Halcyon Repose

Another trip to the House of Blues Anaheim, this time with Amanda in tow. Breaking Benjamin was the first thing I had found that I had in common with her, so it seemed fitting that she should be there with me for the concert.

We arrived at the venue at the doors on time, but apparently the VIPs got to go in first (those people that actually ate there that evening), and they had a line just as long as ours. Of course we did get inside well before the opening act even came on, so we got to spend some time scouting for a good viewing angle down on the pit floor.

The first act was RED, a rock group that hails from Nashville. That of course immediately piqued my curiosity. I never really expect much from the first opening band in a three band show, but I was totally surprised by their performance. The lead singer had a good voice, and the instrumentals where strong. I was really impressed, impressed to the point where I knew I would probably pick up their album after the show. I wish I known about them when I lived in Nashville. I don’t know if I would have been as into them back then (Alternative Rock is a genre I have only gotten into during the last year or so), but I know I would definitely catch any of their shows now.

Next up was Sick Puppies. I must admit, I was not to enthused with the name of the band, and I made mention of that to Amanda. They started off one strike down, and that was just from reading the ticket stub. Things turned around almost immediately when they came out onto stage. A three person band from Australia, and the bassist was a tall Asian girl dressed in a short catholic school girl skirt. What is there not to love? Not only was she cute as all get out, but she could really play her bass. You could tell she was flustered from the onset of the show though, they had her turned up extremely loud, almost to the point of overpowering the rest of the band, and she was not happy about it. There were many points during the show where she gesturing wildly to the off-stage crew to get her levels turned down. Regardless of her feelings, I thought they were fine, I could still hear the lyrics which is what I mostly care about anyways. Once I started looking beyond the cute bassist, I realized that I was REALLY enjoying the band for a lot of other reasons. The lyrics were a bit rough, but in a good sort of way. They weren’t polished like so much of the stuff on the radio, but it didn’t need to be. Just like the Arctic Monkeys, and so many other indie bands, they used their rough edges to craft their music into something that polish doesn’t get you. I think music can gain a great deal from having sharp edges now and again.

I know I have taken this far into a land of metaphors. Let’s just let’s just say I left with their album in my possession as well at the end of the evening, and it has since spent a lot of time on my iPod playlist.

Last up was the headliner, Breaking Benjamin. After the first two acts I was primed for this set. Unfortunately I can’t really say much about it, except that it was everything I wanted to see from the group. They put on a great show, and I didn’t feel like their albums were a misrepresentation in any way. They didn’t stand out in my mind as much as the first two acts, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. At one point in the show, lead singer Ben Burnley performed a cover for Nine Inch Nail’s “Hurt”. Deeply heart felt, Ben’s performance was touching, and stands out in my mind the most about the show.

At the end of the show, Amanda was kind enough to chill while I purchased some CDs for both RED and Sick Puppies. The best thing about picking up a CD from an opening band is that they are there to talk to the fans and sign your new purchases. Sometimes I wish larger bands did the same, but I can understand why they would prefer not to.