Punknews.orgPunknews.org Logo
Review Navigator

BackForward

Features

 

Contests

 


Reviews



I'll admit it...I'm a Saves the Day fan. I like their newest album the most, but also appreciate their older material. That said, I was really apprehensive to go to this show. I recently saw them perform on TV (Craig Kilborn Show, I think) and they were not energetic at all. Maybe they were just nervous, because they were MUCH better in person.

When I arrived at the show, I was surprised to see that there were opening bands. I was under the impression that it would be just Saves the Day, since there was no other information to be found on the show anywhere else. I also felt horribly out of place with my Rancid shirt, spiky hair, and being 21 and all. I was surrounded by nothing but emo kids whose parents dropped them off. Maybe I'm getting too old for this.

First up was Audio Learning Center, based out of Portland, OR. Blah. They were not energetic at all and their lead singer was much too nasal for my tastes, not to mention the fact that they have ZERO stage presence. I'm also not much of a fan of emo either, so that could have been a factor. Their guitar player was apparently sick, and therefore wasn't doing much. I'm just thankful they played a short set.

As a side note, I witnessed something very odd after Audio Learning Center left the stage. Several people just sat down on the floor! It started with 1 or 2 of them just sitting, and soon enough, about 1/3 of the people were sitting on the floor. Emo kids are just lazy, I guess.

Next up was Pretty Girls Make Graves. Quite a pleasant surprise, I must say. They reminded me a lot of At the Drive-In (RIP), but with a female lead singer. I was rather impressed, although after a while, their songs started to blend together. Upon returning from the show, I downloaded some of their songs only to find that it was their energy I enjoyed, and not their music really.

Finally, after another bout of emo kids sitting on the floor, Saves the Day took the stage. I don't remember what song they started with, but it was enough to make the place explode! They played almost all of the songs off Stay What You Are as well as throwing in an older song here and there. Chris (lead singer) was jumping around and having a good time on stage, but the rest of the guys just stood there for the most part. Not a whole lot of stage presence from them, but Chris made up for it.

They came back out for a 3 song encore, but it was still a short set altogether. Chris apologized and said it was because of their new drummer (hasn't he been with them for a while now?). The biggest disappointment was that they didn't play "Jukebox Breakdown" or "Certain Tragedy" at any point during their set.

All in all, it was a fun show and I had a good time. I just hope the next time they come around, their drummer has learned the rest of the songs so they can play a longer set. I recommend seeing Saves the Day if you have the chance as well as Pretty Girls Make Graves (if you like At the Drive-In).



People who liked this also liked:
Murphy's Law - The Party's Over



Please login or register to post comments.
What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
  • Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
  • Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
  • Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 8, 2003 at 12:23 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    you emo kids make me want to vomit. just shut up, please!

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 29, 2002 at 3:13 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Why is everything emo nowadays?

    -Scotty

    Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-04-29 12:51:53
    My Score:

    ...My 'emo' band is going to be The June Theory.

    ...There is absolutely nothing wrong with sitting down BETWEEN bands. Nowhere was it said people were sitting down on the floor while the bands played.

    ...Graceland? It's sooo fucking hot in there. I swear to jebus I almost died when I saw TGUK there. Plus you have to go in the other room to drink, and you can't even hear the bands. Another strike against it is the limited viewing. I've been to tons of better places than Graceland, albeit they are in Vancouver.

    Posted by punky on 2002-04-29 02:18:04
    My Score:

    Is it just me, or do emo bands really do pick the worst band names...
    Here are some new ideas if you are starting a emo band:
    'funny monkey walking backwards'
    'retarded bottle jumping around'
    'Andrew likes Amanda'
    'Girl kicks the shit out of everyone in the room, while boy cries'

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 29, 2002 at 12:56 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I like the Showbox (it's my second fave place to go, next to the Graceland). But I only paid like $16 for my ticket. Next time, you should go down to the Showbox to get it. Helps avoid a lot of service charges and whatnot.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 29, 2002 at 12:09 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I was one of the people sitting down... and to justify, we don't sit down DURING a set, it's while bands tune up and shit that we figure "hey, why not?" We just have a little pow-wow in the middle of the floor, nothin wrong with that.

    Funny thing is, after people see you do it, half the crowd joins in. Everyone WANTS to sit down, but they're too apprehensive...

    Anyhoo, the show was rather blah. Considering it was a 20 dollar ticket, I expected a lot more energy than what I got. I'm really not a tremendous fan of the Showbox, and I feel their audio is too QUIET for a "punk" show (call STD what you will).

    PGMG was mediocre... they seemed more concerned with scaring the emo kids by screaming a lot than they were about putting on a good show. About halfway through their set, they rocked considerably... only to find themselves back in sucksville towards the end.

    Audio Learning Center just don't have the stage presence for shows... they're more of a "put on the headphones and mellow out" kind of band...

    As for STD, I was extremely glad they played Holly Hox and Rocks Tonic, but I'm not a really big fan of their new stuff. It has nothing to do with their popularity, it's just the ENERGY of their new music makes it hard to put on an exciting live show.

    On a scale of 1-10, it gets about a 4.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 28, 2002 at 10:46 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Pretty girls make graves suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! pretty girls make graves suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck! suck!

    they do suck and..... Std fucking rocks... Audio learning center sucks too

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 28, 2002 at 1:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I agree about that comment about this s.t.d show. They should have givin a little more than what they did. And chris saying oh' sorry but we have a new drummer and we cant play that many songs. Come on. Pratice you guys. You guys are better live than a lot of bands. so keep it up. Like they said..they should have done more songs with jsut chris and his gutiar.

