Concert Photos: After Midnight Project

After Midnight Project performed at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ on 10.27.2009 supporting Chevelle.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Baldwin

Concert Review: Chevelle Out of this World Performance

By D. Marcher, www.FromTheCrowd.com
Chevelle, the Chicago trio consisting of Pete Loeffler (vocals, guitars), Sam Loeffler (drums) and Dean Bernardini (bass, live backing vocals) performed at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on October 27 in support of their new album Sci-Fi Crimes.

It was an evening full of music with three opening bands, The Asylum, New Medicine and After Midnight Project. While The Asylum seemed to be heavier metal rock, then one would expect for a Chevelle concert, New Medicine seemed to bridge the musical gap and After Midnight Projects’ performance completed the transition and was able to draw the majority of the crowd that had been waiting on the patio into the theatre, proving they are an excellent tour companion.

Chevelle took the stage around 10:15, providing an entertaining and interactive experience to the crowd. Accompanied by dence fog, green and deep blue lighting the stage defiantly set to provide a Sci –Fi feeling and allow the audience to be abducted by the trio.

It was immediately down to business as the intricate rifts of the first song began as the crowd exploded. Pete travelled across the stage ensuring to not neglect anyone from the audience. Vocals were right on point as the Marquee filled with energy from the performance. The crowd loved the musical journey they were on. The venue was not filled to capacity, however, this was an advantage as it allowed concertgoers to move freely to the music and not just stand there listening to it.

Clips from various movies would play providing transitions between songs and at times Pete would interacting to the crowd, at one point stating the obvious “As you can see know we’re sort of into the whole alien thing now.” But then followed by a surprising request, “ Oh and if anyone’s had any alien encounters we’d love to talk to you after the show” some members of the audience laughed others seemed very excited by the opportunity.

Chevelle set list was dominated by their latest effort, Sci-Fi Crimes featuring “Sleep Apnea”, “Jars”, “Letter From A Thief”, “Roswell Spell” and others. The Trio also played fan favorites such as “The Red” “Send the Pain Below” from Wonder What’s Next, and “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)” from This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In during their 90 minute set.

Overall, it was a dynamic night of music. As I drove past the tour busses shortly after midnight, I couldn’t help but wonder about the small crowd that remained patiently waiting. Were they just dedicated fans or did they have they had alien abduction stories for Chevelle?  Your guess is as good as mine!

Concert Photos: Chevelle

Chevelle performed at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ on 10.27.2009.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Baldwin

Album Review: Sunny Day Sets Fire

By Tamara, www.FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

 

Hailing from Hong Kong, UK, Canada and Italy I introduce Sunny Day Sets Fire (http://www.sunnydaysetsfire.com ), the band that sounds like a neon bright sunset. Sunny Day sets Fire is an indie psychedelic pop group formed in London. What’s unique about the group is that they are from all different parts of the world; which probably gives them their wide arrange of taste in music. The release of Stranger Release EP has a blend of DJ’s and artist from different genres such as; The Cool Kids, CSS, and The Slip just to name a few.

 

The Remix album starts out with the original version of ‘Strangers’ followed by 3 remixes. Each remix brings its own flavor to the song.  If you want the fast techno club version of ‘Stranger’ listen to the Remix with The Cool kids. My favorite version on ‘Strangers’ on the EP album is actually the radio edit Track 2. The radio version added different drums and the guitar giving it a reminiscent sound of The Monkees.  They also added remix versions of ‘Wilderness’, ‘Adrenaline’, and ‘Brainless’. Every Remix on the album gets your blood pumping your head banging and will get you ready to break out and dance. An 8 track album that has a lot to offer.

 

For the purpose of putting a remix album out Sunny Day Sets Fire manage to put out an adrenaline rushing album with a wild and strange twist. All while making it look Brainless! Looking forward to the next album Sunny Day Sets Fire puts out and the featuring artist they’ll be working with!

 

I give the album 3 ½ Stars

Album Review: Morcheeba “Dive Deep”

By Tamra, www.FromTheCrowd.com contributor

I’ve never heard anything like the Morcheeba album Dive Deep. Dive Deep is definitely an easy listen from beginning to end. This is the 6^th album completed by the band. With a fitting title and album cover of the ocean the album puts you into a calming deep trance like the ocean with the occasionally big waves to move you deeper. Morcheeba is a British band with an eclectic sound with many collaborating talents. The group members Paul and Ross Godfrey had a falling out with past lead singer and decided they no longer wanted to share decisions with a permanent singer; which lead them to the internet for the collaborations on Dive Deep. The album honestly sounds like a mix someone put together of there favorite songs with all of the different vocals. These collaborations gave the album sounds of many different genres of music such as; electro, blues, folk, country, and even trip-hop. 

