Hopesfall/The Beautiful Mistake/Blood Red/Brazil

live in Long Island (2003)

So Sports Plus is becoming the premier place to play on Long Island. It came out of nowhere right after Christmas when Brand New was booked there and packed out a 2200 person show. I guess promoters saw something good in the place, as it is now becoming the common place of huge shows on Long Island. From Taking Back Sunday to Hatebreed to From Autumn To Ashes to The Bouncing Souls to Goldfinger, Sports Plus singlehandedly robbed The Vanderbilt as the top spot to play on Long Island. No band is too big or too small to play Sports Plus, as there are varied different sized rooms scattered throughout the buliding to showcase the bands. Last night I headed into one of these smaller rooms for a fine night rock n' roll, courtesy of Trustkill golden-boys, Hopesfall.

Long Island's own Aeschylus opened up the night in a blast of pure energy. Most people will try to throw them into some category (-core), but I find it quite indescribeable. Singer/Screamer "Dancin" Dave was all over the place, his bursts of energetic rage like that of a child in despereate need of ritalin. Grinding and pounding guitars along with a thunderous rhythm section woke the crowd up almost immediately, and the kids seemed to love it, as they danced, took a break, and then danced some more on Dave's command. Great way to start off the show.

Brazil was up next. These guys were the biggest surprise of the night. I went in knowing nothing about them, beyond knowing their name, and by the end of the set I was wanting the cd very badly. Their music is very emotional, and it combines great elements of pop-punk, hardcore, 80's pop, and a Jane's Addiction-type of weirdness. These guys are playing the Asbury Skate And Surf Festival later this month, and if you will be attending, I suggest you check out Brazil.

Veterans Blood Red stepped up to the plate next. For those who don't know, Blood Red is made up of ex-members of Silent Majority and Tension. They play a heavy blend of punk and hardcore, but surprisingly enough, they couldn't get the crowd moving tonight. I suppose a lot of the younger kids who are digging the hardcore stuff around today can't get into the more old-school sounding stuff, but to each his own. Blood Red was killer as always, even if the kids weren't feeling them tonight.

Late arrivals The Beautiful Mistake played a short set next. They have a sound very similar to Thursday, with lots of screaming and lots of good singing. Give these guys a little time and they should get huge, as the sound seems to be very popular. After a quick 5 song set, The Beautiful Mistake took their leave, and Hopesfall began moving their equipment on stage.

"Hi, we're called Hopesfall" announced screamer Jay Forrest as Hopesfall took the stage, about a split second or two before they blasted into "Waitress." By this point the floor was already split from almost wall to wall and the kids were dancing it up and having the time of their lives. "April Left With Silence" and "Dana Walker" followed up next, and the end of the latter of the two songs had some nice mellow groovin' come out of the floor. The more melodic "Decoys Like Curves" was then played, but when some screaming kicked in, the kids on the floor followed suit, piling on to Mr. Forrest while the back-half of the floor kicked it back into high gear. Two six minute masterpieces were played to close out the show. "The Bending" brought about some of the more extreme dancing for the night, while "The End Of An Era" had the whole crowd screaming along in unison. A beautiful soft spacey melodic breakdown made up the middle part of the song which chilled everyone out for a bit, and the final parts of the show were made up of the beautiful sight of the entire crowd singing along to the "I Pray That You Find…" line that closed out the song.

It was a night of surprises to say the least. Brazil and The Beautiful Mistake both introduced me to some new sounds from different parts of the country, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Blood Red and Aeschylus brought about a fun time as always. Hopesfall totally carried out the night beautifully. A set of pure energy and passion which was echoed from the crowd from beginning to end. What's the moral of this story? Go see Hopesfall.