Showbread, theStart, The Goodwill & The Art of Safe Cracking

With every news channel on the dial broadcasting the passing of Pope John Paul II, it was only fitting that Saturday’s pleasantly baffling bill of muppet-headed rock outfits was headlined by neo-screamo outfit Showbread, who took time between blasting the assembled audience with their well choreographed spazz-rock to inform the crowd that they were “up here for only one reason: the love of Jesus Christ.” This statement was greeted by the most raucous applause of the evening, uniting the seemingly disparate audience of emos, curious onlookers, high school girls, mall goths, wandering spirits and meatheads into a unified front of god-fearing, wholesome youths. I guess being down with The King is all the rage these days.
The Art of Safe Cracking kicked things off with a heartfelt but unspectacular set of rock songs. The LA-based band certainly had energy in spades, with their wiry frontman ending the set by jumping out into the crowd in a futile attempt to get people excited. Most just looked on in silent indifference as the band wrapped things up and exited the stage in favor of The Goodwill.
With the show being a primarily youthful affair, the available refreshments were not exactly anything to get a man going on a cold night. Thus, the entirety of The Goodwill’s set took place within the time it took to walk across the Downtown Park Plaza, get a few shots of warm sake, and walk back. Inquiries revealed that not much was missed.
Fortunately, long running nü-wavers theStart finally got shit going. Featuring a constantly rotating cast of backup players grinding out metallic but danceable riffs behind frontwoman and former Human Waste Project vocalist Aimee Echo, theStart have been around since most of the bands on the scene were playing Green Day covers in high school garage bands. With their latest album on Nitro Records, the band seems to have gained even more of a following, as evidenced by the small but vocal clutch of fans frantically singing along. TheStart are nothing if not slickly professional, and their anthemic, well-honed rock sound made the most of The Senator’s ample speaker system and cathedral-like confines.
The night’s final act, Tooth and Nail Records’ Showbread, were a sight to be seen. Seven-strong — two vocalists, two guitarists, a keyboard player, a bassist and a drummer — the band were dressed in vaguely uniform-y black garb and had a decidedly sinister aspect. And their music was similarly nefarious: the two vocalists traded shrieks while the dual guitars ground out music that one could lazily place in one or another brand of “core.” The drummer especially was a showman: twirling sticks like a marching band leader and tearing into his bare bones drum kit like the Matt Sorum of screamo. Though the band’s music was of a similarly brutal dance-y variety as their predecessors, it was far less accessible melodically, and prone to fits of spastic shifting. But it amazingly coalesced rather well, and even before the aforementioned statement of theological inspiration, it was more than evident that most of the crowd had come on this night to witness Showbread, and that they did not disappoint.
– Words and Photos by Daniel Taylor

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