Show Review

When I heard that The Format was coming to Portland, I was pretty excited, having purchased their full length a couple of years ago, and then their recent self-released ‘Snails’ EP. Unfortunately, I had never had the chance to see the band live, and after hearing so much about Michigan’s Anathallo lately, I knew that this was one show I couldn’t miss. For some reason, the show was booked on a weeknight, at the abnormally late starting time of 8:30. Luckily for me, my wonderful friend graciously offered me her ticket after finding out she wouldn’t be able to make it, and I was all set.

Arizona’s Ticker Tape Parade kicked off the show with their straight-forward melodic pop rock, playing older selections like the driving “Sore Eyes”, an excellent cover of “Girls Just want to Have Fun”, and many new cuts from their brand new full length they are selling exclusively on this tour. Although they didn’t play anything incredibly new or mind blowing, as their set went on I was increasingly impressed with their professionalism; they ripped through their songs flawlessly and handled themselves very well on stage. By the end of their set, I was definitely a fan, and there were probably many other people who felt the same way. Unfortunately I felt incredibly lame that I didn’t have the twelve bucks to buy their record!

Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit that I wasn’t even SLIGHTLY prepared for what came next. As Anathallo set up their extensive amount of instruments and percussive objects (steel chains, metal pots, lead pipes), I began to get as giddy as a schoolgirl with anticipation. It was also in that moment that I realized that being a live sound engineer would be a difficult job; there were mics being set up all over the place! As the seven talented members of Anathallo began to play, everything I had heard began to unfold before my eyes. The group flawlessly and breathtakingly performed several tracks from the new record, as well as the classic “Holiday at Sea”, explaining the storyline behind the four part “Hanaskajijii”, and then proceeding to play three of those tracks in sequence. I was all smiles for the entire performance, and my friend kept turning around to comment on how Anathallo was the most amazing and unique band she had ever seen, and I had to agree with her completely. It was one of those rare occasions where words seem to fail, and the only thing I can say is that you NEED to see this band, because they will blow your mind.

It would suck to have to follow up such a brilliant act, and I almost felt sorry for June, as they took the stage, but they were completely upbeat and ready to rock the place as they ripped into their first single, “Patrick”, and I swear that the girls screaming along to every word around me have never been more excited to see a band in their lives. The band continued to play songs from their Victory debut, and unfortunately the sound levels seemed to be off for their entire set, and it was extremely difficult to make out most of the lead vocals. Other than that, the band put on a solid energetic performance, and seemed to be well received by the abnormally large crowd that had packed into the tiny Hawthorne Theatre for the show.

Then came the band that most of the audience had been waiting for, The Format. I was absolutely enthralled for their performance, and was excited to see the six member lineup take the stage. If you have ever seen The Format before, then you already know that they put on an excellent show. Nate’s voice is freaking incredible, and just like Anathallo, The Format are one of those bands who sound better live than on CD, and that is a rare find in the music scene today. After playing through countless favorites from their major label debut, the band also slipped several new songs into their set list which sounded great, and wet everyone’s appetite for the upcoming record. The new full band versions of “Snails” and “On Your Porch” were absolutely breathtaking, and I had no idea that the band was as popular as they are, because it was hard to spot someone who WASN’T singing along to every word of each song. The band ended their incredible set with “The First Single”, and by that time it was already past 11 o clock. Luckily the band came back out for a killer four song encore, and for the very last song, several members of Anathallo came out and joined the band for an incredible new song called “the end” that left everyone in high spirits, concluding one of the best tours I have seen in my entire life.

If this tour comes to your town, I highly recommend that you go and see it, no matter what. Not only are each of the bands extremely solid professional musicians who write great music, they are also genuinely nice people who obviously love what they do, and it shows. This is one tour that you can not afford to miss!

review by Chris Miller