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Something Corporate & The Juliana Theory live at the Glass House, 03/01/03Mar 04 '03 (Updated Mar 17 '03) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line SC and TJT are both intelligent power-pop/modern rock acts who put on an engaging live show. Don't miss either of them!
Event: The Juliana Theory with Something Corporate, Vendetta Red and Steel Train Date: Saturday, March 1, 2003 Venue: The Glass House, Pomona, CA Ticket Price: $15 (General Admission) Have you ever gotten into a band just because another band you like would be opening for them on tour, and you didn’t want to be completely unfamiliar with the headliner when you went to the show? This is basically how I discovered the music of Something Corporate. Apparently the piano-driven alt-pop band is all the rage with a lot of the local youngsters here in Southern California. Thanks to two lucrative deals with bigger labels, Something Corporate was able to unite with one of my favorite bands, The Juliana Theory, for a co-headlining tour. Not knowing any other TJT fans who actually live near me, I was hard-pressed to find anyone to go with, until I found out that a friend from my church was into Something Corporate. And without further ado, I had the tickets in hand, wondering what it would be like to go to a show and stand amongst a crowd on young fans who were there to see a band I was largely unfamiliar with. Hey, first time for everything. Of course, I did my best to get acquainted with SC’s music beforehand - which wasn’t easy because downloading an actual album version of a song is getting trickier and trickier these days. (I can’t count the number of times I got a file that was just 30 seconds’ worth of the song “iF yoU C Jordan” looped over and over! Suppose that‘s what I get for downloading, but hey, I have to know a CD is worth buying before I run out and buy it.) While I didn’t necessarily think the Orange County five-some was necessarily as brilliant as some people made them out to be, I had to admit that they were charming in their own semi-whiney way. I figured they’d be an entertaining live band. Besides, if it was just them and TJT on the bill, I’d be sure to get my $15 worth out of the evening. You’re Gone, You‘re Gone Away As luck would have it, the friend who was going to go with me had something else come up at the last minute, but not to worry - he transferred his ticket to another friend, and so I ended up going with two girls I had never met before, one of which had heard SC’s album for the first time that day. Having become more of an extrovert in recent years, this didn’t make me feel awkward at all, and we actually had some great conversations on the relatively short ride to Pomona, especially with them both being into harder bands than most of my female friends are, and one of them having a boyfriend who knew guys from bands like Project 86 and Stavesacre. I suppose that means that I can trace four degrees of separation between myself and The Juliana Theory now (they used to be label mates with the aforementioned bands). More useless trivia to pull out at the dinner table someday! It was sprinkling lightly when we arrived at the Glass House. Having been there before and knowing how dark and crowded it could get, I decided to brave the cold and leave my jacket in the car, even though it meant I’d be getting wet as we stood in line for half an hour waiting to get in. The girls managed to cram themselves under awnings at different points as the line inched along, but I figured I’d dry off (and get wet again for other reasons) once we were inside. One thing I didn’t realize about the Glass House is that it’s an all-ages club and they don’t check ID. That was something I took for granted the first few times I was there to see Phil Joel and Relient K, but this not being a Christian concert, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get in (I’m 25, but once again I was a dork and left my ID at home. I’ve gotta stop doing that every time I go to a concert!) Once we were in and we had found the cheapest way to temporarily get some food in our stomachs (candy bars were the cheapest option) we waited patiently for the first band to take the stage, which didn’t happen until a good 45 minutes after the doors opened. Shell of a Man One thing I hadn’t been aware of until the day of the show was that there were two bands up before SC and TJT. They were both bands I had never heard of, and to be honest I was expecting anything between hardcore punk and some mushy, whiney kid with a guitar and a fixation on Dashboard Confessional. Instead, we got Steel Train, a new act on Drive-Thru Records (SC’s label) that seemed to have a bit of a jazz fixation even though they had the instrumentation of a rock band. Stepping up to the mic without an introduction, they looked rather unassuming, but gained my appreciation as they began their light jam. The electric guitarist and lead singer actually traded off vocals for much of the set, which was actually a good thing, because the band’s front man proved to be their major downfall. He just stood there and made inane comments between the songs. Since his band went off on a few tasty guitar jams in the spirit of Phish or the Dave Matthews Band, the poor guy was left with nothing to do but stand