On September 20, NOYK Productions and Substream Music Press presents Akoustic Mondays at Angels and Kings will feature Thomas Ian Nikolas of the American Pie movies, with More Than Me and The Blue Pages.
Set It Off have released their new single "Hush Hush" on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hush-hush/id390289436) & streaming on their MySpace, along with a brand new layout and tour dates. This tour will be hitting all parts of the US and nine dates in Canada, with more dates being announced shortly.
While both Circa Survive and Coheed & Cambria share many things in common- earnest ambition, a similar fan demographic, and two lead singers who on any given day could give Cedric Bixler a run for his money, once seen live together, it's glaringly apparent that these are two bands on very different paths.
As the second opener after The Dear Hunter, Circa Survive took to the stage in modest, respectably unpretentious fashion. There were no smoke machines, no dueling guitar solos, and certainly no eight minute sagas, just a band who have grown by leaps and bounds since their debut album, Juturna. The unassuming performance by Circa Survive, which was largely in support of the stellar new album, Blue Sky Noise, was given life mostly through Anthony Green's sirenical singing and frenetic demeanor. Employing an almost bi-polar energy, Green's live persona seems both entirely sincere yet self-aware enough to seem slightly ironic, with the singer lucidly jibing with audience members between songs, though once the music kicked back up again, Green would switch schizophrenically between serious moroseness and ecstatic rapture, often within the same song.
Circa Survive, though seeming slightly out of place in a venue of this size, managed to capture everyone’s attention and delivered an amazing performance.
Then it came time for something completely different.
Seen in person, the lead singer, guitarist, and band visionary, Claudio Sanchez, gives you a pretty good idea of what it would look like if Sideshow Bob and an Ogre had a child, who, as it happened, could seriously shred. With his imposing physical presence, Castrati-inspired vocal pitch, and, of course, that hair, on stage Sanchez' appearance is almost shamanistic; a description that is less ridiculous if you were there to actually witness how often and effortlessly the band conjured a venue full of people to engage in choric chants of absolutely epic magnitude in ways that the band's (supposed) forefather, Rush, never could.
Perhaps no greater examples of this can be found than within the two bookends of the show. Between the opener, "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3," and the thunderous closer, "Welcome Home," the band produced a show that was almost cinematic in its energy and presentation; something which, I'm sure, is by no means coincidental. The ominous and intricate build up to "Welcome Home," arguably Coheed's best-known song, was characteristic of everything about the band: ambitious, indulgent, pretentious, but ultimately triumphant in its end product.
Whether you loved the show or hated it, I feel confident in saying that it is very unlikely that you would find someone in attendance who, at the end of the concert, shrugged their shoulders, made a wishy-washy motion with their hand , and said, "meh."
Substream Music Press has teamed up with Jordan Freda to help spread the word about his new creation called Explore22. In each series, Jordan travels to different countries to help communities through hard labor, teaching classes and bringing hope. "I'm all about helping people that honestly need help. When Jordan brought this project to me, I knew it was a no brainer", explained Jason McMahon, owner of Substream Music Press.
Explore22 is a new travel series created by Jordan Freda that takes takes you inside the culture of countries from around the globe. "I have set out to produce an independent travel educational series where each episode I venture to a new country with the goal of learning about its culture and brining my experiences back to share with viewers. I have decided to give back to the world in a way which was natural to me; using my media making skills." says Jordan. The show also helps to create awareness for organizations such as the Global Volunteer Network that help in efforts to raise money and organize volunteers that want to help.
Please take the time to watch the first episode (below) where Jordan travels to Haiti to experience the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, help the locals and teach in the classroom.
For more information about Explore22 and how you can help, please visit www.explore22.com.
Hey Texans! Head to Plano to check out the newest Crowns Down Entertainment show featuring Sent By Ravens, Arborview, Ashlynn, Of Threads, Werewolf Therewolf, Ira Hayes and Yehuda!
