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Glassjaw / H2O / 30 Seconds To Mars

live in New York
2005
live show

Review by: Brian
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Glassjaw (link)

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Published on September 2nd 2005

I and my fellow show attendee finally entered the rather large Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City during the last song of Alexisonfire's set, ready to experience what would assuredly be one of the more bizzarre lineups as of late.

I've never really been one for Alexisonfire on record, as I personally find their style heedless and as a result, completely forgettable. Even as the band closed with what I think is one of their better songs (".44 Calibre Love Letter"), my opinion didn't change much. Lead vocalist George Logan's scream was rather muffled through the course of the song, and even when the resident backup vocalist / Tim McIlrath soundalike chimed in with his melodic parts, it seemed strained.

30 Seconds To Mars was next, and took the stage to sirens and blinding, flashing lights. While they were certainly tight, focused, and energetic, their brand of radio-prog didn't quite do it for me. The keyboards the band uses gives them a rather cinematic feel, and if nothing else it was an interesting addition all its own. There was a rather complex-looking drum kit on the stage for whoever was handling percussion as well. Lead singer / guitarist / well-known actor Jared Leto wasn't the least bit shy, closing every song with vehement screaming and consistently trying to rile up the crowd. More sets of multiple colored lights would flash during the band's set, and it seemed like a drastic attempt at really illuminating the "prog" portion of the band's sound, though there's a decidedly accessible rock sound to the band at their core, perhaps comparable to a darker, less wistful U2, a comparison more noticeable once mentioned. I know the title track of their recent release A Beautiful Lie was played amongst the set.

Now, I've never seen H2O live, so I was in for what ended up being a rather strange experience at points. I'm not 100% familiar with their discography (Thicker Than Water, the not quite fan favorite Go! and even less well-received All We Want EP are admittedly the only albums I've heard of theirs), but I'm quite well in the know about the general sound the band started out playing and the severe backlash brought upon them with the release of their major label debut. And, to see a group of men whose physical appearance clearly let everyone know New York hardcore veterans of the scene were gracing the stage play straight pop-punk songs was just...weird. Indeed, around half the set derived from Go!, including opener "Role Model," "Memory Lane," and possibly one other song I can't remember. If I closed my eyes, it was almost like the Bouncing Souls were on stage, actually. Also included was "I See It In Us," "Thicker Than Water," and closer "Family Tree," in which Hoya from Madball came out to do some guest vocals with a guitarist from the same band to do some chords. Toby made sure to thank Bert McKracken of the Used for personally calling him and inviting H2O on tour, and gave everyone in the crowd a short NYHC history lesson, rattling off select important bands (Agnostic Front, Gorilla Biscuits, Warzone, and Madball were mentioned among a few others). Overall, a pretty enjoyable set even with the aforementioned "see one thing, hear another" detail.

The majority in attendance for Glassjaw likely hadn't seen the band either of the secret nights they played at Long Island venue the Downtown the past few days (Sunday, and the more publicized appearance Tuesday with This Is Hell), so their more or less first "scheduled" show in two years had to be a treat for the fans. Once the band took the stage, all anticipatory feelings hit home, as Daryl Palumbo had the manic look in his eye with the opening chords of "Tip Your Bartender" ringing right and left. Aside from some quick introductions of the members, very little banter occurred, but it was for the better, as a fairly decent number of songs were offered up. Palumbo instead flailed around the stage during cuts like "Gillette Cavalcade..." and the raucous "Pretty Lush." Hammerstein's sound is a bit overpowering no matter the band, but the band seemed to settle in by the time hands were in the air signaling double-digit multiplication in "Mü Empire," which was an appropriate, immediate follower of "Bartender." The set was fluid in its flow, and I was personally rather happy to hear both opening tracks of the band's two full-lengths, as they were absent from the set list a few days earlier, and are perfect for GJ's live setting in general. Again, I'd love for a miracle to happen that would allow the band to put out another record and tour regularly, because there's still enough passion and drive there to put out something as creative and intense as past efforts, and enough of an allowed hiatus for the members to embrace the band as something new and refreshing. Hopefully, this was a preview of all that and more.

Oh, the Used headlined this, but I wasn't there to experience the surefire spectacle.

Set list:

Tip Your Bartender
Mü Empire
Star Above My Bed
Ape Dos Mil
The Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports
Pretty Lush
Natural Born Farmer
Two Tabs Of Mescaline
Siberian Kiss

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 10:05 PM (EDT)

Wait... isn't Hoya the guitar player for Madball and Freddie the vocalist?

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 5, 2005 at 2:34 AM (EDT)

I like how GlassJAw doesn't play the same set every night. Way to keep things interesting!

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, September 4, 2005 at 12:10 AM (EDT)

"my question is:
why does glassjaw's set never include "cosmopolitan blood loss"?
wasn't it their "hit" song?"

idunno. they played it on the warped tour in 03.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 3, 2005 at 6:22 PM (EDT)

Wow, what a shit-sandwich of a show. I wouldn't even go to see this if if was free and I was extremely bored.

