My Chemical Romance

Piebald / Minus The Bear / Noise Ratchet / My Chemical Romance: live in Seattlelive in Seattle (2003)
Big Wheel Recreation

Reviewer Rating: 4.5

Contributed by: Katie4213Katie4213
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on January 24th 2003Once upon a time there was a girl named Katie. She lived in Chicago and spent all of her time going to shows at the Metro and Fireside Bowl. Then one-day college began and she had to move to Seattle. It was a very hard departure; she thought she would never be able to live away from her venues. .

Once upon a time there was a girl named Katie. She lived in Chicago and spent all of her time going to shows at the Metro and Fireside Bowl. Then one-day college began and she had to move to Seattle. It was a very hard departure; she thought she would never be able to live away from her venues. But little by little, with each show she went to in Seattle, Katie realized this place was pretty tight. It seemed that every show she went to introduced her to a new amazing Seattle based band. And last night when Katie went to the Graceland to see Piebald, Minus the Bear, Noise Ratchet, and My Chemical Romance, she was not let down, and found a great new Seattle band.

The show began with My Chemical Romance, an energetic five-piece band. They played an active set, with a lot of movement and emotion. There sound had a harder edge, with vocals that consisted mainly of screaming. Although this band is not my style, I was impressed by their set, and they definitely had their share of fans in the crowd. These nice boys even invited all the girls in the audience to join them in the hot tub at the Holiday Inn they were staying at. How nice.

After My Chemical Romance, Noise Ratchet took the stage. If you have not heard of this band I would recommend checking them out. This San Diego base band had a sound more rock than pop base. According to the band they are "a compound of punk, post-grunge alt-rock and emo." The crowd got into their music easily, and was dancing along to all the songs. I must say, their guitarist had incredible hair, and loved to swing his head around causing his hair to fly everywhere. Actually, the whole band had a lot of movement on stage, and a very strong stage presence. They get two very enthusiastic thumbs up form me. Noise Ratchet is with the Militia Group and has a new six-song ep coming out soon.

Then Minus the Bear took the stage. Wow. What and incredible band. Their set was mesmerizing. I can't rave enough about this band. They had a more mellow tone, which I felt resembled a little of the Dismemberment Plan and Pinback, but a bit more up tempo. This Seattle based band had a large following intently listening in the crowd. Their music was creative and inspiring. Their guitars were amazing, as well as the drums and keyboard. You can really hear their talent when these guys play. I can see them going very far in the future. My thoughts on Minus the Bear are nothing short of Amazing. This is why I love Seattle.

And finally Piebald. First I must say, that front man Travis Shettel, should be in the running for the cutest mad alive. His attitude and enthusiasm on stage make the show worthwhile in itself. They mainly played tracks off their latest release We Are the Only Friends We Have, on Big Wheel Recreation. They also played a couple new songs that sounded really good. However, I must say my favorite songs were Stalker and American Hearts. I am looking forward to a new disc from them. Onstage Piebald joked with each other and the crowd. Unfortunately they did not have the keyboards, but they made up for it. It took a few songs, and a request from Travis, but soon the crowd was dancing, singing along, and having a good time. Having a good time is exactly what a Piebald live show embodies. Even if you don't know their music, you are guaranteed to enjoy yourself and their set. If you have not seen them live, shame on you. Go see them! You will not be let down.

Thank you once again Seattle for another happy ending. Keep the amazing music coming.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Passion_of_Destruction (August 15, 2005)

gerard (lead singer in mcr) just gets nervous. he rehearses nothing. that may have been his fuck-up show. he's only fucked one up and i think he's uberfantastic! he does 'silly' dance moves as you say cus it's funny and he knows he looks good. i dont care what you think, i think mcr rock

Anonymous (January 27, 2003)

"Im sorry, but along with HRC and hoobastank influences they are also over dramatic. With all the hand motions the singer makes"
yea, i agree with the hand motions thing. i love noise ratchet, but the singer reminded me of creed when i saw them last time, and it scared me.

Hamish (January 26, 2003)

ok, i went to the show last night. my chemical romance and noise ratchet were AWFUL. mcr had a really annoying singer who basically just acted really fake and did stupid dance moves and it seemed really rehearsed. and noise ratchet sounds like everything else out there nowadays. minus the bear was allright. piebald lacked in energy, i was really surprised. the set was pretty dissapointing and so was the crowd.

