Alkaline Trio
6 out of 10 - Good Band, Bad show day.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
House of Blues Sunset
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Alkaline Trio/One Man Army/ The Start/ Paris, Texas
We showed up late so we missed Paris, Texas apparently from Wisconsin or somewhere not involved with Paris or Texas. But the chicks dig um.
The Start. My first thought was the original NO Doubt from the 80’s. Chunky fat beats with this blond front woman that wouldn’t stop moving and sing her guts out. Then they ended with “Love In a Void” originally by Siouxsie and the Banshees and it all made sense. Be on the look out for this band.
One Man Army from San Francisco were very generous and polite boys. They were like a 2nd generation Rancid meets the Clash and the Who. They introduced their guitar player as Bill from Gainesville, Florida, which meant nothing to me but might mean something to you. The lead singer looks like Bruce Lee meets Bruce Springsteen and can belt it out super loud. They had lots of ‘Oi’.
Black and Blue and Red all over. This seems to be Alkaline Trio’s motto. Matt Skiba the lean singer/guitar player wore all black with green converse. He reminded me of Jack Skellington, as did the entire stage set. The backdrop was of headstones in a cemetery and from directly in front of the stage each member lined up perfectly with their own headstone, very effective.
The problem I have with these guys is that they seem like they are going in a goth direction, with the look, stage set, and the lyrics but the music really stays set in the pop punk genre. With song like “Good Mourning” and “All on Black” it creates a very dark mood. Dan Andriano, the bass player and co-singer was also in black all this setting the dark mood for the show. But the show was anything but dark. Although the songs are bleak, melancholy, writings, the music is poppy and upbeat. It creates a false sense and I am not sure most of the crowd understands the depth of what the band is doing. But the crowd loved it and they screamed for more at every break, even when the songs weren’t over. They were crowd surfing and moshing to the slow and the fast songs. It was such a sing-a-long that I felt as if I was at a Depeche show. Although the Trio is more poppy and guitar riff oriented I sensed the same devotion as the Depeche fans. I guess it could be closest to the Cure without the same social impact or songs for that matter.
The factor that sets Alkaline Trio apart from the rest is that Matt and Dan both sing. And they do it very well it is almost like two different bands meshed together as one because each has such a distinctive voice. The songs are well written and each sings to their ability without trying to over do it. The live performance is energetic and inviting for all.
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