Chevelle, 30 Seconds to Mars & Pulse Ultra

Hearing some bands play live is like meeting the airbrushed supermodel. The model leaves you wondering why you never noticed those half-inch chin whiskers in her photos, and the band leaves you wondering why you didn’t notice that you hate their music from their CD. I was really hoping that such would not be the case with Chevelle, whose latest album, Wonder What’s Next, had been spending a considerable amount of time in my CD player in the weeks preceding the show. Before I could figure it out, however, I had to listen to a couple of opening bands.
Now, in case you don’t know, opening bands are designed to counteract the "airbrushed supermodel" effect and make the headliners look good by way of a very complicated, technical process called sucking ass. For some reason though, the first band on the bill, Pulse Ultra, chose not to employ this technique. With double-kick driven rhythms, gritty guitars and consistently strong vocals from their talented singer, they kept the sea of heads around me bobbing happily through every song. After a very energetic set, during which I don’t think their bass player stopped moving for more than a few seconds, Pulse Ultra invited everyone in the room to come and talk to them at the merch table while the stage was being set for the next band. Many of the bobbing heads were happy to do so.
By the time 30 Seconds to Mars took the stage, the venue was starting to get really packed — mostly with teenage non-conformist types (who were all coincidentally wearing the exact same studded belt and black Converse shoes). Though the crowd was still responsive, the connection didn’t seem to be as strong. Still, 30 Seconds to Mars was able to keep the energy up with their particular brand of heavy rock (which almost had an ‘80s metal feel to it, due in no small part to the singer’s vocals). One particularly humorous moment in their show involved the singer asking, "How many of you want to go to war?" Unsure of the response they were supposed to give, some people cheered. "How many of you don’t?" the singer asked more emphatically. That time, they realized what opinion they were supposed to have and cheered much louder. Stupid sheep.
After 30 Seconds to Mars closed their set, there was particularly long intermission, which allowed The Boardwalk to cram in enough people to triple its normal capacity. Every last one of them got their money’s worth. When Chevelle finally did come out, they destroyed all expectations. With affective vocals set against a backdrop of crushing guitars and intelligent timings (you’ve got to respect a rock band that can write in triple meter), they kept the crowd absolutely captivated the entire night. Highlights included just about every song they played, but among the most impressive were "Closure," "Send the Pain Below" and their current hit single, "The Red." Simply put, Chevelle’s live show was nothing short of incredible — there wasn’t a single half-inch chin whisker to be found.

– Dana Hocking
– Photo by Laura Dutro

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