By Ethan Walshe
Managing Editor

Local band Doss left the crowd in awe

On Friday, September 23, the first of many Rock Shows at the Parish Center for the Arts was held. The event featured many performers, each offering their own unique musical talents to an enthusiastic crowd.

Local band Doss left the crowd in awe

The evening was graced with many performances by Westford Academy students as well as local bands.

The night started with a series of acoustic performances, starting with sophomore Nick Nudler playing a number of covers. The acts continued with sophomore Chris Horsey performing. Junior Johnny Bergin played “The Cat Song” which has become very well known in Parish show circles.

Juniors Leah DeTolla and Emma Hurley gave an impromptu cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You” in order to fill up some time which had been left empty.

Sophomore Charlotte Callon closed these acoustic performances with a few original songs, one of which won her second place at WA Idol the following evening.

WA alumnus and Parish show veteran John McNamara wowed the audience with his guitar and harmonica skills, in his kickback set to the 1970’s.

Local bands took the stage next. Sophomore Alex Markoski’s band Doss played first. They impressed the crowd with a homemade light show as well as their repertoire of covers and original songs. Afterwards, local act Orange played a set of similar nature.

The evening was closed with senior Mitchell Cohen performing his dubstep remixes and original songs to the remaining crowd.

The first Parish show was a great turnout and offered many impressive performances. It set the bar for the rest of the year’s shows.

]]> http://www.waghostwriter.com/2011/10/07/parish-rock-show-bodes-well-for-future/feed/ 0 http://www.waghostwriter.com/2011/09/19/ribbon-cut-for-new-trustees-field/ http://www.waghostwriter.com/2011/09/19/ribbon-cut-for-new-trustees-field/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:57:37 +0000 Samantha Upperman http://www.waghostwriter.com/?p=11164 Samantha Upperman
Features Editor

Over the summer, a new turf field was installed at Westford Academy. The Trustees’ Field at Alumni Stadium was unveiled on the evening of Tuesday, September 13 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The field cost $650,000, all of which was privately funded. Donations came from the Westford Academy Trustees, private donors, and the youth sport groups said athletic director, Dan Twomey.

Once the money was raised, construction could begin. On June 6, 2011, the construction team broke ground on the new turf field. It was finished during the week of September 5, 2011.

The school wanted to get a turf field for many reasons.

“It’s a consistent playing surface. It can be used 24 hours a day by PE staff and all the teams afterward. It can be used in really lousy weather where you may not be able to use a grass field, and if you have to play in lousy conditions, it will be a great field the next time somebody steps on it, too,” said Twomey.

The field is also expected to help athletes’ performances. According to Twomey, once the athletes get used to the turf, it is expected to help them be faster and more competitive.

“We’re really excited to have it,” said Twomey

Excited graduates toss their hats into the air in celebration.

Earlier in the day as the start of graduation approached the anxious faces were all but absent. Underclassmen fantasized about one day having graduations of their own while adults reminisced about theirs from many years past.

Yet no one had more anticipation than those of the class of 2010. For them, this ceremony marked an end to eighteen years of dependence, childhood, and high school, but at the same time it represented a beginning to responsibility, adulthood, and the future.

Class of 2010 President, Jen Torto delivers a speech to her fellow classmates.

Thus, while they filed side by side in alphabetical order, as they had done since their elementary days, everyone noticed the natural excitement in their faces, which had been progressively increasing since the first day of their freshman year.

After the tradition of “Pomp and Circumstance” ended, the graduates took their seats and Principal James P. Antonelli commenced his speech. His main theme was honor. He asserted that no matter where the future may take those of the class of 2010, they must all maintain their moral duties.

The next section of the ceremony was the recognition of the valedictorian and salutatorian, Alice Chan and Audrey Tiew. Each of their guidance counselors gave a few praising words to them.

