Live Review: Evergreen Terrace
Posted 11/02/2009 09:31AM by Aaron Yarborough as Show Review
When I noticed online that Jacksonville, FL's own Evergreen Terrace was headed out on tour before the end of the year on their first tour since their epic album Almost Home was released, I knew had to do everything in my power to make sure I didn't miss their trip to California. Scurrying to finish everything I needed to do at home in order to make the four hour drive to Anaheim was no easy feat, but I finally accomplished my goals and left to head to the show at 5pm on Tuesday October 27th for a drive right through the heart of Los Angeles towards Disneyland.
Stressed I might miss the band I did not obey the California speed limits and had only one close call with the California Highway Patrol, but with an average speed of 80mph I made it to the venue, Chain Reaction, with plenty of time to spare. This was quite a solid feat considering I was able to catch some of all three bands on the tour... Asking Alexandria, For the Fallen Dreams, and Evergreen Terrace.
Walking into the venue to catch the second half of Asking Alexandria's set was quite a pleasant surprise. The band features five members from the UK who recently signed with Sumerian Records and who are all under 21 years old but are already making waves here in the U.S. on only their third tour ever. They drew probably about half of the kids there and had everyone singing along and dancing their balls off. The band has a Bring Me The Horizon vibe with some techno parts which have probably helped them cross-over genres, yet still deliver a fresh sound kids nowadays are more prone to identify with. I bobbed my head and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of their set. This band is destined for big things and after hearing their set I grabbed their album, but wasn't quite as impressed. The band is definitely more engaging live than they are on disc.
After a fairly long set changeover, Rise Records band For The Fallen Dreams, hailing from Detroit, took the stage and proceeded to provide the kids with all the hardcore dancing they could stomach. From the opening note you knew what you were in for -- some serious drop B tuning which led to mostly chugs and not a lot of distinct guitar work which left me pretty bored, but good lord the kids at Chain ate it up. After about 5 minutes of this I became even more bored so I just decided to look for people getting wacked in the head by flying fists or feet. I found that to be a lot more enjoyable than watching the band perform. There were lots of kids trying to head walk and jump to the front to scream along with the singer. Definitely not my favorite by any means.
Now it was time for the band everyone had come to see. Unfortunately everyone was only a small fraction of the original number of kids who had been there, which led me to believe some kids were unable to stay out past 10 pm on a school night. That's really quite disappointing, but it didn't take away from those of us who stayed and enjoyed every single moment of Evergreen Terrace's set. Kyle was back on drums after his nasty motorcycle accident that had left him with broken collarbones and other injuries. Watching him play, it was like he didn't miss a beat. Blazing through songs new and old, the kids tended to love the old songs as they knew them a lot more, but I was super excited to hear them as they played "God Rocky Is That Your Face," "Sending Signals," "Enemy Sex," "Mario Speedwagon," and "Almost Home" off the new album. They mixed in "Wolfbiker" as well as "Dogfight" and a slew of other classics like "Give Em The Sleeper," "Brave Reality," "New Friend Request," "Dear Live Journal," and the always epic closer "No Donnie, These Men Are Nihilists." Drew flew around the stage like a madman possessed, constantly jumping into the crowd and having the kids hold up his skinny body, swinging his arms back and forth all while the kids were running around in circle pits and swinging their fists in the air. This is by far one of my favorite bands to watch because their energy is not easily matched by most of the bands in the scene nowadays. They have managed to capture that energy perfectly with their latest release Almost Home and will hopefully continue to punish crowds worldwide for many years to come. They are definitely one of the last bands in the genre still bringing it and putting out quality releases, so if they tickle your fancy, definitely head out and support this insanely hard working band.
Comments
Somewhere in New York
I saw these guys years ago with Fear Before the March of Flames and Norma Jean. Let's just say it was one of the most memorable shows I had ever been to. My ears also felt like they should have been bleeding after it.
"If someone gives you a kazoo and toots around the house to MTV, they're not gonna fuck you." - David Cross
Alabama
Catching this tour Sunday andI'm beyond stoked. Unfortunatly, most kids will probably be there for For The Fallen Dreams like they were at this show but it is still going to be awesome. Evergreen Terrace always delivers.
Minneapolis, MN
Aww, no love for For The Fallen Dreams. I really like that band, but have never seen them live. It's kind of disappointing to hear they weren't very good.
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Alabama
Yeah man, I really dug their first album but I can barely make it through the second. Seem like they would be kind ofa bore live but I'm still going to rush the stage during Last Dying Breath. Epic Song.
FL
caught this tour last night. thick as blood also played and were pretty good. didn't care for asking alexandria even though i enjoy their album. ftfd sounded like garbage, but that was mostly for playing mostly new songs. eighth time seeing evergreen and as always they were fantastic. best live band in hardcore.
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Alabama
Saw this Sunday and Asking Alexandria only got to play 3 songs due to tech difficulties. I can't express how happy I was. FTFD wasn't that great. I will say it again, Evergreen Terrace owns!