 

I’ll give you a little taste of what this album offers. “Run Honey Run” a country folk song with an electro twist to the instrumental throughout the song. Run honey run and never stop to look inside your mind rings the chorus against the banjo the main instrumental in the song. Bradley’s twang flows well with the music creating a great melody.  A couple of tracks down you’ll find “One love Karma” telling you to keep it copasetic. “One love Karma” is featuring cool calm Pete a hip-hop track with the electro laid back beat. You’ll find a French track “Au De la” following “One Love Karma”.  Morcheeba also incorporated two tracks that are just instrumental no vocals. Now that’s just a taste of Dive Deep.

 

 For an album that is only 40 minutes Morcheeba gives a variety of different sounds to relax to. With out a lead vocalist to identify with on the album Morcheeba doesn’t sound like a band, it sounds like a CD of a variety of different artists. If you’re looking for a mix of relaxing music Morcheeba Dive Deep would be the album for you.

 

I Give 3 Stars.

Concert Photos: Daughtry 10.13.2009

Daughtry performed at the Marquee Theatre on 10.13.2009 to a sold out crowd.

Photo Credit:  Stephanie Baldwin

Album Review: Bloodsimple “Red Harvest”

By Tamra, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

Bloodsimple biography starts out by saying “Let’s face it, life isn’t pretty.” Bloodsimple an American Metal group formed in 2002 definitely lives by that through their music. Red harvest is their second album released under Warner Bros record that came out in 2007. Red harvest follows their album A Cruel World. The group consists of Tim Williams (vocals), Mike Kennedy (guitar) Nick Rowe (Guitar), and Kyle Sanders (Bass). The group has three songs that have charted in the top 40 off of their two albums. Red Harvest, their latest album, is full of harsh vocals, spoken words, and a lot of mediocre randomness.

I was not a fan of the majority of Red Harvest as it was subpar in my opinion. Red Harvest lyrically content is of killing, temptations, and the usually darkness of heavy metal. The first track on the album ‘Ride with Me’, reminds me of twisted version of Tenacious D song Tribute. Red Harvest begins with telling a story over the guitar chords setting the scene for the album. His screaming vocals seem forced, and the solo’s that should sound like an outrageous freestyle feel rehearsed. The album does not have a flow; where themes begin they are not finished throughout the album. In tracks 2 ‘Red Harvest’ and track 3 ‘Dark Helmet’ the songs end with random sound effects that are not heard in any other tracks again until track 8 ‘Whiskey and Hell Bound’. ‘Whiskey and Hell Bound’ begins with another random sound effect of an airplane following a bomb introducing the intense riffs. Some tracks implement spoken word well while others tracks like ‘Dead Man Walking’ and ‘Suck it up’ try to have catchy hooks.

Overall the album had potential but each song ended with a boring snore and a distant memory of what I was listening to. Not one of the ripping guitar strings complemented by the bass stuck with me. I give this album 2 and ½ stars

Album Review: Murs for President

By: Tamara, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor

Murs is far from being new to the rap game hence the title of his album that dropped in 2008 Murs for President. This is Murs 8th solo album and 1st album under Warner Bros Records. Murs is an acronym for Making Underground Raw Shit. As a record label artist Murs is now competing with the mainstream crowd with Murs for president. With releasing all of his previous solos albums as an underground artist it’s an interesting album for Murs. A lyrically talented individual with a different style then most rappers musically and his look it’s not the normal.

Murs for President has a great theme of running for president. Rapping about the important issues to him and who he is and where he comes from. All of these elements are essential when running for President. The album has a blues melody to it and his rap flow over the beat compliment each other, making songs that sound classic. Another attribute to the classic sound are the samples that are used throughout the album and the use of the instruments in the beats.

This album definitely has a positive message. I’m innocent lets you know that you don’t have to be helpless and then uses himself as an example of success. The science describes music as a science his rap sounds more like def jam poetry while the flute plays in the background. Everything track 6 Murs raps about not taking life for granted with lyrics like “I’m trying to make my tomorrows my yesterdays.” His last few tracks on the album are about loves ups and downs, a great way to end the album.

