Alkaline Trio and An Horse Live in Providence

Alkaline Trio
An Horse
Lupo’s, Providence RI
April 28th, 2011

Much like my last review, this one will cover some familiar territory. Alkaline Trio is one of my all time favorites, and I’ve seen them plenty of times. They usually do a great job of switching up their set lists to appease long time fans, so I’ve been lucky to hear them play a number of deep cuts and rarities from their back catalog. I was hoping for this type of performance from their show in Providence on April 28th, and for the most part, I got my wish.

Ok, so that first paragraph probably didn’t seem very enthusiastic, but don’t worry, the enthusiasm is on the way. Right after I describe the opening set from An Horse. The Australian duo, who have generated quite a bit of buzz recently, performed a bland set in front of about 100 people. It might have been the early start, or it might have been the empty building, but the band did little to involve the crowd and seemed to mail it in right from the start. That’s not to say they don’t have a number of good songs across their two records or that I don’t think they could be a very entertaining live band, but tonight wasn’t their night.

Next up, of course was Alkaline Trio. They took the stage…. like they had been there before? Not sure what the proper analogy would be here, but they normally aren’t ones to make a grand entrance. Instead, they sauntered down the stairs from the dressing room and took their time getting set before opening with “Private Eye.” Through all the shows I’ve been to, I’ve realized that it’s never a bad idea to open with a track that also serves as the opener to one of your most popular records.

From here on out, they bounced between well known crowd favorites and rarely played songs from the past. In what was a surprising and very well received move, the band focused on 2000′s Maybe I’ll Catch Fire. The album features “Radio,” which the band uses to close nearly every one of their headlining shows. Beyond this track, I don’t believe I had ever heard them play a single song from the record. On this night, they played four of them.

“She Took Him to the Lake,” “You’ve Got So Far to Go” and “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire” might not pack the same punch as “Radio” (what song does?), but the crowd still ate them up. Aside from the set list, the attribute that made this show different, and dear I say, special, was the crowd. Alkaline Trio crowds are always very enthusiastic. That enthusiasm can even border on violent at times. This crowd however, would best be described as euphoric. It was like everyone involved just experienced the worst day of their lives and were doing everything in their power to sing, dance, and sweat it all away. If that was actually the case, then mission accomplished.

Two other highlights of the set from my point of view were “This Addiction” and “We’ve Had Enough.” The former was the lead single from the band’s latest release and pretty much embodies everything I like about Akaline Trio. “We’ve Had Enough” meanwhile, was the undeniably catchy lead single from 2003′s Good Mourning, which for reason doesn’t make it onto many Trio setlists.

As always, the band triumphantly closed the set with a giant “This Could Be Love” sing along, followed by the “Radio” encore. It capped another great Trio set that once again satisfied both long time fans and newcomers. The only thing that could make their legions of fans happier would be to do the type of career spanning shows that a number of other punk bands have recently announced. Imagine Alkaline Trio playing each of their records in their entirety across three or four nights? Sounds like a can’t-miss proposition to me.

Edit this setlist | More Alkaline Trio setlists

Alkaline Trio Returns Brings “This Addiction” Tour to Providence

Alkaline Trio’s “This Addiction” Tour
Lupo’s, Providence RI
March 14th 2010

While Alkaline Trio’s most recent releases haven’t contained many surprises, the same can’t be said of their lives shows. Each of the five times I’ve seen the band, they’ve busted out a track or two that no one in the crowd saw coming, whether it be a b-side like “Queen of Pain” or an older gem like “Cooking Wine.” Needless to say, I was excited to see what type of curve balls they would throw into the set on their “This Addiction” tour. While the band chose a set list that was more predictable than in the past, the night wasn’t without its surprises.

The show began with a set from the Dear and Departed, a set which we missed the majority of. The wait between the openers was very short, as Omaha cult-favorites Cursive took the stage after only fifteen minutes. The band put in an effort that was at times sloppy, but also energetic and entertaining. There was virtually no banter between tracks, as Kim Kasher and Co. ripped through song after song. The set list focused mainly of the band’s last three albums, with  Ugly Organ fare receiving the strongest reaction from the rather small contingent of Cursive fans in the crowd.

