Boomtown Showdown

The Espy is a lot cleaner than I remember it… although I don’t really remember the last couple of times I have been there… anyway, the whole venue was booked out for the Boomtown Showdown, now in it’s second year, and tonight was the biggest line up of the month long tour.

I started off the night watching the people stream into the venue, and go straight to the bar. Yep, there was minimal straight edge representation at this gig – by the end of it, everyone seemed as drunk as each other. But that’s beside the point too, let’s get to the bands.

Don’t Ask Us was the first band I saw. Straight up, good times, pop punk – it reminded me of being a teenager again. They were a great way to start the night.

Next up was Elora Danan. I first saw these guys at The Arthouse in July and I wasn’t that impressed. Boy have they improved! After the sound guy hiccup at the start of the set, every single track was great. These boys do not know how to sing off key, they have great song structure and the kids love them. Watch this space – they’re going to be bigger than Blueline Medic.

I stayed in the Gershwin Room for The Amity Affliction next. This stage suited them a lot! And being up the front suited me. There was lots of dancing and singing along (on stage and off). The Amity boys have really refined their sound and stage presence, all the touring they’ve been doing this year is really paying off. It’ll be great to see what their album turns out like, and to see the new songs performed live.

From Amity I rushed in to see Rex Banner, and I was not disappointed. These guys are in the vein of Lifetime (who are touring in December – YAY!). I don’t know what more to say, if you like Lifetime, see these guys.

Mere Theory was probably the highlight of the night for me. The new album is great, and translates so well to their live show. Their new singer also blew me away, their song writing is solid, and the crowd really appreciated the show.

I only saw two more bands after that, The Getaway Plan and Behind Crimson Eyes. The Getaway Plan needed a new sound guy, the sound at the back of the room just wasn’t that crash hot, but the show they put on was great. The new tracks of their upcoming debut album went down really well with the crowd. Everyone was singing along to 'Streetlight' and the actual single only got released during the day (thank you MySpace).

Behind Crimson Eyes looked great in their hair metal wigs, but the sound was average and to tell the truth I switched off halfway through. Maybe they’re just not my style.

Overall, it was a great night and I’m excited to see who Boomtown will have signed to be on the tour next year.

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