Know your support. Sometimes they make you look bad.
Headlining another sold out run through Buffalo, shipshape scenesters The Devil Wears Prada took the Town Ballroom from Genesis through Revelation on Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, the opening psalms were stronger than the supposed revelatory finale.
Kick-starters Emarosa and Sky Eats Airplane did a solid job of stirring up emotions and mini-pits in their moderate allotments of stage time, but no one did more with their set than A Day to Remember.
Stealing shows for the last four years, Tuesday night's theft was a misdemeanor in the making.
Entering the darkness with The Nature Boy Ric Flair's epic anthem "Also sprach Zarsthustra" and segueing the tom-tom buildup into the a cappella opening riff of "The Downfall of Us All," ADTR were out for heads as they turned the ballroom into their battleground.
With no time to waste, they followed with another super-sped opener, "Fastforward to 2012," where the fans in attendance got to see the band do their trademark run-in-place ode to the 2-step. Staying true to their sophomoric effort For Those Who Have Heart, the band continued with "The Danger In Starting a Fire" and "A Shot In The Dark," which were complete with a wide legged, facedown, choreographed head-banging session.
Stepping off his soapbox for the world to see, singer Jeremy McKinnon took the time to explain fill-in guitarist and former Four Letter Liar Kevin Skaff's presence in the band. Subbing for the broken-wristed Tom Denney since the eve of their U.K. tour, Skaff has been a more than apt replacement with clean backing vocals and a smooth sound that fits evenly within the rest of the ADTR puzzle.
Finally returning to their latest Homesick release, ADTR ripped into "Mr. Highway's Thinking About The End" and "Welcome to The Family," brandishing more well-timed, group head-banging.
When the band screamed, "disrespect your surroundings," they meant it. While a sizable pit sent a shockwave throughout most of the floor, it wasn't enough for the Ocala five-piece's unmatched energy on stage. They needed fists, elbows, "bops" and sweat-drenched emotion, not just a loyal sing-a-long session.
Commanding "the biggest f*cking circle pit Buffalo, N.Y. has ever seen," McKinnon and crew riffed through "Why Walk On Water When You Got Boats." As bassist Josh Woodward's finger crossed his throat ala Chris Benoit and drummer Alex Shelnutt's pristine double bass paved the path for a beatdown, ADTR's hardcore roots shone through.
The band's intensity and genuine love for their music was strikingly apparent during the twilight of their performance. Featuring a guest appearance from pint-sized vocalist Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada on "I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of," ADTR shot a double dose of adrenaline into their show and heavy-hearted followers. After hearing every lyric screamed back at them to "You Should Have Killed Me When You Had The Chance," ADTR bludgeoned their way into their final two tracks.
Starting to swan with the heavy-hitting "Heartless," Ocala's hardcore pop punksters showed signs of an ending before McKinnon, Fred Durst-style, commanded Shelnutt to "bring that f*ckin' beat back."
Ravaging through the end of "Heartless" and stirring up more pit action, A Day to Remember ended the night with a bang as confetti shot out during McKinnon's yelling of "get low" at the end of "The Plot To Bomb The Panhandle."
Sticking to an older, coverless set list, ADTR killed it during their time on stage. The heaviest of all pop punk acts, no one brings it live or on record like A Day to Remember. The Devil Wears Prada soon found that out.
Entering to a stage lit Prince purple, anticlimactic headliners The Devil Wears Prada did their best to follow in the shredded dunks of A Day to Remember. Opening with "Reptar, King Of The Ozone," TDWP opted to swap catchy, powerful sing-a-longs with squalled intensity.
Singer Mike Hranica attacked his music as if he was a Twilight vampire in strike mode, complete with outstretched claws and hissy, fang-flirting scowls. Belting out the violent screams that line "Goats On A Boat" and "Nickels Is Money Too," Hranica ran around stage with the intensity of a small dinosaur that thought he was a T-Rex.
New songs "Dez Moines" and "Assistant To The Regional Manager" went over well, but nothing got a bigger response than their undeniable cover of the Big Tymers hit "Still Fly." It's kind of sad seeing their only vocal accompaniment in a cover song, but then again when the vocals in your music are inaudible, you're basically just asking for it.
The Devil Wears Prada is an odd musical endeavor - an incredibly heavy act with hoards of young, often female followers and not one song that you can sing along to. It's almost as if they're a statement - if you like them, you're in. Unfortunately, this doesn't transfer in a live setting and their performance was one for an opener.
Modify the punctuation. And next time, the order of your show.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
