Alternative Music of progressing musicians
Back again this year the Last Summer on Earth tour is bound to blow your mind again. This year the Barenaked Ladies are headed out on the road with support from Ben Folds Five and Guster. These shows are predicted to sell out so if you want to be apart of one of the best tours this summer is going to have to offer, I’d jump on them soon. Full list of dates and locations below.
June 17 Dallas, TX Verizon Theatre
June 19 Denver, CO Red Rocks
June 20 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amp
June 22 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
June 23 Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre
June 25 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery ●
June 26 Saratoga, CA Mountain Winery ●
June 28 Boise, ID Botanical Gardens
June 29 Seattle, WA White River Amp
June 30 Missoula, MT Big Sky Brewing Company
July 3 Fargo, ND Newman Field ●●
July 5 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
July 6 Cincinnati, OH (Venue TBA March 29)
July 8 Lansing, MI Commonground Festival
July 9 Chicago, IL Charter One Pavilion ●
July 11 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
July 12 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 13 Nashville, TN The Woods at Fontanel
July 15 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 16 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion ●
July 18 Philadelphia, PA Mann Music Ctr
July 19 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
July 20 Holmdel, NJ PNC
July 21 Bangor, ME Waterfront Park
July 23 Lenox, MA Tanglewood
July 25 Charlotte, NC T W Cable Uptown Amp
July 26 Alpharetta, GA Verizon Wireless Amp
July 27 Charleston, SC Family Circle Stadium
July 28 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheatre
July 30 Brooklyn, NY Celebrate Brooklyn! at the Prospect Park Bandshell
● = BNL & BF5 only
●● = BNL & Guster only
There’s this catchy song on the stereo at your friend’s house and you don’t know why you need to know it but you do. It’s probably one of This Century’s new songs from their album out on May 14th, Biography of a Heartbreak. The sound of the album may be a surprise to older This Century fans, because it trades out the rock and roll undertones for more of a pop feel. Maybe this was done to appeal to a larger crowd or maybe it was done because of how the band was being influenced at the time they were writing it. Either way, even though it was a surprise, it is well executed and their fans have been responding well to it so far. The band is currently releasing one song per day as part of their “13 Days of Heartbreak”. So far songs like “Forbidden”, “Slow Dance Night”, and “Deadly Weapon” have been released. While “Slow Dance Night” is almost pop that’s too sweet to handle, the other songs are more toned down with tasteful synth and powerful full band moments. Overall the album holds itself together with catchy and meaningful lyrics that are combined with tunes that get stuck in the listener’s head immediately. If you’re looking for an album that you can dance to the whole way through then this is the one for you! If you’re more reluctant to give This Century’s new sound a try then I suggest listening to “Skeletons” to open your mind up a little bit. I bet you’ll find yourself jamming to the whole thing in no time.
Review by Sam Polonsky
You can feel the anticipation of everyone in the sold out venue, you can feel the excitement in the ear just as the lights go low, and you’re a part of the explosion that makes its way through the crowd as the lights come back up and the band that everyone came to see is running onto the stage. This is the environment that is found at the best shows and it was also the environment that was found at the Spring Fever Tour in Towson, MD on April 28th. For an early afternoon show on a Sunday, all of the kids in attendance came ready to party like it was the last spring break they would ever have.
The tour kicked off with a band from across the pond, You Me At Six. Even though this pop-rock group with a bit of kick in their music is from far away, their fan base holds them very close to their hearts. Although they were only opening the show, the amount of people singing along was almost equal to the amount of people singing for the two headlining bands. If the people in attendance weren’t fans of You Me At Six before this show, they definitely are now after seeing their live performance.
Following YMAS, came Mayday Parade. The happiness can be seen on front man and vocalist, Derek Sanders’, face every time he gets on stage in front of a crowd. He is truly on stage to make his fans happy and when they’re happy, he’s happy. Mayday Parade recently hit one million ‘likes’ on facebook and it was easy to see why from their live show. Their songs highlight the happiest and most bitter parts of romance and everyone can relate to the lyrics easily. Mayday Parade’s performance got the entire crowd up to the energy level they needed to be at for co-headliners Pierce The Veil and All Time Low.
For this date of the tour, Pierce The Veil took the stage first (the bands have been switching off). Their elaborate and moving backdrop/stage equipment caught everyone’s eye immediately, even before they were on stage. This is something that Pierce The Veil has come to be known for recently. When their live shows are talked about, their backdrops, confetti, and smoke are always part of the conversation. This performance wasn’t lacking any of the three. Between their loud, in your face songs and confetti showers it was easy to see that the members of the band were having as much fun playing the show as the crowd was watching it.
Finally, hometown heroes, All Time Low, took to the stage. After an introduction from the Natty-Bo mascot that got everyone laughing, All Time Low exploded into action. They played oldies but goodies as well as the best songs from their new album, Don’t Panic. In between songs the band had hilarious interactions with each other as well as the crowd. Something that All Time Low is known for is their ‘gratuitous dick jokes’. One would think that because their family members were at the show they would have made fewer jokes of this kind but that was not the case. They held true to their image and kept the dick jokes coming all night long. After all it’s not really an All Time Low show without them is it?
Click either photo in this article be taken to a full gallery!
Review & photos by Sam Polonsky
System and Station are at it once again! Forming in Boise, Idaho in 1998, they are now coming out of Portland, Oregon with their 10th studio production. This self-titled, full-length was produced by a long-time friend of theirs, Larry Crane at Jackpot! Studios, who is also known for his previous work with The Decemberists, and Elliott Smith. This new album is full of creativity and emotion from start to finish. The album transitions through a variety of moods, but always leads with strong hooks and creative melodies from lead songwriter, RFK Heise. Heise also plays keys and guitar along with his superb vocals. Each and every song on this brand-new full-length are filled with dynamic instrumentals from Adam Schultz (bass), drummer Bryan Fairfield, and Josh Vasby, who plays guitar, keys, and vocals, along side Heise.
This spring-released album also has a vast variety of topics that are touched upon lyrically. The band touches upon their own political views, to experience in personal relationships throughout multiple songs. A song about a personal relationship on the album, “Crown That Fits” recently was turned into more than just a song, but into a music video as well. This video is sure to be grabbing attention from people of all ages, as the band is dressed as classic 80′s video game characters.
As System and Station have now been at it for more than fifteen years as a band, you may begin to think they would be slowing down, but this is anything but true. You be the judge though, after you are blown away by their new, self-titled album this spring.
Official video for “Crown That Fits”:
Review by Thomas Engel
