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Show: AP Tour 2011, presented by Alternative Press Magazine
Date: April 16, 2011
Venue: TLA, Philadelphia, PA
Bands: Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, Black Veil Brides, I See Stars,
Versaemerge, Conditions
Reviewer: Lynn Malpass
Photographer: all photography ©Lynn Malpass

Sites:
theaptour.ning.com
www.bvbarmy.com
www.thisisdrugs.com
iseestarsmusic.com
versaemergemusic.com
www.conditionsofficial.com

(In progress)

by Makenna Skeabeck

Alright Nerds, this review is for you! Indie hip-hop laptop rappers MC Chris and MC Lars embarked on a June tour across the US with guests YTCracker, Math The Band and MC Frontalot. I was lucky enough to catch the second-to-last show in West Chester, PA at Bam Margera’s club, The Note (despite Math The Band’s frontman’s fake sighting, no, Bam wasn’t there). I have to say, it was a much different crowd than I was used to. I thought the stereotypical nerd from the 1950′s was dead, but this show proved me wrong!

MC Frontalot was a pleasant surprise. I’d never heard him before, but I was definitely engaged when he played. He rapped over recorded tracks, and it was rather charmingly low-key to have him stop during the set and direct the sound guy which tracks to skip to on the cd. Math The Band’s electronic nintendocore-esque rock didn’t quite fit in with the other three MC’s, but they were still a lot of fun. Definitely had the crowd moving with an Andrew W.K. cover to start out with. Their quirky antics were intriguing, and the music was better than I expected from two people with a singular drum, a synth board, and a guitar.

I was under the impression that YTCracker would have his own half hour set or so, so I was very surprised to see that that wasn’t the case. He just happened to be supporting MC Lars on stage, doing the whole hype-man thing. I was especially charmed when MC Lars was willing to give up some of his time and let YTCracker do a few songs. These two are obviously just such great friends, and the way they share the stage is actually kind of sweet. They were obviously having a blast up there together, and that made the show that much better.

All in all, the set was fantastic. MC Lars had his MAC set up right on stage and he projected his YouTube videos on a big projector screen along with each song, which was great for the fans who had seen them before, and fun for people who didn’t know who MC Lars was, to really get an impression of what this guy was all about! I was also happy to see he had a band playing with him; full drum kit, bass and guitar. It brought him from a random guy rapping along to recorded tracks playing on his laptop to an actual artist. It was a delight for me. He seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage, and he made sure the crowd was moving. The biggest shock of all actually came when MC Lars pulled off a pit during his hit “Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock”. Like… a genuine, real-live mosh pit. I didn’t think it could happen, but he did it. I was actually thrown around and had a bruise or two when I came home. For a rapper, a nerdcore rapper at that, it was impressive.

MC Chris, being the headliner, was last for the night. While I had seen MC Chris before at festivals like Bamboozle and Warped Tour, I was excited to see how he would pull off a show in a small venue. He didn’t disappoint. He was promoting his newest album release MC Chris Goes To Hell, but he made sure to play the songs we all wanted to hear, like the favorite “Fett’s Vette”. While his show wasn’t quite as playful as MC Lars’ (no projectors, no friends on stage, no band, just a laptop) it was definitely still amazing. It had it’s finer points. Including Chris calling his girlfriend on stage and having the crowd call out to her. Also, there was a t-shirt competition where we all cheered on whoever had the most original shirt and ‘pointed and yelled like we were on The Price Is Right!’. We got announcements about a new MC Chris show (no really, listen for info about it and check adultswim.com) and heard an accurate synopsis of the children’s show “Star Wars: Clone Wars from MC Chris’s future child’s point of view. And of course we got down and danced to the MC’s great beats. It was creative and fun. MC Chris was great as a storyteller, a rapper, and all out performer. I went home a happy girl, the inner geek in me shining proud. It was a great show, and one I would definitely love to see again.

Check out MC Chris at http://www.myspace.com/mcchris, and MC Lars at http://www.myspace.com/mclars and get your nerd on!

