Tony Pascarella
07/24/06, 09:35 PM
July 26, 2006
Revolution / Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Five Across The Eyes (F.A.T.E.) (http://www.myspace.com/fiveacrosstheeyes305)
Five Across the Eyes (F.A.T.E.) opened the show. They're a local hardcore punk band from Miami, Florida. I had never heard of them, but they put on a pretty solid show. I enjoyed the majority of their songs, although I guessed (correctly) that they would be just a bit out of their element playing with legends such as Rancid and Avail. When they tighten up their songwriting just a bit and focus their stage presence more clearly, these guys will be impressing labels across the country. If F.A.T.E. sticks with it, they'll be going places in a couple of years; I'm sold.Thumbs Up
Avail (http://www.myspace.com/availrva)
From the newcomers, Miami-style, to the hardworking Richmond, Virginia-based Avail, the show picked up a newfound life. With their first albums released through Lookout! Records, Avail have built up a cultlike following over their 18-year career. They have since moved onto Fat Wreck Chords, where they've released two records and continue to tear it up live. Tonight was no different. If you go to an Avail show, expect to dance, shout, pump your fist, and mosh like your life depended on it. Vocalist Tim Barry has a captivating stage presence, and showed off his versatility on one particular song by sitting down on the floor with a bass drum and drumming along during a lengthy solo. The band's self-proclaimed cheerleader, Beau, jumps and propels himself across the stage, playing air guitar, pantomiming drum parts perfectly, adding backing vocals, and breaking out the Super Soakers on the audience. If you're a punk fan, you can't really do a whole lot better as far as a live punk rock performance goes than Avail.Thumbs Up
Rancid (http://www.myspace.com/rancid)
Finally we got to the moment that a thousand of us were waiting for...Rancid. This was the point in the show where even standing in the second row of the stage-level balcony around the venue meant you would only catch a glimpse of Tim, Lars, Matt, or Brett before spending most of the set staring at people's backs. I'm going to have a pissed-off moment here. If you're in the front row of a balcony, there's really no need to stand on an 8-inch ledge all the way around so that no one behind you can see the stage. Be just a little bit fucking considerate. Anyway, Rancid came out to "Roots Radical" with an engaging video on the projection screen behind them showing a lot of war photos, Rancid album covers, and photos from early on in punk rock's rise to glory. They tore through a number of songs on '95's ...And Out Come the Wolves, a few Operation Ivy songs, some of Let Go, '93's self-titled album, and just about everything else, with one glaring exception. I did not hear a single song off their newest album, 2003's Indestructible. In a way, it was fun to experience what a Rancid show 5 or 6 years ago might have been like. They pack the energy into a woefully short set (timewise, it lasted barely 70 minutes, including a break for all of the band members to pick up an acoustic guitar for two songs). I would be remiss if I didn't tell you seeing a Rancid show is something everyone who's even a casual fan should experience in their lifetime. Guitar riffs are even more acerbic than the records, and Matt Freeman's bass lines threaten to deconstruct your cranium. Seeing Rancid is a night you simply won't forget.Thumbs Up
Special thanks to Vanessa at Fat Wreck; this was a show that only comes around once in a lifetime, and I'm glad I was able to be part of it.
Revolution / Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Five Across The Eyes (F.A.T.E.) (http://www.myspace.com/fiveacrosstheeyes305)
Five Across the Eyes (F.A.T.E.) opened the show. They're a local hardcore punk band from Miami, Florida. I had never heard of them, but they put on a pretty solid show. I enjoyed the majority of their songs, although I guessed (correctly) that they would be just a bit out of their element playing with legends such as Rancid and Avail. When they tighten up their songwriting just a bit and focus their stage presence more clearly, these guys will be impressing labels across the country. If F.A.T.E. sticks with it, they'll be going places in a couple of years; I'm sold.Thumbs Up
Avail (http://www.myspace.com/availrva)
From the newcomers, Miami-style, to the hardworking Richmond, Virginia-based Avail, the show picked up a newfound life. With their first albums released through Lookout! Records, Avail have built up a cultlike following over their 18-year career. They have since moved onto Fat Wreck Chords, where they've released two records and continue to tear it up live. Tonight was no different. If you go to an Avail show, expect to dance, shout, pump your fist, and mosh like your life depended on it. Vocalist Tim Barry has a captivating stage presence, and showed off his versatility on one particular song by sitting down on the floor with a bass drum and drumming along during a lengthy solo. The band's self-proclaimed cheerleader, Beau, jumps and propels himself across the stage, playing air guitar, pantomiming drum parts perfectly, adding backing vocals, and breaking out the Super Soakers on the audience. If you're a punk fan, you can't really do a whole lot better as far as a live punk rock performance goes than Avail.Thumbs Up
Rancid (http://www.myspace.com/rancid)
Finally we got to the moment that a thousand of us were waiting for...Rancid. This was the point in the show where even standing in the second row of the stage-level balcony around the venue meant you would only catch a glimpse of Tim, Lars, Matt, or Brett before spending most of the set staring at people's backs. I'm going to have a pissed-off moment here. If you're in the front row of a balcony, there's really no need to stand on an 8-inch ledge all the way around so that no one behind you can see the stage. Be just a little bit fucking considerate. Anyway, Rancid came out to "Roots Radical" with an engaging video on the projection screen behind them showing a lot of war photos, Rancid album covers, and photos from early on in punk rock's rise to glory. They tore through a number of songs on '95's ...And Out Come the Wolves, a few Operation Ivy songs, some of Let Go, '93's self-titled album, and just about everything else, with one glaring exception. I did not hear a single song off their newest album, 2003's Indestructible. In a way, it was fun to experience what a Rancid show 5 or 6 years ago might have been like. They pack the energy into a woefully short set (timewise, it lasted barely 70 minutes, including a break for all of the band members to pick up an acoustic guitar for two songs). I would be remiss if I didn't tell you seeing a Rancid show is something everyone who's even a casual fan should experience in their lifetime. Guitar riffs are even more acerbic than the records, and Matt Freeman's bass lines threaten to deconstruct your cranium. Seeing Rancid is a night you simply won't forget.Thumbs Up
Special thanks to Vanessa at Fat Wreck; this was a show that only comes around once in a lifetime, and I'm glad I was able to be part of it.