Saosin, A Static Lullaby, HerLatest Flame @ Fowlers Live17/5/07

Wed 23rd May, 2007 in Gig Reviews

The crowd tonight was at the 250 to 300 mark to see Saosin’s return to Adelaide after their performance at the Taste Of Chaos in 2006. Saosin’s popularity has grown tremendously since then as their spot on the bill grew a huge buzz around this talented group of songwriters.

Adelaide Screamo Pop band Her Latest Flame opened up the night & coincidentally they also played at the same Taste Of Chaos as Saosin. I didnt enjoy Her Latest Flame’s set as I dont particularly enjoy their sound. But for the people who were their to see HLF they seemed to love it. HLF also seemed as if they werent putting enough energy into this performance & their sound came out sounding bland because of it. HLF opened the night with This Time Around & also performed some new songs for the crowd. Overall I dont think that this band was suited for the night.

Up next was Californian Screamo act A Static Lullaby. For those unfamiliar with A Static Lullaby they are now considered quite a prominent band in the American screamo scene. Though now in my opinion with younger bands popping up and getting huge over sites like myspace & purevolume, A Static Lullaby are becoming veterans of the scene as they started their careers when they cultural technology wasnt as huge as it is now. Their set got off to a shaky start when none of ASLvocalist & brainchild Joe Brown’s microphones were turned on & they were not working. He was then forced to use guitarist’s Dan Arnold & John Death’s microphones in-between vocal changes.

The whole of A Static Lullaby’s set they appeared to be fighting with the sound technicians and themselves onstage out of frustration. They were frustrated because of the sound problems which could not let them feel the energy & give a full energetic performance for the set. They seemed to have no enthusiasm & just wanted to finish the set. This was dissapointing for the people that were here to see this band. Another letdown was that it didnt feel like A Static Lullaby onstage with all of the new members, it just felt like Joe Brown, Dan Arnold & fill-in musicians. Musically A Static Lullaby were good but it was just flat without any enthusiasm or energy to go with these types of songs.

During the last few songs the crowd tried to get the mosh but like ASL’s performance it fell away flat. Some of the highlights from the set were Lip Gloss & Letdown, The Shooting Star That Destroyed Us, Hang em’ High & Trigger Happy Tarantula. Looking back on this performance it really showed that A Static Lullaby are no longer the young hot band in the scene & that they are getting older, more experienced & possibly coming to an end.

Next was the headline act of this Thursday night, Saosin. Before this set I was eager to see Saosin in their own show but also doubtful at how they would hold up at their own full show. Particularly their vocalist Cove Reber whose vocals have been known to be strained & disappointing live. Saosin opened their set with the opening track of their debut self titled album Its Far Better To Learn & this got the crowd excited for the Californian phenomenom. Throughout the set Reber who was decked out in a beanie held up his vocals well & suprised me with how much he had improved since I last saw them. Inbetween songs Saosin were talkative with the crowd & seemed appreciative to be here on their own tour.

Reber was very energetic with the crowd and moved around alot with enthusiasm. A dissappointing part was that guitarist Justin Shekoski who is known for his vibrant energy onstage & trademark guitar la hoops around his shoulder was quite dull & unenergetic tonight. The crowd was enjoying this solid performance & they got a considerably sized pit going. Some of the highlights from their set were Seven Years, I Can Tell, Your Not Alone, Voices, I Never Wanted To Feel & Sleepers. Saosin did not perform an encore which was dissappointing for a band which has such a endless back catalogue for such a short period of time as a band.

Saosin were happy to talk & hug their legions of fans after their set, showing that despite their growing popularity they are still modest. As A Saosin fan I have always been more of a fan of Anthony Green’s ( Circa Survive, The Sound Of Animals Fighting, ‘Saosin’ EP ) work with the band as a vocalist but this performance made me appreciate Cove’s work alot more. Their set wasnt amazing but it was a good solid performance which makes me wonder about where this bands future is heading & in what direction.

Overall the feeling that I was getting from this night was the differance between young & old bands & bands growing up. With Saosin becoming the rising stars of the industry ready to become huge & A Static Lullaby being a band that once was the prime of the industry now looking like they will be facing a shaky destination, as they get older & become veterans of the screamo scene. This night really put the state of the industry in perspective.