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Cursive / The Velvet Teen / Race for Titles

live in Seattle
2003
live show

Review by: Katie4213
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Published on January 31st 2003

The second to last show at the Paradox. These are sad days. At least it was a good show. Race for Titles, The Velvet Teen, and Cursive played together for their last time at the Paradox. The show sold out, and attracted a diverse intense crowd.

Race for Titles was the first band. They are a four-piece band from Omaha. RFT has been around for about a year and a half. On stage, there was not an overwhelming amount of energy, and naturally the crowd seemed to just listen to the music as opposed to experiencing it. Their sound seemed pretty consistent through each song with not much variance. I would classify them as a definite emo band, with a trademark emo style. However, they seemed to be pretty talented musicians. If you get the chance I would check them out.

Wow. The Velvet Teen. Is there really anything else I can say? This band was extremely unique, and I cannot remember the last time I have heard such a beautiful voice. Judah Nagler is the lead singer of this three-piece band out of Santa Rosa California. His voice is amazing. Their sound was very original, including an acoustic piano played by Nagler in a few of their songs. The band describes themselves as and “art pop/indie trio”. The Velvet Teen had a small following who were singing along to all of their songs, however, it was not hard for the crowd to become entranced by their sound. Their sound was very dynamic, changing from song to song. There was a stretch of slow melodic songs, but the band jumped back into the harder stuff towards the end. Almost as amazing as Judah’s voice, was the talent to the bassist, Joshua Staples. He was extremely impressive, a key component to all of their songs. To get a good taste of their music go download the song Counting Backwards, and pick up their latest release on Slowdance Records.

And finally Cursive. To anyone who has seen this band live, you know how amazing their show is. Last night was no exception. Musically and lyrically, Cursive is one of the most mature bands around. It is also refreshing to see a band perform that is not overly caught up in their image. At the show it was so easy to notice how looking “emo” has become such a trend. Every other person looked exactly the same with their black hair, thick-rimmed glasses, messenger bags, random piercing, and stoic faces. Cursive, was exactly the opposite. They were a group of people who played music because they were conveying a message to their audience. They could care less about fitting the mold of their music genre. The crowd was completely mesmerized by their set, myself included. They played for a good amount of time and covered most of their albums. A crowd favorite was definitely The Martyr, off of the Domestica album. They did add a moment of comic relief, playing their shortened renditions of Missy Elliot, J. Lo and a few others. It was entertaining.

The Paradox could not have asked for a better ending to their history as an all ages venue. If you are in Seattle be sure to check out their last show this Saturday night.

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Posted by BurstAndBloom on 2003-02-06 12:47:07
My Score:

If it's a Cursive show, then it's worth a review.

Posted by newjackshit on 2003-02-06 09:08:08
My Score:

i want to add that i have a messenger bag. i used it for work...when i was a bike messenger. i am definatly a scenester. ouch.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 at 4:47 PM (EST)
My Score:

I think I like you now.

-sickboi

Posted by newjackshit on 2003-02-05 16:08:35
My Score:

fuck all of you. i enoy the live reviews. as for the kid complaining about scenesters....you are definatly one yourself..and you are probably an elitist. cock. go sit in your oddly painted room and listen to all of your obscure but popular import vinyl that no one cares you have. you definatly have a messenger bag, you definatly wear tight jeans cuffed at the ankle, and you most definatly only wear shirts from either goodwill or some overpriced yuppy vintage store in the trendy "hip" section of your city that you consider "indie". you are a douche bag.

great review.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, February 5, 2003 at 3:53 PM (EST)
My Score:

Don't read the live reviews. Most of em suck, including mine, but they are something different and give kids an idea of the vibe at different shows in different places. In short, shut up.

-sickboi

Posted by hungryjoe on 2003-02-04 22:36:37
My Score:

actually, i only posted once (the first one, and was too lazy to log in).
someone else came and backed me up....and don't tell me "bullshit" because it's a pretty reasonable argument...i say scrap the live reviews all together, and just have like a message board where people can discuss shows they've attended and write "reviews" there. from the sound of things, it's not as if they're dying for album review submissions or anything...

