About a year ago, my father attended a La Dispute concert and after which spent every possible moment talking my ear off about what I missed. I pretty much nodded at intervals and smiled when he spoke a little louder. But I couldn’t help but wonder, What if they really are the best live act out there? So I vowed that the next time La Dispute came to LA, I would see them. This opportunity finally came about two weeks ago and now I have the honor of telling you all about it.

            No, they are not the best live act I’ve ever seen. But, they are way high up there on the list. Oddly enough, they are ranked underneath Imagine Dragons any day and Motionless In White on a good day.  However, I do recommend that if you have the opportunity to see La Dispute, you should definitely take it. I promise that you’ll be glad you did.

            After the opening bands had…awed…us with their music skills, the anticipation of every single person in the crowd rose at a pace so fast that my breath caught in its throat as I looked around at the impatiently bouncing legs and necking couples. I’d never seen a crowd so eager to see a band before; I knew that La Dispute had a passionate following, but this surprised me nonetheless. As Jordan Dreyer walked on stage, the loudest scream rose from every corner of the venue; fists shot in the air and young girls (okay, everyone) began to jump up and down and squeal. The haunting and minimalist chords that differentiate La Dispute from any other band filled the tension and excitement with more and more potential energy until Dreyer broke into song/moaning speech and all hell broke loose. In a good way. I began the fight for my life in what became one of the most intense mosh pits I had ever been in. Somehow, every person in that venue seemed to know every word to every song and could scream it from the top of their lungs while shoving and running and falling and laughing. I swear that I could feel the stress and problems everyone carried with them just lift into the air and dissolve as Dreyer took us all on a journey of the most interesting and deeply meaningful music known to man.

            Dreyer wasn’t the only one involved…that’s what makes La Dispute’s performance so amazing. Every. Single. Band member. Involves themselves and pours passion through their instruments. Lightly strummed minor chords topped with a deliberate bass line and perfectly timed snare hits mixed itself flawlessly with Dreyer’s vocals and the venue came to life. “Said the King to the River.” “Andria.” “New Storms for Old Lovers.” Every person in that venue, on the stage or behind the merch table or standing in the floor space or drinking at the bar lost themselves in the raw emotion that bled into the very syllables of “if I can’t love you as a lover, I will love you as a friend” and “come on lady, pack your things, this place is not your home.”

            The concert completely brought the house down and if The Glass House was actually made of glass, the walls would have shattered from the uncontainable energy. I was, to say the least, awestruck. I will see La Dispute EVERY TIME I get the chance. I suggest you do too. 

When Ten Years first announced their acoustic tour I was so incredibly excited since I could not imagine a band that is better suited for the acoustic setting.  Although 10Years can rock with the hardest of bands, they are also home to the buttery sounds of the best voice in Rock and Roll today, Jesse Hasek.  Combine that with the intricate finger work of Tater Johnson, and you have what could prove to be the perfect acoustic show.

When Ten Years finished announcing the dates for their tour I was so incredibly pissed off since their closest show was in Las Vegas, and as a California resident this just was not real convenient.  Of course things went from bad to worse; it was on a Thursday, ok I can handle that, we will have a family adventure and take off Friday.  Oh, Zoe has a flute show on Thursday, I can go without her.  Wow, I have to work Friday?  That makes things difficult.  Hell if I can handle a Protest the Hero moshpit at 50 years old I can do a Vegas turnaround at 51.  And so it was born; the 16 hour Vegas road trip for Hank and I.

Of course things really took off after Hank posted our plans when we found we got to take Kyle’s girlfriend to Vegas and surprise him….she was smart…she stayed the weekend.  Arie was the greatest of company and spared Hank and I from entertaining each other the entire time.  Good news for Hank…I am just not really that interesting.

At this point you probably want to know if I am ever going to talk about the show, and indeed I am.  But you had to know the context, since despite a 600 mile round trip to the show, Ten Years made every second of that show worthwhile.  I cannot say I have become an acoustic show fan yet (not quite ready for that walker), but what I can say is that I have become a much greater fan of 10 Years after seeing and hearing what they are capable of doing.

Ten Years is probably the most versatile band in rock and roll today.  They can absolutely rock the house as they did at the Key Club last year. They write the most beautiful music and combine that with deep and meaningful lyrics.  And, they can sing the most haunting love songs that tell great stories and move you deeply, such as Forever Fields and Beautiful.   To listen to 10 Years extensively you cannot help but wonder why they are not headlining shows at the Honda Center or Madison Square Gardens.  They are that good.  Jesse’s voice is so incredibly powerful and so movingly sweet all at the same time.  Tater and l.llllllll can make you cry in one song, and make you mosh the next.  And the bass player seemed ready every moment to get up off his chair and start headbanging, where he definitely seems more natural.

Another aspect of the acoustic show that was very enjoyable was the comfort the band members seemed to have together on stage.  Jesse joked with everyone, giving touring drummer Kyle a hard time, then getting the audience to “show his some love”.  Kyle proves to really belong with the band as his drumming and keyboard were as versatile as the band itself.  Tater and Jesse bantered the entire time and  entertained the audience with their comedic whit. 