While the band had been joined on past headlining tours by a full brass section, that wasn’t the case on this tour. The difference was at least somewhat noticeable, especially on older tracks.  Songs from the band’s most recent album Momma, I’m Swollen such as “I Couldn’t Love You” and “From the Hips” were the highlights of the set, at least from where I was standing.

After agonizingly long wait in between bands (40 minutes to be exact), Alkaline Trio took the stage. They kicked off the show with This Addiction, the title track from their latest album. While the record has only been out a few weeks,  it still received quite a reaction from the Providence crowd.

More familiar tracks such as “Armageddon” and “We’ve Had Enough” drove the crowd insane… literally. Rarely, if ever, have I been part of such a spastic group of fans. If they weren’t violently flailing in the pit attempting to hit as many people as possible, they were shoving everyone in sight in a lame attempt to get back at whoever had bumped into them. It was obnoxious, to say the least.

Dealing with the crowd certainly did take away from the show, but the band sounded better than ever. The usually suspect vocals of Dan Adriano were surprisingly clear on tracks such as “Crawl,”  and This Addiction standout “Dine, Dine My Darling.” Guitarist Matt Skiba was solid as always, especially on the new track “Dead on the Floor”

While Alkaline Trio has specialized in set list surprises of late, the band played it conservative on this night, highlighting This Addiction material and focusing on past hits. The encore featured a little bit of both, with Adriano shining on “Fine” and the crowd exploding for closing number “Radio.” Squeezed in between was Misfits cover “Attitude.”

All in all, the band put in a great effort, but a so-so set list and equally mediocre crowd stopped this from being as a truly great show. Hopefully, the band decides to switch it up a little more on their next tour, and the crowd remembers they’re at a show and not a street fight. If both of these things happen, it will make for a very memorable night. If not, it will still be worth the price of admission.

Alkaline Trio set list

This Addiction
Armageddon
Emma
Dine, Dine My Darling
We’ve Had Enough
Lead Poisoning
Mr. Chainsaw
Dead on the Floor
Fatally Yours
Crawl
Mercy Me
Goodbye Forever
In Vein
Continental
Blue Carolina
Sadie
Nose Over Tail
’97

Encore:
Fine
Attitude (Misfits cover)
Radio

Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day in Worcester

Alkaline Trio
Saves the Day
Nightmare of You
The Palladium, Worcester
May 2nd 2009

When you’ve seen a band enough times, you come to know what to expect from their live shows. You know the songs they’re definitely going to play, you know what the encore will be, and you know which songs everyone will sing along to the loudest. There’s nothing wrong with this, for if a band puts on a great show that the fans are happy with, why make any changes? This is what I expected from Alkaline Trio’s headlining show at the Palladium in Worcester on May 2nd. The show was my fifth time seeing the band in the past year, the first two being headlining shows, and the latter two supporting Rise Against. To my (very pleasant) surprises, the band did not follow the normal formula, instead playing a set that contained almost none of the songs I had heard them play in the past, perfectly mixing tracks both old and new.

The show began with a thirty minute set from Nightmare of You, a band that was once considered “the next big thing” after the release of their self-titled debut in 2005, but has done very little since that point. The group’s set list consisted mainly of tracks from that debut, along with a new cut from their second album, which is set to be released this July. The band’s performance was marred by the borderline awful sound at the Palladium, as Brandon Reilly’s smooth vocals were often drowned out by the drone of Brandon Meyer’s bass lines. The crowd, which was rather sparse at this point, was quite unenthusiastic with only a few in attendance bobbing their heads or showing any familiarity with the band.

