Alkaline Trio, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Pitch Black & Avoid One Thing

I’ve tried to see Alkaline Trio in concert three times in San Francisco and either tickets were sold out, Matt Skiba had problems with his vocal cords or some other bullshit. So I finally saw them play at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida.
The great thing about the House of Blues is that anywhere you stand or sit, you can see the stage perfectly, even if the place is packed with over 500 people.
Avoid One Thing played first, but I missed them because I was driving around trying to find the venue. I arrived just in time for Pitch Black. Pitch Black is emo-hardcore; there was lots of screaming but they had a keyboard and a tambourine, also. When Kevin Cross and Martin Munroe screamed together, it sounded like a perfect melody.
Pretty Girls Make Graves came on stage next, and I was surprised by how they sounded. I had the impression from listening to their album that they were more indie punk, but live, they sounded pop-punk. Lead singer Andrea Zollo looked and sounded just like Kelly Osbourne. Bassist Derek Fudesco belted out the vocals for a song, but he wasn’t near the mic, so no one could hear him. They played the only song I knew called “Sad Girls Por Vida” and it sounded okay, but a lot better on their CD. The audience didn’t seem into them — everyone around me was talking throughout their set and a mosh pit never got started.
Everyone was anxiously waiting to see Alkaline Trio. The background banner was the cover to their new CD, Good Mourning, and funeral music was heard before Alkaline Trio took stage. Decked out in their trademark ensemble of black collared shirts and black pants, they burst into a song off the new CD. They integrated new and old songs into their set and when Skiba asked what the audience wanted to hear, people yelled “Old!” The band played “Cringe” and “Enjoy Your Day” from Goddamit, and they dedicated a song to their best friend and bus driver Jeremy Clark, who turned 23 that day. He came on stage and sang “Nose Over Tail” as he played air guitar and air drums, bouncing around on stage. After the song, he kissed and hugged the band members. They also played “Private Eye” from Here to Infirmary, my favorite song.
Alkaline Trio encored with three old songs, ending with “Clavicle.” Although Skiba’s vocals could barely be heard, the crowd belted the lyrics so loud the songs were still understandable. The band drank beer during songs and threw out guitar picks consistently into the crowd. Skiba left the crowd with this piece of advice: “Two things I want to tell you guys. Number 1: Don’t watch The Italian Job; it’s fucking terrible. Number 2: Don’t eat the popcorn at the AMC Theatre; you’ll get food poisoning.”

– Kayla Anderson

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