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H2O / Madcap / Authority Zero

live in Seattle
2002
live show

Review by: FatTony
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Published on August 6th 2002

I have just been to what will probably go down as one of the most memorable shows I'll ever go to.

The show was supposed to be with the Soul Brains headlining, but they dropped off the tour for some reason. I didn't plan on going until this happened and thus, the cost of the ticket dropped by about $4. I can only assume that once they were no longer on the tour, the new show, with H2O headlining, was hardly promoted, if at all.

Every other time I've seen H2O, they've sold out The Graceland, which has a maximum capacity of about 500-600 people. This time, however, there were only 200 people there, tops. When I first got there, it was unsettling and even a little depressing to see so few people there. I thought about just leaving, but I'm glad I didn't.

The first band to go on was Authority Zero. I had never heard of this band, but they were pretty good. They're mostly a punk band, but they played a little bit of ska, here and there, which I thought was cool. Their lead singer also did a solo Irish drinking song, and he can spit out lyrics pretty fast. Overall, they were quite enjoyable, but the lack of people at the show led to a luke-warm reception.

Next up was Madcap. I've tried listening to them several times before, but I just can't get into their music. They put on a pretty impressive show though. The sad thing was that the lead singer kept talking about how cool everyone was for actually moving around and having fun, but there weren't all that many people moving. They seemed to get more reaction out of the crowd than Authority Zero, but still not a whole lot of movement overall. They also managed to get a couple people up on stage to stage dive, and it was hilarious to see them fall flat on the floor because there weren't enough people up front to catch them. It was like something out of a movie. Still a pretty good set though.

Last but not least, H2O. They came out to some crappy rap song and then plowed through "Role Model" and a new song that I didn't get the title of. At this point, Toby talked about the Soul Brains not being on the tour and thanked everyone for coming out just to see H2O. He went on to say that from that point on, they had no setlist and would be taking audience requests for the rest of the night!

So, one by one, people were pulled up on stage to request their song. Funny thing is, hardly anyone requested anything off of GO! (an album I think is alright, but everyone else seems to hate). Most of the requests were from their earlier albums, including "Scene Report," "5 Year Plan," "Family Tree," and "Thicker Than Water." Other requests included "Memory Lane," "Faster Than The World," "One Life, One Chance," "Guilty By Association," and some song called "Talk Too Much" that was requested by some old guy they knew from New York.

H2O played another new song in the middle of all the requests, as well as another new one before closing with "Like A Prayer," the only other song from GO! to be requested. Toward the end of the song, the people all along the front row just stormed the stage and rocked out with the band. Toby handed over his mic to some kid and other people jumped up to sing on the other mics and just rock out on stage with the band. It was pure chaos in all its glory.

The only truly disappointing aspect of this show was that H2O played for less than an hour. I would have liked to see them play long enough to honor my request for "Fading," a song I've always wanted to hear live. It seemed like everyone around me was getting their songs played, except me. But I digress. If the new songs were any indication, their next album will be more like GO!, maybe even a bit poppier. In the end, H2O gave everything they had and put on an amazing show, not letting the lack of people discourage them in any way. I would definitely recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance.

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Posted by waste_elite on 2002-08-11 20:26:08
My Score:

ahhh...

that would make sense

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 1:59 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I think the guy is talking about now (Go era)

Posted by waste_elite on 2002-08-09 23:57:58
My Score:

they were good on blackout, not bad on epitaph, but the music sucks?

how does that make sense?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 9, 2002 at 4:41 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Actually they were on blackout when they were good band. Though the Epitaph sutff ain't that bad. The live show is still good, the music sucks though.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, August 9, 2002 at 1:01 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Back when they were a really good band, H2O were on epitaph, which I heard was 51% owned by warner bros

Posted by FatTony on 2002-08-09 05:04:37
My Score:

Mr. Anonymous below me:

It was really memorable just because the lack of a sold-out crowd didn't deter the band in any way and there was a lot of love in the air for the band. Also, the fact that the whole front row jumped up on stage at the end was fucking great too. At the very end, there was a little circle pit on the stage and some kid was crowd surfing on the people on stage. Not something you see every day!

