one hundred and twenty four

I'm way behind on the last three shows I've been to, so these reviews/summaries are probably going to be horrible due to my terrible memory.

Show 124 was the Ace Enders/Dangerous Summer/Gay Blades/Person L Barbecue Across American Tour and it was utterly wonderful. I ended up going alone but I saw a friend from school and one from Absolutepunk, so that was nice.

I'm not even sure I remember the correct order of the bands, but I want to think the Gay Blades played first. I'd seen them before and been impressed by their crazy energy and stage presence. The two-piece band is highly entertaining and their sets never contain a dull moment.

Person L was the band I was least excited for, but seeing them live made the music so much more enjoyable. Watching Kenny on stage is kind of incredible. It's musicians/performers like him that make me really love going to shows because there wasn't a single moment in his entire set in which he looked bored or even the least bit tired of playing. You could tell he absolutely LOVED every second of it, and that kind of passion makes every bad thing about shows completely worth dealing with.

I was really anxious to see The Dangerous Summer, possibly more than any other band on the roster that night, mostly because I'd never seen them before. Reach for the Sun has been in pretty regular rotation for me lately and hearing those songs live was pretty great.

As for the headlining set, there are hardly words to explain how wonderful Ace Enders is, live or otherwise. From what I hear, he's not a bad cook either. (I didn't eat at the barbecue.) He's another musician that always seems so genuine in everything he does. He and Sergio both have an insane amount of energy when they perform, too, and I love that they bring back old Early November songs. Off the top of my head I remember hearing "I Want to Hear You Sad," "Ever so Sweet," "Decoration," and "The Best Happiness Money Can Buy" from I Can Make a Mess.

Fantastic show overall. Anyone who misses this tour missed out on something great.

one hundred and twenty

March 25th at Chain. Versa Emerge, the Gay Blades, Ace Enders and Craig Owens.

Versa Emerge was pretty good, though nothing groundbreaking or awe-inspiring. Comparable to Paramore, not only because they had a female singer, but because of the style of music. To be honest, I haven't listened to them since the show, but I did like them. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing them again.

The Gay Blades on the other hand were very original and different and highly entertaining. I liked them A LOT. They were kinda funky at times, but every song literally sounded like a completely different style. They covered a Rage Against the Machines song and killed it. Most of the set was just two guys but they definitely never lost my interest.

Ace Enders was wonderful of course. He played his whole set acoustic and I don't think I saved the setlist, but I know he played "Reaction," "Bittersweet Symphony," "When I Hit the Ground," "Ready Ankles," two I Can Make a Mess songs, "I Want to Hear You Sad," "Ever So Sweet," and more. He is so ridiculously talented and it makes me happy I've been able to see him twice, though I never got to see his previous projects. He's a super nice guy too; we said hi to him outside the show and got a picture (ridiculously blurry because no one in the world knows how to use Ashley's camera properly). Great set from Ace, as always.

Craig Owens headlined and we only stayed for a few songs of his set, but it wasn't bad. The only song I really recognized was "Umbrellas and Elephants" from the Cinematic Sunrise record.