Kari's Concert Collection

Rock and Reminisce

This show was a memorial/fundraising event for a neighbor of mine. Story Here.

Off-Record
They were just finishing up the third to last song when I arrived, so I didn't get to hear it all. They did cover songs, which is awesome. I like me some cover songs. The lead singer sounded freakishly like Tom DeLonge from Blink 182. And I thought that before they played Blink's "Feelin This." They also played Sugarcult "Memory."

Kontradiction
They had a Less Than Jake ska-punk thing going on. They played "My Ding A Ling" featuring a trumpet; trying to get some crowd interaction. The kids down in front bored me for most of the concert. I ended up spending most of the concert sitting on a wall on the other end of the room. Wasn't worth going down there, even if it meant no cool concert photography.

Sleeping Sound
Had much more crowd action/reaction. Probably because the band is from the school. One impressive thing is they had a song in 6/8 time. Not a lot of bands seem to do that so that was cool. They also had two cover songs. First was Yellowcard "View From Heaven." Didn't sound right without the violin, but okay. Second was Something Corporate "Hurricane." I wondered what would happen when it came to the piano break. Yeah, it just kinda died off. I guess it's the effort that counts.

By now the Gaskit merch booth had been set up so I went ahead and got the CD. The guitarist Jay talked with us, although didn't know who he was at the time.

There was also random music playing at this time. The original Super Mario Bros. music, the theme from "Clarissa Explains It All" and Power Rangers. WooWho random music!!

And moving on...

Alethea
They win for best soundcheck. They had a "Mic Check Rap" that amused me. The crowd had improved immensely at this point. Lots of screaming, cheering, jumping, clapping and whatnot. There were even some kids in the back thrashing and playing air guitar. This band was a bit on the screamo side. I often am not fond of screamo as many singers can't scream properly. There is a right way and a wrong way. The singer had the perfect screamo tone and pitch. It was excellent. And they randomly played "The Chicken Dance," in which everyone clapped along.

Gaskit
The lights were finally turned down for Gaskit. That was kind of annoying me having all the lights on. Gaskit also had a bit of a light show. Quite basic; just a couple rotating colors instead of the two spotlights from before. Just the difference in lighting got me pumped. A lot more energy now, both onstage and in the crowd. More headbanging and throwing up the "Rawkfists" than before. The energy was enough to get me to want to try some photography. From the back I attempted some spotlight photos, but they were just eh. So I decided to venture down front for "just a minute." Well, once up there I was reminded how much I enjoyed being up in "The Pit." I'm using the word pit quite loosely in this case, but I missed being up close for concerts. It's been over a year. I ended up staying there for the rest of Gaskit's set. None of the photos were turning out, but I happened to snap one at the same time as the bright white spotlight was on the lead singer and it turned out great! When finished I wondered if they would throw out sticks or picks, figured no, and went back to mom. Once back I heard screaming, turned around and saw the flying sticks. Yup, shoulda stayed a minute longer, but it's all good.

There were still two other bands to perform, but I left after that because it just couldn't get any better.

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