A lot of girls for a punk rock show, isn’t it? Maybe a 50/50 split at Best Buy Theater on Broadway. Why are all these college girls here? Because Anthony Raneri is cute? Because for punk rockers these guys are awful sweet? Because their boyfriends want to? Because the female population as infiltrated the ranks of punk?
Any of those things are possible but most likely because this is emo-punk pop -a highly melodic offshoot of punk which unravels romantic liaisons and puts them in front of loud guitars. Much loved by the fans it isn’t the horror that has become mainstream rock and roll but it closer to mainstream rock and roll than you want it to be.
The three bands on display were not about virtuosity, they were about songs and lived or died on stage based mostly on the strength of what they were playing. Yes, Alkaline Trio had two lead singers and a Vandals like gift for the extended metaphor song, and, yes, Bayside have one of the best singers in the business and run variants on progrock when the urge takes, but most, at its essence the songs need to be there.
Too often they weren’t there.
Alkaline Trio have 17 years of material to mine but their big breakthrough came this year with the terrific My Shame Is True album, but what happens on stage isn’t as, if not light, airy as you’d expect from a trio. The best songs elevate but on stage everything has the weight of gravity, it is a suck downwards of sincerity on songs more than good at their best but still needing a cover of “Porno And Movies” to pull off the last third. Bayside had a similar problem. It is no surprise that the Queens natives and rock nyc’s faves (Magpie interviewed them in October 2011 -they baffling claimed not to write love songs) worked so well on the Covers Vol One album, where the best thing about the band, Anthony’s voice, can be used on some great pop songs.
On stage Bayside have energy and poise but the songs are mopey and a downer. Put it this way, their second and third songs are called “The Walking Wounded” and “Tortures Of The Damned” respectively and while the audience sang loud and strenuously the punchlines to both songs, they still were wounded, tortured and damned. I missed most of Minneapolis boys Off With Their Heads set and my loss I fear, the two songs I heard were among the best of the entire evening.
Both Alkaline Trio and Bayside had their resistance is futile moments. At 37 years of age, lead singer and guitarist Matt Skiba is still surprised by having his name on Broadway, still appreciative. This is the polar opposite of a Bieber or Rihanna who ritually abuse their audiences. The band are pros and they are happy to being playing and throughout the set the pleasure in being there is obvious. And on their best songs “She Lied To The FBI” (one of the best songs of the year), “I Wanna Be A Warhol”, “Hell Yes’ and more, Alkaline Trio are one of the best of the genre. At their worst they play too many variants on a theme and lack charisma.
Bayside have charisma but there is a reason they haven’t broken through. Their albums lack consistency and for every “Sick Sick Sick” and “Sadie” there is some heavy sludge emo rocker in the wings. Their best song Friday night was Smoking Popes “Megan”.
Like the entire evening, it was all a case of he who lives by the pop rocker that pops will die by the pop rocker that flops. Come back the Vandals all is forgiven.
Grade: B-