Greta Morgan has a good thing going. The former singer of The Hush Sound has put together her new band Gold Motel, and I am just going to say thumbs up. Last night, I had an oppurtunity to see them play at the House Of Blues in San Diego for the first time and was very impressed by this band out of Chicago.
When I first arrived at the venue, I felt I walked into an art project when I looked at the stage. Above the stage had several pillows hanging and from there, a lightning bolt and blue lightbulbs dangled from the pillow clouds. On stage additionally was an umbrella, and what gave me one of the most unique stage setups I have ever seen.
I was very impressed by Gold Motel. The band played hits off their debut record Summer House, including the title track. With their half hour set, the only thing I was able to really compare the sound of them was Beach Boys mixed with Colbie Caillat sprinkled with a dash of the 60's. These indie rockers really brought me in with their sound, attire, to they they playing style on stage. They could have fooled me if they told me they were a band from 40 years ago.
Overall, a fun and unique experience I recommend trying out.
And the day finally came where I was able to go see The Wonder Years, a relatively new band to my music arsenal but quickly rising to one of my favorites overall.
As Matt (KCR Radio/Music Still Exists) and I got to the venue, SOMA in San Diego, we met up with The Wonder Years tour manager John and got set up with the lead singer, Soupy, in the bands van to do an interview (will be posted on YouTube later today). As we shot him some questions, had some technical difficulties, and talked about cheese steaks, I was impressed by how genuine of a guy he was and how much he really cared about people just by the short time we got to spend together.
As we headed into the venue, we caught the last of local band A Dull Science’s set. The shirtless punk trio we stoked to be playing on the bill as they sold the required 150 tickets to get on the lineup.
Next on was a new band to me, American Fang. This music they played I could only relate to that of the Transplants, with hard lyrics and same style, it made for an interesting 20 minute set.
The Wonder Years were next on the bill. The band came out strong with “Logan Circle” of their album The Upsides. The ripped through several tracks off that album as well as some from past albums, and taking time for Soupy to talk to the crowd. He really emphasized on the importance of this album in his life and how it was meant to be uplifting to the crowd. The band definitely caught the attention of the few hundred fans that were there. They closed out their set with Washington Square Park and My Friends Play in Bar Bands. The high energy and creativity on stage made this band a much watch and made me more of a fan through their excellent live performance.
Soupy of The Wonder Years
Comeback Kid came up next, and if you are afraid of contact, this band is not for you. The hardcore band brought their fast paced tempo their yelling lyrics and impressive guitar skills as the crowd responded with equal energy and even larger circle pits. It is quite a sight to see a bunch of kids running around in a circle listening to a band, but it seems to fit and I fully accept it. The band whipped up their 40 minute set with several new songs leaving the crowd stoked and ready for Four Year Strong.
Comeback Kid
As anticipated, Four Year Strong (Worcester, MA.) came out firing and played exceptional. Through the bands 60 minute set, they ripped through crowd favorites and invited the crowd to get amped as they responded throwing their hands in the air and having a great time with their hard core dancing. After getting to close to the dancers and getting a well placed kick to the groin, I moved back to enjoy the rest of the show from the back. Even from the back, I was able to enjoy the show and really made me appreciate what a show in a small venue is like. Seeing the full light show take place, seeing how excited the crowd was and viewing the whole band at once, truly amazing how great music is in everyone’s lives. Four Year Strong came out for an encore after their first part of their set to play one acoustic song and ended with the favorite, “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die”.
Four Year Strong
Overall, really impressed with the show. The energy brought by the bands, the musicianship presented and the overall crowd led me to have an enjoyable night. If this show is coming through your area, make sure you attend, you won’t regret this show.
Chicage band, Gold Hotel, featuring members Greta Morgan from the Hush Sound and members of this is me smiling are continuing out on tour, with their next date being October 23 in Los Angeles in support of their new upcoming debut physical album Summer House which is released November 30th. Supporting acts include Kate Nash, Michael Runion, Steel Train and FUN.
Come check out the act. They have indie roots with a fun pop sound intertwined and with make for a good night out to see some live music.
Check out the bands MYSPACE to listen to songs off their album and for dates near you,
or to keep udated, you can follow Gold Motel on their twitter account: @GoldMotel
Summer House Tracklisting:
01. We’re On The Run
02. Perfect (In My Mind)
03. Safe In L.A.
04. Stealing The Moonlight
05. Fireworks After Midnight
06. Don’t Send The Searchlights
07. Make Me Stay
08. The Cruel One
09. Who Will I Be Tonight
10. Summer House
Last night I was able to attend the Co-Headlining show of Motion City Soundtrack in San Diego at the historical local venue, SOMA. Before the show began, Matt Ernest (KCR Radio DJ) and I were able to gain access to an interview with the band beforehand.
I was pretty stoked on this 1. Because I had never been on a tour bus before 2. It was their first show off the tour 3. It is Motion City Soundtrack, come on! We were invited on the bus and were able to spend 15 minutes with Tony Thaxton (drums) and Matt Taylor (bass/vox) talking about the upcoming tour, music, and Twitter among other things. After we completed the interview, thanked and thanked the band, we headed inside to catch the first set at 7pm. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE!