-Ken

Posted by Colton on 2005-09-03 12:15:12

Doesn't matter what you say, "All We Want" is amazingly catchy. So catchy in fact, that it's on an Atticus compilation. Suck on that.

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 3, 2005 at 6:30 AM (EDT)

all of these bands are horrible

Posted by joeg on 2005-09-02 22:22:33

H2O's best album was Thicker than Water

Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-09-02 21:20:59

nice, thanks Almost

- jones

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 9:18 PM (EDT)

my question is:
why does glassjaw's set never include "cosmopolitan blood loss"?
wasn't it their "hit" song?

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 9:10 PM (EDT)

All the time this crappy show was happening across town The Bouncing Souls were rocking at CBGB's... even Max Weinberg knew that THIS was the show to be at.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 7:58 PM (EDT)

F.T.T.W. is H2O's best album.

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-09-02 16:39:03

jones, if you do wanna do the html paragraphs it's really easy. but without the spaces, you know the deal.

put the opener at the begining of the first one, and then the closer between the two paragraphs you wanna seperate like this:

 gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay fag boner

 homo homo buttsex buttsex derogatory comments twoards women

i think you might not even have to close it as long as you keep putting the opener, but i'm not sure.

Posted by Dante3000 on 2005-09-02 14:44:19

Since no one seems to be asking I'll ask the question that's on everyones mind:
"Did Daryl Palumbo shit during Glassjaws set?"
-Dante

Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-09-02 14:28:00

haha. thanks dante. knowing shit sucks

- jones the bones

- stevejones8770@yahoo.com

Posted by Dante3000 on 2005-09-02 14:26:31
My Score:

Hey I had the same question. Brian told me that they're there you just don't see them in the preview. If you type in HTML, however, you can see all the breaks and stuff in the preview. So I guess you don't need to worry.
-Dante
P.S. Score is for knowledge, not the band, just knowing shit.

Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-09-02 13:51:23

hey brian, i have a question about submitting reviews.

whenever i click preview, all my paragraph line breaks disapear and it is all one long paragraph...but then when click that it doesnt look right and go back...my paragraph breaks are there.

is there certain code or something i need to type to indicate line breaks? or do you get them ok on your end? or whats the deal?

- jones the bones

- stevejones8770@yahoo.com

Posted by etwiels88 on 2005-09-02 12:33:41

"wow this sounds like an amzingly crappy show ALL three of these bands are horrible, total trash...I think what's on everyone's mind when they see it is "eh...least its not emo" its not but it doesn't mean its good either."

Whatever the fuck that meant, it was stupid. v

Posted by crackpotdemagogue on 2005-09-02 12:09:36

What the fuck has happened to H2O....

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 10:54 AM (EDT)

i've seen alexisonfire a couple of times and they were either hit or miss. they have a big fan base in montreal and when i saw them there they played older material and killed, but at the final snapcase show they played newer stuff and just couldn't get anyone into it. then again it was snapcase's final show and thats all anyone cared about.

Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2005-09-02 09:46:24

Sounds like a really tepid, "mass friendly" show. It's a shame Jared Leto, a good actor, has stepped onto the "false-indie" bandwagon.

Posted by gregs on 2005-09-02 06:59:22

I saw Alexisonfire open for someone and I have to admit they were a damn good live band even though I don't like their music

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 4:54 AM (EDT)

You personally find Alexisonfire's style "heedless". What does that mean exactly?

Personally I find their style to be well, just a bit dull, was just wondering what you meant.

Also, I'm glad I got the chance to see H2O before they started to suck.

Posted by jacktheskipper on 2005-09-02 04:36:58

I think Alexisonfire are really really good live ... their guitar player has one of the best voices I`ve ever heard, he hit every single note right ... and the energy of theri show was just overwhelming ...

Posted by AlmostPunkEnough on 2005-09-02 03:52:23

Hammerstein Ballroom is a shithole. i used to work there, you should see the backstage areas (except where the bands dressing rooms are. theres fucking huge rats and roaches, all the ceilings and walls are falling apart... it's just crappy.

all the girls that bartend there are really hot, though, so it's not all bad.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 2:45 AM (EDT)
My Score:

wow this sounds like an amzingly crappy show ALL three of these bands are horrible, total trash...I think what's on everyone's mind when they see it is "eh...least its not emo" its not but it doesn't mean its good either.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 2:42 AM (EDT)

once again, i have no idea how glassjaw tricked people into thinking they are at all good.

Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2005-09-02 02:39:55

What the fuck, I saw H2O in January and they only played one song from "Go." I guess they're still playing to the audience.

Posted by Archangel on 2005-09-02 02:38:42
My Score:

Yaaaaay Glassjaw.