Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Supernatural Sound: She Screams Remedy, LoveHateHero, I Am Ghost

There is still light in the sky above Anaheim, CA as I pull up to the front of the local rendezvous, Chain Reaction. "Chain", as it is casually referred to by it's frequent patrons, is likely the most unassuming of venues from the exterior. At a passing glance, it would be easy to mistake the venue for a record or music supply store. Nevertheless, Chain's stage has been the starting point for a great deal of currently successful artists. Once inside, you are able to see just how many bands have blasted their music from the few speakers around the stage. The walls are completely covered with either embellised shirts or varying stickers, boasting numerous titles of artists that have preformed from this very spot.



Tonight I make my way up to the front of the crowd, my ears full of the crowd's murmur, and watch the roadies for the first opener set up the equipment on stage. The line-up taped to the wall explains that She Screams Remedy will be kicking off the evening and, sure enough, the drum set accordingly reflects the same title. When the sound check is completed , the roadies shuffle off stage and the house lights dim significantly, leaving the venue in an smooth glow.



She Screams Remedy takes the stage and, wasting so time all, blasts through their most popular songs. Not excluding, to be sure, their hypnotic and ever-popular hit "Chaos in Concert". This group, with a female as the lead singer, and simultaneously the only woman in the group does not shy away from a challenge in the area of vocals. SSR's songs consist of vocal patterns that reach powerful notes that could make chills run down your spine. Though the idea of a group blasting away powerful chords with a woman at the mic. is not exactly a new one (ie Paramore, Eyes Set To Kill), this group is not one to be shoved aside as another "wannabe" band. SSR possesses a unique sound that makes them stand out amongst the countless other aspiring artists of the genre.



As She Screams Remedy closes their set, I am left slightly taken aback by the caliber of the performance and left with a feeling of sudden disappointment that the set was not long enough to allow for a few more songs.



The next band to take the stage is LoveHateHero, an emerging Los Angeles band who's popularity has no less than sky-rocketed in the past few months. This show marks the close of a long tour with I Am Ghost (the headliner of tonight's show), a tour that has undoubtedly sparked significant interest in the group's addictive hardcore sound. The anxious anticipation of the band is already evident in the crowd. Kevin Thrasher( lead guitarist who has undoubtedly lived up to his last name through his astonishing displays on his instrument) has only to step on stage in order to summon a roar from the audience. Predictably, this brings a smile to the leather-clad guitarist's face. The cheering only heightens when Pierrick, LHH's frontman, takes the stage beside Thrasher and looks out into the audience. When the lights dim once again, I brace myself for an intense set amidst an anxious crowd. Feet pressed firmly to the ground, and hands in the air, I hold my breath and await the opening chords. The band was wise in selecting the rapid and energetic "Farewell, My Love" as the opener for their set. The song is heavy laden with continuous streams of complex guitar chords and vocal zeniths that seem written for the sole purpose of raising heart-rates. It has not been two minutes into their set when the crowd becomes a blur of swaying arms and banging heads. The rest of the set is intrinsically similar, each new song elevating the madness of the crowd.


If you are a fan of the screamo/hardcore genre, than LoveHateHero should sound somewhat familiar. While the band has not yet achieved "mainstream" status, their songs have been coating the scene for several years with the 2005 release of their premiere album Just Breathe and the more recent White Lies released in 2007. With the creation of their newest album Fight or Flight, set to drop in 2009, it seems that LHH's name is finally starting to stick. As Fight or Flight's first single "Echoes" pours through the speakers on stage, the audience sings the lyrics clearly along with Pierrick, raising the noise level quite a few decibels in a bright foreshadowing for the success of the new album.


Much to the dismay of the riled fans crowding the small space before the stage, Pierrick announces that there is only one song left to play.


"This one is called 'I Will Make It to the Brigades'", he shouts into the microphone, resurfacing that piercing roar from the crowd. In answer to the cheers, Pierrick takes his place at the head of the stage and sings.


"One day we'll say 'I don't love this anymore'. Turn my back on all my fans...", ran the song.


Though every voice in the crowd sings along with Pierrick, it's obvious that not one of those people wishes for LoveHateHero to live up to that declaration. And I have a feeling that now that the band has made their impression in the hearts of their fans, they will have no near plans to erase it.



