There are plenty of small, punk-rock-to-the-max venues here in Austin (Emos, Red 7, Plush, etc.) to see a wide array of bands ranging from the incredible to the insignificant. I book at most of these clubs, which means I get in for free and more often than not drink for free, so believe me - I've seen both the incredible and the insignificant.
But sometimes you gotta shell out that extra cash and hit up one of the larger venues in town - La Zona Rosa, Stubb's, or the soon-to-be-reopening Austin Music Hall (site of The Cure in '08!!!) The bright light, the (comparatively) clean bathrooms, and incomparable sound systems are worth the price of admission alone. The Fall season in when most established bands hit the road, and the pocket book is feeling a little fat right now, so expect reviews, rants and ramblings about quite a few rock concerts in the coming months.
I was reminded of my introduction to New Found Glory after posting a bulletin from my myspace profile about my plans to attend the NFG show at La Zona Rosa last evening. Amongst the "wish I was goings" and "are you fucking kidding me James'" was a message from an old friend and one-time crush who introduced me to the then-Drive Thru Records band our freshman year of college. She introduced me to a whole new world in fact. I remember sitting outside of a lecture hall waiting for this week's meeting of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty to begin and hearing her use the word "emo." It was the first time I'd heard the term... and sometimes I wish I'd never heard it, but I digress. Needless to say, this friend and I don't talk much anymore but my bulletin reminded her (and me) of bands we once shared - Gameface, Saves the Day and New Found Glory. Heck - throw in some Atari's for good measure.
Despite my desire to see Eulogy band Set Your Goals, Sheila and I arrived moments before Boston's Receiving End of Sirens took the stage (I wonder how that name will go down in the annals or rock music history). A beefy lead singer/bass player, three guitar players and a couple of hair cuts, REOS is your typical Alternative Press buzz band. Nothing special, just the flavor of the month for mall punks and meatheads to agree on. Set Your Goals would have been awesome (shit - their merch alone is about an 8 on the awesomeness scale) but a 6:00 door time is just too early for my 9-5, mass transit riding ass.
Thankfull, New Found Glory were next and not prototypical screamo act Senses Fail. Don't get me wrong - I do in fact own a Senses Fail CD yes and there was once a time when I would have shit for this band, and in reality it was their inclusion on this bill that helped motivate me to buy my girl and I tickets to this show (that and a Saturday morning spent cleaning house and rocking out to NFG's new covers record), but still. I was definitely pleased to know that I didn't have to sit through Senses Fail if I didn't want to.
A word of note right quick on the venue. The NFG/Senses Fail ticket was originally scheduled to appear at Stubb's BBQ. Clearly ticket sales were waining in the weeks leading up to the show (I wouldn't think either band is a particularly good draw these days) and thus the show was moved to the slightly smaller La Zona Rosa. The slow sales were apparent immediately. There clearly wasn't that many people in attendance and this number dropped significantly post-New Found.
Ok, ok. Back to New Found Glory. Great set, great energy. The band is tight as ever. I can't remember exactly but I want to say this is the 3rd time I have seen them (once at long-gone Ariel Theatre in Houston and another show in Austin... I think hahaha... they all run together in time). New Found Glory are touring in support of their independently funded From The Screen To The Stereo Part Two. I believe the record was eventually licensed to Drive Thru Records, the bands home prior to being upgraded to (and later dropped by) parent company MCA. As you could expect, cover songs littered the set. Littered is a bad word choice. "King of Wishful Thinking" is definitely a jam and a half; "The Promise" is cool but Consider the Source do it better (we do!); "Kiss Me," "Iris," "It Ain't Me Babe" ... meh. In addition to the covers there were several choice cuts from 2004's Catalyst and 05's Coming Home. Those records don't suck (at least Catalyst doesn't.. haven't heard Coming Home) but seeing a band bred for sing-a-longs and NOT knowing the words to every song definitely sucks. Don't recall hearing anything from Nothing Gold Can Stay but oh well, not many of these kiddos would have recognized those songs to begin with.
So one thing that struck me and I guess I should have known this but it slipped my mind at the time .. ... ...... hardcore kids LOVE New Found Glory. Integrity t-shirts, Nike basketball shorts and overly stretched ear-lobes reminded me though. Question though: How the FUCK do you mosh to New Found Glory? Beats me, but meatheads'll find a way to mosh to anything and sure enough they did.
I'm too old for this shit - so I moved to the back.
The best thing about waiting for Senses Fail to play (which took FOREVER thanks to their ridiculously budget stage set-up): Hot Water Music's classic Caution blasting over the PA and girlfriend and I having our own personal sing-a-long.. ... .....
I hate this place / But I love these chords / An empty fate just means an even score / The pain this mornin / It filled my head / It's Jameson / It means that I'm not dead...
yet.
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