The following event was the introduction of the 2010 class officers: Cassandra Gilling (President), John Wells (Vice-President), Carolyn Meklenburg (Secretary), and Cameron Close (Treasurer).

After that, Jennifer Louise Torto, the Class of 2010 speaker, gave her speech. She spoke of the inevitable changes that everyone progressed through while journeying through high school.

Then, Superintendent Everett V. Olsen Jr. congratulated the successes of the graduates and urged them to strive for similar triumphs in the future.

Beach balls flew through the air throughout the graduation ceremony.

Finally, the moment that everyone had been waiting for commenced: the distribution of the diplomas. With Alice Chan leading the pack, the students receive their certificates as their friends and family cheered. Foghorns were not uncommon.

However, in the midst of the excitement, the students, faculty, and guests payed tribute to Marchand. Three balloons were released into the air for her legacy, which had resonated throughout all of the speeches as well.

After the Class of 2010, had officially graduated high school, their class song, “One Love” by Bob Marley, streamed out of their instruments, voices, and most importantly their hearts. In fact, graduate and musician Jon McNamara revised pieces of the song to pay tribute to Marchand.

View Westford Academy Class of 2010 Destinations in a larger map
The final speaker was Class President Cassie Gilling. She encouraged the class to work hard at any venture that each individual may enter into, for the class of 2010 represents the future.

Finally, the hats flew into the air. Their journeys were finally over, yet at the same time they had also ultimately begun.

Topher Talley of The Bigger Lights bringing emotion to The Middle East's stage.

The Bigger Lights began the night with their twist on the customary pop-punk sound. Frontman Topher Talley’s unique sounding vocals set the band apart from other members of the genre; a trait which can either make or break a band that belongs to the pop-punk label. They captivated the crowd with a great deal of charisma from their members (led by Talley) on stage, along with a high quality musical performance. Their set featured songs from both their EP, and their debut self-titled album.

The memory of The Bigger Lights’ set would outlast that of their fellow tourmates, Anarbor, who made a sub-par appearance on stage. Anarbor’s sound is far less exciting than most pop-punk bands and not overly dynamic, as far as the genre goes. Their stage presence lacked severely, with the members simply standing in place for much of the set. Their set, which included songs from their EP and their most recent full length, excited members of the audience who were already fans of the band, but failed to impress many who were attending in order to see other bands on the tour.

Following Anarbor on stage was the veteran pop-punk act, The Audition. With four albums under their belt, they were the most experienced of the bands on the ‘Bout Damn Time Tour. Of the four bands on the tour, their sound fell the closest to the typical pop-punk sound. However, despite their minor lack of originality as far as their sound goes, the band made up for it with an above average amount of excitement and presence on stage. They pranced around The Middle East’s stage, playing their hearts out and just having a great time. Their set was one that most definitely deserved to be the last act before giving the stage to This Providence.

This Providence is an indie-rock band with three full albums and two EPs to their name. Their music strays from the conventional sound of pop-punk while fusing elements of the genre with elements that are better described as “indie”. Either way, the band manages to draw in fans of pop-punk and indie music alike.

Entering the stage with “The Boys Are Back In Town” by Thin Lizzy playing through the PA system, the crowd went absolutely wild with excitement, welcoming This Providence to The Middle East’s stage. The light show for the band exceeded those of the previous bands, with extra lights illuminating them and accenting their performance nicely. This Providence played songs that appear on their debut, self-titled album such as “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”, in addition to newer songs such as “My Beautiful Rescue”, which appears on their most recent full-length, “Who Are You Now”.

Daniel Young of This Providence singing to the crowd.

Hosting the tour for the night was The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub. The Middle East is definitely one of the top venues in the Boston area to catch a band on tour at. The club features many local and national acts, generally falling under genres such as alternative rock, pop, electronic, punk-pop, and other similar styles of music. In addition to hosting a large number of shows, the venue is cleanly and well organized. It is also located in a nice section of Cambridge, along Massachusetts Avenue, just a short walk from the Central Square subway station. For those that may come across the opportunity to see a show at The Middle East, it is a highly recommended experience.