I'll admit, at this point I am heavily relying on the crowd easing back a bit after LoveHateHero clears the stage. Already I am covered with sweat and dealing with a familiar dull ache throughout my limbs. But I am unfulfilled in my hopes as the crowd only surges forward with a new-found spirit. Sardines packed in their tins could say nothing of this extreme proximity. The only notion that keeps me sandwiched between fans is that of seeing I Am Ghost in only a few short moments. At the sight of the headlining band's equipment, my is body instantly awash with the breed of adrenaline that puts the air back in your lungs and banishes all traces of weariness, the adrenaline that accompanies the anticipation of something remarkable.



In the time I have spent working my way through the screamo genre, I have confronted a considerable amount of hype associated with I Am Ghost. Accordingly following my curiosity, I unearthed the album Lover's Requiem and quickly familiarized myself with the twisting, dark story of troubled love between a vampire and an angel. While the story in itself is enough to pique one's interest, the intriguing lyrics are accompanied by otherworldly and intense melodies, broadcasting the full effect of the supernatural. Such references hinted at by the band's very name shine through in nearly every chorus.

Now, with their new album entitled Those We Leave Behind, the same haunting melodies persist through the songs of I Am Ghost but vary into new tales that satisfy their fans' need for variety.
As Requiem's "Pretty People Never Lie, Vampires Never Really Die", a song whose title takes effort to recite but whose melodies are easily remembered, blasts forth from the stage, the crowd whips into a magnificent whirl-a blur of skin mixed with the opaque smoke flowing into the crowd. In the heightened moments of this surreal finale, there is not a still body in the room as everyone is matching their movements to the rhythm of this intense, give-it-all-you-got song.
It is difficult not to feel like you are a part of something when you're in the crowd at a show such as this. When you're locked tight in song with every other person in the room, a sense of bonding reaches me. Though I cannot speak for Mr. Two Lip-Piercings on my right and Ms. Victorian Couture in the corner, I know that they are some who can identify with the sentiment.
I Am Ghost has done more than develop a fan-base, they've gained a loyal following, a true achievement for any band, regardless of the genre. Going to a show of theirs means becoming enveloped within their music, for, their songs are not the type where simply standing casually in the back is permissible.

As I move towards the clear, sticker-covered doors that mark the exit, I take one final glance at the collective set of performers that had just stood before us all. In the back of the venue, occupying the merch tables and posing for numerous pictures, the band members appear content with the night. I think to myself that it won't always be this way. These people have talent, and undoubtedly their fame will rise. Already nostalgic at the thought of losing moments like these in small venues with a crowd of less than 100 people, I take a mental picture of the performers as they are and hope that they meet fame with grace. When everyone knows their name and every lyric, I hope they remember these nights too.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Introductions are all in order

Hello to the audience that has happened across the page, by whatever means. For some reason, you have come to read this blog, and hopefully are still reading by this point. So with a keyboard as my microphone, sounding out into the Internet, allow me to introduce myself. I am that girl at the rock show. Yes, keep nodding your head. That was me with the bright shirt and the massive ray bans, and yes that was me jumping over the barrier just to make it on stage for a moment. And trust me, that was definitely my voice that was sounding louder than the band as the chorus came through the speakers. But most of all, I'm the girl at the front of the crowd with her eyes upturned, body swaying back and forth, mentally recording every second for moments like these when I feel compelled to morph the night into a sprawl of descriptions and analogies.
This has become my life in the past several years, going to an unholy amount of shows and constantly craving more. I can't help the fact that I'm addicted to the feeling of the ground as it pulses in rhythm to the bass. Music is a drug, my friend. Good luck getting that intoxication out of my blood stream, I'm hooked.
Since I have no plans to eradicate my obsession with music from my life (unless you can squeeze in rehab between the show on Monday and the album release on Tuesday), I plan to put my antics to use. This blog will be home to reviews on upcoming bands, live shows, and existing/newly released albums. From here on out, I will record every show that I attend in full in the hopes that these artists will get the credit they deserve in the form of an honest and straightforward review. However, written by an aspiring novelist/journalist, these posts will also come with descriptions of the night itself and everything that occurred on and off the stage. The goal is to transport you there, to my very place in the crowd-and that means including all the gory details.
While I do attend a significant amount of concerts( I make sure of it), I am not aware of every upcoming event. In light of this, if you would like to recommend a show or a band for a review, I will do my very best to look into your suggestions. While songs belonging to songs of the rock persuasion are the most frequently played on my stereo, I am open to any genre. All suggestions are welcome, as well as advice or questions that you might have in that head of yours. Basically, if you've got something to say, then you best step up to the mic and let me hear it.
So I've quite the line-up plotted out on my infamous clipboard, where a plethora of dates are scattered, concerts just waiting to be crashed.
Brace yourselves my friends, concert season is upon us.