Check out the interview on YouTube
First on was Valencia, the four piece group from Philadelphia. I was pretty stoked on seeing them because I picked up their last record, We All Need A Reason To Believe, and liked what I heard, so I was hoping for it to transfer live. In their 20 minute, 5 song set, the band used its time to the fullest playing some songs from their new album Dancing With A Ghost, which was released on Tuesday. It was a great way to start to concert.
Next on was the classic New Jersey powerpop/punk band, Saves The Day. They had a 40 minute set and fed off the high energy from what looked like long time Saves The Day fans. They put together a solid set, stringing together several fan favorites. Only complaint I could have was I wish they were more active on stage, but I cannot discount their awesome musicianship and ability to get the crowd stoked. This was a great way to prepare for the two headliners to come.
Saves The Day
Many people there were amped up for Say Anything, and when the first song played, I could instantly tell why. The kind of energy they bring to the table, it made it fun as someone generally new to their music to enjoy their set tremendously. I can now understand why Max Bemis (lead vox) has almost a cult like following from the fans. His lyrics, dancing, vocals, and just the way he presented himself on stage was able me to categorize him as one of my new favorite front men. The band even gave the fans a special treat playing and old song called “Color Blind” which came off their album Baseball. Additionally, Max invited out Chris Conley and Arun Bali of Saves The Day to perform “Crawl” off of Max and Chris’s side project, Two Tongues. Say Anything tour it up and set the table nicely for Motion City Soundtrack.
Max Bemis and Chris Conley performing Two Tongues
The band everyone was waiting for, Motion City Soundtrack, came out to great ovation as they ripped through classic songs to newer songs from My Dinosaur Life. It was awesome to finally see this band live and so close because I really got to see how it all worked. From Justin Pierre’s amazing lyrics and side jokes for when they weren’t to watching Matt and Josh play guitar and bass on the side, Tony getting it done on drums. I especially loved how Jesse (keys) was so intense into everything, including how he drank his water. Picking up on the little things of how much fun the band was having really made it an enjoyable experience.
It was great to see they played a lot of the fans favorites and even came out with some previously unperformed songs with “Weekends” and “Hysteria”. Only thing that was sort of a buzzkill was the time constraints at the venue so the band had to cut its set slightly short, but overall, I do not feel they left the fans disappointed by their performance.
Justin Pierre and Jesse Johnson of Motion City Soundtrack
This show was awesome and I think I should leave it at about that. Make sure you check out one of the other dates the bands will be on this tour:
The Wonder Years have released their new music video for their song "Melrose Diner", which came off their their album The Upsides, which was just re-released a few weeks ago on Hopeless Records.
The video begins with a 90 second introduction of the clash between wrestlers competing for the title and the girl. The remainder of the video depicts the story of how one wrestler, The Lone Wolf, needs to go through a string of competitors to face his archenemy, The Evil KRAAG, to win back his belt.
This video is very creative and fun to watch and can tell it was probably a blast for these guys to shoot. Kudos to you, The Wonder Years. Great new video!
I know this news is a few days old, but still exciting. Rise Against (Chicago, Illinois) have officially entered the studio to start their new album.
From altpress.com
From their twitter account (@RiseAgainst) We officially entered the studio to record the new record. Stoked. And Zach is apparently on fire. http://yfrog.com/1ny6ynj.
The Almost have released their first track, "Wrong", from their upcoming EP Monster Monster. The EP will hit stores and online this month on October 25.
To get a peek of what the new record is going to sound like, head over to their MYSPACE and take a listen, and maybe even pre-order their new CD?
The much anticipated Fall edition of the AP Tour, sponsored by Airwalk, kicks off this Wednesday in Detroit, Michigan for its 39 date trek across the US. Co-Headlining the tour will be UK sensations, Bring Me The Horizon, and August Burns Red (Lancaster, PA). Accompanying these bands will be Emarosa, Polar Bear Club, and This Is Hell.
BMTH just dropped a new CD October 5 on Epitaph Records, There Is a Hell, Believe Me, I've Seen It, which is currently #13 on the UK charts.
August Burns Red has also been busy as they dropped a live album, Home, on Solid State, on Sept. 28
This tour is sure to be an intense show worth the price of admission.Make sure you check out the bands on one of these stops in a town near you.
10/13 Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
10/14 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
10/15 Sauget, IL @ Pops
10/16 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/17 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
10/19 Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze
10/20 Kansas City, MO @ The Beaumont Club
10/21 Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
10/22 Salt Lak City, UT @ In The Venue
10/24 Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/25 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
10/27 San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom
10/28 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre
10/29 Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
10/30 San Diego, CA @ Soma
10/31 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
11/2 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
11/4 Austin, TX @ Emo's
11/5 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
11/6 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
11/7 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
11/9 Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
11/10 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
11/11 Tampa, FL @ The Ritz
11/12 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
11/13 Nashville, TN @ Rocketown
11/14 Charlotte, NC @ Amos' Southend Music Hall
11/16 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
11/17 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
11/18 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
11/19 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
11/20 Williamsville, NY @ Club Infinity
11/21 Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
11/22 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
11/24 New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
11/25 New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
11/26 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
11/27 Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
11/28 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