Next was Saves the Day, a band that has maintained a rabid fan base despite the fact their last three records haven’t been all the successful. This was evident by the amount of fans who tried to squeeze their way to the stage after Nightmare of You’s set. I’ve seen Saves the Day a number of times over the past four years, and I hate to admit it, but this was certainly the worst performance I’ve witnessed from the band. While they sounded fine, the set list, and the length of the set itself, left most of the Saves the Day fans in the crowd very disappointed. For one, the band only played for about 40 minutes, and for fans that are accustomed to seeing Saves the Day play much longer headlining sets, this came as somewhat of a shock. Next, the band did include a few old favorites in the set list, but they were mixed in with too many new songs, which for the most part acted as crowd killers. While cuts like “Radio” and “Driving in the Dark” are fine songs, they certainly aren’t the band’s best work, and instead of sing-alongs, they elicited mainly blank stares. This is not to say there weren’t some high points, such as “Shoulder to the Wheel” and “Freakish,” but for the most part, they were too few and far between. Saves the Day made matters worse by closing the set with “Kaleidoscope,” a long and dull number off their latest album that completely drained the energy from the room.

Luckily, Alkaline Trio would take a completely different route during their set, playing older fan favorites that they had been neglecting on previous tours. After casually walking out on stage after an agonizing 35 minute wait, the band would greet the crowd and begin the set with “My Friend Peter,” a fan-favorite that instantly worked the audience into a frenzy. Next was “If We Never Go Inside.,” a track from 2003′s Good Mourning. This hinted at what was to come, for the band played more songs from this record than off any other albums, including last year’s Agony and Irony, which was only represented by 2 songs.

While Alkaline Trio fans seemed to have  mixed feelings towards Good Mourning, it was the album that introduced me to the band, so I was loving every minute of it. The band would also play “One Hundred Stories,” “Donor Party,” “Fatally Yours,” and “All on Black,” from this record, as well as “This Could Be Love” to close the set, and “Every Thug Needs a Lady” as the first song of the encore. Other old favorites included in the set were “Cringe,” the lone Goddamnit” song represented, “Cooking Wine,” and “I’m Dying Tomorrow,” all three of which received huge reactions from the crowd. While everyone seemed to enjoying themselves at the show, the crowd was certainly the tamest I had seen at an Alkaline Trio show, possibly the result of the more obscure set list that had some of the younger fans scratching their heads and waiting for more Agony and Irony tracks. The band however would only offer Calling “Calling All Skeletons” and “I Found Away,” from that record, ignoring lead single “Help Me,” and announcing about half way through the set they had parted ways with Epic Records.

The crowd seemed less than surprised by this news (the idea of Alkaline Trio on a major label was always somewhat odd), and the band debuted a new song for the first time. While the song sounded good, the band would apologize for the “B” effort. Lead singer Matt Skiba told the crowd they hoped to get in the studio this summer and then self-release a new album next fall. Throughout the set, Skiba and guitarist Dan Adriano were more talkative than I had seen them, and they both sounded great when actually performing their material. At one point, Skiba went off on a tangent about the greatness of 70′s rock band Grand Funk Railroad. While the band had looked slightly uncomfortable int heir opening role for Rise Against the last time I saw them live, they were certainly in their element tonight.

The band would close the show as they normally do, playing “This Could Be Love,” leaving the stage, and then returning for an encore that concluded with “Radio,” which of course inspired an enormous sing along. Overall, a show that got off to a disappointingly slow start turned out to be as memorable as any I’ve seen, thanks solely to the performance of Alkaline Trio, and band that knows exactly what their fans want and seems to deliver every single time.

Alkaline Trio Set List (Not in exact order)

My Friend Peter
If We Never Go Inside
Burn
Fatally Yours
I’m Dying Tomorrow
All On Black
I Found Away
Donner Party
Cooking Wine
Calling All Skeletons
Sadie
One Hundred Stories
The Poison
Cringe
This Could Be Love

Encore
Every Thug Needs a Lady
Radio

Saves the Day Set List (might not be exact)

Anywhere With You
Always Ten Feet Tall
Radio
Where Are You
Shoulder to the Wheel
Eulogy
Freakish
Can’t Stay the Same
Driving in the Dark
Head For the Hills
Rocks Tonic Juice Magic
Kaleidoscope

Nightmare of You Set List ( I think)

I Don’t Want to Dance Anymore
My Name Is Trouble
Amsterdam
The Days Go By Oh So Slow
I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard
Why Am I Always Right
Heaven Runs on Oil