To write about a band I have been a fan of for years and to have to be honest is sometimes unfair. I would love to say that Fridays show was 'amazing' and 'awesome' and 'captivating'…but it wasn't.
Friday nights show was a reality slap in the face that maybe AAS is just a great studio band. I will say that the sound was a horror. The first three songs had no guitar or bass at all. When, even auto tune can't save a singer- it's a bad night.
There is something to be said when your 'unclean' singer starts his set by saying how 'fucking tired' he is. Were you at the office all day? I don't want you to tell me your troubles, I think it's your job to entertain your fans and help them forget there's.
With the Jersey Shore look (with added free fake accent bonus) Abandon All Ships proceeded to insult the crowd with "I thought this was fucking Hartford!!, This can't be fucking Hartford''. Now can we take a moment to realize the oddity of that? Hartford CT is not exactly known for much other than Insurance so perhaps Angelo was looking for a life insurance quote and wasn't being serviced. Or maybe the sleepy city was keeping him awake?
Yes, they did 'Guardian Angel', yup they shouted out "I don't give a fuck, I just came here to party' and yeah..they said they were sick of their old stuff (how about something new then?!)
There were more people on their phones then in their pit. A few odd girls in cheap clothing hoping for a grab but really other than the kids who were holding up some ones shoes- not much action on the floor. Oh and whomever ripped off our friend Finn's hat better fess up cuz if we see it at another gig you'll get a good scolding.
At one point the crowd was asked to shout 'fuck the police', why? oh and then we were asked to shout 'fuck St Louis'. It was at this point in their 45 minute set that I realized Abandon All Ships needs to work on their live show. They completely own recorded work- on stage- terrible.
So I'm back to square one. The bored and disgruntled sound guy was fun to watch. He complained about every act as he had to jumped down and walk the thirty feet to assist on stage. But he needed to slide those controls instead working that hoe.. dig?
The band has been around far too long to have such a terrible showing. They have loyal fans with great admiration that they deserve. I will chalk this up to a tired singer, a too small stage, a distracted soundman and maybe some bad karma.
This was my first concert of 2012. Lets hope none are worse than this
Grade D