Two shows going on tomorrow night will help with the back-to-school blues: The Dear Hunter at the Prophet Bar and Life On Repeat at Eisenberg's Skatepark.
The Dear Hunter is the brainchild of Casey Crescenzo, formerly of The Receiving End of Sirens. The band is touring behind The Color Spectrum, their latest release. Meanwhile, the young 'uns of Life On Repeat are touring in support of their debut LP, Struggle + Sleep.
Usually, we hear about first show experiences happening with titans like KISS or The Beach Boys. But that doesn't mean seeing smaller shows has a lesser impact.
Life On Repeat guitarist Andrew Baylis speaks highly of seeing Anberlin only a few years ago, and how it made it large impact on him and his bandmates. Casey Crescenzo, on the other hand, remembers playing Dallas for the first time -- and receiving puzzled looks.
We dig deeper into those experiences after the jump.
What was the first show you remember seeing? Were you with your parents?
Casey Crescenzo: The first show I remember seeing
was my parents playing together in a big warehouse when I was very
young. Details don't exist in my mind, but a youthful euphoria is
strongly attached to that memory.
Andrew Baylis: The first real show I saw was Anberlin
and Emery at Norva in Norfolk, Virgina. I had talked my youth pastor into
taking some of us and making it into a "youth event," meaning no parents! It
was my first time seeing these bands that I had listened to for years on
CD. I got to see how they moved to the music and how the crowd reacted. It was literally what made me want to get serious about music. It kind
of gave me a guide on how a band should look and sound live.
What was the first show you remember paying for?
Casey Crescenzo: The first show I remember paying for was a Joe Satriani concert when I was about 10.
Andrew Baylis: I drove to Virginia Beach with some
friends in high school to see As Cities Burn. It was a smaller venue
that was beyond sold out. It was probably 300 people over capacity, making it
one of the most intense shows I had ever been too. It completely changed
my idea of a live show. Until that point, I was only used to seeing
shows on big stages with strobes and laser lights and then, all of a sudden,
I'm at a show where these southern dudes were going nuts and stage
diving with no lights and no production at all. They still played
everything flawlessly while basically doing backflips the entire time. I
couldn't play a lead back then without standing totally still, so it
completely opened my eyes to high energy shows and performances.
Casey, what can you remember about your first show as The Dear Hunter?
Casey Crescenzo: I was incredibly nervous, but I remember the whole crowd was so kind and forgiving of my complete bewilderment.
Andrew, what was the worst show you've seen?
Andrew Baylis: The worst show I've ever seen was Sevendust and He Is Legend. The
tour was made up of all nu-metal bands playing before He Is Legend and
Sevendust. Pretty much every band on the bill was terrible, but I went
for the sole purpose of seeing He Is Legend. So when they finally went
on, I remember being really excited. They kicked off the first song,
which sounded amazing, but I quickly realized that I was pretty much the
only person that thought so. The rest of the crowd, primarily jock rock
kids, practically booed them off stage. They played pissed off for
about 20 minutes, didn't move around at all and then walked right off
stage. The crowd was throwing things on stage and it made me so pissed
that my 25 dollars went to watching my favorite band get their music
bashed and trampled on. The crowd completely ruined it for me.
Casey, what can you remember about your first show in Dallas?
Casey Crescenzo: I remember the crowd being confused and having a hard time deciding
how to react. Also, the backstage shower looked like a murder scene.
Andrew, what do you remember about the first Life On Repeat show?
Andrew Baylis: Our first show as Life On Repeat was in Mount Airy, Maryland, at some
fire hall. We had just changed our name and basically were starting over
from scratch. The thing I remember most is a local band covering one of
our songs from our previous band, which was just so funny
to us. I walked up after and was like, "I loved the cover, dudes!" and
then realized that they literally had no idea we changed our band name
or who we were. It was funny, but definitely flattering, too, to see that
our music was starting to make an impact on the local music community.
Once we filled them in, they were a bit embarrassed. But the show itself
was surprisingly OK for our "first" show!
The Dear Hunter performs Tuesday, August 23, at the Prophet Bar. Life On Repeat plays Tuesday, August 23, at Eisenberg's Skate Park in Plano.