The show is at Eisenbergs on September 19. Doors open at 4:30, music starts at 5.
If you didn’t make it out to see the Thrash and Burn Tour, you missed out! I haven’t had that much fun shooting a tour in awhile. The show was packed full of intensity. I don’t think the security was prepared for the chaos that comes with such a heavy line up, which made the day even more interesting. While shooting each I band, I had to constantly stay aware of everything going on around me. I felt like I was in the midst of a war. Kids were being launched from the crowd left and right. The crowd didn’t only go crazy for the headliners, either. It blew up the second Chelsea Grin took the stage and kicked things off. The entire crowd lost their mind when Asking Alexandria stepped into the light. Their killer “A” lights and low metal stances made my job such a fun experience. My goal was to capture the passion and intensity of every band on the tour.
If you would like to see additional images from this tour along with the rest of my work, please visit www.joshguim.com. If you need more information, contact me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Also, to keep updated on all the new releases, follow me on Twitter (@JoshGuim).
Review and Photos by Lindsay Moscarello
As an avid music enthusiast, going to see my favorite bands live is a must. I am a very frequent concert attendee, but Birmingham is not always a tour stop, so trips to Atlanta are in order. On several occasions, I have gladly driven to Atlanta for Boys Like Girls (BLG). The most recent jaunt was to 6 Flags for the Bamboozle Road Show in May. Imagine the excitement when it was announced that BLG would be playing a show in my city on July 31!
Death In The Park, a pop-punk four-piece out of Montgomery, Alabama, will be releasing their self-titled album with End Sounds digitally on August 24 and physically on September 14. Until then, you can listen to an exclusive stream of one of their new tracks, "Do You Want Me Now" at the following link, only through SubstreamMusicPress.com.
Montgomery, Alabama five-piece Evolett will be releasing For Your Consideration, on August 24. via End Sounds. The album, produced by Andy Jackson (Hot Rod Circuit, Terrible Things) and Mike Poorman (Hot Rod Circuit), is the band's debut release.
You can stream an exclusive track, "Silent Illusion", at the following link only at SubstreamMusicPress.com!
Live in or around Texas? Get to Frisco Saturday, August 26, and check out The Summer Never Stops Show presented by Crowns Down Entertainment! The show features Dead Tongues, Don't Wake Aislin, Arborview, Taylor Thrash, Brian Rose, Dear Rachel, and Crown The Empire.
The show is at Rock City Hall and doors open at 5:30, music at 6:00.
The much anticipated self-titled debut from Terrible Things will be out on August 31, but Shockhound.com is providing fans with a few teasers to make the wait a little more bearable. The site is exclusively streaming "Not Alone", an advance track from the album, as well as offering a pre-sale for only $6.99. The offer ends September 2.
The Great Valley launched their brand new MySpace page at www.myspace.com/TheGreatValley. The new page has a sneak peak of their music video for "Wrecking Ball" and a free download of their new acoustic CD exclusively from AOL.
You can download the album for free at the following link: http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/08/10/free-music-tuesday-three-songs-from-the-great-valley/
Hey New Yorkers! Check out this awesome show at Bowery Electric on August 6 featuring performances by Kenny Vasoli, Vinnie Caruana, James Dean Wells, Bombers, and My Arcadia!
Places And Numbers is the solo project of Bobby Darling, former guitarist of Gatsbys American Dream and his new song "Notes from the Dead Zone" will be featured on the band's upcoming EP. You can check out the song here: http://www.myspace.com/placesandnumbers.
Bobby is currently on tour with The Dangerous Summer and The Morning Of. You can check out tour dates below:
Fred Mascherino (ex-Taking Back Sunday), Josh Eppard (Coheed & Cambria) and Andy Jackson (Hot Rod Circuit), members of Terrible Things, will release their self-titled major label debut on August 31 via Universal Motown.
The band has just announced tour plans after they wrap up select dates on Warped Tour. They will hit the road with Mae and Windsor drive on October 1.
