concert wrap-up

Concert #1 at Ithaca College

Days Away - The opener. Not too bad but kind of forgettable...further supported by the fact that apparently I saw them last year but I didn't remember them at all.

Something Corporate - So good! They played Globes and Maps! We were crushed up near the front so it was really sweaty and hot and I was being pushed all over the place, but it wasn't like obnoxious moshing so it was okay. (Although a crowd surfer pretty much fell on me.) The most surprising thing though was the lead singer, Andrew McMahon? When I saw SoCo last May, he had shaggy blond hair that fell all over his face and dorky emo glasses. But now it's cut pretty short and dyed black, so he looked like a completely different person. Haha perhaps he has grown up a little.


Concert #2 at Cornell

The Format - The opener. We got there a little late so we only caught one song, which I actually knew and was pretty good. We were dead tired from SoCo though so we just sat in the bleachers in the back.

Taking Back Sunday - Oy. So I saw TBS two years ago when they were on tour with Saves the Day and I remember them being just plain awful. It was just a lot of noise with whiny out-of-tune screaming. I felt like the band was just so concerned with "rocking out" that they didn't realize how horrible they sounded. This time though, I thought it might actually be okay because their new album has less screaming and I actually like some of the songs. Unfortunately, I was WRONG. Taking Back Sunday still has the worst live performance EVER. Plus their lighting was incredibly irritating...constant flashing and blinding strobes. Sigh, I don't know why they have to keep touring with bands that I like...if this happens again I'm going to have to skip it. Or just miss their set...

Jimmy Eat World - We stood up for this one but stayed toward the back of the crowd. I couldn't really see anything, but I didn't care too much. And wow, maybe because this was after TBS, but they sound really good live. Like the volume was definitely up a few notches, but it still sounded amazing. I was really happy that they played For Me This is Heaven and Lucky Denver Mint and Blister from Clarity, and Kill and 23 from their new album. I probably would have been a lot more excited to see them live about two or three years ago, but I am still a JEW fan (I own basically all of their albums) so I'm really glad they came to do a show here.


So, in summary: 5 bands, 2 venues, $23, and 7 hours later, I was completely exhausted but also pretty satisfied. I love concerts!