Staff Writers

On Saturday, January 30^th,  The Venetia Fair’s headlining tour made its second stop at Rocko’s in Manchester, New Hampshire. Rocko’s happened to be the second of the two stops for the tour’s kickoff events. Before coming to a close, the tour is scheduled to

Tommy Pontes of The Beauty In Isolation

Westford’s own band, The Beauty In Isolation is a post-hardcore band based in Westford, Massachusetts. They were by far the youngest of the bands to hit the stage at Rocko’s, and maintained a formidable sound compared to the other, more experienced bands. The band played a solid three-song set, which featured their songs “Sympathy for Another’s Suffering”, “Astacia” and “If You Thought You Did This Wrong, You Couldn’t Have Been More Right”.

This was their second show since adding sophomores Pablo Martinez on drums and Sal Restuccia on bass while moving junior John Oliver to rhythm guitar. In the midst of the lineup shuffle, juniors Pat Hunt and Tommy Pontes kept their old positions as screamer and lead guitarist/clean vocalist, respectively. They played a successful set, musically, with a decent amount of stage presence. However, since the show, Pat and the band have parted ways, leaving the band without a permanent screaming vocalist. They are currently searching for a replacement.

Kiss Kiss is an experimental indie band that comes from New York. To date, the five-piece band has released two full albums and a self-titled EP. They are currently playing in support of their newest album, “The Meek Shall Inherit What’s Left”, which was released during the summer of 2009. Their set consisted of approximately six songs, including their fast paced song “All The Draw” and their song “Machines”. Their set featured dramatic vocals and ripping violin parts that cut through the rest of the music and provided the band their own, unique style.

Pat Hunt of The Beauty In Isolation

Trophy Scars is an older, six-piece alternative/indie rock band based out of New Jersey. As of now, they have released four full albums. The most recently of those is entitled “Bad Luck”, which was released in early 2009. With a sound that is slightly reminiscent of fellow alternative rock band, Brand New (only with slightly more gruff vocals), Trophy Scars plays very well organized music. Their set at Rocko’s was in no way an exception. They put on a convincing musical performance and overall enjoyable set, before giving up the stage to The Venetia Fair.

The headlining band, The Venetia Fair is best described as an experimental/alternative rock band with a style of their own. They are a young band, with none of their members exceeding their early twenties. Their proficient use of screams, keyboard, and inventive riffs in their songs put them in their own unique category of music. The band formed in Boston and at the moment, they are playing songs from their debut album, “The Circus” which was released during the summer of 2009.

Despite the aforementioned, very praiseworthy acts, The Venetia Fair’s set was by far the most powerful act of the night. From the beginning to the conclusion of their set, their energy level was at top notch. They spent every song writhing around on the stage, providing an incredible amount of energy. Above all, they played an incredible set, music wise. It was slightly longer than those of Kiss Kiss and Trophy Scars, and the band was certainly noticed on stage for every second they were there.The set consisted of the band playing through the majority of their album, including their song “The Ringleader”, which they recently released a music video for.

The Venetia Fair is a great band to see live and they definitely implement a worthwhile, well thought out performance. Once their tour with Kiss Kiss comes to an end, the band is immediately picking up where they

Benny Santoro of The Venetia Fair

All in all, the show was very worthwhile to attend and provided a great musical and photographic experience. The bands showcased a level of energy that made photographing, listening, and simply being around them enjoyable. The small venue is ideal for photographing and being able to see great bands play, while being up close to them.  If the chance arises, shows at Rocko’s are highly recommended.

Note from the authors:  We will be photographing and reviewing many concerts within the approaching months. These include shows in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York, with venues such as The Palladium and The Studio at Webster Hall. Some of the many artists at these shows are Breathe Carolina, Confide, I See Stars, Stephen Jerzak, Stereo Skyline and VersaEmerge. We will have new material posted soon. If you would like to see updates of our shows planned, or see additional photos, visit the links below.

http://waghostwriter.com/TSj

http://waghostwriter.com/gF

Joe Occhiuti of The Venetia Fair

Staff Writer

Cafe Night, one of last year’s biggest hits, is rapidly approaching. English teachers and co-coordinators, Jeffrey Kucaj and Jessica Lang, are working together with students to put the finishing touches on this upcoming event.