there and nod his head to the beat. Steel Train didn’t play for a really long time, and I don’t think most people knew what to make of ‘em (they’d have been much better off opening for the DMB, if you ask me), but the songs that based themselves mostly around the instruments proved to be the strongest. I didn’t catch any titles except for, unfortunately, a dragging ballad entitled “Alleycat” that didn’t thrill me at all. I also wished the acoustic guitar had been more audible - the player in question (sorry, can’t find any names because the band’s website is far from complete) seemed content to strum chords while the electric guitar displayed most of the fancy fretwork. At one point the two guitarists actually put their axes down and switched places mid-song, after which the acoustic guitar suddenly got to show off a bit. I guess the other player just isn’t as proficient? Anyway, the combo of guitar, bass and drums pretty much carried their set, and they didn’t really seem to keep track of the time they were allotted - they had to cut their last song to like a minute or two. I wasn’t terribly sad to see them go. Perhaps if they lose their lead singer, they’ll get somewhere. If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop? Next up was Vendetta Red. I was sure I had heard the name before, but I wasn’t sure where… all I knew is that their style of music wasn’t exactly a big surprise to me, having seen some mildly disturbing imagery on the T-shirts they were selling. Just in case anyone wasn’t sure what they were in for, the mic test should’ve given them a clue as Zach Davidson let out the first of many blood-curdling screams that we would be hearing that night. I’ll give them credit - the guys in the band can thrash away like there’s no tomorrow, which certainly made them more of an exciting opening act than 30 Seconds to Mars opening for Chevelle a few weeks ago… however, the fact that these songs needed to have vocals and lyrics pretty much ruined it all. Now let me get this straight - I have no problem with political bands, and I’m all for freedom of speech when you have a problem with the way your country’s being run. But a lot of Zach’s comments in between songs ticked me off, and I could tell his attitude was pretty much all about inciting rebellion for rebellion’s sake. Maybe I’m not “rock and roll” enough to appreciate that, but what good can come of sarcastic statements like “Learn the words to this song and go kill a politician” or “This song is about the joys of homicide”? I could tell this guy was obsessed with death. A few times, when he wasn’t down in the crowd wreaking havoc and screaming in their faces like a five-year-old girl grounded from watching the PowerPuff Girls, he made motions to the audience as if to imply he was slitting his neck and wrists and enjoying it. That combined with your usual gratuitous amount of f-bombs resulted in a set that wasn’t so much noisy and repulsive as it was just plain embarrassing to watch. Because all the while, I was scratching my head wondering how on Earth TJT could have liked these guys enough to bring them out on tour. Staring Out of the Stands at a Rock & Roll Band Up until this point, we had been enjoying (?) the show from a slightly raised, railed-off area at the back of the venue. After a very long set up time during which a piano was hauled out onto the stage, Something Corporate came out, greeted by many cheers of the young, screaming girl variety. I was actually quite surprised that they were up before TJT, as I was certain SC was more popular. But oh well, I wasn’t gonna complain… as long as this wasn’t a sign that the recent string of illnesses in the band had forced them to drop out of yet another show (I had heard about lead singer Brett Detar being sick as a dog and having to give a few fans a rain check back east). Anyway, I tried to ignore my questions and enjoy TJT’s set. I ended up enjoying it from a much closer (and more claustrophobic) perspective, since my newfound friends were ambitious enough to try and squeeze their way to the front. I followed them partway in but decided I wasn’t assertive enough to push between people and heighten my risk of getting squished. So I stayed where I was and jumped up and down to see what I could… I was actually only about twenty feet from the stage at that point. I must say, SC had a great set all the way through. With the bassist and drummer happily keeping time behind him and the two guitarists eating up the crowd’s attention on either side, Andrew McMahon seemed quite amused by his band’s popularity as he alternated between hamming it up in front of the mic and hammering out some great tuneage on his piano. The band dove headlong into a few fan favorites with the opening “Hurricane” (complete with a stellar piano interlude just like on the album), and the follow-up tune, “I Want to Save You”, which Andrew dedicated to all of the a-hole guys in the audience, because the girls are so sweet and the guys are mostly… well, not sweet, to paraphrase. Okay, so he had a number of pointless quips over the course of the evening that covered everything from his barely functioning piano stool to a mechanical tooth flosser that he bought from an infomercial. It added to the overall wacky feel of the band’s set without being overly vulgar. For the most part I