Concert Journal and Reviews

2003-07-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Junior Revolution, Death in Graceland, The Shape, & The Heart Attacks @The Void's Last Show July 25th
The last show at the void (Pause to wipe tears--Not really) The Heart Attacks, actually just the lead singer & his guitar started off the show and played a pretty good set by himself (the rest of the band isn't getting back together until Oct.) The Shape played next a punk band from somewhere out in Iowa--these guys rocked and had some really complicated harmonies between the two guitarists (4 piece band). Junior Revolution played next and played the just about the best show I have seen them play-it rocked!! Death in Graceland closed the show out with some crazy antiques to kickstart there summer tour. Overall the show rocked as Christopher, Caleb, Dan, Bev, and Whitney would agree...you'll have to ask them if you know them.
Until the next one,
AO

2003-07-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Brand New, The Beautiful Mistake, & Sensesfail @Jillian's June 29th
Wow, so when i called the place and talked to this lady she said there was no chance of it selling out, then Christopher and i get there and, of course, it sells out right before we got in. SO we go around back with this other guy & girl that had it happen to them too (they drove from louisville) and ran into the lead singer of The Beautiful Mistake-I talked to him and he was really cool about it and had us put on there list so we got it free....good stuff. Then we got into the show, watched Sensesfail (out of Long Island-where else) put on a good show...we then went down to the first floor and got Brand New's autographs in-between there playing of video games- I interrupted Jesse's game and felt like a real jerk but he was cool and signed my poster afterwards--I did feel like a 12 yr old school girl doing that but oh well. The Beautiful Mistake (Out of Orange County, CA--I guess they're all coming from Cali, L.I., or Florida now) played a good set and then Brand New came on and freakin rocked. They played for 1.5h and Jillians has a really cool set up--much much better than Bogart's...you can even leave and re-enter (like if you need to go get your Sharpie marker from your car) Quality venue and Quality show. It was my 5th time seeing BN my first w/o Megan being there :( But it still Rocked!!! Go check them out at their site
Peace out, Till the next show,
AO

2003-07-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

Warped Tour-The Ataris, AFI, Dropkick Murphys, Face to Face, Less than Jake, The Suicide Machines, Rancid, Flashlight Brown, Andrew WK, Matchbook Romance, Vendetta Red, Thrice, & More@Riverbend June 26th
Good Stuff. The day started with Flashlight Brown (Actually it started with my lil' bro, me, Megan, and some random guys tossing our bookbags over the fence so we didnt have to buy bottled water inside->all that thanx to the guy @ the Drive-thru records booth who watched our stuff for us cuz of some power tripping security guard) Anywaz Flashlight Brown sounded pretty good and the lead singer slightly resembled Michael J. Fox--I guess cuz they're both Canadian. Next was Vendetta Red who was ok but I was in the mood for some punkier stuff. Thrice put on a good show and then came AFI-good stuff even though there were alot of kids there that looked like they were at an 80s glam-rock concert, the Dropkick Murphys-crazy punk rock with a set of bagpipes and accordian added in, Face to Face put on a good show and afterwards signed posters and gave them away which was real cool of them to do, the rest of the shows were good and the Ataris rocked to finally get to see them with Megan...in the middle of the set it started raining which cooled the crowd down--probably my favorite performance there-I almost was a trendy little kid and almost got my pic taken with Kris the lead singer but he ended up walking away before I could-but its all good. was a good day with my girl, my lil' bro, and all my milford boyz, (except for Sean--you punk;) Definitely worth the $$ and I would recommend catching it before it's over in cleveland or in detroit.
Till the next
Aaron

2003-06-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

Junior Revolution, Emabassy, and Trapper John@The Scarlet & Grey Cafe June 21st
Met Megan halfway between where we live (108 miles up I-71 from me, 109 down I-71from her) at the Scarlet & Grey Cafe to see Jr. Rev rock the place out....
The opening band was Trapper John. They were pretty good for a three-piece (and apparently having all new members except for the lead singer who, besides his dark-rimmed glasses looked like the guy from American Pie and Saving Silverman) Embassy played after them and their sound was pretty good, along with their talent, it's just that i don't know how their egos fit in such a small bar. It made things crowded-not really but it was annoying how the bassist looked like he was in pain with every note he struck. Jr Rev played next (o, yeah, they gave Megan and I t-shirts that my little brother would call "a kick in a half" cuz they're so cool looking...anywaz) so the set lasted about an hour, which is always good, and consisted of some newer songs as well as the high-energy rock-power old ones. Once again check them out when you can-their CD should be out in July. The site still has three songs of theirs.
Till the next one,
Aaron