Most people have not heard of Cafe Night, since the first one was only last year. Lang and Kucaj both agree last year’s event was a hit, and they both hope this one will be too.

Cafe Night is sponsored by two of Westford Academy’s clubs, Guitar Club, headed by Kucaj, and Beyond Words, the Academy’s literary magazine headed by Lang.

Unlike last year, Lang and Kucaj agreed with students to have auditions, since last year there was the issue of time management. Students, along with Kucaj and Lang, decided to be the judges. They were looking for stage presence, originality, and appeal, just to name a few attributes.

Ticket prices are $5 per person, and $8 at the door. Tickets are on sale now for Cafe Night during lunch blocks. Proceeds from Cafe Night will go to Haiti, to fund their recent earthquake.

Adam Ciampi, who will be performing for the event, believes this year’s event will be more successful than last year since there are more sets and therefore more entertainment.

Kucaj will also be performing along with English teacher, Brain Mahoney. They will be singing and playing guitar, but they decided to keep the song names a secret. Regarding their rehearsals, Kucaj said, “I think this year, the audience will know not to expect too much from us. Our talent level is mostly the same.”

Lang is confident that Cafe Night, if it is repeated every year, will encourage the Arts, and it will become “…part of the school culture and fabric of WA. It’s great to see different students all coming together to celebrate art, music and literature.”

My ears are still ringing after the loudest and most intense nightclub concert I’ve been to.

On Sunday, October 4th the One More Brick Tour came to Boston. The tour was headlined by Senses Fail along with A Skylit Drive, the opening acts were FACT and Closure in Moscow. The venue was Harper’s Ferry, which is a relatively small nightclub. The venue size allowed for a very personal performance.

The concert started with FACT, an emerging Japanese rock band with a small underground following. They opened with their only well known U.S. song “Fact of Life”, this was followed by “Purple Eyes” and “Los Angeles” from their self titled album. All of these songs featured shredding guitar solos, heavy bass riffs, and fast paced drumming, topped off with hardcore vocals.

This is their first tour in the United States and they received a warm welcome. For an opening act, FACT was a great band with incredible stage energy. They played their hearts out and spoke with fans after the show.

Next came the second opening act, Closure in Moscow. Closure in Moscow is an Australian alternative rock band which has toured twice in the US.  The transition time between FACT and Closure in Moscow was very long, about thirty minutes. When Closure finally got on the stage, they had technical difficulties, which led to an even longer wait.

Finally, Closure in Moscow began their set, sadly it was lackluster, and the guitarists made simple mistakes, the band even apologized for the off night. During the performance, many fans simply went over to the merchandise tables to chat with members of FACT and buy band merchandise.

Finally, one of the main acts, A Skylit Drive came to the stage. A Skylit Drive is a popular post-hardcore band, they are from Hollywood and started their band in high school, and they were signed to a record company relatively quickly. After a ten minute transition A Skylit Drive came out screaming through with one of their most popular songs, “Wires and the Concept of Breathing” from the album of the same name. All throughout the song, screaming fan-girls had their hands in the air.

A Skylit Drive had great stage energy and used the stage to its fullest potential, jumping and dancing. The performance was very charismatic. They received the greatest crowd reaction out of all of the bands; fans sang along with their slower songs and rocked out to their fast paced shredding.

A Skylit Drive performed for almost an hour through an eleven song set. Near the end of the final song, the singer jumped into the crowd, still screaming, and crowd surfed. The band later sat at the merchandise tables and signed autographs and chatted with satisfied fans.

Next, Senses Fail, the final act, set up on the stage. The fan’s screams were deafening. The band opened with “Calling All Cars” and the mosh pit started. Fans knocked each other around and pushed each other back and forth, you could feel the intensity. Senses fail followed up with “Can’t be Saved” from the album Still Searching.