couldn’t help but like the guy as he repeatedly reached up to pull his bushy hair out of his face to see his audience smiling back at him. It was clear from early in the set that Something Corporate isn’t a singles band. For a group poised to be the next Jimmy Eat World or Blink 182 (depending on which way their lyrics go on the next album), it was actually an unexpected move for them to stick a song from their Audioboxer EP and a 10-minute rarity in slots 3 and 4. Enough fans seemed to recognize “Little”, even though it was unfamiliar to these ears, and the crowd certainly ate up the epic “Konstantine”, which consisted of nothing more than Andrew’s rolling piano lines, and the light accompaniment of drums and bass. He explained after the song’s conclusion that they didn’t get to perform that one live very often, so that meant his home state was getting a little something special. The guys were certainly happy to be back in California, and I think that affected their performance greatly. The set continued with another back-to-back pair of rocking tunes - “Straw Dog”, and the riff-driven “Fall”. I love the abrupt ending of that one! It was notable that “Straw Dog” a song I felt to be one of the more obscure tracks on the album (since I haven’t a clue what it’s about) was greeted with just as much excitement as the big hits that came out towards the end of the show. While I personally have a tough time telling some of their songs apart at first glance, I guess that speaks to the quality of their songwriting - I may not relate to it all, but they have something clever to say beyond the few songs that have made it to radio thus far. Apparently my friends were close enough to the stage at this point that they could actually see the set list taped to the piano - but I preferred being left to wonder what songs they had left up their sleeve. The band mellowed out a little for the mid-tempo number “Astronaut”, which Andrew introduced as being about hope and happy things… I would have actually expected “Good News” from that description, but alas, they didn’t get to that one. No matter, “Astronaut” is a decent enough number, and even though I’m not sure what it’s about, it kind of took on an eerie tribute-like nature, with the concert coming one month to the day after the Columbia disaster. After that came a pair of much-anticipated hits - “I Woke Up in a Car” and “Punk Rock Princess”. Lots of jumping up and down during those. Even though I don’t really know most of the words yet, I still wanted some way to sing along since all the hardcore SC fans were having so much fun, so I went with flamepillar‘s advice and sang the chorus to Michelle Branch's everywhere during “I Woke Up in a Car”. (Yeah, it really works!) Andrew was nice and dedicated that song to all the fans that they had traveled so far to see… aw, how touching. And of course “Punk Rock Princess” had all the girlies swooning, and getting squished in the mosh pit, at the same time. High School’s Over, and You Still Won’t Quit I will admit, there were parts of Something Corporate’s set that struck me as being a little immature. I can understand a certain degree of “rock star antics”, and I’ve gotten over my annoyances with stage diving - actually there weren’t any fans doing that this time like there were at Relient K’s show last fall, but Andrew did his share of plummeting into the hands of his fans, occasionally from atop his piano. Perhaps a little dangerous, but no big deal. What I really didn’t like was the way he thrashed his piano by jumping on it, banging on it with his stool, etc. towards the end of the show. Maybe he figured he could do it because it was the second to last show of the tour, but it just seems wasteful to mistreat an instrument like that. And of course, while we’re on the topic of immaturity, I’d be remiss to not mention their closing number, the “bitter anthem” known as “iF yoU C Jordan”. Okay, I’ll admit I was looking forward to this one in spite of myself - it’s a fun, sped-up waltz of a song about a high school bully who probably deserves the verbal lashing that he gets in the song (I’ve heard this guy actually exists and can’t come to the band’s concerts any more even though they’re all on good terms now, because enough fans seem to know who he is). Of course Andrew played it up and turned it into a big sing-along, making sure the audience resonated loudly on the final chorus, “F*** YOU JORDAN!” I guess he had to fit in with the bands surrounding him by letting out a scream of his own on the last line, which of course was strategically placed on the word “b***h”. Alright, I’ll admit, I laughed. In spite of all that silliness, they got one more serious moment in just before that last song, by going back and playing another rarity. This time it was an acoustic guitar-driven number entitled “Wait” that they apparently hadn’t even rehearsed during sound check. Once again, it was nice to hear the band stripped down, with little other than the guitar, and the drummer getting his few minutes in the spotlight as he shared the mic with Andrew. Andrew’s explanation before the song started was open I could really get behind - he mentioned that he felt like a… ahem… reproductive organ if he was in a city and played all the same songs 5 times. I can really get behind a band that stays devoted to giving