Reviewer: Ashley Granillo

After a long and extensive tour with Fall Out Boy on the Believer’s Never Die (Part Deux) Tour this past spring, one would think that the boys in All Time Low would be ready to take a break and breathe in the success of their almost-teen-idolness. Guess again. After the release of their junior album Nothing Personal this summer, ATL shows no signs of stopping to smell the roses just yet, living up to their reputation of being road warriors who rarely stop, except to hit another venue each night.

Despite that I was not particularly fond of the band back when they toured with FOB, I found myself drawn into them more so once that tour was over. And despite that fact All Time Low is once again touring with Hey Monday on the Glamour Kills Tour, I feel that (FOB’s) Pete Wentz’s marketing tactics may have only worked with one of the bands he brought on the Believer’s tour with them, Hey Monday unfortunately (but for who?) not being that band. Also on the GK tour were the Friday Night Boys (on Fueled by Ramen), and We The Kings (on S-Curve Records), who had canceled their performance that night for unknown reasons.

Arriving sometime after 8 pm on November 7th at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, I was surprised to find that the crowd was just being allowed inside the venue. As fans clad in bright colored pants, vests and v-neck shirts filed in, I felt completely undressed in my yellow plaid shirt and black jeans. Despite my appearance however, I was ready for a dance party. With the large demographic of the audience being that of 16 and under, I could only expect a massive amount of enthusiasm from the young concert-goers. However, after getting my 21-and-over wrist band, I did decide to avoid the milling, teenage crowds and the supporting bands that I had no interest in either. I immediately walked back outside to sit and await the one band that I actually came to see. A security guard sat with my friends and I and questioned why we would spend $30 to sit outside and see only one band. Our response was simple: “We only like one shitty band on this tour.” And what seemed to separate the one “shitty band” we loved so much from the other two playing that night, was that they are charismatic, entertaining, and let’s face it – Alex Gaskarth has some ever-developing pipes that make my 16-and-under heart swoon.

From the time we arrived until around 9:30 pm, we waited miserably outside, watching barely-legal, drunk fans and listening to the screeching of the generic female voice of Cassadee Pope, lead singer of Hey Monday, outside. But once Hey Monday had successfully finished their set, my friends and I were back inside again, pushing our way through the crowd to get a better view. It was all very exciting, but ATL could’ve done without the blinding strobe lights that took away from the crowd looking at the stage. Many of the fans were looking down at their shoes, trying to shout and scream as the strobes continued on with every drum tap. Once the drapes came down and the strobe lights settled though, a massive dance party ensued. The only way one could survive this crowd was to push back or jump up and down with the person standing next to them. All idle concert goers ended up not making it past the 3rd song, pushed out of the crowd, with all the pushing and shoving going on. It was during this time that lead guitarist Jack Barakat pointed out to the audience. “This girl is crying. Why are you crying?” He continued on, trying to make a joke, “Are you disappointed that we’re ugly in person?” But unfortunately this was no joke. The girl was actually crying, already needing to get out of the dance-crazy pit. “Oh shit! She’s actually crying!” Barakat said again in realization. This time lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth took the mic and said (with such sympathy and collectiveness), “Back up, guys. She needs help,” and again my heart swooned (as I’m sure others did) at Gaskarth’s caring toward his fans.

As the show continued on, it seemed that most of the songs played were from ATL’s newest album, Nothing Personal. It wasn’t until the familiarity of “Six Feet Under the Stars” reached my ears that I felt the party really got going, however. But despite all the jumping, dancing and endless sightings of younger, smaller girls falling down and out of the crowd, there was a moment where everything came to a standstill. This was when Gaskarth’s lone voice, accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, came to sing to the audience. By this time, my friends and I had reached the third row in the pit. It was a great view, and while slow songs are always appreciated – the awkwardness of the crowd was even better. During “Remembering Sunday,” as Gaskarth sang the lyrics “I’m gonna ask her to marry me…” Several of the young fans called out all the same time “I’ll marry you, Alex!” It made the 21-year-old Gaskarth smile and shake his head with subtle embarrassment. Then it wasn’t long before Cassadee Pope came to join him on stage to sing (what was originally Automatic Loveletter’s Juliet Simms’ solo) somewhat in tune along with him. Personally, I felt Simms’ recording captured the essence and soul of the song while Pope’s rendition did little to that effect.