In between sets, the lead singer made it clear that he is a Yankee’s fan, and playfully jeered the crowd. He was very talkative in between sets, which was annoying to say the least, but it was overshadowed by the band’s amazing performance. The band brought the crowd to life, fists were pumping in the air and everyone sang along to the band’s slower songs. Senses Fail, like A Skylit Drive, also had strong stage energy. It reflected in the fans.

Overall, this concert was an amazing experience; it was very intense and energetic. All of the bands contributed to the show in their own way, some for the better and some for the worse. The sound of the instruments themselves came out as clear as a whistle, the sound system was great, and aside from Closure in Moscow, there were no technical problems. This concert’s also opened my eyes to a band I would have otherwise never heard, FACT. I recommend this tour to anyone who’s interested in alternative, rock, or metal music.

Pink performing "Bad Influence". Photo by: Taylor Dean

By Devon Lindsey
Staff Writer

Last Friday Pink’s Funhouse World Tour stopped in the Boston Garden for one of the most amazing concerts I’ve ever seen.  Not only did I get a chance to hear one of my long time favorite artists, but I also got a chance to experience some music from a group I wasn’t to familiar with, The Ting Tings.

A single spotlight came up on Jules De Martino slamming out an amazing drum solo, who soon after was joined by Katie White as The Ting Tings opened with their song “Great DJ” From the album We Started Nothing. Based out of England, The Ting Tings have been producing their alternative music since 2007 and are the opening act for part of Pink’s world tour according to their webpage http://www.thetingtings.com/us/frontpage?cmdr=ip2country/detected.  A couple of their songs gained popularity here in the U.S., “That’s Not My Name” and “Shut Up And Let Me Go” reached top 100 status rather recently. Although the lyrics were a little hard to understand at times, they were pretty good; but it was only about thirty-five minutes before they closed with “That’s Not My Name.”

When it was finally time for the main concert to begin, Pink’s entrance definitely set the theme for the rest of the show. Flying up through the floor of the stage, Pink kicked the show off with “Bad Influence” from her latest album for which the tour is named.  At the same time the backdrop fell uncovering a set design straight from the circus. Throughout the show acrobatic acts accompanied various songs, some of which Pink was even a part of herself.

The music was amazing, and there was a pretty even balance between songs from different albums including a few covers.  Along with her own music, she covered a few of Rocks legends with ACDC’s “Highway to Hell”, Led Zeppelin’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”.  After some more of her own hits she finished off a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s popular song “Crazy”.

After that the jumbotron began a countdown while a montage of Pink’s music videos played on either side. I figured once it hit zero the stadium lights would all flick back on and that be it. Instead, much to the excitement of the audience, Pink was back on stage for an encore singing “Get This Party Started” from her 2001 album M!ssundaztood according to her website http://www.pinkspage.com/us/home. Then for one last theatrical performance sang the final song of her new album “Glitter In The Air” while suspended in the air herself.

Local bands perform at the first rock show of the school year at the Parish Center for the Arts. Video by: Rob Gilman.

Unlike AC/DC or Steve Miller Band, I was able to walk out of this concert with my voice intact. It’s more so because my mom did stress being enthusiastic, using my diaphragm and not my larynx. What can I say; I’ve just come back from a U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.) experience!!

This certain concert series, which had two shows (Sun, Sept. 20th and Mon, the 21st), was part of a highly anticipated tour, but not many suspected that it would be called the “360 tour”. They probably didn’t realize at first how fascinating the stage set-up would be either, and that is how it was; no other set-up can compare so far, at least of the shows I’ve seen. The stage was a group of two arcs up above, with a spire on the very top, and lights all around. I thought that the stage was actually going to spin, but “360” actually meant that the audience encircles the stage all the way around (it was in the middle), and that there are shifting walkways between the stage and the circular runway, which the guys can use to travel around the stage fully.

Bono said Sunday night, “This stage is what we call our ‘Space Station’.” Hence, they “touched down” in Gillette for everyone’s listening pleasure.

I cannot speak for the second night, obviously, but one show of two can give me a sufficient idea. I was in an exciting setting, definitely; I could feel it entering Gillette Stadium, in Foxboro, MA that night. I had to get over the fact that I forgot binoculars, once seated, but in the long run, it didn’t matter. My seat was close enough, not in the stage zone or “Red Zone” as they called it, but close enough. Just think of what those folks way too high up would give to be where I was sitting, the first row of sections.