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 28, 2002 at 4:12 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    didn't the singer in saves the day used to play the flute for tiger army?

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 28, 2002 at 3:35 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    When a band tours they should be prepared to pu ton a show. Saves the day has dissapointed me this time around. I paid 20 bucks after service charges to see saves the day. Dont go on tour and treat the shows like band pratice for the new drummer. At least chris could have done an extra long acustic set to make up for the short concert. throw in about 3-4 more acustic songs and fill out the set to about 18-20 songs. I was so bummed.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 9:43 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I can't even believe that people would sit down in the middle of a show. What is going on with adolesents today?? Get off your lazy ass and stand the hell up...this is not a guest speaker, or even a freaking lecture hall...it is a show the last time I checked. What is it emo to sit down during a show?...If a band wanted you to sit down to see them, they might as well be on TV so you can sit there with your diet cokes, popcorn and emo glasses and be lazy elsewhere...not at a show!!! To the guy who did the review...maybe we are getting old...I'm 20 and the stuff I see at shows is incredible...what is happening?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 7:50 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Pretty Girls Makes Graves are incredible.

    Posted by Kurt_F on 2002-04-27 18:59:35
    My Score:

    Hey idiot, um, none of these bands are emo, sorry bud. And Pretty Girls Make Graves are one of the best bands to come around recently. Download "Speakers Push Air" and "If You Hate Your Friends, You're Not Alone". Boo yea.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 5:47 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    why hasn't any one mentioned that pretty girls makes graves has ex- Murder City Devils / Kill Sadie / Death Wish Kids Members... how could they not fucking rock the house ... the only redeaming thing I can think of about Saves the day is the fact that they wanted Pretty Girls make Graves to open for them .. so even if their music reflects otherwise they just may have good taste in other bands....

    Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-04-27 15:24:12
    My Score:

    I've been to over 500 PUNK rock shows over the last ten years (not bragging, just a fact) and I have to say people pretty much always sit down. You should try it sometime, it's more comfortable than being on your feet all goddamn day.

    Posted by lou-s on 2002-04-27 13:49:54
    My Score:

    i'm somewhat surprised this guy didn't catch hell from the ever so kind ppl of this msg board for the whole rancid t-shirt and spikey hair at a std concert... but hey, variety is good, more power to 'em

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 12:53 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i went to see strike anywhere, and i had a long day at work so i decided to sit down on the floor in the middle of the set. i'm typing this from the hospital now, wish me luck!

    Posted by huey on 2002-04-27 09:41:41
    My Score:

    Pretty Girl Make Graves rule

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 6:20 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    stupid faggot. i hate these faggot bands and their faggot fans.

    Posted by FatTony on 2002-04-27 03:22:46
    My Score:

    I've got nothing against sitting as a whole art form, but I've just never witnessed it happen on the floor at a show before. Seems kinda dangerous to me. Seems like it would be easy for people walking around to trip over you and shit like that.

    I also don't remember them playing Certain Tragedy or Jukebox Breakdown, but I guess they probably did. Sorry. =)

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 11:46 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    dude, whats wrong with sitting on the floor, might as well just sit down in the miidle of the floor instead of going to the back or the walls to sit down. Some people get tired, maybe they just got off work or they had a busy day, maybe they're just tired from jumping around alot and having a good time at a show. I don't know what shows you go to but people always sit down.

    sitting down rocks.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 9:45 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    STD's got a new new drummer now...Damon Atkinson was their temp drummer until about March, but he's sticking with Hey Mercedes.

    Posted by travis on 2002-04-26 18:25:29
    My Score:

    hey jeremy. they did play certain tragedy and jukebox breakdown. the reviewer must have missed them. they played the entire "stay what you are" cd.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 5:20 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    How can 11 songs be off the new album when they didnt play Jukebox Breakdown or Certain Tragedy? Please tell me
    -Jeremy Stristea

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 5:18 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    pretty girls make grave are amazing.

    wyzo

    Posted by Unconcerned on 2002-04-26 17:14:05
    My Score:

    PGMG would be the only reason to go to this show

    Saves the day isn't even emo they are pure pop shit. I know when I start my next band I want to have the singer, guitarist(s), and bassist all jump at the same time (it has to be the most bad ass thing ever).

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 4:34 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Pretty girls make graves blows both those other bands out of the water, STD is the emo equivilant to the backstreet boys.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 26, 2002 at 4:18 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Jukebox Breakdown is s.t.d.'s worst song.

    Posted by travis on 2002-04-26 14:59:00
    My Score:

    hey tony, you beat me to the review. oh well. yah, i was at the show too, and it was really pretty bad in comparison the the other times ive seen saves the day. 11 of their 16 songs were from the new cd and the other 5 were from "through being cool." i really like the new cd, but damn, it wouldve been great to see some "can't slow down" stuff. and its because of their new drummer not having enough time to learn the material. but oh well. all in all, their show was lacking a lot of energy.

    the highlight of the show was definitely pretty girls make graves. theyre a local band, so it was weird seeing them at the showbox, a bigger venue. but they ripped shit up, once again.

    and toney, i agree with you. the crowd was all really young. it was weird.

    © 1999-2006 Punknews.org • Terms of Use • Privacy • About • ISSN 1710-5366 • RSS RSS Icon