At The Skylines video interview

Here is the video interview with Chris Shelley from At The Skylines. This was shots minutes after their set at Emos in Austin, on the 'Scream It Like You Mean It' tour.

Battered and Bruised

"Scream It Like You Mean It" ( http://www.screamitlikeyoumeanit.com/ ) tour,  photos from the Austin, Texas stop.

The new Emos, Emos East ( http://www.emosaustin.com/ ) is a really great addition to the live music expansion happening here in town. With the other renovations happening (East Austin Revitalization Project) in this part of Austin, it is perfectly suited. I had frequented this location and building back in the day when it was The Back Room. Now that I have been to the new incarnation, I can truly say that I am glad this is in that location and Emo's East is a great addition to the live music accessibility for performers and road shows that come to Austin. I love it!

For those of you who were lucky enough to have seen or been in the old back room, I was very happy to see that they left the original bar that was at the front of the game room side of the venue.

Now Emos East is just one GIANT open space, a grandiose version of the Red River location. The bleachers are still there in the back and on the side. There are some tables for sitting and enjoying a drink (especially if you are sent to the back of the club by your kid, while they enjoy the show down front!) The sound is fucking awesome for the bands that want it loud and in your face. A decent smoking section outside, for you chimneys out there. Parking is just about as stupid as it was before and not any safer than down town. Plenty of creepy ass weirdos starring down from the apartment balconies while you get out of your car (LOCK YOUR SHIT UP!).

A great stage, awesome lighting, and apparently the bands love the sound man (with or without a beard?!)

At The Skylines ( http://www.attheskylines.com/ ) first up again. I saw these guys at SXSW in March and was blown away. An opener my ass, they pounded the shit out and had the early crowd from go! With a recent birth in the band family, there was a loan in singer who ran with the task like he was part of the band from day 1! If you didn't know the band or weren't familiar with them then you didn't notice. I am telling you, catch these bad ass guys out on the road and just see what I mean...Why are you opening? Lets get them moved up on the bill. With the sound, energy, and audience reaction, I will love an opportunity to see them again, and MOST DEFINITELY with a longer set. I want MORE...and you will too.

BTW - we did a video interview with Chris, lead singer of ATS. It was great, it was fun. If you are a fan of the band you will get a neat inside view of some things that you never knew (and maybe didn't want to!)  [http://youtu.be/PXQMiVwZTdM]

Although I haven't had the pleasure of knowing Glasscloud ( http://www.facebook.com/glasscloud ) before this show, I will tell you that I am glad I went, glad I heard them and you will be too.  Yes, they would be put in the same category as the other bands ("Screamo" as I am told by my daughter), but what you get and what they are is a little different. Vocals are right there like the other bands, but musically that is where the breaks come on. The guitar player was scary bad ass, I mean along the lines of virtuoso. At several times I would swear he was playing with 10 fingers and not just a pick and the fact that it is an 8-string guitar. Expecting that there is some classical guitar training in his background, but this could just be insane, self taught talent. Go see them, watch and listen...it is intelligent, and it seems that they like to showcase that.

On a side note, I did get to meet their drummer, Chad, and spoke with him for a hot minute (it was 110 on the black top asphalt.) After hearing and seeing them perform, I was not surprised in the least bit how friendly and well spoken Chad is. Fun fact is that they do like to jam new stuff in the van when they are traveling from gig to gig. Being handed discs all the time they DO actually try to listen to it (in the CD player of the van at that exact moment was 'Inside the Beehive' - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inside-The-Beehive/105104219536902.) Chad also has mad respect for Justin Bieber...(the new album actually does kick ass!)

Secrets ( http://www.secretsofficial.com/ ), sadly I only caught the last couple of songs here as I was outside doing a video interview with another band (check it on YouTube). What I did catch was great and full of energy. With the lead singer standing on the barricade and lurching out into the crowd, it was pretty intense. As a fan, this is what you come early for, this is what you fight for (to stay down in front), this is why live music will always kick ass and be an integral part of our lives. The apparent love of the fans from Secrets is what makes me smile when I go to a show and see that from a band.

Close to Home ( http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCloseToHome ) was right there with the other bands. I am telling you, whether you get the opportunity to catch this band on this tour or it is another tour at another time. You MUST take the time to go check them out on a bill with many other bands. It is very fun and these guys in CTH like to be showy and laugh and smile onstage. Great stuff!

Like Moths to Flames ( http://www.facebook.com/likemoths#!/likemoths ) is just as fun and lively as the other bands. Driving the audience into a frenzy with the music and commanding your attention the whole time they are on stage. Another band that would definitely be worth while seeing again or catching on a big bill like this one.

 Abandon All Ships
( http://www.facebook.com/abandonallships#!/abandonallships ) really impressed me with their sound. I hate to make comparisons, cause what I hear is never what you hear or think. I even sent my girlfriend a text about these guys as soon as I heard them. Something that I knew she would like, and our tastes don't always match up. As far as the performance, right on the money with the other bands. Full of energy, audience participation, and general "I don't give a Fuck, I am here for a good time" it was great and I would take my girlfriend to see these guys. 

 Woe Is Me ( http://www.facebook.com/woeis#!/woeis ) was pretty intense. Demanding the circle pit, and make sure you take someone down with you. Damn good fun. It must be great to be higher up on the food chain, but after a few hours of mind numbing, blistering sound, you would think you would be tired of it. NOPE, not with this audience. Woe Is Me just whipped them up into a new frenzy.

We Came As Romans

( http://www.facebook.com/attackattackus#!/wecameasromans ) the statement of 'blinded by the sound' would be applicable here. Just huge sound coming from WCAR and the activity on the stage and in the crowd was mind numbing. I couldn't focus and the crowd was just insane. This was a breathless set.

Sorry for the lack of photos, but of course we had a camera issue during the WCAR set.

 Attack Attack! ( http://www.facebook.com/attackattackus ) were the men of the late hour. This is what most of the kids came to see. DO you wanna know what it was like from the audience perspective when these guys came on stage...EVERYONE forgot about their pain and dove into the fray.

With poignant words for a lost and hopeless generation, the lead singer drew great applause and cheering while they launched into another barrage of songs.

Angel was dead tired with a hurting ankle and wanted to go, but decided "No, I want to stay til the end." I think this was undoubtably the sentiment with every one. 'Let's make it to the end!' Good thing they all did, with a thank you and good night Attack Attack! left the stge, only to be pulled back for one more song. YUP! it was the one every one wanted to hear and the place just exploded.

Photos by Angel Skye!

Laters

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.