The Involuntary Movement tour came to the Midwest and it seemed that no one in Chicago was going to miss it. So we paid the $2.50 for tolls and finally got to see the show my friend and I had been awaiting for months. Regardless of the fact that the tour didn’t make it to Milwaukee, the money and time I spent getting to see The Matches, The Status and Valencia opening for Bayside was well worth it (and that includes the sore throat from all the screaming).
The show started with The Status, which I only got to see a few of their songs, but I was pleasantly surprised since there’s been some bad luck with tour-mates for the bands I go to see. The Status has a Mae-like feel and sound. The lead singer was very clear and, other than feeling the bass throughout my entire body, I could hear each part individually. The guys weren’t over the top but they had just enough to keep the crowd interested and alive.
Valencia came next to the stage and I, again, was very happy to hear that there was another good band on this tour. Let me tell you though, when you’re on the outskirts, you tend to get pushed around and not in a good way. Bruised pride and shins aside, Valencia did a lot to get the audience into the music and bassist George Ciukurescu even began crowd surfing during one of their final songs. I got a great deal on their latest album, recently released called “We All Need a Reason to Believe.” Those 11 tracks are definitely as great as what I heard from the stage and I’m interested to see what they can do in the future.
This was the first time I was able to see the new Matches; with bassist Dylan Rowe taking the place of Justin San Souci who left the band earlier this season. Dylan fit perfectly with the guys and I was very pleased at how great of a bassist he is.
Guitarist Jon Devoto broke one of the fingers on his left hand about a a month and a half ago, forcing him to learn how to play the guitar on one hand and he did it flawlessly. I was amazed at how well he played the pieces during their set and during the acoustic set which occurred after the concert was over which included "Scratched Out" from their first album "E.Von Dahl Killed The Locals" and "Salty Eyes" from "Decomposer."
There were two parts of this set that I enjoyed so much. We saw the set list earlier than the show when guitar tech Ben Young was sitting by the Merch table and had it just lying on the table. It didn't have one of my favorite songs, "What Katie Said" on it so we assumed they wouldn't be playing it. Little did we realize that after singing "Point Me Toward the Morning" off their third album, "A Band In Hope," we were excited when they started singing the song. It got the crowd riled up and Shawn even broke into Spanish, saying "muchacha" in his attempt to sing the song in spanish. I've heard him sing it before and it was just as much of a thrill this time around.
Another surprise to the set list was during the last song, "Papercut Skin," near the end, they slipped into "Between Halloweens" mixing their second and third albums. It was fantastic and I'd never heard something like that done before at all the concerts I've been to.
Bayside came next and, it may have been where I was in the venue or that I didn't know their music, but I couldn't hear anything of this band I'd never heard before. The foursome, from Bayside, Queens, New York, which is where their name originates, recently released their newest album "Shudder" at the end of September and it seemed that they played every song from that album and then some. The set lasted for what seemed like more than an hour yet the fans never wavered and it wasn't until after the band finally finished did I see even the smallest crowd of people outside the staged area.
I would highly suggest that you check out these bands and keep track of when they'll be visiting the area again. Most definitely they are great bands to be watched over the next seasons to see if they can come up with something equally as great as they've already done.
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