Show Review

Ticketmaster lied to me, and I'm pissed. We drove down and showed up to the El Rey at about 9PM, and supposedly, according to the website, the show was going to start at 8:45. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, we were half way through JamisonParker's set and had missed Days Away. Super bummed out, but the show made up for it. Kind of.

JamisonParker's new CD, "Sleepwalker," which is heavily and obviously influenced by My Bloody Valentine, comes out in July. The band donned fancy guitars and Jamison had the predictable dark black bangs and makeup, whereas his counterpart, Parker, looked a little less My Chemical Romance. Regardless, they had a pretty solid sound that came across a lot better than it does on disc, with walls of sound that made my ears hurt. We only got to see a few songs which included "Goodbyes," "Best Mistake," and the pretty cool closer "I Should Mean More," unfortunately missing "Slow Suicide" and the gem "Tearing Through Me." Regardless, it was obvious that these guys, despite their often pretty bad vocals, had their guitar sound down and the vocals didn't sound half as bad as they do on disc. Pretty good set if you're into the whole noise-rock thing.

The last time I saw The Academy Is, it was in a small room below the Key Club at a private little after-party thing, and it was pretty cool, but rough around the edges. This time it was very apparent these guys had their act together and it made for a pretty entertaining set. They played a couple old jams as well as all the really solid tracks on their latest disc, and though the singer seemed a little proud, I didn't hate on them at all. Fun to watch, and fun to listen to.

Finally, Mae took the stage. I saw them awhile back, and I now know I can blame the venue for their bad sound that night. This night, the band powerfully overtook the crowd for an incredible hour and a half, playing all of the super-pop gems off their new disc "The Everglow," and all of the great tracks on "Destination: Beautiful" (except for, once again, "Last Call.") Ken Andrews, the guy who produced their new record and was in the legendary band Failure and the recent band Year Of The Rabbit, was doing the sound booth, and Mae's singer announced there would be a suprise that night. I was incredibly amazed to hear their cover of Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me," and the rendition was excellent. It was one of the best live covers I have seen by far.

Mae certainly have their act together, and why they're slowly blowing up isn't suprising at all; they're selling out shows across the nation. Go and see this talented band blow your mind. That will be all.

review by Andrew Martin