Murs for President, he has my vote! I don’t think that his album will compete with mainstream artists. I think that his unique style can either make him or break him. A great album when you need something mellow to relax to. I give it 4 stars.

Concert Review: Blink-182 – Big Heart, Big Show, Big Kids

Blink-182, Tom DeLonge (vocals, guitar), Mark Hoppus (vocals, bass) and Travis Barker (drums) took the stage shortly before 10:30pm to close out Saturday nights Arizona Fall Frenzy. The enormous crowd, which seemed to fill Tempe Beach Park to compacity, exploaded and screamed in unison as Blink-182 began their performance.

It was obvious that the crowd felt this reunion tour was well overdue and was immediately satisfied as their set featured their most popular songs, ‘Down’, ‘Dumpweed’, ‘What’s my Age Again?’, just to name a few.

Shortly after beginning their set, Hoppus stopped to recognize the significance of the day. Mark explained to the crowd that today, was the one year anniversary of the tragic plane crash that took the lives of their dear friend Chris, as well as the pilots and Barkers security guard. He continued to recognize Barkers injuries and shared that Blink-182 was going to donate $100,000 for tonight performance to burn centers in Georgia and Los Angeles.

The beginning cords of ‘I Miss You’ began to be play as Hoppus dedicated the song to Chris. While this could have easily mellowed the spirits of the crowd, the opposite effect held true as the concertgoers enthusiastically supported the band in singing the song, with many in the crowd remarking as to how impressed they were with Barkers performance.

It seemed at that moment that the boys of Blink-182 who were the heroes of teen angst in the late 90’s had matured… well… until immediately after the next song,  ‘Stay Together For The Kids’.  DeLonge asked Hoppus, if he remember about their early trips to Arizona and how with the extream desert heat, their ball sacks would just get bigger and bigger.  Hoppus agreed and DeLonge continued stating ‘The he could t-bag your mother from stilts’…

With each new song came an anecdote or dedication, with both Hoppus and DeLonge taking time to address each other and the audience. At times they were obvious, such as dedicating ‘First Date’ to all those on a first date to Hoppus calling out DeLonge for totally blowing a song and then erupting into ‘All the Small Things’.

In addition to taking advantage of any moment to joke one another about each other’s playing the sexual references and lyric changes were plentiful the remainder of the concert . Boys will be boys… in some cases… forever.

This was undeniably a Blink-182 show, and although this tour is their first in nearly five years, the bands chemistry was obvious. Their musical performance met or exceeded everyone expectations and their on stage banter throughout the performance kept the evening entertaining and provided an intimate experience for the crowd.  For many attending this concert, this was a flashback to a differnt era and if the vibe from this concerts hold true, Blink-182 should have a great future in store for us.

Album Review: Death Magnetic – Metallica

I want to start off by saying that heavy metal is not normally on my playlist rotation. However, when I put Metallica’s Death Magnetic into my CD player I caught myself rocking out. By far Metallica has been renowned as one of the best Heavy Metal groups since the 1980’s.  Although they’ve had their rough patches with their fans, the last few albums pushed fans to believe they were selling out. Metallica proved them wrong with Death Magnetic, an album that definitely takes it back to that original Metallica sound. Death Magnetic is their 9^th album and with a new producer Rick Rubin, the album came out to be one that Metallica fans could appreciate. Death Magnetic is not their best album ever, but it is an attempt at redemption from St. Anger, their last album.

With ten songs on the album each song over 5 minutes long. It is a musical immersion and not just another hit for the radio. Ironically the title and the themed lyrics are about death. The album gives the feeling of being near death and not being afraid, something Metallica has experience with figuratively. The only problem I find is that if listened to straight through, the album tends to get a bit tired, but broken up it’s a great CD to pop in your car for a short ride. Outrageous jam sessions between verses and choruses makes the songs an entertaining 5 plus minutes of change up.  

A few of the songs I caught myself belting out were “The end of line” with lyrics screaming YOU’VE REACHED THE END OF LINE. “Cyanide” was another song that was catchy to me with lyrics Empty they say Death hear me call your name Suicide I’ve already died. Overall I think that the album is a music experience with simple lyrics that Metallica fans and new fans will enjoy rocking out to including me.  

I give 4 stars.

 

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