2003-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Junior Revolution @The Void June 11th
Well I got there late, swinging by after work, picking Megan up and rolling to the show. We walked in to see the lights on and Junior Revolution carrying all there stuff. I thought we had totally missed them (this would not be the first time that's happend-cuz Im always late) but it turns out they were just setting up!! That Rocked. Since they were the last of five bands to play no one asked us to pay, and so we got to watch the best band around the cincinnati area play for free. Even though the sound quality sometimes isn't the greatest at the Void the show was great just because of Jr Rev's ability to bring so much energy out through their music and stage presence. I know, I know you keep saying "Oh there a must see" Well they are...so why haven't you gone to see them yet??;)
Till the next one,
Aaron

2003-06-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

Foo Fighters and Chevelle (Some other band too but they weren't that good @The Promo West Pavilion in Columbus, OH May 26th.
I went to see this with my bro Sean and my girl Megan so of course it was going to be good. Chevelle played well and opened with their current radio single. They played "The Red" so I was satisfied. Then came the Foo Fighters. He, i mean they, opened up with "One by One" then followed with "She's the One" (or something like that I'm terrible with titles) and the hits continued from there. The pavilion is a lot smaller than Riverbend here in the "Nati and that makes it alot better of a venue because you can't have a bad seat (its gen admin!!). They played every hit except "Big Me", including Dave Grohl by himself playing "Learn to Fly" They ended it all perfectly with "Everlong" and all were satisfied.
Till I get around to the next,
Aaron

2003-06-11T22:52:00.001-07:00

Junior Revolution, Lucky 13, Velvet Dreamfield, and Bosley @ Top Cats May 23rd....
This show was free to UC students so that started it out on the right foot. All the bands that played before Junior Revolution were really talented jam bands and are worth taking a listen to but it did feel like it took awhile before Jr Rev hit the stage. (Megan and I got there at 915pm and they didnt get to go on till 1am) It was well worth the wait though. Top Cats has a pretty good set up and real nice sound system compared to some of the other local venues. Junior Revolution played there best show yet, somewhere around a ten to twelve song set. The three guitars and bass held tight together while the drums were phenomenal as to be expected. They played a newer song where the four guys on guitars shared a line of the chorus each (going down the line) it sounded really cool and was something i haven't seen before. Junior Revolution has their own very unique, very energetic, rock style. Any time you get the chance to see them, I would recommend doing so; before they hit it big-which should be coming up here pretty soon. Visit there site and ask for a free demo
On to the next one,
Aaron

2003-04-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Taking Back Sunday, From Autumn to Ashes, Recover and Somehow Hollow @Bogart's April 3rd
Recovery was alright although I did catch a Police riff in one of there songs (sounded dead on like "Message in a Bottle") We missed Somehow Hollow, From Autumn to Ashes was enjoyed by all who are in to that style. I wasn't in the superhardcore mood at the time. Taking Back Sunday on the other hand blew my freakin' face off. Or as some guy from a band in northern kentucky (fizzgig, not a "must see" in my opinion) would say, "They rocked my socks off" but then again I don't think anyone should ever be allowed to say that phrase. The set rocked and I got to see it with my girl, my lil' bro, and all my milford bros which made it that much better. These guys rock and any time you get a chance to see them jump on it.
Till the next one,
Aaron

2003-04-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

So its been awhile but The Ataris, The Juliana Theory, and Further Seems Forever played a great show at Bogart's on March 27th. Unfortunately it started with a band named Damone...thats all i'm going to say about them. Further Seems Forever helped to get the show back on track though by playing a set that was good enough to get the crowd into it. The Juliana Theory opened up with their first song (dont know the title) and near the end went into a jam session that lasted for a couple minutes. Despite the eccentricities of the front man they played a great show blending melody and rock quite nicely. The Ataris then came on and I wish I'd had heard their new cd sooner-So Long Astoria->it's worth the buy/burn for the first six songs on the album->The most memorable part of the show was when the rest of the band took a break and the lead singer played "My reply" by himself with his electric. It wasn't the typical solo break though because the song has a very heavy riff to it (atleast heavy for one guy to play and sing by himself) It was intense due to the fact that the song was in response to a letter that they had gotten from a fan that was dying and was just thanking them for their music and telling them how much it meant to her.
I'm behind and still need to post the Taking Back Sunday review (they rocked)
Till then,
AO

