There should have been a little sandwich placard standing outside the Sphere that read: "Concert-going 101." Required texts might have been titled "Fun with Facial Hair" and "The Essential Guidebook to Mosh-Pit Etiquette."
Tuesday night, TRUSTcompany, the modern rock act buoyed into popularity from their hit single, "Downfall," took their tour through Buffalo via the Sphere Entertainment Center - a last minute relocation from the Showplace Theatre. TRUSTcompany was originally supposed to appear at the venue on Saturday but tour plans were frozen when poor winter weather delayed the band's movement.
The young men and women who attended gave the impression that it was their first, possibly second or third concert ever. For many it seemed a welcome opportunity to have a smoke without getting hassled by those old enough to purchase tobacco products.
Depswa, the first act on the bill, actually gave the most impressive musical performance of the evening. While they are a somewhat regurgitated version of Staind and every other nu-metal band out there, they are high quality musicians.
Like Staind, vocalist Jeremy Penick was the standout quality of the band, exhibiting an excellent range as well as a pleasant singing/screaming voice dichotomy. Depswa even physically resembled the masters of mainstream depression, since the guitarist wore the same black button-up shirt and the singer had the same shaved head.
For those who do not enjoy watching skinny, pale, New Zealand boys try to convince a crowd they rock by prancing about screaming at the crowd, enduring Pacifier was a test of patience. Jon Toogood headed the band and could not have been a pound over 110. The guitars were played far too loud for the amplifier provided.
"I wish these stacks were 15 times bigger so we could rock that much harder," shouted Toogood, referring to the amplifier towers.
If given such a stack, one sizeable enough to rock Woodstock twice over, Pacifier certainly would have found a way to be that much more horrible. Regardless, the band won over the teens with their over-the-top stage persona.
The Swedish act Blindside arrived next, proving that any genre of music can be crossbred with a pop song structure. The pit became more active, not that the kids knew what they were doing. To them, moshing consisted of alternating shoves from one side to the other. Those who enjoy thrashing to pop-metal missed out. Poor moshing ensued at the greatest frequency during their single "Pitiful," which ought to surprise a few.
TRUSTcompany came out amongst several blasts from a fog machine. As promised by lead singer Kevin Palmer earlier in the week, their live sound was raw and much heavier. This is due to the fact that the volume on the drum mikes was well above normal. Every snare shot from drummer Jason Singleton sounded like the retort of a track and field starter pistol.
Also as promised, TRUSTcompany played several new songs that seemed to lack the melody of any of the tracks from their current album "The Lonely Position of Neutral." As pre-studio renditions, this is to be expected. But the stripped down nature of the songs, along with the added beefiness of their live sound, provided for a rather positive outlook on the band's future.
The finale to the concert was a heartfelt one, as the closing act assured fans they would greet them when the show was over.
"You guys waited out in the freezing cold to see us, and we'd love to chill with you guys for a while," said a grateful Palmer.
As one might expect, the band then kicked into an especially well-received rendition of "Downfall."
Those who had not yet taken any lumps in the pit gathered the courage to do so, if only to show a prospective girlfriend that they had it in them. The girlfriends, meanwhile, teeny-bopped their way through the all-too-catchy chorus and then the parents who escorted their underage rockers to the show took them back home and tucked them into bed.
It was a school night, after all.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