Finally when it was time for the opening set to end, rather than force a crowd to scream for an encore Jesse sang a capella and finally the band returned to sing two covers.  Now I normally hate cover songs as I really want to hear 10 Years not someone else, but Jesse singing Folsom Blues was a real treat that the audience truly appreciated.  It was just another feather in the cap of, “can this band really do everything, and do all of it really well?”  the answer so far seems to be hell yes….ok except booking shows……ever heard of California?  It is the place I had to drive home to after the show.  I did get home at 4:15 am,  and after a two hour nap I got to have one of those special days at work.  I teach high school, and if you have ever thought 14 and 15 year olds are energetic, try teaching them after two hours sleep.

The good news?  I got to see one of the most amazing bands in history play a truly moving acoustic show.  I got to go to Vegas.  I got to teach class on Friday after no sleep….and I had tickets to see The Sword that very night.  Ahhhhh, middle age kicks ass dude!!! 

I’m just going to straight out say that this concert started out shittily. If that’s even a word. My dad spent a good hour and half or more driving up and listening to me babble continuously about just how excited I was to see Memphis May Fire. When we arrived, I expected all my anxiety about being late to dissipate; of course, the very opposite occurred.

The Self Help Festival was sponsored and run by A Day To Remember; the name came from the concept that people listen to screamo/heavy metal music to help themselves deal with problems in life. Anything organized by a band tends to be a bit….disorganized. However, the dysfunctional-ness of this concert rose miles above my expectations. A two-hour line meandered down three or so blocks…FOR WILL CALL TICKETS! And, of course, if you hadn’t bought a ticket yet, there was no line (which basically means that they were punishing the fans). The only respite from baking in the hot sun while (im)patiently waiting for our tickets was some free Jarritos dispensed from a truck by a very smart businessman. Fortunately, we only had to wait for one and half hours before the people running will call gave up and basically handed out free tickets. Did I by any chance mention that it was disorganized? I swear to you that no words can describe the magnitude of my frustration at A Day To Remember; what exactly were they helping us with? Getting a suntan while waiting on the scorching sidewalk?

At that glorious moment when I’d been handed my wristband and could barge into the complex where the festival was being held, a surge of panic almost knocked me over…had Memphis May Fire already played? Thankfully, I arrived to hear the last two songs of A Skylit Drive’s performance (about two hours before MMF played). The only times I’d ever heard A Skylit Drive’s music was the occasional song popping up on Pandora. I definitely liked what I’d heard, but didn’t really know their music super well. This being said, usually when I see a band that I don’t know well, I don’t like it as much. But ASD seemed to be an exception to this rule; their energy and vocal power impressed me.

Next to play was The Word Alive, another band I didn’t know too well. But I can say this: WOW. These guys kicked ass to the extreme. The raw energy of music pulsated through the crowd and infected everyone nearby. Before I could even process what was happening, a huge circle pit formed next to me and I had to begin the ever-present debate of safety versus moshing. After being thrown repeatedly in ever direction, I chose to pry my way to the front and attempt to not suffocate. The audience as a whole was jumping to the music so it didn’t matter whether or not you wanted to jump because all the jumping bodies crammed in next to you basically picked you up. In the last song, a few college students around me decided I wanted to crowd surf (which, admittedly, I did) and I took a ride on the hands of the crowd all the way to the barrier where (thankfully) the security caught me and lowered me to the ground (and gave me a meaningful look that translated to “Scram!”). The performance left me with a little buzz of energy than was quickly quenched when…

Attila played next, and all I’m going to say is, that’s music? Okay, moving on…

Issues. I’d heard a lot of great things about this band and expected a relatively good performance. What I didn’t expect was a massive fan base screaming along to every line ever sung or screamed by the surprisingly fantastic vocalist. Ever member on that staged loved what they were doing and ever person in that crowd loved the music and it created this aura…that’s what A Day To Remember means by “self help.”

Now, the band I’d waited for: Memphis May Fire! Being a 5’1” tall and slight-framed individual, I was able to squeeze my way to the front without pissing off any of the angry and tattooed men in the pit. Excitement built up as the roadies put together the drum kit and tested the mikes; I simply could not wait. Finally, after what felt like the longest wait ever (but was probably only ten minutes), Matty Mullins walked on stage and began one of the most dynamic concerts I’ve ever attended. That dude is a born front man. Screaming filled the humid and hot warehouse we’d been shoved into and the applause echoed off the rusting metal walls. As Mullins leaned down towards the front row and released a scream from the back of his throat, the crowd went nuts. Everyone was so excited that I could hardly contain my own euphoria. It was time to let loose. My dad, who chose to hang back a little bit, had a better glimpse of the stage and remarked that a concert with MMF was one that he’d never want to miss (I happen to agree with this assessment 100%). I had extremely high expectations and definitely wasn’t disappointed.

Next to play was Bring Me The Horizon. I own their album Sempiternal which is actually pretty good, but definitely not review-worthy material. I would have had a few compliments, but Oli Sykes, the lead singer, turned me off completely. He kept yelling at the people in the pit, “Kill each other! Kill yourselves! You suck! You suck! Fuck you! I love you guys.” Like….what? I was really confused. What an idiot!