their fans a little something different at each show… even if I might’ve chosen my words a little better. And that was it. Surprisingly, no encore - that concert custom was spared for the final band left to play that evening. Probably a shorter set than some SC junkies hoped for, but just about right for a relatively new fan. Cling to the Machine I could just stop here and say that The Juliana Theory put on a stellar and unpredictable show. But I suppose I should delve into the specifics just for those of you who haven’t had the luxury of hearing their music yet. The Pennsylvania five-some took the stage at about 10:30 P.M., wasting no time in getting the guitars revved up for my favorite TJT song of all time, “To the Tune of 5,000 Screaming Children”. You gotta love a band who has the audacity to indict the fair-weather fans who just want them to cram their songs full of mindless Jesus and God references, and you gotta love even more than they’d open a concert with this one. “We knew you’d hate this before we wrote it”, Brett Detar sneered at all of us. He couldn’t have been more wrong! This song and a few others gave Brett a chance to let out a few screams of his own - not enough to be overkill like it was with Vendetta Red, but enough to make the live renditions of the songs as packed with energy as the majority of songs on their latest album. Interestingly, they didn’t even get to anything from that album until a few tracks from the classic Emotion Is Dead had been cranked out - “Screaming Children” and the one-two punch of “Emotion Is Dead, Pt. 1” and “If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop?” My friends weren’t clear on who was playing the piano during “Emotion“, which is a spooky instrumental piece complete with drum loops and a heavy bass line, and I was left to assume that the band was falling back on a few pre-recorded tracks to fill out the extra instruments. Perhaps that was the one bummer - I had expected TJT to have a piano on stage like Something Corporate did. But not too big of a deal - the triple guitar attack more than made up for it! The band decided to leave out the finger-picked guitar outro from “Killing Me”, quickly segueing into the seething new tune “Repeating, Repeating”. That and much of the material from Love played that night sounded almost identical to the album, just louder and perhaps a tad bit speedier. With the exception of a few extended guitar breaks here and there, fans who expected a little more improvisation from the band were probably left wanting, but I didn’t care all that much, because it meant they could fit in more songs. From there, they briefly mellowed out for the gooey, piano-and-synth driven “Everything”, which sounded like it would have been the ideal show-stopping closing tune if it hadn’t been played so early. As the aggression level built once again toward the end of the song and those who knew the words were crooning “Love is everything!” right along with Brett, it was pure euphoria when the onslaught of guitars came at the end of the song. Though he spoke little, Brett proved to be a charismatic front man, modulating his voice to the mood of each song, and only pausing briefly to say a few words before songs that he felt needed a tiny bit of explanation (really, that’s about as much as you’re ever gonna get from TJT). For example, he hinted at the Christian theme behind the revamped classic “Into the Dark” by saying that it was about “a fall from grace”. Josh Walters provided some great drum fills to punch up the song a little bit as I proceeded to wear my voice out singing along to the slightly-too-high chorus: “In your eyes I see a darkness that torments you, and in your head where it swells. I’d give you my hand if you’d reach out and grab it, let’s walk away from this hell.” Next up was a surprise - a personal favorite from Love that I didn’t expect to crop up in a mostly aggressive live show. One of the Joshes (both guitar players have the same first name, and I can’t tell who’s who just by looks!) milked the delay pedal on his guitar for all it was worth during the gentle intro of “White Days”, evoking the picturesque but hazardous snowstorms that I’m sure the band was happy to be escaping on the California leg of their tour. It served as a nice compliment to the “road song” Something Corporate had played earlier. One point where Brett stopped to say a little more about a song came as the techno beat from “Liability” churned out of the speakers, with Josh Walters pounding the skins right along with it. Brett put his guitar down for this one, explaining that this was the most important song in the set to him, because he felt that we had to think for ourselves and not buy everything the government was telling us. Ooh, a little anti-Bush rant there… he definitely approached it with more maturity than Zach Davidson had. Still, I could certainly see why such a comment wouldn’t have sat well with the CCM audience the band could have ended up with… likely full of people who think all good Christians must be Republicans. As a Christian who considers himself a moderate, I beg to differ. Anyway, regardless of anyone’s political stance, I’m sure all would have agreed it was a poignant moment as Brett belted out the words “But we know you’re lying through your teeth!” as he stretched out his arms, and