When one of the best bills I've seen in a while was announced, I wasn't planning on missing it, regardless of the towering venue size Terminal 5 encompasses. Hot Water Music was set to co-headline with Thursday and openers Paint It Black, making for a show where having to sit through mediocre acts was not a worry at all -- plus, after all, I'd get to see another of HWM's sporadic reunion sets. Even if I was missing out on Circle Jerks / Dillinger Four and Alkaline Trio / Bayside / American Steel (both taking place in the same borough that night!), I still believe I made the best choice.
However, that large divide the barricade caused definitely took a bit from Paint It Black's set. "This barrier makes me want to kill myself," observed Dan Yemin from the unreachable stage. Yemin tried to fill the gap by often coming to the metal gate and leaning over it, mic outstretched and watching the pile-ons build in front of him. The complete lack of swarming and stage dives was a little off-putting, after all. The only other time I'd seen the band in a place so big was the Giants Stadium parking lot during Bamboozle 2006. Regarding stage banter, Yemin shit-talked AP a bit and elaborated on the political/personal overtones on certain songs but gave amusingly blunt answers for others ("CVA": "This song is about dying."). Still, dude was the gorilla he always is, limbs swinging from left to right and putting on a show while Andy Nelson and Josh Agran jumped around sufficiently. Even in 3000-cap places with two balconies, PIB manages to bring it -- to a certain extent.
Set list (mostly accurate -- may be missing a song or two towards end) (7:30-7:59):
- Past Tense, Future Perfect
- Pink Slip
- Womb Envy
----- - CVA
- Dead Precedents
----- - The Ledge
- Ghosts
- Atheists in Foxholes
----- - So Much for Honour Among Thieves
- Void (?)
- Cannibal
- White Kids Dying of Hunger
----- - We Will Not (?)
- Memorial Day
- Atticus Finch
However, the highlight (for some, at least) may have been the new song played. "In Silence" (someone else noted it was actually "In Solace"; not quite sure who's right) came from the band's upcoming split LP with Envy, and was actually a budding, well-done instrumental song that built quickly to an effective climax, á la Mogwai / Explosions in the Sky. It sure makes sense for the LP, considering the last full-length from Envy.
Set list (8:19-9:20):
- For the Workforce, Drowning
- Between Rupture and Rapture
----- - Dead Songs
----- - Paris in Flames
- The Other Side of the Crash / Over and Out (Of Control)
----- - Understanding in a Car Crash
- Signals Over the Air
----- - Sugar in the Sacrament
----- - At This Velocity
- Division St.
----- - In Silence (new)
----- - Jet Black New Year
----- - Tomorrow I'll Be You
----- - Autobiography of a Nation
And hey, the set list wasn't half-bad. They played just about all their "singles," inspiring shout-alongs from everyone. Ragan and Wollard sounded great playing off each other, and the middle of the set found the band simply rolling through without hesitation. They played the songs tightly (from the incredible "Trusty Chords" to the bass plucks of "Moonpies for Misfits") and seemed to have a good time themselves, as they've attested in multiple interviews and as they did on stage that night.
Set list (mostly accurate) (9:45-10:47):
- Remedy
- ?
- Rooftops
----- - Trusty Chords
- ?
- ?
- Paper Thin
- Jack of All Trades
- It's Hard to Know
- All Heads Down
- Moonpies for Misfits
- Wayfarer
----- - A Flight and a Crash
- Giver
----- - ?
Encore: - The Sense
- At the End of a Gun
----- - Turnstile