Tuesday night in Detroit. Definitely time for some rock and roll. St. Andrews Hall is a pretty nice venue- and it was pretty damn packed for this show. I haven't been to a show that was this filled up in a long time. Anyway, here's my take on the bands:

First off was Fordirelifesake, a band native to Detroit. They were a last minute addition to the bill, so I think a lot of kids were surprised to see them there. At any rate, this was my second time seeing them, though I'm not all that familiar with them. If you don't know their sound, I'd describe it as really fast metallic hardcore with occasional singing, many breakdowns, etc. So they came on and rocked- tons of energy and the crowd got into it. I know that they opened with "We Burn in Our Own Comfort"- after that I was slightly lost but a great set nevertheless. 8/10

Next up was the Kinison, and the crowd, for the most part, hated them. Their music and stage presence was not winning over any hardcore fans. To their credit, they played through the middle finger signs and their singer had a lot of energy, so they get some points for that. However, their songs were just kind of boring, I was glad when they finally got off the stage. 4/10

After a quick set up, Murder by Death took the stage. This is another band that I'm not too familiar with, but I knew their style and I was worried that the crowd would not take well to them. However, the response was very positive, and I was completely won over by the end of their set, as well. Their music is hard to explain, but I can say that it involves a cello and a keyboard and evilness. A slight comparison could be made to Cursive, but the 2 bands take completely different roads with their music. Overall, Murder by Death kept the interest level high for the entire set, a thing that many bands are not capable of. Check this band out, seriously. 8.5/10

Next up was The Bled, the band that I was most excited to see. They came out and instantly the crowd was in a frenzy, with a few different mosh pits forming. They opened with "Spitshine Sonata", which got the kids singing. They tore through most of their full length with great precision, though the singer's voice seemed to be a little shot. By the end of the set I was feeling slightly beaten up, and they closed with the 1-2 punch of "Red Wedding" and finally "Dale Earnhardt's Seatbelt". This was really one of the best metalcore bands I've ever seen live; the breakdowns and sing-a-longs were just that much more exciting in person. Overall, I can only say that The Bled is fucking sweet. 9/10

After a nice short wait, the headliners, Poison the Well, took the stage, blasting into a track off of "You Come Before You". Immediately I could hear that something was not right with the sound. They weren't loud enough, first of all, but the vocals were too prevalent over everything else, as were the drums. The guitars did not feel punishing and loud and all those things that hardcore guitars should sound like. Also, most of the songs were from "You Come Before You", though they did throw in "Artists Rendering of Me" and "Botchla", among others. But much to the crowd's dismay, they closed with "Ghostchant" and didn't play "Nerdy". Their entire set left me wanting more, especially since I saw them on the Take Action tour this summer and that was a much better showing. Still, there were some good moments, and overall it was a positive, though somewhat flawed set. 7/10

Definitely go see this tour when it rolls through your skank ass town. I had a great time.