The second annual Plea For Peace/Take Action tour made it's way to San Diego on October 14th. Once again the beneficiary of this fund raising tour is 1-800-SUICIDE, truly a great organization that someone should check out if they need it, completely anonymous and they are trained, friendly counselors who can help you or just be there to listen. Now there was also some great music going on tonight as well.
The Lawrence Arms from Chicago were the first to take the stage, still touring with their first release on Fat Wreck Chords Apathy and Exhaustion, Brendan Kelly, Chris McCaughan, and Neil are the trio who have the Chicago sound pretty much mastered, with comparisons being drawn to Alkaline Trio, Jawbreaker, and Crimpshrine, the Lawrence Arms (named after an apartment building) haven't sounded so smooth as tonight. I've seen them twice before and I do have to say that tonight they were on top of their game, Brendan's vocals are still gruff but very understandable and Chris sings the more melodic parts and they blend well to produce a catchy form of punk rock. Their set was mostly made up of songs of off Apathy and Exhaustion, such as "Your Gravest Words," "Boatless Booze Cruise," and their new single "Porno and Snuff Films," but they did throw in an oldie but one of my favorites "An Evening of Extraordinary Circumstances" which they consider their first song ever written as the Lawrence Arms. If you're a fan of any band that came out of Chicago, then I definitely recommend the Larry Arms to you.
Omaha's Cursive were up next, I had borrowed a CD from a friend so I could get a feel for these guys and I didn't really get into the recording but once they hit the stage the energy that they put into their show almost converted me into a fan. First off they have a cello in their band, played by Gretta Cohn and it is a very welcome variation to a rock band. Tim Kasher's voice reminded me very much of Cedric Bixler of At The Drive In and Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music. A highly energetic set on the stage but it seems that not too many people in the crowd knew who these guys were, a few people were dancing and singing along, but it seemed as if they were at least getting into Cursive and were enticed into checking them out like myself.
Common Rider is Jesse Michaels', of Operation Ivy fame, current band. Originally a three-piece the Common Rider that played this show was a five piece and this left Jesse open to jump all over the stage and into the crowd with his energetic performance. It's definitely not hard to hear the Operation Ivy influence in Common Rider but it seems as if there is more diversity in this band with songs such as the ska tinged "Small Pebble" to the more rocking "Longshot." If you miss Operation Ivy then I suggest you check out Common Rider, it's not the same band but it's really the closest you're going to get to them nowadays.
Poison the Well hails from South Florida and they are a heavy metal/hardcore band with emotional breakdowns to boot. Jeff Moreira screams with such intensity one second then brings it down and actually sings the next. They opened up with the first song off their latest full length Tear From The Red "Botchla" and pulled songs from both their full lengths closing with a song from The Opposite of December "Nerdy," arguably their most popular song. I was very surprised at the turnout I had no idea Poison The Well would be so warmly received in San Diego, there wasn't much room for a pit because the club was oversold but they always manage to make one anyway and the Well provided an excellent soundtrack to the pit. Their set seemed to end too quickly for my liking and even though there were some good performances of "Slice Paper Wrists" and "Sticks and Stones Never Made Sense," I would have loved to have seen a rendition of "Horns and Tails," but oh well, a solid performance from the Well.
Thursday are blowing up but doing it their way, they do have radio airplay and some video airplay and yes they are on a major label but so what they still play their own music, and still believe in their beliefs. Geoff Rickley, singer, introduced a member of the Suicide Prevention hotline and also a founding member of the Yellow Ribbon program which is an anonymous way to get some counseling help if you need it, after the empowering speeches were made, Thursday brought the energy and the rock of their live show to Canes. From the beginning "Paris in Flames" to the end "Cross Out The Eyes" Thursday gave it their all as they always do, Geoff seems to be in some sort of trance when he performs for the crowd and it's really easy to get caught up with the music. The band sings with emotion and the crowd gives it right back to them. Geoff even mentioned that he felt a special energy in the crowd tonight and that everyone should go out and do something they believed in after the show. Near the end some jackass threw keys right at Geoff catching him near his eye and injuring him for a brief moment but this did not stop Thursday from pulling out an encore, which they haven't been doing on this tour but they came back and played "A Hole in the World." I urge everyone to catch them now before they get too big but I know they won't ever stop performing with all their passion.
Plea For Peace/Take Action is one hell of a tour and who knows what kind of bands they'll come around with next year, you can bet it will be as good or even better than this one.