People, Don't Panic
The first band of the night consisted of an extremely young-looking lead singer with a drummer and guitarist only a few years his senior. It turns out that the youthful front man had replaced the old one only a week prior, an impressive feat. The vocalist had an impressive energy that manifested in his thrashing, constant movement on stage, and aggressive singing. Despite the absence of a bassist, the sound wasn’t empty because of the talented drummer who compensated for the missing sound by never ceasing in his bass drumming. It was evident upon a glance that People, Don’t Panic was a local band struggling to stand on their feet, but their performance did not portray that at all. On the stage they weren’t some local band made up of assorted college dropouts, they were a band. They have the sound, they have the energy. They have what it takes to make it in the music world.
Borne the Image
This band walked on the stage and immediately I was struck by the timidity of the lead singer who seemed afraid to face the audience for periods of time extending past five or six seconds. Of course, this didn’t really matter since they, too, boasted experience in addition to a catchiness that is usually foreign to screamo-type bands. As much as my father and I were impressed with Borne the Image, we usually prefer bands to keep their religious beliefs to themselves and not to share them with the crowd. I mean, sure, it’s great that the band writes for Jesus, but it’s not important for you to tell us that when you could be performing an extra song.
Amnesty
Not to be harsh or anything, but, as my dad put it, this band has nothing to offer the musical world. Let’s leave it at that.
Sirens & Sailors
Initial reaction: wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. S&S brought every other band that played that night to shame. I’d seen them before, and they have improved mind-blowingly since last year. And I mean it. Absolutely mind-blowing. I remembered that the lead singer had more energy and charisma than Papa Roach’s and Skillet’s lead singers combined. Obviously, this was an understatement. Kyle Bhirle jumped and head banged, ran around and screamed; he rubbed people’s heads and Lucker-stomped better than all but Mitch himself. His passion and dedication was equaled by every other member; coordinated headbangs and twirls from the guitarist and never-ending hard work from the drummer contributed to the most cohesive band I’d ever seen perform live. They matched in energy to a power plant and the electricity buzzed off them like radiation from the Sun. The amount of time they must have worked to perfect their show is undoubtedly more time than any of us ever work on anything. I have not a single doubt that someday Sirens & Sailors will become one of the most popular bands in the metalcore scene.
Shai Halud
There isn’t really much to say because any band following Sirens & Sailors will seem extremely inferior, no matter how good they actually are. The red-headed lead singer also contained a firey ball of energy within his core which propelled him to and fro across the small stage. All the band members seemed very “into” the music, although they exhibited it in various ways ranging from striking cliché poses to shaking beards in front of the microphone. The timbre of Shai Halud lived in a high register that was a little hard to take, but otherwise, the music was quite decent.
Thanks to all bands who performed that night! My deepest apologies go out to Sworn In and This Or The Apocalypse whom I left before seeing due to my deep exhaustion.
 | Zoe Adler is a music journalist from Long Beach, California. Besides her website, which is her pride and joy, she works with the GRAMMY Foundation and the Long Beach Independent. Additionally, Ms. Adler is a musician, spending half of her time playing the flute, piccolo, trombone, and marching baritone. She has been with TeenView Music since the very start and hopes to make something of it in the future. |
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