Showoff/Allister/August Premier

live in Chicago (2002)

woody

I saw the Showoff/Allister/August Premier/504plan at the Metro in Chicago, Illinois. This is the first show I've been looking forward to since Thursday a few months back. All the bands except for 504plan announced they were breaking up within the last two weeks or so.

The first band I saw was August Premier. I've had demos of their album since about November of last year I was pretty pumped to see them because I liked the album. However, I was completely disappointed, they were drunk as hell and when they weren't messing up their songs the bassist opted to ask the band repeatedly if they should break up or not. After about 40 min. they ended and the once excited crowd now could look forward to two steady performers.

Allister came out next and played a lot of hits off "Dead Ends and Girlfriends," some new stuff, and "Somewhere Down in Fullerton," which is on the Drive Thru comp. A notable song was about the radio, which will be on their next album. It was a great song and the crowd seemed pretty into it. Chris from August Premier who is going to be John's replacement filled in for John on the last song and John sang "Jacob." it would probably be the highlight of the night. If anyone in the crowd didn't know Allister they certainly did now.

Last up was Showoff, I hadn't seen them for about a year since they played with Juliana Theory. They hadn't come out with any official material but I heard some new stuff here and there. The most memorable song of the night was an acoustic rendition of "Unspoken Words" by Chris Envy. The few people in the crowd over the age of about 16 sang along since they had seen Showoff before, myself included. The set concluded with a few members of each band on the stage, Showoff talked about the time they put in and that they were breaking up (a topic all too familiar at the Metro tonight) and then headed off the stage.

All in all I'd say the top band of the night was Allister, their high energy and accuracy was great and it looked like they aimed to please. August Premier was a disappointment and Showoff was stellar as always. The crowd sucked and the show would've been a lot better if the average age wasn't about 14 years old but that seems to be a growing trend in pop-punk. It was sad to see three of Chicago's better bands leave the stage together for the last time. And if anyone in August Premier reads this…lay off the alcohol whenever you perform in the future.