Anonymous (January 26, 2003)

hey, this is katie that wrote the review. i have checked out u.s.e. and dolour, andi am a huge dolour fan. i was at their show last week with the lashes and had a great time. if you guys are in the seattle area this week you should check out cursive at the paradox with velvet teen on tues. keep me posted with more shows in the area. kat4213@u.washington.edu
aim: Katie4213

Anonymous (January 26, 2003)

go to www.usemusic.com to check out united state of electronica MP3's and tour dates (many of them often with dolour).

Anonymous (January 26, 2003)

hey katie - nice review. I go to Western Washington University up in Bellingham (about 60 miles north of seattle). There is a lot of really good local stuff up here too... you should check it out.

Damn, i was gonna go to that show but couldn't make it. I have been a fan of Minus the Bear for awhile and have always missed their shows for one reason or another. Glad to hear how great they are.

Hey, you should check out the bands Dolour and United State of Electronica - they are both amazing. United State of Electronica is a 7-piece dance band that is very reminiscent of Daft Punk's new stuff. You should defintely check them out.

travis (January 26, 2003)

hey katie, you should go to the last show ever at the paradox... check out rocky votolato and gatsbys american dream

Anonymous (January 26, 2003)

The singer from Piebald doesn't have a really high voice. I don't what that's about. Otherwise, Piebald writes good music. Much more interesting and original than most of what's out there.

dignin (January 25, 2003)

Im sorry, but along with HRC and hoobastank influences they are also over dramatic. With all the hand motions the singer makes

travis (January 25, 2003)

nice, UW is great.

Anonymous (January 25, 2003)

piebald is the fucking worst band to ever exist. they should of stayed broken up.

Anonymous (January 25, 2003)

Are you fucking serious? Noise ratchet actually had an ep called why we cry? Well if you want an answer to that question, I'd have to say it's because they found out there's no god. Let's feel sorry for those jesus boys.

Hamish (January 25, 2003)

I'm sorry, but Travis's voice isn't high at all. Piebald is one of the only bands from that sub-genre that I really enjoy. Yeah, it's pop-punk, but it's clever and funny and well written and many steps above the bands they get associated with. I'll be seeing them tonight if the show isn't sold out. Noise Ratchet sucks.

Anonymous (January 25, 2003)

noise ratchet was so much better before they went on the militia group, their old stuff like the why we cry ep was amazing

Anonymous (January 25, 2003)

"And does anyone else think noise ratchet is a ripoff of Hot Rod Circuit with a little hoobastank mixed in?"

Yes, you are the only one. HRC and Hoobastank suck, where as Noise Ratchet is a great band.

I want to go see this show on Sunday. For anyone who's seen it already, did it sell out beforehand? Because I don't want to pay that hefty service charge for ticketmaster.

Anonymous (January 25, 2003)

am i the only person who doesn't find Travis's voice to be all that high?

Nope, his voice really isn't all that high and certainly not even close to the NFG guy's.

Geetarchick (January 25, 2003)

I'm going to University of Washington in Seattle... yeah... represent.. haha.

dignin (January 25, 2003)

his voice isn't high at all. And does anyone else think noise ratchet is a ripoff of Hot Rod Circuit with a little hoobastank mixed in?

TheBouncingSoul (January 25, 2003)

am i the only person who doesn't find Travis's voice to be all that high?

BostonMusicGuy (January 25, 2003)

piebald rules-BostonMusicGuy

pwfanatic (January 24, 2003)

i agree. seattle has its fair share of clubs and virtually every tour that goes all over the country comes through. the graceland is decent, and the showbox in downtown is amazing. the best club venue i have ever seen a show in.

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

How can you not spell "there" right? For fuck's sake!

travis (January 24, 2003)

geetarchick, the local scene in seattle is amazing. mind if i ask what school youre going to go?

Geetarchick (January 24, 2003)

good review..

Whoo i'm going to seattle this fall for school... i'm excited.. i hope the shows there are as good as the shows here in chicago.. whoo.

burstandbloom (January 24, 2003)

I agree with sickboi.

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

Minus the bear = fantastic

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

i was at this show. youre right, Minus the Bear was on their game. absolutely. but damn, Piebald did nothing for me.

but minus the bear made it so worth it.

-Travis (at work)

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

Piebald, my god I hate this band. I really hate this band. No man should be able to scream at a pitch that high, for god's sake he makes the dude from NFG sound like Barry White. Ugh.

-sickboi

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

I'm a huge piebald fan and I think "stalker" is a terrible song.

Anonymous (January 24, 2003)

katie is the coolest

pwfanatic (January 24, 2003)

the graceland rules. the somewhat decrepid look of the building only adds to the shows that play there. and now that they upgraded the sound system....