On this warm Friday evening, local bands opened for Ohio-based contemporary punk band, Hawthorne Heights at BAR LE RITZ PDB. At this little, dim-lit venue, the stage was low compared to what I’m used to, which allowed the crowd to get intimate with the performers, the first being Emborne Drive.
This trio started the night right with a couple of original tunes with a unique pop punk sound, much like the early days of Blink-182, Cartel and All Time Low. They won over the crowd’s hearts at their third song by covering Taking Back Sunday’s #1 hit, Cute Without the E, to which the bassist of By The Glory joined to back up the verses. They received such great fervor from the crowd, most, if not all, sang loudly along. The last time I got to watch them perform was two summers ago with Alex Goot, but they opened for Carousel Kings in February, and I was so stunned by these kids because they greatly improved their sound.
It was obvious that this band is into what they’re doing, as the drummer was already drenched in sweat at the end of the third song! The fifth song, ‘Stand By’, although added at last minute, hit me in the face like a wave of pop punk bands and I couldn’t associate with which. That’s how unique they sound! They closed their set with their latest single, ‘Mountains’, a quite heartfelt song, which made me think of the band Real Friends. So if you’re a fan of any of the artists listed above, you should check out Emborne Drive’s music! They’re definitely a band with a lot of potential, funny dudes, and I suggest you give them a couple listens and a like on Facebook! They’re also trying to get on Warped Tour this summer, so a vote will greatly help them spread their great job!
The next performers are Monarchs of Disarray. With a much more heavy rock sound, they attracted more concert-goers and the room started to fill up as they were doing their soundcheck. We could easily tell by then that it was going to be loud! The crowd consisted of friends and maybe even family and other Hawthorne Heights fans. Another local band, they performed a couple songs, starting with ‘Holiday’ and ‘On To Yesterday’, although their drum kit was slipping away from the drummer!
As mentioned earlier, it was a very small and intimate venue, and a friend from the crowd kept climbing up the stage to fix the problem but in vain. Nevertheless, it was a great performance with the songs such as ‘So Long Farewell’ and ‘Here to Die’ that kept replaying in my head after their performance! These talented men knew how to warm up the crowd for Hawthorne Heights. A Montreal-based band, they were Habs fans and interacted a lot with the crowd throughout the night, and asked for the score mid-show! Before the end of their set, the band performed a cover that everyone knew: ‘Helter Skelter’ by The Beatles and they received positive feedback from the crowd who wer singing along. They finished their set with ‘I Don’t Care’, which closed up the stage to let the third local band perform.
The next performers, By the Glory, liven up the night with their raw pop punk songs, making everyone sing along. To support their peers, the previous band members also joined the crowd, and the venue was getting pretty packed. They kicked off with a couple songs from their debut EP (that you can listen in its entirety on their Youtube channel), such as ‘Say Anything’, ‘Who’s Gonna Believe’, ‘Lifeline’ and ‘This Is Chemistry’. They released a music video for the latter about 2 months ago and you should definitely give it a watch!
With harmonic backup vocals from both guitarist and bassist, it was easy to get into the vibe of the band. They also played ‘Tell The World’ and ‘Anchor’, which made me associate their sound with New Found Glory, old Paramore, Boys Like Girls, and All Time Low’s punk style. To be honest, I’d never heard of this band before, but by the way they sing their songs, they can effortlessly make the crowd sing along and get everyone to enjoy their music to the fullest, and I wanted more at the end of their short 6-songs set.
I got the pleasure to meet them after the show to congratulate them and I can confirm that they are an amazing band with such genuine and down to earth members. If you get the chance, you can watch them perform again on May 23rd at Katacombes, because I absolutely won’t miss that! They will also be playing in a few cities in Ontario in the next couple of weeks, so keep track of them on their Facebook page! Give them a like, some listens, share it with your friends, because By The Glory is an underrated band who deserve so much more recognition!
Finally, the moment of the night everyone was waiting for! Hawthorne Heights celebrating their hit album The Silence In Black and White 10th anniversary by playing it in its entirety. They also released an acoustic version of that album that deserves to receive a listen to anyone who’s into acoustic or good music!
Signed by Victory Records, Hawthorne Heights have been an influential post-hardcore/punk band since their formation in 2001. Although it took a while for the band to come back, TJ said they love our city for its diversity and anglo-french culture. Their last time here was in 2005, but I got to see them last year at Warped Tour 2014 in Toronto, and last night still made the hysterical teenage fan kid in me super excited!
Starting with ‘Life On Standby’ and playing the album in full, long-time fans sang back all of the lyrics and rocked on with so much energy in the little venue, it was hard not to fall in the vibe and to enjoy. It made the band emotional to see that people actually come out to their show, enjoy their music to support them, and JT said that’s what keeps them going.
Going on with their 3rd song off the set with “Niki FM”, this slow song made my heart melt just like every time I listened to it. JT performed incredibly well on the softer parts and Mark’s live vocals sounded just like the audio version. The fact that they stopped the instrumental on the last couple notes and hearing the crowd sing the last lines with JT got me emotional, it was beautiful!
Going on with tracklist, the 6th song was ‘Silver Bullet’, one of my favourites because it’s such a fun song, and the fact that the crowd had the opportunity to sing parts of the song made my experience even greater. This tour was the first occasion for the band to play their debut album in its entirety. JT said they’ve always wanted to do that and that it made them happy to be able to play it as many places as possible thanks to this tour.
After the last song, ‘Speeding up the Octaves’, the band continued with more tracks off their second studio album, If Only You Were Lonely, released in 2006. That album was seriously an influential one and reached top ranks in rock billboards. The fans got even more excited to know that the next song would be ‘This Is Who We Are’, as someone in the crowd yelled it and the band dedicated the song to him! You go, sir! The band continued with a more recent song, ‘Oceans’, from their first EP entitled Hate released in 2011.
The mob got so energetic in the last few songs, it was amazing! They played the song that got them more known, ‘Saying Sorry’, which is also the one that got me into them when I was a youngster and it was such an emotional roller coaster to see them perform that!
They finished off with their classic single ‘Ohio Is For Lovers’ and the crowd went wild. After their set, I got to say hi to TJ at the merch table, took a picture with him and thanked him for coming here. He’s a great artist and cares so much about his fans and is legitimately so grateful for them. The only regret I have is not hearing them play “Bring You Back” that was written on their setlist, as well as one of my favourite songs “Rescue Me” that I got to enjoy two years ago during Warped Tour.
Setlist:
Life on Standby
Dissolve and Decay
Niki FM
The Transition
Blue Burns Orange
Silver Bullet
Screenwriting and Apology
Wake Up Call
Sandpaper and Silk
Speeding up the Octaves
This Is Who We Are
Oceans
Pens and Needles
Saying Sorry
Ohio Is For Lovers
Review – Maxime Le Huidoux
Photos – Johan Boutin