Shortly after the slow down, the pace picked up once again with an encore following. The band ended with the ever so famous song “Dear Maria, Count Me In,” in which the crowd got rowdy again, making the young girls around me once again look desperately for a way out of the pit. And while there was none, their wait to reach safety was short-lived as the crowd quickly depleted once the band was offstage, hoping to find their beloved heartthrobs outside for photo ops and conversations.

The Glamour Kills Tour headlined by All Time Low runs through December. Dates can be found by visiting All Time Low on MySpace at www.myspace.com/alltimelow.

Review/photos: Lynn Malpass

After taking almost a year off to rest, regroup and write a new record (to be released by Rise Records, with whom the band has recently signed), From First to Last are hitting the road once more to get the kinks out in preparation for a March album release. I had a chance to catch the band as they came east a couple of weeks ago, their first time out since last year and what turned out to be a whirlwind year for the band. I was very pleased with what I saw and heard.

Though their lineup has changed again – keyboardist Chris Lent having departed to take care of drumming duties in the band I Set My Friends On Fire and 3rd guitarist Blake Steiner of the band Mia Medusa having been added – the band seems every bit as impressive to me as they did last year when I caught them in September, supporting their self-titled Suretone release. It had been my first time seeing the band and they really blew me away at the time, so I approached these shows with a bit of question, wondering what, exactly, I was going to see and hear. I was not disappointed, not in the slightest.

I caught three shows. The Chameleon in Lancaster, PA, Hangar 84 in Vineland, NJ and then, after some talk and a bit of hanging out with these guys – who are the friendliest, nicest bunch I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting at a show – I was convinced to check out the show at Webster Hall in New York City as well. All three shows rocked. Supported by The Color of Violence (FFTL members Travis Richter and Derek Bloom’s side project), Therefore I Am and Greeley Estates, there was no lack of energy in any of the sets, though I have to say that their performance in Vineland was the best. The crowd was the best of the three nights as well, and even demanded an encore, which the band did oblige by returning to the stage for one last tune.

The show opener, The Color of Violence (on Epitaph Records), is the result of too much creativity and not enough outlet for it, the brainchild of FFTL guitarist Travis Richter and drummer Derek Bloom. Though it’s just the two of them, they tour with the assistance of FFTL’s bassist Matt Manning, and drummer Jon Syverson of the band Daughters (Initially the band toured with two drummers – Chris Lent added – but Lent has been on tour with his own band). They call themselves ‘experimental’, and I guess that’s really the best word for it, but as Bloom said once on his twitter (presumably after playing to a slightly confused audience), “…please do not come to a Color of Violence show expecting to see a band play. its an art project. its for fun, u know?” For fun or not, CoV is gaining a following, and while their style is too harsh for my personal tastes, their cover of The Pixies “Rock Music” is possibly one of the best covers I’ve heard in a long time.

Beginning their set with favorite “The Latest Plague,” off their Heroine record, FFTL played like always, no evidence of any time off. They ran through the ‘classics’, including “Note to Self, “The Crows are Coming for Us” and “The One Armed Boxer vs. the Flying Guillotine,” and a couple of new songs from the upcoming album which sounded rich and well-rehearsed. I was surprised that only one song off the self-titled album was played, “Deliverance,” however, so I hope we see a few more during future tours. “Worlds Away,” while maybe not in this band’s true ‘style’, is still a massive song, so I hope they continue to play it. In the meantime though, at least the sets are still being closed with the one song that this band is probably known best for, “Ride the Wings of Pestilence,” one of the best attestments to the fact that some newer metal bands still know what real metal is all about. So, though I think these shows left us all drooling for more – perhaps a ploy – they were excellent all the same, leaving me anxious to see From First to Last yet again.

From First to Last are currently finishing details on their upcoming record at home, then hit the road once more at the end of November with Aleseana, Asking Alexandria, The Word Alive and Memphis May Fire. Check them out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/fftl. Check out The Color of Violence a twww.myspace.com/thecolorofviolence .