2003-03-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Dogwood@Joe's Java House in Wilmington, Ohio March 5th.
I can not tell you how long I have waited for Dogwood to play in Ohio. This is my favorite punk band (along with MxPx) so get ready for my completely bias review. Even though Russell couldn't make the tour (the long time drummer and one of the coolest guys ever, up their with Sunny and Reese) It was still amazing to see Dogwood for $5!! This is San Diego's reigning "Punk Band of the Year" and "Punk Album of the Year". That's pretty good. The venue rocked, being about at the farthest 3 to 4 feet from Josh (the lead singer) the whole time I enjoyed screaming out the lyrics with my bro Christopher, Reggie, and my girl Megan. Anytime you get the chance to see these guys take advantage of it. High Energy Punk Rawk at its best with lyrics that mean something,
Till the next one,
Aaron

2003-02-27T13:51:00.000-08:00

Friday (2/28) the Supertones, Relient K, Pillar, John Reuben, and Sanctus Real in Dayton. A decenting showing by each band. Although we missed Sanctus Real. Pillar was alright, I wasn't really in the mood but "Fireproof" was good and it was cool to here that they just got signed to MCA. So look out Lynyrd Skynyrd, they're "workin' for the MCA" as well. Relient K played a hilarious and very well done punk version of Eminem's lose yourself and then (in the fashion of Five Iron Frenzy) took it from sillyness to serious with "Never Underestimate My JESUS" this song was unbelieveable and was one of the times during the show that you could really feel the Holy Spirit. It was ......yeah....undescribable. The Supertones took the stage mixin the old with the new (Im more a fan of the older stuff but they were my favorite band for a really long time and still are one of my favorites) They played what they said, and i am close to agreeing, that they feel is there best song ever written as a band, "Hold on to JESUS" it was reeeeeeaal good...they ended it with "Unite", which being my 2nd favorite song they do...drew a big smile and many scream-along-with-the-lyrics shouts from me;)
Till the next show,
AO

2003-02-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

Starflyer 59, Lovedrug, Farewell to Fashion, and The Long Goodnight @ Old St. George February 24th....................
Eight bucks wasnt too much for this four band set. Got their late though (w/Tommy, Jenny, and Megan) so we missed my friend Brad's
band The Long Goodnight. Farewell to Fashion has changed their lineup around a bit and gotten a new lead singer. The main mic
was messed up which helped add to a not so great performance. I still dig Farewell and hope this was just an off night for them.
The main guitarist and former Jeremiah's Grotto band member sang on the last song and helped to revive the set. Lovedrug played
next and those guys have some talent. With the lead singer switching back and forth from playing keyboard and guitar it created
a real mellow sound but still had some Rock moments. Their drummer was going ape the whole time and it rocked. By the time
Starflyer 59 came on i was getting tired and it was difficult to hear the vox. It just seemed like a really long instrumental set, but
that was more so just my being tired, everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
After the next one,
Aaron

2003-02-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

Krinj @ York Street Cafe February 23rd............................
So Krinj probably played at The York
Street Cafe. Here's the problem though: Megan and I get there and the girl
taking the money says its double if you're not 21. Funny how they failed to mention that in
advertising the show. So if it were six months from now i'd be 21 and it would only cost me $5,
instead it costs $10. So lame, either way i wouldnt have been drinking. Then we pay the
cash and wait for like fifteen minutes. By now its 945 the show was supposed to start at 9,
but instead of having anyone tuning up everyone is just playing it casual and buying drinks.
So we got are $ back and left never to return to the York Street Cafe. It wasn't Krinj's fault though,
just the venue's.

2003-02-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

Junior Revolution @ the Mad Frog. Friday, February 21, 2003.....
I am convinced that the Junior Revolution is the best local rock band in the Cincinnati area. These guys are sooo good.
With three guitarists interchanging between lead and rhythm along with sharing the singing duties among four vocalists
(predominantly done by one)-these guys know how to bring it. This show was filled with energy as well as humorous side
comments. I went with my girlfriend Megan and another friend (her roommate) Jenny. They both agreed that Jr. Rev. backs
up their claim of bringing the rock power to the people. Not only is this one of the best shows going for five bucks, but they
bring free demos to their shows containing five of their songs. They'll be playing again around the area pretty soon so check
their site for showdates and they also have three songs uploaded on the site, check'em out at The Junior Revolution.
Until the next show,
Aaron