Note from the authors: Thank you to Kelly McWilliam from Atlantic Records for setting us up with photo passes.

Check out our flickr page in order to see pictures from this show, in addition to ones from the Alternative Press Tour. Also, we will be shooting for I See Stars, VersaEmerge, Let’s Get It and others later this week.

On Thursday April 1st, 2010, the Artery Foundation Across The Nation Tour made its way to the Crocodile Rock Café in Allentown, PA. Headlining the tour was post-hardcore band, Attack Attack!, supported by Breathe Carolina, I See Stars, Asking Alexandria, and Bury Tomorrow.

Prior to the show, band members could be seen wandering around the club, loitering at their merchandise tables, and even playing a few friendly games of pool outside of the main concert hall. However, the venue itself was poorly organized and very hectic. The manager appeared incredibly stressed out, and as a result, came off as very rude to the members of the press. The photography pit was very cramped, but would have to suffice for the night.

The opening band, Bury Tomorrow, is a hardcore band that was assembled in the United Kingdom. Playing in support of their recently released album, “Portraits”, they did their best to put on an exciting show for the crowd. They played a set of about five songs, and were a delight to watch. They put all the energy that they had into captivating the crowd and did exactly that. The band was very friendly and motivated to promote new fans as they spent the remainder of the night mingling with fans at their merchandise booth.

Bury Tomorrow will return to Europe for the majority of April and May, where they will be touring with American bands Alesana, A Skylit Drive, and Emarosa. This tour will be another major one for their reputation.

Dan Winter-Bates of Bury Tomorrow posing at the band's merch booth.

The band sounded nearly as intense as they do on their CD but with the added effect of being live. They were also very strong instrumentally. However, the vocals lacked a small bit. The clean vocals were choppy at times, and where there would normally be high screams, there were low ones. Since Asking Alexandria is a very young band, they have plenty of time to realize their flaws from when they play live and correct them.

Asking Alexandria will be touring in Europe before returning to the United States in order to headline the Welcome To The Circus Tour, which also features Detroit-based post-hardcore act We Came As Romans.

Guitarist Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria.

Breathe Carolina’s set consisted of a select few songs from their debut album “It’s Classy, Not Classic”, along with an assortment of songs from their newer album “Hello Fascination”. These included “Take Me To Infinity”, “Welcome To Savannah”, and a crowd favorite, “Hello Fascination”; the title track of the album. For much of the set, the crowd danced and sang along, simply enjoying their music, which features electronic-pop sounds, in addition to more hardcore sounds.

Formed in Colorado, Breathe Carolina has released an EP, along with their two full length albums thus far. As their popularity level continues to rise, they will be playing on the Vans Warped Tour for the full tour again, as they did last year. This year, they’re one of the biggest names appearing on the list of bands that will participate on the summer-long tour.

David Schmitt sings at Crocodile Rock.

The band’s set was very strong both in stage presence and in musical presence. Supporting their 2009 album, “3D”, they played songs including their hit song “What This Means To Me”. Sounding very similar to their CD, the band managed to replicate the musical quality and adrenaline of the songs on their record, on the stage. Including a brief appearance of guest vocals from David Schmitt of Breathe Carolina, the band jumped around on stage and put on an above average show all around.

I See Stars will be headlining an East coast tour with VersaEmerge during the end of April and beginning of May. Similar to Breathe Carolina, they will also be playing at the Vans Warped Tour.

Devin Oliver of I See Stars is only 18, but he can already bring a great voice to the stage.

Their set consisted of a brand new song called “AC-130”, along with songs from their debut, such as “Stick Stickly”. The crowd went crazy during their set and had what appeared to be a great time. At one point, the band told the crowd to lift someone up to sit on their shoulders, and a good portion of them complied, making the pit two stories as they finished up their set.

