After driving through pouring rain for an hour or so after all of us had worked all day we made it to Syracuse. The venue, a small coffee shop called The Empty Cup, was hidden down an alleyway, which we found fairly easily. Parking, on the other hand was not so easy to find but after a few times around the block we got our spot. It was the first time I had been to this venue, though I travel to Syracuse often for concerts. After arriving I found out the show wouldn’t be starting for another hour or so, which was annoying since I had specifically wasted time on the way up knowing that it most likely would not start on time. In spite of the time problems, rain, and cold I was looking forward to catching this tour because for once I actually liked all of the bands and it was my first time seeing all of them.
The first band, a local, opened and well I’ll be nice and just say that they were quite bad. Next up came, After The Tragedy from . I had been a fan of theirs since I checked them out on myspace months ago. I must say, I was really impressed by their set. The band would fall most likely in the screamo genre but the vocalist, Joel, moved around like a hardcore vocalist. His vocals were very impressive with his ability to sing really well and also produce quality screams in the same breath. I spoke with him afterwards for a short time and he mentioned that they were checking into some labels right now. Hopefully something comes of it because this band could definitely put out some quality stuff. My friend picked up their tour exclusive demo EP which I’ll hopefully get a short review up for soon. I would highly recommend checking this band out!
The New Ending took the stage next and put on a fairly decent set. They didn’t stand out as much to me as ATT, but were pretty tight. TNE also would fit into the vague emo/screamo type genre. The vocalist of the group used a vocal approach which reminded me of Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw and Head Automatica fame. The band’s recordings are also quite good and worthy of your listening ears.
Sullivan clearly were the crowd favorites and drew most people to the show. Everyone (although the number was small) huddled quite close to the stage for the entire set singing along. The band played through a majority of their debut for Tooth & Nail called “Hey I’m A Ghost”. In between songs the band showed off a bit of their goofiness, joking around and whatnot. I was surprised at the intensity of the live show they put on. Tyson’s guitarwork was dead on and the rhythm section combo of Zach on bass and Phil on drums really thundered. Brooks’ vocalwork is unique to say the least but was captured well. You should really check this bound and pick up their album if you haven’t already!
Much of the crowd, if you could call the number of people there a crowd, had left before Spoken took the stage. The band was lively but really wasn’t able to get the crowd into it. The band ripped through maybe 8-10 songs before wrapping up including their cover of “Time After Time”. I think Spoken would fair much better if they would do some opening slots on tours instead of attempting to headline. They don’t have a big enough name to draw enough, at least in the NorthEast. The set was decent but they really didn’t win me over.
Links:
After The Tragedy
The New Ending
Sullivan
Spoken