Saves the Day

Here's my review of tonight's Saves the Day show at the Kool Haus in Toronto.

This was my first time at the venue which looks exactly like what you think a rave club would look like, warehouse type.
Not a bad place for a show.

The 2 opening acts, I admit, I was clueless about.
The first was Circa Survive.
The set started with just the lead singer yelling into the mic, no instruments. Actually, yelling is wrong and unflattering, he was singing in a high volume with great intensity, sounded awesome, then the performers joined him to kick it off.
He, Anthony - according to the Girl who claimed to love him, has a great voice and put on a great show.

I love my artists to express intensity, they have a message to deliver and they should be passionate about it. Anthony had that, like Ian Curtis of Joy Division, he's so intense that his body was contorted. Loved it.

At this point, I was like wow. The crowd is very young (16-23 range) but this is good. Some were singing along too, which seemed to imply maybe I'm more out of the loop then I thought. That feeling only intensified later.

Second was to be Moneen, after the longest most brutal sound check ever.
Again, I never heard of this band so I had no idea what they looked like.
The lights go out and a single guy with a guitar comes on to do some solos. He's good, but not so much to justify the crowd's glee. He then ripped off his track pants and played on.

Turns out he was the roadie, and the people I thought were roadies, were the band. How did no one recognize them? I know they're not well known, but everyone knew all their songs, even the new ones.
I was in the second row after the mosh pit. That's right, a mosh pit. And the kids today, have no clue how to do it. How is that enjoyable - essentially starting a series of fights instead of listening?
The band performed well, was full of energy (as a stage experience think Finger 11, but better executed - not a musical comparison) but they weren't pulling me in. Maybe it was the mosh pit, but I think the vibe was just bad juju. People seemed the wrong kind of angry, like an unnecessary fake rage instead of angst which would have been appropriate. There was a rather large amount of wallet punks, people who get mommy and daddy to buy designer clothes they think make them punk (think Good Charlotte).

The show started at 7PM and it was now just after 9PM.
Before we get to Saves the Day, let me explain why I was there in the first place.
I had no records of theirs at the time of ticket purchase. I knew them from one song - At Your Funeral.
But this song had achieved a near mystical proportion for me. Easily in my top 20 all time. It's always been in the top 2 of the play count on my iPod (Johnette Napolitano's Suicide Note being the other - Suicide Note & At Your Funeral, I wonder if there's a connection there).
I knew them as an Emo rock band, like Weezer.
So that was my expectation. I did purchase their 2 biggest records and listened about twice to each of them, nothing there to change my mind.

They get on stage at 9:30 and right away, I'm floored. The lead vocalist has hot pink short hair. A far cry from the short hair and thick glasses expected.
But the first 2 tracks are good, and the mosh pit is going nuts, but I'm further back, having learned my lesson (the buffer would be fully eroded by the end).
The 3rd song is the one I've been looking for and it was performed like on the album, but that's it. Nothing special, and people were moshing. I was a little hurt, because it's such a sad song with deep meaning for me, the vibe was wrong, but I still enjoyed it.
That was the highlight, they seemed almost disinterested in being there, it was a hard rock set for the most part, not what was expected.
And a short set, under 45 minutes.

So, for the first time ever I left a concert disappointed.
This could mean 2 things - stay away from any Johnette Napolitano concert or just do my homework before buying tix. If I knew it was a hard rock show, I would've skipped it.

At least I got to see someone who understands his craft - Circa Survive.

Ciao!