Anberlin / mewithoutYou / Watashi Wa / Emery

live in Ft. Lauderdale (2004)

NationalHopeline

The night was already shady to begin with. For weeks now the South Florida kids had been anxious to find out if natives Further Seems Forever would be playing the first date, or any of the dates, for the Tooth and Nail Tour. The day of the cocnert I called up the Factory and they told us that after weeks of worrying we all were let down, Further Seems Forever had dropped off the bill. This lack of FSF seemed to lead to a substantially smaller crowd, but it didn't care, because I was there for mewithoutYou.

The night started with Emery opening up. With 6 members [singer, two guitars, bass, drums & keyboards] it semeed like they were trying to pull a Thursday from the beginning. Once they started playing I wasn't paying as much attention to the music as I was how many people they used to scream. There stage movements looked like that of a band who was playing its first show, ever, out of the garage. The only people who moved were the keyboardist [who just walked in circles clapping his hands] and the singer [who walked back and forth from the drums to the front of the stage, and back again.] The band didn't gain another fan in me, but I think the 10 stereyotypical screamo kids enjoyed the show. The one thing that made me go to the back of the audience and chat while they finished up was the abundance of screamers, there were 4 people screaming on stage, and it got a little bit too much. Pick a guy, and stick with him.

After Emery, Watashi Wa came on stage. I'm not goign to say a lot about them, because there isn't a lot to say. They came on stage and played infront of a crowd who defidently wasn't there to see them. At the beginning of the set they really charmed the crowd, and by charmed I mean turned away the crowd, when their lead singer let us all know that "We all hated Florida while coming down here." It was a real nice thing to say when your band is playing to backs of heads. The only part of their set that was remotely enjoyable was the "Message in a Bottle" cover they did. They only got off the stage once they let us know they "Liked Florida a lot more now." Though we all liked their band a lot less.

Finally, after suffering through two bands, we'd gotten to the real reason I'd been there, mewithoutYou. I squezzed my way up to the front of the crowd where on stage the band was ready. From the side of the stage walked a man who looked like he should be going to a boy scouts meeting instead of a rock concert. He walked up to the microphone, and like a child infront of the grand jury gave us a very shy "hello" to which the crowd screamed. The band started off with their single, "Bullet to binary." And in an instant the boy scout grew into a raging bull as he drabbed the microphone and yelled his lungs out. Accompanying his vocals were twirls and running around, it was a genuinly great performance. The band really stole the night away, and the most amusing parts were some of the talking in between the songs. A lot of people seemed confused at some of the songs, because the only time they'd heard of mewithoutYou is because their vocalist, Aaron, had been featured yelling in the Norma Jean song "Memphis will be laid to waste," off Bless the Martyr, and Kiss the Child. Their set consisted of about 75% new songs and only a few older ones, which was good because the new ones were damn good. I don't remember the order, but I know songs played icnlude Bullet to Binary, Gentlemen, Nine and Blue, Silencer, and Be Still, Child. The set was great and left the crowd looking for more.

To tell you the truth, the majority of the crowd dispersed after mewithoutYou, leaving just under half to see the now-clousers, Anberlin. In short format, they played a lot of songs off their latest album in the beginning before I ended up leaving to go talk to the guy from mewithoutYou.

Overall the show was decent. It was a pretty short show due to Further Seems Forever dropping off the bill, [between every band there was some anti-FSF chant going on somewhere. I guess the hometown crowd is the last crowd you want to piss off.] the highlight was mewithoutYou, the lowest part was Watashi Wa. If you get a chance, go to the Tooth and Nail tour. If not to see a band you like, then to get some good laughs.