The band has no upcoming tour planned until they play the entire Vans Warped Tour this summer, similar to fellow tour members Breathe Carolina.

Johnny Franck of Attack Attack! headbangs during the band's set.

As far as the venue goes, it may not be quite so memorable. The Crocodile Rock Café is a very cramped venue to catch a large tour at. With so many people packed into an average sized building, there was much confusion concerning fans trying to exit the building between sets, in addition to it being very hot inside. Poor organization and overselling the show were the two biggest problems that led to a mediocre night at best at The Crocodile Rock Café.

Note from the authors: We would like to send a special thank you along to Nonafaye Williams at Fearless Records. She was the one who set us up with press passes for this show, along with others and gave us this great opportunity. We appreciate it very much!

Also, we’ll be reviewing and shooting at the Alternative Press Tour at The House of Blues, which features Never Shout Never, Hey Monday, The Cab, Every Avenue and The Summer Set. In addition to that, we’ll also be shooting for and reviewing The Maine’s headlining tour with Cartel and Artist vs. Poet at the Pearl Street Ballroom within the coming weeks. More shows to follow!

If you would like to follow all of our photography, please visit our photostream on flickr, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lmndconcertphotography/

Staff Writers

On Saturday, February 13^th, 2010, The Valentine’s Day Massacre took place at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. The show featured many New England-based alternative and post-hardcore acts, including Boston based act, Vanna, who was headlining the show.

From the photo pit, right in front of the stage, The Palladium appeared larger than life, with stadium seating high above the main floor and fans lined up from the front barrier to the bars and merchandise tables in the back. The pit filled within minutes of the doors opening and people packed themselves up to the barrier in order to get as close to the stage as possible. On the other side of the barrier, the other photographers and the security personnel prepared themselves for a long night of music and position shuffling. Shortly, the lights dimmed and gave way to the first act of the night.

With Words

With Words is a five piece metalcore band that was formed in Massachusetts. The band has released a demo, but is still yet to be signed. Their sound draws some comparison to the older songs that A Day To Remember produced, with heavy riffs and very similar screams.  They played songs that appear on their demo, including “Never Yours”.

The band was full of energy and showed an abundance of stage presence while on The Palladium’s stage; one which is huge for the band’s resume. Their liveliness and exciting music made them enjoyable to the crowd and the press alike. With Words plans on releasing their first full-length album at some point during the year 2011, however, no specific date is available as of yet. They are a young, up and coming band with a great deal of potential for success on the hardcore scene.

A Faylene Sky

Five piece post-hardcore band, A Faylene Sky was the next of the bands to take the stage. Formed in Providence, Rhode Island, the band brought a solid set and good deal of energy to the stage.  Their set list consisted of songs such as “Last Call For Lost Souls”, which are featured on their debut EP, “Define Alive”. The EP was released during July of 2009, and since then, the band had been playing shows and gaining popularity throughout the northeast.

Their songs consist of a mix between clean and screaming vocals, and very much resemble the majority of post-hardcore songs.  They combine their strong vocal mix with inventive guitar riffs, double bass drumming, and harsh breakdowns. Similar to With Words, A Faylene Sky possesses plenty of potential to find success on the hardcore scene. They have already shared stages with plenty of accomplished bands and will certainly continue to land shows with major bands.

View From An Airplane

Alternative rock band View From An Airplane was the next to take the stage at The Palladium. The four piece band came together during the summer of 2009 and recorded their EP, “All The Right Words” shortly after. The EP was well recorded, and even included a guest-vocal appearance by John O’Callaghan of The Maine.

View From An Airplane’s sound is a lot softer than the other bands that appeared at The Valentine’s Day Massacre. Their songs feature entirely clean vocals and slower tempos, giving them their pop/alternative-rock classification.  Despite the genre difference between the other performers, View From An Airplane received a very warm welcome to the stage. They played through their entire EP while they pranced around on the stage, with the crowd enjoying every minute of it.