Posted by preacher on 2003-02-04 14:01:22
My Score:

no need to get so upset. i mean, one person was against live reviews (and posted twice). don't start shooting people.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, February 3, 2003 at 12:49 PM (EST)
My Score:

you are all dumb. Live reviews are very much needed on the site, and they serve a very good purpose. Not everyone likes every show they go to, and not every live show on here has 5 stars. fuck, shut up, you are all such babies. go read buddyhead. im serious, you are all so stupid, it doesn't clutter up anything.

*****Wuss-Emo-Rock***** (pissed off)

Posted by Le_MAD on 2003-02-02 22:37:03
My Score:

I agree that reviews of live shows are useless. At least they should do a separate section for them on the site.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 2, 2003 at 6:20 PM (EST)
My Score:

first of all, this didn't get 5 stars. second, someone might review a show because they'd like to give an honest opinion...it doesn't mean that they loved the show.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, February 2, 2003 at 4:34 PM (EST)
My Score:

What's the point of live reviews? I mean, all they do is clutter up the archives. And if I'm going to see a band live, I'm not going to say "well this reviewer had a bad time" and not go. I mean, obviously, if you are gonna review a live show, you're gonna like it. So it automatically 5 stars. Prats.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 5:58 PM (EST)
My Score:

ouch such hostility here. where is the love, all you angry comments are so pointless. chill son.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 4:27 PM (EST)
My Score:

is anyone else sick of live reviews? do they serve any purpose? it's even more pointless to keep them in the archive with the rest of the record reviews.

Posted by BurstAndBloom on 2003-02-01 15:34:16
My Score:

I saw this show last night at the Troubadour in Hollywood. Cursive is so incredible.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 12:45 PM (EST)
My Score:

each album I get shit on a little more...who's tim's latest whore? No, that's not fair...that's just obscene. I'll stop speaking for you if you stop speaking for me.

The Ugly Organ hands down the best indie release of 2003.

-tbones

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 6:33 AM (EST)
My Score:

Awful review. Did you spend more time looking at the crowd than the band on stage? Oh, and the description of the Velvet Teen sounds canned, right out of a press release.

LONG LIVE RACE FOR TITLES!

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 1:03 AM (EST)
My Score:

What are messenger bags?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 31, 2003 at 7:22 PM (EST)
My Score:

i'm bitter i'm not seeing this tonight

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 31, 2003 at 7:03 PM (EST)
My Score:

yeah, amen to the scenester dorks commment. i hate going to shows now cuz of all the emo kids....cursive are just a bunch of older but still rockin' good people. ted, matt, and tim are damnn nice fellows...can't wait to see the good life, maybe there wont be any scenester whores at that show....

Posted by travis on 2003-01-31 17:09:23
My Score:

it was actually the third to last show... sorry to nitpick. tonight is damien jurado and saturday is gatsbys american dream with rocky. the guy that took the mic during race for titles was wrong. oh well.

race for titles was awesome. everyone in front really dug them... i didnt really check behind me to see how the rest of the crowd reacted though/

the velvet teen wasnt as good as the previous time they plaed the paradox... the vocals werent coming through well at all.

and cursive was frickin awesome. everything they played sounded better than the song before it. the new songs sound great live.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 31, 2003 at 5:05 PM (EST)
My Score:

so cursive sounded like what? save your scene politics for your shitty zine column.

wyzo

Posted by dignin on 2003-01-31 16:34:05
My Score:

when they played in slc it was the best show Ive ever seen.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, January 31, 2003 at 4:20 PM (EST)
My Score:

I'm still bitter that I couldn't see this tour when it came to Boston.

Posted by maverick on 2003-01-31 14:26:40
My Score:

Cursive *And* the Velvet Teen on the same tour?

Pardon me while I clean up the mess in my pants.

And here's a big middle finger to both bands for not touring together in the midwest. How rude.

-Scott