Further Seems Forever / Elliott / The Early November / Salem

live in Ft. Lauderdale (2003)

IlikeSKA

Dont you love the excitement you feel before going to a show? Well that was doubled for me as I was on my way to the Further Seems Forever record release party at The Factory in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm from Orlando, so going to a show somewhere other than the normal venues is exciting; espcially when it's a south Florida band playing in south Florida, there's that "hometown" excitement.

Starting out the show was Salem, a Gainesville band who I have seen before, and didn't find them amazing, but I didn't hate them either. The crowd didn't seem do into their performance, but the guys still put all their energy into their performance and musically were tight. Finally near the end of their set the crowd started to move around and started a weak pit, so everyone was waking up.

Next up was The Early November. I haven't heard anything about them before so I had no clue what to excpect. This 4-piece impressed me with their lyrics and strong sound, since I am not the best with words, I can say I wouldn't have to use to word "core" in describing them. A few songs started out soft and slow but I could tell they would start to rock out at any moment, which made me excited at the beginning of every song to see how it would progress. The lyrics I could decipher remind me of the most recent Saves the Day album. If I had more money on me I would have picked up their CD, it definitely would have been worth it.

Next was another band I have never heard of, Elliott. There were some people there that it seemed to be a religious expierence to see this band, but I have to say, I couldn't wait for their set to be over. Their songs were pretty slow (except for the Pixies cover they did, that was refreshing) and the sound was bad, which made the lead singer extremly pissed. So, basically if your into the "artsy," slow type of music, Elliott is for you.

Finally! Further Seems Forever come on. This show was to kick off their tour for their album "How to Start a Fire," so right before they came on you could see some of the band members pacing around the stage…probably nervous and excited. They started out with the title track to the new album and the second the first chord was played, people were stage diving and the moshing commenced. Most the songs they played were fast and melodic, but there were a few slower songs dedicated to girlfriends and wifes…*tear*….the band was making fun of each other for being emo…between song chatter I didnt mind because it was actually amusing. The whole had a great energy from both the band and the crowd, making it an extremely fun show. FSF played a good mix of new material (which most the kids were singing along to) and older songs.

It's hard to find another word for this show besides fun, good ol' show, good for the soul (well, besides Elliott). So, ending this I will say "go see the Further Seems Forever Show when it comes by you!"