Anyway, the warm-up band was another Irish band by the name of “Snow Patrol.” I am sure that many of you out there who follow U2, know that they originate from Ireland, as well. As far back as the mid to late ‘70s, they’ve been filling the souls of those loyal, with enrapturing melody and verbal rhyme and reason.

I cannot say that the warm-up band was the greatest I’ve heard. Their tone was wonderful, but some of their instruments’ parts, like their drums, were too simple. Warm-up bands are usually like this.

“The Answer” who opened up for AC/DC back in the first Boston show in November, was to forget, nothing truly exciting, my least preferred. If you are looking for a great new “warm-up-level” band, “The Elbow” who played at Coldplay’s August 3rd concert is highly recommended. They are based out of Manchester, England, and I absolutely love the new works they have cooking!!

Going back to “Snow Patrol”, I would give to them that they are musical entertainers, obviously meant to get you warmed up for the main attraction. They had more of a reaction than I thought they would, and the crowd seemed to appreciate them. They are better than “The Answer”, but considering their musical complexity, musical charisma, and overall resonance and balance of sound, they don’t compare to warm-ups like “The Elbow” or Steve Winwood (for “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers”, June ’08). “Snow Patrol” was also at a disadvantage of not being able to use many of the lights present on stage, but other than that, they should keep up their careers, building more onto them, one step at a time.

Next came the genuine article, the big deal (not being sardonic), that’s right, U2. It was an engaging way to open up a concert, with a verbal spiel or rap, more likely about amnesty and post-war experience, which is honestly what I took out of it. Then the scene started to get cooking, as they played a few new songs first, and then got into their older works.

What a lovable, joyful, and pleasurable scene, I thought to myself. I was fully satisfied by the fact that they played everything I was hoping they would. “Beautiful Day”, “Walk On”, “Where the streets have no name”, and “Vertigo” were all in that mix, all the classics and then some.

The visual scene was unbelievable, with the most technical and complicated graphics set-up I’ve ever seen. The bonus effect of the smoke machines, before the lights went out to signal their coming, was an intriguing facet, somewhat like a spacecraft getting ready to take off, and then after that, touch back down.

Though, while the auditory energy and expression was present, the charisma of dance and choreography, if a specialty at all, was not quite present. I did expect a little more out of Bono’s moves and dance, I mean he doesn’t have to stoop down to ZZ Top’s style of concert moves, where all they do visually is just stand and sway a few times, as far as I’ve heard. One goes to a ZZ Top concert for the sound, not for the visual entertainment, besides the beards of course. However, I’m just kidding around, that’s not all Bono did, he still did move around.

There were also a few times where I noticed that there were fluctuations in musical balance, meaning that the guitar volume, for instance, was not always the same. To be more accurate, it had to be fixed after a few songs. Good, crisp guitar sound, like such found in concerts for Paul McCartney, Coldplay, or AC/DC, is key for having a high-energy and resonant concert. One also should be able to tell if the bassist is playing his or her part well, then one would know that it’s there, kind of subtle, but there, present. Adam Clayton played his part as the bassist, and did some revolutions around the stage to boot, but the Edge had the downside of sound sometimes. Nevertheless, he got his sound up just in time for “Elevation”, I believe. In other words, he picked up on his moderate flaw on the earlier side of the show.

As for Bono, I thought his singing was right on track, crystal-clear voice, but again, there was just some minor dearth of physical energy, which is normally produced from that, what should be, true feeling of ecstasy within all the singer’s senses. Bono was fun and gave all of us a hopping good time, but he was a hair too reserved compared to how I pictured him beforehand, and I’ve seen other U2 concert footage before.

I would highly recommend checking out “U2-Live at Slane Castle, 2001”, on youtube, or going to see “U2-3D”, if it is still playing in 3-D theaters. Also, Coldplay is a show to find pure, completely energetic spirit in, along with AC/DC once again, and also Paul McCartney (even though he is in his late sixties). LIVE is another band to look at for variety and fervor as well. Also, Michael Jackson had always put on wild ecstatic shows, back in the day.

