The only thing that can top seeing one of your favorite bands (Manchester Orchestra) in concert, after almost ten years of listening to them on record, is seeing them play with another one of your favorite bands especially one you've been following since they started - a proud moment.
Balance and Composure has been playing smaller venues than they're worth for years. Their star quality has been obvious for a long time, and it only took the world catching up with the times to realize it. When Manchester Orchestra announced they'd be taking the two on tour with them, it was a very exciting moment for all involved. Their show at the House of Blues in Hollywood sold out almost instantly, to no one's surprise. The line I encountered upon arrival to the House of Blues was the first sign of just how popular these three bands are. I've never stood in such a long line to get into a show before, and it was great to see the excitement fill the venue as everyone was let in. The only thing better than a concert where you know all the words to most of the songs, is a show where the whole crowd is singing along with such emotion and passion, it becomes an entirely different type of experience.
Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band is a hidden gem of a band, because while they may be somewhat unknown for the time being, their fame is coming up rapidly. They were the perfect band to open for this tour, starting with high energy music that got everyone excited for the night of beautiful sounds to come. A surprising amount of people knew them and were able to sing along, but I guess in LA that's not that unusual.
Balance and Composure was on next, and sadly, singer Jon Simmons was quite sick. He alerted the crowd of this pretty early on, but it was already easy to detect, for someone like myself who has seen them play multiple times. Despite his apologies for his voice not being up to par, his vocal performance was barely affected. The band definitely picked up any slack due to his illness, making for an incredible set. They played a mixture of songs from all of their albums, pleasing all fans, new and old. It's a difficult venture to play a show soon after a new album has been released, but I didn't hear any complaints or shouting from the crowd. I was surprised, however, at the lack of stage diving, crowd surfing, and moshing attempts that I normally see at their shows at smaller venues.
Manchester Orchestra didn't disappoint in the two claims I'd heard about their live performances: great sound... and LOUD sound. It was one of the only times I've ever worn earplugs in my show-going life, and I was glad to have them. It was a pleasure to be able to hear an array of songs from all of their albums, being that they just released their newest album, Cope, and nobody really knew what to expect in terms of a setlist. I was impressed by the amount of people who were even able to sing along with the newest songs and how rowdy they got during such an emotional time.
By the end of their set, as though anything could make such an evening better, the band brought up Matt Sharp from Weezer to perform a couple of songs with them, which made the entire crowd into an even louder, cheering mob. You could definitely tell it was a surprise because of the volume of the screams.
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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| Photo by Up Late Reviews |
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