Show Review

Pictures

Purevolume decided to promote a tour featuring some talented bands that haven’t quite made themselves a household name in the indie community. Dubbing it the “Far From the Lies” Tour (the name of headliner Greeley Estates’ summer release), the bands set out to tour the whole US and in Canada as well. While the ambitions were big, the results and the fan support may not have been what were expected. There were several issues I had with the way this tour was set-up and ran that gave it a second-rate feel, almost is if those putting it on didn’t have any interest in what was going on. Things such as the sound system and lights are taken for granted at some of the bigger venues. This particular show had two three-foot speakers on stands to go with any amps the bands had, a horrible display. As for the lights, there was one lone light on the side of the stage left on, almost leaving the bands to play in the dark. Another thing that had me scratching my head was the choice of venue. This was the only stop of the tour in the New England area so why would a church in West Hartford, CT be selected? There are plenty of small venues in a more accessible area like Boston that could get more support from the local scenesters. A meager 50 kids showed up at the United Methodist Church and while this created a more intimate atmosphere with 3 out of the 4 bands that will be playing at the Warped Tour this year, I think it really prevented a good amount of kids from attending. I opted to take the hour drive from Worcester, MA even though I had to get up at the crack of dawn for work the next day, hoping for the best. The last thing that was annoying was the late start time, 8 pm, so each band was only given a half hour to play and shortened some potentially amazing sets.

Arriving after a few local bands were apparently missed, The Stiletto Formal took the stage as the “opening” act. I have been a fan of this 6-piece band from Arizona for a few years and they were what drew me to the show that night as they have never toured outside of Southwestern US. They played with great energy and stage presence (the electric cello, maracas, and cowbell were incredible to see live) as singer Kyle Howard danced across the stage. They performed mostly songs off their new EP, ending with one old song, “Murder at The Stiletto Formal.” The half hour time limit came into play here as they were only able to play a few songs because each one is long. This was an act I’ve been waiting to see and I’m glad they took the time to come up to the Northeast because I wasn’t disappointed. In between sets at this point my friend and I went to look at the merch and had the opportunity to shoot the breeze with Ryan and Josh of Greeley Estates. They were two very down-to-earth people who seem genuinely interested to meet some new people and had some interesting things to say. We were however cut short as So They Say took the stage.

So They Say was the start of a similar trend for the rest of the night for me. I had heard of all these bands, yet had never heard their music. These guys were the weakest act of the night, but still enjoyable live and they sounded fairly good. Their music was more toned down compared to the other acts, easier on the ears but lacking the fire the others had. Overall they didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. Following their set was a parking lot conversation with Kyle and Paul from the Stiletto Formal. Two humble musicians that were happy to see fans in places they have never been before, they talked about dreams of touring Japan and opting not to be signed to a record label yet so they could continue to do things their way. Hanging out with those guys was the highlight of the night. We made our way back in as Yesterday’s Rising started to play. I liked what I heard from these guys as they had a heavy sound that in a crowded venue would be sure to incite some punishing pits. These guys oozed with contagious energy, especially from guitarist Richie Ochoa. Vocalist Brandon Bolmer took the opportunity to see the set from the crowd’s perspective as he joined us on the floor and sang up at his band mates (see picture). This is the one band out of the four that won’t be on the Warped Tour, but I’m sure they will be out on the road somewhere this summer and would be worth catching.

Greeley Estates took the stage last and they knew there would be pretty much no fan participation as only about 20 kids remained at this point in the night. And they simply could have gone through the motions and tried to leave as quickly as possible. But they didn’t and they put on what I would assume was their normal set, with singer Ryan Zimmerman pacing across the stage, screaming with a passion that was matched by his fellow band mates. Drummer Brian Champ was entertaining behind the drums, bringing some style back to a less than glamorous position in a band. Several members from the other bands provided their own light show during the performance as they set off some fireworks in the parking lot. At the end Greeley Estates took several moments to thank those that did show up for hanging around to the end and every member stopped to shake my hand after their set which really showed their integrity and appreciation in my eyes. The bands seemed happy to see those that did show up, but the way this tour was set-up seemed shady and half-assed. Fans of the bands would have been glad to get up close and personal with the musicians and The Stiletto Formal is definitely not to be missed. I would suggest seeing all of these bands on the smaller stages of the Warped Tour this summer and try to talk with them after, they are very personable.

review by Kevin St. Laurent