But, on this coming Sunday, September 27th, you will have a chance to pre-order tickets to “This is it”, a concert feature meant for theaters, displaying all the rehearsal footage for the Comeback tour that never happened, God rest his soul.

Larry Mullen Jr. drives the band for rhythmic and melodic success, and shows how fun drums can be, but I have seen all this and more before, with McCartney’s drummer, Will Champion from Coldplay, Stewart Copeland from the Police, and definitely Gordy Knudtson from the Steve Miller Band, to name a few. To spice up a drum kit part is to sprinkle that same spice all over the rest of the band and the concert scene.

For, the record, Larry is just about in his fifties, and playing with arthritis in his back, so one should truly give him credit for that. My Dad has always told me that a drummer should follow the groove of a song first, and then get more complicated. I will say though that in “Get on your boots”, Larry’s snare drum hits were better enunciated, than in the studio recording, and everyone was all over the place, when the pleasantly intoxicating “Let me in the sound”- chant part of that song came around.

It wasn’t just the set though, that he played. In one part, he got down on Bongo drums, now that totally mixed up the scene, introducing his appreciation for other forms of percussion. All in all, I say he gets his job done, but the part with the Bongos was his best.

Stay posted: I have a man by the name of Richard Thompson, coming up soon live in Boston, Oct. 4th. Also, be looking for photos and potentially video of U2, as well!

What I rate this concert: (out of these 5)

Exceptional
==>**Strong**
Satisfactory
Mediocre
Poor

Well here I am, WA, Sean Muir, your school concert reviewer. Some of you may wonder if that means that I only review concerts that happen at the school, right? Not so, actually, I specialize in reviewing concerts outside of school.

My own hobbies include playing music, by means of drums and other forms of percussion, as well as enjoying a wide variety of music styles and genres. My main passions are Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Alternative, and Classical, with favorites like the Eagles, LIVE, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, AC/DC, Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, George Gershwin, Steve Miller Band, and U2, to name a few.

My musical abilities can be heard in the school and town bands I play in.

I have seen a boatload of concerts in my lifetime; the first one I can remember being the Indigo Girls. I personally have never seen a poor or mediocre concert, but obviously, some were way better than others. If you are looking for a reference to a variety of concerts and musicians, I’m the person to ask.

One of the most unique experiences for me was seeing Mark Knopfler; live at The Boothbay Opera House, Boothbay Harbor, ME, September 20th, 2006. As the former leader of Dire Straits, he put on an intimate performance with his back-up band. To add to the mix, there was no drummer, which allowed for more sound from the guitars, which flooded all my senses with sound.

Going further, the Police came to Boston twice back in July and November 2007, and I was able to see both shows. They are truly one of those bands worthy of stadium shows.

It wasn’t until 2008 when this whole “concert-craze” started for me. I saw bands ranging from the Levon Helm Band to Bruce Cockburn to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (that was something else!) to the Eagles to Rascal Flatts to Lindsay Buckingham, and many more!

The concert surge continued on through late 2008 to 2009. For ’09, the key shows I saw were Jimmy Eat World, LIVE (INCREDIBLE!!), The Derek Trucks Band (Can he wail on that six-string, or what?!), and Jeff Beck (now in the Rock ‘n’ Roll hall of fame). I did miss, however, Third Eye Blind and 3 Doors Down at the new House of Blues (where I saw LIVE).

My summer, this year, consisted of concerts like Los Lobos, Joe Cocker, AC/DC (OH MY WORD!!), Coldplay (most unique show ever, highly recommended), Paul McCartney (best all-around show I’ve ever seen in my life), Jonny Lang (know him personally now, nobody else can compare to him), and Steve Miller Band (perfect show!!).

People have told me that I am absolutely a concert fanatic, but that’s why I’m here. With my reviews,  you all have the ability to post comments, or talk about the concert if you went there as well. There will be photos too, giving you an idea of the atmosphere. I look forward to reporting as your school concert reviewer, and stay tuned: U2 will be the first concert I review coming up soon! I haven’t ever seen a bad show, but we shall see over the course of the year.