Start The Revolution...by A Skye

So how did you possibly spend your V-Day? Did you take that special someone out to a movie? Did you take them out to dinner and a movie? Well, I spent it at a concert. Probably one of the best touring shows I’ve been to in a really long time.

The ‘This Is War’ Tour came through Austin, stopping at the new Emo’s East ( http://www.emosaustin.com/ ) Riverside and it was freakin’ brilliant! Attack Attack headlined the show while Dream on Dreamer, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk, Sleeping With Sirens, and The Ghost Inside opened. Now I have to say that I was a little skeptical and wasn’t sure how you could manage to get Sleeping with Sirens and The Ghost Inside on the same stage… with both bands being very differet styles, but it couldn’t have been a better way to open up for Attack Attack! Now, if you aren’t into “Screamo” music or post-hardcore punk music… then you probably won’t like too much of what I have to say in the next few paragraphs. If you read this far and you’re still with me then let me tell you this… You missed one hell of a show!


Dream on Dreamer ( http://dreamondreamerband.com/ ) I’m sad to say to those of you that were looking forward to the write up about this band… I missed them. I don’t think I can explain to you the FRUSTRATION I felt. I was anticipating seeing them perform live since it was going to be their last performance on the ‘This Is War’ tour. Unfortuneatly we were too busy trying to find the damn place! We spent the first 20 minutes listening to them play in the car instead of inside Emo’s. While we were sitting in the usual downtown traffic, we had a little party [listening to their CD] right in the middle of the stand still traffic on the IH 35… I can only say I am still so very angry, [but] it was still pretty awesome.



Chunk! No, Captain Chunk ( http://www.facebook.com/cnccband ) the brilliant men from Paris, France… 'Give us one word to describe their performance' you ask? Legit! The opening chords were followed up by Bertrand (Vocals) running onto the stage dressed as, you probably wouldn’t have guessed this, A Giant Panda Bear (WTF?). They got a really good response from us and decided to keep the Panda Bear outfit for another song. Like all good things that must come to an end, the Panda Bear came off and the show continued in a breeze. There was a little bit of mosh here and there, but all in all it was great! The singing from Bertrand and Paul (Guitar/Vocals) was, to say the very least, impeccable. Jonathan (drums) was going off like I have never seen a drummer play before, and everything flowed quite smooth for a Pop/Punk, Metalcore band. It was one of the better shows I have seen.

Sleeping with Sirens (  ), of all the bands to perform, this was one of the bands that I had been looking forward to seein the most, as was every other girl inside! I apologize in advance for the girlyness you are about to witness coming from me (but I’m gonna be completely honest with you) Kellin Quinn (Vocals) eeeeee. I don’t really know what to say about this boy without going off into lala land… His voice is so gentle, so smooth, and the range he has is one of the most versatile I have heard. Female singers, you should watch out for him, as I’m sure he would put to shame those of you who have trouble hitting your high notes. The only way I can really describe it is this...when my dad first heard me play one of their songs, he asked if they had a girl singer and a guy screaming.?Nope! It was just Kellin in all his sexy glory (I warned you.) He came onto the stage and sang one of their hit singles “If I’m James Dean Then You’re Audrey Hepburn” and it was unreal how they crowd reacted to him, just by himself. We sang along with him. Every single word. By this time I had moshed my way in to just about dead center a few people behind the barricade. Being the gorgeous boy he is, he brought to light the fact that it was Valentine’s day, which we all by now forgot. He asked the girls in the crowd which one of us wanted to be his special Valentine and I’m ALMOST ashamed to admit… I was one of the girls screaming. The crowd was nonetheless excited to have Sleeping performing in Austin again. Even the girls got in on the action of crowd surfing. The crowd sang along with every word and every note that was blasting out of the speakers. I have never jumped around, danced, sang, or even moshed as hard as I did during this show. Jesse (backup vocals/guitar) and Jack (lead guitar) played the hardest I had ever seen them play. I think they enjoyed the attention as much as Kellin. Sleeping with Sirens is a very “posy” band. You ask what I mean? I mean that, the whole time they performed, they were in the perfect positions to take pictures. It was all very cute. I find it completely incredible that every line of their songs were sung by the crowd and every break down had such a major response. Talk about dedicated fans!

The Ghost Inside ( http://www.theghostinside.com/ ), I am not gonna
lie, I was totally unfamiliar with this band. I had never even heard of them before this night. I saw them on the line up and thought that it would be just another small unknown band that was a filler. Holy God, I have never been so utterly wrong about what I was thinking. To say that the crowd knew them and how the crowd reacted, well that would be probably the stupidest thing I have ever said. This was the part of the show that I will remember painfully for a long time. This was the hardest most, metal band that had played that night and I had fallen in love. (Sorry Kellin, but this was freakin’ gnarly!) I would have to say that the place to experience The Ghost Inside, is right smack dab in front of the barricade. The plus side? Catching all the merch that they throw out, all the spit that is released and all the sweat you get to feel. Sounds gross I know, but this is a heavy band, and it calls for heavy measures. Now, metal bands are NOT my thing at all, but it was just something about the way these guys did it. I was stomped on, elbowed, kicked, head butted, and I’m pretty sure the guys that were jumping all around me were using me as a support beam to jump higher. It was the sickest show I had seen in ages and it’s gonna be hard to find another band to top this. The dedication that they had from the fans was unbelievable.

Attack Attack ( http://attackattackoh.com/ ) I think this deserves a moment of silence. . . . . I will always remember this show. For the rest of my life, I will remember coming to this show and being so amped about seeing them in concert for the first time. I had taken a break from the crowd, even losing my place at the front of the barricade (to tend to my newly bruising face) only to jump back up to the middle of the pit. It was everything that I thought it would be and more! It was a mix between a giant rave/dance party and an all-out brawl between fans. The music pumped through the walls of Emo’s and I am almost certain there was not a single steady body in the whole venue. This was “The Start Of The Revolution” as Caleb (lead vocals) so keenly put it. He was more active and involved with the crowd than all of the other bands combined. He even went as far as jumping over the barricade to dive into the crowd. It was totally worth the wait to see these guys throw down! The dance, techno sound they had in the background of their songs was totally what everyone had been looking forward to. There was not a dull moment in their set. To top it off the ever so present 'wall of death' was asked to form by the last song. Terrified out of my mind at the thought of being in a wall of death, I stole a place at the front of the barricade to watch the mayhem that was about to unfold. As soon as Caleb and John (back-up vocals/bass guitar) hit 3 it was total chaos. Being such a huge success, we called them back out for an encore, and you better believe they gave it to us. Finishing off the night with 'Smokahontas'… it was the biggest dance party I had witnessed.

If you missed this show, due to other Valentines day “plans”, well guess what? I’m pretty sure your husband, or girlfriend, or sister, or whoever, would’ve been just fine seeing this concert. It was something that no one should have missed! On another note, there was one casualty and she was taken to the hospital by ambulance at the very end of the show. She was thrown over the barricade and she hit her head on the floor.
Well I hope you had some insight into the amazing night that I had for Valentines day and I hope to see you at the next show.

Angel in a Skye.