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American Hi-Fi / Allister / The Early November

live in Seattle
2003
live show

Review by: Katie4213
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Published on March 25th 2003

So it is the night before I fly back to Chicago for spring break. I get to see American Hi-Fi, Allister, The Early November, and Trouble is at the Graceland in Seattle. The show was overall less than impressive except for the middle two bands that seemed to capture my attention.

The first band, Trouble Is, I cannot even describe. Here, I will let you decide for yourself. Their one lyric that stood out in my mind was, “I wanna fuck you non-stop, baby I think you’re beautiful.” The pre-pubescent boys in the crowd were the only one’s in the venue who seemed to actually take interest to this band. In my opinion they sounded like a rip-off of A Simple Plan. If you are into the more immature pop-punk sound then you would probably like these guys. Somehow they landed a deal with Columbia, so check them out if you are at all interested.

When Trouble Is ended their set I was extremely eager to hear the nest band, The Early November. I picked up their record “For All of This” which came out last November on Drive Thru, a few weeks ago after some hype I had heard. When they took the stage, the energy in the venue skyrocketed. There was a surprisingly large fan base for The Early November. The band quickly became intimate with their fans, and played with them rather than too them. This four-piece band from Jersey had a fun stage presence. The three front men all had light, curly fro-ish hair and wore tight black t-shirts. Their drummer spiced it up with his short dark hair. The Early November began rocking out as soon as they got on stage and did not stop until they played their last note. They covered the majority of the songs on their most recent release. My favorites included “Every Night’s Another Story,” “I Want to Hear You Sad,” and “All We Ever Needed.” I was pretty impressed by their set. Keep your eyes out for these guys, they will probably be getting pretty well known in the future.

Allister. Oh Allister. They get bonus points from me because they are from Chicago, the greatest city in the world, and they talked about Chicago throughout their whole set. Their stage presence was pretty impressive. To tell you the truth this band surprised me. They have a very formulaic pop-punk sound, but at the same time they have their own edge and style with slightly sets them apart. They were fun to watch and again, incorporated the crowd in every song they played. They too had a very strong fan base with was a bit surprising to me. I was not aware of how big they have become. I think the majority of the kids in the venue were here more for Allister than American Hi-Fi. Allister has been around for a while, and I think they are now getting the recognition and support they have been working so hard for. These Midwest natives put on a show that is easy to listen to, and enjoyable to watch. If you have a chance, you may want to check them out, they are a fun group of guys.

And finally, American Hi-Fi. These guys were defiantly trying, but they had a hard time keeping my attention. The crown began to thin as they got into their set. Their sound was not overly impressive, and they seemed a bit worn out on stage. However, they were extremely grateful for the fans they had, and were very polite on stage, which is sometimes hard to come by at these shows. They didn’t do too much for me, but I can see how they have their following and fans. Their sound is wholesome but not too original.

Overall the night was o.k. I left the venue on a great note, knowing that the falling day I would be in Chicago and be seeing Cursive at the Metro! But if this tour comes by you and you don’t already have tickets, give it a go if you are into the pop-punk scene. It may be your style.

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Posted by Passion_of_Destruction on 2005-08-15 09:14:45
My Score:

i didnt go to the show but i like early november cus it's easy listening and i can relax to it

Posted by MaxTheGreat11 on 2005-05-16 18:15:14
My Score:

this show must have sucked, early november are mediocre at best and the other two bands suck ass

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 16, 2004 at 2:48 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I LOVE the Early November and American Hi-Fi.

Allister is so-so, but they sound like every single other band doing the pop-punk act.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 at 12:58 AM (EST)
My Score:

to whoever said "I don't even think acid could make this interesting."

please send some this way. texas has been dry for 2 years.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, March 29, 2003 at 10:47 PM (EST)
My Score:

"The three front men all had light, curly fro-ish hair and wore tight black t-shirts."

How sensitive...

Posted by JOE_MOMMA on 2003-03-27 20:58:45
My Score:

American high figh is one of the only bands we can count on now a days when bands like afi are aound.

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 2:25 PM (EST)
My Score:

Hardly anyone in Chicago (with a brain) likes Allister. They are the pinnacle of boring. That being said, I hope no one over 15 paid to see this.
-Jay

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 27, 2003 at 1:33 AM (EST)
My Score:

"a nominee for assmunch tour of the year"

How about: a nominee for assmunch review(er) of the year?

-El Vaquero
(yes, I am colon happy these days, and no, not the ass kind... though, that would fit into the whole assmunch dealie..)

