Music • Members
of Underoath played for a full house
last Friday in Irvine. Tooth and Nail
Records
Underoath, the Bled, Thrice sell out in Irvine
By Angela O’Brien
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Only four days into Thrice’s tour featuring Underoath, the Bled and Veda,
each band embraced their set with fervent resonance Oct. 7 at the Bren Events
Center at UC Irvine.
Veda, a rock quartet hailing from Kansas City, Mo. opened the show. They began
their set to a quizzical audience. However, once Kristen May belted out the chorus
of the first song, she had the crowd hooked.
A piano concealed her petite frame, but her voice—think Sneaker Pimps when
they had a female lead—overflowed the arena with intensity, never missing
a note. Throughout the set May’s vocals never had to compete with the heavy
rock sounds from the band.
A stagehand brought her a guitar in the middle of the third song, conveying she
is a triple threat: vocalist, pianist and guitarist. May’s passionate attitude
behind the piano and guitar, made the band as a whole more interesting and intriguing
to view.
Next on the line-up was the Bled. The easiest way to describe the quintet is
chaos embracing melodic hooks.
During “You Know Who’s Seatbelt,” from their first album, “Pass
the Flask,” there is a violent crash of vocals from singer James Munoz
as if they are being thrown and tossed against cold jagged pavement.
“
My hand bled more last night than any other show [we’ve done],” said
drummer Michael Pedicone about their vigorous set at Soma in San Diego. “[That’s
a] cliché remark since we are called the Bled.”
Their second full-length album, “Found in the Flood,” dropped mid-August
after many challenges. The Bled had never written together as a band and they
had not worked with a producer on previous albums. They also had a limited time
to put the album together, but the songs “came out naturally,” said
guitarist Jeremy Talley.
The Bled has been touring nonstop since breaking out of Tucson, Ariz. They joined
whatever tours they were offered and eventually found a home among metal and
hardcore fans.
“
We never set out to be a hardcore act,” said Pedicone.
Each member of the band draws influence from varying musical inspirations. Talley
is motivated by the works of Foo Fighters, the Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead,
while Pedicone mainly listens to jazz.
“
[Hip hop] rhythm is inspiring,” said Talley.
All the band members draw inspiration from various hip hop artists. Talley eventually
plans on adventuring into a rhyme scheme when writing lyrics instead of his comfortable
free verse.
Ending the final song, Munoz screamed, “Who wants it the most? You or me,” teasing
the swarm of fans along the barricade. He immediately dropped into the crushing
crowd to be lifted into a finale of ferocity.
Quickly, stage hands and roadies broke down the Bled’s setup to make room
for one of the two headlining acts, Underoath.
From start to finish, the Tampa, Fla., natives enthralled the audience in energetic
melodious heavy music. The opening song, “Young and Aspiring,” stirred
lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain back and forth about the stage before bringing
him down to his knees and crawling in raw emotion. That is how their show progressed,
in no way skipping a beat.
To catch a breath between songs, they promoted their re-release of 2004’s “They’re
Only Chasing Safety” with four unreleased tracks and a new bonus DVD. Their
label, Solid State, came to them with the idea of a CD re-release after they
finished shooting a DVD for seven months. The CD would have new artwork and be
a major promotion for the label.
“
For us [the release] gave a chance to get out the DVD at a cheaper price,” said
guitarist Tim McTaque.
McTaque constantly remains focused on music and its business. When he is not
on stage, he can be found co-managing fellow Solid State artists As Cities Burn
or in the tour bus recording.
Early next year, Underoath will head back into the studio to record their follow-up
to “Safety.” Their fans should expect more changes. Some songs will
be softer and others will be heavier.
“
We don’t like to repeat ourselves twice,” said guitarist James
Smith.
The album should be in stores by late spring.
Before the last song, Chamberlain threw a shout out to Jesus Christ — the
band’s main musical inspiration — and the crowd burst into cries
of ecstasy. The band finished outlined in silhouettes then rushed off the stage.
Thrice was on next.
Set in front of the new “Vheissu” album artwork, Thrice performed
their post-hardcore musical advancement before their diehard hometown crowd.
At one point, the band took a moment to dedicate the fan favorite “The
Artist and the Ambulance” to a close friend who passed away.
The enthusiastic audience sang the words to each song just as thunderous and
vigorous as vocalist
Dustin Kensrue.
Each band who preformed before the sold-out crowd did not disappoint the devoted
Orange County audience.
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