have a strong feeling this band is going to blow up with this new album if they weren't already huge.


Next up were The Word Alive who are a familiar face to me (You can find our first interview here.) and it was great to see the boys again. Our interview was a little more serious then the last considering the band is currently working on their debut full length album. As we learned from bands like Mice and Men and We Came As Romans who just released their debut in November, it is a very trying and stressful time but the band seems to be coming through it just fine and with humor. We talked about their dream tour, their music video fiasco, Telle's special connection with the late Stewart Tegger and I was able to meet the new drummer who will be formally announced very soon on their myspace who recently replaced Tony Aguilera on drums. Look for a lot to come with this band over this year, but for now just catch their amazing live show!
The first time I caught these boys was in New Haven and I had to jet pretty quickly but tonight will be my first full set. They started off their set with their now common jump warm ups and that's when their passion began. With Dusty shredding on the keys and Zach on guitar, the liveliness in the band was undeniable, and the crowds was completely sold! They had a few technical difficulties in their set but besides that, the crowd was definitely loving it and when they ended on Battle Royale and were jumping and head banging in synchronization, it was a great set!

Next up was A Skylit Drive. Definitely not a new band to the site (find our second interview here), as I walked into the room, it was definitely a warm setting and talked to the band prior to the interview. Even though We Came As Romans came on during our interview, I was able to sit down for a smile filled one with Joey and Jag and we talked everything from possible careers for Joey and how they hope their experience in Europe with tour mates Alesana will be in comparison to their headlining tour there in December to the inspiration for their song Eva The Carrier which was semi-based a bit off of an actual real person.

They started off their set with the track and it was clear right from the beginning that no one was going to be disappointed in the crowd. Playing a fair amount of tracks both off of their latest effort 'Adelphia' and 'Wires and the Concept of Breathing', the crowd was definitely pleased. This band is one that is very active with their crowd which included a body surfing competition and if you reached Jag, that's how you got a point. With Jag going into the crowd several times during his set and Nick actually stage diving while holding his guitar, both the band and the crowd were absolutely at the top of their game. Playing songs like 'Knights of the Round' and 'I'm Not A Thief, I'm a Treasure Hunter' along with 'Children of Adelphia' and 'Wires and the Concept of Breathing', the crowd was singing along the whole time and it was a great show!

To be perfectly honest with you, for the last show of the night, I was intimidated by their set design and after the first few tracks, decided to call it quits for the night show review wise. I was not a fan but I know there were plenty of people there just for him so they definitely had a good crowd!

Look for all the interviews from these bands on Music Remedy and some here within the next two weeks as we still have a few more interviews to put up for you prior with bands like Puddle of Mudd, Sleeperstar, Green River Ordinance and more coming your way before then! Keep on coming back to catch everything new happening here. Hopefully 2010 is our year!

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