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 6:40 PM (EST)
My Score:

a nominee for assmunch tour of the year

Ramo

Posted by _911 on 2003-03-26 18:19:42
My Score:

sounds like the worst show ever..

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 2:42 PM (EST)
My Score:

its all relative man, RFTC dresses alike but they can because they are badass. Allister is just lame, so no matter what they do, they will always suck.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 2:29 PM (EST)
My Score:

I like Allister's show, they're fun.

But as for the other bands...bleh.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at 12:54 PM (EST)
My Score:

I saw this show last night, and although the first band [Trouble Is] and last [American Hi-Fi] really sucked, The Early November was amazing. As for their "matching outfits," don't be so quick to call them losers. How many times do you think bands stop to wash their clothes? How many times do you think they check with eachother in the morning before putting on their clothes and say, "Hey man, don't wear the blue shirt, I'm gonna wear blue." Three of them were wearing black shirts and it wasn't on purpose.

Posted by bruceless on 2003-03-25 21:55:53
My Score:

ATTN: Punknews.org readers:

Sign this petition here regarding the new bold print review listing system.
Keep in mind, this aims for a real goal but has been created in with a sense of humor and the awareness of the actual (lack of) urgency of this situation. Though for the record, I mean every notion this petition suggests. Thank you.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 9:17 PM (EST)
My Score:

I don't even think acid could make this interesting.

Posted by TheBouncingSoul on 2003-03-25 19:28:48
My Score:

i'd rather chew my arm off, and beat myself unconcious with it

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 4:55 PM (EST)
My Score:

thats like a nightmare lineup there, i saw allister once and it was the longest 30 minutes i have ever had to stand thru. Nice to know that band she described were all dressed alike with their nice puffy hair and ha, fuck that

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 4:53 PM (EST)
My Score:

Things I'd rather do than go to this show:
-Have my testicles slammed in a car door.
-Be skinned alive and rolled in salt.
-Receive a bleach/tabasco sauce enema.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 3:24 PM (EST)
My Score:

Yes,im a true asshole for not enjoying bad music. Yep thats me then.

Secondly, Ive never thought of Turbonegro as punk rock before, thus i fail to see how this makes me punk rock. And Ive listened to them for a long time buddy.

dropping names like dropping bombs,
-feedmynightmare

Posted by waste_elite on 2003-03-25 14:40:47
My Score:

yikes, there's a bad lineup

Posted by evildeadalive on 2003-03-25 14:12:20
My Score:

I liked The_Killings comment. It's funny. It is also true.

Posted by Melvyl on 2003-03-25 13:42:31
My Score:

feedmynightmare is an asshole.

just because you bought your first turbonegro album a week ago does not mean that you are SOO punk rock and can rip on everyone else.

look at me, i'm such a poser because i like bands that i like, but what's up with turbonegro being a band for elitist to namedrop all the time? Jesus, no one cared about them 5 years ago, i've seen them 15 times.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 1:07 PM (EST)
My Score:

I can think of over 9000 other things I'd rather do than go to a show line up like this.

Posted by steakhouse on 2003-03-25 12:41:28
My Score:

dilinger four were right once it helps you to get laid you have to help to kill it.

Posted by travis on 2003-03-25 12:36:45
My Score:

i had like five free tickets to this show. no one wanted them.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 11:42 AM (EST)
My Score:

grammar...not grammer

-hello dumbass police

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 8:37 AM (EST)
My Score:

no shit!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 8:00 AM (EST)
My Score:

ugh. 'nuff said.

Posted by The_Killings on 2003-03-25 05:13:07
My Score:

"chances are, if you actually put this much thought into what a band is dressed like, you shouldnt be involved in punk rock."

Chances are, if you consider any of the bands on the bill to be punk rock, you shouldn't be involved in punk rock.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 3:10 AM (EST)
My Score:

The three front men all had light, curly fro-ish hair and wore tight black t-shirts. Their drummer spiced it up with his short dark hair.

its good to know joe marro is keeping his hair fashionable. were these sentences necessary? chances are, if you actually put this much thought into what a band is dressed like, you shouldnt be involved in punk rock.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 at 2:13 AM (EST)
My Score:

"I left the venue on a great note, knowing that the falling day I would be in Chicago and be seeing Cursive at the Metro! "

Hello grammer police.

-feedmynightmare

(ps)- People actually pay money to see this shit. Yikes. Anyone thinking about going to this tour, go out and buy a Turbonegro album instead. That, is rock.