page 14 (
Pop Arts
Journal)
November 2010
Phish Pleases ‘Phans’ in Amherst Matt Simon
As thousands of devoted “phans” waited inside of a packed Mullins Center, Phish took the stage. Smoothly sliding into a rare “Meatstick” opener, guitarist Trey Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon performed a dance as the crowd relaxed into the subtle grooves. An energy was born with the classic “Golgi Apparatus” and persisted for the entire show. “Tweezer” showed Amherst the power of what Phish does best: jam. The fourteen minute session highlighted the first set with its funk. The tempo was slowed down during “Lawn Boy”, as keyboardist Page McConnell took Page McConnell and the rest of Phish perform one of their popular hits, “Lawn Boy” for their fans. the spotlight with his vocals. Then, the focus shifted to dress-wearing “My Friend, My Friend”, the band was in in the Velvet Sea”, a soulful song capable drummer Jon Fishman for one of his infa- the zone. After a couple low tempo num- of choking up any concert-goer. The mous vacuum solos. An energetic “Twee- bers, Phish continued to bring the funk second set was concluded with a twenty zer Reprise” closed out this quirky set. with “Boogie on Reggae Women”, getting minute rendition of the epic “You Enjoy Nothing can end an intermission quite the whole arena bumping. They followed Myself ”, which has been described as like the booming bass of “Down with this with the epic and eerie “Maze”, classical music in a rock setting due to its Disease”. Mike plucked out the distinctive featuring ear-splitting guitar from Trey. elaborate composition. The encore was notes perfectly as the crowd embraced the After some high intensity jamming, Page a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Shine a beat. Flowing seamlessly into a stirring broke out his keyboard skill on “Wading Light”, which proved to be a great tune
Photos courtesy of Phish.com
to end an amazing night. The audience of “phaithful phollowers” left pleased. After all, a band doesn’t get such a devoted following without playing all top-notch shows. Phish never disappoints, and they played a spectacular concert at the Mullins Center.
Album Reviews
Mike Pultz When making any kind of album, whether it’s heavy metal or jazz, an important thing to consider is dynamics (or, simply put, the changes of volume in a song or album). An effective use of dynamics is to have a soft song in the middle of a metal album. When done right, it will not only prove that the band is talented enough to play a different way than their usual, but it will also make all the heavy tracks seem heavier in comparison. …For We Are Many, the newest album by American metalcore band All That Remains, is almost completely devoid of anything resembling dynamics. The result is an unrelenting wall of sound that makes the record difficult to listen to. That’s not to say it’s a bad effort. By themselves, the tracks are impressive; nearly all of them have great solos (especially “Some of the People, All of the Time”), and a few have audible and great bass moments (which most modern bands sadly neglect) such as in “Dead Wrong”. But listened to as a whole, it doesn’t take long for the repetition to set in. There is the aforementioned dynamics problem which severely restricts the album’s heaviness. It’s also disappointing that ATR relies so much on their “chugga-chugga” style riffs because while they are fantastic they get old quickly. All of this, combined with boring verse-chorus-verse song structures, make…For We Are Many a disappointing step backwards for ATR.
Photos Courtesy of Creative Commmons
Maggie Rogers
Popular rock band Escape the Fate proves that they just get better with time. The band’s third full-length, self-titled album, released on November 2nd starts with a calm intro track titled “Choose Your Fate” which leads into the brutal single “Massacre”. There are tracks that are as catchy as they are intense, and Escape the Fate seems to have found the genre they belong in; their own. Their sound has become a great mix of modern metal and 80s rock, as well as the screaming and guitar riffs that they are most well-known for. Bassist Max Green was quoted as saying that the album would “rewrite rock music as you know it”, and he was right. The album is less of a step-forward, and more of a giant leap. Vocalist Craig Mabbitt exhibits his strong voice in this album more than the second, and haters will have a hard time saying that the album is anything less than superb. Old fans will love the album due to the inclusion of another “Guillotine” song—there have been songs following the same plot titled Guillotine on every album, and were generally the hardest songs on each album, and this is no different. The album wraps up well with 11 tracks of rock genius. Key tracks: “Zombie Dance”, “Prepare Your Weapon”, “The Aftermath (G3)”
Anastasia Mazur Hellogoodbye returns with their sophomore album Would it Kill You bringing an infusion of indie from the likes of Vampire Weekend. Best known for the infectious power pop song of 2008, “Here (In Your Arms)” which ranked top in the charts, their new album breaks away from the straight techno-love-song shtick that concentrated their first album, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!. With more guitars and back up vocals the band strays from what brought them fame. While playing with the sounds not necessarily a bad thing, after a while it begins to be a monotonous drone of cheery chants and doesn’t stand out or break away from the mold already set by previous indie-pop bands. The band lacks their synth-pop zeal that brought to the forefront the geeky charisma that the band stands for, which leaves the listener looking for more. Key Tracks: “Finding Something to Do”, “When We First Kissed”, “Would it Kill You?”