Sum 41, Yellowcard, Monty Are I, Amber Pacific
Lupo's in Providence, RI
September 10, 2007

Parking was a real bitch, which I found odd for 6:30 on a Monday night. It took me just over 20 minutes before I lucked into a spot not too far from Lupo's. I walked in early into Amber Pacific's set, which was surprising because I thought that they were the second band. I was actually hoping that I missed Monty Are I, since I had no interest in them.

The crowd wasn't big,a nd seemed mostly full of fresh back to college frat guys, instead of the mostly kids and their parents that I was expecting. Amber Pacific was playing a happy and energetic set, even though most of the crowd had never heard of them. They militantly tried to get teh crowd to jump up and down during their pogo parts, as well as wave their hands, finger point and circle pit. The bulk of the crowd seem to oblidge (I didn't see a circle pit, though), enjoying the band that most of them were seeing for the first time. The songs were tight and fun to listen to, even though they didn't play many of their fast songs that I was hoping for.

To my dismay, Monty Are I were up next. I wasn't impressed with what I've heard from them in the past, but I was hoping to enjoy them, if for no other reason than to root for the home team. I found them almost painful to listen to, as nothing seemed to flow together, making everything sound awkward. None of the members seemed to be on the same page (songwriting wise-these guys are decent at their instruments), which made them sound like a mess. The hometown crowd absolutely loved them, as they constantly were getting huge reactions to their songs.

The crowd was super excited to see Yellowcard take the stage, at least for Providence, who rarely seem to get excited for bands. Singer Ryan Key had to comment that the Boston crowd the night before wasmuch rowdier, going as far as wondering if the crowd were given downers as they walked in the door. Yellowcard played a pretty energetic set, a good mix of songs from their major label releases. The crowd would jump and sing along, as their energy level rose slightly. The new songs sounded really good, especially "5 becomes 4" (my favorite from Paper Walls), and I really liked the acoustic songs that they played, both pretty sad songs. I was very impressed with their drummer (a monster on nthe live kit) and violinist Sean Mackey's voilin, which was really small and looked like a petrified cat (he had a normal one too).

I only stayed for about five songs from Sum 41, due to my putting getting sleep over being entertained. They took the stage to huge applause and kept the crowd pretty active and excited the whole time I was there. Some of their banter seemed a little staged, though I was impressed with their letting two fans watch the show from the stage.

Watching them live made me realize that they are the exact mix of Blink 182 and Green Day. Singer Deryck Whibley even took the stage wearing a black shirt with a red armband, similar to Billie Joe Armstrong during the American Idiot promotions. I did like the songs I heard, as they had a lot of energy live, while still sounding pretty similar to their recorded material. I would have liked to had stay for their whole set, but 5:30 a.m. comes really early.

Written by: RF
BACK