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 7:14 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I was at the show and Kris Scheben-Edy was butt-fucking everybody! What a dumb-wank!

Posted by waste_elite on 2002-08-08 00:37:52
My Score:

"talk too much" and "phone song" are both on "thicker than water" (their 2nd album).

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 7:52 PM (EDT)
My Score:

"Talk Too Much" is off of their first album.

One of my favorite H2O songs.
That and the "Phone Song"

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 8:19 PM (EDT)
My Score:

h20 puts on a great preformance i the taking request thigns is something im sure any bands fans would love but i must have missed why this will go down as one of the most memorable shows uve ever been 2. just wondering what that statement meant

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 5:08 PM (EDT)
My Score:

hey waste_elite- i was at that fletchers show too. i agree. fucking badass show. but what else is new with h2o? every time i see this guys, they go insane on stage and the crowd readily obliges with great pit action. 'go' was a disappointment. but that shouldn't stop anyone who has not seen h2o live from going. h2o are 10X better live. i don't know about h2o not getting the huge crowds. maybe it just depends on where you are because the baltimore show last december was fucking packed. the dc show a few months earlier on the other hand only had about 300 but it was a weeknight(or school night for the young ones). i wonder if h2o is headlining the upcoming boxcar racer/used tour. they should get the top slot but then again, boxcar racer has 2/3 of blink so . . . . . .

Posted by mrkenzington on 2002-08-06 16:32:23
My Score:

Seems like low turnouts are a bit of a trend with H2o these days, and that's a shame. Saw them in L.A. and SD not to long ago, and both shows were very low capacity. Toby actually had to jump into the crowd at one point in an attempt to get everyone dancing. I understand that they feel the need to move in a somewhat more poppier direction now. I just wish that the old sound could be recaptured. Still a great live band though.

Posted by lockdown59 on 2002-08-06 13:44:38
My Score:

For those who don't know:

Authority Zero is a Ska-Punk band from teh Phoenix area. They are kind of like Sublime, but a bit more gritty. Recently, like a few month ago, i htink, they signed to Lava/Atlantic records. They are a great band, check them out.

Posted by cawknocker on 2002-08-06 12:48:21
My Score:

they rule live, but damn was go a disapointment save role model,songs remain, and memory lane and the madonna cover. the album was way to polished and poppy, guess cuz their on mca.i mean cmon, shine the light down, repair,forest king, underneath the flames? corny as hell, and not h20. FTTW is still the best i think, by far.i hope they don't repeat 'go' on this new album....but u said it sounds like they will..

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 6:30 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Flecthers is a great place to see a show but i like ottobar better-oldpunker

Posted by kanguy on 2002-08-06 03:33:37
My Score:

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the reason no one was at that show was cause Danzig was playing that night too.

Posted by kanguy on 2002-08-06 03:32:45
My Score:

Really too bad I missed this show. I had to work (doh!) I would've just requested the play the whole self titled cd.

Posted by punky on 2002-08-06 03:19:27
My Score:

H2O is the best live band I ever saw. Full of energy.The only bad thing that happend was Toby jumped into the crowd and landed on me.I think I might punch him in the back of the head next time they come to play.

Posted by waste_elite on 2002-08-06 03:00:49
My Score:

h2o's records are decent but these guys really shine up on stage. i saw em last december and it stands as one of the best shows i've been too. it was a tiny little club (fletcher's for those in baltimore) packed to the brim. the pit was fucking insane. incredible energy.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 1:32 AM (EDT)
My Score:

toby is the fuckin man
his energy is cazy

H2o fuckin great live band

Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2002-08-06 00:38:30
My Score:

i'd love to see them live, but alas i can't (i'll be out of town when they hit chicago), and reading this review makes me that much more pissed

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 6, 2002 at 12:14 AM (EDT)
My Score:

good review....h2o owns live