THE RECENTLY ADDED

Pure Noise Tour 2016


Pop punk has been an interesting genre to watch evolve. When I was in my teens I connected with the tunes about school nights/late nights, girls who weren't interested in anything I had to offer, and wondering about what life would be like when I got older. Now I'm thirty and still find myself scouring new acts that troll the same themes. That's why I just couldn't sit on the couch watching Netflix when the Pure Noise tour came into town last night, May 14th at the Studio at Webster Hall.


(Seaway's baby bass drum still roared loud enough to own the house)

     While the annual edition of the Black And Blue Showcase - with Madball and American Nightmare once again taking the Webster Hall main ballroom -  happening upstairs, the youth crew was in full effect down below. I made it just in time for Seaway to take the stage, which with their two albums Hoser and their most recent Colour Blind almost define the genre completely. Their tracks "Airhead" and "Best Mistake" are probably some of the strongest in their catalogue and it was nice to hear them live and watch the crowd reaction. While the venue wasn't packed to capacity, it reminded me of shows in community halls, VFWs, and Country Clubs in suburbs that used to host these bands when I used to live in Lake Mary, FL - a suburb just outside the intensity of Orlando's metropolitan downtown - in my teens.


(Looks good, but looks repetitive)

     Hit The Lights are an incredibly strong act and they followed Seaway with glee. It's a shame that they didn't explode like New Found Glory or the Titans that are now A Day To Remember. But it's obvious that their sing alongs aren't any less effective than their peers, it's just obvious that not everyone can be Madonna. Just like in McDonalds, someone has to be the manager and someone needs to be dropping fries. Not saying that Hit The Lights are the fry droppers of pop punk, I just think that there's always going to be a need for the basement-days of bands to be prevalent for youth to dive off the stage to. This Blink 182/ADTR tour that's coming through this summer to venues with capacity in excess of 10,000 won't exactly give the next generation of kids a chance to dive off the stage to "Reckless Abandon," and that's why Hit The Lights are so important to the genre. To stay true to the themes of the suburbs in venues intimate enough to experience the best the culture has to offer. 


(Great production and great execution)

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