The Alley

On Sunday, June 10th, I had the pleasure of finally attending a show, seeing how I had not been to one since late April. It was a co-headlining tour of The Junior Varsity and Thunderbirds Are Now!, and they were supported by Street to Nowhere, Putnam Hall, and Sound the Alarm.

I arrived at the Alley, a venue in Fullerton and very similar to the chain reaction in size, around 7:00, when the show was supposed to begin, only to see that box office had not even opened. So I went to wait in line and finally purchased my tickets.

The show was kicked off by a local band, Sound the Alarm, which was extremely similar to Epitaph's The Higher. Their music was generic, but still enjoyable. They played about a twenty-minute set, during which the lead singer managed to dance exactly like the lead singer from the Higher (neither of them can dance). Overall, they were decent and could be considered radio friendly, in that they fit a formula of bands that have been achieving mainstream success lately. If you want to hear a song that is a good representation of their sound, check out "Suffocating to Stay Alive."

The next band was Putnam Hall, which sounded like early Phantom Planet. They were also reminiscent of Against Me!, but with a dash of pop. They also played about a 20-minute set, which I must say was pretty good. They, unlike the Sound the Alarm, did try to bring some originality to their music, which I greatly appreciated. They ended with their song, "Fight the Format," which they deemed their anthem, so if you want an idea of what this band is, check out that song.

After a short break, the next band was Street to Nowhere, natives of the bay area, and a band I was very excited about seeing. Their set was probably about thirty minutes and was nothing short of amazing. I do not know if I could name a band that could be considered similar to them, but their myspace labels them as "melodramatic popular song." I do not know if that is just a fancy way of saying emo, but these gentlemen are far from the thousands of bands that have been created over the past years. With witty lyrics and a truly "different" sound, Street to Nowhere is a group that all should experience. After listening to their album, I can safely say that they somehow have a consistency throughout and yet no two songs are a like. Because of this I recommend two of their songs, "Dead Cliché" and "They're Not Like Us."

Thunderbirds are Now!, another difficult group to categorize, could be considered an electronic pop band, which puts on an engaging live show. With great stage presence, this band is far from shy, as they thrash around on stage, even jumping off stage to greet the audience of no more than thirty people. Their recorded music does not do this group justice, in that when I listened to them before the show I thought they were going to be mediocre, but their live sound was great. Being the co-headliner they played about a forty-five minute set. I recommend checking out their song "We Win Ha Ha," and see them live if you have the chance, you will enjoy it.

Finally it was time for The Junior Varsity, a band out of the Chicago area, to perform. Personally, they were the original reason why I decided to attend the show, so I had been awaiting their performance all night. They opened with a fan favorite "Mad for Medusa" and played a variety of songs from all of their albums, even some new ones off of CINEMATOGRAPHIC, which hits stores on June 19th. There was definitely a difference in the level of musicianship these guys had from the other bands that had played throughout the night, and their experience could be easily seen. This band in not your everyday band, and they definitely spice up their songs with light keyboards, and now even a song with saxophone. I recommend checking out "Get Comfortable" from their sophomore album, and "the sky," which will be on their new album.

After the show my friend and I, who was nice enough to accompany me on this trip, went and bought some merch, so I got some cds and a shirt. However, when I returned home, and opened the Junior Varsity cd, which I was waiting to listen to, I was greeted by an empty case. I am currently in the works in obtaining the cd that I had paid for, because I only make minimum wage and cannot be buying duplicate cds because someone gave me an empty one the first time.

Also, afterwards, my friend and I spoke to some gents from the band Fire Rocket Red, who did not perform that night. They were pretty much hilarious so I checked them out only to find that they were damn good. So if you have time check them out on myspace or something.

-Clio