I'm going to start this off by saying that The Showbox in Seattle has got to have the shittiest service I've seen in a long time. The show started at 7:30 with the doors supposed to have been opened at 7:00...but they were fifteen minutes late. Not only that, they took over a half an hour to get everyone into the show. I've never had to wait that long once the doors open. Ever.
Anyway, the tour opened with We Are the Fury, a band I've never really been able to get into. I couldn't help but feel bad for them though; they tried so hard to get the crowd moving and had a TON of energy, but they couldn't get anything going. Since I missed half of the set, the only songs I really saw were "Better Off This Way" and "Anaesthetic Parade," plus one I didn't recognize. I'll give them credit for the effort though.
The second act were local guys Amber Pacific. I've been trying to see them live for the longest time, so it was pretty gratifying finally being able to see them perform. They kicked off their set with "Everything We Were Has Become What We Are" and never lost the momentum after that. They also played (kind of scrambled): "Poetically Pathetic," "Save Me from Me," "Can't Hold Back," "The Sky Could Fall Tonight," "Postcards," "Gone So Young," and they closed out with "Always You." I was disappointed at the fact that they only played the one song from Fading Days, but they performed with such intensity, it completely made up for it. Second-best performance of the night, only outdone by...
Chiodos, the third act. I've seen them live before (February 23rd) and was amazed at the show they throw down; it was fucking unbelievable then and it was just as amazing the second time. They kicked off with "Expired in Goreville" and followed that up with "There's No Penguins in Alaska." Among the other songs they played were "The Word 'Best Friend' Has Become Redefined" and a couple others that I didn't recognize. They closed out with "Baby You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek," ending an incredible performance. Makes me sad that I have to wait until Warped Tour to see them again.
The Early November was the main supporting act for Matchbook Romance. They opened with "Every Night's Another Story," probably the most upbeat and excitable song I've ever heard by them and one of my favorites. They played a pretty energetic set, though I thought that the bassist was a bit outspoken; he never seemed to shut up. They played a pretty impressive set, and there were a few songs I couldn't recognize, but I remember "Decoration," "Sesame Smeshame," "Ever So Sweet," "I Want to Hear You Sad" and their last song, "Baby Blue." During one of their earlier songs, Will from Amber Pacific came out and played guitar for them, and when they played "I Want to Hear You Sad," Matt jumped out halfway through and started singing the chorus with them. Definitely a cool little event, I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was the highlight of their performance. I thought it was a good set.
By the time Matchbook Romance came out, my excitement for the show was essentially gone, seeing as I'd mainly wanted to see Amber Pacifc, Chiodos, and the Early November. MR didn't help their case when they started to play, butchering "My Eyes Burn" so bad to the point where I couldn't even recognize it until the chorus. The front-man kept singing too far from the mic so no one could hear what the hell he was singing. Overall, their whole set was far from impressive and it was overly sloppy, not to mention that it was short. They only played about 10 songs overall, including "The Greatest Fall of All Time," "Playing for Keeps," "Surrender," "Monsters," "My Mannequin Can Dance," and "Fiction." They did come out to play an encore though, playing "Promise" and a slower song that I didn't really care to stick around for. It wasn't a bad show at all, it's just too bad that Matchbook Romance couldn't step it up and play as well as the bands that were opening for them.
