By Jennifer Russo

In most multi-band concerts, it takes a few bands to get the crowd really motivated. They’ll usually bob their heads a bit or use the time to grab a beer, but this crowd hit the ground with their horns up and the pit started from the very first song.  Blame it on massive amounts of energy drinks, but they definitely came ready to get their rock on.  The singer from the first band, War of Ages, jumps onto the barrier as security grabs the back of his jeans to keep him from falling into the crowd of hungry moshers. The rest of the band throws water bottles and their new CD Eternal.

There are memorable moments from each of the bands including the Cancer Bats who question, “We know everyone’s wondering, “Who the fu** are these Canadian a**holes?” just before they cover the Beastie Boys’ song “Sabotage.”  The Architects follow, generating a great audience response with high energy and boyish good looks. Between the Buried and Me pairs beautiful guitar harmonies with a strong vocalist who also plays the keys for some songs.

Local boys Acacia Strain intro as someone’s bra makes its way to the stage and the singer promptly throws it right back into the pit. Excited about their CD release that day, they encourage everyone to raise a choice finger and join in the chant “Fu** the world!” as a stand against anyone telling them what to believe.  According to them, “Believe in God, the devil, or the fu**ing spaghetti monster from outer space, it’s your choice.”

Bless the Fall is encouraged to hurry their sound check by a clapping crowd. Beau Bokan tells the crowd that “If someone next to you is standing still, make them move,” which may have inspired the continuing energy flow, or perhaps it was the Starbucks sticker on the guitar. Impressively, the singer comes out to the merch booth after the set for autographs and photos, making everything that much more personal.

Underoath gives the audience a little of the old and of the new, sharing his first lobster roll experience and letting the crowd know they can believe whatever they want, but that they are there in the name of Jesus.  They play a new song from their album set for October release and it’s action-packed, like a movie scene where cars crash and blow up.

Before the show, I had the opportunity to speak with Josh Gilbert, As I Lay Dying’s bassist, about their new CD, The Powerless Rise.  According to him, the album’s theme is based on the first song. “We are the richest nation in the world and yet have the highest suicide rate per capita because we are so consumed by petty problems. We worry about our credit report dropping 20 points, not having that awesome car, or cell phone overages. It’s just so dumb.  There are so many out there with much bigger problems.”   Sometimes called a Christian band, Josh mentions about As I Lay Dying that “…usually we just perform in a way makes us accessible to people who do and don’t share our beliefs. We just want to play sweet metal songs while keeping our perspective.”  We have much more in store from this band since they pared over 40 songs down to the finished album and are keeping the others for future use.  At the show, the band drops their banner backdrop and the entire crowd begins to cheer. The guitar is technical and intricate, the entire band is all over the stage with no set marks, and each of their songs is heard almost in stereo with the crowd singing along to every line.

Add to this scene the photographers all standing inside the barrier clamoring to get that “one of a kind” shot and the crowd surfers who take their righteous waves in towards the stage. A gigantic swarm almost overwhelms security and one unlucky guard gets elbowed in the lip. After some ice he gets right back up and starts catching the sweaty daredevils.  Just another reason, along with its music-themed paintings sprawled out on the dimly lit walls, the faint smell of the beer that seeped into the floor from the last show and the spray-painted heart logos on the trashcans, that the House of Blues may be the coolest place to have the Cool Tour.