Get out your knives.

The old adage proves itself time and time again... Whatever doesn't kill you is a hell of a lot of fun. This naturally adopts itself to concerts too, especially when you want to take a break out of the lovely paradox of the indie mainstream. A man can take only so much Sufjan. So what is he to do? Vary things up and see some hardcore punk, I say.
Unfortunately, the bands I really enjoy in that genre tend to be relatively limited, but the Blood Brothers definitely shine through as one of the most interesting. They lie somewhat in the vein of At the Drive-In and Pretty Girls Make Graves while creating their own niche. Lyrics, most importantly to me, are either wonderfully innovative in a neon-concrete sort of way or hilariously sarcastic (See the song title "You're the Dream Now, Unicorn!"). The music goes from screaming one second to melodic and emotional the next, but even if it's simply base screaming you can still understand the reason and emotion behind it. And I'm particular about my screaming. Speaking of vocals, Johnny Whitney has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard. Insane.
Front row at a concert like this is quite the experience, and the three+ kicks to the head that mysteriously show up just make it all the more worthwhile.
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead split the show with the Blood Brothers, but while I can enjoy a few of their sounds off Source Tags and Codes, they don't seem to stand out as much. I can't say that their show wasn't energetic, though, at the least.
The Blood Brothers have a new CD, Young Machetes, out, but I'm still trying to adjust to see if it compares to Crimes or Burn Piano Island, both of which are strongly recommended for a starter point. "Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck" is one of their biggest singles, and an excellent song to check out. Young Machetes is definitely harsher and somewhat less melodic and cohesive than the others, but it's got its own draws to it too. Screaming is healthy. Let it out.

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