Vaux Unleashes Havoc Thursday night

Codeseven vocalist Jeff Jenkins said it best:

"A lot of craziness can happen when really dirty people get together," said Jenkins prior to the start of their performance Thursday night at Xtreme Wheels.

Codeseven was one of many bands to play that evening including headliner Vaux, Endicott, clearmotive, and opening act Thorax Collapse from Buffalo.

Endicott is a hardcore sextet from Albany, and their style is rambunctious and obnoxious; two very key elements for the genre. Screamo hot shots Alexisonfire, Moneen and top hardcore act Hopesfall played right down the street at the Showplace Theater and gave Endicott frontman Charles Cure plenty to say.

"It's clear that our friends Hopesfall draw more of a crowd then we do, but either way, we're going to freaking light the stage on fire," said Cure before the performance, defining the role of a rock star.

Light the stage on fire they did, providing the best possible explanation for drummer Jay Nowak's partial disrobing. Endicott's guitarists faced their amps with their backs to the crowd. Their thrashing heads flew around in a whirlwind of hair.

During one of their stand-out songs, "One Bleeding to Death," guitarist Ryan Rapp spit on Cure, and in rebuttal Cure sprayed Rapp right back with a monstrous loogie. A moment that stands as punk rock at its' finest.

The band's set list included "Sundowner," "Ransom Note" and "A Song for Hearts." Endicott closed the show with "Chain Letter," at which point guitarist Don Naylor slid across the stage on his knees, providing quite the ending.

Codeseven was a tremendous musical departure. The ambient rock quintet from Winston-Salem, N.C. consists of three brothers and their close friends. The band formed in 1995 and has been playing ever since.

They orchestrated a slow progressive start using gradual crescendos and decrescendos. Front man Jeff Jenkins had soft melodious lyrics to comply with Eric Wayer and James and Jon Tuttle's screaming instrumentals.

Jon Tuttle's bass guitar seemed to be turned a little higher during their set, vibrating the floor beneath the crowd's feet. Codeseven adds individuality to their style by including synthesizers and programming as a part of their show, both handled by the Tuttle brothers.

Jenkins captures the look of an indie rock front man, flinging his limbs about and standing on his toes to sing into the microphone. It really helps to complete the band's look.

Codeseven are much more passive than clearmotive, Endicott, and Vaux. Though they may lack ferocity, they are not found wanting in passion.

The members of Vaux took advantage of their surroundings, warming up for the show by skateboarding around the park while the other bands played.

The crowd seemed to somehow double when the Denver sextet took the stage, as the lights dimmed out, and the smoke machine produced a cloud.

"We're going to see how smoky we can get this gigantic room, our smoke machine versus pleasure island," said front man Quentin Smith as the band disappeared into the mist.

Loud and hard power chords signified the opening of their set. Bright red columns of light flashed congruently with blinding strobe lights to seemingly bend the smoke-covered stage.

Guitarist Chris Sorenson laid down some impressive guitar solos, coaxing the rest of the band back in with timing cues.

After technical problems caused the microphone to be muted, flushing the band into an extended jam, which actually worked out for the better.

"Back in business just in time for the end of the song," said Smith

Bass guitarist Ryder Robinson plucked his strings with no remorse, laying down immaculate bass-line that put the amps to the test.

Smith seemed to wrench lyrics from the bottoms of his lungs in crowd favorite, "Shot in the Back."

"Drum solo ladies and gentleman, Joe McChan, take it away," said Smith during one of the final songs.

McChan laid down a powerful beat, flinging his arms about the drum riser, and bashing his head up and down.

There may have been another concert down the road on Thursday night, but all the chaos was going down inside the park.