Screamo, Emo and Hardcore

I guess after the second show in a week I should post my reviews.

Sunday we went to the UIC Pavilion and saw our FAVORITE BAND OF ALL TIME Alkaline Trio, along with Reggie and the Full Effect and My Chemical Romance. We had never been to the UIC Pavilion, but had heard some pretty bad things about it. After arriving early and pregaming in the parking lot (no alcohol served) we decided to enter the ARENA. Yeah, its a Basketball/Hockey/All purpose arena on the campus of University of Illinois at Chicago. I don't really like big rock shows, but it was our FAVORITE BAND OF ALL TIME, so we couldn't pass up the chance to see them in Chicago. Very similar to Assembly Hall (Although it seemed much smaller), although the show we saw at UofI was Bush/Moby and the stage was actually on the side of the court, instead of at one end.

Reggie and the Full Effect played a short set, mostly new songs, which seemed more on the hardcore side. In the large arena, the sound was a little hollow and echo-y, plus many people didn't really care to see Reggie, so many seats were empty and the floor was about 1/4 full.

Next up, Alkaline Trio. With the explosion of popularity of MCR on MTV, Alkaline Trio was actually supporting MCR's tour. Very weird, considering the Trio have been headlining their shows pretty much since they started. Their sound was very full, the vocal were excellent and they played an amazing set. I love when bands just get up there and play, one song after another, no uneasy silences, or trying to get audience participation. Either you rock and the crowd gets into it, or they don't. Fortunately, being in their hometown, most people were into it. After playing a few new songs from Crimson (latest album) they played a few songs from just about every release they've had. It was really cool to hear some classics from "Goddamnit", easily my favorite album. Definitely worth the price of admission, their sound and set was excellent.

Finally, My Chemical Romance took the stage. You could tell that many of the teenage audience had come just for them. The piercingly high screams from many of the females in attendance was enough to make you deaf. MCR had a pretty cool stage backdrop and stage presence, but it seemed like they tried harder on their image than on the music. The singer took too much time to get the audience waving their hands, lighters and cell phones (although that was kind of cool to see) than to concentrate on his vocals. Most of his screams and higher notes were lost in the excessively loud guitars. The feeling of the larger arena really took away from the music. I think they would have been a lot better in a smaller venue, although the stage antics and preaching to the audience did nothing for me. We eventually left early, to get a beat on traffic, and to keep from falling asleep. I thought it was strange that Alkaline Trio had such a full sound, and the headliner couldn't match it. Still well worth the ticket, but unless its a must see band, I don't think we'll be back to UIC Pavilion anytime soon.

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Waj