Armor For The Broken

The next band to take the stage would be arguably the heaviest band of the night, Armor For The Broken. They are a New England-based, five piece metalcore band that has released a three-song demo, and also a full-length album which has yet to be released. Their music is very heavy, and resembles a good deal of fellow metalcore bands, but theirs possesses entirely screamed vocals.

On the Palladium’s stage, they played songs from their demo, in addition to an assortment of songs that will presumably appear on their full length. Their whole set was very lively and well-enjoyed by the crowd even despite the lack of coherence regarding their vocals. Since the show, Armor For The Broken has been playing shows along with Vanna. Once these shows have been played, they will continue to play assorted local shows in order to gain more popularity.

A Loss For Words

A Loss For Words is a pop-punk band that was formed in the Boston area. Although, like View From An Airplane, they were one of the lighter bands to take the stage at the Palladium, they still received a very warm welcome. They possess a sound that is very similar to older pop-punk, such as Hit The Lights. This sound includes clean vocals, upbeat riffs, and a generally pop-like feel to the music.

Of all the bands, A Loss For Words was arguably the one with the largest amount of stage presence. They played songs that appear on their debut album while simply appearing to be having a great time on stage, in addition to playing an impressive show.

The band is very popular in the Boston area, but is currently trying to spread their name elsewhere by supporting their album, “The Kids Can’t Lose”, which was released during 2009.  They are currently touring in Europe and will be coming back to the US to continue playing shows here.

Our Last Night

Five piece, New Hampshire-based post-hardcore band, Our Last Night was the second to last band to grace the stage before Vanna.  They are currently playing in support of their sophomore album, “The Ghosts Among Us”, but will release their third full length album, “We Will All Evolve”, on May 4th. To the delight of the crowd, they played a small number of their upcoming songs. However, they mainly played older songs, from their first two albums. These included one of their most popular, “Escape”, to which much of the crowd sang along to.

Our Last Night will be back at the Palladium to play Skatefest 2010, in addition to playing multiple CD release shows and partaking in Asking Alexandria’s upcoming headlining tour. Their new album is set to be a hit amongst the post-hardcore community, as the band has undoubtedly matured since their sophomore effort.

Vanna

By the time Vanna hit the stage, the crowd was still filled with an enormous amount of energy. Their set started with them projecting the debut of their newest music video for the song “Trashmouth” on a large screen on the stage. The crowd buzzed with anticipation for the premier and for the band to begin playing. While on the stage, they emphasized how grateful they were to be headlining a show at The Palladium. Their show was in support of their most recent album, “A New Hope”, which was released in 2009. They have a brand new album in the works, which they mentioned several times while occupying the stage. Musically, their set was fantastic. They played the majority of their album’s most popular songs and delighted the crowd with their abundance of energy.

They left the stage after exerting all of their energy on satisfying their fans, and did exactly that. Since The Valentine’s Day Massacre, Vanna has toured with fellow post-hardcore band, Gwen Stacey. They will also be playing Skatefest 2010 at The Palladium, and then touring in Europe, before playing a portion of the Vans Warped Tour. Their next album should be a big hit amongst the band’s large New England following, along with their growing number of fans elsewhere.

Throughout the entire show, the crowd maintained an unprecedented energy level. Crowd surfers were constantly making their way up front, fans were screaming and singing along and everyone was watching a very formidable display of music. Every band that appeared on the stage jumped around and just had fun playing their music. After spending the entire night in the photo pit, it was very hard to hear after the show was over. That comes with standing directly in front of the speakers. Either way, the show was an incredible experience in every way. Many of the bands from the Valentine’s Day Massacre will be re-appearing at Skatefest 2010, which will be held at the Palladium on May 8^th. For anyone who is a fan of the bands playing, it is highly recommended that they make an attempt to attend the show. You definitely will not be disappointed.