Show Review

I had been anticipating this show for weeks. Not only do I enjoy Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club as a venue but the lineup for this tour is incredible. I had never seen any of the bands perform live previously, so I was excited to see if they could live up to the high standards I had mentally put in place.

Dear and the Headlights takes stage and from the first 15 seconds of “Run In The Front” till the last few seconds of “Grace” I was in heaven. The 5-piece came to rock and before the first song was completed guitarist PJ Waxman was sporting a battle wound with a broken guitar string. I’m sure few noticed since the band’s raw, powerful sound barely staggered. DATH played eight tracks off their debut album, “Small Steps, Heavy Hooves” including personal favorite “Sweet Talk” where keyboardist/guitarist Joel Marquard (easily the most animated band member) creatively grabbed a metal folding chair from the stage, raised it and manipulated the sound escaping his guitar. DATH played fantastic renditions of “I’m Bored, Your Amorous”, “Oh No!”, “Paper Bag”, “It’s Gettin’ Easy” and “I Just Do”.

“Small Steps, Heavy Hooves” is easily one of my favorite CDs from this past year. I had high hopes for this performance and the boys did not disappoint. Of course, like any band I get obsessed with, I would have loved to hear every song off the album- though obviously that could not transpire. I was anxious when I heard the words “This will be our last song” but then pleasantly calmed when lead vocalist Ian Metzger said DATH would be back in the fall and touring with Circa Survive. I will happily allow my excitement to re-group and rebuild for that tour.

Dressed to the nines in a vest and dress shirt As Tall As Lions’ bassist Julio Tavarez walks on stage alone with a guitar. He proceeds to play solo and does a wonderful job of warming up the watchful crowd. His band mates, also stylishly dressed, assume the possession behind their prospective instruments. Tavarez passes the guitar over to lead vocalist Daniel Nigro and away we go… Opening with “Be Here Now” the band’s full, crisp sound exploded off the stage. I don’t mean to sound like a nerd but honestly I got goosebumps. The ATAL members had a biblical stage presence and commanded attention from even the most uninterested audience member.

ATAL gave a magnificent performance, one of the best I have seen in quite some time. The set did not have a single weak moment. The group played a mix of songs from both Lafcadio and their self-titled release all with passion and high-energy. Some personal favorites included “Ghost of York”, “Stab City”, “96 Heartbeats” and the hidden track on the self-titled album. While on stage you got a genuine sense that ATAL members are really enjoying themselves and the music they are producing. There appears to be a mutual respect between the members which creates a truly engaging experience for everyone in attendance. I recommend catching an As Tall As Lions live performance if one comes within a drivable distance from where you live.

Some time last week headliners Mae allowed their new album “Singularity” to be streamed in its entirety on Myspace. In order to prep for this show I listened to a good portion of the CD and noticed the harder more rock-like sound the album had when compared to the whimsical soft sound of “Everglow”. Being a fan of the -for lack of a better word- cheesy “Everglow” I did not know how I felt about this new sound however, I wasn’t trilled about it. Anyway…

Before the band stepped on stage I was intrigued by the stage setup. To my surprise several very large screens were constructed, 5 in total, with an additional screen slowly being lowered from the ceiling as the band’s backdrop. I was curious to see exactly what Mae had in store for the restless crowd.

The band takes stage and opens with “Singularity’s”, “Brink of Disaster”. It is obvious that I was not the only one who did my homework, as I noticed the lively crowd mouthing all the words to the first track of the unreleased album. The mysterious screens are now filled with psychedelic shapes, colors and figures. The whole thing had a weird laser lightshow / hippy-ish feeling and I was not down. Furthermore, I was disheartened when the harder, louder sound of “Brink of Disaster” overflowed into the next two songs “Embers and Envelops” and “Suspension”. At this point I started to panic. I wanted my old Mae back! I could barely even hear keyboardist Rob Sweitzer in the songs over the guitars. I was completely bummed. This was my first experience seeing Mae live and could hardly recognize the songs. True- that last statement may be a tinge dramatic however, I liked the fanciful sound of “Destination: Beautiful” and “Everglow” and sadly that sound was absent from this night. Needless to say I was disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong Mae wasn’t terrible; they just were not what I was expecting. The crowd still rocked out to every song whether old or new. Additionally, I even enjoyed some songs including “The Ocean” and “Just Let Go” however, when the band wrapped up “Summertime”, the last song before the encore, I opted to leave.

Mae was easily out preformed by As Tall As Lions. The more abrasive sound Mae delivered did not complement their pre-“Singularity” songs. The older songs seemed stripped of their intimacy, complexness and sincerity- which were the key elements that drew me to the band initially.

review by Heather Galbraith