Fortunately, or unfortunately, Break the Silence was scheduled to open, and I missed them. I'm sure you can comment tell me how much they suck or rock, regardless of whether you've heard them before or not.

Jericho was up next, and I'd hesitantly describe them as a cross between Dillinger Four and Avail. Mix the instrumentals of the former (maybe with a little less talent), and the overall feeling of the latter and you've got Jericho. The 200 crowd didn't seem all that receptive, but it was their first time in Chicago, according to the band. Still, they put on a good show, and if they roll around your town as support, they're worth going early for.

Only Crime was the question mark of the night, at least coming into it. What would they be like? More or less knowing only "Doomsday Breach," would their set be as good?

Only Crime was pretty sick, and only knowing "Doomsday Breach" was defintely a drawback. Another drawback is that really, no one else knew the songs either, so parts that were obviously meant to be shouted out by the front three rows and parts where the crowd was supposed to get into Mr. Rankin's face were devoid of those elements, imparing the set greatly. However, all of the guitarists played with admirable skill, and quite a bit of passion. I couldn't tell if they missed notes, I don't know the songs.

Without taking shots at any group, the plain truth is its nice to see an angry punk rock band with no gimmicks, and Only Crime is talented enough to pull it off. It's obviously something the group members care about and not a quick cash in. Semantics aside, it was a good, energetic set, and if you like Only Crime, you should see them live.

Avail, you really shouldn't have to ask about. Of course it was fun, of course it was energetic, of course it was endearing, and of course it ended to soon (too soon being any time at all). Tim had a bad back, but it didn't show at all onstage, everyone (both on stage and off) was in the air, rocking out, having a good time, moshing, and enjoying themselves. It was a raucous ball of energy from start ("South Bound 95") to finish (dunno).

Between songs, Tim spoke about how he "didn't want to get all emo and Dashboard Confessional (truthfully, he couldn't pronounce DC, but it made the rest of the statement all the more endearing) but It means a lot to us that you guys come out. We don't know if we're going to get five people at our shows, but even if we are, we're going to keep doing it till you guys get burned out on us." It's not an exact quote, but it's using as many of his words as I can remember.

It's really a testament to Avail's presence that all I can remember is simply having fun, putting up the horns, screaming out the songs I knew and getting into the ones I didn't. In short, Avail is simply fun live, if you ever need a pick me up, and really, even if you don't, just go see Avail.

Only Crime MP3s
Tenebrae

Avail MP3s
Black and Red
C. Days