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Comeback Kid, Terror, Modern Life Is War
Swayze's, Marietta, GA
5/25/2005
Reviewer: Drew Walton
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This show's lineup was originally expected to feature That Was Then, This Is Hell, Sinai Beach, Modern Life Is War, Terror, and Comeback Kid. After the show got going, it was announced that This Is Hell and Sinai Beach would not be playing. It sounds cynical, but I was a tad relieved that Sinai Beach wasn't going to play. I was looking forward to hearing This Is Hell, as I keep hearing good things about them, but it didn't happen. I'll have to check them out elsewhere.
First up was That Was Then. That Was Then is a local band out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. They played an upbeat brand of straightforward hardcore. The band tore through their set, breaking between each song to explain the meaning behind the lyrics. I thought the explanations were cool because the band didn't come off as preachy, and kept the talking very minimal. All in all, That Was Then was a good band, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason. They ended their set with a cover of "No Friend of Mine" by Slapshot.
Due to the bands that dropped out, Modern Life Is War were up next. I was excited to see them since I love the mp3 they put up off the new album and hadn't really heard their old stuff. Upon taking the stage, the singer thanked That Was Then for opening things up, thanked the club owner, and welcomed the crowd. The band tore through several old songs, pleasing much of the crowd who were up front and singing along. After many old favorites off of their Martyr Records debut, My Love My Way, the band went right into "D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S." and another new song or two off of their upcoming Deathwish Inc. release, Witness. The band plays a progressive brand of hardcore that translated very well live. I'd like to say that the bassist of Modern Life Is War was more into playing music than anybody I've seen. Even between songs, he kept rocking back and forth in anticipation of playing the next song. Great band, great set.
After Modern Life Is War's set, we hit the merchandise tables. Since I recently came into a nice chunk of change (thank you, graduation), I had plenty of money to spend. I scored a ton of merchandise from Modern Life Is War, Terror, and Comeback Kid. I got a sweet Comeback Kid shirt, a Terror hoodie, Terror mesh shorts (SCORE!), the old Terror EP, and a Modern Life Is War shirt. I completely forgot to pick up Modern Life Is War's debut CD, but I think I got enough other stuff to hold me down.
After hitting the parking lot to stash our recent purchases, we stepped back inside to see Terror taking the stage. We grabbed a spot on the floor and watched the mayhem begin. The band ripped through a mix of songs from their latest album, One With The Underdogs and their debut EP, Lowest of The Low. Throughout their set, the P.A. was having problems and Scott's vocals kept cutting out. He was getting visibly pissed and announced that they were playing their last song. The crowd responded negatively to that, since the band hadn't played much. In response to the crowd, Scott Vogel replied, "What? What the fuck do you want from us?" The P.A. got fixed and the band finished their set. While watching Terror, I got hit in the face with a drumstick by a drunk dancer, got in on some chants and pile-ons, and enjoyed hearing some good hardcore songs.
Next up were the Canadian boys in Comeback Kid. After setting up and tuning up, guitarist Andrew talked a bit about the recent loss of Brandie Bailey, sister of Figure Four bassist Bailey. He announced they were taking up donations and that they missed her and dedicated the set to her. After a brief pause, the band tore right into the Wake The Dead album opener, "False Idols Fall." I'm pretty sure they alternated between Wake The Dead and Turn It Around songs, but I'm not positive. They played all the favorites: "Die Tonight," "Lorelei," "Talk Is Cheap," and "Wake The Dead." The stage erupted during "Wake The Dead," as expected. My goal for the Comeback Kid set was to be on stage and on top of the crowd as much as possible. I was probably in Andrew's face more than anything, but he didn't seem to mind. The band ended a great set with a cover of 7 Seconds' "Young ‘Til I Die" in response to chants from the crowd of "Encore!" and "One more!"
After the Comeback Kid set, I talked to the singer and guitarist and they were awesome guys. Every band had the utmost respect and they all thanked the club, club owners, the fans, etc. I talked to a lot of them and they made it a truly amazing experience.
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