slowly we noticed that he had the words “WAR KILLS” drawn on them. Certainly interesting to think about this song’s meaning in light of recent events, even though the Music from Another Room EP, which it comes from, was released in October 2001 and the song was likely written and recorded before 9/11. I didn’t expect to hear anything else from the EP, but after a fairly routine romp through the future single “Congratulations” (complete with a few more chilling screams that all but took Brett to the floor), they broke out “Breathing by Wires”, basically because a group of girls had been following them to the last 78 or so shows (didn’t know TJT had groupies!) and had been requesting it incessantly. (Maybe those girls will go get a life now… nah!) While they were in the process of giving their hardcore fans the über-love, they went all the way back to their first album, Understand This Is a Dream, for the lighthearted “Duane Joseph”. Man, these guys have sure come a long way since they first whined “Tell your mom you need a day off!”, and it was a bit weird to suddenly jump back to TJT’s pop/punk era. I’d Rather Stay Here than Go… I felt like a rug had been pulled out from under me as the band very suddenly exited the stage after that little blast to the past. But never fear… no lights were coming on, so the guys weren’t done yet. As strange as it was to see this band that I regarded as one of my personal best kept secrets getting the full rock-star treatment, I’ll admit I didn’t mind at all that they got to come back for a 3-song encore. With the exception of another future single, “Bring It Low”, which was over and done with in its usual time span of about 2:45, the band stuck to the first album, which was an interesting move. I guess they wanted more of a sensitive-guy vibe, since they chose the songs “August in Bethany” and the epic “Constellation”, both of which I hadn’t heard in a long time (I really need to dig out Understand and give it another spin). The band jammed on “Constellation” for quite a while, even for a few minutes after Brett said goodnight to the crowd. And with that, with the clock nearly at midnight, the show was done. Surprisingly, their current single “Do You Believe Me?” was not even hinted at. Even though it’s my favorite track on Love, the fact that it wasn’t played actually encouraged me that TJT wasn’t a “singles band” other than SC. I’d be just fine never hearing it live (okay, maybe eventually) if it meant they would continue to hop around and pick unexpected tracks from all of their album. Sure, I would’ve loved to hear “Shell of a Man”, or just about any track from Emotion Is Dead that hadn’t already been played, or even “Musicbox Superhero” if they were gonna dwell on the old days, but no complaints. I’m sure someone heard a few of those at other stops on the tour, possibly even the following day at the Anaheim House of Blues. I would’ve loved to stick around and meet the band, ask them a burning question or two, but it was late, my companions desperately needed caffeine, and I had a girlfriend waiting for me (I know, we could’ve talked on my nifty cell phone, but I refuse to do that while driving, especially when I don’t have my license on me and want to do everything possible to avoid looking like I should be pulled over!) Maybe some other day I’ll get to run a song interpretation or two by the guys and see if they’ll at least hint at whether or not I’m right. For now, I’ll just have to be content with my theories. I Could Be Your Garage Band King So, my overall verdict? Well, this tour is over, so you won’t get Something Corporate and The Juliana Theory as a package deal again any time soon, but I highly recommend both if you are even remotely interested in their music. SC will keep you entertained, amused, and intrigued, and TJT will churn out a no-nonsense rock show. Sure, they might travel with a few less savory opening bands from time to time, but don’t let that “detar” you. Something Corporate Set List: Hurricane I Want to Save You Little Konstantine Straw Dog Fall Drunk Girl Astronaut I Woke Up in a Car Punk Rock Princess Wait iF yoU C Jordan The Juliana Theory Set List: To the Tune of 5,000 Screaming Children Emotion Is Dead Pt. 1 If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop? Repeating, Repeating Everything Into the Dark White Days Liability Congratulations Breathing by Wires Duane Joseph Encore: August in Bethany Bring It Low Constellation My Ratings: Steel Train: 2.5 stars Vendetta Red: 1.5 stars Something Corporate: 4 stars The Juliana Theory: 4.5 stars Show Overall: 4 stars The Juliana Theory is: Brett Detar: Lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, programming Chad Alan: Electric bass, backing vocals, percussion Joshua Fielder: Lead and rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals Joshua Kosker: Lead and rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals, additional percussion Josh Walters: Drums, percussion, backing vocals Something Corporate is: Andrew McMahon : Piano & Vocals Josh Partington : Guitar & Vocals William Tell: Guitar & Vocals Clutch: Bass Brian Ireland: Drums & Vocals Websites: http://www.thejulianatheory.com http://www.somethingcorporate.com http://www.vendettared.com http://www.steeltrainrock.com  |
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