Face to Face, Sum 41 & Saves the Day

I was really apprehensive about this show. I've been a fan of Face to Face forever, but never seen them live. I wasn’t familiar with either of the opening bands, I knew they were young, but that's it. I was also pretty broke and couldn’t afford to get drunk, that can always be a problem. There were tons of people and I don’t really like people if I haven’t been drinking. I was glad to see a lot of people I knew so I spent what I had on beer and tried to relax.

I think Sum 41might be as young as the guys from Old Skull. Hanson goes pop punk. These kids rock. I don’t like the style but if they are this tight at 16 they will probably stick around. They sound like a speeded up Blink, I guess that's what the kids like these days. They played a few Iron Maiden licks between songs and an amusing cover of "Tricky." If nothing else they were amusing. They must have rich parents, most kids can’t afford Marshalls and Gibsons. Their synchronized stage movements were hilarious, it was very reminiscent of Warrant. They kept the whole crowd entertained. They played a pretty long set for an opening band, I wonder what it’s like to tour with guys as old as your dad. And, to spend that much time in bars without drinking. Saves the Day was on the stage next after a short wait. I have never heard of these guys but I was told they’ve played with H2O. They have their own sound, a little hard to describe; fast, poppy, but not sickly sweet. According to Gerardo of Union of the Dead, the singer has a little bit of a Robert Smith thing going on. I liked them. They’re a five piece with a pretty solid sound. One of the guitarists had a sick gold top Les Paul. Where are these young guys getting all of this expensive gear? If you missed them this time you should definitely lookout for them.

Minus one guitarist, Face to Face was up next. They sounded good even as a three piece. Singer Trever Keith looked like a taller, well-fed Mike Ness. They played a long set with an encore including songs from the self-titled album, Big Choice and the new one. They were really tight, I should have seen them sooner. The crowd was moving upstairs and down. The kids were covered with sweat and the older folks were covered with beer. I haven’t seen the Brickworks so full for a rock show in a while, I hope this is the beginning of a trend.

I’m glad to see so many good bands coming to town lately. This tour seems to have a really strange lineup, Face to Face has a much older following than these younger bands, but it appears to be working out well. and I'll bet there raking in the cash. I hope Face to Face comes back when they locate their guitarist.

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